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Spring Welcomes Triplets
Spring calving is in full swing on the Lanouette beef farm just outside of Richer. Mark and Gisele Lanouette marked 2017 in a big way as a set of healthy triplets were a welcome surprise and addition to their herd. Photo by Mackenzie Guetre
March 31, 2017
New Safety Program Aims to Prevent Farming Accidents Not only producers, but their employees and their families have been affected by farming accidents and that’s what the new Manitoba Farm Safety Program, which got off the ground recently, aims to address. The agriculture industry has been recognized as one of the most dangerous in Manitoba. “The purpose of the program is to provide awareness and tools to farmers, and assist them in managing their farms safely,” said Keith Castonguay, Program Director. “We want to develop a solid safety culture so that safety components are built into all farm activities.” “We will be providing practical hands-on services and that already includes an on-site safety advisor who works with farm businesses to identify and address farm risks, and helps them comply with provincial safety regulations. We also provide monitoring for dangerous chemical and noise, and will evolve into safety awareness training for farm workers and supervisors, hazardspecific training and sector-specific workshops.” Castonguay encourages farmers to book an on-site visit with the program’s safety advisor, Morag Marjerison. The service is free, confidential and not operated by government. Farmers can call her at 204-570-3290.
Oswalds Chosen as Manitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2017 Brent and Kirsty Oswald of Cottonwood Holsteins Ltd. have been selected as Manitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2017. The event took place March 4 at the Elkhorn Resort in Onanole with Minister of Agriculture Ralph Eichler in attendance. Cottonwood Holsteins is a mixed dairy and grain farm that was homesteaded by Brent’s
grandparents in the early 1930s. It continues to be a family operation as Brent’s parents, who purchased the farm from their parents in 1968, pass it on to Brent and Kirsty. “Brent’s passion for farming that started at a young age is evident as you talk to him,” said OYF Program Chair Luanne Lynn. “He beams as he talks about his cows, and their
continued increasing performance. The technology that the Oswald’s have incorporated into their dairy operation has allowed them to expand their herd, comprehensive data records and maximize the efficiency of their farm.” At Cottonwood Holsteins, they milk 135 cows and grain farm just shy of 2,500 acres. The Oswald’s, always focus
on getting better before getting bigger, which is why they are increasing their emphasis on investing in equipment to boost efficiencies. “It’s these advances and new benchmarks that we are achieving that keep my passion for farming burning strong,” said Brent. “I knew from a very young age that all I wanted to do was farm, and it’s all I’ve
ever done. I look forward to the rest of my farming career, enjoying it while raising my children in the lifestyle that is second to none.” Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2017 will be chosen at the National Event in Penticton, BC from November 29 – December 3, 2017.
March 31, 2017
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Producers Implement Canada’s New Pig Code By Harry Siemens With Manitoba’s government loosening the moratorium on hog barn expansion and the processing industry needing about a million more hogs annually thoughts are turning to construction of those barns. Bob Houben, a representative with FGC Construction suggested the age of the barn, its layout and its ventilation will be among the key factors to examine when evaluating its suitability for renovation. As part of the work on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc, Canadian scientists and engineers have developed resources to assist pork producers in evaluating the viability and in planning the conversion of stall housing for gestating sows to group housing. Houben said when considering building producers should look at comparing the viability of converting compared to building from scratch, including the age of the barn, its footprint, its layout and its ventilation. “I do come back to ventilation
a lot but that has to do with the style of structure that we work with to allow enough airways through the attic of the barn to bring the air in to make the pig comfortable,” he said. “Pigs are a lot like the people. The less cooler air, the more comfort you have, the better the product of the pig is.” Houben said the age of the barn, the facility flow and how it is tied together, should be part of the planning process. A lot of it comes back to age and the style of structure from a wood structure to a concrete structure he noted. “In the area that we’re in, we build a lot of concrete structured walls right to the eve and that tends to create longevity of the barn,” he said. “A 20 year concrete barn compared to a 20 year wood structured barn, you’re probably going to be able to save that barn and convert it. As for a wood structure barn, after 20 years, they’ve seen a lot of life and a lot of them aren’t salvageable.” Houben said it is too early to identify patterns but some producers have converted the
gestation area of the barn to loose sow housing and built new farrowing facilities to increase litter spaces. For more information on converting older barns visit groupsowhousing.com. In Saskatchewan, a program offered by the Government’s of Canada and Saskatchewan in partnership with Sask Pork is helping the province’s pork producers access equipment, which will help them comply with new animal welfare requirements under Canada’s Pig Code of Practice. Through Growing Forward 2, the partnership is offering up to $4,000 through the Saskatchewan Swine Welfare Program to assist in the purchase of needle-free injection equipment or euthanasia equipment. The two-year program is scheduled to run until the end of February 2018. Harvey Wagner, the Manager of Producer Services with Sask Pork said Sask Pork covers 20% of the cost of the equipment, Growing forward 2 covers 60% and the producer is responsible for 20%. “Needle-free is quite com-
Group housing as seen in this new sow barn on the Suncrest Colony near Steinbach, MB is a model implementation of Canada’s Pig Code.
Cattleman’s Connection Black Angus Bull Sale The Cattleman’s Connection bull sale sold ninety-five Black Angus bulls for an average of $5,331.89. HBH Farms Inc. sold the high seller Lot 44 HBH Dominic 29D to LLB Angus from Erskine, Alberta for $29,000. Second highest seller was Lot 29 HBH Digit 145D selling for $15,000 to Carey Farms Ltd. Stavely, Alberta and Fleming Stock Farm, Granum, Alberta. Lot 44 HBH Dominic 29D sells for $29,000 to LLB Angus, Erskine, AB. Photo by Joan Airey
plicated. It’s a high degree of technology and very fine tolerances and so the equipment is fairly expensive,” said Wagner. “It’s in the $4,000 range and that’s one of the reasons why the limits are where they are on this program. Euthanasia equipment can vary anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to $4,000 as well if producers get the complete kits of euthanasia equipment with captive bolts with all the fittings to take care of all classes of animals. This equipment is not inexpensive but it’s high quality and it lasts for a long period of time. With proper maintenance, it’ll last the life of the barn pretty much.” He said any CQA registered farm is eligible so that means all of the commercial farms in Saskatchewan qualify. The larger operations tend to be using the program to access needlefree injection equipment while the smaller farms, typically those under 400 sows, are more interested in the euthanasia equipment.
March 31, 2017
Steppler Farms Buys High Selling Bull The recent sale at HTA Charolais and Guest Bull Sale held March 22 in Neepawa saw over 45 yearling bulls selling for a gross of $261,000 (an average of $5,768). The high Selling Bull was Lot 1, HTA Contender 605D, sired by RGP Remington 101Y. The bull sold for $30,000 to Steppler Farms of Miami and was consigned by HTA Charolais located in Rivers.
HTA Contender 605D sold to Steppler Farms, Miami for $30,000. Photo by Joan Airey
March 31, 2017
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What Can You Afford?
Spring is here and along with it comes the usual ‘fruit basket upset’ of who is farming what land. Oh, I know things are much more stable than they used to be when land seemed to have a different farmer on an almost annual basis. The bidding wars are not what they used to be and the capital involved in today’s operations requires that a land base be much closer to the same size of acres for a longer term. I understand all that and I know that things are more stable but… having said that the question continues. How much is land worth? Travel is a wonderful thing, you can learn so much from travel. Seems unrelated to the first two paragraphs of this essay, please stay with me. I had the distinct pleasure of visiting farming friends of mine in Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of this year and traveled home via a slow boat that stopped at various islands in the south Pacific. The comments on land prices in Oz or New Zealand will be left for another day; they were just shockingly high. What brought me back to earth was the value of land on some of the south Pacific islands we visited. While the rest of our group chose to visit cultural (shopping) centres and I chose to spend my days visiting farmlands, they might be called plantations, but then again maybe not. It was during a visit to a pineapple field that I asked our guide about the field across the road that seemed to be producing at least as many weeds as pineapple. “Oh, it is not worth harvesting, so they just let it go,” he said. “The price of pineapple is not enough to justify the cost of growing it. So, they just let it go wild. If the price comes back, they might start to farm it again.” Did I mention we are on an island where everything has to be imported and it is not worth harvesting a crop that is already planted and just requires maintenance to harvest? This is not corn that has a high nitrogen requirement. This is pineapple. As you can image, I proceeded with a line of questioning that would be representative of a farm boy. “Not worth harvesting?” I asked to make sure that I understood. “No pineapple is only about 50 cents each, so they let the land go,” our guide explained. Sometimes when you travel, you are made aware of things that just don’t make sense to our line of thinking. I know potato land commands a premium in our part of the world but imagine pineapple land, what it would bring. Apparently, nothing where it is.
Missing Buzz
To raise awareness of the plight of bees everywhere, the breakfast cereal Honey Nut Cheerios has taken its mascot “Buzz” off its box for a few weeks. The company also launched an ad campaign, “Bring Back the Bees”. This seems more an exercise in activist marketing than a real cause. Even though the world of bees is facing problems, there are also more of them than ever before. Watch the TV commercial. You will see General Mills going in for a quick, emotional kill. You’ll see people rescuing all sorts of animals, while in the background plays a simple piano and string melody with a choir softly singing the Mister, Mister song, “Broken Wings”. A dog stranded on some ice beside a flowing river is pulled up to safety with a harness. People rescue a baby elephant stuck in a mud bog. Baby ducks are plucked from a storm drain and reunited with their mother. A firefighter washes a kitten with a water bottle and gives it oxygen. A moose that’s broken through some ice up to its neck gets saved. On and on the ad goes with such scenes. Then the spot shifts to headlines of honeybees dying by the millions, and asking for help. “The bees need us,” we
Penner’s Points By Rolf Penner
are told. We are implored to plant “35 million wildflowers,” one for each person in Canada. Just contact the company and they will send you a – free – package of assorted wildflower seeds that you can plant so you, too, can – save the bees –! (By the way, don’t forget to buy some Cheerios while you’re at it.) If you judge by the comments under YouTube versions of the commercial and on Twitter, the ad is effective in provoking an emotional response. Numerous people said it brought tears to their eyes. So what about the bees? In Canada, the population is actually growing. Statistics Canada has been tracking the number of honeybee colonies in the Dominion since 1924 and the line on the chart describing the size of bee populations moves from the bottom left hand of the page to the top right, give or take a few downward dips. We had a record 720,000 colonies in 2015. Factor in 15% standard winter losses and technically we did lose millions of bees. But beekeepers are used to dealing with this level of loss and factor it into their plans. This isn’t General Mills first attempt to play a little
loose with the facts to sell some cereal. It wasn’t so long ago that they were promoting Cheerios’ as “GMO-free.” Again, that’s technically true. But as farmers all know, Cheerios are made of oats and there is no such thing as GM oats. The campaign, though, hasn’t gone off completely as planned. Apparently a few of those free wildflowers are considered invasive species in certain parts of the country. So in trying to help solve a problem that’s not really a problem, General Mills may be causing an actual problem that didn’t exist before. Aren’t good intentions a wonderful thing? Call it what you like, “raising awareness” or maybe “issue marketing”. How about “corporate virtue signalling”? It’s clearly another cynical marketing ploy that plays on people’s emotions and gets them unnecessarily worked up, in order to sell a product. Not a great long-term strategy. You’d think these companies had been around long enough to know better than to manipulate their customers in this crass way. That’s obviously not the case.
On the Road Again Through Twitter and Air Canada
If you recall our trip to the Menno Colony in 2015, a working trip where I visited farms, but more importantly told the Canadian farming and agricultural stories to one farmer and to one industry representative at a time. That can include a researcher in Morden, a drone flyer and course teacher like Matthew Johnson in this month’s publication, or someone from halfway around the world. I follow Twitter carefully looking, scavenging, probing, and asking people with an interesting idea and concept for their cell numbers. Next, if they respond, with
a telephone number, I set up an appointment to do an interview. When I meet someone on Twitter and they have a story to tell, and are willing to share with me, invariably they have pictures that go along with it. I used to drive 80,000 km a month attending meetings, visiting farmers and farmyards, going on tours, so I could meet the people, and take good pictures. I still remember when I used the old film and prints. I’d grab a film roll, get out to the meeting, get back home and have those films developed, often only pictures from that one shoot, maybe two, spend $15 and hopefully have good prints when the envelope came back with pictures. I remember the day, I think in 2000, when my friend won a
digital camera in a raffle, and because he didn’t know how to use it, gave it to me to try. Well, lo and behold the rest they say is history. That is hard to believe; 17 years ago, I started taking digital pictures, wore out many cameras, and gave away my film gear to my daughter. Most recently, when I bought my iPhone 6 plus to go to Paraguay, taking some 1,800 images, I gave away my latest SLR camera to the other daughter because it was just an extra thing to leave behind when in a hurry, and not always by choice. What prompted this column today is our plans are developing quite nicely for another excursion, but this one is taking Judith and myself to Switzerland, and of course a few other European countries, then off to England where a friend will ar-
range for more farm visits in that great country. The reason for Switzerland is that friends, a client if you like, who lives part time in Manitoba where he’s from, and part time in Switzerland because his wife is from there have invited us to stay with them for three weeks more or less. They own a bed and breakfast, but really don’t rent it out unless friends from Canada want to come and use it. I’m just beginning to lay my plans, making more contacts on Twitter from those countries arranging to visit farmers and other farm-related businesses. I know things are tough, but someone has to do it. Yes, we have toured Europe including Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, France the UK, and Scotland back in 1982. At
that time I contacted various embassies from those countries in Ottawa, with a reference letter from our then MP Jack Murta. I received so many responses we had to pare it back, and even so, the 28 days on tour weren’t enough and it tired me out completely. However, a great trip nevertheless learning so much. The following year we returned with two busloads of farmers from across Canada hosting one of the buses for the Canadian International Holidays tour company owned and operated by my friend Bill Quinn. The offer from Derek McLaren of Carberry and Switzerland came back in January 2016. This year, saying we aren’t getting any younger, we decided to take him up on it. We will be leaving May 9 and returning May 31 and the tickets are booked. Don’t worry, I won’t miss an article. Yes, the flavour will be a little different, but they will be here none the less.
Agriculture – A Good News Story
The AgriPost
There are some organizations that don’t like modern agriculture. I really don’t understand why. My personal hero is Dr. Norman Borlaug who led the green revolution, which lifted millions of people out of poverty and provided food for millions who would have otherwise starved. The green revolution and the many innovations that have followed are the product of science. Because of this most of us involved in agriculture tend to rely on scientific arguments to counter those who want to shut down modern practices and tools. However, the language of science does not lend itself to telling our story, and agriculture has a fantastic story
to tell. We need to adjust our approach. We can’t dismiss those who want to turn back the clock just because we might not understand them. Campaigns aimed at eliminating crop protection products like glyphosate, or inputs like fertilizer, are tapping into an emotional appeal that is real and is driving consumers. Pulling out science to say, “You’re wrong” does give some personal satisfaction. However, the approach does little to counter the activists. Instead we too need to reach beyond just science and talk to consumers in their day-today life. To do this we need to stand up and talk about what agriculture has delivered.
A Monty Python bit asked, “What have the Romans ever done for us?” To paraphrase, what has modern farming done for us? Well there is all this food of course. The developed world spends less time and energy putting food on the table than any other group of people in the history of the planet. Food has never been safer or cheaper. Activists say we could feed the world without modern agricultural practices. But reverting to the time before Dr. Borlaug would mean less, but more expensive, food, and greater hunger for many that have abundance today. Agriculture should stand up and be proud of the food we deliver.
Next to canola, soybeans may be the next wonder crop story out of Manitoba Agriculture. Though its roots aren’t as deep in Manitoba and Canadian agriculture, the progression of soybean acres both in the Red River Valley and subsequently beyond, has been nothing short of impressive. Just a short 20 years ago in 1996, soybeans garnered only 800 acres in Manitoba, with canola reported at 1.57 million acres, while the 2016 soybean acreage number was 1.635 million and canola was 3.155 million. Early projections for 2017 are showing estimates close to 2 million acres, as soybeans continue to expand west towards, and into Saskatchewan. This expansion is likely coming at the expense of canola; however, as acres peaked in 2012 at 3.575 million, subsequent-
ly they have declined to 3.1 million every year since. Currently, with soybeans set to gain another substantial amount of acres in 2017, canola acres are at risk of falling below 3 million for the first time since 2007, with many analysts projecting 2.7 million as an intended number. So what has happened to see this big shift in acreage? In the past number of years, the simplest answer is profitability. Soybeans have been one of the most consistently profitable crops grown in Manitoba, given their ability to withstand excess moisture, and our ability to piggyback off prices in the US. The agronomic benefits alone have been enough to encourage a big acreage switch in the last six or seven years, but add on that it’s been consistently profitable, and you have a
winning equation for your farm. For 2017, the debate will continue to rage on for where seeded acres will land, so for now we have to go with reports from farms on their proposed changes from 2016, along with some other indicators. One thing we watch regularly is the canola/ soybean price spread, which historically averages a $35/ mt Cdn$ premium of canola over soybeans. For the past 12 months, the new crop 2017 spread has gone from a $40/mt premium through last summer, and fallen throughout the winter to currently sit around $6/mt. This suggests canola is undervalued to soybeans, which may continue to push more soybean acres
But what about the environment? Isn’t all this food coming at an environmental price that future generations will have to pay? Well no, actually. Here too agriculture needs to stand up and be proud of our sustainability record. What does sustainability mean to you? To me, it means growing food in a way that gives a good living to farmers and leaves the land and water in better shape for those who will be farming after us. Canadian farmers are doing just that. Cam Dahl is President of Cereals Canada.
and reduce canola. I’m often a contrarian thinker, so when the majority of farmers are leaning towards adding more soybean acres, I’m finding myself friendlier to canola from a price perspective. If the profitability still shows much bigger benefits however, that is what really needs to be considered. We will have an update on intended acreage when Stats Canada releases their Principal Field Crop Estimates on April 21, 2017. Brian Voth is the President of IntelliFARM Inc, working with farms to create customized grain marketing plans and carrying them out. For more information visit intellifarm.ca or call 204-324-3669.
Foodgrains Coordinator Hopeful for More Grow Projects By Elmer Heinrichs Harold Penner, MB Regional Coordinator of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is hoping for another successful year as he looks forward to this summer’s Grow projects The Canadian Foodgrains Bank was founded in 1983 and is a partnership of 15 church and church-based agencies working together to
end global hunger. In a letter to project leaders across the province, Penner said, “Grain growing projects are still a very important part of our fund-raising. And if your community does not have a grain growing project I invite you to consider trying one this year. This is the time to begin planning and getting a group of people together to start.”
Penner added that, “I anticipate two new projects for 2017, and would love to see more.” The letter also urgently requests that the e-mail recipients please forward it to someone you know who may be interested in helping with global hunger in this way. “We now have about 6,000 acres in Manitoba dedicated to growing food for people who are struggling to sur-
vive,” noted Penner. The Foodgrains Bank is currently responding to address severe food shortages in East Africa brought about by drought conflict. Sometimes, said Penner, “A small amount of help at a critical time can help in the long term as people don’t have to sell off productive assets just to survive.”
March 31, 2017
March 31, 2017
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March 31, 2017
The Manitoba Farmers’ Plan on Carbon Taxation
By Harry Siemens
Farmers at a meeting in Winkler recently became more aware there are not many options when it comes to dealing with a mandatory carbon price that the Federal Government will implement in 2018. In October 3, 2016, Prime Minister Trudeau took some provinces by surprise in an announcement that they have until 2018 to adopt a carbonpricing scheme or the Federal government will step in and impose the program for them. Since then eight provinces have signed on in some form or other, but two provinces have not. They are looking at it from different perspective. Premier Brad Wall of Saskatchewan has said a flat no to the Federal government implementing a carbon tax in his province and is prepared to fight it in court. The Fed-
eral government is putting a price on carbon and wants each province to design their own system to get a national carbon price. The Manitoba government has committed to developing a ‘made-in-Manitoba’ carbon pricing system. A paper put out by the Manitoba farmers organizing a series of meetings to make farmers aware of what is transpiring with carbon pricing, was distributed at the Winkler meeting. The paper states that it is a certainty a carbon tax will happen in Manitoba but there are still many design options on the table. A poorly designed carbon price could really increase costs for farmers however, a well-designed carbon price could help farmers be part of the solution to benefit the environment. “In my opinion current public policy is gonna get forced on us regardless
if we like it or not, and with that premise I can support this plan,” said Eldon Klippenstein a farmer from the Altona area referring to the plan laid out by the Manitoba Farmers at the Winkler meeting and two previous ones with more planned. “As a Manitoba farmer I don’t like the carbon tax idea, but I do support Gerry Demare and the Manitoba farmers plan on carbon taxation.” Demare and other Manitoba farmers have presented the Manitoba Farmers’ Plan on Carbon Taxation to the Government of Manitoba and Keystone Agriculture Producers (KAP) for the “Benefit of the Environment”. Opinions vary though. Daryl Devos of Somerset expressed that the first choice is no carbon tax for anyone. The second choice, as proposed by Gerry Demare, a plan that he calls the Manitoba Farmers’
plan. “We propose a carbon tax on all inputs such as diesel fuel, purple gas, natural gas, propane, fertilizer, chemicals, freight and transportation costs off farm. These taxes paid will appear as a line item for invoicing purposes,” said Gerry Demare, who is spearheading this group with other farmers. “Carbon Taxation on the manufacturing of farm equipment and/or in the processing of farm produce or goods, within Manitoba will be 0 rated at the time of purchase, or delivery.” Next item in the Plan is tackling direct emissions. “No exemption on direct farm emissions which are emissions from the use of fossil fuels, applying fertilizer, as well as methane from livestock. The carbon taxes on direct emissions are dealt with now and in consultation with us to determine the correct tax levels associated with these emissions. Our view is if direct emissions were exempted now, the government would impose a tax on them at a later date.” Part of the plan suggests that agricultural producers pay the tax. The Manitoba Farmers’ Plan on Carbon
At a recent meeting in Winkler Gerry Demare (right), who is spearheading a farmers’ proposed carbon tax solution proposed farmers pay a carbon tax on all inputs such as diesel fuel, purple gas, natural gas, propane, fertilizer, chemicals, freight and transportation costs off farm that is then offset with a credit claim much like the GST.
Taxation states that due to the fact that building a stable and strong society relies on farms supplying food which is safe, reliable, abundant, and cheap and with the use of 4R’s in fertilizer use, producers have the right to perpetually and on an annual basis apply and receive a total refund on the costs of the carbon taxes they paid in that year, [or reporting period], just like the GST input tax credit. “We pay the tax, it’s got to be shown as a line item on all our invoicing, and we apply for it back like a GST,” said
Farmers discuss Carbon Pricing at the recent Winkler meeting.
Odiel Sanders, another Somerset area farmer. “It is that simple. Farmers are waking up to what this can really cost, whether $2 an acre or $50 it is too much.” Sanders recognizes, while that taking one dollar from his pocket and giving it back to his neighbour will not fix the environment. However, slapping a carbon tax on the farmer of maybe $40 to $50 dollars makes them uncompetitive. For every carbon tax dollar going out, there needs to be a credit coming back.
March 31, 2017
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Be Alert to the Risk of Alfalfa Winter Injury By John McGregor Every winter alfalfa growers worry about what the weather may do to their fields. It’s very hard to predict winterkill in alfalfa and although I tend to look at soil temperature first when predicting problems, there are a lot of other factors like snow cover, cutting schedule, nutrition etc that factor into the equation. At this point in Manitoba’s winter, I see two factors that
raise red flags for potential winterkill. The first was the cold spell we experienced during the week of February 6-13. Soil temperatures dropped to -8 to -12 °C range in some locations. Alfalfa, once dormant, can survive in soil temperatures up to minus 12 °C, however if the plant is not fully dormant, or if the variety is less winter hardy, it can be injured or killed at these temperatures. The second factor is the
warm weather we experienced the week of February 16-21. Well above normal temperatures may, in some situations, cause melting of the snow pack and water to pond in alfalfa fields. Although alfalfa goes dormant during the winter period it is still a living, breathing plant. When ice forms on the soil surface during the winter period as the alfalfa roots respire, they produce some gases that can become toxic to alfalfa plants if too
concentrated. The formation of an ice layer prevents these gases from escaping causing the plant to suffocate. As we move closer to spring there are other factors that could contribute to winterkill. Just as snow insulates the plant against extreme cold, it also acts as a buffer to warmer temperatures, reducing the likelihood of the plant breaking dormancy too early and going through a series of
warming/freezing cycles that can injure the plant. Another factor is the excessive soil moisture entering into winter. Wet soils in the fall or early spring can lead to ice sheets forming or frost heaving (more common in clay soils), which can break roots and lift and expose crowns to weathering. While there’s little farmers can do about excess moisture, it’s important to note early wheel traffic can cause excessive damage to
crowns and plants exposed by heaving frost or those already weakened by winter injury. It’s impossible to predict if alfalfa will be hurt this winter, but since weather conditions have been risky, I suggest that you be ready to check your fields and make any necessary adjustments early. John McGregor is with the MFGA Extension Support.
It’s Time to Start Your Plants Indoors By Joan Airey I’m sure those of you who like to start your own bedding plants have started some flowers and vegetables already. Recently I was leafing through T &T Seed’s catalogue, saw Cardinal Climber Morning Glory, and decided I would like to try growing it. Generally, I start my vegetables and buy my flowers but this year I decided to try starting some Geraniums, Morning Glories and Pansies. Even though I had already ordered my garden seeds, I again went on line and ordered geranium seeds because I could not find them in local stores. Since I have never started Morning Glories before I had to do some research to find out when to start the seeds. What I learned was that Morning Glories should be started four weeks before the last spring frost and the seed should be soaked for 24 hours before planting. In addition, it is suggested to start the seeds in peat pots so the roots aren’t disturbed and they like to grow in well-drained soil. While ordering my potato seed I learned of a new potato called Adora, a medium early season potato. This variety is grown in Manitoba at Winkler by Kroeker Farmers Ltd. “As any naturally grown crop, the nutrition can vary from year to year. Earlier testing showed that standard potatoes like Russets have thirty percent more carbohydrates than Adora. A recent test we just completed on this year’s crop showed that difference to be twenty-seven percent. We would guess it to vary on average between twenty-five and thirty percent. The Adora will store late and are therefore great keepers. They
Adora Potato.
Photograph supplied by Kroeker Farms, Winkler.
are light golden in colour with smooth bright skin and shallow eyes. We sell them exclusively at ‘The Potato Store’ but offer shipping within Canada depending on the amount ordered,” said Liana Fehr, Marketing Officer for Kroeker Farms. I read this week that smart phones have become one of the gardener’s favourite tools as apps and other portable devices have put science-based garden information in the palm of our hands. However, I don’t take my phone to the garden because last time I did I forgot it was in my jacket pocket and threw it in the washing machine, destroying it. I also noted that this month’s John Deere’s magazine Homestead is full of gardening tips and information. Last month’s twelve inches of snow has buried my composting bins and I’m hoping my husband will dig to one of them out with the bobcat. I dug a path to them earlier this year but now the snow is four feet plus high and hard. I wish I had taken a photograph a few years ago when I dumped my first bin of compost on a partial row of corn. The cobs in that section of the row were twice as big as the rest of the row. It made me realize that composting really does work.
Three large pots of potatoes at different stages. The pot in the background is in the process of flowering. It’s an expensive hobby growing plants under these lights in winter but all the things I grow we enjoy eating.
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March 31, 2017
Food Science Coupled with a Food Fight Prepares Students for their Future By Les Kletke Claudia Narvaez is excited by the results of this year’s Food Fight that is a part of Agriculture Comes to the City but sees that it can grow to another level. Narvaez is the instructor responsible for the 4th year Food Science Course at the University of Manitoba. In the last year of studies, students are challenged with The Food Fight comprised of teams vying for the title of Best New Food
product. The presentation of the food product at the Forks is the culmination of the courses that has groups of student’s research and develop a new food product. Judges remarked that some of the products present this year were nearly ready for commercialization. Narvaez who began teaching the course last year and coincidentally has a background in veterinarian medicine
For Sale: One Auction Mart
The Grunthal Auction Market is pursuing the option of becoming a co-operative. Buyers and sellers could soon become owners.
By Les Kletke If you have ever thought about being an owner of an Auction Mart now is your chance. The intent for the sale is for the Grunthal Livestock Auction Mart to convert to a co-op. Robert Krentz is a long time principal owner of the facility and he said that conversion of the facility to a co-op could help it reach its full potential. “Co-ops have been successful in southern Manitoba,” he said. “Many of the communities in the southeast have seen this success from fuel stations to lumber yards. This would be another opportunity.” A meeting will be held on April 6 at 7 pm at the facility to discuss the option of conversion to a co-op. Krentz said that discussions have been underway with provincial officials for a considerable time but this would be the time for potential members to see how the new form of ownership could work. He suggests that shares could be sold for $5,000 each with no cap on the number of shares and then dividends would be paid on profits earned at the facility. “If cattle producers have a share in the facility they will be more like to sell or buy at the facility because they know they are earning dividends on the transactions,” said Krentz. He noted that this is similar to the steps that a number of the other facilities around the province have taken. If Grunthal makes the conversion that would leave Winnipeg as the only private auction mart left in the province. While the facility is designed to, hold cattle sales it would not be restricted to just cattle sales. “It could be used for any type of sale,” he said. “It could be used for farm auctions or even develop its own consignment sale.” As a private business, the exact number of cattle being marketed annually or the profits earned is not available to the public but that might be made public at the event on April 6. The Auction mart was to have an official appraisal conducted March 27 to establish a value and then it will be up to the Board of Directors of the new venture to make an official offer to the current owners. Krentz said that there are certain advantages to the operating as a co-op such as liability. “If it is a co-op shareholders could deal with a Credit Union and not have to sign personal guarantees for loans which is the case now,” he said. His projection is that even a 100 members at a share value of $5,000 would put the operation on solid financial ground.
would like to see the products include some meat. “Addition of meat to the potential products would also add to the expense,” she said. “We are aware of that and the university currently supplies the products involved and covers the cost but we think there is the possibility of expanding to meat for next year.” She said the course is intended to bring together what students have learned in their 4 years of study in Food Sci-
ence. “They start by brainstorming a product and then we want them to research a market and see if the product is viable, then they develop the product and see if it can be produced commercially,” said Narvaez. Students are strongly encouraged to look at developing a product that uses local input and is a healthy food product. The third criteria is trends in food marketing. Students have to research if the
food is something the market is looking for. “We have some foreign students who are aware of products in their market that are missing in the Canadian market, so they think about developing something along those lines,” she said. “We had a few products like that this year.” “The course is intended to pull together what the students have learned but also to reflect the Manitoba market and hopefully an event like
this will give them exposure to the processing industry in the province,” she said. “We want them to utilize what they have learned but also to use their critical thinking skills,” she said. “We also want to provide them with the basics of what is produced in Manitoba so they are prepared for the industry here. That is why including meat in their materials would be a great benefit, but we know it comes with extra challenges.”
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Flying Drones for a Living By Harry Siemens M3 Aerial Productions is an aerial imaging service provider that uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or “drones” to take some amazing shots from high up in the sky. “We use fixed wing and multi-rotor UAVs such as the AgEagle RX60, eBee Ag, DJI Inspire 1, and DJI Phantom series equipped with high resolution cameras, and/or calibrated remote sensors to gather our imagery/data,” said owner and schoolteacher Matthew Johnson. Johnson bought a DJI Phantom 3 Professional, put a few ads on Kijiji to test the market and received many responses asking if he had an SFOC, a Special Flight Operations Certificate that tells a person how and where he may fly the drone. One day, in mid-September 2016, he received an email response to one of his ads that involved filming several rural farmsteads and cottages. “From that moment, a dream became a reality,” he said excitedly. “I was able to get insurance within one day, I registered my business ‘M3 Aerial Productions’ the
next day, and since all of the jobs were to take place in remote areas which fell under the regulations of the blanket SFOC exemption from Transport Canada, I was able to get to work within days.” He recalled how he was able to rather quickly pay off his drone, insurance, and equipment. “I started intensively researching the use of UAV in the agriculture industry, and momentum has been building rapidly. I now have several UAV in my fleet! I will be working with local agronomists in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, providing NDVI [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index] and IRT [Infrared Thermal] imagery used in precision agriculture,” said Johnson. In an interview, update he said that the business has expanded into teaching. “Well, my company, M3 Aerial Productions started off last year strictly as a service provider for aerial imagery using drones. We branched out in November. We started offering a pilot ground school training course,” he said. “As of December 2016, there’s been some new regulations that have come through and made it so that
all UAV pilots and their vehicles require training through a registered ground school course with Transport Canada. I guess that’s kind of, where our focus is in the off-season. We’re still going to be flying during the season coming up but we’re getting lots of interest in the course right now.” When asked about the ground school curriculum he said, “Well, there is no actual flight. We’re not teaching the actual ... like the physical flying skills. That’s a supplementary course. What Transport Canada requires is training in the theoretical knowledge aspects of how to read aeronautical charts and how to understand the classifications of airspace, and how to understand meteorological conditions and stuff like that. We cover much more than the basics of what they require. What our ground school is basically is just a knowledge factory so we can help people understand the regulations and what they need to know before they get out there and start flying.” After taking the ground school course would be drone pilots can fly. “Yes! There’s two classifications of opera-
tors. There’s a recreational and then there is a commercial operator. If you have a drone, and you’re flying recreationally, there’s just certain areas that you’re not allowed to fly in but there’s a lot less regulation. People don’t necessarily realize that there’s still regulations for flying recreationally,” said Johnson. However, as soon as the drone flyer starts to attain economic benefit, Transport Canada states that any benefit beyond the pure enjoyment of flying is considered a commercial operation. “Anybody who’s using it on the farm for crop scouting or anybody who just wants to go out and take pictures of friends cottages, so they can sell them or whatever, that kind of thing, that’s all commercial operations,” he said. “In order to mitigate risk, Transport Canada says that everybody has to take that course.” The course he teaches costs $550 and that includes all the materials, lunch on both days. For more information on his drone pilot training program, visit the website m3aerial.com.
New regulations for all commercial UAV pilots and their vehicles requires training through a registered ground school course with Transport Canada.
One of Matthew Johnson’s drones working the field.
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March 31, 2017
Raging Blizzard Doesn’t Stop Buyers Bidding On Mar Mac Cattle
Cattle huddle for shelter from the three-day blizzard in Western Manitoba.
By Joan Airey After three days of a raging blizzard in Manitoba that closed almost all roads, Mar Mac Farms decided they had to go ahead with their sale on March 8. The sale was a success so it proves that Manitoba cattleman can overcome any obstacle. “The historic blizzard threw a wrench in all our plans of displaying one of very best set bulls, hosting our annual delicious roast beef lunch and the fellowship of visiting with
our valued customers. The decision was made to go ahead with a video online sale at 3 pm that day and many customers on the phones. With the bulls all being videoed earlier in the year, the online sale worked extremely well with the buyers able to view the videos and hear the auction,” said Lois McRae, one of the owners of Mar Mac Farms. “DLMS had over 450 people online that day viewing the Mar Mac Sale and thirty bidders on the phone.
Over half of the bulls sold over the internet and eighty of the buyers that day were repeat buyers.” MAR MAC Farms and Guests Bull Sale reports that the Red Angus Bulls averaged $5,777. The top Selling Red Angus Bull was Lot 1 - Red Mar Mac Top Secret 28D, son of Red Chopper K Capacity 308B sold for $15,500 to Lone Stone Farm, Westlock, Alberta. The Black Angus Bulls averaged $5,119 and the top sell-
Photo by Lois McRae
ing Black Angus was Lot 26 Mar Mac Ten Speed 86D, son of SAV Ten Speed selling for $ 10,000 to H+T Enterprise, Fox Valley, Saskatchewan. Simmental Bulls averaged $5,746 with top selling Simmental Bull - Lot 51 Mar Mac Dalton 68D, son of Mar Mac Johnny Cash and sold for $9,000 to William Seymour, Saskatchewan. Bred Commercial Females averaged $1,912 and Open Commercial Females averaged $1,280.
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No Predictions about Crop Conditions Under the Ice Rinks By Les Kletke Gary Recksiedler would like to see spring come a little quicker but he has no concerns about seeding plans at this time. By late March, Recksiedler who farms at Beausejour is still on track with his original seeding plans for the 4,000 acres he farms with his brother Ken. They plan to expand the 1,500 acres of soybeans they had last year and some of those acres will come at the expense of wheat acres. Recksiedler said the crop has earned its place and while it does not always produce a bumper crop it does handle most stress better than other crops maintaining a good yield even after some challenging conditions. He laughed and said he does not want to talk about his perennial ryegrass. “We are not even going to mention that because I don’t want to jinx it,” he commented. Like other fall seed crops, perennial ryegrass can be affected by warm weather and ice forming over the crop. Warm spells in January did melt some of the snow but the feeling near Beausejour is that it was not enough to damage to the crop. For him it is a wait and see situation. “We would seed everything else before we did anything to the rye grass, so we are a long way from making a decision on that,” he said. Recksiedler continued with
a practical comparison about when they actually made an ice rink in the yard. “Remember when we used to make skating rinks in our yards?” he asked. “Some years you would lose the grass underneath it and other years it had no impact, yet it was an area covered by ice all winter.” He is right and while no research has been done on the phenomena of ice rinks, impacting lawns there is no definitive answer for what temperatures or degree of ice coverage will cause damage to a crop. The condition of a dormant crop in the fall and the growing conditions the next spring are thought to be prime factors but it is a far from science. It is indeed a wait and see situation. Recksiedler is not concerned about a late spring yet either. “But if this was a month later, it would be a bigger issue,” he said. He acknowledged that most farms can seed their acreage in 2 weeks if pressed by the calendar. “The issue is changing from one crop to another and when you get a late spring you tend to go to the fields that will let you get on first and that can mean changing crops more times than if you get a spring that allows you to seed the cereals and them move to the canola and then beans.”
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Learning How to Apply Manure Nutrients in-Crop Adds Value
By Harry Siemens Doug Redekop, the President of Precision Pumping based in La Broquerie said livestock manure applicators have stepped up their attention to biosecurity in the wake of the arrival of PEDv in North America. Applicators are much more focused on ensuring their equipment does not give the virus the opportunity to move. In a recent interview Redekop also compared two distinct years 2016 and 2004, both wetter than normal seasons with 2016, wet over a longer period. “Well, I think the big thing is our willingness and ability to adopt new technologies. That has been critical to our success,” said Redekop. “And also recognizing that we don’t want to hire just anybody. We want to hire and foster only the best people.” There was a time when manure was mostly considered as a farm waste for fertilizing and over time, it has grown into a commodity. “It’s very critical. I know that the agenda on part of the integrators is
to gain value for the manure, and every year to try to do better than the year prior,” said Redekop who works hard at improving the value of that commodity. “It is happening, when I worked for Maple Leaf going back to the late 90s and early 2000s we were writing up deals for value added and how to gain monetary value for the manure. We set the stage back then. We haven’t really gained a lot of ground since then in value wise, but in education, the customer is buying into that value. Yes, absolutely, yes.” Redekop offered some ideas and forward-looking thought. “Well, I think the big thing in my mind, especially after coming through a wet year we need to be able to apply the nutrients when the crop needs it the most. That, in my mind is ultra critical to us going forward.” “We need to adopt equipment that will allow us to go in-crop to apply manure into standing crop. We’ve done it before, we need to grow that window of opportunity to spread manure in standing
crop,” he said. Redekop said his brother-inlaw commented one day, that without manure, he would not be growing corn. Look at the US Midwest, where he visited with a number of existing and new producers. Hog producers told him that the area was a manure manufacturing plant first. Redekop is excited about the hog industry going forward. “I see real opportunities. I watch the integrators identifying and cultivating new opportunities in new marketplaces, and I see that we need to restart the engine that we had going 12 years ago in order to help them satisfy their needs at the plant. Yes, I’m very excited about the industry going forward,” he said. Historically the method and equipment used to integrate manure into the ground was archaic. “One thing I think that’s helped a lot is we’re now adopting new methods of mixing and agitation. Mobile agitators and lagoons have certainly helped us deliver a more consistent product to the field. I’m also extremely
excited about John Deere, they have a new near Infrared technology sensor that they’re implementing in Europe that I’m certain is going to be here sometime in the near future. This new technology will allow us to see the value of manure as it’s passing through the line. That’s available in Europe right now already as we speak,” he said. “We talk about using either manure separation either in a non-mechanical or mechanical form to isolate phosphorus and be able to haul those nutrients a distance so we can manage those better,” said Redekop. “I think that’s definitely an interesting thing going forward. But also, we’re talking about applying manure in crop, whether it is wheat, or corn, or soybeans where we can actually apply the nutrient in a row as the crop needs it.” Redekop said research shows how for every bushel of yield the crop needs about 1.15 pounds of nitrogen and when it is applied when the crop really needs it, that this could cut input costs by about 30 per cent.
Adopting new methods of mixing, mobile agitators and lagoons has helped Doug Redekop deliver a more consistent product to the field. Pictures from Scott Dick of Agra-Gold Consulting
A manure applicator with longer hose.
Flood Threat Lessens But Fieldwork Still Seems Several Weeks Away By Elmer Heinrichs Spring has arrived, the clocks have been set forward, and farmers are gearing up, but it is still anyone’s guess as to when actual fieldwork might get underway. Spring-like temperatures continued for much of the Prairies during the last weekend of winter, as highs on one Sunday rose to +10 °C around Dauphin, +5 °C at Brandon and +4 °C at Boissevain. One of the snowiest winters on record combined with an early thaw has saturated soil and primed areas along the Red River, lower Assiniboine River, Souris River and Roseau River for flooding. However, Manitoba’s latest flood outlook on March 24 says risk of overland flooding is slightly reduced since the February outlook. But Levels of spring flooding continue to be dependent
on future weather conditions, said Infrastructure Minister Blaine Pederson. The US National Weather Service seems to agree saying a gentle easing into spring temperatures has reduced the threat of a major snowmelt flood in the Red River Valley. The Pembina River meandering along the International border has yet to see much runoff, and remains at high to moderate flood risk. The level of future snowfall and/or rainfall, the timing and speed of snowmelt and the runoff are all key factors affecting potential flooding. A concern for farmers in Central and Eastern regions as well as over most of Manitoba and western Canada is that soils are wet, and they may get off to a late start. It is obviously not an early April start for farmers, and weather will be the major factor in determining whether farmers will be out in the fields later in the month.
Calving Just About Done, Now Getting Ready for Planting By Les Kletke Danny Rooke made the decision to get into corn and soybeans and once he decided that the crops would work in his rotation he wanted to do it right. “We decided we are going to grow the crops and proper planting is the key to getting the crops going,” he said. “We did not want to start with solid seeding and then move to a row crop system. So we bought a precision planter and will do some custom planting to justify the machine.” The machine is a 40 ft. Case planter that has the capacity to plant at 15 and 30 inch row spacing. Rooke has also added an employee to the farm and his role will be to concentrate on the planting and custom work. “We are going to have about 300 aces of grain corn and are looking to add about 4 - 5,000 acres of custom planting,”
he said. “We have about half of that booked as of the end of March.” He has decided to work with farmers who are beginning the foray in to beans or corn and seed dealers. “We are trying to fit the round pegs in the round holes,” he said. “Dealers have the knowledge and the agronomy package, so we are working with them.” Rooke who calves out 240 cows has no plans to change the feeding system to corn silage; his intent is to produce grain corn. “We are very happy with the plastic wrapped silage we produce and if anything we need to have more low quality roughage to feed with it,” he said. “So we will stay with that system because we have the infrastructure to deliver it to the animals.” By the end of March he was 3/4through calving and said the year had gone well, despite the challenging weather. “We did have a blizzard but we Continued page 23...
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Beware of the Curse of Grain Bloat in Self-Fed Cattle By Peter Vitti Self-feeders are both a blessing and a curse. A handful of self-feeders make life a lot easier by auguring in tonnes of creep or grower ration into each one for growing beef cattle. They can also be a curse when a few cattle become victims of grain bloat. Since, nobody wants to lose animals to grain bloat, people that raise cattle on high-grain diets and feed them in this way, learn to take necessary precautions. Such safe measures pay for it almost immediately; it’s a low-cost way of feeding cattle, which in turn helps generate optimum revenue. In contrast, I know of two extreme cases of grain bloat, where cattle in Saskatchewan were fed high-grain diets in self-feeders and as a result, in each case, a few bloated animals died. In the first case, the producer backgrounded a couple of hundred 5-cwt steers to 900 lbs using a series of old wooden self-feeders. His regular diet was hammered 50:50 oats-barley, a medium level protein supplement with a bit of chopped straw. Bales of free-choice alfalfa-grass hay were provided in addition to the concentrate ration in the self-feeder. The small hammer-mill to his own admission was old and created a lot of grain fines, which he had planned to replace. Unfortunately, it should have been replaced a long time ago, because this year, it literarily was a “dust” making machine. After a few days of feeding this diet to a group of cattle, this producer drove down to his small feedlot one morning and found half dozen animals bloated and a couple animals had died, overnight. In the second case, the producer was feeding a group of 50 replacement heifers by using a mobile metal self-feeder. For weeks, over the winter, the producer was cleaning out grain bins and wanted to use
From Calving to Seeding Continued from page 22...
were able to prepare enough buildings and get bedding down to house all the calves,” he said. “The cows were not as lucky and had to be outside, but we made it through with some extra work.” He is pleased with the offspring of a bull he bought last
up its last bushels. I understand that this grain had a lot of chaff and was musty, but the producer thought it was still viable to feed it to cattle. On the unfortunate day, the hired-man made up the heifer ration as usual: rolled barley, a few 25-kg bags of protein supplement, plus some chopped grass (bales of the same grass hay were provided separately). However, he ran out of chopped hay about halfway through, so that week’s diet was almost all grain. As a result of this major diet change, low-forage diet and questionable grain quality within a day or so, three animals had distended left-sides and one animal died. Other animals looked like they had a hard time breathing. Both producers chalked up their sick and dead cattle as a lesson learned. However, the first producer had his veterinarian examine some of the survivors and it was confirmed to be frothy grain or feedlot-bloat. Such frothy bloat in cattle is often caused by a sudden increase in the consumption and subsequent digestion of large amounts of readily available grain-starch by the rumen microbes. This starch digestion is so rapid that fermentation gases are unnaturally mixed with rumen fluid into a mass of slimy green foam (slime produced by specific types of rumen bacteria). It makes otherwise normal gas release from the rumen very slow, which causes the animals to bloat. Primarily, because gases are trapped inside small emulsified bubbles and also because this gaseous foam interferes with the rumen nerve-receptors that open up the cattle’s oesophagus for normal gas expulsion. Treatment varies, but it has been my experience that producers have had only limited success with methods of infusing mineral oil and other anti-foam agents in order to relief frothy bloat in sick cattle. I believe that awareness and prevention are the real keys
to avoiding sometimes-fatal grain bloat in self-fed beef cattle. Here are some respective precautions: 1. Provide at least 10 - 15% forage in your self-fed beef diets. - I realize that mixing chopped forage with grain ration isn’t particularly practical and separation is a big problem. However, it is warranted. 2. Feed palatable free-choice forage. - Self-fed grain is usually the preferred choice versus free-choice forage by cattle. However, I have found that high quality grass and straw attracts and fills up cattle, which balances out their entire diet. 3. Avoid significant diet changes. - Keep a good inventory of forages, grain and other feeds. Whether cattle are self- or bunk-fed, it’s never a good idea to make forced feed changes in a short period of time. 4. Avoid feeding “too fine” grain. - One of the biggest culprits of grain-bloat in selffed cattle. If grain particle size is too fine, it creates a readily available surface area for starch digestion. I recommend that barley kernels be hammered into quarters for optimum rumen digestion. 5. Manage your self-feeders I am an advocate of the grain self-feeders that have adjustable panels to limit grain filling the trough. The opening can be narrowed or widen depending on how much grain ration that cattle should be eating. 6. Avoid adding feed additives to control bloat. - Adding monensin sodium to reduce bloat in cattle is not recognized by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Most of these suggestions are just common sense when feeding and managing cattle on self-fed grain-containing diets. While its risk of grain bloat cannot be entirely eliminated, I believe each of these points promote good rumen digestion and thus deflates grain bloat’s curse.
year and used on his second calf cows. “We bought a Ribeye bull and he has given us some good calves that will fit into the purebred herd.” Rooke uses a Simmental bull on his heifers because of ease of calving and calves with good confirmation. Those calves go into the commercial feedlot. “We find it important to get a
healthy calf the first time, that animal still matures in the next year and that is when we select bulls that will give us the purebred animals we want,” said Rooke. “We see a real difference in the first and second calves. So we really concentrate on just getting a healthy calf that first time and bringing that first time calver along.”
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Strengthening Grain Safety Practices in Canada
Oat Bar Wins Manitoba Food Fight
The Federal government recently announced up to $375,000 for the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) to implement the new Grain Safety Program, which aims to educate Canadians and reduce injuries and deaths due to grain handling in Canada. The funding will enable CASA to bring attention to grain safety, through training modules, demonstrations and public awareness. Program activities will include a mobile grain safety demonstration and training unit, an interactive trade show display, table top displays for youth ages 8 to 12, on-site training for grain producers, and rescue training for volun-
By Les Kletke It has become a regular part of Agriculture Comes to the City, an event intended to raise awareness of food production in our province to an urban audience but the Manitoba Food Fight is much more than that to the participants. For the nine groups of students who developed a new food product at the University of Manitoba it is the culmination of a year’s work and calls on all of the skills they have learned in their 4 years in the program. The students deliver a short presentation on the product they have researched and developed and offer samples to the judges. The three judges each with a different background ask questions on the viability of the new product. Dave Shambrock is with the Manitoba Food Processors Association and he said over the years that he has been judging the contest the products have become much more sophisticated. “Some
teer first responders. “CASA is committed to our vision of a Canada where no one is hurt farming. Grain safety awareness and training is essential in achieving this vision,” said Marcel Hacault, Executive Director of CASA. “We welcome the support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada along with the support of our industry sponsors in helping make to BeGrainSafe a success.” Canada’s agricultural industry is one of the top three most hazardous industries in which to work. On average, 84 Canadians are killed each year in agriculture related incidents.
are very close to commercialization,” said Shambrock, “They include packaging and while they are not quite ready for retail they are getting close. There might be some things that have to be included in packaging that the students are not aware of.” Shambrock said that while none of the products from the competition has made it to grocery shelves yet the ideas are not farfetched. “We are seeing a greater acceptance of local products in grocery stores today than we did a decade ago,” he said. “It is possible that a product could make that leap.” He said Manitoba holds its own on new product development and is well recognized on the national scene. The winner of this year’s competition was an Oat Bar that included gluten free oats, butter and brown sugar. It was develop by Kyra O’Keeffe, Zhaoxi Chen, Li Yang and Xiang Li. Another one of the prod-
Students present the case for their food product to the public and a panel of judges, Dave Shambrock of Manitoba Food Processors, Judy Wilson of Asper School of Business, and Doug Spiers of the Winnipeg Free Press.
ucts was a Rose Apple Pie, which true to its name featured the pie in the shape of a rose flower. Along with apples, it included carrots. A Red Protein Burger used pea protein and red beans as well as carrots and onions. Students in the completion were encouraged to use products grown in Manitoba and while there has been no products containing meat in the competition, plans are
underway to include meat as one of the ingredients supplied to the students. The cost of the ingredients for the competition is covered by the University of Manitoba. Shambrock said the competition not only showcases the products, it highlights the unique skills of each student and helps make the processing industry aware of the people that are coming into the work force.
Outlook Sees More Wheat, Oats, and Soybeans Along with a Wet Spring By Elmer Heinrichs Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, (AAFC) in its latest 2017 crop outlook, forecasts the area seeded to field crops in Canada will increase marginally from last year, but that production will decrease from 91.7 metric tonnes (Mt) to 87.6 Mt in 2017-18. In the March outlook the area seeded to wheat in Canada will increase by 3 per cent as a 5 per cent increase in spring
wheat area more-than offsets a 12 per cent decrease in area seeded to winter wheat. The area seeded to durum wheat, largely grown in Saskatchewan and Alberta, is expected to decrease by 20 per cent. Seeded corn area is forecast to decrease by 2 per cent despite forecasted lower eastern Canadian winter wheat area, given strong competition from other cropping choices, especially soybeans.
For the big three worldgrain commodities corn, soybeans and wheat there are ample old crop and there’s not much to suggest that there will be a significant reduction for 2017-18. The area seeded to oats is forecast to increase by 7 per cent from last year due to stronger than expected US futures levels, which has contributed to very competitive new crop pricing against
other cropping choices. For the Canadian Prairies there are early concerns for the main oat-producing region, eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Although it is early, wet fall soil conditions and deep snow cover may cause flooding and wet seeding conditions both of which could limit oat area seeded this spring. Seeded area to canola is forecast to rise by 3 per cent to 8.5 million hectares (Mha), as returns remain attractive compared to other field crops. Production is forecast to rise marginally to 18.5 Mt, just short of the record 18.6 Mt set in 2013-14. Off-farm movement of canola has been brisk and this reaffirms the strong world demand for canola and canola products as well as farmers’ willingness to sell the crop. Planted soybean area is expected to rise 8 per cent to a record 2.4 Mha, due to relatively attractive returns compared to alternate crops. Production is forecast to rise to a record 6.8 Mt as average yields decline to the five-year average. Soybean prices are forecast to fall to $435 to $475 tonne as pressure from lower US prices is mostly offset by the weakness of the Cdn dollar against the US dollar.
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Taking a Virtual Trip to the Farm By Les Kletke In the 1970s Jim Stafford had a hit with a country song that contained the line, “Take a trip and never leave the farm,” well now the Manitoba Beef Producers are allowing people to visit the farm without taking a trip. New technology unveiled at Agriculture in City allows individuals to don the virtual reality goggles and have the experience of visiting a cow-
Vernon Griner tries the virtual reality glasses at the Manitoba Beef Producers booth during Agriculture in the City. The goggles allow him to visit a ranch in virtual reality.
herd. The experience is so real it had people watch their step to avoid an accident while wearing the goggles. Chad Saxon is with the Beef Producers Association and he said that the original ranch visit came about through the work of the Saskatchewan producers. “It is very expensive to produce this kind of video,” he said. “Because the filming has to be done by a camera that shoots 360 degrees.” The video was produced in Saskatchewan and unveiled at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina in November. “We have a copy of the video and the head set on display here and the response has been fantastic,” said Saxon. The association hopes to buy more of the sets and use it to provide people with an on farm visit to experience firsthand what visiting a cowherd is like. Already the plan is to incorporate the technology into events like the one at the
Forks or the Royal Winter Fair to give people the experience of visiting the farm without having to do it. “We would hope that long term we could expand the library of videos that people can experience and include different events through the year like calving,” said Saxon. Vernon Griner of Winnipeg was one of the visitors that took the virtual trip. He and his brothers had the day off school. “It is pretty cool,” he said while removing the headset and not nearly as overwhelmed by the experience as some older visitors were by the technology. “It was like you were in the middle of the cows and they were coming to you to be fed. Vernon’s mother said that she makes it a point to take her sons to events like Ag in the City to gain an understanding of where their food comes from. “We stayed on a dairy farm in Ontario during one of our family vacations, so the boys could see where milk comes from and what is involved,” she said.
Field Research Trims Seed Expenses By Les Kletke David Otto is one of 8 farmers the Agri Post will be following through the 2017 growing season and in the January issue where he was introduced we said that he farms with his son Sam and brother Mark. We wrongly said Mark had purchased a Highboy sprayer to do custom work; in fact, it is Sam that bought the sprayer and is hoping to build equity in the farm with the additional income. Our apologies for the error. Otto said getting ready for planting this year is coming slowly and the cool weather in the latter half of March meant more ice on his yard than in the past couple of years. “The ditches were running at one point but have all frozen up again and we have more ice on the yard than we have for a while. That has slowed things around the yard,” said Otto.
He has some concern about 140 acres of winter wheat that he planted last fall and how it will come through the freeze and thaw of this winter. “We should be all right because it is on well drained ground but when you get a thaw in winter and it ices over, that is always a concern for fall seeded crops. We might have some losses in the ditches but the field doesn’t have any low spots. So I am hoping we are all right.” When asked if he chose the field with that in mind he said, “No, we fallow winter wheat on canola stubble and that is just the way things worked out.” Otto participated in the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Grower Association on farm trials last year and results showed that fields that had a history of growing the crop in recent years did not benefit from seed inoculation. This year he plans
to cut back on inoculants. “Our fields have a history of soybeans so we won’t be using inoculants on our fields,” he said. “We do have some rented land that has not seen soybeans as often so we will still use it there.” The test also showed that in some cases the treated seed with a fungicide resulted in lower yields. “There is some question about that but I’m thinking the seed might have been damaged by the extra handling and that resulted in a poor stand,” said Otto. “We won’t be eliminating fungicide quiet yet.” At the end of March, he has seed and fertilizer on farm for his other crops but picks up his bean seed as needed. “The dealers are equipped with facilities to treat the seed as you need it and it also reduces the amount the seed is handled so we pick up our bean seed as needed,” he added.
Fort Whyte Alive Introduces Youth to Agriculture
By Les Kletke
Kathryn MacKenzie wants to give more young people a chance to know where their food comes from and along the way, she would like to give them a summer job and prepare them for the job market later in life. MacKenzie is involved with the Fort Whyte Alive a program that gives inner city youth an opportunity to work on the Shared Agriculture Farm gaining work experience while learning about the source of their food. The former vocational horticulture teacher said the program works with youth that might not have an opportunity for a summer job. It gives them experience in the vegetable operation as well as a small honey operation at Fort Whyte.
Katheryn MacKenzie of Fort Whyte explains the Shared Agriculture program to a visitor at the Forks during Agriculture in the City.
“These are kids from 16 - 18 that might be considered at risk and we give them the chance to work on the farm in the summer,” she explained. The program starts much earlier with school visits through the school year. “We start in September and they make weekly visits to Fort Whyte to understand what is going on,” she said. “We raise some pigs and some chickens and some rabbits that help pay for the cost of the program.” There is also funding from some private sources. MacKenzie has been with the program for a year but has been familiar with it from its beginnings in 2005 and has been bringing students to the farm since the early days. “Some of the students find they like working in the garden and actually decide to pursue a career in agriculture. This gives them the introduction.” The Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) programs
provide participants with a basket of vegetables from the farms garden and the contents vary depending on the season. “It not only teaches the kids about working in the garden it educates participants about seasonality, something that is lost with much of our food today,” said Mackenzie. The program runs for 17 weeks through the summer beginning with the harvest of the first vegetables. MacKenzie who was operating a display at the Forks during Agriculture in the City said that various CSA’s offer different products. “There are some that provide baskets of meat,” she said. “There are some that allow participants to buy a whole or a half basket and that can mean a delivery every second week or just half of the regular basket of produce.” Most CSAs offer delivery to a central point in Winnipeg while others have home delivery.
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A False Solution to Economic and Political Woes Says NFU Since Donald Trump took office as President of the United States, a shocking list of executive orders is making people around the world uneasy about unpredictable days ahead. Democracy and civil liberties are in peril. It is reasonable for Canadian and European officials to respond with concern to Trump’s aberrations. But it appears that, fearing the
uncertainty, they have rushed to ratify Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The deal offers the language of prosperity and progress, but in reality, accelerates income inequality and grassroots unrest. Both Canadian and European politicians fail to understand that decades of free trade-like policies have de-
prived too many US citizens of their economic sustenance and thereby helped to elect Donald Trump. The rise of the extreme right in Europe (as well as in Canada) is also fueled by the hollowing out of the rural economy, disenfranchising the people and communities that depend upon it. CETA is a Trojan Horse that, once in effect, will further quash social, economic and environmental protection in exchange for the enrichment of offshore investors. The European Union has ratified most of CETA’s text,
but individual states must each ratify the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) measures of CETA. Many national governments now face a rapidly growing democratic movement that opposes the economic and social disempowerment of their communities that CETA entails. We can only hope that as country-bycountry European opposition grows it will be a common sense analysis and not the fear-based extreme right that prevails. We now depend on the politicians in EU member state Parliaments to realize that
By Jan Slomp
democracy and quality of life will be further endangered if they ratify CETA’s ISDS measures. Farmers in Europe understand that CETA is another threat to their livelihood. In Canada, some farmers will see immediate income pressures as CETA comes into effect; others will find out over time that their newly offered
“market opportunity” really means producing and selling a bit more, but for a lower price. Signing CETA raises false expectations, and in the end, it will only exacerbate income disparity and disenfranchise people at the grassroots. Jan Slomp is President of the National Farmers Union.
Know a Detailed Account of Your Lactating Dairy Diet Costs Occasionally, I like to talk to dairy producers about the financial aspects of operating a dairy barn aside from dairy nutrition. Whomever I talk to, all dairy producers wish to reduce their lactating feed costs. One producer that I know wants to switch to a notorious cheap protein supplement, while another wants to hire a private dairy consultant and tender out all dairy feed purchases. Still, another dairy producer wants to buy a dairy micro premix and build his lactating cow diet from the ground up. In all three cases, each producer did not know a detailed account of their current lactation dairy diet costs. How much it costs to feed the average dairy lactating cows on a daily basis by itself, is not particularly helpful in reducing feed costs. Rather, a detailed spreadsheet listing each feed ingredient: forages, grains, protein feeds, added fats, mineral/vitamins premixes and feed additives, how much each is fed to a lactating cow and what each ingredient costs summarized to a bottom-line is valuable
financial information. By calculating daily feed costs for lactating dairy cows in this way, the dairy producer receives immediate payback as such: 1. The initial spreadsheet is a starting reference from which future diet costs can be derived and compared. 2. The cost of similar feed ingredients (re: different forages) can be compared. 3. Market cost changes of feed ingredients can be updated at any moment. 4. Formula and relevant feed costs can be updated, so that respective costs to feed a lactating cow can be estimated. 5. The value of specific feed ingredients can be justified added, increased, decreased or deleted. 6. Movement to another feeding regime can be financially examined. Besides, setting up a feed cost spreadsheet is simple! Within 20 minutes, I penciled out the cost of three lactation-feeding regimes, namely 1. Protein supplement, 2. Dairy premix and 3. Dairy micro premix for dairy diets: based upon a lactating
dairy herd of 160 DIM, 39 kg milk production, 4% milkfat and 3.3 % protein. Note the cost of each ingredient was based upon western Canadian regional feed prices. Upon review, my eye moves immediately to the bottom-line of each feeding regime or $6.80 to $7.65 per lactating cow, daily. From this point, I can make my first assessments of these three different diets. For example, this exercise parallels my own experience. I know a dairy producer (operates a 200-cow dairy) that wanted to shift away from his present dairy (macro) premix and move toward a dairy micro premix in order to save money on feed costs. Since, I am familiar with his facilities on the farm (age of mill, number of bins and other storage space), I advised against this move based on his own similar spreadsheet savings of about $0.14 per lactating head, daily or a monthly feed savings of about $840. Next, I can make more in-
depth observations concerning the use of specific feed ingredients. For instance, the use of palm fat and/or feed additives such as adding direct fed microbial (DFMs). In the above case, the cost of adding palm fat constitutes about 15% of this total dairy diet’s cost. Therefore, I recommend that dairy producers in their own situations give it a second look depending on where their current butterfat % stands. If their milkfat yield is already over 4 - 4.2% without adding palm fat, then to consider adding any palm fat might become an unnecessary increase in feed costs due to the “law of diminishing” returns”. Similarly, I budget 50 cents for formulating feed additives into the diet of high producing dairy cows, only on the consignment that they produce tangible results such as adding yeast to the lactation diet to help combat heat stress. Regardless, no dairy producer should compromise good milk production/milkfat yield in favour of solely reducing feed costs. I believe that dairy producers should use any feed ingredient that contributes to optimum milk production, but also realize that there are limits to the financial reward of any feed ingredient. Common sense must prevail that neither the most expensive nor the cheapest ration for high producing dairy cows is likely the most profitable.
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The Discovery of a Rust Resistant Wheat The McMurachy Outfit - Joseph McMurachy. a discoverer of a rust resistant wheat variety, threshes in the snow at Strathclair in 1911. The presence of sheaf wagons indicates that the crop is still stooked out in the field. A quick break for the photo and the crew will be back to threshing. The engine crew will be putting “snoose” to the engine shortly, as threshing in the snow would have been a cold, wet experience. The more quickly they were done, the better.
While digitizing photos in the Manitoba Agricultural Museum’s collection, it was noticed that there was a caption on one of the photos. The caption lettering is in white and is against the background of a snow covered stubble field so it does not stand out but it reads as “Joseph McMurachy threshing his 800 acre crop with his Case outfit Strathclair, Man. 1911.” The Museum then realized that Mr. McMurachy donated this engine to the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in the early 1960s. This makes the second photo that has surfaced of an engine in the Museum collection during the engine’s working life. The other photo the Museum has is of the Smallcombe Sims Hart Parr 30-60 gas tractor threshing in the early 1920s. The Case 25-75 steam engine in the photo was donated to the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in the early 1960s by Joseph McMurachy of McConnell, Manitoba. The McMurachy family was a Pioneer family in the McConnell area and Joseph McMurachy appears to have owned the engine since it was new. Joseph came to Shoal Lake, Manitoba at the age of four in 1882 with his family who moved to the area from York County, Ontario to take up a homestead. Joseph also became a farmer in the Shoal Lake area. He must have been relatively successful as he was able to purchase the Case 25-75 and associated implements. In 1914, he married Margaret Jane “Jennie” Delmage at Minnedosa. They had five children, Archibald, Allen Solomon David (1923-1944), Helen, Stanley and Lewis. The history is that in 1930, Joseph McMurachy found only three heads of rust-free wheat in his crop. The 1930 crop was badly affected by rust all across the Prairies. While binding a field of wheat, Joseph stopped the binder he was operating, to have lunch. While eating
lunch sitting on the binder, he noticed that three heads of wheat lying on the table were not affected by rust. Joseph decided the three heads should be saved for replanting and multiplication so he did just that. Using the heads as breeding stock, Joseph began to multiply the wheat in hopes of accumulating enough to seed a small field. Along the way, the wheat was subject to various disasters. Mice got into the matchbox the stock of kernels were kept in and ate all but three kernels. Several years later, when a bushel of this wheat had been accumulated, a horse got at the grain and ate most of it. In 1935, Mr. McMurachy supplied some of the rust resistant wheat seed to the Federal Department of Agriculture, the Brandon Experimental Farm and the Winnipeg Cereal Breeding Laboratory. By crossing this wheat with other wheat varieties, the rust resistant Selkirk variety of hard red spring wheat evolved. Selkirk was in wide usage from 1953 through the 1960s. In 1954, Joseph McMurachy received an award from the Canadian government for the contribution he had made to Canadian agriculture. Joseph McMurachy passed away at Hamiota, Manitoba on May 24, 1960. He was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame. The McMurachy steam engine is a J. I. Case 25-75 steam engine built in 1907. 25-75 refers to the horsepower as this engine developed 25 horsepower at the drawbar and 75 horsepower on the belt. This engine was capable of both plowing and driving belt powered machinery such as a threshing machine. From the gear train wear on the engine, it has seen hard work and probably broke many acres of Manitoba Prairie. In the late 1970s, age finally caught up with this veteran, the engine’s boiler
failed inspection and the engine was retired by the Museum. The engine was moved out to the main gate to the Museum to act as a gate guardian. In 2012, when an opportunity arose to place a Museum artefact on display in Brandon, this engine was chosen to go on display as Joseph McMurachy and the engine have historical significance to the Westman area. When Mr McMurachy donated his steam engine, he also donated the IHC binder on which he found the two heads of rust resistant wheat. Even more interestingly, this binder is a rare one as it is a right hand binder, that is, the table is on the operator’s right hand side when the operator is seated. All the other binders in the Museum collection are left hand binders. Just why IHC saw fit to produce a right hand binder is not known. Like all these old photos, there are a number of interesting details to be seen here. The crew is threshing in the snow. They have been doing so for a while as the wheels on the sheaf wagons and the water wagon have been replaced by sleigh bunks. For McMurachy to have this many sleigh bunks, he must have been accustomed to threshing in the snow. It may be that, he custom threshed and may have usually worked into early winter when snow was on the ground. One would think that the typical farmer would have finished threshing well before the snow flew and so would only need one set of sleigh bunks. The water wagon appears to have a U shaped tank made from wooden staves. It also looks like the tank itself served as the wagon frame. A democrat is in the centre of the shot and maybe the gentleman driving it is Joseph McMurachy himself. In celebration of Canada’s
150th birthday this year, the Manitoba Agricultural Museum has identified the top 150 artefacts in the collection. You can find this list in the Museum website, or visit the Museum to examine these artefacts and others in the collection and then give us your opinion as the top 150 artefacts! The staff and volunteers would love to see you in 2017! The Manitoba Agricultural Museum is open year round and operates a website at ag-museum.mb.ca providing visitors with information on the Museum and the Reunion including location and hours of operation.
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Cleanliness and Lab Testing Key to Raising Pigs Without Antibiotics
Garry Wollmann, barn manager at Clearwater Hutterite Colony near Balmoral, Manitoba spoke to participants at the Manitoba Swine Seminar on how they raise pigs without antibiotics and cut feed costs simultaneously.
By Harry Siemens Garry Wollmann is the barn manager at Clearwater Hutterite Colony near Balmoral, where they operate a 700-sow farrow to finish operation, producing up to 17,000 pigs, which go to HyLife at Neepawa. They have a liquid feeding system for their sows and finishing while the nursery uses wet dry feeders. In 2014, the colony remodelled the barn with new flooring, a new feeding system and feeders in addition to changing the penning to one big pen per room of 400 pigs. In October 2015, the colony began raising pigs without antibiotics under the Raised Without Antibiotics (RWA) program and began shipping RWA pigs in April 2016. Wollmann shared his story with fellow producers and industry representatives at the recent Manitoba Swine Seminar in Winnipeg. The barn manager said the reason the colony decided to go RWA was because of changes coming regarding, in-feed antibiotic goals, and wanted to wean their operation off of antibiotics as quickly as possible. He wanted to do so while those antibiotics were still available to them, should they have a problem. When the colony decided to move towards RWA, Wollmann’s first challenge was to rid the pigs of Ileitis breakouts. “At the time, we had antibiotics in-feed to try and control it, and we had a special prescription where we were going in at twice the levels already. We were still getting the break-out,” he said. “It was a very frus-
trating situation. Every time we made an adjustment and tweaked it, when we thought we had it fixed for a couple of months, we wouldn’t see anything.” After much testing, trial, and error with antibiotic levels, vaccines and different feed mixtures nothing solved their problem. Finally, it came right down to their drinking water and clean water lines. After cleaning out the water lines and using different vaccines, they finally had their first twoweek trial without any Ileitis breakouts. “Okay, now we’re brave enough after figuring this out, let’s pull out all the medication and make sure we vaccinate,” said Wollmann. “We vaccinated all the pigs and used no feed medications, and we have been successful with the ileitis. With that treatment it has controlled the ileitis for us.” This was a great way to move into the system raising pigs without antibiotics, RWA and with great benefits. “We’ve increased our carcass weight by four to five KGs per pig, brought our days to market down by three to four days at the same time, so our average daily gain has gone up by over 150 grams a day, and our feed conversions have improved,” said Wollmann. “To us it has been a win-win, where our performance is better, we’re shipping heavier pigs, younger pigs and our feed costs are actually less than what they were before.” Should the pigs have serious breakout of disease, he said, “They wouldn’t hesitate
to treat with antibiotics and do whatever the vet’s plan would be. Those pigs just wouldn’t qualify for RWA production until disease free and cleared of all the antibiotics out of their system, but go as regular market pigs.” The Clearwater Colony had another problem that of swollen joints in the pigs and this too came down to a lack of cleanliness on their ‘medical carts’. “If the doctor who did the procedure showed me his operating room, and it looked like this cart, would I have stayed in the hospital? And my answer was no. I would’ve run out of there as quickly as I could,” he said. “I told my fellow workers I will clean the cart for you once, and I expect you to maintain it in that condition.” It took him two hours of scrubbing to clean it. It is so clean now, and maintained in such a way that he wouldn’t be afraid of eating off that cart. After his presentation at the Manitoba Swine Seminar, some of the attendees commented on the arduous goal to people next to them that they would have quit halfway through getting there. “It took us three years to get here with trial and error and trying different things, and different ideas, but the main thing where we made the biggest headways is using the labs in Winnipeg, submitting some pigs to exactly identify what the issue was; not assuming what we think it is, and then going forward with a plan of action and tweaking it to get the results where we are today,” concluded Wollmann.
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