U.S. ELECTION IMPACT ON COOL
POOR WEATHER= LOWER QUALITY
Some say it’s positive, some say no change » Pg 15
NOVEMBER 13, 2014
Soybeans and lentil yields are up, but prices may not be » Pg 7
SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | VOL. 72, NO. 46
Immediate priorities identified for new wheat and barley organizations
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MANITOBACOOPERATOR.CA
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THE NEVER-ENDING STORY
One is deciding if farmers should own their own plant-breeding company By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF
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here are two pressi n g i s s u e s t h e We s t’s new provincial wheat and barley organizations need to address soon, a Manitoba consultant working for the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA) says. One is prepare for the July 17, 2017 end of the temporary western Canadian wheat and barley checkoff for funding
With corn and sunflowers still in the fields and flurries beginning to dance in the air, harvest is now into its fourth month in Manitoba. The growing season has been complicated, to say the least. But for most farmers, at least it’s over. PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVES
See NEW ORGS on page 6 »
We’re No. 1 in pedigreed seed acres Manitoba has far fewer crop acres than Saskatchewan and Alberta, but the growing demand for soybeans has pushed Manitoba’s pedigreed acreage to the top By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF
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t’s unlikely Manitoba Seed Growers Association (MSGA) members will be doing a happy dance or celebrating like kids winning a hockey championship, but Manitoba is No. 1 — and for the second year in a row. Manitoba had more inspected acres of pedigreed seed than any other province in 2014 and 2013 — thanks mainly to soybeans. The figures, as of Oct. 31, were presented to the Interprovincial Seed Growers meeting in Winnipeg Nov. 7.
“It’s very exciting,” MSGA president Eric McLean said Nov. 8 in an interview from his farm near Oak River. “Because soybeans expanded and wheat and barley acres contracted in Saskatchewan and Alberta, coupled with some bad weather that afflicted southeast Saskatchewan or different areas of Alberta, we have happened to get ahead.” Manitoba had 311,190 acres of inspected pedigreed seed in 2014, compared to 279,331 in Alberta and 276,310 in Saskatchewan. Last year, Manitoba’s pedi-
greed acreage was slightly higher at 330,648, beating Saskatchewan for top spot by less than a section — just 608 acres. What makes the feat stand out is that Manitoba has around 12 million acres of cropland compared with around 38 million in Saskatchewan and 34 million in Alberta. In 2014, pedigreed seed acres accounted for almost three per cent of Manitoba’s crop production versus Saskatchewan’s 0.73 and Alberta’s 1.2 per cent. At 123,061 acres, pedigreed soybeans made up the most
seed acres in Manitoba this year, accounting for 40 per cent. Wheat was second with 97,359 acres, representing 31 per cent of Manitoba’s seed acres. Ryegrass and alfalfa were third and fourth at 14,815 and 13,089 acres — double the pedigreed barley acres. Manitoba’s pedigreed wheat acres exceeded Alberta’s at 68,003, but were lower than Saskatchewan’s 114,616. Manitoba grew no pedigreed hybrid canola in 2014. Most of it is produced in southern Alberta on irrigated land. This See No. 1 SEEDS on page 6 »
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