Gnn150224 by Farm Business Communications

Volume 41, Number 5 | FEBRUARY 24, 2015

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PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

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Vessels kept waiting at port Port Metro Vancouver is on track to break movement records, despite supply chain problems By Lisa Guenther

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photo: courtesy of port metro vancouver

ark Hemmes is cautiously optimistic about grain transportation this year, he told CropSphere delegates in Saskatoon in January. The transportation system has set records for grain volumes moved, he said, and generally things are back in balance. But vessel line-ups at port are still a concern, he said, especially in Vancouver. “They’re running out of anchorage in the port,” said Hemmes, founding partner of Quorum Corporation, the agency tasked with monitoring grain movement. In the first nine months of the 2013-14 crop year, over 13 million tonnes of grain were funnelled through Vancouver, according to Quorum’s latest report. This adds up to just over 61 per cent of the entire system’s throughput. During that time, vessels waited an average of 19.1 days in port at Vancouver. The third quarter saw the longest waits, at 25.1 days on average. In an interview, Doug Mills, senior account representative for Port Metro Vancouver, said supply chain problems are putting pressure on the anchorages. “And it causes us to deny ships entry into the anchorage and force them to anchorage off Vancouver Island, for example,” said Mills. “And that causes extra costs into the supply chain because now that vessel has to hire pilots twice. They have to move an extended distance.” Despite anchorage issues, Port Metro Vancouver moved record grain volumes last year, Mills said. And this year, with few weather disruptions or other logistic issues, the port is on track to break more records, Mills said. “It hasn’t been as drastic this year as it was last year,” said Gerry Gault, president of the Grain Workers Union, whose members staff the grain terminals in Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Gault, interviewed in late

Quorum’s latest report says that during the first nine months of the 2013-14 crop year, vessels waited an average of 19.1 days in port at Vancouver. January, said typical waits were 12 to 24 days at that time. He put recent line-ups at anywhere from 15 to 20 vessels.

Grain movement the crux of the problem Quorum’s latest report notes vessel wait times indicate export movement of grain isn’t keeping up with demand. In an email, Hemmes cautioned against looking for simple solutions or causes. But inadequate carrying capacity is part of the problem, the Quorum report notes. “The railways have not been able to supply capacity so as to

meet the demand,” Hemmes said. He added they could not have met the demand of 2013’s crop, given the unexpected size of the crop. They need at least eight to 10 months to gear up for more volume, Hemmes explained. “That said, there has been an ongoing challenge for grain companies to obtain rail capacity and grow volumes,” Hemmes said. Canadian Pacific (CP) cut locomotives and staff in the spring and summer of 2013, when movement slowed, Hemmes said. The cold winter had an impact as well, he added. “The actual fact of the case is, the reason those ships are there

is because the grain’s not getting to port,” said Mills. “And it’s not a cause of grain back-up. It is a result of grain back-up.” Mills said Port Metro Vancouver is undertaking a $9 billion infrastructure project to meet future export demands. But right now the port’s grain terminals have lots of capacity, he said. “Some of them were half-empty through the busiest part of the year.” The crux of the problem is “grain arriving out of sequence and to do with the way the railways are managing the car supply and the timeliness of rail cars being spotted,” said Wade Sobkowich in an interview.

In This Issue

Sobkowich is executive director of the Western Grain Elevators Association. It takes “an awful lot of cars to fill a 55,000 tonne vessel,” Gault said. All the cars have to show up on time, or in advance, for a ship to be serviced, he explained.

Railways respond Both railways provided statements regarding logistics issues at Port Metro Vancouver. “CN is fully in sync with the grain supply chain in Western Canada, where end-to-end balance

» continued on page 4

Wheat & Chaff .................. 2 Features . ........................... 5 Crop Advisor’s Casebook . 8 Columns ............................ 14 Machinery & Shop............. 21

UTV special

scott garvey page 24

Familiar brands at work in Ukraine

Igor Pavlyuk page 26

Cattleman’s Corner .......... 27 FarmLife ............................ 31

/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Wheat & Chaff STAMPEDE

BY JERRY PALEN Leeann Minogue

“I’ll bet this has something to do with you forgetting your anniversary”

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ast month the Western Grains Research Foundation released a new report. “Fertile Ground: Agronomic Research Capacity in Western Canada” is the result of a lot of surveys conducted by the Edmonton-based consulting firm, Toma and Bouma Management Consultants. The WGRF funded this study to take a snapshot of the current state of Prairie agronomic research. This is important stuff. In other sectors, we can piggyback on research from other places. A cancer drug developed in France should work in Medicine Hat. That doesn’t apply to agronomy. Our short growing season, our cold climate, and our particular collection of soil, weeds and bugs require agronomic research targeted specifically to our area. The web of Canadian Prairie ag research involves a pretty complicated network of people and funding. (In fact, it’s so complicated that there’s sometimes a bit of accidental duplication.) This study is all about the people who actually do the work. The study left plant breeding out of the equation and focused on agronomy. And, rather than trying to find a way to value the quality of the work that researchers are doing, the report is basically a head count of the number of researchers, with an underlying assumption that agronomists with PhDs are better researchers than those with other qualifications. I was pleasantly surprised to read this (long, long) list — there are a lot of people out there working on our problems.

The long, long list First, the feds. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada does agronomic research at six main sites and other trial sites for a total of 11 locations across the Prairies. They have wellrespected scientists (the equivalent of 39 full-time PhDs, not including support staff, says the study). With similar research practices and equipment at each location, AAFC can replicate trials across the Prairies, to get better data. If you’re wondering, the study says that the rough cost of an AAFC researcher is estimated at about $400,000 per scientist per year. This includes the cost of technicians, labs, equipment and offices. Next: higher education. The universities in Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg have several research scientists on staff (the full-time equivalent of 20 PhDs, says the study.) The study says the rough cost of a university researcher is about $300,000 per year,

including all of the associated expenses. These university scientists are performing high-quality agronomic research, and also supervising the research work of graduate students (167 of them!). The problem: The more experience these top-drawer researchers at AAFC and the universities get, the more likely they become to want to retire. The study says we’ll lose up to 25 per cent of them in the near future. At AAFC, the study says, “This is recognized, but no replacement plan is known yet.” The provincial governments are doing a lot of research too. Alberta has PhDs on staff at the Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (formerly Alberta Research Council), and also 10 PhDs at Alberta Agriculture (the study says the Alberta government is “unique in Canada for its internal research capacity”). Saskatchewan doesn’t have as many researchers on staff (two PhD full-time agronomy equivalents at Saskatchewan Agriculture), but the provincial government funds research through its Agriculture Development Fund and ADOPT program (Agriculture Demonstration of Practices and Technologies) The Manitoba government organizes most of its agronomic research through four crop development centres.

Applied research organizations These groups are generally farmer-led, doing locally driven research. At the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers regional working in Regina on February 5, Chris Holzapfel, research manager at the Indian Head Agriculture Research Foundation, was asked more questions about his local, field-ready research than anyone else on the agenda. In B.C., the B.C. Grain Producers has the run of this field. In Alberta, two colleges do some agronomic work: Lakeland (at Vermillion) and Olds College. Then there are 10 (yes, 10) additional applied research associations. There is: • ARECA (the Agriculture Research and Extension Council of Alberta), an association of non-profit groups; • Farming Smarter, a Lethbridge-based, privately operated research association; • SARDA (Smoky Applied Research Association), a research and extension association in the Peace River Region; • The West Central Forage Association focuses on livestock and forage research; • CARA (Chinook Applied Research Association), a farmer-directed group based in Oyen; • The Gateway Research

Association in the Westlock area; • LARA (Lakeland Agricultural Research Association) at Bonnyville; • NPARA (North Peace Applied Research Association), a farmerdriven research and extension group; • The Peace Country Beef & Forage Association demonstrates new forage varieties and technology; and • MARA, in the farthest north part of the province. Obviously, research results in the north part of the province won’t help farmers near Lethbridge. It makes to support local research applicable to local conditions. In Saskatchewan, Parkland College does some agriculture training, and there are eight applied research associations: Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation, the Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation at Outlook, the Northeast Agriculture Research Foundation Inc. at Melfort, the Western Applied Research Corporation at Scott, the Wheatland Conservation Area at Swift Current, the Conservation Learning Centre at Prince Albert and the East Central Research Foundation at Canora. And, that’s still not the end of the list. The WGRF’s study also include local, private companies, with a note that, as governments and universities lose researchers to retirements, these organizations tend to be increasing in size. This category includes Alberta-based AgriTrend, which has a number of respected researchers on staff, Western Ag, a Saskatchewanbased company that’s heavily involved in agronomic research, and Ag-Quest Inc., a contract research organization, ICMS, Incs which does contract research. And, of course we can’t forget global ag companies like Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, CPS, Agrium and Pioneer that are doing long lists of local research relevant to our climate. Most producer-funded commodity organizations don’t have agronomy PhDs on staff, but more of them are hiring highly-qualified research coordinators and looking for better ways to promote agronomic extension. In the WGRF’s press release, board chair Dave Sefton says, “In order to plan for increased funding of agronomic research we first needed to understand the capacity of the public system to carry out increased agronomic research.” There are a lot of researchers working to help you get better agronomic results. Keep your eyes open for the results, and use that knowledge on your farm. † Leeann

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Wheat & Chaff Farm safety

Be the difference as a farm employer

arm owners run businesses. A farm requires the same commitment to succeed, the same dedication to hard work, good products and of course, a commitment to safety just like other businesses. One hallmark of a successful business is an engaged and well-trained workforce. Training employees is good business and an important area of risk management on any farm. Well-trained, safe and healthy employees are essential for the smooth functioning of any farming operation. The loss of an employee due to an accident can have a severe ripple effect and create many more hidden costs. As well as the usual compensation and medical costs, there is down time in production, training time for replacement employees, repairs to damaged equipment plus the psychological

effect an accident has on other employees and families. The benefits of incorporating orientation and training, including health and safety information, include a more confident and competent employee. This means that the worker is more engaged in the work place and in turn will take personal ownership in their work. Not only does training help prevent potential accidents but also empowers employees to do their best work. An important step towards managing risk on the farm is training farm workers in occupational health and safety principles. A training program for health and safety orientation of seasonal agricultural workers will enable farm owners and managers to train their seasonal staff on basic safety principles, recognizing and assessing hazards, and applying hazard prevention

and control measures to protect them as they perform their duties. The worker needs to be well trained and understand their job tasks and the importance of their job to the larger picture. Never assume that someone has the “common sense” to work safely. Orientation to a new workplace is very important for safety. Workers need to be orientated when they arrive at the workplace. They need to know the facilities, the equipment, emergency procedures, the do’s and don’ts and they need to be trained properly. Proper orientation and training of new employees should be a part of the resource management strategy for any farming operation. Training will provide farmworkers with the following information: • They will know the reason for the job they are doing

• Staff will know more about the process • They might understand something not previously understood • Employees will develop new skills • Information will be shared to let staff know where to go for assistance if required • Staff will know how to get the job done safely and correctly The agriculture industry has numerous occupational hazards including physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychosocial. The complexity and range of hazards require that farm workers receive safety and health training. Interventions cannot control all of the hazards that agricultural workers encounter, education and training are needed to make workers aware of the hazards they may encounter, to pro-

You might be from the Prairies if... By Carson Demmans and Jason Sylvestre

Chimney smoke Smoke from chimneys goes straight up, The weather will be good.

hen you’re looking to get your crop off to the best possible start this season, the last thing you need is to be saddled with poor quality seed. That’s why I always recommend you take the time now to get your seed tested at an accredited laboratory. Knowledge is power and having a clear idea of how your seed is going to germinate, its vigour test result, and the level of disease pressure will help inform the decisions you make going forward. Start by providing the lab with the freshest possible sample of your grain. Put aside a small batch either right at harvest, or when you’re cleaning seed. Ideally, what you’ll want to see from the lab results is an 80 to 90 per cent germination rate to know your seed will come out of the ground strong. When looking at diseases like fusarium, seed with a one to five per cent disease is generally safe to plant. However, you should still use a seed treatment to prevent further disease from developing. Anything at a five per cent level and above tends to be the tipping point where you need to consider sourcing from another seed lot, or applying a quality seed treatment product. †

This agronomy tip is brought to you by Justin Bouvier, Seedcare Specialist for Syngenta Canada Inc.

Glen Blahey, Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, www.casa-acsa.ca.

Weather Lore

Agronomy tips… from the field

Making sense of seed tests

vide them with tools they can use in protecting themselves, and to make them aware of the regulations in place to protect them. Canadian Agricultural Safety Week is March 15 to 21, 2015. For more information, please visit agsafetyweek.ca. CASW 2015 is presented by Farm Credit Canada and brought to you by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture with assistance from the Government of Canada through Growing Forward 2, a federal, provincial and territorial initiative. In 2015, CASW sponsors include long-time corporate sponsor Farm Credit Canada, Imperial Oil and their Esso Branded Retailers, Ag for Life, Canadian Fertilizer Institute, Dupont Pioneer, Viterra and Brandt. †

ftentimes people in different parts of the world figured out the same principles. This weather proverb from Russia is the companion of this rhyme which probably originated in Britain:

When smoke descends, good weather ends. In periods of high relative humidity or just before a rain, the air tends to be moist. Tiny particles in the smoke collect water molecules from the air, become heavier. Add unstable pre-storm pressures and rather than going straight smoke from chimneys will tend to curl downward. †

You refer to any point in-between Prince Albert and the U.S. border as the south.

Photo contest

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT Kenn Heshka sent us this picture of his grandson Archer. Kenn says, “Archer is from Duck Mountain Provincial Park. Archer loves to come to the farm to ride on Grandpa’s John Deere tractor and ride on the quad when Grandpa goes out to check the cows and calves. He is a fast learner, almost like the saying ‘monkey see, monkey do.’ “Archer’s mom and dad have a market garden here at the farm and Archer was out with us checking some of the produce. He saw Grandpa tasting some of the veggies and soon picked up his own plant to taste. At about 14 months he is already showing signs of becoming one of the next generation of young farmers. “This year I have semi-retired after 36 years in the cattle business. I will still likely continue with hay production and some grassers for the summers and probably help Archer’s family with their gardens. I’m finding it pretty lonely without the cattle here but the time to slow down had to come.” Send your best shot to leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com. Please send only one or two photos at a time and include your name and address, the names of anyone in the photo, where the photo was taken and a bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that images are of high resolution (1 MB is preferred), and if the image includes a person, we need to be able to see their face clearly. Leeann

Shirley Byers’ book “Never Sell Your Hen on a Rainy Day” explores over 100 weather rhymes and sayings. It is available from McNally Robinson at: www. mcnallyrobinson.com.

/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Cover Stories Grain transportation » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Vessels kept waiting at port has been restored,” Mark Hallman, director of communications and public affairs for Canadian National (CN), wrote via email. So far CN has spotted 18 per cent more hoppers this crop year than last, Hallman said. He pointed out CN set a record for grain exports in the last crop year. “CN is also working closely with its grain customers to make sure all end market segments and corridors receive proper service,” Hallman said. CP spokesperson Jeremy Berry wrote that “Canadian grain loading is a function of the performance of all supply chain members, and that the supply chain must operate on a 24/7 basis to support balanced pipelines, reduce congestion and drive velocity.” The railway is “committed to working with the various supply chain stakeholders,” Berry added. Gault said there’s a misperception that terminal elevators don’t receive cars on weekends. For the current crop year, as of January 25, grain elevators were open for 19 of the 24 weekends, he said. There were no cars the other five weekends, he added. “Any time cars are available they’re willing to work,” Gault said, adding it’s been a very long time since grain terminals offered work and grain workers refused it. AgCanada.com reported that CP recently appealed a $50,000 fine for missing the governmentmandated weekly minimum grain volumes in the second week of September 2014. The missed target was because of supply chain issues, “specifi-

cally the Labour Day holiday shutdown at the Port of Vancouver the week before,” said Martin Cej, assistant vice-president for public affairs for CP. Gault said Labour Day is one of five days a year the Port of Vancouver shuts down. “Traditionally we’ve never worked the Labour Day because they can’t ship vessels on a Labour Day either, because Longshore has traditionally held that as their one shut-down day a year… in recognition of international solidarity,” said Gault. Most of the other shut-down days have been in place since 1997, he said. Easter Sunday was added to the list in 2003, he added. The other shut-down days include Christmas day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

notes. But this also meant more reliance on “just-in-time inventory management practices and a larger proportion of vessels loading in a single berthing,” the annual report notes. “Needless to say, this also placed a heavier burden on the railways if the fluidity of this system was to be maintained,” the report states. Gault said coordinating vessels and rails seems to be the most difficult thing since the CWB’s single desk ended. “The marketing aspect of the

between terminals in order to fill a boat’s consignment, that now has to be, just by the virtue of this new reality, those boats are being filled by one terminal. So there are logistics issues that occur at the outset because of that.” Mills said he thinks those issues are being overcome, and cited record grain volumes moving through the port as evidence. “So you have to say there’s an efficiency that’s occurring. Whether or not it’s necessarily part of what happened with the Wheat Board or not, it’s a fact,” said Mills.

Changes coming at port

The end of the single desk

They’re running out of anchorage in the port

Hemmes doesn’t see the end of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) monopoly in 2012 as part of the problem. The jump in vessel time started two years before the single desk’s elimination, he said. He noted two years doesn’t provide much of a basis for comparison. But so far the numbers show the single desk’s end hasn’t affected grain flow much, if at all, through the terminals, he said. Quorum’s 2012-2013 annual report notes the proportion of vessels needing to berth more than once dropped to 44 per cent that year. That is the lowest proportion Quorum has recorded since it began monitoring. The report suggests grain companies were able to take advantage of efficiencies inherent in making larger bulk shipments. They also had total logistical control from country elevators to export terminals, the report

Wheat Board the companies seem to have managed fairly well. But the logistics of making sure the vessels are not tied up for days and weeks at a time is horrendous,” he said. Sobkowich said that grain companies now manage their entire pipeline for all the commodities they handle, which makes for a more streamlined logistics system. “So it has more to do with the sequencing of the grain, which is more of a rail service issue, than it has to do with the Canadian Wheat Board,” said Sobkowich. Mills said the larger companies have a fair bit of experience in logistics. “But it is a different reality.” Instead of having one body handling all logistics, there are separate logistics supply chains all trying to work within two railways, Mills said. “Where there may have been grain shared

“Because what happens is people who realize that they’re being measured tend to pay more attention to their operational requirements and obligations. And there just seems to be more of a focus on responsibilities when all parties understand what we’re measuring.” Right now Quorum does measure much of the supply chain, including ports. In 2010-11, ships calling at Vancouver waited an average of 14.5 days. The 2011-12 crop

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John Morriss

Edi tor

Leeann Minogue fiel d Ed ito r

Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor

Lee Hart

The port authority is bringing in regulations to mitigate anchorage problems; grain issues are impacting other supply chains. The measures would be designed to change the behaviour of those hiring ships, in many cases, grain companies, Mills said. The Port Authority is wary of unintended consequences, such as fines being passed along to farmers, and is still in consultation. They’re aiming for a draft of a new regulation in 2015. Measures might include levying penalties for overusing an anchorage, limiting anchorage time, restricting anchorage access, or rewarding companies that operate within the regulation. “We’re looking to change the behaviour. The mechanism that we use, we haven’t landed on yet,” Mills said. Some companies have been problematic at times in the last couple of years, Mills said. “And I would say there are companies as well that have been very good.” † Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@ fbcpublishing.com or on Twitter @LtoG.

What do the supply chain numbers say?

ort Metro Vancouver wants to see more transparency in the supply chain, said Doug Mills, senior account representative for Port Metro Vancouver. That means visibility from the point when a grain shipment is tendered from the farm to its arrival at the customer’s door, he said. Container shipments are tracked, and that visibility creates fluidity in the supply chain, Mills said.

1 6 6 6 D u b l i n Av e n u e , W i n n i p e g , MB R 3 H 0 H 1 w w w. g r a i n e w s . c a

year saw an average of 9.5 days. And 2012-13 wait times averaged 15 days. By comparison, between 2002-03 and 2009-10, Vancouver’s average vessel time in port ranged from 5.6 days to 8.2 days. Vancouver isn’t the only port struggling with vessel times. In 2012-2013, Prince Rupert averaged 11.7 days in port. And in the third quarter of 2013-2014, vessels spent an average of 27.6 days in Prince Rupert. Thunder Bay’s average yearly

wait times ranged from 1.6 to 2.3 days between 2002-03 and 2013-14. Churchill’s wait times spanned 3.3 days to 9.5 days for the same time period. Both Thunder Bay and Churchill’s longest wait times were in 2010-11. More numbers available at quorumcorp.net/current_ report.html. You can also access weekly transportation reports by registering at www.agtransportcoalition.com. † Lisa Guenther

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FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Features Farm management

Four tips for diversification With lower prices and high disease pressure, farmers looking for new crops to fill in gaps in rotations or increase profits can use these tips to evaluate new opportunities By Michael Flood

f you’re like most Canadian farmers 2014 was hard. Low commodity prices depressed incomes across all operations. For many younger farmers this will be their first experience of hardship.The last few years, when many began farming for the first time, have seen high prices and many may had planned growth and expansion for the next year. Many of those plans will have to be put on hold. Though the year was hard that doesn’t mean this year needs to be. With some careful planning and hard work you can start to protect your farm to ride out this time of lower demand. One way to do so is to diversify your operation. This doesn’t just mean growing multiple crops — it can mean diversifying into livestock and producing food products right on your farm. With the aid of some free, simple decision making tools you’ll be able to find areas on your farm where you can change up your operation and bring in multiple streams of income. The tips on this list focus on choosing a new crop to diversify your farm.

Narrow your research by focusing on the crops that are producing the best return on investment, but don’t limit yourself too much — you may discover that your land is perfect for growing a less common grain, pulse, or herb which has strongly growing demand and is unrepresented in your region. One excellent source for Alberta farmers is the AgriProfit$ program (at www.agric.gov.ab.ca, search for “profit$ program”). This free service provides business management information for farm operators, including a detailed financial analysis of their farm, their current enterprises, and benchmark reports

comparing them to other farms in their region.

3. Ask an expert After doing some research and picking your most likely crop be sure to consult with an expert. Each province maintains a staff of experts on each variety of crop, and know all about the performance of the crop in different regions. They’ll be able to give you advice that isn’t included in the reports on the government website because they’re knowledgeable about the latest research, including which varieties of the crop are most responsive to which inputs.

After you’ve made your decision, be sure to draw up a sound business plan and budget. According to Dale Kaliel, senior production economist, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, good planning is important to managing your farm operation. Your “plan” will deliver the rationale behind the economic choices you’re making about what will be produced, how it will be produced and why it will be produced. If you’re growing the same crop you grew last year plus a new one, you’ll have to factor in how much less income you’ll bring in from

the old crop (because you’ll be growing less of it) in relation to the projected income for the new one. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a budget is just about dollars and cents — your time is part of the budget too, and like money you only have a finite amount of it. Researching a new crop, learning about the inputs and variables that affect its yield, acquiring the materials, and planting the crop all take time. This is especially true if you’re growing multiple crops on your farm. Make sure you take account of how long you’ll need to implement your plan. † Michael Flood (www.michael-flood.com) is a business writer and columnist. You can reach him at michael@michael-flood.com.

STAND UP FOR YOUR CROPS. Start this season with Wolf Trax Innovative Nutrients. Wolf Trax technologies deliver important nutrients to your crops more effectively, so they can access the nutrients earlier. With a better start, your crops can finish strong – and that’s a better use of your fertilizer dollar. So stand up for your crops, and ask your retailer for field-proven Wolf Trax Innovative Nutrients.

1. Consider your options There is a huge array of potential crops you can grow. The issue is picking the one that will produce the highest yields, at the best price, with the lowest inputs, and that takes best advantage of the qualities of your land. It’s no good to pick soybeans based just on high prices from last year, or the attractive futures contracts being offered this year. The high price doesn’t mean anything if you need to acquire a lot of new equipment, herbicides, and pesticides that can eat up all your profits, or if your land isn’t suited for growing the crop.

2. Do your research Try the interest for economic data about different crops and their performance. Provincial government agricultural ministries often provide a lot of information, and, no matter which crop you are considering, there is usually some information available. Look for information about what historically has grown best in what regions of the province. By jonny hawkins

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Features Crop development

A new non-GM canola variety When Cibus Global’s new sulfonyrulea-tolerant variety hits the Canadian market in 2016, farmers will have a new non-GMO canola option By Michael Flood

ast year Canadian farmers planted 20 million acres of canola. To give you an idea how much that is: it’s an eighth of all the agricultural land in use in this country. According to the Canola Council of Canada, the crop employs nearly a quarter million people at all stages of production and generates $19.3 billion for the Canadian economy. Canola is very big business. So when a company comes along claiming to have a way of improving the plant, helping to boost yields, it is big news. Cibus Global, a privately held crop sciences company with offices in San Diego, St. Paul, and the Netherlands, has recently won Plant Novel Trait (PNT) approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for their SU canola. PNT’s are traits in plants that are new to the Canadian environment, whether they come from genetic engineering or traditional breeding. Essentially a PNT approval is a confirmation, based on testing, that the new trait will not cause harm to the Canadian environment, whether plants, animals, or people. Already approved for use in the United States, with the new registration Cibus looks to introduce SU canola to the Canadian market in 2016.

What’s new in Cibus’ SU canola? The SU in the name refers to the canola’s resistance to sulfonyrulea herbicides, a relatively new class of Group 2 weed killers introduced in the 1980s. The compounds inhibit an enzyme (acetolactate) vital for growth in broadleaf weeds. While that has been great for growers of rice, corn, and other crops it has not yet been usable on canola, which is itself a broadleaf plant. That has been unfortunate as sulfonyrulea herbicides have been proven to be safe both safe for human and animal consumption (we mammals lack the enzyme that the herbicide targets), have short active lives, and are effective in doses as small as a few grams per acre compared to the kilograms per acre needed for glyphosate and other common field treatments. This can translate to substantial savings on a large farm.

Herbicide resistance Why would farmers bother with sulfonyrulea for canola? Because of growing herbicide resistance in common weeds. This has been exacerbated by overspraying on previous herbicide resistant crops like Monsanto’s glyphosate-resistant Roundup Ready canola. The high volume of application and overreliance on a few

types of herbicide have created a prime environment for herbicide resistance to increase, like the antibiotic-resistance in bacteria. Cibus’ SU canola may provide a new means of battling weeds, increasing the arsenal that farmers have to draw upon to boost crop yields. Part of the attraction of Cibus’ offering is that the sulfonyrulea-resistant canola was not produced through transgenic means — that is, no foreign genes were introduced into the plant in order to create the resistance. Cibus used its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS). The technique uses a targeted cell’s own DNA repair system to make specific changes in targeted genes, leaving the rest of the DNA unaffected. This is very valuable, as it means that Cibus’ new canola variety is not a genetically modified organism, and thus can escape any labelling laws that may hurt marketability in the European Union, Australia, India, and China. If opposition against GMOs remains strong, expect to see many more companies utilizing techniques like Cibus’ to develop the new crop varieties the world needs. There are still many unknowns — while the canola has been grown successfully in the United States it’s not clear how well it will thrive in the colder, wetter Canadian climate. Its resistance

U ? yO et e y aV it h t GO

intROdUCinG mOBile

photo: istock

to common canola pests like aphids and flea beetles is also largely unknown, as is its resistance to funguses. All that will be found out in field trials over the next several years after its initial limited Canadian release in 2016. For the time being, Cibus’ SU canola is a proposition worth keeping your eye on if you are a canola farmer, especially one facing increasingly herbicide resistant weeds. † Michael Flood (www.michael-flood.com) is a business writer and columnist. You can reach him at michael@ michael-flood.com.

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Features Crop protection

Getting herbicides on your winter wheat Everyone wants to get their winter wheat sprayed early in the spring. Find out how soon you can get started By Michael Flood

here are many reasons to grow winter wheat. But one mark against this crop is its vulnerability to weeds. Winter wheat growers want to get in a herbicide application as early as they can during the growing season. This can be a problem. Ontario farmers have observed that applying too early can injure the growing plants. How soon can you get your sprayer into the field? A group of agronomists from the University of Guelph, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture set out to answer that question. They recently published their results in the “Canadian Journal of Plant Science” with the title “Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Response to Herbicides As Affected By Application Timing and Temperature.” Given the popularity of winter wheat out here on the Prairies we got in touch with one of these researchers, Melody Robison, to ask her about lessons they learned from their study that can be used west of Ontario.

The study The scientists studied wheat growing in open fields between 2009 and 2010. This was an important advance because previous studies of cold weather herbicide treatments had been conducted in growth cabinets in laboratories and greenhouses. They tested a wide range of herbicides both by themselves and in combination in three different timings: early (before the emergence of the crop), normal, and late. The early timing was set to coincide with below freezing temperatures over the test fields. The majority of the herbicides were not found to cause lasting damage to winter wheat. Only 2,4-D by itself and the two combinations of dicamba/MCPA/mecoprop and dichlorprop/2,4-D were harmful to winter wheat, causing visible injuries like necrosis, leaf bleaching, and curling, but these healed as the growing season went on. Though the herbicides produced little injury to the winter wheat this is not a reason to be careless with cold temperature spraying. The most important reason is because cold temperatures not only slow the metabolism and growth of winter wheat, they also slow the metabolism and growth of weeds. Slower metabolism means less uptake of herbicides, and thus less herbicide effectiveness. Spraying during cold weather, while it may seem like a way to get a jump on weed growth, may often be just wasting product and with it money. It is also important to be cautious when applying herbicides to winter wheat late in the growing process, particularly combination herbicides. Dicamba/MCPA/mecoprop is the most damaging when

applied late, and did adversely affect yields. As with so many things, timing is of the essence when it comes to treating weeds. Farmers should strive, whenever possible, to apply herbicides at the prescribed times to their crops rather than early or late. Spraying too soon risks wasting money; spring too late risks injuring the crops. Herbicide sprayings should be timed to the growth stage of weeds, to make sure there is maximum absorption and effect. To help you make better decisions about when to apply her-

bicides consider learning more about the Zadoks scale, a measurement of the development of cereal crops. Optimal herbicide application time on winter wheat is between Zadoks 21 to 29, when the plants stem is beginning to elongate. You will likely be able to find Zadoks scale guides through your local ministry of agriculture, and a quick Google search for “Zadoks scale” will turn up many good sites on its use. † Michael Flood (www.michael-flood.com) is a business writer and columnist. You can reach him at michael@michael-flood.com.

photo: brad barlow

Cold temperatures slow growth of winter wheat and also weeds.

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Features Crop Advisor’s casebook

Canola crop puzzle J oe, who grows canola, wheat and barley at his farm near Spring Coulee, Alta., called me in July to alert me to a problem with one of his crops. His canola in some areas of the field wasn’t doing well, and he had been told by a retailer that poor seed might be to blame. Joe asked me to come out to have a look for myself. When I arrived at the farm, I could see that canola plants in a low part of one field looked stunted and were dropping flowers. Wheat plants in adjoining fields were doing just fine, but in another canola field next to the wheat, some of the canola plants were exhibiting similar symptoms. Because the pattern of the canola damage didn’t extend to the whole field, it didn’t look like the problem originated with the seed. I wondered if a nutrient deficiency could be to blame, but there didn’t appear to be any issues with Joe’s fertility program either. When I asked Joe about his crop protection program, he said he had applied Roundup to his canola and had sprayed his nearby

wheat fields with a broadleaf herbicide in June. Joe wondered if weather might be a factor, but frost damage wasn’t likely this far into the growing season. There had been quite a bit of precipitation recently, however. By this time, I had a pretty good idea what was going on with the canola crop. When Joe told me what the weather had been like when chemicals were applied to the fields, my suspicions were confirmed. If you think you know what’s causing Joe’s ailing canola, send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, MB R3C 3K7; email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com or fax 204-944-5416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook. The best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a Grainews cap and a one-year subscription to the magazine. The answer, along with the reasoning that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. †

Dustin Miller is a sales agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Magrath, Alta.

Casebook winner

he Casebook winner for this issue is Mike Hofer, from Rimbey, Alta. Thanks for reading Casebook, and thanks for entering Mike! We’ll renew your Grainews subscription for a year and send you a Grainews cap.

Leeann Minogue

Canola plants in a low part of one field looked stunted and were dropping flowers.

Dustin Miller is a sales agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Magrath, Alta.

Crop advisor’s solution

Wheat irregularities caused by different seeding depths

ear the end of August I was crop scouting for Gerald, a mixed grains producer who farms 6,000 acres of wheat, barley, oats and canola just north of Wadena, Sask. It was shortly before harvest and I was recording the severity of fusarium head blight in one of Gerald’s wheat fields when I observed something unusual. The field had an uneven heading or maturation look to it, with some plants appearing to be further along than oth-

ers. These plants didn’t appear randomly, but were contained within strips that ran in straight lines along the field. Gerald had sprayed fungicide for fusarium head blight, but the results were similarly inconsistent — I could also see that fusarium head blight was heavily present in some of these strips, but in other strips it was hardly noticeable. Nutrient imbalance, poor seed quality, and environmental damage were all ruled out because of the straight line pattern in the

field, and there were no indications of herbicide burn either. When I asked Gerald about his seeding methods that spring I began to clue in on the source of the problem. He said the field had been seeded with two different drills, which had been set at different seed depths. Gerald admitted that he’d been in a rush to seed the field as quickly as possible at the time, because of heavy rain in the forecast and his worry about not being able to finish the job on time. A drill with a different

depth setting had been pulled in from another field to help complete the field. This seed depth difference accounted for the different stages of plant development within the field, which in turn produced a similar outcome for the fusarium head blight treatment. That’s because fungicide applied to a field that is at inconsistent stages of development when it is sprayed will yield inconsistent results. Fortunately for Gerald, the fusarium head blight in his wheat

crop blended out and there was no yield or grade loss in this field compared to the rest of his farm. The producer was also able to take something away from the incident, as he learned the value of seeding depth consistency and proper seed bed establishment, as well as how one misstep at the beginning of the year can affect the crop for the whole season. This isn’t a mistake Gerald is likely to make again in the future. † Raeanne Denomie is a sales agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Wadena, Sask.

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New herbicide for pulse crops

ASF’s new Odyssey Ultra herbicide is on the market for 2015. Odyssey Ultra is a Group 1 and Group 2 herbicide registered for use on Clearfield lentils, Clearfield canola, field peas and soybeans. “Odyssey Ultra is a multiple mode of action herbicide with flushing weed control on grass and broadleaf weed species,” said Danielle Eastman, western herbicide brand manager at BASF Canada in a press release. “It offers control of tough weeds including wild oats and volunteer cereals. Japanese brome grass has been submitted to the Pest Management Regulator y Agency for a label expansion.” †

Leeann Minogue

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Features Crop disease

Making money growing sunflowers Sunflowers can be very profitable in some parts of the Prairies. If you can manage sclerotinia By Julienne Isaacs

gronomists say the biggest threat facing Manitoba sunflower growers is sclerotinia (head and stem rot), but the fungal disease can be managed with proper crop rotation and fungicide applications. This formed part of the message of a presentation submitted to the Manitoba Agronomists’ Conference at the University of Manitoba in December. According to Troy Turner, an agronomist for the National Sunflower Association of Canada, pest management — which includes weed, insect and disease control — is the chief challenge facing sunflower growers in the province. “The question each year is, ‘What type will be the worst pest?’ Will it be early insects or insects in the head? Will disease be the biggest pest?” says Turner. “But sclerotinia is the biggest issue sunflower growers are facing, especially confection sunflower growers.”

Growing sunflowers Turner says sunflower acreage was down in 2014 due to extreme moisture in the province’s southwest corner. “Over the past five to six years, acres have been down overall, but they’re now on the increase and looking to be back to a more normal number of 130,000 to 180,000 acres,” he says. The southern region of Manitoba is known as Canada’s “Sunflower Belt” due to its long, dry growing season and soil fertility. This area produces over 90 per cent of the country’s total sunflower crop. A majority of that crop is confection-type.

are affected by sclerotinia, is very As a result, growers should important. ensure that other sclerotinia susShort rotations are not effec- ceptible crops are managed proptive against sclerotinia due to the erly as well, and communicate pathogen’s large host range and with their neighbours as much ability to live in the soil for long as possible. stretches of time. The disease’s Fungicides should also be used impact is greatest when suscep- as part of the grower’s managetible broad-leaf crops are grown ment toolbox for sclerotinia. consecutively. Its impact is least Turner says three fungicides that significant when diverse crops are labelled for suppression against are used in a lengthy rotation. sclerotinia have been registered in Turner calls sclerotinia a “social Canada over the last three years — disease,” meaning that it can Vertisan, Proline, and Lance. spread very easily from one field Other management strateor one crop to the next. “This gies include frequent and regucan be a problem because if fields lar scouting, developing a good that are surrounding yours were understanding of cultural and susceptible fields last year and environmental triggers for sclethey belong to your neighbour rotinia, and keeping abreast of this may cause you problems in- research related to the disease. T:8.125” Besides sclerotinia, Manitoba season,” he says.

Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and editor. Contact her at julienne. isaacs@gmail.com.

Today’s smart choice for preventing weed resistance. herbicides with diferent modes of action

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Barricade® II: Te weeds stop here. Questions? Ask your retailer, call 1-800-667-3925 or powered by Solumax® visit barricade.dupont.ca soluble granules, combining

narrow-leaved hawk’s beard, kochia, cleavers, fixweed, lamb’s-quarters, cow cockle, volunteer canola

Sclerotinia management Sclerotinia can be devastating for confection-type sunflower growers. Many major field crops are susceptible to the pathogen, including canola, mustard, edible beans, soybeans and flax, and when sunflower is grown near other susceptible crops the impact can be severe. Sunflower crops can develop either root infections, which cause stem breakage, or head infections, which impact seed yield and quality. “Sclerotinia can be a big yield robber, and what’s worse, it can affect your quality so badly that some crops can be deemed unmarketable product,” Turner says. Although this is very rare, he says, the risk keeps Manitoba growers on edge. According to Turner, one of the biggest problems with sclerotinia management in sunflowers is that the potential infection period can be extremely long,

growers will be on the lookout for downy mildew and rust this year, both of which can cause major losses in sunflower crops. The use of resistant varieties is key for downy mildew management. For managing rust in sunflower, scouting is key, as once the disease has taken root in a field there is no “curative” treatment. Turner says that time and effort can pay off for sunflower growers, but it sometimes means a little extra attention to detail. “Sunflowers can be extremely profitable to a producer if they spend a little extra time ‘smelling the flowers,’ as I like to call it,” he says. †

T:10”

Sclerotinia can be a big yield robber

ranging anywhere from 10 to 14 weeks. “The fungicides we currently have only protect the crop for up to two weeks, and can only be applied once a season, or twice in the case of one product,” he says. “So this leaves a large window of opportunity for infection.” Turner stresses that no one management strategy will be effective on its own. “Each field of sunflowers can be extremely different from the next, so treating them all the same can lead to disappointment,” he says. However, proper management strategies can have a major impact in controlling sclerotinia. Chief among these is crop rotation. Turner says a one in four rotation, away from crops that

multiple modes of action from two groups – Group 2 and Group 4.

As with all crop protection products, read and follow label instructions carefully. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Barricade® and Solumax® are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E. I. du Pont Canada Company is a licensee. Member of CropLife Canada. © Copyright 2015 E. I. du Pont Canada Company. All rights reserved.

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Features

COVER CROP SPECIES SUMMARY

Farm management

Cover cropping basics There are lots of reasons to plant cover crops. Here’s some practical information to get yours started By Kevin Elmy

ith the decline of grain prices and the rising profit in livestock markets, there are more questions on using cover crops in both grain and livestock operations. What species to use? What seeding rates? Fertilizer requirements? When to seed? How to manage? How to terminate? Is there anything to “harvest”?

1. Setting a goal The first question that needs to be answered is, “What’s the goal of the cover crop?” This will set up parameters for when to seed, what to seed and how to manage it. Is the cover crop to be used as a rotationally grazed feed stock versus stockpiled and grazed, greenfeed versus swath grazing, snow catch for winter cereals, salinity management, mid season crop loss, or another reason? Once you’ve established the goal, you can select species. You know what grows locally. This is the base of most situations. Then add diversity. It is amazing to see how the blends have more vigourous growth than monocultures. A monoculture has the same plants growing and has the same roots pushing through the soil at the same rate in the same soil volume competing for the same nutrients and water at the same time. With a well-planned

cover crop blend, roots will be growing in all directions, at all times reducing the stress on the crop. Then you run into areas where nothing, or very little grows. A soil test may be needed to find out what you are dealing with. Or, if you suspect that salinity, for example, is the issue, then select more saline tolerant plants. If there are other issues like weed issues, soil compaction, nutrient loss or erosion concerns, there are a different set of appropriate species. Some of the same species may be grown, maybe at different rates.

2. Choosing a species Two factors to look at while picking species are cost and efficiency. Effectiveness is hard to measure quantitatively, especially when dealing with specific issues or soil health. Cost is also relative. It’s also hard to value the benefits of improving future crops, salvaging soil or crops, or transitioning crops in a timely way. The main species we have been using on are farm are proso millet (Crown or red), crimson clover, forage brassica, sunflowers, Phacelia, oat, winter triticale, sorghum Sudan grass, annual ryegrass, tillage radish and conventional Canamaize corn. Buckwheat is on the list of species that we will use more in the future. We can use hairy vetch, but it can have high hard

seed counts, which means it may volunteer two to three years after seeding. Plus, it is naturally resistant to glyphosate so it should be managed more carefully in blends. We have used a couple of different blends on our farm depending on our goals. We have used a proso millet, crimson clover, tillage radish blend as a green feed crop, that we then seed winter triticale into.

3. Getting it in the ground This past year with all of the June rains, anything that was not seeded in May had to wait until mid to late July to get seeded. We assumed we would not be able to get a green feed crop off of those acres, so our seeding rate was reduced somewhat and we added sunflowers to the mix. By the end of August, there was decent top growth of the mix and seeding Luoma winter Triticale into it was not an issue, yet had good snow catch potential. The other “blend” seeded was straight tillage radish. Our goal was to dry some land out, recapture any nutrients that were leached out, and to evaluate tillage radish’s competitiveness against foxtail barley. Water stopped flowing across these fields in mid July. We seeded tillage radish the first week of August. By September

» continued on page 11

Timing is everything

Cool season broadleaf. Small seed.

Known for its big tuber. Aggressive growth, early maturing. Should grow four to six weeks. Takes three nights of -9 C to kill them. Nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and sulfur scavenger. Grazing potential, high RFV, protein. Biofumigant.

Turnip

Cool season broadleaf. Small seed.

Known for its large round bulb. Aggressive growth, later maturing. Will winter kill. Nitrogen, phosphate, potassium sulfur scavenger. Grazing potential, high protein and RFV. Watch for choking hazard.

Forage Brassica

Cool season broadleaf. Small seed.

More leaf than other Brassica species. Good regrowth after grazing, stays vegetative. High protein and RFV. Nitrogen scavenger.

Kale

Cool season broadleaf. Small seed.

Tallest canopy of the Brassica species. Will winter kill. Nitrogen scavenger. Weak bulb. Grazing potential, high RFV, protein. Tend to be low copper.

Buckwheat

Cool season broadleaf. Large seed.

Aggressive growth, early maturing. Has shown to accumulate phosphate. Flowers very attractive to pollinators. Can reseed itself.

Forage rape

Cool season broadleaf. Small seed.

Basal leaves. Normally winter kills. Nitrogen scavenger. Grazing potential.

Sunflowers

“Warm” season broadleaf. Large seed.

Decent salinity and drought tolerance. Better for stockpiled grazing or green feed. Will get coarse, good snow catch potential. Fast growth through late summer, assuming some soil moisture.

Phacelia

Fairly drought tolerant. Flowering forb, attracts pollinators, decent Cool season competition for weeds. Claim to broadleaf. Very fame: production of glomulin to small. improve soil aggregates. Produces high quality honey.

Crimson clover

Cool season legume. Very small seed.

Not winter hardy so does not typically over winter. Fine stems and medium height growth. Bloat hazard.

Hairy vetch

Cool season vining legume. Small seed.

Quite winter hardy, high hard seed coat percentage so will volunteer. Slow early season growth.

Sweet clover

Cool season biennial legume. Very small seed.

Good drought and salinity tolerance. Can get tall in Year 2. Can reseed itself. Aggressive taproot. Excellent for pollinators. Bloat hazard.

Red clover

Cool season short-lived perennial legume. Very small seed.

Prefers moisture. Good for attracting pollinators. Hard to cure as hay, bloat hazard when grazing.

Peas

Cool season legume. Very large seed.

Vine plant. Best for stockpiled grazing or green feed. Prefers cool conditions, will not tolerant flooding.

Lentil

Warm/ cool season legume. Large seed.

Bushy plant. More drought tolerant than peas.

Fababean

Cool season legume. Very large seed.

Tall plant. Can get coarse. Tolerates wet conditions. High nitrogen fixation.

Soybean

Warm season legume. Large seed.

Slow growth through June, not competitive. Handles drought and flooding well, not salinity. Stockpile grazing or green feed best choices. Fast growth through July and August, assuming soil moisture.

Winter triticale

Cool season winter cereal. Large seed.

Not as tough as fall rye. Nitrogen scavengers. Excellent erosion control and grazing characteristics. Very palatable.

Fall rye

Cool season winter cereal. Large seed.

Tough plants. Drought and saline tolerant. Nitrogen scavengers. Excellent erosion control. Good grazing characteristics. Will have wolfy plants. Will over winter. Seed heads will have some ergot. Some allopathic properties.

Annual ryegrass

Cool season grass. Small seed.

Likes moisture. Nitrogen scavenger. Good erosion control. Good grazing characteristics. Can reseed itself.

Oat

Cool season grass. Large seed.

Tolerates some drought. Nitrogen scavenger. Very good erosion control. Good grazing and hay characteristics.

Forage Radish

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Warm season Proso millet grass. Small seed.

Tolerates some drought. Better for hay or swath grazing. Ready to cut in 60 days.

Sorghum Sudan grass

Some drought tolerance. Better for hay or swath grazing. Very fast July/August growth. Watch prussic acid if feeding.

Warm season grass. Small seed.

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Features New crop production

New GM potato gets U.S. approval The new gm potato variety, “Innate,” is ready for the deep fryer By Julienne Isaacs

genetically modified potato called “Innate” has recently made headlines in the U.S. The French fry giant J.R. Simplot’s petition for “non-regulated status” for its proprietary biotechnology process called Innate has been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Although McDonalds has stated that it has no current plans to utilize GM potatoes, and other fastfood giants still use traditionally bred varieties, the USDA’s deregulation of Innate still marks a victory for GM proponents. Approval in Canada is likely a distant prospect, however. Depending

on market acceptance over time, genetically modified potatoes could be grown here commercially. But consumer perceptions are still largely negative to GM potatoes.

GM potatoes GM potatoes have technically been around for several decades. In the mid-1980s, the International Potato Centre (CIP) and Louisiana State University developed a higher-protein GM potato, but according to Peter VanderZaag, president and CEO of Sunrise Potato in Alliston, Ont., and international advisor to the World Potato Congress, this potato is still sitting on a shelf somewhere.

In the mid-1990s, Monsanto developed its “NewLeaf” potato, bred transgenically, or through the artificial insertion of genetic materials. NewLeaf was tried by several farmers but was rejected by the fast food industry. “So far no GM potato has made its way into consumer hands,” says VanderZaag. Vikram Bisht, plant pathologist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD), says Innate potatoes are produced by the insertion of specific natural genes from sexually compatible cultivated or wild potatoes into desirable potato varieties (in this case, Russet Burbank, Ranger and Atlantic varieties, along with two proprietary chipping varieties).

“These potatoes express several valuable traits, including late blight resistance and reduced expression of bruise injury, and are meant to produce less asparagine, a precursor to acrylamide, a potential carcinogen produced during cooking at high temperatures,” says Bisht. The fact that these potatoes show less browning when fried is an advantage to the processing industry due to increased final product recovery, and to the consumer due to lower acrylamides. Innate is modified through the insertion of specific genes into the desired potato variety to activate a self-defense mechanism known as RNA interference, which silences the genes related to expression of

black spot bruise and asparagine in tubers. Because the RNA interference mechanism involves the targeted insertion of material from outside the potato, it is considered “genetic modification.” GM corn, soybean and canola are all widely grown and consumed, but GM potatoes are viewed in a different light and have to date remained largely unmarketable.

Innate on the farm Growers in the U.S. or Canada would be likely to grow Innate, VanderZaag says, if they could sell it.

» continued on page 12

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

Cover cropping basics 5, the radish plants covered the ground, their roots were drilled down about 24 inches, and the soil was firm enough to drive across. Next spring we’ll examine soil tests and foxtail barley. The biggest problem producers have with tillage radish is seeding too early. Ideally, you can manage the tops by clipping, mowing, grazing, haying, oar a frost three to six weeks after emergence. Seeding in May, June or early July will give the plant enough time to bolt. In Southern Alberta or Manitoba under a normal year, whatever that is, they can be seeded into September. It is not the first frost we are looking at — it is the killing frost. If they’re seeded earlier, some means of top growth control is required. The results of the radish growth can be seen with a shovel. The fine taproot will drill down about one inch per day. Tuber production occurs in late August and early September, when the plant gives up trying to produce seed and attempts to be a winter annual, producing a nutrient storage vessel. After three nights of -9 C, the plant dies. If it is just basal leaves, by middle of April, there will be very little tillage residue left. The rest of the variables will be left up to the producer and the year. Successful results, like the rest of what producers do in agriculture, are going to be dependent on the goals we set. Cover crops are not a silver bullet to fix all problems. It’s just one tool in a toolbox. A hammer is a good tool, but to tighten a nut on a bolt, a wrench may be a better choice. Given a thought-out plan and defined goals, cover crops can save time, money, improve nutrient distribution in the soil, improve soil physical characteristics, provide forage and prevent erosion. These will improve future economics and sustainability. †

Increase your yields by using Authority and removing weeds early Kochia and cleavers were put to rest by a group 14 mode of action with extended residual weed control. Lamb’s quarters, redroot pigweed, wild buckwheat and others met the same fate. Authority is registered in peas, flax, soybeans, chickpeas and sunflowers. www.fmccrop.ca

Kevin Elmy operates Friendly Acres Seed Farm, along with his wife, Christina, and parents, Robert and Verene, near Saltcoats, Sask. Contact him at 306-744-2779 or visit www.friendlyacres.sk.ca.

14FMC028_Authority AB Farmer Express, Grainews, MB Co-operator Junior Page (8.125” x 10”)

/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Features Farm management

Affinity launches new software BASF has teamed up with Affinity to create farm management software By Lee Hart

asy-to-use comprehensive crop and farm management software that comes with unlimited, reliable six-day and evening support? It may sound too good to be true, but that’s the promise that Affinity is offering to Canadian farmers signing up to use the Compass Grower Advanced software program. The software, delivered on a Microsoft platform is designed to cover all aspects of crop production and farm management, says Neal Dilwalri, president of Affinity, based in Oakville, Ont. Producers can use the software to do their crop planning, including what-if scenarios, and figure out the products and inputs they need. It will hold field maps, soil test information, input prescriptions and treatments, yield information, and track crop inventory in the bin. It can also tie in with software systems offered by equipment manufacturers. The software also offers a comprehensive accounting program, which you can manage yourself, or comanage with your accountant — just provide a password to your accountant and they can access the information themselves. “There are other good systems out there, but the real magic of the Compass program is the support that goes with it,” says Dilwari. “It is easy to use and very intuitive, but we know there are always questions: ‘I’m stuck. Why is this happening? I can’t get this to work.

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

New GM potato gets U.S. approval “The farmer has to accept the risk: ‘Can I sell this product?’ There may be some farmers who have some moral dilemma with this. It’s like growing GM corn or soybeans. But with those crops there’s a yield advantage,” VanderZaag says. “With this Innate potato there won’t be any yield advantage in the field.” The payoffs would come from the processor, where growers could earn bonuses for high fry quality. VanderZaag believes there is a significant gap between the scientific community and the larger public in terms of communication, and the lack of transparency and clarity about what genetic modification entails is responsible for general distrust of the technology. “If we want to promote GM potatoes, we as the scientists and farmers need to be transparent,” he says. “What is gene silencing? What is the mechanism by which these genes have been silenced? If you Google RNA interference you won’t have much success.” Potatoes have come a long way from their origins in Peru, VanderZaag says, and the genetic transformations have naturally occurred through gene movement and exchanges, sometimes between species. “What’s happening now is that we’re doing it at a more rapid rate and in a more

How do I get these reports to work they way they are supposed to?’ We don’t just throw you a disk and say take a Tylenol and good luck.” Affinity provides both unlimited on-line and telephone support. Call with a question and someone will get back to you within 24 hours. Affinity provides a one-on-one live demo of the software, which is followed up by their internal Canadian-based support service. There are two versions — one for farmers starting out with their first farm management software, and one for those who have an existing record keeping system. The exact degree of compatibility between the existing program and Compass is a case-by-case question, but the support team will work with the farmer to help them transfer the information.

field records, crop records, soil test information, GSI mapping, and crop treatments. The other main component is the accounting package which allows the farmer to keep track of and manage all their farm financial information, farm planning, marketing and budgeting information.” The next level of features are coming soon. It will be able to offer features such as crop traceability. “We are seeing that more now in the United States,” says Dilawri. “More farmers are needing or wanting to have that crop traceability function, so this software is designed to be able to accommodate that in Canada.” Another coming feature of the Compass software is the ability to connect crop production records directly with crop insurance.

It’s not an app

Collaboration with BASF

“This is software, not an app,” says Dilawri. “It is built on the Microsoft platform so it will work with all computers and smart phones. There is some question about how protected information is on an app, but that isn’t an issue with our software. “Affinity is also able to store each farmers information in ‘the cloud’ so there is no need for other backup. “Even if our company disappeared tomorrow, because it is a Microsoft software program, the whole Compass program is still there. They can still use it and access their information.” Compass is all-inclusive. Farmers can keep track of all their

The Compass Grower Advanced software was developed in a col-

targeted way,” he says. “We have to put it all in context.” VanderZaag is passionate about the need for GM technology in feeding a growing world population. In his view, until consumer perceptions change, valuable new technologies that reduce waste and increase health benefits will remain underutilized, even though they are much needed in the developing world. “Science has taught us so much about how to feed the world—but we also have an obligation to educate and inform the public,” he says. “And that’s where I think we’re making huge mistakes. Large corporations are perceived to be bullies. It’s a sociological conflict that we’re just not good at handling.” He believes that consumers have the right to make decisions about whether or not they’re willing to eat GM potatoes, but they can’t make these decisions until they’re properly informed about what exactly GM technology entails, and the risks, as well as the benefits, of using it. As for the USDA’s approval of Innate? “I think this is a giant step forward,” he says. “This is adding up to how we’re going to feed a growing global population. This is the reality: we need to use these technologies to help feed the world in a better way with less waste and less risk of carcinogenic effects.” † Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and editor. Contact her at julienne.isaacs@gmail.com.

laboration between Affinity and the crop protection company BASF. “BASF wanted to offer this comprehensive crop and farm management software as an additional value to their customers,” says Dilawri. “But you don’t have to be a BASF customer to access it and use it. It is available to all farmers.” The software is available to producers on a monthly subscription basis and is not related to farm size. While the Compass farm management software will be of particular value to farmers cropping 5,000 acres or more looking to control and manage their own data and use all the analytical features it offers, Dilawri says the software is also being used by smaller operators with a couple thousand or just a few hundred acres. The software is available to farmers two ways. A producer can buy the software, install it on their own computer and input all their information themselves. Or, farmers can take their information to

their BASF dealer and have them input the information. “It is easy to use,” says Dilawri, “and we have really focused on providing the support because there is always going to be a question. On the Microsoft platform it works with all systems you already have,” he says. “And farmers do own their own data. It has nothing to do with us or with BASF. It is your data, we don’t have access to it. And if a person decided three or five years down the road they wanted to try some other software program, they can take their information with them. We don’t hold their information ransom.” For more information on the Compass software contact your BASF product rep or retailer, or contact Affinity Canada directly 1-866-278-9530 or visit their website at: http://www.affinityltd. com/solutions-ag.html. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary, Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com

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FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Features Seeding equipment

Seeding canola with planters Two Westlock, Alberta farmers had a good harvest and saved costs after seeding their canola with a corn planter last spring By Marianne Stamm

n 2014, two Westlock, Alberta, farmers cut their canola seed costs by $40 per acre by seeding with corn planters. They saw no yield loss. Is this the new way to go? At a Westlock seminar last winter, agronomist Geoff Doell of GROWTH Agrinomics Inc. told farmers that seeding canola using a precision vacuum corn planter can reduce seed amount needed to under one pound, just one fifth of recommended rates. Richard Seatter and his son Luke were at the seminar. They crop 900 to 1,500 acres of canola a year. They’ve always used an airseeder, planting the recommended five pounds per acre of seed. They passed the information on to their friend and neighbour Loren Koch. Koch was laid up with a torn

tendon when Seatter told him what he’d heard. With extra time on his hands, he too researched all he could find. “I can’t afford not to do this,” he concluded. By spring, the Seatters and Koch had each purchased a Monosem precision vacuum planter. The Seatters seeded their entire canola crop with the machine, also seeding some test strips with their air seeder. Koch wasn’t quite as aggressive, seeding half of his acres with the new planter. At harvest, the Seatters found no difference in yield between the two methods. Koch felt the seeded-planted canola yielded slightly more.

Seed mortality Traditional canola seeding recommendations of five pounds per acre are made based on a seed mortality of 50 per cent or more.

Some seeds are broken in the process of seeding, others land too deep or too shallow. Using the Monosem planter, the Seatters found seed mortality reduced to just 15 per cent. “The corn planter is very precise, that’s the biggest thing,” says Richard Seatter. The seeds always land where they are supposed to. “There’s a bigger healthier plant because they are not interfering with each other,” Seatter adds. Agronomist Geoff Doell says that one of the big benefits of a precision planter is that it is capable of seed singulation. Seeds planted too close to each other lead to an allelopathic battle between neighbouring plants. (Allelopathis is the suppression of growth of one plant species by another due to the release of toxic substances). “Allelopathic interference essentially is like ‘elbowing’ their neigh-

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bor out of their growing space which is a huge waste of nutrient resources and time. It renders a “winner of the battle” that is weak and spindly in nature,” Doell explains. “By gaining seed singulation we avoid this battle, resulting in more robust plants that have thicker stems, endure more stresses (root maggots, sclerotina, lodging resistance, etc.) and take no longer to mature than thicker seeded stands do.” The Seatters experimented with seed spacing between one and four inches, at a row spacing of 20 inches. Most of the crop was spaced 3.4 inches apart, using one pound of seed per acre. The savings in seed cost that first year paid for a large part of the new planter. They tried four different canola varieties, with no real difference in yield. This spring they will seed the entire crop using three-inch spacing. “You don’t want to get closer than that or the plants will interfere with each other,” Seatter says. Koch used a space of 1.8 inches between seeds, using 1.7 pounds of seed per acre. He plans to reduce seeding rates this coming spring. Depending on the machine used, row spacing can be up to 30 inches. That tends to be a bit too wide, Doell says. “I prefer the 15 to 20 inch row spacing that can be done with minor modifications.”

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of the longer blooming, say Seatter and Koch. Plants are bigger with more uniform pods. More room per plant generally produces a healthier, more robust plant with less lodging and more resistance to diseases such as sclerotina. The Seatters didn’t spray as much fungicide as usual and their yields didn’t seem to suffer. Koch didn’t spray at all on the fields he seeded with the corn planter. Both admit that last year’s dry conditions may have helped results. Precision-planted canola is not immune to disease, Doell says. It is vital for growers to continually assess the risks and take appropriate action. While the larger plant stems make it almost impossible for sclerotina stem rot to entirely cut off the nutrient supply on a main stem infection, infections can still happen. “It’s a game of size and ability. With conditions that favour development of disease we occasionally do see branch infections which usually are not as large of a contributor to yield loss as main stem infections.” Doell insists his clients use seed treated with Lumiderm or Fortenza to enhance insect resist-

ance to both flea beetles and cutworms. “We cannot afford to lose very many plants when seeding this low,” he says. “The biggest attraction for me is getting canola seeding going a week to 10 days sooner than I used to,” Koch says. Having the added machine enables him to seed canola up to two weeks earlier. “Being able to clear the residue in front is a big plus” Seatter says. The Monosem planter has a residue manager in front of the seeding disk. Crop residue is often a big problem in heavy, thick cereal crops in the Westlock area. The Seatters found the cornplanter seeded canola easier to swath. The stems were stronger and didn’t lean. “It is a little more critical to watch your stubble height, so you have enough stalks to hold the swath,” Koch says. Pods tend to be lower on the plant, too.

The downside Would there be a reason not to embrace this new technology? “You need another machine with another man if you seed canola at the same time as the cereals,” Seatter says. Most corn planters don’t come with the ability to place fertilizer, and one pass planting and fertilizing is generally not practical. Seatters and Koch apply a near complete blend in the fall and place a small amount of liquid phosphate with the seed. Doell says the liquid phosphate gives that extra “pop-up” needed in cold spring planting conditions. “The liquid kit also affords us an improved economics approach to any micros that may be needed on a field-by-field basis,” he says. “A major draw back is a greater dependence on herbicides as the stand is not as competitive as a conventionally seeded crop,” Luke Seatter says. They will continue to assess seeding rates, weighing time of planting and weed pressure against seed savings. Luke likes having the option of using the airseeder too. The Seatters and Koch both observed slower maturation in the lightly seeded stand. Koch feels that is more than made up with the ability to seed earlier. Doell’s clients, who’ve used the technology for four years, report no significant maturity changes. “It takes a fair amount of abdominal fortitude to go through the learning stages as the crops are thin until about mid June; until growers learn the best husbandry of pest management and faith in the ‘weed-like’ will-to-live that canola possess,” Doell says. “I find that within one to two years, those who go this direction are comfortable with their decision.” These Westlock farmers are convinced of the usefulness of the corn planter but are still open to different ways to use it. “We are just starting to learn how to best grow canola,” says Richard Seatter. † Marianne Stamm is a freelance farm writer from Jarvie, Alta. Email her at marerobster@ gmail.com.

/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Columns Reporter’s notebook

To tweet or not to tweet Twitter can be overwhelming for new users. Find out whose tweets you should be following, what to tweet about and the etiquette rules to live by By Lisa Guenther

o tweet or not to tweet? That is a question some of you may be pondering. On the one hand, there are more farmers on Twitter than gophers in Saskatchewan. And scientists and researchers. And specialists with chemical, seed and fertilizer companies. And government officials, grain traders, media. The whole ag sector is there. Twitter also houses urban people hoping to learn more about agriculture. This is a tremendous opportunity for farmers, livestock producers, and others in agriculture willing to share information and answer questions. Perhaps more importantly, it gives the agriculture industry a chance to listen to individual consumers, to find out what their concerns are and what they want. But before you saddle up, you need to know Twitter is a little like the Wild West at times. There’s a social code, and it’s not completely lawless, but things can escalate very quickly. Here are a few tips on using Twitter effectively and dealing with its wilder side.

Twitter is all about the conversation One day, you may click on your neighbour’s Twitter profile and realize he has 50 more followers than you. “What?” you’ll sputter. “What does he know about anything? Why would those people follow him?” But I am here to tell you numbers don’t matter all that much on Twitter. There will always be people with more followers than you. What’s more important is the quality of the conversations. It’s about listening as much as talking,

so don’t just tweet at people. Read what others tweet. You can learn all kinds of things from your Twitter contacts. Every week during the growing season, Scott Meers and Shelley Barkley of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development hold a weekly bug chat to find out what people are seeing in the fields. People post pictures of insects and insect damage, report what they’re seeing in the field and ask questions. To tune in to these bug chats, you need to know how to use hashtags (#). Hashtags have nothing to do with any illicit activity. They are basically keywords used to track Twitter conversations. So, to follow the bug chat, search for #abbugchat. And use that hashtag when you want to tweet something about Alberta crop pests. If you’re using your laptop, you can use a free program like Tweetdeck to organize your Twitter feeds. I’ve added several columns for specific hashtags to my Tweetdeck. I also have lists of specific people on Twitter. The reason I do this is I follow about 1,500 people, and it would be impossible to track conversations otherwise. Here are some other hashtags you might want to follow: • #WestCdnAg — information about farming in Western Canada. • #MBAg, #SaskAg, #ABAg — ag information in each Prairie province. • #Canola, #Wheat, #Barley — crop-specific hashtags will yield everything from production information to recipes. • #Agchat — used internationally for general agricultural topics. • Farm shows create their own hashtags. #SBIC15 denoted the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference in Saskatoon. #FarmTech15 organized conversations around Edmonton’s Farm

Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. Commercialized products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for canola contains the active ingredients difenoconazole, metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil, and thiamethoxam. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for soybeans (fungicides only) is a combination of three separate individually registered products, which together contain the active ingredients fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin and metalaxyl. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for soybeans (fungicides and insecticide) is a combination of four separate individually registered products, which together contain the active ingredients fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin, metalaxyl and imidacloprid. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for corn (fungicides only) is a combination of three separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin and ipconazole. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for corn (fungicides and insecticide) is a combination of four separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, and clothianidin. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for corn with Poncho®/VoTivo™ (fungicides, insecticide and nematicide) is a combination of five separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, clothianidin and Bacillus firmus strain I-5821. Acceleron®, Acceleron and Design®, DEKALB and Design®, DEKALB®, Genuity and Design®, Genuity®, RIB Complete and Design®, RIB Complete®, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and Design®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup Transorb®, Roundup WeatherMAX®, Roundup®, SmartStax and Design®, SmartStax®, Transorb®, VT Double PRO® and VT Triple PRO® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Used under license. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design are trademarks of Bayer. Used under license. Herculex® is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Used under license. Poncho® and Votivo™ are trademarks of Bayer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Tech. So next year watch for similar hashtags. Wondering who to follow? There is no shortage of farmers and ranchers on Twitter. There are also several producer groups and ag companies. Once you sign on, you’ll find them in a flash.

Stay classy and stay involved As a short cut, look for lists of Twitter users created by other people. I have a couple of my own lists, including one for farm media. I also subscribe to lists curated by other Twitter users — one for livestock vets and one for Saskatchewan agriculture. You can subscribe to any of these lists by going to my Twitter profile page (twitter.com/LtoG) and clicking on “Lists.”

Twitter etiquette In some ways, Twitter is like a small town. There is an unspoken etiquette code. Most people I’m connected with on Twitter get this. I think we expect each other to have manners, even during heated debates. So don’t let the following list discourage you from signing up. If you’ve avoiding burning too many bridges in your own town, you should be able to do the same on Twitter. Remember, there’s no privacy on Twitter. Anything you tweet can be seen by anyone with an Internet connection. It can be retweeted multiple times. You can send people private direct messages, if you’re both following each other. But the other party can share it. So remember, today’s off-the-cuff tweet could be tomorrow’s coffee row conversation, times a thousand. This isn’t necessarily a bad

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thing, though. You might make a great point that really strikes a chord with many people. Some people in small towns have long memories. And nothing disappears into the ether on Twitter, either. If you tweet something regrettable or nasty, someone might take a screenshot of that tweet for evidence. If that happens, deleting the original comment isn’t going to help you. I’m no lawyer, but I know defamation law applies to social media, too. Not everything you see or hear on Twitter is the Gospel truth. Check the source before you retweet something inflammatory or odd. Don’t retweet links to articles or websites without reading them first and making sure they seem accurate. Be a little cautious of people who claim to have knowledge about some newsworthy event or public figure, especially if they’re not using their real names. Ask yourself, how do I know this person is who he or she claims to be? Credibility is everything. What you say and do in your town either encourages people to trust you or gives them pause. The same principle applies on Twitter. Don’t obsessively tweet at one person, especially if that person isn’t responding to your tweets or tells you to stop. After all, you wouldn’t follow someone in your community or sit in your truck outside her house late at night, would you? And if someone is harassing, threatening or defaming you on Twitter, document it with screenshots in case she deletes the tweets later on. I think it’s fine to ask people you know to support you in causes, such as an ice bucket challenge. But asking 100 people you’ve never interacted with to retweet information about your new book or product is bad form, in my personal opinion. At least introduce yourself before you ask.

#Farm365 I personally dislike it when people try to tell me what to eat, or what not to eat. I try to show the same respect to others. If someone wants to go vegan, or cut gluten, or eat the way they think Palaeolithic people did, I don’t try to talk them out of it. Except for my husband. Someone tried to convince him to throw out our canola oil once and I put my foot down. But food is political these days.

Right now livestock producers are defending their practices against activist vegans using the #farm365 hashtag. The hashtag was started by Andrew Campbell, an Ontario dairy farmer and writer. Campbell resolved to tweet a picture of his farm each day this year. Activists quickly hijacked the hashtag by flooding it with points supporting animal rights. Livestock producers rallied against them. You don’t have to jump into this debate. But if you’re thinking about diving into the ruckus, the first thing I’d suggest is reading tweets tagged #farm365 so you know what you’re getting into. Some activists have been comparing artificial insemination of livestock to rape. Some compare animal agriculture to the Holocaust. Some sling mud at specific livestock producers. This is nasty stuff, but they are within their rights to do it (unless they start threatening people with violence or libel someone, I suppose). If, after reading those tweets, you think you can participate without turning into a badger and eviscerating people online, go for it. Your goal shouldn’t be to win over the extreme activists. Instead, remember that other people are watching. People who may be on the fence about agriculture, especially animal agriculture. You should try to get them on your side. If you get write rude, cutting things, you might push them on to the activists’ side of the fence. Be prepared for people to challenge you directly if you join the #farm365 conversation. If you respond to their accusations, do so in a calm, polite manner. Don’t call them names or otherwise personally attack them, even if they started it. Take the high road. But I don’t think you even have to respond directly to anything the activists tweet to come out on the winning side. You may not even have to write one word about them or their beliefs. Just posting pictures about the day-today life on your operation shows people what really happens on most farms. Many agriculturalists are already doing this. If enough of you on the agriculture side stay classy and stay involved, you’ve a much better shot at winning people over. Let the extreme activists destroy their own position through offensive hyperbole and poor form. Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@ fbcpublishing.com or on Twitter @LtoG.

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Columns Kelly’s AgExpert tips and hints

Year End with AgExpert Analyst Importing the accountant’s copy, and tips on entering your year end adjusting entries Kelly Airey

s you continue with your new year data entry, your accountant will be working in the accountant’s copy you sent in — making necessary changes and adjustments to the old year. Your accountant may need to make any number of adjustments to your file. Some common adjusting entries you might see are entries for amortization, inventory adjustments, recording deferred grain not already entered, recording prepaid expenses and re-allocating entries to re-allocate miscellaneous expenses. Your accountant may also make notes in your file that you can read in the “important accountant changes report.” When your accountant returns your file and you “import the accountant copy” into your data file, the process merges the changes the accountant has made with your file.

Entering year end adjusting entries If your accountant does not use AgExpert Analyst in their office, they can still provide you with a list of the adjusting entries that should be made to your old year, and you can enter them into the data file yourself. Assuming you have carried forward with the data entry into the new year, once you receive the old year adjusting entries from the accountant, complete the following steps: 1. In AgExpert Select Setup > Fiscal Years 2. Change the “Current Fiscal Year” on the right side to the previous year. For example: If you have continued working in the new year 2015, then change the

“Current Fiscal Year” that you would like to work in as 2014, because this is the year you would like to enter the adjusting entries. Then click Close. 3. Select Transactions > General Journal. This is where most of the adjusting entries from your accountant can be entered. Hint: For any adjusting entries, use the last date of the fiscal year. For example December 31, 2014 as your General Journal entry date. The debit and the credit entries must be entered into this screen, and the sum of the debits must equal the sum of the credits before the transaction can be recorded. 4. When entering inventory adjustments in the general

journal screen, the inventory accounts need to have quantities entered as well as amounts. A debit to an inventory account should have a positive quantity entered. A credit to an inventory account should have a negative quantity entered. 5. If an adjusting entry is to the payables or receivables, then you must use the transaction entry screen rather than the general journal screen to record the entry. 6. If you have any questions with how to enter adjusting journal entries properly into AgExpert, you may call the AgExpert Support number to have support walk you through the steps. Another great new help feature is online chat, through the online community.

A support representative will be happy to help. 7. Next Go to Reports > Reports Console > Financial > Trial Balance. Set date to last date of fiscal year and print the report. Compare your trial balance to the accountant’s trial balance to ensure the account totals match. 8. Go to Setup > Fiscal Years and change the “Current Fiscal Year” back to 2015. Then you may continue with new year transaction entries. Next Article: Getting the most from the transaction entry screen. † Kelly Airey is a producer and Ag Consultant in Western Manitoba. She offers software setups & training, and discounts on software purchases. Contact Kelly at kelly.agconsulting@gmail.com or (204) 365-0136.

Changes will be merged Important the accountants copy 1. In AgExpert, choose File > Open your data file that you would like to import the accountant’s adjustments into. 2. Click File > Import Accountant’s Copy 3. Select the file your accountant sent back to you from the location you saved it in. The accountant may give you the file on a memory stick, disc, or email it to you as an attachment. Tip: The File Type or extension will be an “.agextransfer” file. Once you’ve selected the right file, click Open. 6. The file location will be displayed in the Import Accountant’s Copy dialogue box. Click “Import.” 5. This will automatically import the file and take you directly to the Imported Accountant Changes Report. This report lists every entry that the accountant made, as well as any notes from your accountant. Also included is a Transaction Report displaying the debit/credit entries and audit numbers of each transaction the accountant worked on. Print these pages out, and keep them with your records. Tip: If you need to find this report on your computer later you can go to Reports > Report Console > Transaction/Account Information > Imported Accountants Changes. 6. Click “OK “to the pop-up message that says the Accountant’s Changes were Imported. 7. Your data file is now back to a normal state. The title bar will no longer display the dividing date, and all restrictions to your file will be lifted. Your accountant’s changes will be merged into your data file now, and you are free to continue entering in the current year.

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Columns Guarding Wealth

Investing isn’t what it used to be The risk of deflation and low interest rates have turned the world of investing upside down By Andrew Allentuck

ff-farm investing is a very different game than it used to be. The relation of risk and return, which used to be finely calibrated in bonds and whatever you can make of it in stocks, has turned upside down. Today, investors are buying government bonds for the capital gains that grow as central banks cut interest rates, making old bonds with decent interest rates worth more as rates on new bonds tumble. They pick stocks, which used to be bought for capital gains, mostly for their dividends. It’s an Alice in Wonderland world. Central banks, eager to prop up economies by any means possible, have cut interest rates down to near zero and then used massive bond buying programs to raise the prices of bonds further. These tactics work best with existing long bonds which, with decades of interest to pay, rise the most when interest rates payable on new bonds fall. Reinforcing the gains of long bonds — those with maturities of ten or more years — is the possibility that inflation will stop in its tracks and turn into deflation. There is already deflation in parts of southern Europe and Japan. That means cash is gaining in purchasing power. And government bonds are accordingly gaining value too. Consider a stripped bond which pays no interest until maturity. If it’s a 30-year bond, it will gain 30 per cent in value for each one

per cent drop in market interest rates. That is exactly what has happened, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, long bonds gained a stunning 29 per cent in value. A three per cent bond originally sold at $1,000 rose to $1,290 in the market during the year. But it still only pays three per cent and all of that is fully taxable. Stocks are gaining a lot of friends as bond interest rates tumble.

Stocks are the new bonds It is no wonder that stocks have become the new bonds and bonds the new stocks. It seems crazy, but there is a way to make sense of it. Globally, bonds have surfed from one crisis to another. Once sedate, bonds other than those issued by such senior governments as those of Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Germany and Japan, have become as jumpy as small caps, rising in value when there is a rumour that a central bank will pump up the market with interest rate cuts, falling on suspicions such as hints that Greece’s new government might default. The ascent of existing senior government bonds issued with interest superior rates has been breathtaking. For example, a Government of Canada eight per cent bond due June 1, 2023 originally sold at $1,000 has recently been priced at $1,540. That’s a 50 per cent gain and change. If you buy this bond now and hold to maturity, you’ll get just $1,000, so the capital loss deflates the return. You pay more, you get more and you eventually

have to settle up. But if you buy this bond and hold for the next few rounds of interest rate cuts, there should be some profits on the table. No guarantees, of course, for professional bond traders are likely to get to the end of the rainbow before players on the sidelines. Compared to the bond market, banks and big utilities like Fortis Inc. and, of course, the telcos led by BCE Inc. are steady and reliable. Nobody thinks any of them would skip a dividend. Globally, big name corporations like Colgate, Procter & Gamble, and Merck have recognition and respect that eludes most of the world’s bond-issuing governments. The top dividend issuers now get the respect once accorded to AAA bonds — which have become very rare. The action is in bonds. That bonds are now what glamour stocks used to be is phenomenal. Bonds used to be the sort of assets one could study in the morning, then leave in peace and go play golf for the afternoon. No more. Whiffs of deflation, which has broken out in southern Europe, imply that the guaranteed income produced by government bonds, which are always backed by the power of the printing press, will have rising purchasing power. And governments are forcing savers to buy bonds by forcing down bank interest. Bank deposits in Switzerland, Denmark and other Scandinavian countries and some deposits in France and Germany currently bear negative interest rates.

Governments and their central banks want depositors to take their idle funds and invest them. Banks for their part are still charging double digit interest on credit card outstanding balances. So spenders and investors can laugh. It is conservative savers using banks for income who are the suckers. Government bonds not only are gaining in price, they are also rising in a market that demands certain businesses buy them. New bank capital laws packaged as Basel III rules make it vital for banks to hold government bonds for their capital and reserves. Insurance regulations make it vital for life underwriters to match their liabilities with long bonds. Solid government bonds make bank reserves bulletproof. If we dig into deflation, the elevation of bonds to protective assets becomes clear. Deflation on the demand side causes consumers to postpone purchases until prices have declined further. On the supply side, the perception of deflation makes companies rush to sell inventory or cut prices of their services before competitors do that for them. The rush to falling prices is evident.

What should a farmer do? The choice is to buy bonds on the theory that they will continue to soar in price and to buy and hold stocks for their dividends. Bond prices are now in tulip land, a reference to the Dutch tulip frenzy of the 17th century

that saw rational people sell their houses for money to buy a single tulip bulb on the theory that prices could only go higher. The flaw was, of course, that tulips can make more of themselves. Prices of bulbs topped out, then fell. Fortunes were lost. Companies collapsed. Are we wiser now? Given the choice of buying government bonds whose yields shrivel as prices rise or buying stocks that, over the long run, should turn in profits and nice dividends, take the long view. Bonds so pricey that their yields are zero or even negative — as five-year German and Japanese bonds are — cannot go on without some sort of reset. Investing mostly in dividend paying stocks and marginally in high quality government and corporate bonds is the wise course. Bonds remain insurance. Thing is, that insurance has gotten to be mighty expensive. The careful bond buyer can move shop a little downmarket for provincial bonds guaranteed by tax revenues though not by the ability of their governments to print money, or to top name corporate bonds with much higher yields but no government protection at all. Caution is the watchword here, for bonds, though still rising as they have done since 1983 when the U.S. and Canadian central banks began the long slide in interest rates, cannot rise forever. † Andrew Allentuck’s latest book, “When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Life After Work,” was published in 2011 by Penguin Canada.

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helsea Norheim is a soil scientist with The Rack at Biggar, Sask. The Rack offers fertilizer, custom fertilizer application and is a full service ag-input retail operation. The Rack started its Ultimate Yield Management Institute to help its customers make the best decisions they can. “Our customers were consistently beating their neighbours,” Norheim says, so The Rack set out to find out why.” Agronomists at The Rack found that there are a set of factors that farmers can control (things like nutrient management, seeding depth, seed bed preparation, seeding date and pest management), and that looking carefully at each of these factors can help the bottom line. “The more things you can look at and control, the better your chances of success,” says Norheim. The Rack’s long-term vision for its Ultimate Yield Management Institute is “to actually use it as a continuous education type of institute.” The program uses field scale trials. “Applicable-tomorrow kind of research,” Norheim says. “It’s important to control what you can, plan for what you cannot.” † Leeann Minogue

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Rani Mattus, UYMI agronomist, Chelsea Norheim, and Kaitlyn Miller, assistant manager at The Rack’s Unity location staffed The Rack’s booth at the Crop Production Show in Saskatoon.

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Columns Understanding market bulls and bears

What’s the word on the street Home from his trip to Farm Tech in Edmonton, Brian Wittal shares his insights from the conference hallways and his forecast for 2015 seeded canola acres Brian wittal

aving just returned from the Farm Tech conference in Edmonton I thought it would be a good time to pass on to you some of my insights from the sessions and networking over the three days. After taking in three different grain market outlook sessions I came away with a broad range of information from three credible speakers. For example their predictions as to how many acres of canola would be seeded in Western Canada this spring ranged from five per cent fewer acres to 10 per cent more acres than last year. So based on last year’s number of 20 million seeded acres, we could have between 19 and 22 million acres of canola seeded this coming spring. That, to me, seemed to be quite a wide variability so I decided to do my own informal non-scientific survey of those I talked to at Farm Tech to see what the word on the street could tell me. As I wondered the tradeshow floor I made a mental note of the various seed distribution companies. Whenever possible I would stop and listen to conversations at those booths between company reps and farmers talking about their seeding intentions. Next, I took the bold approach of talking to producers directly — asking them what some considered to be a very personal questions: “Do you plan to seed more or less canola next year?” What I gleaned from my eavesdropping research and my conversations with producers was that most of them were going to seed the same or fewer acres than they did last year. Those that were going to seed more were doing so because they were renting new acres and the rotation on that land allowed them to seed canola this spring. After that information gathering I put pencil to paper to crunch the numbers and came up with my canola acreage prediction of 19.4 million acres seeded. This is a three per cent drop from last year. If I am not dead on with this acreage prediction I will be a little disappointed, but not really surprised as I have not factored in a variability coefficient like most surveys that are done today. My disclaimer: if I am wrong it is because of the limited number of responses I used to correlate the data, to get the outcome in a short period of time. This prediction is deemed to be 85 per cent accurate one out of every 100 times. That should cover me!

be a little warmer and dryer, but with intermittent moisture to offset the dry periods giving us an overall good growing season. He predicts that there will be some very dry/drought areas across the Prairies with one being along the Sask./Alta. border in the Kindersley area another in the south eastern corner of Saskatchewan through most of the lower Manitoba growing region that will carry down into the Dakotas and Montana. He also says there will be a continuing pocket of drought in Texas and that the dryness in California will continue to persist and grow through the summer. He remarked that this contin-

uation and growth of these dry/ drought areas in the U.S. seems eerily similar to the start of the drought of 1988. We know that trying to predict weather patterns, even with today’s advanced technology and modeling, is a very precarious job. For those who are brave enough to make a prediction about the weather, I say hats off to you as you can be proven so wrong so quickly only moments after you make your prediction if Mother Nature chooses to make you look a fool! Regardless of how Mother Nature may treat our weather forecasters, the information they provide is still very useful when trying to plan

for the coming season. We know what we may expect and we can make contingency plans to address weather changes.

The future of farming Two things that really caught my attention at this year’s conference were the advancements in technology such as use of UAV’s (unmanned air vehicles) and the large number of what I will refer to as the Gen Y Farmers (ages 19-37, as defined by Farm Tech guest speaker Jason Dorsey). I was seriously impressed to see all of the young people attending the conference as well as young couples

Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. (www. procommarketingltd.com).

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The weather I attended a presentation by Drew Lerner from World Weather Inc. on what we can expect for weather across North America this coming spring and summer. For the Central Alberta region he expects the spring to be a little cooler than normal with decent precipitation, and the summer to

with their children taking in seminars, babies in arms committed to learning more about the world of agriculture that they have decided is going to be their families’ livelihood. My hat is off to all of you for taking on the challenge and moving agriculture into the future. To the organizers of Farm Tech I say “job well done.” This is definitely the premier agricultural learning conference that I have attended over my 33 years in the Ag Industry. †

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Columns Off-farm investing

Solar may be the new sector Andy Sirksi forecasts future trends that could pay off in his stock portfolio in the coming years ANDY SIRSKI

’m always looking for a new trend, preferably a new trend that is sustainable. One key part of a sustainable trend is this: will the industry improve the life of a lot of people, create jobs and be a profitable business? I will add another specialized criteria: does the trend have the backing of a significant government? In this case, I see three trends shaping up, two up and one down.

TASER (TASR)

has raised pollution standards for coal plants. Some have shut down, some have retrofitted to meet the new pollution standards. While coal is still in demand, projects like the solar one in India will reduce the need for coal. So to me, it’s clear that solar power and Tasers have the support of significant money while coal has not. These trends might be so strong from time to time that prices override seasonality and that is why I think all that matters is the price and not the date on the calendar.

Oil socks in a downtrend For now oil and oil stocks are in a downtrend that looks like we

should not own oil stocks. That could turn around quickly once the price of oil finds its bottom. If you follow potash, you know that a year or so ago Potash Corp. (POT) figured that demand was going to be at one level and as it turned out, demand was much higher. The result was that POT could not fill all of its demand. That could happen to oil, but there are few potash producers but many oil producers. Still the herd could be wrong and all that really matters to me is what the price is doing. Oil stocks are becoming as hated as gold and silver stocks. In almost every chat I’ve had about oil the mood has been that it will take a long time for

the price of oil to recover. I’m not so sure for a few reasons. One is that a lot of the fracked wells deplete rapidly — something like 40 to 70 per cent in the first year. Second, almost every oil stock except Peyto is cutting its capital expenditures for the upcoming year, which means fewer wells will be drilled. The offsetting factor is that storage space for oil will get filled which will lead to higher supplies. Trying to guess future supplies is a bit of crap shoot but I think we can be quite sure that supplies will drop month by month. About the time that oil prices might drop to some all time low, speculators will step in and start bidding up the price. That usually

raises the price, then profit takers step in and cause a double bottom which is followed by another upswing. Speculators seem to have an inside track on what is happening in a market but even if they don’t they can cause prices to move up and down in a hurry. Like any beaten down stock or commodity, the price will have to go through a series of steps before it will go back up. Of course it the stock or commodity bottoms and goes back up like a V, some of this will not apply. † Andy is mostly retired. He plays with his granddaughters, has a tax business, manages his family’s portfolio and publishes an electronic newsletter called StocksTalk. If you want to read it free for a month send an email to sirski@mts.net and Andy will set you T:17.4” up for the free month.

The U.S. president is behind Tasers for police forces, so the U.S. government is paying for half the cost of Tasers for police departments across the country. And there seems to be no upper limit on how much money the police force can spend. Some police forces have bought hundreds of Tasers and that seems to be just fine. The stock TASER (TASR) has gone from $12 to $28 since the U.S. government announced its subsidy of Tasers. I have owned the stock off and on.

Speculators seem to have an inside track Solar energy The U.S. president is in India as I start this article and he announced that the U.S. government will support a huge solar electric project in India. India dearly needs more electricity for its 1.3 or so billion people and the population is growing. The announced project is expected to produce something like 100,000 gig watts of electric power, which is like 39 nuclear reactors. The project is estimated to cost $160 billion and will take about seven years to build. There are at least a dozen solar power companies mostly listed in the U.S. so take your pick but be careful. As usual we should use selling rules if a stock goes against us. I often sell when a stock drops three per cent from its top. At that time the Rate of Change (ROC) should be rolling over from its top. If I miss that I like to sell when the daily price drops through the 10day moving average. If I want to speed that up I would sell when the daily price drops through the eight-day exponential moving average. Whatever we choose, we should at least use one to either protect profits or our portfolio and our minds. While we have the U.S. president supporting Taser and solar energy, he is out to get coal, or at least it looks that way. His government

Baye

Always

FS:8.45” F:8.7”

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Columns Can’t take the farm from the boy

Time for an off-farm project Sometimes, a change is as good as a rest. A distraction from the real “work” can be productive Toban Dyck

photo: toban dyck

T:17.4”

Toban finished the roof and a few other details and angles on Day 2 of his chicken coop project.

ood writing is honest writing. Arguably, this also stands for farming. But it’s easy to lose sight of this and get caught up in the mire of distraction, pretense, stress, or insecurity. I have to come clean: I lost sight of this. Many do in the winter months. For most of January I successfully fled from it all — farming and writing — in favour of projects that stole my attention. I built a chicken coop and renovated an unused barn on

our farm into an office and project space. But I missed a Grainews deadline, and put off securing some needed operating money for the land I’m renting this year. Shame is a terrible thing. Guilt is, too. So let’s visit neither dark, crippling place. Work with your hands this winter. Build something — that thing that has been dogging you for years; that thing that your family has been pestering you to take on, telling you time and time again that it will be easy, “you can do it”; that thing that you’ve put off starting. On the two-year anniversary of my wife’s request for a chicken coop, I broke. And with mounting deadlines and a long list of unknowns related to the spring,

what better time to do take such a thing on. Homesteading and selfsufficiency are passions of hers, the dream being to one day have chickens, a goat, a cow, bees, and probably at least three more things I’m forgetting to mention. I’ve rolled my eyes countless times to this — and she knows it — believing that such a vision of life on the farm is more work than it is charming. It would only be a matter of time until we’d again sing the praises of a marketplace that sold us eggs that someone else collected, I thought. Living in the country is different than that. Farmers appreciate a near one-to-one relationship between their labour and what it produces, often forgetting that this is something they share with everyone who works and lives off the land.

The chicken coop

T:10”

I closed my laptop on Friday, Jan. 13, after printing a picture of a chicken coop. It was cathartic to put it away for a while. I don’t think this computer had been turned off since I bought it about a year ago. The waste-oil burner in our workshop can be finicky, but with some cleaning, tweaking and luck, I got it running. Three hours later, the shop was ready for my productive distraction. But it would all wait until Monday. “Do you have any plans or measurements?” the gentleman helping me at the lumberyard asked. “Nope. Just this picture.” There was a pause. I’d say it was pregnant, but I sometimes pick up on things that don’t exist. “I do kind of know what I’m doing.” “Phew, ‘cause a picture isn’t much to go on,” he said, and we started on the supplies list. By the end of my first weekday avoiding work, I had something I was proud of (remember: we’re leaving shame and guilt out of this). It wasn’t yet a coop, but it was already the product of a series of correctly measured cuts, some basic math and a smidgen of ingenuity. I slept well that night, and my former responsibilities were starting to fade. I finished the roof and a few other details and angles on Day 2. It was finally a coop, and all it needs now is chicken wire. But, drunk with just how productive I could be, I started cleaning and gutting an old barn that I had wanted to renovate since moving back to the family farm. It took two weeks, but it’s clean, heated, furnished, and has running water — all new things for that barn. I actually wrote this column sitting in a comfortable chair placed roughly where the cattle squeeze shoot used to be. The building tear is over, and I’m back to the heap of things I’ve been avoiding. It’s now the coop and renovation that seem distant. It’s good to be back thinking about the spring, my land, and writing, but the distraction was fun, and I urge you all to try it, for a spell. †

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Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

F:8.7”

/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Columns Soils and crops

Extreme weather events In the third part of a three-part series on water, Les Henry takes a look at the long term SWIFT CURRENT ANNUAL PRECIPITATION IN INCHES les henry

he past few wet years have left some folks wondering if this is the new normal. What with Global Warming and all, perhaps we will have to live with these wet extremes. What we fail to recognize is that our experiences — even old fossils like me — are but a very brief flash in the pan for Mother Nature.

Eddie Balion’s Slough Just east of my Dundurn farm is the R.M. of Lost River. It is in the heart of the Allan Hills upland with rough topography, many undrained sloughs and some sloughs that fill and spill in wet years. The “spill” goes no further than large sloughs in the level land north of the hills. Eddie Balion’s slough is one such water body that dries up in the dry cycles and gets nearly full in wet cycles. Last year it filled and spilled back over a road — the first time in the experience of Mr. Balion, who is even older than me. But, the comment of local farmers was not that it never happened before. Instead the comment was: “The last folks to see that happen were the Indian people.” We tend to think that if we never witnessed an event it never happened. Not so.

Annual Precipitation (Inches)

Figure 1. Annual precipitation at Swift Current, Sask. 1885 - 2013

Source: AAFC

Long term records, Swift Current, Sask. Rain records for long periods are difficult to assemble. The Environment Canada website seems to get less useful over time as sites and data drop off. Thanks to Herb Cutforth, AAFC Research Station at Swift Current, I have a complete record of monthly precipitation all the way back to 1885 (Figure 1). The three inches in 2001 and 25 inches in 2010 looked like once only events, but 1891 was also a

Noah’s Arc year and was followed three years later by a low value. The 1930s do not really look all that bad, except for 1937. But 1937 fell on the heels of low precipitation in 1936. My Dad always said they grew enough wheat in the 30s, they just never got paid for a crop when they did grow it. 1940 and ‘41 were also dry years. There are many stories of seeding the 1942 crop into dust. But then Mother Nature turned on the tap and the well known “Mortgage Lifter” year finally arrived.

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Placed in context of a record of even a short time like 130 years, the events of the past few years do not appear so extreme.

Red river valley floods Let me start off with a quiz. What year was the record flood for the Red River at Winnipeg? Some old folks might say 1950 and younger types could guess 1997. But, you would be very, very wrong. See Table 1. Put in context of what Mother Nature did before humans had much influence, the events of recent decades seem quite tame. In his 1860 report of his 1958 expeditions, Henry Youle Hind had this to say about 1852 “According to the Crees who hunt on this river, the whole valley (Qu’Appelle) from the Sandy Hills (Elbow) to the Assiniboine was converted to a lake in 1852, a year memorable in Rupert’s Land for its extraordinary humidity.” After the 1950 flood the old data was examined and resulted in the floodway being increased to handle a much greater flow than 1950. The 1997 flood was dangerously close to the limit. Without the old data it could have been a disaster of much greater

magnitude. I suspect we have the Hudson Bay Co folks to thank for that old data. (Note: Further interesting reading is St George and Rannie, 2003. “Canadian Water Resources Journal,” Vol. 28, No. 1, 2003.) But the 1826 flood was the grandaddy of them all. What farm drainage do we blame that flood on? Please do not get me wrong — if farm drainage in Saskatchewan is dumping on Manitoba farms or other property then changes need to be made. But, I have yet to see the data that documents the situation. Who has assembled the flow records from the border stations operated by PPWB? Who has traced flows back to large areas of wildcat drainage? Who has studied the air photos to document where the drainage is taking place? Again, we need a rifle approach not a shotgun. † J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He recently finished a third printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for Grainews readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book.

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The Red River This table shows the peak discharge and peak level of Red River at James Avenue, Winnipeg (about one mile downstream of junction of Red and Assiniboine rivers in the heart of downtown Winnipeg).

YEAR

Natural Spring Peak Discharge in cubic feet per second

Natural Peak Stages in Feet Above Datum

1826

225,000

36.5

1852

165,000

34.5

*1997

163,000

34.4

*2009

128,000

32.5

1861

125,000

32.2

*2011

116,000

31.2

1950

108,000

30.3

*1979

108,000

30.3

*1996

108,000

30.2

*2006

99,000

28.5

*1974

96,000

28.0

* Computed natural discharge without use of Red River Floodway, Portage Diversion or Shellmouth dam. Source: http://manitoba.ca/flooding/history/index.html.

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop Machinery history

The slowest Lamborghini ever The Lamborghini 1C crawler may have been the most interesting “classic” farm machine on display at the German farm show, Agritechnica By Scott Garvey

ypically, Germany’s Agritechnica machinery show concentrates on looking toward the future rather than the past when it comes to technology, so it doesn’t devote a lot of space to displays of historic farm equipment. But 2013 was the 100th anniversary of the diesel engine in agriculture, according to DLG’s (The German Agricultural Society’s) research, and last year organizers decided to pay homage to that historic landmark. Among other exhibits, one entire pavilion was devoted to a display of classic farm tractors and vehicles. While the selection of machines chosen for that display was more than impressive, one in particular stopped many people in their tracks and demanded closer inspection. That machine was the 1962 Lamborghini 1C crawler tractor. And yes, it was built by the same company that is now famous for its super cars, like the iconic Countach that debuted in 1974. It may seem ironic that the company that now builds some of the fastest land vehicles in the world started out building the slowest. But, I guess, you have to start somewhere. The old adage, you have to walk before you can, run comes to mind. The company’s founder, Ferruccio 1

Lamborghini, who was originally a mechanic, decided to begin his manufacturing ventures by first going into the tractor business in 1947, using parts from surplus World War II equipment. The SAME (pronounced Saw-may) Museum Archives describes it this way: “Using truck and military vehicle engines and differentials sourced from ARAR Centres (Azienda Recupero Alienazione Residuati — an Italian governmental agency for the redistribution of surplus material), the first “Carioca” tractors are built. These machines feature a significant innovative technical solution — a fuel atomiser which, when used in conjunction with a Morris engine, allow the tractor to be started with petrol (gasoline) and then switch to petroleum (diesel). Lamborghini Trattori (Tractor) is founded.” The following year, 1948, the first Lamborghini tractor hit the market in Italy.

The 1C crawler Fourteen years later, Lamborghini introduced the little, narrow 1C crawler, designed to appeal to Italian farmers who worked vineyards on the steep hillsides in that country. To get the crawler between fields, owners could jack it up and bolt rubber tires onto the back axle. At the front, a single wheel connected to a swivel arrange-

ment kept the remaining part of the tractor off the ground and allowed it to be steered in the normal way with wheel brakes. Under the hood, the 1C had Lamborghini’s FL-2, twocylinder, 22 horsepower diesel engine, which was connected to a transmission that offered six forward and two reverse gears. After debuting in 1962, the 1C remained in production until 1966. But 1962 turned out to be a landmark year for Lamborghini’s business for another reason. That was when Ferruccio decided to add cars to his product line. “Spurred on by his success in tractors, Ferruccio Lamborghini decides to build exclusive luxury cars, and so the GT 400 Lamborghini is built in 1962, followed by the MIURA in 1964,” reads the museum’s timeline history of the company. The Lamborghini tractor brand was eventually split off from the car manufacturing business and became part of the SAME-Deutz-Fahr (SDF) group in 1973. It’s tractors still in production today. In fact at Agritechnica 2013, the NITRO 130 VRT model won the 2014 Golden Tractor for Design Award. Editor’s note: Grainews offers a special thanks to “Historical Archive SAME — Treviglio — Italy” for their assistance with research and providing unique images. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

How’s your French? This is one of the advertisements used to market the tractor in Europe in the 1960s.

photos: scott garvey

1. The unique Lamborghini 1C crawler could have wheels attached to move it down public roads. 2. A 1C on display at the SAME Museum in Treviglio Italy. Photo credit: Historical Archive SAME — Treviglio — Italy. 3. & 4. The operator’s station and rear connections of the 1C are pretty basic compared to today’s equipment.

/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Machinery & Shop Tire tech

Michelin’s Ultraflex ag tires The brand showed off the benefits of its IF and VF radials during an event in France By Scott Garvey

oday’s ag tires may not be able to exactly match the reduced levels of compaction and floatation tracks offer, but Increased Flexion (IF) and Very High Flexion (VF) radial tires have narrowed the performance gap between tracks and tires considerably. IF tires are capable at operating at up to 20 per cent reduced air pressures and VF radials hit the 40 per cent inflation reduction mark when compared to standard radials. That significantly improves their performance. This year marks 10 years of Michelin’s trademark Ultraflex Tire production, which includes lines that use both IF and VF technology. To commemorate that anniversary, the company recently conducted tire demonstrations at its research center in Ladoux France in late September. A select group of farmers, tire dealers and “other industry influencers” from around the world were invited to attend the event, which showcased the company’s tire innovations. At the French facility, a tractor carrying a load of nearly 10,000 pounds was driven over a pit filled with thin layers of soil of alternating colours to demonstrate the impact of tire pressure. In one test, a standard radial tire was used. Then, the air pressure was lowered to simulate an Ultraflex tire. The reduction in soil compaction was noticeable. Because IF and VF tires operate on lower air pressures than standard radials, they leave a bigger footprint that distributes a machine’s weight over a larger area. That’s what leads to lower soil compaction. The expanded footprints also offer better traction, which translates directly to another huge benefit: improved fuel economy, because wheel slip is reduced. “Lower air pressure helps spread the weight of heavy farm equipment, resulting in a

photos: michelin

New SprayBib: Michelin has added a 50-inch Very high flexion tire, the VF420/95R50 177D to its line of sprayer tires. larger footprint, which reduces soil compaction,” said James Crouch, farm segment marketing manager for Michelin North America. “Lower compaction helps protect crop yields and offers better traction, which in turn improves fuel economy and productivity in the field.” But getting that benefit from an IF or VF radial ag tire is only possible when inflation pressure is properly set. Determining what pressure settings should be depends on the axle load, and maximum travel speeds, according to Crouch. If farmers can’t determine the axle weights for a tractor from available information, Crouch recommends they weigh the tractor at a grain terminal or other scale to get an accurate number. With that information farmers can refer to tire manufacturers’ published inflation tables for recommended settings based on axle weights and maximum travel speeds. “The OE manufacturer can give you a pretty good idea of how weight is distributed on that machine,” he added. “With a little math you can figure out how much load is on each individual tire. With that you

can look at any (tire) manufacturer’s website and bring up a load table. Our sales force also carries DOT-rated scales in their work trucks. And they’ll actually come to the farm and weigh your equipment.” Crouch confirmed that service is available in Western Canada. Michelin customers can take advantage of it through their local Michelin ag tire dealer. And this summer, Michelin announced some additions to both the standard and Ultraflex tire lines. The SprayBib group grows by one with a new VF420/95R50 177D, a 50-inch model. It’s the industry’s first VF sprayer tire offered in this larger size according to Michelin. It shares all the qualities of the current 46-inch SprayBib range but offers them for bigger sprayers that carry heavier loads. Available near the end of 2014, the company also introduced the standard radial 480/95 R50 AgriBib rear tractor tire, which provides a taller tire option with enhanced ride and clean-out characteristics for MFWD and four-wheel drive tractors. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

During a demonstration at the U.S. Farm Progress Show in August, Michelin showed farmers the much larger effective footprint size of comparable tires, comparing its VF YieldBib line to its AgriBib standard radials.

Keep them dry

ow much liquid ballast should you put into a set of radial tires on your tractor? None, according to James Crouch, farm segment marketing manager for Michelin North America. “We really don’t recommend using any liquid ballast (in radial tires),” he says. “It changes the characteristics of the tire. It really takes away some of the benefits that you’re paying for. If you buy a radial tire and put liquid in it, it changes all the flexing points of that tire. The tire won’t really perform like we designed it to. You’ll see a little bit of irregular wear. It stresses the tire a lot, because that tire is designed to flex. And at the end of the day, the tire itself doesn’t carry any load, the air inside it does. If you put liquid ballast inside that tire you limit the volume of air inside, so you’re going to have a higher pressure in there to carry the same load.” “Our preferred way to ballast a piece of equipment is with iron,” he continues. “Use wheel weights, suitcase weights, whatever you have to do to keep liquid out of those tires. The OE manufacturers are getting pretty good with this. It’s taken a while to get caught up because the (new) radial technology came in quickly, but there are several good ballasting packages you can buy directly from the factory. Most of them are very, very good. And they’re accurate.” † Scott Garvey

In this compaction test, a pit with different coloured layers of soil shows less soil compaction with a Michelin Ultraflex tire on the left compared to a standard radial technology tire on the right.

If your tractor is equipped with radial tires, Michelin recommends using iron ballasting instead of liquid inside the tires.

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop Keep it going

One tractor, with one owner

photos: scott garvey

Left: Frank Paul of Moosomin, Saskatchewan, waits for the purchaser of his restored 55 Massey to meet him at a local gas station and haul it to a new home. Right: Paul says he used an angle grinder with a wire brush attachment to remove surface rust and get the tractor panels ready for new paint.

This restored 55 Massey-Harris spent all its life working for one family... until now By Scott Garvey

rank Paul of Moosomin, Saskatchewan, and his restored 55 Massey-Harris tractor were quietly waiting in the corner of a local gas station parking lot when I first noticed them. The tractor was idling smoothly as Paul scanned the nearby highway. He was waiting for the truck that would come and pick up his tractor. He had just sold it to a Manitoba Massey Ferguson dealer. Remarkably, this was the first time the tractor would make its way back to a dealer since it was sold new in the mid 1950s. Paul recalled going to Regina to pick it up from an unloading facility along the CPR mainline. He drove it home to the family farm and it hasn’t been owned by anyone outside the family until now.

It was pretty rusty When its working life was over, the tractor sat unused for several years after it was no longer needed for farm work. But eventually Paul decided to restore it, and a cursory look over the finished product revealed he did a pretty respectable job. “It was pretty rusty,” Paul said. To get the sheet metal ready for new paint, he found that an angle grinder with a wire brush attachment worked extremely well in removing all the surface rust and getting parts back to bare metal. And it did the job quickly. It wasn’t hard to detect a little bit of remorse as Paul talked about selling the tractor. But with one 55 gone, he was already thinking about bringing another back to life. “I’ve been looking for another one,” he said. “There aren’t that many 55s around, though.” †

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Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com. Land-143C.indd 1

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Machinery & Shop vehicles

New limited edition Gators from JD Special paint, graphics, and options on these Gators set them apart from the other green machines By Scott Garvey

ohn Deere thinks its offering of two new special edition Gator utility vehicles is bound to turn some heads. For 2015 it’s introducing limited edition XUV825i and RSX850i models wearing custom “midnight black” matte paint with charcoal gray decal graphics — and other special options. “More and more outdoor enthusiasts are on the lookout for limited-build custom vehicles,” said David Gigandet, John Deere marketing manager, Gator utility vehicles. “These new models provide customers the durability and productivity they’ve come to expect with Gators, but in a unique and stylish theme that will capture the attention of John Deere fans and the utility vehicle market.” The heavy-duty, 50 horsepower, 812 cc XUV825i gets a long list of special features, including a sport steering wheel, power steering, high performance exhaust, a long-range light kit, poly half doors and matte black alloy rims wrapped with Maxxis 2.0 Bighorn tires. At

the rear is a deluxe cargo box with spray-on liner. To customize this Gator further, buyers can include a heavy-duty front brush guard and fender guards, as well as floor mats, and they can choose to ride on either a bench seat or sport buckets. The recreational, 62 horsepower, 839 cc RSX850i special edition Gator gets the same custom matte black paint scheme with charcoal gray decals, but it rolls on black and silver alloy rims. The trail-sport package boasts a special edition door closeout panel with a Gator image, PreRunner bumper, and a Warn 3,500 pound winch. Underneath, this machine gets a full underbody aluminum skid plate, mounted HELLA HID Sport lights, FOX 2.0 Performance Series shocks, 2-inch front receiver hitch, side nerf bars, and cargo box rails. The RSX850i comes standard with high-performance sports seats. These special Gators will only be built in limited quantities, according to Deere. †

photo: john deere

This RSX850i Gator is designed to appeal to those who want to have some fun with their machine. The other of the two special edition models available for 2015 is designed for heavy-duty work.

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

Utility vehicles

Yamaha announces 2015 Viking SxS

New side-by-side UTV models begin production at Yamaha’s U.S. assembly line at Newnan, Georgia

By Scott Garvey

amaha’s 2015, three-person Viking Side-bySide (SxS) began rolling off the company’s U.S. assembly line in Newnan, Georgia, just before the fall hunting and harvest season. The company says the Viking offers “class-leading” cab room and comfort, along with superior handling and off-road capabilities. And certainly not the least important attribute is the Viking is also a lot of fun to drive, according to marketing reps. The Viking is a three-person, side-by-side vehicle featuring a driver-directed four-wheel drive system, automatic transmission, and natural-feeling electric power steering (EPS). “The 2015 Vikings are in production and rolling out to dealers across the country this fall,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s ATV/SxS group marketing manager. “From the summer farm shows to farmers and hunters who are starting to harvest crops and game in the field, we continue to get great feedback from current and future Yamaha Viking owners.” Automotive-style controls engage the 686 cc engine. Yamaha’s three-way On-Command system — featuring two-wheel drive, four-wheel drive and four-wheel

Tundra

drive with differential lock — is driver-controlled with a rotary dial selector. The Viking uses Yamaha’s CVT Ultramatic transmission with high, low and reverse, which has all-wheel engine braking. The Viking’s cab configuration allows for pass-through bucket seating and maximum headroom. The steel cargo bed with assisted dump is large enough to carry a fully loaded pallet and has a maximum load rating of 600 pounds (272 kilograms), while the standard two-inch receiver hitch is rated to pull 1,500 pounds (682 kilograms). The Viking has nearly 12 inches of ground clearance at the lowest point, a full steel-composite smooth skid plate front-to-back and side-to-side, and an optimized frame with upturned side rails allowing for smoother transitions over obstacles. The Viking rides on longtravel, four-wheel independent suspension. Standard EPS Viking models come in Steel Blue and have an MSRP of US$12,799. For one in hunter green or red with a sun top expect to pay US$12,999. To deck one out in Realtree AP HD camouflage with a sun top, the price is US$13,599. The 2015 non-EPS models start at US$11,799. There is also a new 2015 Special Edition in matte silver, which comes with a hard sun top, cast alumi-

Tundra

photo: yamaha

The Yamaha three-person Viking Side-by-side UTV began production in the fall of 2015. It is now also available as the Viking VI with second-row seating for up to six people. num wheels, over fenders, mud flaps and the Yamaha accessory bed rail mounting system. It has an MSRP of US$14,049. For more details visit www.YamahaViking.com. † Scott Garvery is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott. Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop Utility vehicles

Two new UTVs from Bobcat The 3400 and two-seat 3400XL models are designed for typical farm work By Scott Garvey

obcat is introducing two new UTVs for 2015, the three-passenger 3400 and six-passenger 3400XL. They feature improved suspensions, higher payload and towing ratings, faster travel speed and more integrated accessories, according to the company. Both models are available with either a 40 horsepower, 570cc, fuel-injected, gas engine or a 24 horsepower, 1120cc, diesel mated to a two-range CVT transmission. And those power train combinations can get the two 3400s down the road at speeds up to 65 KPH (40 MPH). They also get changeon-the-go four-wheel drive. Underneath, the machines get a full skid plate to protect them from uneven terrain, along with an optional brush guard on the front to minimize the risk of body damage when charging through pasture bush.

dump feature let you unload it in a hurry. To make these models more versatile, a winch-operated snow blade is available to help keep the farm tidy in winter. And a 228 litre (60 U.S. gallon) spray tank can be mounted in the bed for spot control of weeds or spreading fertilizer. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photo: bobcat

Two new UTV models from Bobcat, the 3400 and six-passenger 3400XL are designed for both work and play.

ALL NEW PRECISION

Auto Steer Solutions

Standard power steering and a tilt wheel Front suspension is an adjustable, independent A-arm configuration, while the rear uses a multi-link system. That, the company claims, gives these models an improved turning radius, increased load capacity and improved traction along with a smoother ride. The 3400 and 3400XL also get some improved body styling. Front and rear windows, a roof and canvas or hard-shell doors can be added as options to improve operator comfort. And once installed, doors can simply be lifted off their hinges if you want to enjoy a ride in nice weather. In fact, converting these models from an open station to a fully enclosed modular cab only takes a few minutes. To add to the operator comforts is standard power steering and a tilt wheel. Occupants ride on a standard, three-passenger bench seat. The XL model includes a similar rear seat, which doubles the passenger capacity count to six. And for cold weather operation, a dealer-installed cab heater is available. There is also increased storage area in the passenger area, with under-seat compartments. Behind the cab, the cargo bed, which is 168 millimetres (7 inches) longer than previous models, is rated for 568 kilograms (1,250 pounds) of payload. A standard manual or optional hydraulic

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Machinery & Shop Farming around the world

Familiar brands at work in Ukraine Ukrainian farmers are increasingly choosing Western and even Canadian-built machinery

By Igor Pavliuk

kraine is potentially one of the largest markets for highquality agricultural machinery. It’s a huge country, at least by European standards, with varied soil and climatic conditions. And the equipment Ukrainian farmers often opt for includes brands familiar to Canadians, such as Versatile, Bourgault, Kello-Bilt, Schulte and Massey Ferguson. Two months ago I was on a business trip in the southern part of Ukraine — very close to occupied Crimea — and took these photos. Ukraine is one of the few countries in the region where it is possible to grow an exotic crop such as rice. To grow it, this field is a depression

in the ground of three hectares (about 7.4 acres). In the spring water is poured in from an irrigation canal, and in the fall it’s drained. It is very difficult to find a combine able harvest rice in wet soil. After testing a few models, these Ukrainian rice farmers chose a Massey Ferguson 7347 S on tracks. Interestingly, rice can be harvested even in cold weather, so the 7347 S has to work in conditions ranging from high humidity and heat to freezing temperatures. Along with combines, Massey Ferguson tractors are also becoming more popular in Ukraine. Equally popular are Kello-Bilt disc harrows, which are used by farmers who often have to develop soil that has sat idle for several years. † Igor Pavlyuk is an agricultural journalist in Ukraine.

photos: igor pavlyuk

Left: Canadian-built equipment brands are also becoming increasingly common in Ukraine. Right: Not many people would expect it, but rice is grown in Ukraine. And to harvest it, many farmers are buying combines built by Western equipment brands.

fielding life’s needs.

At OK Tire, we know there’s more to life than your fields. That’s why we service what we sell, and offer a full range of tires for tractors, combines, wagons, implements, even ATV’s. We keep you moving, leaving you more time to enjoy the other important parts of your life. For the latest specials, visit your local OK Tire or oktire.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Cattleman’s Corner Pasture Profits

Basic steps to increasing grazing profits Knowing how much cow-calf pairs eat and properly managing their grazing program helps to reduce grazing costs BY SEAN MCGRATH

s we progress through the spring and into grass season, many of us have the temptation to “kick the cows out to grass.” After feeding, calving and doing chores all winter, turnout is a welcome relief. While grazing is generally cheaper than feeding, turnout also represents the beginning of a season of lost profit potential for many operations. I often use the example of a hayfield when I am speaking about grass. Harvesting of a pasture or a hayfield is essentially the same concept — the difference is in the method not the theory. We would not cut our hayfield down and then cut it again in a week. Rather we would take a first cut, and then allow the field to regrow before taking a second cut. Depending on how low the first cut was taken, weather and timing, the period between first and second cuttings may vary. The reason we wait is that it allows us to maximize productivity of the stand in our preferred combination of yield and quality. When we use cows to harvest forage things get a little bit trickier. They don’t generally cut a 12- or 16-foot wide swath from one end of the field to another, but rest assured they are cutting grass down — it’s just a bit harder to assess. The challenge is that if we are interested in maximizing the quality and quantity of forage, we need to prevent cattle from cutting the

same grass before it recovers (in the same way we waited on our hayfield). Fortunately, grass wants to work with us in this regard. Many species will not resume growth until three days to two weeks after grazing. This means we have a bit of leeway in moving cows before they are “recutting” our crop. Of course if it is wet and warm this growth speeds up, but conversely when it is hot and dry regrowth slows down and we don’t have to move as quickly. The less forage we take on a pass through a pasture, the less time the plant takes to recover. This is not as reasonable an option with a haybine where we are more limited by agronomics and machine function. The old rule of take half and leave half is not a bad place to start, but some situations might be better if we took 30 per cent and made more passes during the season. The more leaf area we leave behind, the more quickly the plant will recover from grazing.

MEASURING GRAZING PRODUCTION There are several options to measure production in our pastures but one of the simplest is tracking Animal Unit Grazing Days (AUGD) and AUGD per acre. Basically an animal unit (AU) is 1,000 pounds of animal. A 1,500pound cow is 1.5 AU, a 1,500pound cow with an 800-pound calf that eats grass is 2.3 AU (1.5 + 0.8). If we know how many animals we turned out and about

how much they weigh, we can pretty easily figure out our animal units. It is important to remember to account for growth of calves as well, since hopefully our number of animal units will increase over the grazing season. The second step is recording when cattle went into and out of the pasture. If we took our 1,500pound cow into the pasture and took her out 90 days later we have harvested 135 AUGD (90 days x 1.5 AU). If the pasture is five acres, we have harvested 27 animal unit grazing days — AUGD/Acre (135/5). This measurement is the grazing equivalent of bushels per acre.

COMPARED TO THE AVERAGES There is some very interesting data that has come out of the AgriProfit$ program, which is an economic benchmarking program operated by Alberta Agriculture. The program uses producer data and tracks pastures by type, region, costs and returns. Let’s look at some broad production averages from this program over three years across two different pasture types (see table 1). I took the liberty of converting their AUM values to AUGD (1 AUM = 30 AUGD). The differences are staggering. If we assume a land rent of $80 per acre in central Alberta for the grass/legume pasture, and $20 per acre in the southern Alberta native prairie, we would see a cost differ-

TABLE 1. AUGD/Acre

Difference

Bottom 25%

Average

Top 25%

Top-Bottom

Central Alberta Legume/Grass

39.0

61.2

116.1

77.1

Southern Alberta Native

13.2

7.5

33.3

20.1

TABLE 2. Summer Grazing Cost

Savings From Grazing Management

Bottom 25%

Top 25%

Central Alberta Legume/Grass

$61,500

$20,700

$40,800

Southern Alberta Native

$45,600

$18,000

$27,600

ence ranging from $0.69/AUGD for the top 25 per cent, up to $2.05 in central Alberta, and a range from $0.60 /AUGD for the top 25 per cent up to $1.52 in the southern Alberta prairie. If you multiply this out across every acre and the number of cows that represents a huge missed profit opportunity in the industry. For example, let’s use a 100-head cow herd of 1,500-pound cows, grazing for 200 days. (summer grazing costs = cost per AUGD * 1.5 AU * 200 days) The savings in this example (see table 2) come from saving the number of acres needed, however the flip side for an operation with a set acreage already is that you can

run more animal units on the same resource base. If we just look at the numbers from a straight production mindset, grazing management has the potential to double production and in some situations where resources such as rainfall are less limiting may triple production for the bottom quartile. Imagine if you could turn 20-bushel canola into 40 or 60 simply through longterm management. Another article we cover some concepts for how to move into the top 25 per cent. † Sean McGrath is a rancher and consultant from Vermilion, Alta. He can be reached at sean@ranchingsystems.com or (780)8539673. For additional information visit www. ranchingsystems.com

HERD MANAGEMENT

Dealing with broken bones in young calves heather smith thomas

ccasionally a young calf suffers a fractured limb, which needs to be cast or splinted for proper healing. Accidents sometimes occur, such as the cow stepping on her calf and breaking a leg. You might not see it happen, and just find the calf unable to get up, or very lame. You might discover the broken leg after the cows were frantically running around trying to find and protect their calves when the herd is harassed by dogs, coyotes or wolves. Young calves are often injured in this type of trampling accident. Broken legs in newborn calves usually fall into two categories — “mama trauma” in which the calf got stepped on, and the other involve a broken limb while the calf is being pulled during birth.

INJURIES DURING BIRTH To prevent the latter injury, it is important to use proper pulling technique. Applying the chains properly involves using a double

half-hitch with one loop above and one below the fetlock joint (on the pastern) to spread the force so it isn’t all in one place. Pulling injuries tend to have more damage to the blood and nerve supply to the leg. The prognosis for a calf that gets its leg broken while pulling it is often worse than for a calf that gets its leg stepped on, says Mark Hilton, a veterinarian with Purdue University. Some fractures are more easily repaired than others. “Usually when a young calf suffers a broken leg, it’s broken at the growth plate at the end of the long bone,” says Hilton. “When it’s broken at the growth plate it tends to break straight across. If you can get the leg realigned and set the fracture, these often respond very well in a cast or splint. There’s a lot of stability, once you get the fracture set, and the calf can walk on it. The purpose of the cast or splint is to prevent bending.” If the fracture is above the growth plate, it’s generally better to use a cast than a splint. The cast can share weight with the leg. “Splints are great for maintaining alignment of the limb, but if you have to also support some of the weight, a cast is more effective,” he says. Splints designed for high limb injuries can sometimes work to immobilize the leg enough for it

to heal. A plastic dog splint, for instance, wrapped with stretchy tape to hold it in place, may be adequate to support a high break on a hind limb (holding it immobile) in a very young calf. An older calf, carrying more weight, may not have such a good prognosis for a high break, according to Hilton.

DOG SPLINT CAN WORK But for a young calf with hind leg fractured above the hock, a dog splint may be all you need. You can get one of these from your vet; just select the proper size for the calf’s hind leg. Place the splint over the leg to make sure it’s the right size, then use some padding like roll cotton between the leg and the splint. Wrap it with stretchy tape to hold the splint in place, with enough layers to make it solid and stable. If you are successful in creating an adequate support, the calf will be able to walk on it and get up and around to nurse its mother. The leg should heal completely within two to three weeks if there are no complications, but you may have to redo it once if the bandaging becomes too tight on a fast-growing calf. As long as the blood supply is intact and the calf doesn’t get an infection in the injured area,

those fractures usually heal very well in newborn calves if you can control the weight-bearing force. Young calves’ bones heal more quickly than those of an older animal, especially if you can support the fracture properly. “Success rate is high, in those that are not open fractures, without infections,” says Hilton. “It will depend somewhat on whether the break is high or low on the leg. If it’s low we can usually just splint it, though some veterinarians cast those, too.” Often a piece of PVC pipe works as a splint, cut lengthwise so you can use just half of it. Rolled cotton can be put between the pipe and the limb to pad it. “If it’s a hind leg you can use a propane torch and heat the PVC pipe to bend it, so it will curve at the hock, at the same angle as the leg,” says Hilton. “We heat the half pipe at the proper spot and push the end of the pipe on the ground until we get the correct angle. Then we just hold it for a couple minutes at that angle until it cools, and it stays that way. Here at our hospital we have various lengths of half pipes, pre-cut and bent, and just grab one when we go out to work on a calf’s leg,” he says. † Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

photos: heather smith thomas

This broken leg was stabilized with a dog splint with some padding, like roll cotton, inserted between the leg and the splint. It was then wrapped with stretchy tape.

This is what is commonly referred to as a dog splint, which is helpful in repairing leg breaks above the hock.

/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Cattleman’s Corner VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTION

Animal Welfare label confirms TK Ranch commitment BY SHIRLEY BYERS

ne of the advantages of direct marketing is receiving feedback through direct contact with the people who will be eating your product. Colleen and Dylan Biggs have been marketing ranchfinished beef and other meat products from their east-central Alberta ranch since 1995, and listening to their customers. About five years ago, they recognized there was a growing interest from consumers in buying meat products produced under proper animal welfare practices. Feedlots, hot iron branding and subtherapeutic use of antibiotics were some of their customers’ concerns, says Colleen, who along with her husband and family operate the three-generation TK Ranch near Hanna. What consumers would really like to see, they were telling her, would be a third-party audit that verified proper production practices were being followed. While the Biggs have been pioneers in the area of proper animal welfare and handling practices for years, about four years ago, they decided it was important to have their farming operation certified for their livestock production practices. They looked at several certifiers but chose to go with U.S.-based Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) organization because it best fit their needs and the needs of their customers. “It’s all about building your own little value chain,” says Biggs. “I’m listening to my customers and giving them what they’re asking for. ” At the same time the Biggs are reinforcing their own values about proper livestock production practices. The 10,000 acre TK Ranch was the first farm business to achieve the Animal Welfare Approved Grassfed certification for their beef and lamb.

NECESSITY LED TO DIRECT MARKETING TK Ranch was established more than 50 years ago by Dylan’s father Thomas Biggs. Buying land in the sometimes harsh, shortgrass prairie country of Alberta’s special areas, he developed over the years a strong interest in following sound conservation farming and livestock production practices. As his son, Dylan became interested in carrying on the ranching business, he further developed his business and conservation farming management skills by learning about and then practicing the principles of holistic management. It was a good match when Dlyan and Colleen later met and married, as she had a keen interest in proper care and management of the environment as well. “For a long time we had been aware of the problems created with the industrialization of agriculture and its effects on animal welfare, wildlife, water and health,” says Colleen on the ranch website http://tkranch. com. “But in the early 1990s the

courtesy dylan biggs

tk ranch

Top: Colleen Biggs of TK Ranch near Hanna says listening to their customers has guided them toward animal welfare certification. Bottom Left: One of the pasture-raised Duroc/Berkshire-cross sows with a litter of piglets are part of TK Ranch direct meat-marketing program. Bottom Right: Rambouillet/Columbia-cross ewes, with guard dog, are among the various classes of livestock at TK Ranch produced with sound animal welfare practices. realities of a globally focused food system forced us to make some hard decisions. We had done everything we could to decrease our costs of production but we were still losing money.” With three small children and Dylan working 14 hours a day to manage the ranch, they considered options to make extra income. An off-farm job was one possibility, but they also began to consider value-added opportunities. The most promising “option was to add value to what we were already doing and take control of our own marketing,” says Biggs. “Instead of being defeated by the conventional commodity-based system, we decided to create an alternative to the mainstream. It didn’t take us long to fully understand that the only way to make change in agriculture was to become the change itself.” They were one of the first ranching operations to develop a directmarketing system for ranch-raised beef. Over the years they have diversified into other classes of livestock including hogs, sheep and poultry — all for direct marketing. As part of their program they follow proper livestock practices, which has now led to the Animal Welfare Approved certification. It all fits with their farming philosophy and natural-product direct marketing program.

AUDIT PROCEDURE Farms and ranches that are audited and approved by the organization can use the Animal Welfare Approved food label for meat and dairy products. It tells consumers certain standards have been met in the production of the product. There is no cost for the voluntary certification process. Farms are audited at least once a year to make sure they are adhering to the AWA standards pertaining to feed, shelter, vet care and other criteria. For example, in the standards for cattle, animals must first be chosen with consideration of their ability to thrive in the climatic conditions of the farm, such as a pasture-based, free-range outdoor systems. Artificial insemination is permitted, but embryo transfer is not. Vaccines are encouraged to prevent illness and the transfer of illness but the subtherapeutic and/ or non-therapeutic use of antibiotics, or any other medicines, to control or prevent disease or to promote growth is prohibited, as are growth hormones. Probiotics are permitted. Herbicides and pesticides may only be used when weeds or pests cannot be practically controlled by other means. Animals must not be grazed or kept on land within 21 days of direct application of herbicides or pesticides.

The program requires fairly extensive record-keeping. These include records of an animal health plan, an emergency plan, sales records, feed and nutrition plans, records of ingredients of feed for each class of stock, a pasturemanagement plan, records of any confinements and many more. The annual inspection is quite rigorous, says Biggs. She describes how one inspector used a tape measure and painstakingly measured each hog enclosure to make sure it was large enough to comply with AWA standards.

TK RANCH PROGRAM The Biggs raise cattle, sheep and pigs according to AWA standards. They’ll be farrowing about 40 Duroc/Berkshire-cross sows this summer. They have 140 Rambouillet/Columbia cross ewes. They also raise chickens and turkeys but because of Alberta’s cold winters they are not raised outdoors so are not AWA certified. Cattle numbers run up to 1,000 head and include calves up to 30 months of age. Strictly grass-fed cattle must go through two winters and be 24-30 months at time of slaughter. “They really need that extra winter to develop interstitial fat,” says Biggs. The cows calve on pasture in May and June. Calves remain with their mothers until eight months of age

when they are “soft weaned.” The cows are separated from the calves, moved next door so to speak, where they can still be seen and heard and even have nose-to-nose contact but are unable to nurse. Dehorning is not permitted. Bull calves are castrated with bands applied within the first week. Biggs says castrating within minutes of birth seems to be the least stressful for the calves. “If you wait two weeks, calves kick at their bellies,” she says. They’re noticing discomfort.” Customers place and pay for their meat orders at the TK Ranch online store. After the animals are slaughtered and custom processed they are brought back to freezers on the ranch. Colleen and her daughter truck the meat to specified locations for pickup in Calgary three times a month and Edmonton once a month. They also sell their product at nine retail outlets in Alberta. In co-operation with a U.S. company, the Biggs are developing a non-chemical insecticide. It’s a product that can be mixed with mineral or canola oil and it works quite well, says Biggs. “Everything we do is in response to what our customers are telling us,” she says. “And they’re telling us they don’t want these products (commercial pesticides) in their meat.” † Shirley Byers is a Sask.-based freelance writer

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

The Dairy Corner

Feed more milk as temperature drops In general terms, increase the amount of milk (or milk replacer) fed by about two per cent for every 1 degree C when the temperature drops below 20 C. PETER VITTI

ewborn dairy calves, until about a month old raised in an unheated or cold facilities, often struggle with poor growth rates and are more susceptible to disease. By assuring a high plane of dietary milk energy, dairy producers can largely avoid bringing a winter energy crisis inside the calf barn. In order to survive the cold, a pre-weaned dairy calf must maintain its core body temperature to sustain heat-requiring body functions such as digestion, respiration, circulation, immune protection and other metabolic tasks. When temperatures in the calf barn are moderate, the calf has little trouble meeting these maintenance requirements (NEm), which by definition is the amount of metabolizable dietary energy (ME) that will result in no loss or gain in body energy. When more ME is consumed than needed for NEm, this energy surplus allows

the calf to grow (protein/fat deposition), which is dependent upon a net energy requirement for growth (NEg). For example, a 50-kg preweaned dairy calf requires about 7.9 megajoules (MJ) of dietary ME per day in order meet its NEm. It requires an addition 6.2 MJ to meet the NEg for a daily growth rate of 500g/head/day. Therefore, this calf needs a total of about 14 MJ to stay alive and support modest growth performance.

MORE MILK NEEDED AS TEMPERATURE DROPS The ambient temperatures of a calf barn, where a young preweaned dairy calf do not need to expend extra ME to stay warm (or cool), is referred as the “thermal neutral zone” (TNZ). The comfort zone for most indoor-housed dairy calves range: between 10 – 25C. In an unheated calf barn or hutch (or due to a low-temperature thermostat setting), a low critical point of the TNZ is often reached and the pre-weaned calf may not be able to maintain its body temperature and other body functions unless it obtains and then expends additional ME (as heat) just to keep

warm. For calves 0-3 weeks of age, this lower critical temperature is 20 C and for calves older than three weeks of age, it’s 10 C. In order to meet this extra demand in NEm under cold temperatures outside the TNZ, it becomes a straightforward matter of providing more dietary energy to the baby calf! Since whole milk (3.5 per cent b.f.) contains about 2.80 MJ/l (22.4 MJ/kg, dm basis), about five litres per head per day should be fed to a less-than-three week old dairy calf housed in a calf barn at 20 C (in the TNZ). If the calf barn temperature falls to 0 C (outside the TNZ) then a total of 6.5 litres of milk should be put in front of this calf. At both temperatures, the dietary energy of the respective quantity of milk should satisfy the total ME and provide enough extra energy to support a daily growth rate of 500 g per head per day. On the other hand, if no more than the initial five litres of whole milk were supplied in the second situation (still outside the TNZ), the ME of the same calf would be satisfied but not enough dietary energy would meet its NEg requirements. As a result, the growth rate of this calf would suffer. In this case, a

rule of thumb in order to provide enough nutrition for both NEm and NEg is to increase the amount of milk (or milk replacer) fed by about two per cent for every 1 C when the temperature drops below 20 C.

GOOD-QUALITY MILK REPLACER Further advice is warranted for those dairy producers that purchase calf milk replacers rather than feed whole milk. It is recommended that producers buy only a high-quality commercial product with a 20 per cent fat content. Despite widespread belief, a 20 per cent high fat milk replacer contains approximately 95 per cent of the energy content of whole milk (21.0 – 21.4 MJ/kg). Milk replacers’ dietary energy is provided in the protein, fat and lactose (milk carbohydrate) found in its ingredients such as skim milk, whey protein concentrates, whey and edible bleached fats. If we use the same whole milk feeding protocol, when feeding nutritious milk replacer to zero to three-week old calves housed in a calf barn at 0 C (outside the TNZ), we should provide about 855 grams (18.2/21.4) of milk replacer powder on a daily basis. Reconstituted at the rate of 125

g/litre of water (same dm of whole milk), then we would should provide about seven litres of mixture per calf per day. Since this daily volume of liquid might constitute a significant belly-full for some of the younger dairy calves in two routine feedings, a third feeding should be warranted in order to assure that calves drink enough milk replacer and to prevent digestive upsets and nutritional scours. Although milk-fed baby calves do not pick up or digest energycontaining calf starter, it is a good idea to set out a small meal at one to two weeks of age. Regardless of calf starter acceptance, baby calves raised under cold winter housing conditions must still rely upon a good whole milk or milk replacer-feeding program. Freezing temperatures, particularly in unheated or cold calf barns means young pre-weaned dairy calves need extra energy in their diets. Supply enough milk-based energy goes a long way in reducing cold stress upon promising dairy calves that remain healthy and continue to grow. † Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Cattleman’s Corner UNIQUE THERAPY

Untamed horses helping humans deal with behavioural issues BY EDNA MANNING

unique program called Medicine Horse Therapy, developed in Saskatchewan by Ron and Arla Delver, is drawing interest from educators and health professionals from across North America, Asia and Europe. Medicine Horse Therapy is a professionally crafted set of programs that uses a horse herd bred for a specific set of traits, trained for the unique purpose in helping change behavioural problems in teenagers and family environments. “With the skills of experienced facilitators, the program produces exceptionally positive long-term results for participants aged 12 and older,” says Ron. Medicine Horse Therapy Inc. has developed a set of therapy modules that address specific issues among young people such as reducing bullying, raising selfesteem, increasing self-awareness, anti-gang recruitment strategies, developing leadership skills, enhancing communication skills and combatting addictions. “Our goal is to get to the root of the problem,” says Arla. “For example, a youth who bullies or is vulnerable to gang recruitment can be helped, but once back in the home environment, only the youth has been equipped to make changes, the environment usually has not. Instead of working with only the youth, Medicine Horse includes the parents, elders, the extended family, community members and professionals so that the young person has a supportive environment to which he/she can return.” Medicine Horse Therapy programs utilize both classroom and workshop sessions. The classroom component, which runs between 10 to 14 hours, sets the background for the workshops and allows facilitators to assess the participants in how much they know, and how they operate alone and in a group. “It also helps us determine who can or cannot be helped,” says Arla. “If, for example, someone has a physical disability that prevents them from being active or agile, then we can’t help him or her. It also helps us to identify those who may potentially pose a threat to the group, the horses, or themselves.”

HORSES AREN’T BROKEN The workshop sessions uses unrestrained horses especially bred and trained for the program. “There is absolutely no riding,

Ron and Arla Delver with some of their specially trained “un-trained” horses that help humans to learn about themselves. grooming or use of tack,” says Arla. “All effort is concentrated on communication first, relationship-building secondly and finally, a rigidly guided process designed to achieve the goals of the course. The dignity of the participants, facilitators and horses is respected at all times.” “Broke horses are not used for several reasons,” says Ron. “Since many of our participants are aboriginal with strong ties to the ‘horse spirit,’ they are not intimidated or impressed by a dead-broke horse. The natural instincts and behaviours of the animals are suppressed through handling and training. “This is necessary if one is riding, driving or using the horse for work. Because relationshipbuilding is one of the keys to this program, our participants must focus on the task to command the attention of the horses, and therefore our participant horses are feral-like, spirited and accustomed to functioning in a true herd. These horses are not ridden during the workshops nor are they handled in the usual way. This effectively prevents the potentially destructive master/ slave scenario.” Participants learn the basics of animal behaviour and animal

WRITE, E-MAIL, PHONE OR FAX Contact Cattleman’s Corner with comments, ideas or suggestions for and on stories by mail, e-mail, phone or fax.

Write to cattleman’s corner, Box 71141, Sliver springs P.O. Calgary, AB, T3B 5K2 E-mail lee@fbcpublishing.com Phone Lee Hart at 403-592-1964 Fax to 403-288-3162

communication during the workshops with the horses. “We teach them how we can mimic that behavior in order to communicate with the animals,” says Arla. “The participants, in turn get to practice these techniques. Animals know very quickly what you’re asking them to do if you are consistent. Participants can see when they are being inconsistent, and how this inconsistency causes communication difficulties in their lives.”

THIS IS NOT “TALK THERAPY” Medicine Horse is not ‘talk therapy’ and participants are never left with the idea that facilitators are psychiatrists or counsellors. “Rather, we stand shoulder to shoulder with them and observe the animals” says Arla. “And at some point they understand the connection — that in horse society and human society, there are many parallels. Once they begin to pick up on that, they look some more and then it just snowballs. We never say to them, ‘this is what people do.’ They have to make that connection themselves; we guide them through it.” The Delvers have selectively bred Arabian horses because they are the best suited for the program. They have nearly 50 horses, and do all the training themselves. The horses work hard during the three-hour sessions following instructions given to them. “The horses are constantly watching us to make sure they’re doing what we ask,” says Arla. “They’re mentally exhausted at the end of the day. Rarely do we use them two days in a row.” Participants hopefully come away from the program with a greater understanding of their place in society. They begin a

process of critical thinking and sound judgment.

ENCOURAGING RESULTS The success Medicine Horse Therapy continues to inspire and encourage the Delvers. One case involved two teenage boys from a school in Saskatchewan. The boys were continually involved in fights, getting suspended or expelled from school, and not doing well academically. Teachers chose to put them in the therapy program for a full 30 hours. “Next year, we went back for a visit and these two boys came flying over to greet us,” says Arla. “The principal later told us there had not been a single incident involving these boys. He was extremely pleased with how the program had helped.” Arla says the Medicine Horse Therapy is not perfect for everyone. “What we have, however, is the ability to get those people who aren’t easily engaged to connect with the services in their community, whether that happens to be the elders, the school, or health professionals. Maintaining that connection is vital for the treatment and healing of these individuals.” The concept of Medicine Horse Therapy began when Arla was fostering children and saw the need for a program that was different from other equine-based therapies. One of the first classes was a pilot project, which began in 2004 with the White Buffalo Youth Lodge in Saskatoon. The success of these first sessions convinced her that the idea had merit. Later she met Ron, an educator himself, who was keenly aware of the number of students with selfdefeating behaviour. “When Arla was describing what

photo: edna manning

she was doing, I immediately recognized the value of it,” says Ron. “It was quite different from anything else that was being done.”. Ron and Arla formalized the sessions. With his training and experience as a teacher as well as his background in animal behavior, Ron’s expertise complemented Arla’s knowledge and abilities. “Ron is really good at immediately recognizing if people are getting it or not,” she says. “We’ve worked with some extremely violent sex offenders. Ron was able to engage some of these young men that teachers hadn’t been able to engage at all.” Medicine Horse Therapy is the subject of an ongoing research project conducted by the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary. The lead researcher, Mike Boyes, is an internationally respected social scientist that speaks regularly at large conventions and symposia around the world. The Delvers would like to see the program implemented in other communities. “We would be happy to mentor others and help them in any way we could,” says Arla. “We have formalized lesson plans that are easy to follow. The horses are trained and ready to go to work. The whole program could immediately be parachuted into several communities and it would certainly be beneficial to many.” Medicine Horse Therapy is generating response from parents, elders, communities and governments on a national and international level. “By striving for excellence at all levels, Medicine Horse is capable of becoming an international institution,” says Ron. For more information on the program contact the Delvers at 306-220-5085. † Edna Manning is a Sask. based freelance writer

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Home Quarter Farm Life SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

It feels so good to talk with your team What needs to happen for better communication on your farm? Elaine Froese

eing able to talk freely with your farm team and feel that they understand what you are needing is a huge gift. Farm families in business sometimes get stuck with problems when they get trapped in the “blame game” of blaming someone else for their problems. Talking and listening well is the ultimate risk management tool. So let’s refresh your communication tool box. • Accept that solving problems is up to you. Take responsibility for level of skill in sharing your ideas, thoughts, and feelings in the culture of your farm workplace. Take charge and take action. • Know your communication style in how you like to solve problems. You might be action oriented, very direct and brief. You might like to think things through and process the ideas before giving a quick answer. People and relationships may be your focus of discussion before you attack the problemsolving agenda if your style is more relationship based. Then again, you might be a “dreamer” idea style who likes to innovate with discussion about the big picture of your farm, and you need time for folks to listen to your tangents, without judgment. If you would like to figure this out, email me elaine@ elainefroese.com with “communication styles” in the subject line and I’ll send you a free assessment your team can do in about 20 minutes. • Accept that different is not wrong, it is just different. Ask for what you need to have better understanding and talk it out. “I need you to look me in the eye when we are talking, so that I am sure that you get my message. I need 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to get this settled, so please put your cellphone away.” I like the idea of having a cellphone basket at the door for everyone to drop their phones, and come to the table for a “real-time” conversation with no interruption. You might have to be open to learning what the other person’s communication style is so that you can make room for their style. If verbose talkers are driving you crazy, ask for a timeline for the conversation and put some boundaries around it. “We have 15 minutes for this item, and then we need to make a decision.” Some folks use the penny idea where they have three pennies on the table and submit one each time they talk. When the pennies have been spent, they are to listen! I prefer using a talking stick like a soft toy that is passed around to be held by the speaker. When that person is finished sharing their thoughts, then the talking stick is passed to the next speaker. It really helps stop those from speaking who like to interrupt. • Be aware of your communication hot buttons. I have trouble with the “strong silent types” who say, “I don’t know,” when I ask them a question. Farm coaches are wired to ask tough questions which can cause discom-

fort, but the outcome of knowing what everyone is thinking, feeling and wanting is a HUGE benefit to courageous conversations. Think about what makes you defensive or angry when you are communicating with your farm team. You have the power to change your response. A good response might be, “What would you like me to do differently?” Just practise that one line for the next week and see what happens. Folks may be shocked at first that you are willing to change. This is not a manipulation game. This is creating new habits that help you reach better understanding. How do you know when you are getting better at talking through problems? Ask, “if this problem didn’t exist or was solved, what

would I/we be doing or saying to each other?” Have a vision of what you want your farm workplace culture to look like and decide what steps you can do to make it happen. Kristjan Hebert was speaking at Ag Days recently about the five per cent rule, making incremental changes by five per cent to really improve your farm finances. He also mentioned that an outside business board member asked, “Why are you starving the high school students in your town? “What he meant was that for $11/ hour the shop floors could be swept by students, rather than management. Farmers have a hard time delegating rather than trying to do everything themselves. What needs to shift for better

communication at your farm? It might take a set of fresh eyes and ears in the form of a facilitator to shine a light on the trouble spots that need a better tool for better talking and listening. Start by simply speaking kindly with grace to each other. Treat your farm team as well as you behave with your closest friends. Share meals together, and make decisions on a well-fed stomach, not an empty one while you are “on the run.” Small steps make a huge difference: 1. Speak in a calm and respectful tone. Look each other in the eye. 2. Ask permission if now is a good time to talk or when would work better. 3. Paraphrase what you heard

the other person say to check that you got the correct intention of the message. 4. Make requests. Request that items that are hot issues be dealt with in a formalized meeting session, at a certain date and time, so that folks can process their responses and do research on the issue before the meeting. 5. Ask better questions. What would you like me to do differently to communicate better? What assumptions am I making? What am I responsible for? What can I learn from this situation? † Elaine Froese is always learning. She gets paid to talk as a coach and professional speaker. Her passion is for all farm families to create amazing places to live and grow. Visit www.elainefroese.com. Buy her book “Farming’s In-Law Factor” for all your birthday gifts this year! Be well.

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/ grainews.ca FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Home Quarter Farm Life POSTCARDS FROM THe PRAIRIES

Life’s secrets, according to you… Janita VAN DE VELDE

hen my head hits the pillow, this is usually exactly when I remember that I forgot to squeeze in some sort of formal exercise program, not counting the act of trampling my kids to get to the last bag of chips in the cupboard. There’s the practical speech I say to myself at the end of each day — the cold, hard truth that yes, I likely could have done a lot better in many respects. Maybe I didn’t need to screech at my kids like a feral barn cat to hurry up out the door so I could get to work on time. The crazy part is, when recollecting some of these less-thanglorious moments, that’s when I feel God’s love. It reminds me to find joy in every awful, hair-pulling moment because hey, sometimes I think that’s exactly where the Big Guy hangs out, just to make sure you pull through to the other side. And it’s on the banks of the other side that I remember to be thankful for all I’ve been given.

I try to practise gratitude, whenever I find a moment.

Was I the best person I could be today?

I am so thankful for every experience I have and for the people who have come through my life. I am so richly blessed in every way.

I am lucky to have the life I do.

Who has time to pause and contemplate at the end of the day? Is this a trick question? Keep working hard and cut yourself some slack for not doing it all at once. I am so lucky to have found someone that I truly can’t live without, and every day I say thanks for having this person in my life. Wow. I am so blessed. I tell myself to quit what I’m doing, and find something I actually enjoy.

Here forthwith are your responses to what you say to yourself at the end of each day.

Well, I barely take a second to do so, but when I do I am proud of what I was able to accomplish.

Mostly, “Why am I so tired when I didn’t get anything done?” and then sometimes, “Wow. It just doesn’t get any better than this!”

Well done. And what’s next?

That I will do more tomorrow! At the end of each day my husband and I each say what we are grateful for… I read the other day that it is impossible to be negative when one is being grateful.

Hang on buddy, it’s getting good…

How did I get so lucky? And I will be a better me tomorrow. Wow, who would have guessed it… I love my life. Where will it take me next?

I am pretty darn lucky to have such an amazing job and that I get to come home at the end of the day to people who make me laugh and smile. Also, that I am so lucky to have so many people who care

We have no shortage of love in this house, so we will be OK.

I’m so lucky. I never had to fight a war, and I’m still healthy and able to do most things. What a great privilege.

Be happy for what you have.

I often say you did the best you could — now get up, dust off and try again.

That was an interesting day. I wonder what will happen tomorrow…

I tell myself, “You did good.”

Thank you God for another day sober.

I have it good.

I tell myself that it’s all gonna be OK… time to sleep.

I was going through menopause. I came to the conclusion that at the end of each day, I would think of what was really important which is my family. As long as they are all alive and healthy, then it’s a good day.

I forgive myself. I am whole and complete.

I pray for health and happiness for me and my family.

It’s all worth it.

I’m exhausted. But I wouldn’t have it any other way!

about me and who will help me and come to the rescue whenever I need them.

I thank God, because life is good. I was lucky enough to be born in the best country in the world, where I don’t have to fear for my safety or struggle to have the basic necessities of life.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring or what the future will look like. Thank you, God. †

I say, “I gotta check my email…” Anne of Green Gables put it best: “Tomorrow is fresh, with no mistakes in it.” I think about how I was able to make a difference in some small way, and how others made a difference for me. I experienced some depression when

Janita Van de Velde grew up on a farm near Mariapolis, Man. She holds a bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics from the University of Manitoba, and has worked for a financial institution since graduating. She lives in Regina, Sask., with her husband Roddy and their children Jack, Isla and James. Her first novel, Postcards Never Written, was the recipient of the Saskatchewan Reader’s Choice Award and also listed by CBC as one of the top funny books in 2009. She donates a portion of proceeds from the sale of her book to World Vision to help those less fortunate. For more information, or to order her book, visit her website at www.janita.ca.

EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES Weather Forecast for the period of February 8 to March 7 , 2015

Southern Alberta

Peace River Region

February 8 - 14 Fair bright days alternate with snow and rain. Temperatures fluctuate but tend to the mild side.

February 8 - 14 Fair bright days alternate with heavy snow. Temperatures fluctuate but tend to the mild side.

March 1 - 7 Temperatures vary but end up near normal. Windy with thawing in some areas. Fair overall aside from intermittent heavier snow or rain on a couple of days.

February 22 - 28 Seasonal to cold this week, although some thawing in southwest. Fair and bright, but some snow, drifting and higher windchills.

March 1 - 7 Temperatures vary but end up near normal. Windy with thawing in many areas. Fair overall aside from intermittent heavier snow or rain on a couple of days.

March 1 - 7 Bright mild days mixed with snowy, colder days. Chance of heavy snow or rain in south, changing to heavy snow in north. Windy at times.

Manitoba February 8 - 14 Bright skies and seasonal temperatures, then snow and blowing snow. Windy. Higher windchills at times. February 15 - 21 Seasonal and fair on many days, then snow and minor thawing on two days. Cold, snow in the north. February 22 - 28 Brisk winds with drifting snow and changeable temperatures. Seasonal to cold with some higher windchills. Bright days mix with snowy days. Blustery. March 1 - 7 Unsettled. Disturbances bring snow, drifting and high windchills on a couple of days. Chance of heavy snow and risk of rain in the south.

Precipitation Forecast -17 / -5 Edmonton 16.8 mms

-12 / 0 Jasper

17.4 mms

-11 / 0

23.9 mms

NEAR NORMAL

-19 / -7 North Battleford

-16 / -4 Red Deer 14.7 mms

-23 / -9 Prince Albert 13.6 mms

-23 / -12 The Pas

15.4 mms

12.8 mms

-19 / -9 Saskatoon 12.9 mms

-21 / -9 -21 / -9 Yorkton Dauphin

-22 / -11 -19 / -8 16.2 mms 16.1 mms -17 / -6 Gimli Regina -12 / -1 20.8 mms -15 / -5 Moose Jaw 13.0 mms BELOW Calgary NORMAL Swift 14.7 mms -19 / -9 9.9 mms -21 / -9 Portage -21 / -10 -13 / -1 Current -18 / -7 Medicine Hat Brandon 19.6 mm Winnipeg 16.2 mms Weyburn 15.6 mms 19mms cms Lethbridge 10.3 14.8 mms 13.4 mms -17 / -7 13.0 mms 26 cms -11 / 1 Estevan Melita -21 / -8

Banff

Forecasts should be 80% accurate, but expect variations by a day or two because of changeable speed of weather systems.

February 15 - 21 Mostly fair but scattered snow and drifting on 2 or 3 days. Blustery. Cold to mild temperatures.

February 22 - 28 Seasonal temperatures but a few mild days bring melting. Bright skies at times, but snow or rain on a couple of days. Blustery.

February 22 - 28 Seasonal temperatures. Bright skies at times, but periods of heavy snow will occur. Blustery.

20.5 mms

February 8 - 14 Slight thawing in south. Mild windy days alternate with cold air and some snow and blowing. Seasonal in north with 2 milder days and snow.

February 15 - 21 A few mild and dry days. Some thawing. Otherwise, normal temperatures with some snow and occasional rain.

February 15 - 21 A few mild and dry days. Otherwise, normal temperatures with some snow and a slight chance of rain.

-17 / -6 Grande Prairie

Saskatchewan

14.8 mms

14.2 mms

Precipitation Outlook For February Much Above Normal Below Much above normal normal below normal normal

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 grainews.ca /

Home Quarter Farm Life

Raising miniature sheep BY EDNA MANNING

t was love at first sight when Jackie Hegel discovered the miniature Olde English Babydoll Southdown sheep. “They are noted for their gentle nature and their cute teddy bear faces,” she says. Jackie and her husband Keith moved out to their farm west of Saskatoon in 2009 and began looking for that perfect hobby farm animal. Both have fulltime jobs in the city and were after something small and easy to handle. “I grew up on a farm near Landis. We always had chickens, a cow and once in a while, a pig or two, and I missed that,” she says. After some research Hegel came across the Babydoll Southdown sheep and purchased a three-year-old ram and a young ram lamb from a producer near Lumsden, north of Regina. “I then bought my first ewe from Alberta, another from B.C. and later, a third from the lady at Lumsden. I now have a total of seven registered sheep and if all goes well I’ll have at least five baby lambs arrive this spring.” Keith expanded the pasture area and built a five-foot fence with an

electric line about 18 inches off the ground and 12 inches away from the fence. As their property has a lot of bush, coyotes could be a problem. The couple has also added a barn and a hay shelter. The breed originated in the South Down Hills of Sussex, England. It enjoyed popularity for many years but by the end of the Second World War consumers wanted larger meat cuts. The sheep reached the U.S. in 1803 but couldn’t compete with the larger breeds, and may have become extinct had it not been for Robert Mock. In 1986, he began to search for the original miniature Southdown sheep, and it was through his efforts that a registry was created which would ensure bloodlines would be kept pure. Interest in the breed has grown in recent years, and today there are about 33 breeders in Canada. Babydoll Southdown sheep are extremely hardy and not prone to problems such as foot rot. They stand about 24 inches and under at the shoulder, and the ewes can have twins or triplets occasionally, and rarely have any birthing problems. They require the same basic care as other sheep in terms of feed, shelter, vaccinations,

deworming, shearing and hoof trimming. “We deworm every spring and fall, make sure they have access to salt and a mineral block, and also give them vitamins A, D, and E supplements,” Hegel said. The wool produced by these sheep is highly valued — being similar to cashmere — and is easy to spin, and the meat is tender with excellent flavor. Babydoll Southdowns make excellent “lawn mowers” for orchard owners as they are not tall enough to reach the fruit and don’t damage trunks, and Hegel has sold two wethers (castrated males) to a local auto body shop to keep the grass trimmed around the vehicles. Hegel says these miniature sheep are becoming more popular here in Canada, and are a favourite for petting zoos and are excellent for 4-H projects because they’re so easy to handle and have a pleasant personality. “Eventually when I retire, I’d like to raise Babydoll sheep full time,” she says. For more information, visit www.sunnysidesheep.ca or email Hegel at sunnysidesheep@gmail. com. † Edna Manning writes from Saskatoon, Sask.

photos: edna manning

Top: Jackie Hegel with some of her sheep. Bottom: The breed stands about 24 inches and is very hardy.

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