The Agri Post
Feed and Transportation Support for Livestock Producers and Not for Crops
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Does a 360 By Harry Siemens A breakthrough, occurred when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told farm broadcasters in Kansas City recently that regulations would not fix M-COOL as it now stands. In a question and answer period recorded and posted by Agwired.com, Vilsack opened up with this statement, “We’ve done a 360-degree look and I can tell you that we do not think there’s a regulatory fix that would allow us to be consistent with the law, which I’ve sworn to uphold, and to satisfy the WTO,” Vilsack said. Secretary Vilsack said that following the WTO ruling becoming public, his USDA team outlined the options that would exist between what the WTO says is unacceptable, and what the U.S. congress is directing them to do. “We have attempted on two occasions to walk that very difficult path. We’ve been true to the law, but the WTO on two occasions has indicated that while we can label, we can’t do it in such away that requires desegregation of livestock which in turn increases the burden on Canadian and Mexican livestock, which in turn the WTO has found to be unacceptable,” explained the Secretary of Agriculture. Either the U.S.’s Canadian and Mexican friends have to tell the U.S. more clearly and more specifically what if any variation will work for them, “Or congress has to give different directions that will allow us to comport with the WTO ruling to prevent whatever potential retaliation will occur now,” said Vilsack. While saying the U.S. still has the appeal rights, he has not asked his team to look at how strong the appeal might be.
November 28, 2014
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressing the annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters of America on Friday, November 14, admits there is no wiggle room between the U.S. Farm Bill and the WTO ruling on M-COOL. Picture courtesy of Agwired.com
“I’ve asked them if there is a way through with regulatory fix that will make this all go away,” Vilsack said. “They’ve come back and said we don’t think we can do that with the law as it exists and the WTO ruling as it exists.” “Maybe, just maybe, there is one Obama cabinet member who has some respect for the rule of law,” said Steve Dittmer, of the Agribusiness Freedom Foundation in the United States. Dittmer said the Farm Bill’s subsection (b) requires that a retailer of a covered commodity must inform consumers, at the final point of sale, and then there is an exemption for foodservice establishments. “I think he reads the text of the law compares it to the WTO rulings and concludes there is nothing he can do under the statute text,” he said. “That was our opinion from the very beginning but the USDA did not agree and have spent all this time trying to do the impossible.” Meanwhile, the legislation has cost the meat production chain in the U.S., Canada and Mexico hundreds of millions of dollars, some their companies and their jobs, added Dittmer.
Manitoba livestock producers facing the extraordinary costs of having to buy and move feed for the winter months following an extremely wet growing season will receive forage shortfall assistance, thanks to a new AgriRecovery initiative. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn have announced a new initiative to help affected livestock producers maintain their breeding herds over winter. “Beef producers play an important role in creating economic growth in Manitoba,” said Ritz. “This support, combined with that available through existing programs, will help producers with the extraordinary costs of accessing forage for their herds over the coming winter months.” The 2014 Canada-Manitoba Forage Shortfall and Transportation Assistance Initiative will provide assistance of up to $0.16 per tonne per loaded kilometre for the transportation of forage/feed and up to $0.08 per head per loaded kilometre for the transportation of breeding livestock and their unweaned calves to feed sources. For Lake Manitoba/Lake Winnipegosis regions, the forage purchase assistance is up to $50 per tonne. To ensure payments are targeted to those most affected, payments will be calculated based on individual need and receipts will be required to ensure producers have incurred eligible transportation and feed costs. “Manitoba farmers in many parts of the province have dealt with unprecedented wet weather and poor growing conditions this year,” said Kostyshyn. “Producers told us what was needed to ensure the health and sustainability of their herd over the winter
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Support continued... Continued from page 1 and this program is a comprehensive response. I know this program has been long-awaited and Premier Selinger and I are pleased we were able to confirm our ongoing support for producers affected by flooding and excess moisture, above and beyond the programs already in place. These new support measures will also help ensure the continued success of our local economy.” There are 460,000 beef cows on Manitoba farms, generating an estimated $620 million in farm cash receipts. Extreme weather conditions in May and June of 2014 resulted in significant forage shortages for livestock in Manitoba. As well, the downstream flows of the excess moisture created significant flooding on lands around the Lake Manitoba/Lake Winnipegosis regions that were relied upon to produce winter feed for breeding herds. It affected an estimated 75,000 acres of hay land and winter-feed production for about 330 farms. The AgriRecovery initiative will help replace the winter-feed requirements for the breeding herds. “We would like to thank the provincial and federal governments for recognizing the seriousness of this issue and coming forward with a plan that will be of great help to producers in the affected regions,” said Manitoba Beef Producers President Heinz Reimer. Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) sees this as good news and bad news on AgriRecovery flood assistance. “A vital component is missing from the Federal/Provincial announcement,” said KAP
“The announcement contains assistance for livestock producers through an AgriRecovery program, but there is absolutely nothing for flooded crop producers,” Vice-President Dan Mazier. “And it will create serious hardships for many farmers.” “The announcement contains assistance for livestock producers through an AgriRecovery program, but there is absolutely nothing for flooded crop producers,” Mazier said. “I toured the southwest region last summer and met crop producers who were anticipating they would be forced to leave the industry because of the ongoing wet cycle that has created devastation.” Mazier said he is pleased with the assistance offered to cattle producers, many of whom lost pasture and the ability to grow winter feed supplies, and are now in, “Dire straits.” However, he said he cannot understand the lack of recognition for the situation crop producers are in. Excess Moisture Insurance has failed to compensate them for their crop losses because a five per cent deductible is added on cumulatively every time a claim is made, he explained. Caught in the ongoing wet weather pattern, a farmer can reach a deductible of 30 per cent because of repeat
claims. Mazier has said the deductible, combined with reduced government funding for other farm risk management programs, means crop producers are not receiving the same recovery assistance this year as they did after the 2011 flood. “And now, their hopes have been dashed for assistance through an AgriRecovery program,” he said, noting that $108 million was provided in 2011 through AgriRecovery programs for crop producers affected by flooding, compared to zero in 2014. Mazier, along with KAP Vice-President Curtis McRae, did stress the assistance being given to cattle producers is welcome, especially at this point in time when the industry is in a position to grow. “Producers are in a position to increase their herds, and this simply wasn’t going to be a reality because a lack of feed would have forced them to sell,” said McRae, himself a cattle producer. “The transportation assistance announced will help producers move feed to cattle or cattle to feed, and the forage assistance will help those along Lake Manitoba purchase feed and that means they can hold onto their cattle.” Despite this assistance, however, KAP continues to press for 100-per-cent compensation on losses as a result of artificial flooding or the operation of a water-control structure. It will also continue to press for improvements to farm business, risk management programs that will make them more responsive to farm losses.
Economic Outlook: Stay the Course
David Richardson of RBC says that world economies are recovering slowly and he does not expect 2015 to be much different than this year. Photo by Les Kletke
By Les Kletke A Vice President of the RBC says that consumers can expect more of the same in the next year. David Richardson told the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors annual meeting that most factors indicate that little will change in the next 12 months. “The US is the largest economy in the world and it is recovering, however slowly,” said Richardson. “It is coming back but not spectacularly and not with the insatiable demand for consumer goods that it had before 2008. That is what we need to make the economy go and commodity prices rise.” He said that consumer confidence in the US is returning but at a slower rate than expected. Richardson did surprise the
audience with a graph that showed the debt of Canadian households. Household debt has continued to grow and is now, roughly equal to what American debt was in 2008 when the housing crash hit and the economy went through a correction. According to Statistics Canada in their second quarter report, total credit market debt that includes consumer credit, mortgage, and nonmortgage loans increased by 1.3%, outpacing the growth in disposable income. Consequently household credit market debt compared to disposable income, edged up to 163.6% in the second quarter for 2014. “The European Union is recovering and stability is re-
turning as the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain) get their spending under control but countries like Spain have 20% unemployment and 50% unemployment among young people, those scars take a long time to heal,” said Richardson. He rates Japan as the next largest power and states that the economy there has not done much in the past 25 years so there is no reason to expect it to catch fire and drive a world economic boom in the next year. He sees China’s growth slowing from the 12-14% of the last decade to 6-8 % for the next year and continuing at that level. “Oil prices are continuing to drop and that will slow the development of many projects in North America,” said Richardson. “OPEC has decided to drop prices and make those projects unviable. They will continue to supply oil at current levels.” Richardson expects that commodity prices will stay level or drop in the New Year as the demand continues to slow, a trend he says could last for 2 or 3 years. He also expects the Canadian dollar to stay close to current levels, which are close to the long-term trend line. “For the last 40 years we have been in the range of 81 cents with a bit of variation either side, we will continue in that range,” he predicts. He hedged his bets when asked about interest rates for the next few years saying that his organization had not done a good job of predicting interest rates in the past, “But there is no reason to expect them to rise dramatically in the next 20 years.”
The Agri Post
Economist Analyzes Changes South of the Border
November 28, 2014
Congressional Action Urged to Avoid RRetaliatory etaliatory TTariffs ariffs By Harry Siemens
Steve Meyer of Paragon Economics said someone in Washington finally recognizes the M-COOL law was not as wise as some legislators first thought it would be. Photo by Harry Siemens
By Harry Siemens
said. “I think they will probably go through with In light of the United that appeal if nothing else it States Secretary of Agricul- will buy a little more time for ture Tom Vilsack realization congress to figure out what that there is more to the to do.” WTO ruling on M-COOL, He said it is not all bad. If after losing three times, the choice is doing someothers are becoming more thing stupid quick or doing vocal about what they told something smart a little later, the USDA at the beginning. he would rather have them Steve Meyer, President of do something smart a little Paragon Economics said in later. defence of Vilsack, that he is When asked if the PED charged with enforcing the virus is on the back burner law that the U.S. congress in the U.S., he said is not passed and argues the law aware of lessening vigicongress passed was not a lance. “We will know a very wise one. whole lot more three or four “They finally came to the weeks from now because of conclusion they may not be this cold snap and this able to write a rule that snow that hit the corn belt agrees with the law and the the last couple of weeks,” WTO which we’ve conMeyer said. “We already tended from the beginning,” had some finisher barns said Meyer. breaking with PEDv but no
“My guess is it will be the 11th hour before they take any action on it and I don’t know exactly what action they will take either,” “That means we have to change the law so congress will have to act to get us out of this pickle. If you can’t write a rule that satisfies the WTO and meets the letter of the law then you have to change the law which most of us who opposed the rule contended from the beginning as well.” He said the chances of that happening are probably better given the Republican majority in the Senate after January. “My guess is it will be the 11th hour before they take any action on it and I don’t know exactly what action they will take either,” Meyer
sow units so far as of November 20. There is lots of virus available and the conditions for tracking that around are much better than they were a month ago. We are right on the crest knowing what we are dealing with.” He thinks the industry is a little concerned seeing a jump in the number of cases in Oklahoma and Kansas over the last couple of weeks, but too early to tell what will happen in the corn belt. “Last year it turned cold on October 31 and in two weeks we had cases going up rapidly. This year it
turned cold two weeks later,” he said. The good thing is people are taking more precaution, hopefully tightening up their biosecurity protocols and treating their sow feed with certain products to combat the spread of the PEDv. “We are doing a lot of things this year that we didn’t know to do last year,” said Meyer. “That should help, but we don’t know that for a fact yet, we need to get into position to challenge that before we can figure that out completely.” Meyer also noted it was another month of lower beef and pork production. “We keep hearing that speculators are responsible for driving up beef and cattle prices,” he said. “But the reality is, this price action simply re?ects a dynamic whereby the U.S. and world consumers are clamouring for more beef while at the same time, beef production has declined for the last three years.” Meyer reported that a sharp drop in hog numbers compounded the drop in cattle slaughter. While overall pork production may not have declined as much, he said it is important to recognize how producers achieved the heavy carcass weights and the additional pork pounds. “Producers last spring and summer deliberately slowed down the ?ow of hogs to market in order to feed them to heavier weights, reducing weekly hog availability and forcing packers to pay up to secure supplies,” he added.
There appears to be some positive action for livestock producers in Canada and Mexico following the third decision from the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel’s ruling on M-COOL. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) in the United States is calling on Congress to bring M-COOL into compliance with its international trade obligations before the World Trade Organization grants Canada and Mexico the authority to impose retaliatory tariffs on products imported from the U.S. The WTO found changes made in May 2013, in response to Canadian and Mexican complaints on the labelling law discriminates against livestock produced in their countries, doesn’t comply with U.S. international trade obligations. The U.S. can appeal one more time before Canada and Mexico will have the authority to apply to impose retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of imported U.S. products. Dave Warner, the Director of Communications with the NPPC said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has failed in two attempts to bring the law into compliance and suggested it’s up to Congress to step in with a legislated fix. “Obviously we’d like this to happen as soon as possible and that’s because at some point I assume the Canadians and the Mexicans will ask the WTO for retaliatory tariffs,” said Warner. “So they will ask if they be allowed to put tariffs on U.S. products going into Canada and Mexico.” Warner explained he is aware that Canada has a preliminary list that includes beef and pork and many non-agricultural products. “For NPPC and I think for much of U.S. agriculture and quite frankly U.S. businesses the bottom line is that we must avoid trade retaliation from Canada and Mexico,” he said. “That would hurt U.S. jobs and hurt the U.S. economy and we don’t need that.” He further noted that it is not just the livestock sectors at risk it is the entire foodproducing sector in part because of the sheer volume of bad international public relations. He said while the original law offered U.S. packers some flexibility in the use of imported livestock, the revised law is even more restrictive so it came as no surprise when the WTO ruled it too is non-compliant. There are far more organizations that represent actual food producers in the U.S. that actually opposed the legislation in the first place knowing full well the livestock industry is North American in practical terms too. Warner went on to say the law is the law and when it became law, they urged their hog farmers to comply with it but the rule implementing the law is the problem. NPPC and many others in the agriculture community felt this rule was much more restrictive than the previous legislation.
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The Agri Post
November 28, 2014
Push Up a Diet of Stable DMI for Optimum Milk Production Getting lactating dairy cows to eat as much nutritious dry matter intake (DMI) as possible has been the unified voice among dairy specialists to get them to produce large amounts of milk. Dairy producers can benefit by striving to make up nutritious diets that high producing cows like to eat, optimize consistent everyday feed intake, exceptional rumen health and even push up a shovel-full of common sense into the cows’ feed bunk. One of the first things that producers might do before making any substantial improvements to their existing lactation diets in order to optimize DMI/increase milk production is to be particularly aware of the natural feed consumption laws of lactating dairy cows. Early high milk producing cows should consume about 3.5 – 4% of their bodyweight in DMI by 9 – 10 weeks after calving. This target sets the tone for the rest of the lactation cycle. For every extra kilo of DMI that a cow eats at peak milk production (re: accounting for the natural lag between maximum milk yield and maximum dry matter intake) yields an extra 2.0 – 2.5 kilos of milk per day until she is dried-off at 10 months post-partum. Furthermore, most large (600 – 700 kg) mature cows will consume about 22 – 27 kg of dry matter feed at peak feed intake. Smaller and growing first calf-heifers should eat about 20 - 25 kilos (dmi, basis). Regardless of such prime DMI targets, dairy cows will eat so much ‘As Fed’ feed, because natural moisture in plant material adds simple bulk to dairy diets. Large early lactation mature cows consume about 43 – 47 kilos of the feed, while younger and smaller cows often eat no more than 40 – 44 kilos of the same diet. Similarly, consistent everyday DMI/As Fed feed intake should be viewed as another important signal to dairy producers that rumen of each high producing dairy cow is working, efficiently. Unbalanced dairy diets, poor feed quality and rapid feed changes upset such sensitive feed fermenters and can quickly derail optimum feed intake. Dairy producers can manage good rumen function in their cows and therefore achieve optimum and consistent feed intake among their cows by applying the following dairy barn suggestions: - Feed high quality feed - Forage quality is the foundation of all good feeding programs. High quality forage supports higher and more consistent DMI due to their lower unusable fibre content and greater in-depth digestion by the microbes that provide essential nutrients for milk production. Avoid feeding mouldy or spoiled forage and grains. - Provide adequate “effective forage fibre” - The dairy diet should contain 28 to 32% NDF with 75% of this NDF coming from forages. Effective forage fibre promotes “cud chewing” in the herd to buffer the pH of the rumen and helps prevent detrimental acidosis. Rather than actually counting cud chewing cows, take a problematic view. If you have difficulty looking for cud-chewing cows, then not enough is being fed to be effective. - Formulate a palatable and rumen “friendly diet” – This point goes beyond feeding enough “effective forage fibre”. Feed a portion of the grain that has slower rates of starch digestion (corn versus barley) and avoid feeding excessive amounts of fats (including bypass fats). Make sure to limit feed the unpalatable feed ingredients such as blood meal. - Know DMI and ‘As Fed’ Intake – A weekly schedule of DMI and ‘As fed’ intake of the lactation herd, the moisture content of diet, and milk-fat bulk tests should be recorded. These are indicators of healthy rumens and underlie optimum dry matter intake/milk production. - Impose “common sense” bunk management – TMR should be delivered at the same time of the day and pushed up at least 3 – 4X daily. Dairy producers should not allow bunks to go empty or until all feed is eaten before, more fresh feed is provided. - Check your mixer wagon – Make sure that your feed mixer is working properly to deliver consistent TMR at every feeding. Although, mixing times vary for a number of reasons, most producers target 3 – 5 minutes to make a homogenous feed mix. - Perform daily barn-walk – It is important that average body condition of most lactation cows is around 3.0 – 3.5 (out of 5). Beware acidosis in the herd by watching for gaunt cows, those cows not chewing their cud, cows not going to the feed bunk, or nutritional lameness. Look at manure piles for an indication of consistent feed intake and digestibility. These recommendations are practical points in an all-inclusive action plan for optimal DMI and ‘As Fed’ intake of a well-balanced and mixed dairy diet consumed by good milk cows. Ideally, if they eat dairy diets with vigour every day, they should consume essential nutrients, remain healthy and fill the bulk tank with milk.
MB Agriculture Still King Manitoba’s thriving agrifood industry and welldiversified industrial mix are driving a 12% increase in the province’s exports this year, followed by a 7% increase in 2015, according to Export Development Canada’s (EDC) recent economic forecast. “The agri-food sector is by far the biggest player in Manitoba’s economy, so it is encouraging to see the solid growth numbers there,” said
EDC Chief Economist Peter Hall. “This could just be a down payment on future growth, though, as increasing demand for high-quality foodstuffs in emerging markets suggests robust growth well into the future.” The agri-food sector will see the most growth of all the province’s export sectors in 2014, with a lofty 17% increase. This is largely attributed to carry-over stock from 2013’s record bumper crop, when agricultural yields skyrocketed due to ideal weather conditions. These yields are expected to drop
back to normal levels in 2014. “Cattle and hog exports are also doing their part to bolster the sector, posting double-digit growth this year,” added Hall. “Strong international demand, lower feed costs and record pork prices are driving the industry. Increased meat exports to emerging markets like China, where an increasingly hungry middle class is growing by roughly Canada’s population every year, are also helping the sector along.”
Harvest About Average By Elmer Heinrichs Crop yields in Manitoba are generally at or slightly above 10-year average yields. However, lower than average yields were reported in some areas of the province, largely due extreme weather events in the growing season, affecting seeding date, stand establishment and crop development. The quality for a majority of crop types is average to slightly below. Cereal crops showed a decrease in quality due to poor weather conditions at harvest. Significant downgrading in winter wheat also resulted from high than normal levels of fusariuminfected kernels caused by fusarium head blight. The number of winter wheat acres seeded in fall 2014 is down significantly due to a delayed harvest and soil availability for seeding winter wheat. The report indicates that there is above average yields of spring wheat and general purpose-type winter wheat, due to fusarium head blight that affected yield and quality of the 2013 crop. Germination and stand establishment of winter wheat this fall is rated at good to excellent. Seeding in central regions did not start until mid- May, and was delayed longer than average. Some acres initially planned for soybeans were seeded to canola in order to meet crop insurance deadlines. Harvest was delayed due to later seeding and rains at the beginning of the season. The earliest harvested spring wheat, oats and barley were generally good quality. Harvest was a struggle due continued rain and poor conditions. Canola yields were excellent, benefiting from the extended flowering period due to cool temperatures in July. Yields were variable; averaging 40 - 50 bushels an acre and a majority is graded 1CAN. The soybean harvest is averaging 35 bushels an acre. Sunflowers yields are coming in at 1,600 - 2,000 pounds. The grain corn harvest has average yields in the 100 110 bushel range. Spring wheat yields are in the range of 60 - 80 bushels an acre. The quality has been impacted, with some downgrading. Oat yields are in the 100 bushel an acre range and higher.
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Everybody Should Move Another year is drawing to an end and the scurry to do the right things for the taxman is on. Should we buy more, or can we afford to sell even more without putting ourselves in a worse tax situation is always a concern at this time of year. Personally, I like the kind of year where I am able to offer clients and potential clients the opportunity to pay for anything they would like to do in 2015 this year. Yes, you can have next year’s projects in this year’s tax return. So far, it has not had the dramatic impact I hoped for but I do offer it, the idea is something that came from my farming days and how important tax avoidance is. During lunch at the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors’ talk at our table we turned to the subject on how important that decision is to farmers and often it influences choices that might not be the best business choice. Sure, we have gotten a lot better than the days when used machinery was appreciating because it made tax sense to buy something rather than give money to the government, but we are still not as good at business decisions as we could be. I learned a lot about decisions this year when the Kletke family moved. I learned that my wife was right, “Most of that stuff in the basement is yours, and you need to clean it up.” She was correct and when I got to sorting it, I wondered why I had brought a lot of that stuff home let alone saved that stuff. It also turned out that I was not the official archives of the Agri Post and did not need to save a copy of every issue from the time it began. My sorting process took much longer that I had planned and while I thought I was being ruthless with choices that increased the ‘to the garbage’ pile of items, some things did come to the new place to be stored in the garage until I had time to sort them. Now 6 months later I have not needed them and they are going to a different dump instead of me doing things properly in the first place. The old adage about treating farming like a business and it will provide a great lifestyle but if you treat it like a lifestyle, it is an awful business is true. Those who make business decisions based on business tend to do much better that those who let things clutter their mind and life. Sometimes paying the tax is not a bad thing, it means you made some money, and for most of us that is the reason that we are in business in the first place, so that is a good thing. My wish for you is the best of the season and that your decisions for 2015 put you in a position of high tax.
Manitoba Pork Chair Stepping Down Karl Kynoch, Chair of Manitoba Pork Council, at least until April will officially step down as chair. He has chaired the council during
some of the best and most difficult years of the hog industry in Manitoba. The industry still isn’t anything to write home about, especially here in Manitoba where government regs are stripping the industry of its potential when others are doing quite well thank you very much. If one was to sum up the hog industry in Manitoba in a cliché, it reminds one of someone trying to suck and blow at the same time. On one hand, hog farmers are coming out of deep holes caused by things not in their control. On the other hand, hog prices skyrocketed upwards; feed prices fell through the floor, which
should help them fill some of those deep holes and move forward with a vibrant industry. Not so fast though, because the infrastructure, the barns that Manitoba hog producers use go back to the 90s and the M a n i t o b a government’s moratorium banning anyone from increasing production by even one hog on their farm, doesn’t make for good investing, whether they are farmers, banks and anyone with money. Karl keeps doing a great job, taking the organization and the industry through the ups and downs and especially the deep downs of the last five to seven years. Yes, I know there are those who positioned themselves just right, had a thriving grain farm to help pay the hog losses. Kept the black holes from going too deep and those people today are making some good money. I visited with Karl last week as he looked back over the last 11 years as chair and another four years as a director and I
Axe the Tax
Penners Points
by Rolf After years of running deficits, our federal government is projecting not only a balanced budget and surpluses Penner on the horizon. Some are forecasting these to be signifirolfpenner@agripost.ca cant and long lasting. If that’s the case, what should be done with the extra money? The Fraser Institute has a wonderful idea: they recommend getting rid of the capital gains tax. It’s an idea that farmers and farm groups should support. Farmers spend a lifetime paying down the debt on their farms, not to mention all the operating costs, as well as income and property taxes. Upon retirement, we can expect a final kick in the teeth – a sizable chunk of hard-earned equity eaten away by the capital gains tax when the farm is sold to someone else. Yes, farmers receive a bit of an exemption and some special provisions when passing the farm on to family members. But to many it just feels wrong that after a lifetime of blood, sweat and tears, not to mention an incredible amount of risk, that the sum total of your life’s work isn’t really all yours. And it’s not just that it feels wrong. It is wrong, and it’s bad public policy to boot. The Fraser Institute recently published a series of essays on the topic, called “Capital Gains Tax Reform in Canada: Lessons from Abroad.” The essays talk about what’s going on in Canada and compares our situation to a number of other countries. The series makes a persuasive and compelling case for getting rid of this tax altogether. The first point they make is that there are “considerable” economic costs to such a tax, and in return, it really doesn’t generate much revenue. The overall supply of capital in our economy is reduced and there are “Lower levels of entrepreneurship and risk-taking,” because of it states the report. In 2011, the capital gains tax brought in $2.8 billion, only 1.1% of overall federal revenue. Projected federal surpluses for 2015-16 are estimated to be in the range of $6.4 billion and by 2018-19 could be more like $10 billion. So there is ample room to remove this tax. There is reason to believe that doing so would actually increase overall federal tax revenue because its abolition would further stimulate economic activity. Canada is currently ranked as having the 14th highest capital gains tax of the 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, while a number of countries don’t tax capital gains at all. With Canada’s economy generally described as sluggish and having a rate of growth that’s lower than normal, making our country more competitive in the tax department would be a great way to unlock capital and spur investment, that would lead to new and expanding business, which in turn would lead to economic growth and jobs. One of the problems with this tax is that it creates an incentive for people to hang on to investments even when there may be, “More profitable and productive opportunities,” available. It’s called the “lock-in” effect. It would be interesting to see if, given an opportunity, farmers might be more willing to release capital in bad times for the chance at something better. All this also raises a question of fundamental fairness. What typically is ignored is that a capital gains tax is a form of double taxation. The investment that one makes in any business, including farmland, uses after-tax income to begin with. Factor in the property tax one pays to the local municipality every year, and it could be said to amount to triple taxation. Further, it could be argued that capital gains really aren’t income in the first place. Income is generally thought of as a, “Payment received for providing labour or services in the production of goods and services,” while “The change in the price of an existing asset is not payment for new output.” One or the reasons the price of an asset may go up is that someone expects the future earnings of that asset will be more than they are today, and they are willing to pay for that in advance. Those earnings will be taxed in the future, but taxing that capital gain on the asset today again amounts to a form of double taxation. The Fraser paper has many good arguments and counter-arguments for the naysayer. If we need to have taxes, it makes sense that they be levied in the most efficient, fairest, and least harmful way possible. Getting rid of the capital gains tax would be a good step in the right direction. could tell he’s tired and rightfully so. I also chatted with him many times during those tough years and one of his biggest assets was his patience to listen, to hog producers facing totally bankruptcy because Lady Luck had served them not just one lemon but many rotten lemons so they couldn’t even make lemonade. I think the toughest time appears to be right now, knowing the rest of the industry outside of Manitoba has a fighting chance to move their industries forward, while here the industry lavishes on the altar of radicals who in some instances still think hog manure runs uphill in January. Knowing the industry is
shrinking every day, knowing upwards of 3,000 direct jobs in the processing industry are at stake, not to mention the billion dollars plus, the industry adds to our economy each and every year. For the past five years, MPC directors and staff have spent so much time, in essence wasting it and money, trying to convince these radicals on the damage they’re doing with a total lack of flexibility. Officials have been turning a blind eye, a deaf ear, a stubborn shoulder to an industry that just wants the same rights as every other industry in Manitoba. Kynoch gave his stepping down a lot of thought and dis-
cussion with his wife. “I’m going to really miss Pork Council. I’m very proud of that organization and the opportunity to be able to represent the pork producers. So yeah, it’s a tough decision but I think at the end of the day it would be the right decision.” He admits that it is nice to finally see prices turn around for hog producers. The last number of years, especially the last four years, farmers saw tremendous amount of losses. We’ve hit some record high prices, so producers are managing to put some funds back onto their balance sheets, which is really good to see and much needed.
The Agri Post
MBP Continues Work on Behalf of All Producers Affected by Flooding and Excess Moisture Dear Editor: For the past several months, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) has been lobbying the federal and provincial governments for needs-based programming that would be available to assist all cattle producers in Manitoba who are facing feed shortages due to this year’s flooding and excess moisture conditions. On November 12, the federal and provincial governments announced the Canada-Manitoba Forage Shortfall and Transportation Assistance Initiative under AgriRecovery. The program includes a transportation assistance program for the entire province as well as a forage shortfall program that is directed at producers in the Lake Manitoba/Lake Winnipegosis areas. MBP welcomed the governments’ recognition of the significant struggles cattle producers have faced in 2014. However, we also recognize that this program is not without its challenges and share the concerns of Manitoba farmers who are frustrated they were not included in the forage shortfall program. In its discussions with both levels of government, MBP repeatedly lobbied for a comprehensive program for all affected Manitoba producers. We pledge to those producers who were not included that we will continue to press for a forage shortfall program that will help address the immense losses they suffered in 2014. MBP also continues to seek the triggering of the Livestock Tax Deferral Provision, which would be beneficial to producers forced to downsize their breeding herd due to feed concerns. We first asked governments for their support of this mechanism in July, and producers need to know if it will be made available to them as they make key management decisions for their operations. Ensuring that there are comprehensive water management strategies to help reduce the risks associated with future flooding remains an ongoing MBP priority. This is a critical time for Manitoba’s beef industry, which has weathered significant challenges in recent years due to factors such as natural disasters, M-COOL and other issues, leading to significantly reduced cattle numbers. Yet there is tremendous potential for growth thanks to governments securing new and expanded opportunities for our beef products. We need a growing, not a shrinking herd, to capitalize on these opportunities. MBP remains committed to securing comprehensive programs to help the affected producers move through and beyond this disaster. On behalf of our members, we will continue to work with governments to ensure the needs of all affected Manitoba producers are met. Heinz Reimer President, Manitoba Beef Producers
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Ineligible Farm Families Left Out in the Cold Dear Editor: The NDP Government has found yet another way to tax Manitoba’s farm families. The evidence for this claim comes from information received through a freedom of information request. In 2013, the NDP Government made significant changes to the Farmland School Tax Rebate (FSTR) program introducing caps on the amount farm families may claim. The net result of these changes is $5,470,000 less in FSTR rebates. The NDP accomplished this by making 5,169 members of Manitoba farm families ineligible. This means $5.5 million has been taken from rural communities to feed the NDP Government waste. Manitoba farm families play an important role in growing food for families all around the world; they should not have to feed NDP Government waste and mismanagement. Farm families are paying more and getting less under this NDP government. Blaine Pedersen Midland MLA Agriculture Critic
Growing Tired of Waiting Dear Editor: It was refreshing to see Stewart Wells tell it like it is in his recent letter regarding the state of Grain Marketing in western Canada. In Gerry Ritz’s response, it is clear he has no real argument other than to attack the messenger. Farmers are growing tired of him telling us how well off we are under Marketing Freedom and how we are making record profits. Is he not aware prices have fallen to four-year-lows or below and that the agricultural grain economy is slowing? How can Mr. Ritz be proud of the situation he and his government have instigated? We have no effective futures price discovery or record basis deductions. There is also the recent poor coordination of grain stocks at port and high demurrage charges. Grain company quotes are widely variable and there is often little idea of how much will be discounted for protein and grade shortcomings. The buyers are not beating a path to our door trying to outdo one another! We are simply weaker price takers spending excessive amounts of time calling for elusive quotes. As a farmer, it feels like we have no marketing freedom, only the opportunity to contribute to those company profits involved with handling our product. Robert Horne Swift Current, SK
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Canadian Climate Advantage Research
Myrna Grahn told attendees at the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference the research being done at the University of Manitoba on Manitoba grown healthy foods is tied into research on the Canadian climate advantage. Photo by Joan Airey
By Joan Airey There is growing evidence that shows there may be health advantages to eating more crops grown and processed in Manitoba. The concept builds off research that indicates crops grown at more northern latitudes such as the Canadian prairies produce higher levels of key health components in
crops such as oilseeds, cereals, pluses, indigenous berries, buckwheat and hemp. “Manitoba grows a wide range of crops that we turn into healthy and tasty foods for families around the world. Manitoba is also the Canadian leader in making functional foods, you know ‘super foods’ that taste good and are good for you,” stated Myrna Grahn, PhEc, in her opening remarks at the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference at the Keystone Centre in Brandon. She reported that Manitoba is a leading producer of carrots in Canada and the best carrots grow around Portage la Prairie because of the unique combination of soil, moisture and heat. Manitoba grown carrots have high inessential minerals and vitamins, including Vitamin A. Manitoba produces approximately one-fifth of Canada’s total potato crop and include over 24 varieties of potatoes. The Manitoba based processors have approximately 50% of Canada’s french fry production capacity and process over 1200 million pounds of potatoes each year. She explained the potato is exceptionally healthy low calorie, high fibre food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer. Potatoes also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity. Buckwheat which is an ancient grain also grown in Manitoba has a deceptive name because buckwheat is not actually part of the wheat family. Buckwheat is gluten free and has unique compounds that help control blood sugar levels. Also on Manitoba’s top healthy foods are wheat, wild rice, dairy products, sunflowers, barley, pork, honey, turkeys, saskatoons and beans. Canola and its resulting oil grow particularly well on the prairies because the cool nights and hot days allow it to develop its unique fatty acid profile. Canola is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels and has moderate levels of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. Other healthy oilseeds that are grown in Manitoba are flax, hemp and soy.
Support for W omen Women in Agriculture By Joan Airey In front of a crowd of over a hundred and thirty women who were attending the Manitoba Farm Women’s conference at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, Ron Kostyshyn Minister of Agriculture proclaimed November 17th, Manitoba Farm and Rural Women’s Week. He presented the proclamation to the 2014 planning committee of the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference held from November 16 to 18. On hand to receive the proclamation were the planning committee members, Jody Klassen, Lavonne Kroeker, Kathy Heaman, Angela Lovell, Catherine Jordan, Joanne Baker, Carol Dalgarno, Cindy Klassen, Ann Mandziuk and Donna Lee Brown. Sheena Meggison a first year Agriculture Diploma student at the University of Manitoba was recognized at the meeting for receiving a 2014 Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference Scholarship, which will be administered by the Red River Exhibition Foundation Inc. The scholarship award is made possible with a donation from the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference. The annual $500 scholarship assists a female rural Manitoba student with tuition fees, tools and learning aids in conjunction with a post-secondary education. The student must also be enrolled in agriculture or a related program of studies at a Manitoba University or accredited college. Cassidy Ross received the first scholarship in 2013 and is in her second year of a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness at the University of Manitoba.
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New Leasing Option for Farm Land By Les Kletke “Want to take advantage of current land prices but still want to farm the land?” Tom Eisenhauer asked while speaking at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors in Niverville and outlining the company’s program. He feels that he may have an alternative that works for farmers who are in that situation. Eisenhauer is the President of Bonnefield a company he said is dedicated, “To preserving farmland for farming.” The Toronto based management company purchases land from farmers at market value and then rents it back to them or other farmers on a five-year lease that can be extend to perpetuity. “The lease is a five year lease but as soon as a year is completed a new one is added so that the farmer is always assured the land for five years and can make management decisions with that in mind. He needs to know those things for capital purchases such as machinery.” Bonnefield already owns some large blocks of land in Manitoba and is looking to expand further in the province. “When we first come to an area some farmers say that we are driving up the price of land, but if I am doing that I won’t be in business long. If I pay more than market, my investors won’t be happy and won’t be investing more. We work at market value but provide another option,” he said. The company has several large investment pension funds and looks to have a return of approximately 4-5% on the land it purchases.
Tom Eisenhauer has developed a company that buys farmland and leases it to farmers in perpetuity. Photo by Les Kletke
“We allow farmers who want to sell their land the chance to do so and at the same time rent it back to a son that wants to farm it,” said Eisenhauer, “The son knows he will have the land for as long as he wants it and he can afford to rent it at a reasonable price. He does not have to outbid speculators who are looking to gain on the increase in value.” He acknowledges this is of particular interest in the Ontario market and it has aided the company with expansion into Alberta. The company does not have a buy back option because of the capital gain situation and the implications that would have, on the purchase. The company negotiates rental rates on a 5-year basis and while the lease is extended annually, rental rates need not be but that is up to the individual farmer. “Some farmers have chosen to pay them ahead or partially so they know what their costs of land will be. We work with the farmer as an individual to fit their situation and cash flow,” he said. “There is no financial institution offering a reverse mortgage on farm land at this time, and our program allows the farmer to have 100% of the value of the land up front,” said Eisenhauer. He said the company’s intent is to provide a return for investors but also to strengthen the farmer’s balance sheet, and improve the cash flow plan for retirement. Eisenhauer’s projection is that there is roughly 52 billion dollars’ worth of farmland in Canada at this time and a large portion of that will be changing hands in the next 5 years.
CAFA Recognizes Manitoban By Les Kletke The Canadian Association of Farm Advisors held their annual conference in Manitoba in Niverville in late November and paid homage to outgoing President Roger Mills. Mills who immigrated to Canada over twenty years ago to be a dairy farmer is a well know Roger Mills of Steinbach accepts a thank you as outgoing president of CAFA from current president Amanda Hammell. Photo by Les Kletke
advisor in the dairy industry. In accepting the recognition for serving as the National President, Mills recounted that he had come to be a dairy farmer but when his body no longer allowed him the rigors of farming he still wanted to be involved in the industry and chose to develop a consulting business. He is known for his advocacy of benchmarking as a management tool. Current CAFA President is Amanda Hammel of Tara,
Ontario and is a dairy farmer herself as well as the Senior Financing Specialist with RBC. In her remarks, Hammel said that she saw a positive future for the agricultural industry. “There is more interest than ever in our industry and more than any other part of the economy,” said Hammel. “There are young people who want to get involved in the industry and that speaks well for our future.” Wearing her banker hat,
Hammel said, “Clients are changing and each one is different, we need to consider them as individuals and not put them all in one box.” Hammel stressed that the business is cyclical and good times won’t last forever and it is time to build some reserves for times when things might be more challenging. She noted the beef industry in particular. “I have a client who is a beef producer and does nothing to reduce his risk,” she said. “This year he had windfall profits and made up for the past 6 years of low prices. It is difficult to convince him to take the steps to lock in prices and reduce the volatility.” Several of the advisors in the room agreed with her that beef producers tend to accept the cycles in the market as part of the business and while they had weathered the storms of recent years were now reaping benefits of higher prices but still leery of locking in prices. “We need to think of ways to convince these producers to reduce the risk so that they do not go through the times of the recent years and have a more stable industry,” said Hammel.
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Strengthening Agricultural Trade with China
Change is a Constant on the Farm If you attended your MBP district meeting you would have heard me talk a lot about the changes in the beef industry. These include changes in the form of what our consumers expect from producers now and the changes in our beef cowherd over the last decade. Annually, market analyst Janet Honey puts out a report on Manitoba’s beef and cattle industry and it is always a good read. I am going to summarize the highlights but I encourage you to have a look at it as well at umanitoba.ca/ faculties, cattle profile for 2013. Thinking back to what our farms and ranches looked like 20 to 30 years ago we can identify many changes in the way we do business, whether that is production management techniques, equipment, or record keeping and farm finances. Despite a few hiccups along the way, the Manitoba cow inventory rose steadily since the 1940s and peaked in 2006. This peak was attributed to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) when our borders slammed shut in May of 2003, only to starting reopening in 2005. Today we see markets reopening to us, which have been closed, or of limited access since 2003. However, now in 2014 our herd size has fallen by 33% from that peak. In 2006, we had 680,000 head of beef cows and now we hover around the 458,400 mark. This is the lowest beef cowherd inventory since 1993. Our falling cow numbers in Manitoba can be attributed to several factors. One is the effect of the bovine TB issue in the Riding Mountain region. Another is adverse weather conditions where in the past six years we have dealt with floods and droughts that have had a large impact on forage and hay production. Factors like these have caused producers to sell off higher numbers of their breeding animals or sell out completely. The number of heifers and steers retained on farms in 2014 was down by 800 head and 2,900 head respectively over 2013 numbers. An external factor affecting herd size is challenges when it comes to marketing animals. The marketing of cattle in Canada is not only tied to international markets, including our largest trading partner the United States, but also to our currency. In 2007 until the fall of 2008, in 2009 and 2013 the Canadian cattle industry took a hit from a strong Canadian dollar. To add to our challenges in trading cattle internationally, in 2008 the United States introduced mandatory Country of Origin Labelling or M-COOL. I will not go into any more detail here on M-COOL, as there are many articles on this topic and in the newest edition of Cattle Country. When borders started to open in 2005 and the value of calves began to rise the number of animals marketed increased significantly as producers sold animals to start paying off debt incurred since the closure of the border. The hope was that producers could pay off debt, dust themselves off and return to a profitable and thriving industry. Perhaps now, nine years later, we can start to get to that point. Cattle prices have corrected themselves after a very long slump. What is driving this? Basic supply and demand as the Manitoba, Canada and North American beef cow numbers drop, as well as a weakening of our Canadian dollar. The American herd is currently at a 63-year low and demand for our animals is strong despite M-COOL. There is also a strong demand for Canadian beef beyond the United States and we anticipate a growing demand as several international markets open up to us. So what’s our future? That is always difficult to forecast unless you have a crystal ball but considering we saw a major contraction of the industry in the last eight years, we will see fewer calves born on Manitoba farms in 2015. We are hearing that herds in our sister provinces to the west are starting to show signs of expanding, but we have heard very little of that here at home. We know Manitoba has the ability to produce an abundance of forage and hay, so we know we can have the resources to expand. It just depends on having the right climate to do so. Melinda German is General Manager, Manitoba Beef Producers.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz recently completed a successful trade mission to China where he helped deepen the long-standing ties and bilateral relations that will advance the interests of Canadian agricultural producers, processors and exporters. Ritz joined Prime Minister Harper and a delegation of Canadian Ministers and business leaders to take part in the Canada-China Business Forum, where they witnessed the signing of an agreement to sell $1 billion of Canadian canola oil to China. Ritz also participated in meetings and seminars with Chinese government officials and members of industry to discuss the tremendous opportunities for trade between China and Canada. To help promote Canada’s high-quality beef and agricultural goods Ritz participated in a special Canada Beef Inc. branding event in Guangzhou. Building on the success of the June trade mission, Canada Beef Inc. has recently expanded its footprint in China. This expansion is aimed at solidifying the Canadian brand with the growing Chinese middle-class. Ritz also attended the Canada Pavilion at the Food and Hospitality China exhibition in Shanghai to help further Canadian business interests in the world’s second-largest economy and Canada’s second-largest single-country trading partner. A total of forty-six Canadian companies and associations participated in the exhibition this year. Since 2006, agriculture and seafood exports to China have increased more than fivefold to total $5.6 billion annually, making China the second most valuable market for Canadian agricultural exports.
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Reducing the Risk for Higher Profits By Les Kletke Ryan Bauman is a realist and readily acknowledges that the potential for higher return on the farm comes with higher risk. “We are offering a product
that allows a producer to move up the ladder to larger profits and reduces the risk that would normally come with that,” said Bauman who is with Global Ag Risk Solution. The Saskatchewan based company is offering an insur-
ance that covers producers input costs when they target higher yields. Bauman was in Manitoba to address the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) in Niverville in late November. He does not advise producers to leave the Agri Stability program or not have Crop Insurance but rather consider his company as a management tool that allows them to be more aggressive in production practices and marketing while not incurring additional risk. “When producers want to increase their income, there are limited options and they need to consider all the pieces
on the other side of the equation. That includes yield, price and experience. So when a producer increases their inputs or is more aggressive in marketing there are some risks our program helps to cover those,” he said. The program allows for coverage of up to $175 an acre with an option to increase that to $250 an acre. The cost is roughly 4 ½ % of the total coverage level. One sticking point for produces is that they need 5 years of accrual accounting on their farm to enter the program. “We need to have an accurate snapshot of the farm, and some farmers are having issues changing their accounting to
the accrual method but we see that is what is necessary for the program and it provides a good management tool,” he said. Bauman received a positive response for his advocacy to the accrual accounting system from the CAFA audience, which included a good percentage of bankers and accountants. The program takes effect 10 days after purchase so when farmers buy into the program and do a non-seeding benefit they would be compensated for inputs applied last fall. When farmers purchase the basic level of coverage they have the option to in-
crease coverage through the growing season if they have additional coverage. “If the farmer has to apply another application of fungicide, he can give us a call and increase his coverage,” said Bauman. “We work with them to cover good farm management practices and we know that no one will go out to spray a product just to be spraying.” “There are a lot of unexpected things that can happen in this business and our plan is to try and reduce the risk of those things impacting a farmer’s bottom line, our intent is to allow farmers to move ahead and make the choices that will increase their bottom line.”
The Canadian Pork Industry Focuses on Markets for Quality Pork By Harry Siemens To over see any industry it takes good people, but to run the hog industry, in Canada, Ryan Bauman says that higher profits require higher risk and his or any given province takes company has a plan to reduce those risks. extra effort and time. Scott Peters, a Director of Photo by Les Kletke the Manitoba Pork Council as well as the Canadian Pork Council, and an owner of Herbsigwil Ltd., a hog operation in eastern Manitoba reported on his attendance at the Canadian Pork Council’s (CPC) November meetings in Ottawa. “Producers and stakehold-
ers from across Canada met over two days to help shape the future of the industry,” wrote Peters as part of his postmeeting message to stakeholders. “Attendees addressed a number of issues, including swine health, particularly PEDv and traceability. Herd health was at the forefront of many discussions and, although there were opposing views on strategies to address the issues, consensus was that disease is a constant industry pressure. Producers just want healthy pigs!” “Rick Bergmann, also on the
Disappointment with Efforts to Derail Amendments to Plant Breeders’ Rights Members of Partners in Innovation are seriously disappointed by recent actions by the Official Opposition in the House of Commons to delay and disrupt critical amendments to Canada’s Plant Breeders’ Rights legislation. During Report Stage debate of Bill C-18 in the House of Commons, the Official Opposition moved 51 separate motions to strike all 51 clauses of Bill C-18 related to amendments to Plant Breeders’ Rights. Partners in Innovation represents 20 national, regional and provincial farmer and value chain organizations that have come together to support amendments to Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) legislation, in order to bring it into compliance with the most recent convention of the International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV). From coast to coast and crop to crop, organizations representing the vast majority of farmers and value chain groups support the amendments because they are confident that it will give them access to superior varieties developed in Canada and internationally. “I believe I speak for all Partners when I say the changes will facilitate continued innovation and access to new crop varieties for farmers and researchers alike. This is incredibly important to the success and sustainability of our sector,” said Ron Bonnett, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. “As this discussion moves forward, Partners in Innovation urges that the needs of farmers and the Canadian agriculture sector are properly taken into account by the Opposition. We urge the Government of Canada to use all of the tools it has at its disposal to ensure that these very important amendments move through Parliament and are implemented as soon as possible.”
executive of Manitoba Pork is now the Chair of CPC, Bill Wymenga from Ontario is the first Vice-Chair and Frank Novak from Alberta was elected as second ViceChair,” said Peters. CPC Chair Jean-Guy said CPC recently commissioned a paper on the financial situation faced by the hog and pork sector for the fall meeting with the following highlights. Despite current historically strong returns to hog farmers, they have not yet replenished industry equity lost during the previous seven years. Current profits are in part due to the production impact of the PEDv disease in the U.S. Prices could come under strong downward pressure in 2016 if production increases in North America as much as the amount conditions warrant. “I thank you all for your support for the past three years, it is quite clear to me that pork farmers from all across Canada share the same abiding commitment of providing consumers a nutritious, safe, and affordable food supply,” said Vincent. “The Board of Directors has invested a great deal this year in all of the issues while maintaining as a priority the members’ needs. We need to work together, perform better, and review the way we work at all levels so that we can remain competitive in markets here in Canada and abroad.” Bergmann, the new Chair of CPC said quality and safety would be at the forefront of his mind when he
Rick Bergmann of Steinbach, the new Chair for the Canadian Pork Council, said quality and safety would be his two main focal points.
takes over the one-year term early in 2015. He stated the result of the hard work, dedication and many different protocols hog farmers use and incorporate on their farms is a high quality, safe and healthy product the consumer can enjoy, trust and depend upon it. Not only do people in Canada enjoy the pork, it is people from over 100 countries who seek Canadian pork because the quality is second to none and is safe. Bergmann stresses Canada needs to build upon those key components and expand its consumption because the pork industry relies heavily on trade. The CPC serves as the national voice for hog producers in Canada. A federation of nine provincial pork industry associations, our organization’s purpose is to play a leadership role in achieving and maintaining a dynamic and prosperous Canadian pork sector.
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Be Honest with Yourself By Les Kletke
Jerry Lupkowski says no one sells canola by the acre, and they should make the next calculation of price per bushel to see their profit picture. Photo by Les Kletke
“Whoever has sold an acre of canola?” asks Jerry Lupkowski. “Nobody… you sell bushels, so make the calculations and bring it down to the meaningful numbers.” Lupkowski is a partner of MNP and works in Portage la Prairie. He urges clients to make the final calculations of production on their farm and have meaningful numbers that help them make better management decisions. “The end of a year and going into the planning session of next year is a great time to that,” said Lupkowski. He said that talking about yields and returns per acre are great for coffee shop talk but do little for management decisions. “Saying you got $350 an acre for you canola is fine, but nobody sells it that way, you need to make the calculation down to the bushels and
“Saying you got $350 an acre for you canola is fine, but nobody sells it that way, you need to make the calculation down to the bushels and the price you got.” the price you got,” he explained. “You need to know if you were making money on the bushels you produced and decide if that was your best return or if you should be producing at a different level or
perhaps a different crop.” He said that enterprise analysis is important but when you do it consider all the factors. “Analysing an enterprise is different at the time in its life, entry or exit is different,” said Lupkowski. He uses the example of a farmer expanding by adding an additional quarter of land. “He says that he needs a new air seeder to cover the extra ground, and that works in the budget, but when he comes back in the fall, he tells me that be bought and new tractor to pull the air seeder. That changes the budget and the determination of, if the extra quarter made economic sense,” he said. “When he is reducing in size and gives up the land it is not likely he will sell the bigger tractor so the budget is different at that time in the operation.” Lupkowski goes on in his explanation that just monitoring a business usually helps improve the bottom line. “It is
something called the Hawthorne effect and was first found in research in factories when they increased the lighting. Production increased, and then when they decreased the lighting, production decreased,” he said. “It works with most enterprises; we do better when we know we are being watched, so when you start to pay attention to your enterprises specifically, things improve and you can use the numbers to make better decisions and improve incrementally.” Year-end is a great time to go over the number generated on the farm and use them to make the choices for next year. “Be honest with yourself use the real numbers of what production cost you and when you are making money, use yourself and others in the industry as benchmarks and move ahead,” he said.
The Agri Post
Get Back to Normal Business By Harry Siemens The M-COOL debate continues, even after 12 year of protectionism by some groups in the United States stated Chuck Connor, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives CEO and former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in the U.S., on the “Consumer right to know” aspect. Some who favour MCOOL in the U.S. claim consumers want and have the right to know where their food comes from. However, surveys of consumers in the U.S. show that while it is important for some to know where their food comes from, most still shop on price, not the origin of that product. Many also shop at the same place repeatedly trusting the establishment they buy from to make sure the product is good and wholesome. Connor has followed this issue since the early 2000s. “It didn’t start out as a consumer right-to-know movement. Groups who didn’t want competition from Mexico and Canada started it, plain and simple. There are lots of COOL rules by many countries that are legal and compliant. The segregation and other requirements in this rule are not.” John Bode, CEO of Corn Refiners Association said livestock groups that are a part of the COOL Reform Coalition, like National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, [NCBA] and the National Pork Producers Council, [NPPC], want the U.S. to repeal the law. Other members just want to see the U.S. honour its trade obligations by Congress, setting aside whatever portions of the regulations or law that make it noncompliant. It is a disaster to wait for retaliation and export damage,” he said. The proposed retaliation measures set forth by the Federal Agricultural Minister, Gerry Ritz and Trade Minister Fast are working on convincing the Americans that making M-COOL right is in everyone’s best interest. Karl Kynoch, Chair of Manitoba Pork said pork producers on both sides of the Canada U.S. border and U.S. pork processing plants continue to suffer from the
effects of M-COOL. As the result of these requirements for U.S. pork processing plants to segregate domestic origin pigs from foreign origin pigs, most U.S. processors stopped buying Canadian origin pigs. The WTO stated that changes to the legislation introduced in 2013 failed to bring the U.S. into compliance with its world trade obligations and actually increased the level of discrimination against imported livestock. “A number of producers in the U.S. who were buying their weanling supply from Manitoba, some of them lost that supply due to the fact that some of the processors in the U.S. stopped buying any pigs
that were raised in Canada and in turn they weren’t able to find other stock down there to fill their barns,” he said. “We know some of the producers actually went out of business or they’re sitting there currently with empty barns so that really did hurt the producers there. The packers also had to restructure because they had to fill up that space that was missing from the Canadian pigs going down.” Kynoch said the legislation restricts trade and creates huge challenges for the North American pork industry. Fixing the legislation will allow U.S. and Canadian producers to work together in harmony and get back to normal business.
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Group Benefit Insurance All business owners have Group Benefit Plans available to them. Yes, a Group Plan of “1” person is a Group Plan. When talking to clients about Group Benefit Plans, the conversation often goes to questions like; root canals, travel insurance and massage therapy. All are important points but not all employers want to spend much time discussing what I believe to be the most important coverage - Disability Coverage. If you or your employee(s) were not able to work and earn an income because of an illness or accident, what would you do? The type of dental plan will not seem so important at this point. If this happened while you were not at work, workers compensation board would not pay. Employment insurance will pay but only for 15 weeks. This is assuming that Workers Compensation and Employment Insurance cover you and your employees. So, when the conversation gets back to disability coverage, some business owners nod cautiously saying that they would want to continue paying their employees salary even if they could not work but also are quick to point out that it is not sustainable and they would not do this for very long. You really need to take care of the big picture before you deal with the other coverage. There is one basic question to ask, “Will the disability benefits pay for 2 years, 5 years or to age 65?” Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from those who understand your business! Andy Anderson is an Associate Insurance Broker specializing in General, Life and Group Benefits for Farm, Commercial/Agri-business Ph: 204-746-5589 F: 866-765-3351 andya@rempelinsurance.com rempelinsurance.com/ valleyfinancial.ca.
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The Agri Post
Friendly Provincial Competition to Determine Productivity Link to Profitability In January 2014, a meeting was convened during the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference to discuss producers’ claims that they had moved their calving start date to May and had seen reduced conception rates. Kathy Larson with the Western Beef Development Centre (WBDC) was part of that meeting because of her experience collecting production data from producers when calculating cost of production. She explained, WBDC’s cost of production study is a very small sample size (typically 20-30 producers) and although some production data is collected the details on breeding season start and end dates or cow: bull ratios are not. Currently there are no recent benchmarks on cowcalf productivity. When producers raise questions about reduced conception rates related to time of calving, the benchmarks available are 16 years old and the industry has changed significantly since then. That is about to change with the resurrection of a study last conducted in Alberta in 1998. The Western Canadian Cow-Calf (WCCC) Survey rolled out across western Canada this fall, starting with the provincial cattle association district meetings from British Columbia to Manitoba. The survey was developed through a joint effort between the Provincial Producer Associations, the Provincial Ministries of Agriculture, Canfax, the Beef Cattle Research Council and the Western Beef Development Centre. In addition to being handed out at the District meetings, farmers are likely to see the survey handed out at events throughout the winter, such as Brandon AgDays, Agribition, CowCalfenomics, or the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference. The questions have been revamped and expanded somewhat from the 1998 survey, but for the most part are still asking the same questions on productivity and management practices of cow-calf producers. The questions will include, what were your start and end dates for your 2013 breeding season, how many cows calved on your operation in 2014, how many 2014-born calves
were weaned, when do you provide trace mineral to your cows, do you creep feed and do you pregnancy check? From the survey responses, production performance measures can be generated for the industry. From the 1998, survey it was determined the average cow: bull ratio was 26:1, the average wean weight was 576 lb, the average breeding season length was 93days and the average conception rate was 95.6%. Other statistics that were measured in 1998; on average 48% of cows calved in the first 21days of the calving season, 30% of operations quality tested their forage, less than 50% of operations pregnancy checked. Knowing production performance benchmarks is important. Management practices influence productivity and productivity influences profitability. Increasing productivity through a management practice change can lead to increases in the total pounds of calf weaned on an operation, which increases profitability. Results from the WCCC survey will identify where we have strengths and where we can make improvements on our production practices and performance measures. We can also use the survey findings to guide research and extension to improve the productivity and profitability of cow-calf producers. The survey is 58 questions and should take between 30 and 45 minutes to
complete. There is also an online version of the survey on Western Beef ’s website, wbdc.sk.ca., along with additional information about the new survey. For those completing hard copy or paper surveys, paid postage labels are included with the survey or available for download from the WBDC website. On the last page of the survey, survey respondents can also ask to receive a complimentary report summarizing their production measures based on their survey responses. This allows for comparison with the benchmarks. The production benchmarks will be summarized by region, province and herd size and will be ready for spring in 2015. Over 1,700 producers participated in the 1998 survey. With and bragging rights at stake and a bit of friendly competition between the provinces, organizers believe this number should be easily surpassed.
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Cargill Restructures its Feed Mill Operations By Harry Siemens Recently Cargill Canada announced two changes involving their feed nutrition business, in Brandon and in St. Boniface, to enhance efficiency and service for its growing base in western Canada. “The changes to our feed and nutrition operations align with our strategic objective to grow and sustain a business focused on helping customers thrive”, said Jennifer Henderson, Managing Director of Cargill Animal Nutrition’s compound feed business in western Canada. “We are confident these actions will enhance our ability to focus on solutions for our customers.” Cargill sold the feed mill in St. Boniface, to a longstanding customer, Standard Nutrition, and closed its Brandon feed mill. Standard Nutrition will manufacture feed for Cargill in the Winnipeg area, retaining Cargill’s management and production team to ensure continuity of service to Standard Nutrition and Cargill customers of the St. Boniface facility. In the Brandon area, Cargill has agreements with high performing regional manufacturers that meet Cargill’s quality and feed safety standards. Cargill sales and customer service teams will continue to serve customers in Manitoba. “At Cargill, we realize that it’s our high performing teams who help Canadian producers thrive. We have worked to provide our Brandon and St. Boniface teams with opportunities within Cargill’s business units or with Standard Nutrition. Together, we will continue working to ensure our customers continue to receive the high-level of service they have come to expect from Cargill.” Henderson describes the two locations as two different situations, which just happened to arrive at the same time. “In Brandon we have a feed mill that exhausted its structural life on the elevator side and looking at the cost of replacing it, the return just wasn’t there,” said Henderson. “We partnered with high performing regional manufacturers and when we compared those two options, and also knew that we would be able to
Cargill recently announced a switch in ownership with Standard Nutrition in St. Boniface where Standard buys the feed mill from Cargill where the plant continues to make the feed for Cargill. In Brandon, Cargill is closing down their feed mill and contracting with local feed supplies to continue to serve their customers.
find opportunities for our employees there, that is what prompted that decision.” In St. Boniface, it is a different scenario where Standard Nutrition was a long-term customer of Cargill and offered to buy the facility whereby Standard will make the feed for Cargill instead of Cargill making the feed for Standard. “Standard’s volume is significant and by willing to make this their headquarters in Winnipeg, we saw the future for our production team there at St. Boniface and for the facility so that was part of our rationale there,” said Henderson. The plant will continue to serve Cargill’s customers very effectively because it will be the same team of employees lead by current Manager Denis Ritchot who will be working for Standard making the same product for their customers. “I would say that in Cargill Animal Nutrition we are bullish on western Canada from an animal nutrition business,” she said. “We’re excited about the future opportunity that is in western Canada. We want to acknowledge that producers need to make changes in terms of what products they need from Cargill.” For example, Cargill has significant research and technology around the nutrition of animals, feeding animals safely, feeding animals effectively and making sure the food supply chain is safe. “That is where we see our strength, but very strong in manufacturing, too,” Henderson said. “The location of our facilities is also relevant so the location of the facility as it relates to where the animals units are moving is important. We continue to assess where those animals are, what do the producers, our customers need.” She pointed out that Cargill is very optimistic about western Canada. “We’re bullish on western Canada and we see things rebounding in beef and hogs, from where they were in the recent past,” said Henderson. “We continue to use what we feel are our competitive advantages and work out the best way we can to serve customers, doing thing that we are really good at and that is what we want to continue to bring to our customers in Manitoba.”
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Critics Accuse Harper of Trading Away Democracy through CETA The National Farmers Union (NFU) says the investment protections and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism in the CanadaEU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will impede the implementation of agricultural policy that is in the public interest. The report, Trading Away Democracy: How CETA’s investment protection rules threaten public good in Canada, the EU, stated a dozen social justice and environmental groups in Canada, and Europe draws attention to the Investor State Dispute Settlements (ISDS) mechanism, which is similar to NAFTA’s Chapter 11, in the Canada-EU trade agreement. The ISDS mechanism in CETA would be used to force federal or provincial governments to financially compensate investors or corporations for profits “lost” when policy created in the public interest is deemed to reduce market opportunities for the companies involved. “We need governments in Canada to be able to create policies and regulations that protect our food sovereignty and our environment. The fear of being sued by foreign companies may prevent our government from taking action to, for example, limit the use of neonicotinoids or other insecticides, mitigate climate change or support local food initiatives,” said Ann Slater, NFU Vice President Policy. CETA also gives multinational corporations additional rights in a broad range of areas beyond ISDS mechanisms, including tools to enforce intellectual property rights. With the proposed changes in Canada’s Plant Breeders’ Rights Act in Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act, seed companies are already being given additional control over seed in Canada. Under CETA, a farmer using his or her farm-saved seed could have their assets seized or frozen for alleged infringement of an intellectual property right before the case comes to the courts, according to the NFU. “To give a foreign investor the possibility to lock up assets of a Canadian farmer is absurd,” said Terry Boehm, Chair of NFU Seed and Trade Committee. Jan Slomp, NFU President said, “CETA is clearly a ‘bill of rights’ for corporations. It fundamentally undermines our democracy and stands in the way of setting public policy for the health of our environment and Canadians.”
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Just Another Year of Uncertainty By Les Kletke “Just another year,” is the way Jake Friesen rates the 2014 crop. Friesen farms at Elm Creek and said the crop was average and with prices off from last year, it was far from a banner year. He does acknowledge that 2013 was a bit of an anomaly with strong prices and yields above what was expected in most crops. “We do get spoiled quickly, but now that is the benchmark and you hope that if you do the same things you will get the same kind of result,” he said. “That didn’t happen this year, the weather threw a few more challenges at us and the yields were not nearly as good.” He said things started off with a challenge in the spring and he could not get on fields as he normally does. “The spring was late and we could not follow our cropping plan,” he said. “When a field would dry up we wanted to be seeding and we wanted to get some of the longer season crops in so that meant changing on the fly.” That meant that his corn acres changed from the plans he had made in winter and the yield that resulted was down from last year. “We are probably off 30 bushels an acre from last year, and when you consider all our costs are the same or up a bit that hurts. Those 30 bushels were profit, and they were not there this year,” said Friesen who has about 20% of his farm in corn. Canola also suffered from the change in plans, moving to later seeding dates, which meant planting ended up on his lower fields with heavier soil. “Canola yields were all over the map, probably some of the biggest variation we have seen in a year,” he said. “We had some that barely averaged 20 bushels an acre while other fields did over 40. We treated them the same but just the difference in moisture did that much to the yield.” He said that his soybeans stood up against the weather fluctuations the best. “There was a not a bumper crop but they did come through with a decent yield even in the conditions of this year,” said Friesen. “We have been growing them for about 10 years and have not had a crop failure so I think they are here to stay, but you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
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Reduce Risk of Feeding High Sulphur DDGs to Beef Cattle By Peter Vitti Dried distillers’ grains or DDGs can be purchased from a broker for about $200 per tonne. This attractive price makes it a good feed for a variety of high energy and protein needs for growing and over-wintering beef cattle. However, people should be aware that DDGs might contain high amounts of sulphur that can injure cattle health and performance. Therefore, it’s a good idea to test purchased DDGs for sulphur content (as well as other by-products) to establish safe DDGs feeding guidelines. Under most circumstances, sulphur is digested as other essential minerals after cattle eat it. Sulphur is released from ingested feed by fermentation in the rumen and is taken up by the rumen microorganisms. These bacteria convert a portion of it into methionine/ cysteine, thiamine and biotin, which are involved in many vital and performance functions in cattle. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much sulphur in DDGs to poison cattle. Sulphur toxicity in cattle begins when total intake of sulphur from DDGs, other feed ingredients, and sulphates in water; exceeds 0.4% of cattle’s dry matter feed intake. This level is about 3 times their natural sulphur requirement of 0.15% and is the starting point by which the cow’s rumen fluid literarily becomes polluted with large amounts of dissolved sulfurous compounds. That’s because, rumen microorganisms cannot convert enough incoming dietary sulphur into the above S-containing nutrients. An excessive amount of hydrogen sulphide gas is then produced from such incomplete sulfurous rumen fermentation, which is finally belched-out by cattle. Since most cattle breathe back this poisonous gas into their lungs, the absorbed sulphur dioxide is then transported via blood and ends up in their brains. This biofeedback is thought to induce a thiamine deficiency, which leads to a debilitating brain disorder of polioencephalomalacia (PEM). PEM-affected herds may exhibit a few cattle with clear-cut symptoms of distress, while many carriers show no visible signs at all. Regardless, clinical symptoms of PEM are disorientation, staggering in circles, blindness and pressing their head against objects. Other associated signs are respiratory distress and reduced feed intake. Death is common among PEM animals. While PEM disorders are spotted in all classes of beef cattle where many sulphurenriched DDGs are fed, an induced copper deficiency caused by the same anomaly of dietary sulphur usually goes unnoticed. These cattle do not exhibit classic symptoms of a severe form of copper deficiency such as “red” hair coat on black animals, but reveal themselves through poor growth, infertility or poor immunity against disease. With no direct reference to either PEM or a secondary copper deficiency in cattle, beef nutritionists for years have said that 30% DDGs can be added to diet of cattle with little repercussion (re: poor consumption). That advice changed when some beef producers experienced some PEM and copper deficiencies at this high DDGs feeding level. Consequently, some ruminant specialists lowered their recommendations to 15% DDGs of the diet (dm, basis). One should keep in mind when following either guideline that sulphur content of DDGs range from 0.6 – 1.1% and thus each load of purchased DDGs should be tested, respectively. By citing either DDGs recommendations, one should put one’s own beef diet containing sulphur-tested DDGs to the (already mentioned) safety test, “Make sure that sulphur intake from all dietary sources (including water) does not exceed 0.4% of dry matter intake.” Consider two typical beef grower diets (750 lbs steers, DMI 2.5% = 17.5 lbs) and one overwintering beef cow ration - utilizing DDGs containing 1.1% S (dm, basis)*:
This exercise illustrates the ease of reaching the DDGs/sulphur safety limits for typical beef diets using high-sulphur DDGs. Diets that are more complex may also contain a combination of feed ingredients of high sulphur levels. Examples include malt sprouts (0.85%), canola meal (1.2%), and beet pulp (1.0%). Although, sulphur from water intake in this case was deemed insignificant; an actual test of 3,000-ppm sulphates might have easily pushed all these beef diets over the sulphur safety limits. Including these and other high sulphur feed ingredients, nobody recommends DDGs should not be fed to growing and overwintering cattle. Rather, DDGs is a nutritious feed ingredient that works well in their diets. It’s only a matter of playing it safe by testing DDGs for sulphur level and calculating dietary sulphur feeding limits to reduce the risk of toxicity.
Non-Food Biomass Resin Sector Handed Financial Boost A Federal Government recently announced a grant of up to $3 million to Competitive Green Technologies to help position Canada as a global leader in using green, sustainable agribased technologies. This is the second time Competitive Green Technologies a corporation located in Leamington, Ontario that commercializes green technologies to lower the environmental footprint has received government funding. The first time was in early 2013 with a repayable award of $360,000 from the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) to purchase and install equipment for the manufacture of biopolymer resin compounds from nonfood biomass fibres. Current projects are focused on compounding bio-composite resin with non-food and non-forest crops of biomass, such as switch grass and oat hulls and adding value to postconsumer and postindustrial agricultural film. Uniting experts from industry and academia, Competitive Green Technologies will oversee a collaborative pilot-scale testing of purpose-grown agricultural fibres and residues in bioplastic and biocomposite products, leading to new uses for non-food crops in industrial materials. Natural fibre composites are quickly becoming a rising market and a desirable substitute to synthetic, petroleumbased fibre composites in that they are low cost, lightweight, recyclable and readily available. This promising technology will one day move from the lab to the market, helping farmers turn agricultural waste into new revenue streams while reducing their environmental footprint.
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US Railroads Eye Canadian Grain “The Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act is intended to get more grain moving but in reality a lot more of that could be accomplished if the players involved in the industry just spoke to each other.”
Art Stacey says American railways might be eyeing the opportunity to move Canadian grain. Photo by Les Kletke
By Les Kletke A lawyer who has spent a good deal of time working on issues with Canadian railways says that American railways could be eyeing the movement of Canadian grain. Art Stacey who has been involved with the privatization of 6 of 15 existing short line rail companies told the Cana-
dian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) meeting held in Niverville that there are significant changes coming in the grain industry that have been brought about by the loss of monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). “There are a number of different companies that are trying to source grain from western Canada and they are all trying to source it as close as possible to the farm,” said Stacey. He suggested that Burlington Northern could be eyeing entry into the Canadian grain industry and might be a good fit. Stacey explained he had changed his focus from litigation to negotiation. “I got tired of arguing with people and in the end having a winner and a looser,” he said. “I see that much more can be accomplished by negotiation and communication.” He again drew on the railroads for his example. “The Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act is intended to get more grain moving but in reality a lot more of that could be accomplished if the players involved in the industry just spoke to each other,” said Stacey. “The grain companies order cars and them might get spotted a week later to an agent who has no idea what they are intended for who then tries to source the grain. There is a lot of efficiency that could be achieved if the party’s involved just spoke to each other and assigned the cars accordingly.” Switching gears but staying with the importance of communication Stacey said a trend he sees with the increase in farm size and value is problematic within families and inheritance. “I recommend a shareholder’s agreement or a partnership agreement in any case because all of these things have a shelf life and they need to have some system in place for when the partnership has run its course,” he said. “That is much more difficult when the partnership is a husband and wife, but that does happen as well. He suggests that families begin the process early and discuss how farmland will be passed on to the next generation and what the will might include. “We are seeing more examples of the individual who gets the farm land not being included in the rest of the will. It is something that has to be dealt with on an individual situational basis,” added Stacey.
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Mobile Browser the Most Popular Choice in Reporting Pig Movements By Harry Siemens Who would have thought that hog producers and the entire industry would actually like reporting the movement of their hogs coming and going. Jeff Clark, the Manager of PigTrace Canada said electronic reporting tools are the most popular for reporting pig movements in Canada, which became effective July 1. PigTrace in Action, Accomplishments to Date, was among the topics discussed as part of the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium in Saskatoon. The audience were shown options that included reporting to the PigTrace.Ca web site through an internet browser or mobile device, by phone or by fax. “If we look at the number of farms or premises reporting in Canada it’s about 54 to 55 percent,” he said. “That’s about 4,300 premises in Canada out of about 8,000 and I think as of today which is November 18 it’s almost 200,000 movement events since July 1 so it’s pretty significant. I think we’re getting good buy in.” Clark said now is not the time to slow down, but to keep it up, to fill in the gaps for people who aren’t reporting and encourage them to report. The mobile browser so far is very popular he said. Not a lot of people have real good internet on their computers at home but they have mobile phones with pretty good cellular coverage so that makes the mobile browser more popular. “Some of the larger production companies and abattoirs in Canada are using our automated XML protocol,” he said. “If they already have the information in their system, instead of duplicating it, it just sends it automatically to our system. There’s some work required on that but that alone has accounted for a lot of movements in PigTrace.” Clark said Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspectors are issuing letters of non-compliance with fine structures that will be possibly in place by early 2016. At the Manitoba Pork Producer meetings, Clark said things are going really well, but that’s not to say there isn’t confusion or misinformation out there but by and large the people they work with and help, get on the program. “The people that benefit are the people that work on our behalf in the pork industry to protect our herd health,” he said. “That’s our chief veterinarians in each of the provinces as well as CFIA. If we have major outbreaks there’s information in PigTrace we can use to trace back and find out sites that may be affected.” He said that with recent outbreaks of PEDv in Manitoba, they use the PigTrace data. Mostly what producers care about is that it’s easy, it doesn’t cost them money and it’s not a hassle. “We really customize our tools for them based on their type of production and what their capabilities are,” he added. “I think once we deal with people it’s pretty positive. It’s the people that maybe don’t get the information that can be frustrated.” Clark said the system is still young so it’s going to take some time to build upon the data but it does provide traceability.
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A Kind Word Turneth Away Anger By Les Kletke Reena Nerbas is best known in the farm community for her newspaper columns that deal with household matters but the Blumenort journalist told the annual Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) conference about the difference a single word can make. Nerbas, was the luncheon speaker for the CAFA event and recounted a story about a woman who began a new job and on her first day at the office had a single post-it-note stuck to her computer when she arrived. “The note said, ‘Welcome, Lauren’,” recounted Nerbas. “I was so overwhelmed with the note that I sent one in reply and started an epidemic in the office of people sending in post-it-notes with kind words on it.” She further added, “We can do the same thing in our life and where ever we work.” She recalled a letter she received telling her how stupid she was for recommending butter over margarine. “The letter not only questioned my intelligence but went on and on. My first reaction was to script an angry reply but I chose to write a note explaining my opinion and thanking the person for their letter, the exchange continued and turned out to be positive,” said Nerbas. “We can make a difference with a single word.” Nerbas suggested that the same approach could be used in a farm situation where families often work together and do not have the Reeba Nerbas told an audience in Niverville option of leaving the work place behind. that a kind word can start an epidemic, the “Families work together and live together kind we need more of. on the farm, relationships are even more imPhoto by Les Kletke portant than in a traditional market place, a kind word can go a long way here,” she said. Nerbas addressed an issue that is effecting all families. “Social meeting is a new thing and we don’t have the rules for it,” she said. “We have people who are texting while you’re talking to them. Do you think that is acceptable?” she asked. “Young people today are comfortable doing that; to our generation that is not acceptable. We rely so much on the visual part of communication and eye contact.” While farm labour is an increasing problem, she said the same issue effects many businesses. “How do you increase moral and dedication to the job? How do we reduce turnover?” she asked. “These are things that are important to us all, and a single word can make the difference, how often do we say, ‘Thanks’?”
Funding Announced for Grain Innovation Hub Manitoba’s place as a national leader in grain research, production and processing will be enhanced through three research projects funded under Growing Forward 2. “Investing in advanced research and innovation will ensure future prosperity for Canadian farmers and processors,” said Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “These projects will explore the attributes of a wide range of crops from buckwheat to flaxseed and focus on the health benefits for consumers in a global market.” These projects will receive $341,000 and support the goals of the Grain Innovation Hub, a framework announced by the ministers in May 2014 to make strategic investments in grain production, research and processing in Manitoba. “Innovation drives Manitoba’s grains sector from seed to farm to customer, creating jobs in the province and supporting our economy,” said Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn. “Through the Grain Innovation Hub, strategic investments will cement Manitoba’s place at the forefront of the grains industry in Canada and around the world.” Projects will receive funding from the Growing Innovation - Agri-Food Research and Development Initiative (GI-ARDI) and include , validation of food substitutes for cholesterol-lowering drugs (TM Therapeutics, $175,000), measuring whether eating flaxseed can help people with high blood pressure (St. Boniface Research Foundation and the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine, $136,000) and breeding buckwheat varieties with new characteristics and health benefits (ManCan Genetics Ltd., $30,000). “Manitoba-grown and processed oats, pulses and other healthy ingredients can help people living with high cholesterol,” said Lee Anne Murphy, Director of TM Therapeutics, a joint project of StepOne Foods Canada and the Manitoba Agri-Health Research Network Inc. “There is currently no practical, easy-to-use and tasty way for consumers to add these products into their daily lives. With support from GI-ARDI, we are evaluating a food-based alternative therapy for almost 20 per cent of the population who can’t tolerate statin drugs, which is currently the most widely prescribed treatment for people with high cholesterol.” Project proponents and other stakeholders will also invest more than $865,700 in these three research projects.
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Hog Producers Hurt Themselves with Over Crowding By Harry Siemens Paul Meers of Paul Meers Consulting in Smithfield, Missouri said the construction of finishing barns and nurseries back in the early 90s were set up to house 1,000 pigs at about 8 square feet, targeting weekly production of a 2,400-sow barn to produce 1,000 to 1,100 pigs a week. Meers sees this output has greatly increased. “The systems are setup for finishing those pigs
and they take a week’s production which is now 1,250 or 1,300 pigs and end up in that same 1,000 head space,” said Meers. “In the 90s, producers sold 240 to 250 pound pigs, an ideal weight. Now we have these 1,300 pigs a week and we take them to 280, or 300 and even a little more.” He said producers continue to expect the same kind of production results even with that kind of overcrowding. He tells of how a client marked his pigs for the
next day’s load in May. The average weight 306 pounds and 2 pigs had to move before one could lie down. “I mean it is just that crowded,” said Meers. “With barns designed at 8 square feet per pig and the pencil pushers would say we need to fill them at 3 to 4 percent over because we will have a 3 to 4 percent death loss to end up with 1,000 finished hogs at a 1,000 pig spaces.” He thinks the industry is hurting itself by believing
Researchers to Quantify Farm Labour Shortage and Find Solutions The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) is launching a comprehensive Labour Market Information (LMI) research survey to examine Canada’s agricultural workforce from every commodity and region across the country.
“It is imperative that we get an accurate picture of the agricultural employment needs in Canada The Conference Board of Canada is conducting the survey on behalf of the Council, and is seeking participation from more than 1,000 producers, farm workers and stakeholder organizations from November 12 through to January 22, 2015. The survey will cover many of the questions being asked, such as how much farm work is done by family members and how much is done by employees, what work is done by domestic and or foreign workers and is there a growing reliance on hiring employees to support farm operations? All producers across Canada are encouraged to complete the short online survey at cahrcccrha.ca to ensure their farm’s needs are included which will help government and educators meet future farm labour requirements. “It is imperative that we
get an accurate picture of the agricultural employment needs in Canada and the best way to do that is to go directly to the producers themselves,” said Portia MacDonaldDewhirst, Executive Director of the Council. “Understanding their evolving needs is the first step in resolving the labour challenges facing primary agriculture. Once we clarify agriculture’s labour requirements for the short, medium and long term, relevant initiatives can be implemented with confidence by industry stakeholders to ensure the future viability and growth of Canadian farms.” In a report soon to be released by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, labour issues are identified as the number one priority facing the Canadian agriculture industry today. At issue is the lack of clear labour market information for the agriculture industry that quantifies the chronic shortages facing Canada’s agricultural businesses and accurately forecasts those requirements for the next 10 years by province, commodity and occupation. “By participating in this research, agricultural business owners will also clarify employee turnover rates by commodity and province,” explained MacDonald-Dewhirst. “This will result in benchmarks employers can use to assess their own businesses. Producers will be able to compare their own rate of employee turnover with those of
other agricultural enterprises in their region or in their commodity and assess the economic impact of employee turnover on their business.” Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program, the Council is collaborating on this three-year project with federal and provincial government departments, over thirty of Canada’s leading agriculture organizations, and agricultural colleges and training providers to ensure that the needs of industry are fully understood and addressed.
they can still put 1,100 pigs in there although the weight has increased to 280 to 300 pounds. In some cases 50 pounds per pig, more than what the building was designed to hold. “If we have 1,000 pigs, times 40 pounds more per pig, that is 40,000 pounds of extra pork,” said Meers. “Divide that by 280 pounds per pig and that is another 142 pigs in that facility that it wasn’t designed to hold. The feed efficiency drops, the average daily gain declines, and even the death loss creeps higher.” Meers recently spoke with a technician friend who’d spent some time with a major integrator com-
ing through a major PEDv break in 2013. While recovered, he’d shut down a few barns in the meantime. While still making lease payments on the empty barns, the integrator decided to fill those barns at 70 percent, to get all empty barns into production, albeit not nearly full. That producer proved to himself that by giving these pigs the right amount of space they would grow even faster and convert even better because average daily gain, feed efficiency and death loss were all significantly improved, he added. Meers said many barns are down to 6.5 square feet
with the added weight and numbers and with the added incentive to getting more pounds to market, some producers simply look the other way. He is hoping his comments will get some people scratching their heads and maybe a wake up call for them to cut back a little or maybe to re-measure the pens. “Do we have enough feeder space and are the original five hole or six hole feeders in these barns that could allow five pigs up to 250 pounds to eat properly, but what about six pigs at 300 pounds, “ he said. “They get pretty wide don’t they?”
Pig barns built in the 90s, were designed to house 1,000 to 1,100 pigs, but today far too many are housed with 1,250 to 1,300 pigs and at 280 to 300 pounds per pig producers are hurting themselves said swine consultant Paul Meers of Smithfield, Missouri.
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Manitoba Wins CFGA Leadership Award The Canadian Forage & Grassland Association (CFGA) is pleased to announce its selection of Wayne Digby as the recipient of the third CFGA Leadership Award. “Wayne played a pivotal role in establishing the CFGA, giving the forage industry a national voice,” said CFGA Chair, Doug Wray. Digby served as Executive Director of the Manitoba Forage Council (MFC) between 2008 and 2011, providing leadership and overall management. This included working with the Board of Directors of the MFC in setting out the strategic direction, overall management of the council, which also included communications, and financial management. Under his management, the MFC continued to grow in its role as the key voice for forage and grasslands in Manitoba. A key priority of Digby’s work with the MFC was to provide leadership in the establishment of a national forage and grassland organization. He worked with forage and grassland industry leaders, provincial forage councils, representatives of commodity organizations (Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Dairy Farmers of Canada) and government representatives. Digby provided the leadership and coordination in the establishment of the CFGA, which has developed into the voice for the forage and grassland sector in Canada. From 2010 to 2013, he served as Executive Director (ED) of the CFGA. As the ED, he was responsible for all aspects of developing and managing the organization including working with a Canada wide and industry wide Board of Directors, staff management, communications and financial management. Digby spent six years managing Digby Consulting, providing consulting assistance in community facilitation, industry development, ethanol development, co-products, wind power development and extension program develop-
ment. He also dedicated three years to serving as Extension Program Manager for the Canada Ukraine FARM Program in Ukraine, which included providing overall direction, hiring staff, program development, staff training and overall coordination for the establishment of four Oblast (Provincial) Extension Offices and 15 District Offices. Digby has devoted a considerable amount of his time as a volunteer in a number of leadership roles. He served with Canadian University Services Overseas (CUSO), a Canadian volunteer agency in Botswana, in the Agricultural Information Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, supporting small development projects, and as a board member with The Marquis Project, a Western Manitoba-based international development organization.
Wayne Digby of Manitoba is the recipient of the CFGA Leadership Award.
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Farm Families Working Together
Jolene Brown keynote speaker at the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference at the Keystone Centre in Brandon. Photo by Joan Airey
By Joan Airey Jolene Brown a farmer, professional speaker and champion for the family owned farm was keynote speaker at the 2014 Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference, captivating her audience with humour, hope and helpful hints for every facet of bringing family members into the farming operation. “When building a family farm you need to build a solid foundation one brick at a time for it to withstand the test of time. You’ll discover that when your business is constructed correctly, not only do we have a productive and profitable result, we also have laid the foundation for the legacy of a family business,” Jolene Brown stated. Brown stressed the point that parents do not owe their children a business they owe them morals, values and a chance to get an education. She stressed children should work for someone else before returning to the family farm, out on their own for two or three years before returning. She told the audience, “A conversation is not a contract. With family, more not less needs to be in writing.” She said that there are three false assumptions which should be corrected; that by working hard someday the farm will be yours, that Dad is going to retire, don’t worry about your brothers and sisters they aren’t interested in the business and hope is not a good business strategy. Brown explained how she told one Mom how not to be Mom in the Middle so she would not get ulcers every time the manure spreader came out. “When Dad comes in and says Johnny isn’t spreading the manure right, tell him, STOP, I think you have a problem with Johnny not me, discuss it with him. When Johnny comes in and says Dad isn’t loading the manure right say, STOP I think that is something you should discuss with your Dad,” she said. It may take three or four times of responding, this way but it works she added. You can find her website at JoleneBrown.com or check out pinktractor.com where you will be laughing while you learn.
Flood Insurance and Soil-Borne Disease Concern KAP Members Members of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) many of whom are still reeling from the effects of last summer’s flood are concerned over the Excess Moisture Insurance program’s inadequate coverage for their losses. EMI is offered through the federal-provincial AgriInsurance program. KAP members attending their fall general council meeting expressed frustration over a five-per-cent deductible on EMI that is cumulative on claims made by those experiencing successive years of flooding. They indicated this dramatically reduces their coverage and the effectiveness of the program, explaining the deductible can be as much as 30 per cent for a farmer who has experienced multiple years of flooding. “The deductible, combined with reduced funding for other farm risk management programs, means farmers are not receiving the same recovery assistance this year as they did after the 2011 flood and some may not make it,” said KAP Vice-President Dan Mazier. He said KAP is still waiting to hear about its request to provincial and federal governments for implementation of a program under the AgriRecovery framework. AgriRecovery is designed to address unpredictable situations such as flooding and several programs were implemented in 2011 to assist farmers who lost their incomes. KAP members also passed a resolution that will see the organization lobby both levels of government to require oil and gas workers, and their companies, to be trained in biosecurity practices when they enter farmland. This follows the arrival in the province of club root, a devastating canola disease and without proper biosecurity protocols the disease, as well as insects and weeds, can be easily spread from field to field. The resolution is a result of frustration with the right of entry granted by legislation to oil and gas companies, allowing them to enter farmland without permission. Farmers are not able to refuse entry, even if they are concerned about biosecurity. Anastasia Kubinec, a provincial expert on biosecurity and club root, told KAP members there are already 13 identified cases of club root in the Province. She said everyone entering farmland must practice biosecurity measures to prevent its spread.
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Food Safety an Increasing Issue in the Courts By Les Kletke A lawyer who focuses his practice on civil litigation in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario told the annual meeting of Canadian Association of Farm Advisors that food safety is the main issue he deals with and sees it growing. Paul Brett who is with Thompson Dorfman Sweatman says that a majority of his cases deal with food safety and he sees that as the issue for the immediate future. “Many deal with food safety and the issue of traceability,” said Brett. “They are outcome based and the decisions rendered are by judges trying to do their best.” He left the impression that cases were handled on an individual basis and the concept of precedence established in early cases was no longer as important as it once was. Art Stacey appeared on the panel with Brett and he said a Manitoba judge had told him that if a specific case came before him today he would render the opposite judgement that he had in the past. Stacey said he found that disheartening
Paul Brett (left) says food safety concerns will become greater legal issues in the future, he was part of a panel with Art Stacey at the CAFA annual convention. Photo by Les Kletke
and against the principles, he had been taught in law school. Brett was much less harsh on the judge’s statement saying that judges were trying to do the best they could and are people just like anyone else working in the legal system. Brett used an example where an organic farmer had lost his certification because he claimed some GMO canola had blown in
from a neighbour’s field. The judge dismissed the case against the conventional canola producer saying that the Certifying Organic Organization had acted wrongly in pulling the certification. “It is a strange case but we are likely to see more of this type of thing as the issue between GMO and organic producers continue,” he said. The pair provided an in-
formative and at times entertaining view of the present legal system and reminded those practicing on both sides of the Canada-US border that taxation information was now being exchanged much more freely with officials from both countries. They reminded the audience that it is imperative to have the proper paper work and to follow the tax laws of both countries.
November 28, 2014
Farmers Flooded by the Portage Diversion to Receive Compensation Farmers whose lands were flooded as a result of the Manitoba government’s decision to use the Portage Diversion this past summer will be eligible for $1.15 million in compensation said Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn. “During our flood response, the Manitoba government used the Portage Diversion to manage water flow and provide protection to as many Manitobans’ homes and properties as possible,” said Kostyshyn. “The government recognizes this decision led to flooding on agricultural land and losses for producers. This compensation will be targeted to farmers affected by the use of the diversion and support their land restoration efforts.” Payments will be made to crop and forage producers in the immediate vicinity of the Portage Diversion for lost production and land restoration. More than 2,500 acres are expected to be eligible. Affected producers will be contacted by Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC). Producers can also contact their local MASC office for information. Kostyshyn noted this support is in addition to the Canada-Manitoba Forage Shortfall and Transportation Assistance Initiative announced under the AgriRecovery framework last week. Additional information about flood recovery programs for agriculture is available online at gov.mb.ca/ agriculture.
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The Agri Post
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Hemp’s Medicinal and Biofibre Properties to be Studied New research focused on the medicinal properties of hemp as well as its use in the biofibre industry will receive more than $198,000 under Growing Forward 2 as part of governments’ commitment to research, innovation and regional development. The funding was recently announced by Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn and Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “This research shines a light on new opportunities for hemp growers in our province, building on our reputation for excellence which is acknowledged around the world,” said Kostyshyn. “Through strategic research and investment, Manitoba will remain a leader in nutraceuticals, functional foods and biofibre.” The project, led by Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers (PIHG), will test existing varieties of hemp for levels of cannabidol, a compound believed to have a number of positive health effects. Once the level of cannabidol in current hemp varieties is known, work will begin to develop a new variety with higher levels. The ability to market hemp as a functional food and for its health benefits would create additional value for growers and the industry. PIHG notes this is the first time cannabidol levels will be studied in Canadian hemp varieties. While additional medical research is needed to verify their health benefits, cannabidols may help people with a range of conditions, including schizophrenia, anxiety, convulsions and nausea. “We see the potential in the cannabidols found in hemp,” said Chris Dzisiak, PIHG Chair. “This initiative is proactive, to have varieties evaluated and available when the health research, legislation and licensing is ready for the use of cannabidols. This builds on our aggressive plant breeding program, which until now has focused on high yielding, large seeded grain and fibre varieties adapted to Manitoba and Western Canada with the assistance of the federal and provincial governments.” The research project will also measure fibre content in existing hemp varieties. Hemp fibre is used in biomass products and the industry has identified the need to develop varieties with higher and more consistent fibre content as a priority. Hemp and marijuana are two different strains of the Cannabis sativa plant. Hemp has low, government-regulated levels of the psychoactive compound called THC and currently has no approved medical use. Its seeds, fibre and oil are used in a variety of products, including food, rope, paper products, cosmetics and biofuel. Marijuana is federally regulated for medicinal purposes.
Volunteers Can Pork for MCC Food Aid By Elmer Heinrichs The 13th annual meat canning drive that took place in Winkler, beginning Wednesday, November 19 and concluding Saturday morning on the 22nd reached another successful conclusion, however donations are still needed. John Martens, Chair of the Manitoba Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) meat canning campaign, said volunteers filled 22,000 cans of pork, which are now ready to feed many. Already a week before it
began, Martens was on site hard at work planning the canning drive in which volunteers, it was hoped, would fill 22,000 cans with nutrition. Martens worked with other organizers and volunteers, and wife Sara, who operated the phone line accepting group and individual volunteer registrations. Hundreds of volunteers, both young and old, came from across southern Manitoba, from east of the Red River, west of Winkler, and even north to
Winnipeg to be part of providing food for thousands. Each year since 1946, MCC has sent out a mobile cannery, which MCC workers and volunteers use to preserve hundreds of thousands of cans of meat for communities in need around the globe. A gift to meat canning helps organizers to cover costs and to ship the canned food when needed. Soaring pork prices have eaten into MCC‘s canning budget, and funds are still needed to cover all the costs. Supporters are urged to donate now to make the 2014 canning drive another big success. Donations can also be made directly to MCC to help cover the cost of meat and shipping. The mobile meat canner with four volunteers travels to 33 locations to points
in the United States from October 2013 through April 2014, with the last stops at Leamington and Elmira. Ontario. At last year’s Winkler meat canning event, volunteers also filled 22,000 cans of meat that was shipped to North Korea and to Haiti, with 10 per cent of the meat distributed locally.
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Manitoba Foodgrains Bank Harvest Completed By Elmer Heinrichs The 2014 Manitoba harvest for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is finally complete. Harold Penner, Coordinator for the Manitoba and northwest Ontario region said this year’s harvest for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank was completed on Saturday, October 25 when Arborg combined 109 acres of canola and Thunder Bay harvested 67 acres of wheat. “Much of the harvesting this year was done in the month of October,” said Penner. The Boissevain, Morten, Whitewater (BMW) project, which harvested a field at Fairfax on October 22 had particular significance for the committee and volunteers. It was BMW’s 17th consecutive year of operation. Apparently, it was the latest that the project has ever harvested and since part of the crop required storage, the local Co-op delivered a Meridian hopper bin right to the field for its use until the crop is moved to market. Penner exclaimed, “And when this crop is sold, the BMW group will have sent its one millionth dollar to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank!” He also extends an invitation from the Foodgrains Bank for the many, many agri-businesses that are involved in supporting growing projects across the province. “So, for those of you who work with any businesses that have supported us this year, we extend a personal invitation to an informative evening with a pastor from Lebanon who has worked with CFGB projects helping refugees from Syria,” said Penner. The event is for everyone involved in growing projects in any way, to come and enjoy a good evening of food, fellowship and information at one of the fall meetings in Winkler, Brandon or Winnipeg. This year Manitoba projects donated over 5,000 acres of grain to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to feed people in need.
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Digestion May be the Most Valuable Alternative for Livestock Producers Researchers at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) have shown that an alternative method of managing manure may benefit producers. There are many challenges that livestock producers face, not the least of which is where to put the waste produced by their animals and what to do with it. The standard practice is to spread the manure on crop or pasture land. In some cases, the manure is composted prior to land application to help reduce the volume of material to be hauled and spread. With this traditional manure management, manure is treated as a waste. Treating manure as a resource can help improve overall manure management, both economically and environmentally. According to Dr. Joy Agnew of PAMI, producers must consider managing manure in a way that not only minimizes the effect on the environment; it also becomes cost-effective. Agnew suggests that a new way of handling manure, solid-state anaerobic digestion (SSAD) may help recycle manure nutrients more effectively and generate renewable energy, which can make manure management more cost-effective. Agnew and PAMI partnered up to conduct an examination of SSAD as an alternative management method for solid manure that might alleviate certain negative side effects of traditional methods. SSAD is a biological process that converts agricultural residue and waste into energy through the natural process of digestion. Inside a digester, organic material like cattle manure is broken down by naturally occurring microorganisms. The biogas produced by the process is captured and the solid material leftover can be composted and applied to the land as a nutrient and organic matter-rich fertilizer. Digestion cannot only reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with manure management; it also cuts down on the odour emissions compared to traditional manure management. Therefore, SSAD helps address some of the environmental impacts and social concerns that surround the handling of manure, especially at large-scale feedlots. According to Agnew and her team, this is also cost-effective. The team considered many environmental factors to determine the value or cost associated with traditional manure handling practices and compared them to SSAD. They came up with an environmental scoring system to rank manure management options and commercial fertilizer application based on their potential environmental impact. Then they assigned dollar values to three environmental factors, greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient content and biogas production for each of four manure management options, stockpiled manure, composted manure, SSAD manure, a combination of SSAD and composted manure and commercial fertilizer. Also considered were odour emissions and social or political perception and an overall manure management cost for a 40,000 head feedlot. What they found was that SSAD and composting seems to offer the maximum value and minimum net cost of all the options considered, as well as the highest environmental score, taking into account the social and political importance rating. Based on the factors considered in the analysis, it is environmentally and possibly economically beneficial for beef producers to include digestion and composting as part of their manure management system in the long term. There is a definite initial cost to digestion, Agnew cautions. The high capital cost of an anaerobic digester makes adopting the technology risky in the short term, but manageable over the long term, and perhaps even profitable. “Over the 20-year life of the system, digestion will generate a net positive return,” said Agnew. “The value of biogas and the net value of digestion are likely to increase over the lifetime of the equipment, as fossil fuel prices increase and incentives for green energy production are adopted.” PAMI researchers were able to use information and results from the operation of their pilot-scale Solid-State Anaerobic Digester (SSAD) as part of the study. They also reviewed literature to assign values to the environmental factors associated with manure handling practices like stockpiling, composting, solid-state anaerobic digestion. However, Agnew noted that the numerical values placed on carbon offsets were based on the existence of a carbon offset program in Saskatchewan. Currently, there is no such system in place; the team took the values based on the program in Alberta. However even if carbon offsets are not considered in the calculation, SSAD was still associated with the highest net profit and environmental score as the biogas value was found to be the most significant factor in the overall value of manure.
Measuring Your Farm’s Financial Performance By Bob Gwyer Tracking the performance of your business is essential for making good management decisions. Over a number of years, trends will show where the business is going and help identify issues before major problems occur. In addition to comparing your own business’s numbers from year to year, there are industry benchmarks and guidelines that can be used to see how things stack up with similar operations. The first step is completing a net worth statement every year-end at the same time each year, generally on December 31. Completing this statement has the added benefit of gathering much of the information you require for AgriStability, such as crop and livestock inventory, accounts payable, deferred income and receivables and purchased inputs such as fertilizer. In basic terms, the statement identifies your business assets, debt and equity. It is good to know if you are gaining equity and whether it is earned or from inflation on assets. Once completed, several financial management measurements can be determined. Solvency is defined as having enough asset value to cover the liabilities of the business and can be calculated in several ways: - Debt ratio = total farm liabilities/total farm assets, which indicates the number of dollars of debt for every dollar of asset value. Generally, a ratio of less than 0.25 is considered very strong, a 0.25 to 0.40 ratio is satisfactory and more than 0.40 is weak. - Equity ratio = total farm equity/total farm assets. Generally a ratio of more than 0.75 is considered strong and 0.60 to 0.75 as satisfactory. - Leverage ratio = total farm liabilities/total farm equity, which is sometimes referred to as a debt/equity ratio. Usually a ratio of less than 0.4 is considered strong, with a 0.4 to 1.0 as satisfactory and more than 1.0 considered weak. Liquidity is defined as having enough current assets to cover current liabilities and can be expressed in several ways: - Current ratio = current farm assets/current farm liabilities. A ratio of more than 1.5 is considered strong, 1.0 to 1.5 is satisfactory and less than 1.0 is weak. - Working capital = current farm assets-current farm liabilities. This calculation shows how many dollars are available to cover current debt owing and what would be left after paying it. It shows what is available to operate the business, so the higher the amount, the stronger the business. One last management measure that is worth watching is debt structure. It indicates how much of the total business debt is due in the next 12 months and can indicate pending cash flow stress on the business, depending on the number. - Debt structure ratio = Current farm liabilities/total farm liabilities. A ratio of less than 20 per cent is considered strong, 20 to 35 per cent is satisfactory and more than 35 per cent is considered weak. In other words, the more total debt due in the next 12 months is harder on the business, though this also depends on the total amount of debt. Once completed, this work will be used to file AgriStability and can be used to complete management analysis and trend analysis on your business. If some things are going off track, this is a good way to identify potential problems and look into corrective action, if required. Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development’s (MAFRD) RatioPlan can help you complete analysis on your farm business. Along with a net worth statement and an income and expense statement, you can complete more analysis if desired. For details on the RatioPlan tool, and help with evaluating your farm business, contact your local MAFRD Go Office or visit gov.mb.ca/agriculture/online-resources/decisionmaking-tools. Bob Gwyer is a MAFRD Business Development Specialist in Minnedosa.
New National Accreditation Program for Dairy Farmers A new, national accreditation program focused on quality, food safety and animal welfare will be implemented on Manitoba’s dairy farms with financial support provided through Growing Forward 2. The four-year, $525,000 project will put an integrated on-farm assessment and accreditation process in place for Manitoba’s dairy farms, which will result in them being recognized under the national proAction initiative. The focus on quality, safety and animal care will help ensure Manitoba milk will continue to be produced safely and responsibly. The program will be implemented by the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM). As part of the process, milk quality audits and other on-farm assessments currently conducted by the provincial government will be combined with the proAction requirements into a single farm visit from DFM. Two new jobs will be created at the organization to support this work. “Through proAction, dairy farmers in Manitoba and across Canada show their commitment to responsible stewardship of their animals and sustainably producing high quality, safe, and nutritious food for consumers,” said David Wiens, DFM chair. There are more than 300 dairy farms in Manitoba, producing more than 320 million litres of milk annually. The farm-gate value of this industry, before additional value-added processing, is $264 million annually.
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Jobs at Risk Due to Ban on New Hog Barns By Harry Siemens While the hog price roller coaster continues, the industry in Manitoba would like to see the production side have a big increase, but the current NDP government in Manitoba says no, they are not lifting the current moratorium in place since 2011. Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst is calling for action that will ensure the future success of the province’s pork processing industry while also addressing environmental concerns related to water quality in Lake Winnipeg. The current ban leaves the Manitoba processing industry, namely Maple Leaf Foods at Brandon with 2,000 well-paying union jobs at risk and another 875 employees at HyLife’s
Foods plant at Neepawa. “Maple Leaf is in the food processing business, intensely competitive, a lot of competition coming out of the States where they’ve got less environmental regulatory control,” said Decter Hirst. “So again we have to make sure that our Canadian businesses are as productive and as competitive as the American businesses or frankly we’re going to lose those businesses here in Canada and that would be a real tragedy here in Brandon.” Manitoba PC Agricultural critic Blaine Pedersen and MLA for Midland reports that Manitoba hog processors are short 1.5 million hogs a year and the industry is shrinking. “Would it not be terrible if Maple Leaf Foods or HyLife Foods would one day say they have to shut
down their plant? We keep bringing it to the attention of the current government, many many times over,” said Pederson. He further stated the government does not want to listen and Premier Selinger himself has said, nope they are not changing the moratorium. “Our concern is will we have a hog industry in a year and half from now, after the next election,” asked Pedersen. “We can’t seem to get through to government that this is a very real possibility.” Pederson said both Maple Leaf and HyLife are working hard at keeping production from falling too low and picking up all the available barns in Saskatchewan from various companies that have shut down in the last five years. “But they are at the end
Funds Target Export Markets for Dairy and Small Ruminants The Canadian Livestock Genetics Association (CLGA) will receive funding of $1.6 million from the Federal Government to help open new export markets to boost the global sale of Canadian dairy and small ruminant genetics. Canada and the European Union have reached an agreement in principle on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement that will significantly boost trade and investment ties. Upon entry into force, almost 94 per cent of EU agricultural tariff lines will be dutyfree. In 2013, it is estimated that the Canadian dairy, sheep and goat industry generated over $120 million in exports. With the funding focused on developing new export markets for Canada’s dairy, sheep and goat sectors, the goal of increasing the sale and export of dairy genetics is 10 % or $1.2 million by 2015.
Maple Leaf Foods of Brandon and HyLife Foods of Neepawa, Manitoba both face large hog shortages due to the ban on hog expansion in the province. In November 2012, Maple Leaf Foods bought the Puratone Corporation, a Manitoba hog production company with 25,000 sows for approximately $42 million including livestock, facilities and interests in some joint ventures. This feed mill in Winkler, Manitoba is one of the properties now in the Maple Leaf fold. Photo by Harry Siemens
of what is available,” he said. “Now, if the only way our two processors can continue, is to build barns in Saskatchewan, Manitoba loses again.”
Pedersen further added that their party’s position is that government needs to work with Manitoba Pork because it is doing good work on how Manitoba can
rebuild the industry in a sustainable fashion. “They aren’t even talking expansion, but maintaining the industry at where it is right now,” he added.
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Expanded Pilot Project Encourages Local Sustainable Food The Manitoba government is investing more than $73,000 in the second phase of the Local Sustainable Food Pilot Project, which helps institutions identify ways to increase the amount of locally grown food purchased while working with farmers to meet these demands. “Funding for the Local Sustainable Food Procurement Pilot Program will support both farmers and purchasers, with the goal of having more local foods in more locations across the province. This is great news for the rural economy,” said Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn. “We have already seen good results from the first phase of this project, and along with the upcoming conclusion of recent consultations for direct-farm marketing, Manitobans will soon have more choice than ever when it comes to buying locally grown food.” Institutional buyers include Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg, Canadian Mennonite University and Maples Personal Care Home. The first phase of the project has focused on collecting baseline data for the eight participating institutions, the minister said, adding participating institutions have also received advice on how to increase their purchases of locally grown food from their ex-
Forage and Livestock Symposium The Manitoba Forage and Livestock Symposium will take place on December 9 and 10 at the Canad Inn in Portage la Prairie. Topics include Achieving Profitability, Silage Production, High Energy Forages, Grass Fed Beef, Insurance Programs and includes a Producer Panel. Late registration is still available at a cost of $125 per person regardless of Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association (MFGA) membership. Registration includes two lunches, banquet and all sessions. To register or for more information call 204-385-6633, fax 204-385-6636 or email info@mfga.net.
isting distributors. “We are delighted to continue our support of this pilot project, working collaboratively with Food Matters and our current vendor, Sysco, to provide our guests with the best cuisine sourced locally when possible,” said Alain Dumonceaux, Executive Director of Food and Beverage and Events, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries. “Our partners have been integral in helping us optimize our purchasing of local foods including vegetables, cheese, eggs, pasta, flour, fish and much more.” Resources are being developed to provide distributors and institutional purchasers with up-to-date information about where they can source local foods. The minister said a key component of this project is to build relationships between Manitoba food producers and processors and institutional purchasers. Courses will be held throughout the year for producers and processors interested in learning more about the project, he added. “As a leader in sustainable development, we are always looking for opportunities to improve social, environmental and economic outcomes in a balanced way,” said Ian Hall, Director, Office of Sustainability, the University of Manitoba. “This is a valued opportunity for the university and our cam-
pus food service providers to reflect on procurement patterns and to access information about local market opportunities. We’re excited about the potential to showcase more local and sustainable food to over 30,000 students and staff and to contribute to a strong local food system.” Kostyshyn noted this project supports the Manitoba government’s ongoing support of locally grown and processed foods. Most recently, the Manitoba government asked the Small Scale Food Manitoba working group, led by Dr. Wayne Lees, to consult with Manitobans on the issue and provide a report and recommendations to government. The public consultations have concluded and a report is expected by the end of the year. Last year, the Manitoba government contributed $81,000 to the Local Sustainable Food Pilot Project, which was developed by Local Food Plus in partnership with Food Matters Manitoba. Local Food Plus is a non-profit organization committed to growing local sustainable food systems across Canada. Food Matters Manitoba is a registered charity that engages Manitobans towards healthy, sustainable and fair food systems, through cultivating community food skills, providing public education and building partnerships and networks.
Soil Fingerprinting Used to Improve Soil Monitoring An important question for agricultural producers is on how farmers know if what they are doing is enhancing the quality of soil. Soil quality directly affects crop yields and sustainable agricultural production; however, monitoring and tracking changes in soil quality is a complicated process. Because there are many soil attributes, land use decisions and environmental issues that need to be considered, a team led by an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientist, Dr. Catherine Fox of the Greenhouse and Processing Crops Research Centre, has developed the ‘A-Horizon Framework’ with an electronic Field Form to record detailed characteristics of the surface layer of the soil to create a ‘soil fingerprint’. This new Framework offers an innovative and systematic approach to record soil properties that affect soil quality and are subject to change, such as soil structure, bulk density (extent of compaction), amount of organic matter, pH and salinity. As the properties of the soil are recorded electronically in the Field Form, a soil fingerprint is automatically generated. This soil fingerprint is applied to field and landscape soil assessments in order to monitor changes both during the growing season and over several years. A database of many soil fingerprints can also be used by researchers to develop models to evaluate soil quality, assist in soil remediation efforts, and assess overall environmental impacts. “This soil fingerprint is a concise way to describe the characteristics of the soil surface layer. Changes to the fingerprint of a soil can be compared over time or under different management practices. Having this knowledge will help producers identify management practices that improve the quality of their soils,” explained Natalie Feisthauer, Project Co-lead, Knowledge & Technology Transfer. The built-in adaptability and flexibility of the Framework and Field Form allows the inclusion of additional soil properties, for example, water flow and soil organism populations depending on what is being evaluated such as the specific effects of a best management practice or soil remediation efforts. The Framework will be applied to different farming systems and management practices to further validate its application for identifying soil quality change. Enhanced guidance material will be developed for its use. Ultimately, the goal is to provide the agricultural community with a useful tool to assist in the evaluation of the effectiveness of best management practices on soil quality.
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Canadian Malting Barley to Make New Inroads The Federal Government is funding the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC) based in Winnipeg, with $1.95 million for its market development in existing and new growth markets. CMBTC aims to maintain and boost Canada’s global competitiveness by being the focal point for technical support and market knowledge to companies involved in selling Canadian malting barley or malt to export markets. CMBTC will achieve this by providing technical training and problem solving to stakeholders, ensuring new varieties meet international customers’ needs and providing direct sales support to international customers. Founded in 2000, the CMBTC facilities include state-of-the art- brewing and malting equipment that allows it to duplicate any malting or brewing system in the world producing commercial quality malt and beer. According to CMBTC, Canada’s brewing industry drives $14 billion in value-added activity, over 160,000 jobs, supplies approximately 20% of the global malting barley market and is the world’s third largest exporter of malt.
Limiting Contamination from Pesticide Spills, Splashes and Rinses Pesticides are commonly used on most traditional farms around the world to control harmful insects and weeds. While farmers take great care in using pesticides, runoff from mixing and rinsing locations has become an area of environmental focus as up to 80 per cent of contaminants found in water bodies trace back to on-farm activities. Europe has been using a system called a biobed to capture and degrade the unintentional release of pesticides into the environment. In Canada, Larry Braul, a Water Quality Engineer and Dr. Claudia Sheedy, a Research Scientist, both with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), are co-leading a project to develop a biobed model to support Canadian farmers. Essentially organic filters for pesticide disposal, biobeds are relatively inexpensive and easy to use and significantly speed up the pesticides’ natural breakdown processes. The contained biobed uses a mixture of topsoil, compost and straw to absorb and then degrade pesticides by providing an ideal habitat for microbes, which break down the pesticides to the point where they pose no further threat to the environment. Braul and Sheedy have found that while what has been successful in Europe cannot be directly transferred to Canada, we can certainly learn from Europe’s experience to find the ideal solution for Canadian farmers. In its first year, Braul and Sheedy monitored the effluent from two existing beds. They probed one bed located in Outlook, Saskatchewan and found that in May, it was still frozen at eight centimetres down. Given Canada’s cold climate, Braul and Sheedy are investigating the ideal solution to keep the beds warm and the microbe population thriving. Next year, they will be comparing the costs and efficiencies of adding heat using electrical and solar energy, as well as other heating methods. “Our cold climate will have an enormous impact on the function of the biobed. A raise in temperature of ten degrees can double the activity of microbes, so it’s important for us to understand the complete picture,” said Braul. The team also wants to use ever improving technology to measure and learn more about the relationship between microbes and pesticide degradation. “The analytical instruments we work with nowadays are very sensitive; they can detect even minute traces of pesticide residue from the test bed effluent. Pesticide data will allow us to learn more about how the biobed works and the relationship between microbes and pesticide degradation,” said Sheedy. Going forward, research will focus on identifying factors affecting pesticide degradation in biobeds and the optimal biomix. This fall, three more biobeds will be installed in a setting similar to that of a farm in western Canada. Soon, Canadian farmers will join their European counterparts in limiting contamination from pesticide handling areas using a made in Canada biobed solution.
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