Grainews

Volume 42, Number 11  |  MAY 17, 2016

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PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

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Be ready to scout your fields. This pest is headed north

Crescent-shaped notches on pea leaves are evidence of the presence of pea leaf weevils.

By Marianne Stamm

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here’s a new pest heading north in Alberta and it’s moving fast. Although a regular in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan, the pea leaf weevil has now been sighted as far north as Athabasca, Alberta. “There’s been a real range expansion,” says Scott Meers, insect management specialist with Alberta Agriculture. “It’s a concerning issue for the Highway 2 corridor in Alberta. We’ve seen some very significant numbers, especially in the Red Deer and Lacombe area.” As damage from the pea leaf weevil can be up to 20 percent of crop yield, it’s worth taking note of this insect. According to Meers, the best chemical control practice is insecticide seed treatment so farmers would be wise to inform themselves now of the risk to their fields.

The life of the pea weevil The adult pea leaf weevil emerges from its winter habitat of ditches,

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shelterbelts or perennial legume fields in late April/early May. It begins feeding on available leguminous greens and then moves into pea or fava bean fields to reproduce. The pea leaf weevil is a five millimetre, slender, greyish-brown insect with a short snout. Three light-coloured stripes run along its abdomen. It’s not an easy insect to spot, as it drops to the ground on approach, where it’s hard to see. Evidence of its presence comes from crescent-shaped notches on pea leaves. It’s not the feeding of the adult pea leaf weevils that causes enough damage for economic concern. The problem is the larvae that develop and feed on the nitrogenfixing nodules of the pulse plant, the Rhizobium. The soft C-shaped, white-coloured larvae with a brown head will feed on the nodules for up to six weeks, sometimes completely destroying them. Without these nitrogen-producing nodules, the plant is weakened, is less drought tolerant and produces less seed.

“It’s not so critical in high organic soils, if the soil produces lots of nitrogen,” Meers says. Should farmers then place more nitrogen with their pea seed? Meers thinks that would be contradictory, as peas are usually planted for improved soil fertility. “The implications of the pea leaf weevil are for this crop and the next one too — it’s more subtle,” Meers says. Farmers should consider that when thinking about pea leaf weevil control. The economic benefits of a healthy pulse crop extend past the current year. The pea leaf weevil is one of the longest living insects. A female pea leaf weevil lays up to 1,500 eggs over a period of three months. Although there is only one generation per year in Alberta, that generation often survives the emergence of the next generation, one year later. The insect is an extremely good flyer, easily covering several kilometres. “The pea leaf weevil has a strong ability to increase in numbers,” Meers says.

photo: alberta agriculture and forestry

PEA LEAF WEEVIL MANAGING PEA LEAF WEEVIL Here are six ways to manage pea leaf weevil, as listed on the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry website. 1.  Plant early to maximize yields and potentially escape the weevil in cold springs. 2.  No-till cropping systems, integrated pest management systems and good crop rotations are recommended. 3.  Use inoculants and adequate levels of fertilizer to maximize crop yields. 4.  Registered seed treatments are recommended if high populations of pea leaf weevil were in the area the year before. 5.  Trap crops can be planted along field borders in the fall or early spring. If warranted, spray trap crops with a registered insecticide to control pea leaf weevils before they move into the main crop. 6.  Scout for pea leaf weevils as soon as peas emerge and continue up to the sixth node growth stage. † Source: Alberta Agriculture and Forestry

» continued on page 4

In This Issue

Wheat & Chaff .................. 2 Features . ........................... 5 Crop Advisor’s Casebook . 6 Columns ............................ 12 Machinery & Shop............. 20 Cattleman’s Corner .......... 26

grasshoppers are back

savings from tracks?

Dilia narduzzi page 7

scott garvey page 23

FarmLife ............................ 31

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Wheat & Chaff BY JERRY PALEN

photo: leeann minogue

STAMPEDE

This is my husband using the Valmar to spread Treflan on the oat stubble on April 27. With the full moon in the background, it looks like we’re having quite a romantic evening. The bright lights you see beneath the moon are a nearby oilfield battery site — not the glittering lights of the small village of Griffin, five miles to the north.

Leeann Minogue

“I am awake! I just can’t get my eyes open!”

contact us

Write, Email or Fax SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) 1-800-665-0502

U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com If you have story ideas, call us. You can write the article and we’d pay you, or we can write it. Phone Leeann Minogue at 306-861-2678 Fax to 204-944-5416 Email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com Write to Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1

hearts

Ask for hearts When you renew your subscription to Grainews, be sure to ask for six Please Be Careful, We Love You hearts. Then stick them onto equipment that you, your loved ones and your employees operate. That important message could save an arm, a leg or a life.

Like us on Facebook! Grainews has a Facebook page. Find, read and comment on blog posts easily and with a thumbs up!

Find us on Twitter: Leeann Minogue is @grainmuse Lisa Guenther is @LtoG Lee Hart is @hartattacks Scott Garvey is @machineryeditor

O

ver the past decade, our spring seeding progress has been held up for various reasons, depending on the year. There’s been too much rain, waiting for rain, breakdowns and way, way too much rain. This year, we had a new problem: held up by wind. As of April 30, we still hadn’t taken the air seeder out to the field. We wanted to spray ahead, and it’s just been way too windy. With more wind in the Environment Canada forecast for the next week, we’re not sure when we’re going to actually get seed in the ground. (I’ve also totally abandoned combing my hair until the wind dies down. It seems to be a pointless activity.) While the hold up is a little alarming, we’re trying to keep in mind that, really, it’s still early in the year, and at least we’re deal-

ing with a reasonable amount of soil moisture, unlike many Grainews readers. We’re hopeful. And we’re pleased to have a little more land to seed this year than we have for the last couple of seasons. We owe that increase in acreage to my Uncle Bob. Last harvest while Brad and his father were combining and hauling grain, Uncle Bob spent long hours in the tractor, mowing. Day after day. We’ve had a lot of land underwater ever since the 2011 flood. Because we don’t live close to a river or natural drainage system, there’s really been nowhere for that water to go, so we’ve lost a lot of land to sloughs and wet spots. There’s been water filling up every low spot in every field. Finally, last summer, enough of that water had soaked in or evaporated that we could reclaim some of the low spots and eventually get them back into production. Some of the options we considered were chemicals, cultivation or burning. But luckily we had Bob. This was a thankless job. During harvest, most people prefer to be where the action is, working under pressure in the combine,

WIN THIS BOOK

Octane Press sent me a copy of their latest “Case for kids” picture book, Planters and Cultivators with Casey & Friends by Holly Dufek and Paul E. Nunn. As the title says, it’s about red planters and cultivators. Octane asked me to review the book, so here’s my comment: Farm kids will love it.

watching the hopper fill, or making urgent trips back and forth to the bins hauling grain. Mowing is more of a solitary activity. Poor Bob spent at least three days in one field a few miles north of the house, a field with several long-term sloughs and treed areas in the middle of the section. Bob mowed, and mowed and mowed in that field, going in circles around every slough and low spot. One day, I drove out to the field with Bob’s lunch. I couldn’t see the mower from the road, so I phoned him to ask where he was. Bob was quiet for a moment, then he just sounded sad. “Leeann, I really don’t know where I am,” he said. Luckily I found him mowing behind a tree-filled slough before scurvy or starvation could set in. Bob’s hard work seemed like a less-than-critical activity last fall, but now the long hours he spent alone in the cab are paying off. This year, we’ll think of Bob when we seed around those sloughs. If the wind ever stops. I hope things are calm on your farm. † Leeann

It’s aimed at kids between the ages of three and six. The photos are great, and there’s a lot of kidfriendly information about modern farming. Want to win it? Send me a photo of your sprayer in action during the growing season. (I don’t care what colour your sprayer is!) Here are the rules: • The operator must be operating safely. • The photographer must be in a safe place. • Tell me the name of the operator, and a sentence or two about your farm. • Email it to me at Leeann.Minogue@ fbcpublishing.com by August 30. • By sending me your photo, you’re agreeing to let me use it in future issues of Grainews and possibly our web site. Now, about the book: It’s an American picture book, so the seeding equipment is all about planters (no air seeders), and the focus crop is corn, so not all of the book will apply to all Prairie farm kids. But it does have some great features. How many kids’ books include a definition of compaction? If you want to rush out and buy this book as a gift for your John Deere-loving brother’s kids, you can find it online at amazon.ca with a retail price of $19. † Leeann

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

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Wheat & Chaff Farm safety

Close call teaches respect for farm safety

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rowing up on the family farm near St. Malo, Man., the Racine children experienced a close call while playing in a large truck. All five kids had free range of the family’s grain farm and made toys of anything they could find. Monique Racine remembers how their imagination knew no bounds and how fearless they were. “When I was a kid, we weren’t afraid to take a hammer and nails, and just put them into a piece of wood,” Monique recalls. “I remember taking a drill and drilling holes in aluminum bowls!” During the harvest season of 1986, everything changed. Monique and her younger brother, Patrick, took lunch to her father and older brother in the field. As they had done before, she and Patrick were playing in the truck box where the wheat was being unloaded. Patrick remembers waving hello to his brother in the combine as it unloaded into the truck box around him. He hadn’t yet realized his body was already stuck in the grain. He

vividly recalls suddenly struggling to pull his arms out of chest-high wheat and looking over to see Monique was worse off. “The wheat was above Monique’s nose and eyes already, so I got my left arm out to scoop enough wheat away from her mouth and nose constantly,” he says. “The pressure of the wheat on my chest was so heavy, I was trying to breathe so hard but I couldn’t, so I panicked… it was a nightmare.” Outside of the grain box, his father, Emile, had returned in another truck to take the next load of wheat from the field and had expected to see the two younger kids around. Emile is not sure what it was that made him think they might be in the back of the truck. “I came to the field to see no kids in the truck, and I just panicked,” he explains. “I automatically went to the back of the truck, opened the gate, and they both came out.” Patrick says he can clearly remember Emile was “as pale as a white wall” as he knelt down to check them both over.

“They were both OK but that was a very close call,” Emile says. “After that, I told them that they had to stay home.” No one was allowed to play on equipment anymore and Monique says none of the kids could see the fun in it after that anyway. The new farm policy became “if you can’t count five heads in the yard, you can’t start up or move equipment.” Emile bought two-way radios shortly after that so there could be more communication about where the kids were supposed to be and fortunately, they never had another close call after that. Now that the kids are grown and bring the grandchildren to the farm, those safety policies are as important as ever. Patrick says maintaining eye contact is a good policy but he’s learned the value of conducting walk arounds too. He’s moved away from the farm and says it’s a mandatory practice on his construction worksite. Fatal accidents in the past have proven the equipment is simply too big to see everyone from the cab. In his opinion, walk arounds

Photo contest

ensure you really know your surroundings as an operator. “Where I work, you walk around, make sure there’s no one behind you, and no one near the equipment,” he says, “no matter what.” Monique says their family had to learn their commitment to safety the hard way and she’s determined to teach her four-year-old daughter without another close call. If constant supervision isn’t a guarantee, Monique says she won’t let her daughter be in a position where there’s a potential safety risk. “If she’s going to go in the shop where there are chemicals, I know her, and curiosity’s gonna take over.” That’s why Monique strongly believes it’s ultimately up to parents to ensure the safety of their children. If that means insisting on hazards being put under lock and key, dedicating a babysitter to constant supervision, or simply declaring ‘no-go’ zones, than that’s what she believes parents should do. † Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, www. casa-acsa.ca

Agronomy tips… from the field

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT Dorothy Seibold sent us this photo, along with a note: “This spring huge flocks of elegant ‘tundra swans’ landed to rest and feed on this slough north and west of Stranraer, Sask. They were on their northern migration to their Arctic feeding and nesting ground. We have never seen this many tundra swans at one time. Wheat, barley and durum are grown on our farm in the Stranraer district.” Thanks for sending this, Dorothy. I love these birds. I’ve been seeing more than usual on trips between Weyburn and Regina this season. 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

Control volunteer canola with chemistry

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ou need to be aware of what you’ve seeded in the past to manage canola volunteers. Depending on the past canola system used, volunteers can come up with traits, including glyphosate tolerance, that you need to plan for when choosing a control option. It’s common to see several dozen volunteers per square foot emerge during the first flush. And while that may not seem like a huge amount, they can be plentiful enough to create weed competition headaches with this year’s wheat or glyphosate tolerant soybeans. That’s why it’s important to use a chemistry combination that’s going to give you effective control at preseeding and in crop. Herbicide groups 4, 6 and 27 are known to be excellent choices. In general, anything with a dose of 2,4-D and a second mode of action is going to give you good volunteer canola control. Group 14 herbicides are another good option. Some can be applied pre-seed, while others can be used in glyphosate tolerant soybean crops in certain labelled geographies. If you’re using a Group 6 to give yourself a good burn down, wait until you see two true leaves on the canola. Spray too early and you’ll only burn off the cotyledon and not the plant’s growing points. †

This agronomic tip from the field was provided by Sterling Mitchell, agronomic service representative with Syngenta Canada.

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

When you go to a fancy event in the winter, you make sure to wear your formal long underwear.

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Cover Stories Insect management 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 www.grainews.ca

Coping with the cabbage seedpod weevil

PUBLISHER

Lynda Tityk

Our mild winter may have been beneficial for the cabbage seedpod weevil

Editorial director

Laura Rance

By Dilia Narduzzi

Editor

Leeann Minogue

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abbage seedpod weevils are a perennial problem for canola and mustard growers in southern Alberta. Their range has expanded up to the northern and south central parts of the province in the last couple of years and, says Scott Meers, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry insect management specialist. “Saskatchewan has economic infestations as far as east Regina and Indian Head, north towards Outlook, but the most intense ones are still southwest, says Scott Hartley, Saskatchewan’s provincial specialist for insect pest management.” Cabbage seedpod weevils are somewhat sensitive to cold winter weather, says Meers, but since “we never really had cold temperatures,” we can assume that adults have survived overwintering in fairly good shape, and that farmers in affected areas should be sweeping and monitoring early for these bugs.

field Editor

Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor

Lee Hart Farmlife Editor

Sue Armstrong Machinery EDITOR

graphic: aafc, as found on http://prairiepestmonitoring.blogspot.ca

Scott Garvey

First, scout

Over the threshold If your fields are above the economic threshold for cabbage seedpod weevil, “we’re recommending a full-year application of insecticide,” says Meers. “Generally people are using Decis or Matador.” (These products are sold by Bayer and Syngenta, and have deltamethrin and lambda cyhatothrin as active ingredients.) “Be aware of beekeepers in your area and work with them to avoid any damage to their hives and their bee populations,” Meers advises. “Phone your nearby beekeepers and let them know when you’re going to spray. Most damage to bees can be avoided if the beekeepers knows what’s going on.” With the proper information, beekeepers can manage their hives and make sure they are protected. Historically the first in-flower crops in places like southern Alberta where the pest has been established for years, “almost always get sprayed,” says Meers, and “the last inflower seldom get sprayed because the numbers are just not high enough.” Where high numbers of cabbage seedpod weevils are left uncontrolled, yield losses can head into the 15 to 25 per cent range. “If a pod is missing six to 10 seeds, that really adds up,” Meers says † Dilia Narduzzi is a freelance writer in Dundas, Ont.

Pea leaf weevil Economic damage Thankfully, economic damage doesn’t go beyond the five- to sixleaf stage of the plant, although nodules continue to be damaged. So it’s important to control the pea leaf weevil in that time. To date, treating the seed with an insecticide such as Stress Shield by Bayer Crop Science seems to be the most successful. “In Southern Alberta, with the lower organic soils, seed treatment is generally recommended,” Meers

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Early on, cabbage seedpod weevils will be most prevalent at the edges of fields.

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Pest management » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Shawna Gibson

National Advertising Sales

photo: alberta agriculture and forestry

The first thing you’ll want to do is scout your fields. It’s “the first in-flower fields” that are at greater risk from higher numbers of cabbage seedpod weevil, says Meers, so you’ll want to be sweeping your fields early, and at several different field locations. These plants are typically blooming at the end of June or early July depending on the weather and conditions in your region. That early time period is the key time to assess your crops. In those early flowering fields, the field edges will likely have higher numbers of adult cabbage seedpod weevils, if they’ve found their way to your land, says Meers. Once the fields fill out, the weevils can spread out and the numbers can even out throughout the entire field. Since the adult weevils don’t start laying eggs “until the pods have developed to somewhere around three-quarters of an inch long,” says Meers, you need to catch them in that window before they start laying eggs — that’s the crucial time period. When the pods get longer than the three-quarter inch mark, that’s the time to worry. “If the eggs hatch, then the larvae eat the seeds.” Meers advises farmers to take their sweep nets out “and do some counts and that’s how you see whether or not you’re getting over threshold.” The current economic threshold is 2.5 weevils per sweep. If you scout multiple locations in the same field, average your findings. If your count is lower than 2.5 per sweep, don’t worry about doing anything more.

Production Director

says. Central Albertans should take a good look. If farmers sprayed for the pea leaf weevil the year before, they should seriously consider treating their seed this spring. “We’ve had poor luck for most part in foliar w,” Meers says. “The insects lay so many eggs so quickly and in waves, they’re very difficult to control with spray... it’s better to spend money on seed treatment.” Farmers should begin scouting fields as soon as the plants emerge, and continue up to the six-leaf stage. Eggs laid after this period don’t affect yield. If three out of 10 seedlings have at least one crescent-shaped notch, it could make sense to

proceed with a foliar application. Dry years make the plant more susceptible to the pea leaf weevil. In wetter years there is more nitrogen available to the plant. The pea leaf weevil flies at temperatures above 17 C. Warm weather at emergence in spring provides the insect with optimal conditions to spread from the winter habitat to pea fields. Prolonged cool weather, in contrast, can lay the pest low until after main economic thresholds have been passed. While early seeding is cited as one way to manage the pea leaf weevil, that isn’t part of Meers’ recommendations.

Lacombe Research Station will be doing some field trials for the first time this year on control measures for the pea leaf weevil. Research has been done regarding biological control methods which show some promise, utilizing the native ground or carabid beetle, which eats the pea leaf weevil eggs. In northern Germany studies using entomophagous nematodes, (heterorhabditis bateriophora), have been quite successful. Life is never dull around insects, Meers concludes. † Marianne Stamm is a freelance farm writer from Jarvie, Alta. Email her at marerobster@ gmail.com.

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Your next issue! You can expect your next issue in your mailbox about June 7, 2016

The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Grainews and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Grainews and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Grainews and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

Features

5

Grain transportation

Moving on from the Review The Canadian Transportation Act has been reviewed, but changes are not finalized By Lisa Guenther

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he Canadian Transpor­ tation Act Review has wrapped, but it’s far from a done deal. The federal government could shelve the report, but that’s unlikely given  the  stakeholder  interest, says Steve Pratte, policy develop­ ment manager with the Canadian Canola Growers Association. It’s also unlikely that the govern­ ment will implement recommen­ dations without consulting first, he adds. In fact, Transport Minister Marc Garneau has signalled there will be consultations, Pratte says. The Canadian Canola Growers Association was one of several farm and grain industry groups that formed the Crop Logistics Working Group III. That working group submitted eight recommen­ dations to the CTA Review, led by former cabinet minister David Emerson. And the Working Group has met since then to discuss the report and formulate a response. Pratte says some of the CTA Review’s recommendations are positive and could be supported by the farm and grain sectors. For example, the report recom­ mends giving the Canadian Trans­ portation Agency greater investiga­ tive powers. It also recommends allowing the agency to operate on an ex parte basis, meaning the Agency could act without having both parties participate. But there are also recommen­ dations that “raise red flags,” says Pratte. Pratte says the report was a bit disconnected from the reality of the grain supply chain in the report. For example, there are only four locations across Canada with direct access to both railways, he says. But while market power is men­ tioned, the report doesn’t fully appreciate “the role of market power and how that affects all these other issues — dispute resolu­ tion, commercial negotiation. All these different things relate back to that core piece of market power.” The “hill to die on” for grain shippers is reciprocal penalties. If a shipper goes to arbitration on service level agreements, the arbi­ trator needs to rule on penalties, Pratte says. Grain shippers face penalties or loss of incentives if they don’t load or unload rail cars on time. In fact, everyone within the supply chain is accountable to each other through contracts and financial consequences, with the exception of the railways, Pratte says. Reciprocal penalties have been a key priority for grain shippers for over a decade, Pratte says. The report does mention reciprocity within one of the recommenda­ tions, but as Pratte points out, it’s not defined or fleshed out. That lack of discussion is an “eyebrowraiser,” Pratte says. Grain shippers are not advocat­ ing for “draconian government intervention,” Pratte says. But “appropriately tailored regula­ tion” in cases of market failure is the government’s role, he adds. For example, the CTA report recommends service level agree­ ments take into account optimal performance of the entire freight

system. But the Crop Logistics Working Group wants rail service to be demand-driven, rather than supply-driven. Some issues are more important than others to grain shippers. When the Working Group sat down to discuss the report, “there was con­ sensus around the table from these groups that the MRE piece is a bit of a diversion from broader issues of service.” The Working Group would like to look at level of service obli­ gations, define adequate service, and other framework questions that apply to all shippers before getting into rates, Pratte says. Another secondary issue for the Working Group is the recom­ mendation on mediation before

arbitration. Pratte says they’re a little tepid on mediation, as it could amount to free discovery for the railways. “You’re going to be putting your cards on the table.” The CTA Review recommends letting the interswitching limits shrink back to 30 km from 160 km. Part of the reasoning behind that recommendation was the claim that grain shippers aren’t using interswitching. But grain shippers don’t have to actually use competitive provisions such as interswitching for them to be useful, Pratte says. Pratte says grain shippers have used inter­ switching as a “competitive tool” while negotiating service and rates. Since the interview, the federal government extended the Fair

Rail for Grain Farmers Act for a year, leaving extended inter­ switching in place for now.

Next steps Grain industry and farm groups plan to continue collaborating on an ad hoc basis, Pratte says. Near the top of the group’s list is meeting with members of Parliament to explain what’s most important to grain shippers. Pratte says they see any changes to the grain handling and trans­ portation system as “a bit of a long game.” “If they get into some of these more contentious issues that have rate setting issues and other things, they’re going to have to through

Steve Pratte, policy development manager with the Canadian Canola Growers Association. technical consultations and what not, which CCGA and everyone else are prepared to get into.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. Guenther@fbcpublishing.com or on Twitter @LtoG.

You need something more than seed genetics alone to protect your canola from blackleg.

With tightened canola rotations and sole reliance on R-rated genetics for control, blackleg is on the rise across Western Canada. Your best defence is an integrated approach that includes Priaxor® fungicide. Tank mixed with your in-crop herbicide, Priaxor uses the unique mobility of Xemium® and the proven benefits1 of AgCelence®. Together they deliver more consistent and continuous control of blackleg and larger, healthier plants for increased yield potential2. For more information, visit agsolutions.ca/priaxor or call AgSolutions® Customer Care at 1-877-371-BASF (2273).

AgCelence benefits refer to products that contain the active ingredient pyraclostrobin. 2All comparisons are to untreated unless otherwise stated.

1

Always read and follow label directions. AgSolutions is a registered trade-mark of BASF Corporation; AgCelence, PRIAXOR, and XEMIUM are registered trade-marks of BASF SE; all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc. PRIAXOR fungicide should be used in a preventative disease control program. © 2016 BASF Canada Inc.

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2015-12-09 4:18 PM

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Features

Crop Advisor’s casebook

Flax field faults cause frustration By Russell Thompson

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t was early summer when I received a call from Dus­ tin, a producer with a small grain operation near Dauphin, Man. Dustin usually grows multiple crops in smaller acre amounts that are best suited to the different land types around his farm, and he was worried about emergence issues with his lateseeded flax. “There’s a big difference in plant stand across the field,” he said, adding he thought it might be an issue with seed quality. Upon arriving at his field,

I immediately saw what he was concerned about — the established plants, just start­ ing the leaf spiral stage, were strong and growing normally. However, there were numerous bare patches and plant misses in-row that were devoid of life, with no flax plants or carcasses and very little to no weeds growing in those areas. We were in a dry period midsummer, following a wet spring and winter, and there were a number of potential causes to consider as we attempted to diagnose the problem. According to Dustin, even with the wet spring, conditions

had not been severe enough to drown out the lowest lying areas of the field. I noted that the soil temperature was extremely warm, but there was adequate moisture six inches down and the roots of the liv­ ing flax plants were healthy and obviously long enough to tap into it. Dustin said he had sown in good conditions, and the plants that had come up were indeed healthy. The seed was deter­ mined to be fine, since plants from the same seed lot were coming up vigorously in other fields. Wind shear was a possi­

bility, but I didn’t think it could explain plant misses inrow when the plants around them were undamaged. Dustin informed me that pre-seed chemicals had been applied cor­ rectly and proper tank cleaning procedures had been followed during spraying. I observed that the flax stand was poorest in the open, southfacing parts the field where the soil was driest. I asked Dustin if the field had any history of salinity issues, and was told he had farmed this piece success­ fully for many years. By this time, I was starting to get a good idea what was

going in Dustin’s flax field. If you think you have the answer, send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 3K7; email leeann.minogue@ fbcpublishing.com or fax 204944-5416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Case­ book. 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 reason­ ing that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. † Russell Thompson is a location assistant with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Shoal Lake, Man.

Russell Thompson is a location assistant with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Shoal Lake, Man.

CASEBOOK WINNER This issue’s Casebook winner is David Zuk. David farms west of Arborg, Manitoba. David, we’re renew­ ing your Grainews sub­ scription for a year and sending you a Grainews cap. Thanks for reading and thanks for entering! Leeann Minogue

There were numerous bare patches and plant misses in-row that were devoid of life, with no flax plants or carcasses and very little to no weeds.

Crop advisor’s solution

Wheat streak mosaic virus steals yield

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n early July, I received a call from Dale, a grain farmer with 10,000 acres of durum wheat, canola, lentils and chickpeas near Assiniboia, Sask. The durum crop in one of his fields was looking quite sickly and he asked me to come and have a look. When I inspected the prob­ lem field, I could see the plants, which were at the five- to six-leaf stage of growth, were showing significant signs of interveinal chlorosis (yellowing) as well as moderate stunting. My initial impression was that the entire durum crop was exhibiting yellowish symptoms, but a closer look revealed that the worst symptoms were occur­ ring in the southeast corner of the field and spreading out from that point. Many plants in the hardest hit area were showing severe interveinal chlorosis, with some

of their older leaves dying off, and I could see completely dead plants here and there. Dale, who had sprayed the field a week before with a tank mix combination of Group 2 pyroxsulam and Group 4 flurox­ ypyr as well as 2,4-D, thought herbicide injury might be to blame. “The field has gone downhill fast since I sprayed,” he explained. “I think it’s the chemical yellowing the crop from injury.” However, because the crop had been sprayed only seven days previously, I didn’t think this was enough time to cause this kind of damage. I began considering other factors such as environmental stress, fertility issues or disease. The local area had not received much moisture that spring; however the plants in Dale’s other durum fields were not exhibiting similar symp­

toms so that ruled out environ­ mental stress. Dale had applied the same fer­ tilizer products at the same rates to all of his durum fields but his other durum crops showed no signs of nutrient deficiency, so fertility probably wasn’t the issue either. After eliminating these factors, I narrowed it down to disease being the most likely cause. I zeroed in on the plants in the hardest hit area of the affected field, the southeast corner, and collected some samples to send to the lab. The results came back positive for wheat streak mosaic virus. Dale was surprised to hear it was wheat streak mosaic virus since there were no signs of dis­ ease in his other durum fields. I explained to Dale that when he told me about his neigh­ bour’s nearby winter wheat fields being tilled under recently due to plant symptoms similar

to what was going on in own durum field, I knew it wasn’t likely just coincidence. After doing some research on the wheat streak mosaic virus, I could see that the pattern of infection in the affected durum field made sense. The most intense symptoms in the crop were closest to the neighbour’s winter wheat field. The wheat curl mite, which transmits wheat streak mosaic virus, must have moved initially from the neigh­ bouring winter wheat field into southeast corner of Dale’s durum field and spread out from there. Unfortunately, nothing could be done at this point to control the spread of the disease and Dale ended up with a 50 per cent yield loss in the affected durum field. Similarly, Dale couldn’t have done anything to avoid the problem since it was due to his neighbour’s farming practices.

The neighbouring producer had thought his sickly win­ ter wheat crop was simply the result of poor overwintering and couldn’t be salvaged, which was why he had tilled over his fields. I informed both growers that to avoid similar issues in the future, it is best to make sure fields to be seeded to win­ ter wheat (as well as the neigh­ bouring fields) should remain bare of susceptible host plants for at least one week since the wheat curl mite cannot survive on dead plant material. At least now, both Dale and his neighbor had the right answer for what had happened in the winter wheat and durum fields, and they stood a better chance of correctly diagnosing wheat streak mosaic virus in their crops in the future. † Angie Berner, B.S. Ag, P. Ag, CCA is an ag retail manager with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Assiniboia, Sask.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

Features

7

Insect management

Be on your guard for grasshoppers By Dilia Narduzzi

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rasshoppers were found in higher numbers in 2015 in Alberta. Unfortunately, the same is expected for 2016, says Scott Meers, Alberta Agriculture insect management specialist. The Peace region, the extreme north and northwest areas of Alberta, are expected to have high grasshopper numbers. Farmers west of Edmonton also saw high populations last year and the same is expected this year. Meers says, even areas where the threat isn’t at the highest level could experience hot spot pockets of high populations. Saskatchewan’s grasshopper pop­ulations aren’t expected to be very high this year, except for possibly in the extreme northern part of the province. Environmental conditions do play a role with grasshoppers, so it makes sense to hope for rain in late spring. “If we get some good torrential downpours in May and June when they’re emerging,” says Meers, then grasshopper numbers could be lower than predicted. “They favour warm and dry conditions, and are really susceptible to wet and rainy conditions when they first emerge from eggs.” If conditions end up being warm and dry, it doesn’t really matter which crops you’re growing this year in terms of grasshopper threat, because they’ll “attack virtually any crop,” says Meers, though in some cases it does depend on the species of grasshopper. “They tend to not be as serious in peas,” says Meers, but some species couldn’t care less about which crop they’re in — they’ll eat everything. The most susceptible plant in the pulses is lentil, says Sherrilyn Phelps of the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. “Yield losses can result if entire pods are consumed but even moderate feeding on the pods will break the integrity of the pod, resulting in premature shattering and subsequent yield loss. If the feeding on the pod is less severe but still results in holes in the pod it increases the risk of disease and staining of the seeds which will result in a grade loss. Because of these factors the economic threshold in lentil is considered to be only two grasshoppers per square metre,” says Phelps. C

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Managing grasshoppers It can be frustrating to get a handle on grasshoppers if their numbers are high where you farm, says Meers, “unlike some other insects where we can do a treatment and manage our way through.” But what’s the best way to get a handle on grasshoppers? First, keep an eye out in the areas where grasshoppers were seen last fall, says Meers, because that’s where the eggs were laid and that’s where newly emerging grasshoppers will come onto the scene in May and June. The key thing to do is to watch for their emergence, through scouting your fields early in the season and knowing where you’ve seen them before. If you’re seeing high numbers in the field, you can “go into specific areas and do a targeted application of insecticide to reduce their

impact,” says Meers. It’s much easier In that case, it’s still a huge chunk of to kill grasshoppers when they first the yield, but it’s not complete loss. emerge from eggs rather than when “Grasshoppers can be completely they’re fully grown. In August, when devastating,” especially in really dry they’re flying around the fields, it can years, says Meers. Even producers who be tough to do anything about them. use irrigation can feel the hit if grass“If the leaves stay dry, though, and hopper numbers are high because when we get into a full-out grasshop- even if they’re able to get them off per outbreak, it’s tough to get absolute their own land, roadsides and pivots control,” says Meers. “It’s never a great will still be dry and grasshoppers will situation when we get big grasshopper be thriving close to their land. populations.” Grasshopper numbers may be high In the regions where high num- now, but “they always go away,” says bers of grasshoppers are expected, Meers, because of change in weather conearly monitoring is the best bet. But ditions and the emergence of “natural if grasshoppers take over, total crop enemies.” They are somewhat cyclical loss, while not common, is a possibil- “in the sense that weather is cyclical.” ity — unlike some other pests, like So what else can you do? “Pray for the cabbage seedpod weevil in canola, rain,” Meers says. † which, if FBC-JuniorAds-REVISED.pdf untreated, can net a yield 1 07/04/2016 3:03:28 PM loss of 15 to 25 per cent, says Meers. Dilia Narduzzi is a freelance writer in Dundas, Ont.

photo: saskatchewan ministry of agriculture

Grasshopper numbers are up in Alberta. Warm dry weather will give them an edge

Grasshopper numbers are climbing in Alberta. They can thrive in dry weather.

8

/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Features

Pest Management

Watch for wireworms in potatoes If wireworm is not on Prairie potato growers’ radar yet, it will in the near future By Julienne Isaacs

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ccording to Bob Vernon, a research scientist with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada in Agassiz, B.C., since the organophochlorine pesticide Lindane was banned in Canada in 2004, followed by the organophosphate insecticide Thimet last year, populations of wireworm have been slowing in some areas and “booming” in others. Vernon was in Brandon, Man., to present a talk titled “Wireworm Control in Potatoes and Strategic Rotational Crops in Canada” at Manitoba Potato Production Days this January. Vernon is heading up a 15-year national wireworm study, one part of a Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) project that aims to survey major potato pest species occurring in different agricultural regions across Canada. Wireworms, the offspring of click beetles, can cause severe damage to potatoes by putting holes in tubers that render them unmarketable. Along with AAFC technician Wim Van Herk, Vernon is building a “wireworm map” of Canada, based on wireworm and click beetle samples sent to their lab annually from growers and entomologists across the country. Vernon’s team has identified roughly 20 species that are economically important for potato. “In Manitoba, we found three or four different species, but one species, Hypnoidus bicolor, a very small wireworm, is by far the most predominant,” he said. “It’s found in probably 75 per cent of the samples we received from Manitoba.” The second most numerous species of wireworm in the Prairie provinces is Selatosomus destructor, a species which — like H. bicolor — prefers non-irrigated fields. Even though populations are growing, Manitoba doesn’t have the worst of it. Yet.

“In some areas of Canada wireworm populations are going absolutely through the roof — certain areas of B.C., Alberta and P.E.I.,” said Vernon. His team aims to find replacements for Thimet. “We’ve been left with the new arsenal of insecticides, such as the neonicotinoids and diamides,” he says. “But what we’re finding is that many of these new insecticides don’t kill. For example, the neonics will intoxicate the wireworms for a long period, so you end up with a good crop, but you don’t kill any wireworms, and they can increase year by year.”

Wireworm Control Another aspect of Vernon’s project is management. Because there are so many species of wireworm in Canada, and each species responds differently to the various pesticides

registered for their control, management strategies necessarily vary by region. “That’s the reason why we’re doing these surveys — to find out which species we have, and try and figure out how we can deal with these different species,” said Vernon. “We’ll deal with them differently in B.C. than in Atlantic Canada.” There are some chemical controls available for wireworm control, including Thimet 20G, but it can only be applied using specific application machinery called a SmartBox, which is still under development. Bifenthrin — labelled as Capture — is also registered in Canada as of 2014, and can be sprayed into the furrow at planting. Vernon and colleague Todd Kabaluk are working on developing biological controls with fungi to control wireworms and click beetles. Last year, they developed a new phe-

romone trap for monitoring the European species of wireworm causing huge problems in P.E.I. “These work extremely well. We tested them out last year and caught in three fields just under a million click beetles, which is a huge number,” he says. The pheromone trap is primarily for monitoring, but can also be used as a mass trapping tool. In 2016, the team plans to conduct formal studies in their use. In addition, Vernon is studying both chemical and biological methods of killing adults before they lay their eggs. While Vernon was hesitant to recommend rotational strategies to growers, he did confirm that cereals and grasses are the number one preferred host for click beetles laying eggs. “So if you rotate potatoes with cereals or grasses, you’ll get egg laying in those fields, and because nothing registered on those crops will kill them, you’ll have a population there the next year,” he said. “In the case of the small species in Manitoba, it takes them two to three years to go from egg back to adult, so you have a problem for the next two to three years. Growers can do with that information what they will.” If growers choose to plant brassica crops such as canola, they’ll see fewer eggs in potatoes in the following year, said Vernon. The survey will offer much-needed information to growers across the country when it concludes next year, but Vernon says there’s much work still to be done — and not many researchers working on wireworm. He recommends that growers contact their provincial entomologist if they encounter problems with wireworm, and send samples to his lab so the team can refine results by province. “Knowledge is power: the more you know about wireworms the better you can control them,” he said. † Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and editor. Contact her at julienne.isaacs@gmail.com.

Crop disease

Pink rot fungicide resistance spreading Phosphites offer a strong alternative control option for potato growers By Julienne Isaacs

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n Prince Edward Island, potato growers may soon lose the use of metalaxyl, a key fungicide registered for use against Phytophthora erythroseptica, the pathogen responsible for pink rot. According to the results of a national survey, 50 per cent of isolates studied in Ontario and Eastern Canada are resistant to Ridomil, a single-site mode of action chemistry used to control pink rot, late blight and pythium leak in potatoes. Although resistance to metalaxyl is not yet predominant in Western Canada, growers should exercise caution and mix up modes of action where possible, says Rick Peters, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Peters was at Manitoba Potato Production Days in Brandon, Man. this January to speak on

fungicide resistance in pink rot populations in Canada. Peters said researchers first noticed resistance popping up in 2004 in New Brunswick. When pink rot hit P.E.I. growers hard in 2012, a national survey was initiated for 2013-14. The study showed an overall, national resistance of 39 per cent, with most resistance showing up in Eastern Canada. “Resistance is skewed to Eastern Canada, and it’s just showing up in Western Canada now,” said Peters. The study, a collaborative effort between AAFC, Syngenta, Keystone Potato Producers Association, Potato Growers of Alberta and the P.E.I. Potato Board, has just been renewed for a two-year term running from 2015 to 2016. It also involves a project examining alternative management options for pink rot, based at AAFC’s Harrington Research Station near Charlottetown. Results will be published in 2017.

Phosphite products P. erythroseptica is soil- and seed-borne, not air-borne. According to Peters, the fungus develops resistance via overuse of Ridomil’s single-site mode of action. “Ridomil was the go-to product for many years, so like in late blight, once resistance started to appear resistance began to dominate,” he said. But an alternative mode of action is already on the horizon. Peters’ team is studying the efficacy of three phosphite products as foliar or post-harvest treatments. These products are registered in Canada under trade names Confine Extra, Phostrol and Rampart. In trials at Harrington, both products were highly effective at managing strains of the pink rot pathogen, said Peters, especially when used as a foliar treatment. He recommends at least three applications through the season of

around two to two and a half litres per acre, or seven to 10 litres per acre total to achieve good disease control. Phosphites offer good control because they are highly systemic and translocate down to the tubers, he said. An added bonus is the strong environmental profile of phosphites relative to other chemistries. But growers should avoid applying phosphites as a seed treatment in-furrow, said Peters. “We like the foliar approach because it’s protecting right in the field and carries over to harvest. And there are situations when post-harvest treatment can be helpful, such as when there’s a lot of risk at harvest, like bruising or wetness. “When it’s wet, pink rot produces a swimming spore that can swim to the roots and tubers. This product is effective at protecting those areas. This is the only systemic product like this,” Peters added. Applied post-harvest, phos-

phites also offer protection against silver scurf. But Peters maintains that growers should be as proactive, and creative, as possible when it comes to managing or forestalling metalaxyl resistance. “It’s a good idea to follow resistance management strategies — mixing or alternating products, using a broad-spectrum approach or non-chemical methods,” he said. Growers should manage irrigation water and take care to avoid bruising and wounding tubers at harvest. Samples of infected tubers should be sent to the provincial survey coordinator for forwarding to Peters’ lab at AAFC, 440 University Ave., Charlot­ tetown, Prince Edward Island, C1A 4N6. Contact Dr. Rick Peters at rick.peters@agr.gc.ca or phone 902-370-1370 for more information. † Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and editor. Contact her at julienne.isaacs@gmail.com.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

Features

9

Insect management

Protect your profits from flea beetles In a warm dry summer growing season, flea beetles could have a chance to thrive

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f you’re growing canola or mustard this year (or garden vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower) you might need to be concerned about the flea beetle, says Scott Hartley, provincial insect/vertebrate pest management specialist for Sask­a tchewan. Climate conditions matter, though, when it comes to certain pests, and the flea beetle is no different. “If it’s going to be warm and dry, like we had in 2015, then flea beetle populations will be favoured.” Flea beetles, like grasshoppers, don’t do well in wet or moist conditions. “They can suffer from diseases and fungus,” says Hartley, and they just don’t flourish in the same way as they do when conditions are dry. Most seed varieties in this day and age are hybrid varieties “that come with a seed treatment, which includes an insecticide for control of flea beetles,” says Hartley. “So flea beetles should be covered; but, you can still have issues, like last year, in 2015, we hadn’t seen flea beetles for a decade before that — we had low populations in most areas, because of moist, cool conditions — but last year’s dry conditions favoured flea beetle’s reemergence.” Even though many seeds do come with insecticide for flea beetle prevention, that treatment will only be effective for a finite amount of time, says Hartley. If climatic conditions cause the delay of growth of plants, the in seed insecticide can wear off. Last year, for example, seeds were planted, but growing conditions weren’t great, so the plants took their time coming up, says Hartley. Some farmers planted early in 2015, in late April or early May because temperature conditions in previous years warranted it; but then even though spring was warm in 2015, evenings were very cool and frosty in some areas, which delayed growth. This can be an issue for flea beetle treatment. “If the plants haven’t grown through the earlier cotyledon stage and a bit more, the chemical in the seed can be wearing off, that’s when an insecticide control spray may be required.”

Using insecticides “In the spring, producers should monitor and assess damage to cotyledons and the first true leaves on canola, rapeseed and mustard seedling for the first 14 days after emergence, especially on sunny, calm days when temperatures exceed 14 C,” according to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development’s website. Checking on seedlings early is very important because flea beetle damage can be swift. Once you know what you’re dealing with, you can better plan your approach for management. Hartley sees a situation where 25 per cent of leaf tissue is being

damaged or destroyed as the threshold for using an insecticide. Hartley says that there’s been a fair bit of research done by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on flea beetles in the last few years because “some of the insecticides don’t always seem to work so well on them.” They’ve found that “all of the flea beetle insecticides in seed treatments work best under warm, dry conditions. It also appears that in most parts of the Prairies there’s been a shift from the black crucifier flea beetle to the striped flea beetle.” Some seed treatments work better against specific types of flea beetle. Hartley suggests that farmers monitor fields with yellow sticky

tape in the areas where canola grew last year or is growing this season, to get a sense of which types of beetles are on your fields. This information won’t be helpful for 2016, but it could be helpful for selecting 2017 seed treatments. The best place to put the yellow sticky tape is in between fields and near overwintering sites. You can do this in spring and even later in the year, like in August, to get a sense of what you are dealing with. You’ll want to check the fields this fall to see where you’re noticing flea beetles; those may be the affected areas come springtime, after overwintering. † Dilia Narduzzi is a freelance writer in Dundas, Ont.

photo: saskatchewan ministry of agriculture

By Dilia Narduzzi

The striped flea beetle is becoming more predominant on the Prairies.

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/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Features

Insect management

Protect yourself against wheat midge Wheat midge may be on the rise this year, especially in southeastern Saskatchewan

What can you do? If you’re growing wheat (other than winter wheat), especially if you’re not growing some of the newer midgetolerant varieties, you’ll want to keep an eye on the calendar. “Late June to early July is usu­ ally the start of midge emergence across most areas, but this will depend on where you are” and the climate conditions, mostly tempera­

graphic: aafc

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armers in most areas of Saskatchewan need to be aware of wheat midge, says Scott Hartley, Sask­atch­­e­wan’s provin­ cial special­i st  for  insect  pest  man­ agement.  Specifically,  eastern Sask­­­­ atch­e wan,  primarily  east central and southeast. There’s another  sec­ tion  from  Prince  Albert south, “extending quite a ways, at least down to close to Bethune.” Midge  threats  in  Alberta aren’t as high, but are more pronounced east of Edmonton and in the Peace region. However, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry warns that individual fields may have high economic levels, as variability from field to field has been high in the past. The severity of the problem, Hartley says, will be dependent on climatic conditions. Wheat midge, he says, is favoured by moist conditions, so if we have a wet growing season, there’s a higher risk of wheat midge flourishing.

ture, says Hartley. During that key time period,  monitor  your  fields. Ideally,  says  Hartley,  “in  the eve­ ning to give you an idea what your midge populations are like.  Usually we recommend one midge per four to five wheat heads as being a rea­ sonable economic threshold, mainly for yield.” If you’re looking for “top quality wheat, a durum or equivalent” for particular specialty markets, where buyers may have tighter standards, then one midge per eight to 10 wheat heads is what you’ll be looking for, says Hartley. Pay attention to the “susceptible period, which can be affected by the timing of crop growth. Wheat is most vulnerable to midge damage as soon as the boot splits and any part of the head is visible until we see anthesis, which is flowering. If your plants get past the flowering stage and there’s no midge present yet, then the threat lessens because the plant has built up its natural resistance,” says Hartley.

Insecticides If you’re above the economic thresh­ old for the varieties you’re growing, you’ll want to apply an insecticide. Where there is variability within a field, Hartley says, you may be able to spot spray and “highlight cer­ tain areas and cut down on costs.” However, “in many cases it’s a case of full field spraying.” †

The severity of wheat midge this season will depend on the weather.

photo: saskatchewan ministry of agriculture

By Dilia Narduzzi

Dilia Narduzzi is a freelance writer in Dundas, Ont.

ONLINE RESOURCES For risk warning maps and other information about all kinds of Prairie pests, visit the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network’s blog at http://prairiepestmonitoring.blogspot.ca. The site is updated throughout the growing season and includes wind trajectory updates and detailed information about insect pests. The site is funded by the federal and provincial governments as well as a number of check off organizations. Manitoba is not included in the wheat midge map, however, risk maps for other pests do include information about Manitoba. Dilia Narduzzi

PLEASE VISIT AGcanada.com

REVISED EDITION NOW AVAILABLE

Please visit the AGCanada.com website and click on “Digital Editions” to find the revised east and west versions in the publication menu. There were errors in the 2016 Seed Treatment Guide that was published inside the March 15, 2016 issue of Country Guide. Remember to always read and follow the label instructions.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

Features

11

Ask the expert

Don’t jump the gun on pest control

By Angela Lovell

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t’s never a good idea to overreact when you see insects on your crops because jumping the gun, and spraying if it’s not really necessary, can do more harm than good. “Seldom, if ever, do preventative insecticides actually pay us,” says Scott Meers, insect specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “When we spray just to try and keep insect pest populations down, we take out the natural enemies too. Natural enemies are really important in the control of the vast majority of our insect pests. It’s really important when we are below the thresholds to let those things do their work because we may never get to the thresholds if we allow them to be successful.” Predators or parasitoids can have very significant impacts on pest populations in many different crop systems, says Jordan Bannerman, an instructor with the Department of Entomology at the University of Manitoba. Just because a grower sees bertha army worm in a canola field, it doesn’t mean that bertha army worm will necessarily reach economic levels. “Some years you can have 75 per cent of bertha army worms killed by parasitoids in a field and they’re never going to reach a level that’s near where it is cost effective to apply an insecticide,” says Bannerman. Spraying to control pests that are not at economic levels can also harm pollinators and encourage the development of resistance in pest insect populations, adds Bannerman. A great example of how natural enemies work is cereal leaf beetles, which are fairly new to the Prairies. “One of the programs through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has been releasing parasitoids to the cereal leaf beetle to establish them in newer areas,” says Meers. “Cereal leaf beetles have been in the Prairies for six or seven years, and we have seen minimal spraying, and it’s most likely because this parasitoid is holding populations below thresholds.” Imprudent pest management can have a long lasting impact — far past the residual period of an insecticide. “A lot of the pest management activities that we are employing, can have a negative, long term because it can take a long time for beneficial insect populations to rebuild,” says Bannerman.

The enemy of my enemy The first and most important step in a good pest management strategy is to be able to identify both economic pests and their natural enemies. “For insect pests, accurate identification of the pest species, and being able to distinguish them from non-pests and

from other insects, and knowledge of pest life cycles is paramount,” says Bannerman. “This facilitates more efficient monitoring strategies and specific targeting of economic pests.” A good place to start is with provincial government crop protection guides and websites. Visit http://prairiepestmonitoring.blogspot.ca for regular updates throughout the growing season. This website is funded by the federal and provincial governments and several levy-collecting commodity organizations. They’ve gathered information about most common agricultural pests as well as maps and other valuable information. Canola growers can find a useful diagnostic tool on the Canola Council of Canada’s website (www. canolacouncil.org). The tool can help producers identify canola pest issues and when to spray specific products for specific canola pests. These resources also provide information about the life cycles and behaviour of different insects to help growers understand when it’s best to scout for them, how to target specific economic pests. When you’re making spraying decisions, these sites are great resources for economic thresholds based on science and economics, as well as the experience of agronomists and entomologists.

If you reach economic thresholds Growers should only use an insecticide when the economic threshold for an insect pest is reached — the economic threshold is the point at which the cost of control is equal to the loss being caused by the insects activities. How do you know? It’s all down to careful scouting of the fields with sweep nets to count insect populations. “It’s important to check several spots in a field,” says Meers. “Bertha army worm, for example, we’ll see often see well above threshold in one part of the field, and below threshold in another part, so if you just check one place you may find it really low or really high and that might not be indicative of the whole field. Producers should check several spots in the field before they make their decision if they’re above or below threshold.” As a general rule, says Bannerman, it’s more productive to scout insects during the heat of the day, when there is no dew on the plants, particularly if you’re using a sweep-net. “Where and how you scout will depend upon the insect or insects you are concerned about,” he says. “There are some cases where scouting should occur at specific times, like wheat midge scouting should occur at dusk. It really comes down to knowledge of the life cycle and behaviour of the pests you are concerned about.”

Some insects will invade the edges of the field first and then spread out through a field, so growers may be able to detect this pattern and get away with spraying just the boundaries of the field. “You can only make that decision with good scouting,” says Meers.

What to spray and how If insects are at the economic threshold in your field, you’ll have to decide which product to spray. “Refer to the label guide because each product will be different,” says Meers. “Some insecticides are better on certain classes of insects than others, so it’s important to make sure

you’re choosing something that will be effective. Producers can consult provincial crop protection guides, or their local agrologist if they need advice about which product to use.” It’s hugely important to adhere to the pre-harvest intervals for each insecticide product. “Preharvest intervals should be adhered to because a failure to adhere to our pre-harvest intervals is going to result in residues in the crop, and could mess up international markets,” says Meers. “You have to get the timing right so you have enough time to allow for the pre-harvest interval.” Bannerman suggests the following four tips farmers can use to

reduce the impact that their pest control activities have on beneficial natural enemies and pollinators: 1.  Don’t spray unless the pest is at economic levels. 2.  When you spray, use an insecticide class/formulation that is as specific as possible or has reduced impacts on non-targets. 3.  If possible, apply the insecticide when natural enemies and pollinators are less active such as in the evening. 4.  Use products with low residual times when possible. † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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Columns forage production

Make your best grain grade deal Three steps to maximizing your profits when you make your next grain sale Brian wittal

O

ccasionally producers make sales agreements with grain companies, then find their grain downgraded when they deliver it to their buyer later in the year. This can happen for numerous reasons. Grain companies may have aggressively over-bought early in the year, causing them to lose money and readjust their grain grading later in the year. Producers may have sampled their bins improperly. There may be no grade sheets or deal sheets for a producer to reference at a later date if a dispute arises. What can you do to minimize the chances of this happening to you?

1.  Know the quality It all starts with knowing as much as possible about the quality of your grain. Sampling each and every load consistently as you put it into the bin is the first and most important step. Make sure you have a large enough sample for each bin so that you can send multiple samples to

be graded and still have enough of the original sample to reference should there be a dispute later in the year. I would suggest at minimum a five gallon pail sample for each bin of grain. If your bins are 10,000 bushels or larger I would suggest two five gallon pail samples per bin. The CGC has published the steps on how to properly sample your grain and how to prepare composite samples for submission for grading. Find them on the CGC website: www.grainscanada.gc.ca. Next you need to get a grade for each and every bin of grain, to ensure there are no surprises when you go to deliver the grain at a later date. You can take samples to a number of different elevators to see how they will grade it from a competitive perspective. I suggest that you insist on getting a grading sheet that shows the grading factors, moisture, protein etc., for each sample so you can compare apples to apples with other companies’ offers later. I would also suggest that you get an independent grade done by either the Canadian Grain Commission or SGS. There is a fee for service to get grading results, but in the end you will know how your grain grades according to industry standards, which will help you to better negotiate a deal for your grain. For years the CGC has done a fall har-

vest sampling program where producers can send in samples and get a free grade and dockage result. You need to sign up for this result. Do this at the CGC website — you’ll find the link to the Harvest Sample Program under “popular links.” Now, when you’re selling your grain to grain companies or brokers, you’ll know your quality. This will allow you to extract maximum value out of your grain and there should be little or no surprises down the road when you deliver, because you have accurate samples.

2. Get the grades in writing In the world of grain buying, each year is very different because of the varied quality of the harvest. You’ll want to take samples to each grain company that you might realistically deal with to see who will offer you the best value for your grain. Once your grain is graded, I suggest you talk to the grain buyer to see what kind of package deal they are willing to offer you based on your bin samples. Get them to write their offers on a separate offer sheet or directly onto your grading sheet so you have something to refer to later. You will also want to ask about their grade discounts and protein spread payments. Write these down so you can compare them to what another company may offer.

3. Find the best value Finally, once you have quotes from different grain companies, analyze which company is offering you the best value (not grade) for your grain! The best grade is not always going to be the best value — the final offer will also depend on grade and protein spreads. When you have decided where you are going to contract your grain, make sure you get the details of the grade deal in writing. Include details about which bins are part of the deal, so you can ensure that the right grain gets delivered later. Once you have committed to a grade deal, this is only the first part of marketing your grain! Next comes pricing your grain to extract maximum value. For that we will need another article to discuss some of the things that you will need to be aware of — things like pre-pricing grain, understanding grade spreads and protein premiums and/or discounts and how to contract your grain to reduce the risk. † 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).

Want to know what’s next in Agriculture? Watch This Country Called Agriculture and be informed. This Country Called Agriculture is a new on-demand video series that delivers relevant news & information on the agriculture industry. Host Rob Eirich interviews ag pioneers, professionals and academics that offer insight into today’s trends and what the future holds for agriculture – on and off the farm. Video topics include:  Sustainability  Starting a new farm

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MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

13

Columns Hart Attacks

Canadian Wheat Board is missed Changes to Canadian grading and specification systems causing concerns By Lee Hart

O

h, boy... the Canadian Wheat Board may be coming back! Not likely, I am just being an alarmist, but it was interesting to read in our sister pub — the Western Seducer — where some bread manufacturers are mourning the loss of some features the CWB offered. I haven’t heard too many complaints about the absence of the wheat price pooling and the wheat buying monopoly, but Canada Bread, which buys about 300,000 tonnes of Canadian wheat each year, is one of the companies complaining that since the CWB was dismantled, sourcing consistent quality of wheat has been going down hill. Canada Bread says, with total control of stored milling wheat, the CWB could look across the system and find sufficient wheat with the proper specifications to meet a bread maker’s needs. Now, that supply of high-quality wheat is a bit more hit and miss, and private grain companies don’t have the pick of the crop, so to speak.

That story isn’t brand new however, as the Canadian Grain Commission — a watch dog of grain quality standards — started a process about 18 months ago to transfer some the more borderline Canadian Western Red Spring wheat varieties — the milling wheat class — to a new class to be known as Canada Northern Hard Red wheat class. The ones being reclassified are varieties more suitable for production of noodles and flat breads where gluten strength isn’t an issue. The CGC says customers around the world — not just Canada Bread — were complaining they weren’t getting the consistent quality — high gluten strength — of Canadian wheat they had come to expect. Some of the 29 CWRS varieties targeted for reclassification were very popular among growers, but even at the time of variety registration they were borderline for the CWRS class. Throw in some challenging growing seasons and the quality of some varieties really went down the tube even though they were still marketed as CWRS. The re-classification hasn’t

been a totally positive move, especially among growers who really liked the agronomics of some of these red-circled varieties — some of the most popular were Lillian, Park, Katepwa, Unity and Harvest. But the reclassification, which comes into effect in August 2018, is a necessary move, to protect the quality and reputation of Canadian wheat. While it is important to weed out the lower quality varieties from the CWRS class, some farmers say, never mind the Canadian Wheat Board, the Can­adian grain industry could live without the Canadian Grain Commission too. Southern Alberta farmer, Steve Vandervalk, at Fort Macleod, describes the whole wheat classification system as “garbage.” “What we really should be doing is selling wheat based on specification and not by class,” says Vandervalk, a former president of both the Western Canadian Wheat Growers and Grain Growers of Canada. “Here we are in 2016 and we’re still using a visual inspection to classify grain? There is something wrong with that. We

need to do away with the whole classification system and just sell according to actual specifications — regardless of what the crop looks like or the variety. If it meets a customer’s specifications, then we make a sale.” Vandervalk says there are plenty of examples were farmers have sold wheat to a grain company for $5 per bushel, as an example, because that wheat was a certain variety and fell into a specific class, and then the grain company sells that grain into a U.S. or other offshore market for $12 a bushel because it met the specifications for a particular end use. “This whole classification system has cost farmers thousands of dollars,” he says. Much like the U.S. system, Vander­valk, says all grain should be tested in a lab to determine quality specifications and then it should be sold based on those specifications, regardless of variety or class or colour. If it is what a customer wants then they’ll pay for it. He also says Canada needs to make changes to the grading system it applies to U.S. wheat being brought into Canada.

Right now all U.S. wheat is automatically graded as feed wheat regardless of quality. It might be used for something else, but it is imported as feed wheat. So far the U.S. hasn’t made it an issue, but Vandervalk says it could one day become a real trade irritant. He questions whether there is even a need for the CGC — farmers should be able to grow, obtain specifications and market their wheat without the need for a “classification” label. Probably all good points to consider, but I think we need to slow down with this whole change thing. First the Canadian Wheat Board is gone, then the federal government goes Liberal, Alberta goes NDP, Manitoba goes Conservative, sell grain according to specification, treat U.S. wheat growers with respect… What’s next? Buying a timeshare is really a good investment, the senate is a vital component of the Canadian government, or women should be allowed to vote and hold office? OK, now I am starting to talk crazy. † Lee Hart is a field editor with Grainews based in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com

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/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Columns Soils and crops

Dam it anyway: the up side of dams Detractors stress the negative effects, but dams can bring the world many benefits les henry

N

ot long ago I saw a TV short piece with a city dude going on about the wildlife possibili­ ties made possible by letting rivers run wild and flood as they do every so often. The gist of the argument was that all dams are bad and that all rivers should be left to run and flood according to Mother Nature’s cycles. The first dam I remember see­ ing is when I was about five. Dad was bouncing me on his knee and telling me stories about building the dam down on Section 11 to provide water for cows in pas­ ture. It was dug with a Model L Case tractor and a Tumblebug (a small scraper also known as a Fresno. Watch a video about these machines here: www.youtube. com/watch?v=E008mXrCqVE). The spillway was rip rapped with stones picked with a team of horses and stone boat. The stones were the reason it was pas­ ture in the first place. That dam is still in place, although it has been upgraded. A few years ago, Inga and I had lunch by the dam on SW11. It’s a pretty place and the redwing blackbirds are still a delight. They are happy with a few skinny willows. A good neighbour, Charlie Rouse now owns the land, so the land is farmed and the stones are picked. Dams like this have served farms and ranches on the Prairies for decades. Beavers sometimes do the job for us but more often than not their dams are not where they are wanted. We have had some of that in the Allan Hills the past wet years, and steps have been taken to deal with the problem.

A few years ago, Inga and I had lunch by the dam. It’s a beautiful site.

Large scale dams But what about the big dams of the world? The granddaddy of them all seems to be the famous Three Gorges Dam in China that harnesses the mighty Yangtze River. A Google search spits out several very informative videos with all aspects — good and bad — discussed at length. There are many downsides, including the required relocation of a popula­ tion equal to all of Saskatchewan. On the plus side, mountains of coal will not be burned to provide power with the dam in place. Our very own Gardiner Dam at Diefenbaker Lake in Saskatchewan is big enough to be noticed on the world stage. It is there because John Diefenbaker was Prime Minister of Canada. (That’s not a political statement — just a state­ ment of fact.) The benefits of this dam have been many but the main benefit, hardly ever discussed, is flood pro­ tection. With the recent wet years, how many times would downtown Saskatoon have been flooded if the Gardiner Dam was not in place?

The Saskatchewan River also has dams at Codette (Nipawin) and Tobin Lake. These dams are mainly for power, but Tobin Lake is world renowned for the sport fishery. The Nelson River between Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay has sev­ eral hydro dams and more are pos­ sible. Some say the “constipation” effect of those dams is partly to blame for algae in Lake Winnipeg but I have no basis for an opinion on that argument. While dealing with Saskatchewan, the Rafferty/Alameda dams on the Souris River in southeast Sask­ atchewan come to mind. Alameda was just for contingency in case extra water was needed to main­ tain the required 50 per cent flow of the Souris to continue to the U.S. Those dams are there because Grant Devine was Premier of Saskatchewan at the time. (Again, not a political statement.) To be honest I was very skepti­ cal about that project. We were in the midst of soil salinity stud­ ies in the dry 1980s and the Souris was not much of a river. Parts of it were just saline grass­ land. It was my idea that it

might never fill in our lifetime and a bit of extra water would just “goose up” the salinity. I envisaged salt plains. That shows how wrong we can be when we look at things through our very limited time frame. Very few years later the reservoir was full and provid­ ing cooling water for the nearby coal-powered hydro station. Again, the big benefit is flood control. Minot had severe flood­ ing in 2014, but imagine what would have happened had the Rafferty not been in place. All big dams have risks; Google quickly spills out historical vid­ eos of disastrous failures. Most big dams have low risk and serve long useful lives. Sedimentation is the long-term result and even­ tually becomes a problem.

Local dams As far as I know, there is no ongo­ ing work to monitor the sedimenta­ tion at our Diefenbaker Lake. I often see the South Sask­atchewan River roaring mightily at Lemsford Ferry, just inside the Alberta/Saskatchewan

App quest

The Vegetable Garden Calculator Tired of growing too much zucchini? Try this app to get the right garden mix Jay Peterson

I

f you were like me grow­ ing up, most of us had a large garden that provided produce for the family not only during the summer but through most of the winter as well. Times seem to have changed. Garden plots have shrunk in size because of either lack of room or lack of time. If you’re looking to scale your garden back up, the Vegetable Garden Calculator can help streamline your gar­ den based on the vegetables you want to grow and the size of your family. This app has an extensive list

of vegetables for use in calcu­ lation, some of which I have never heard of. The list ranges from chayote to scorzonera. If you select a vegetable, the app opens a small page about it giving you a picture, suggested amount of plants per person and in most cases a handy tip about how to grow this pro­ duce. Not all tips may be suit­ able for a western Canadian growing season, for example the tip that carrots should have multiple planting and harvest­ ing times throughout the year. This is probably more specific to a much longer growing season. Once you “select” a vegeta­ ble, you’ll see a button to either

add or remove this vegetable from your garden. Once you’ve added a vegetable or multiple vegetables to your garden your list can be viewed by selecting the “Your Garden Vegetables” button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Open this menu and you’ll see a drop down menu where you can select the amount of peo­ ple you are trying to feed with your garden. The app will automatically calculate the amount of each vegetable you need to feed your family. The number of plants needed can be seen to the right of each vegetable in bold. You can return to the all vegetables

menu to add or remove vegeta­ bles to your garden list. That is all it takes to stream­ line your garden or maximum efficiency for plants per person to save you time and space in your garden. I looked into the accuracy of the plant per per­ son numbers but could not find any concrete evidence to con­ firm the numbers. They seem relatively close. You can always tweak these numbers slightly if your preference is slightly toward some vegetables than others. I hope this app adds to the enjoyment of your garden­ ing experience. † Jay Peterson farms near Frontier, Sask.

border — we own land near there. In June, the river at Lemsford carries a huge silt load that must dump somewhere between there and the Saskatchewan Landing Bridge on No. 4 Highway. The dam has been in place for 50 years so it should be time to find out about the sedi­ mentation. So, while dams do alter the envi­ ronment and do have some nega­ tive effects, on balance dams have served society well. I crossed the central causeway on Blackstrap Reservoir six times this week going to and from my Dundurn Farm. A beautiful site. The res­ ervoir is there only because of Lake Diefenbaker, the Saskatoon Southeast Water Supply System canal that delivers the water, and dams at either end that keep the water at a controlled level. It is a pleasure to cross each time and be aware that we have some water in what can often be a dry land. In today’s world, dams are often criticized, and only the negatives are talked about. There is little appetite for more dams. For sure, some rivers such as our Churchill system should be “hands off” but we should main­ tain an open mind. The Assiniboine River has been a flooding problem in recent wet years. What about a second dam south of Lake of the Prairies/ Shellmouth dam? I expect it has been studied but I have not seen any reports. I am sure readers will enlighten me. So, there you have it. Let us not put the blinkers on and reject any possible new dams out of hand. On balance dams have served society well. † 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 second 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.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

15

Columns Farm financial planner

Manage assets for farm transition Asset management solves the risk of heavy tax when couple shifts ownership to their son By Andrew Allentuck

I

levied in a high capital gains tax year for which the farmland capital gain is used remains on the books as a credit toward future federal income tax payable. It becomes a way of prepaying tax, Erik Forbes adds. In Ezra and Lucy’s case, the temporary cost of the AMT causes can be reduced by the slow transfer of just one or two quarters a year — the amount of land depending on gains in declared value. That should keep the capital gain tax owing under $40,000, Don Forbes explains. Liquidating cattle and crop inventories over several years can help to even out the potential tax burden. RRSP contribution room can be preserved for years in which

there is an income spike that pushes up the couple’s tax bracket. In the year of an auction sale, for example, when income rises, there is higher income that can be defended from progressive tax rates by making RRSP contributions. The goal should be to keep individual taxable income below $90,000, Don Forbes says. RRSP accounts can be maintained to age 65, then converted to Registered Retirement Income Funds to take advantage of the $2,000 per year pension credit. The first $2,000 withdrawn each year per person will be tax-free and after that, RRIF income is taxed at the higher rate as ordinary income.

» continued on page 16

% 40 er Ov ve Sa

SEE Technology TOUCH Innovation BE Empowered

Tax-Free Savings Accounts can be used to the present maximum of $46,500 each. If both partners make the fullest use, then after 10 years with initial deposits of $46,500 augmented by $5,500 per person growing at three per cent per year after inflation, the balances will be $127,450 per person or $254,900 when Ezra and Lucy are 68 and 66, respectively. If this money continues to grow at three per cent with no further contributions and is paid out for the next 20 years so that the TFSA balances are zero in 2046, the couple would have $16,650 a year of non-taxable income, Erik Forbes estimates.

! 62 W -13 NO 65 -6 TS 00 KE -8 e1 TIC fre R oll OU ll t YY ca or BU .ca ion ot inm ag it Vis

n western Manitoba, a couple we’ll call Ezra, 58, and Lucy, 56, operate a third generation family farm with 1,280 acres of feed grains, oilseeds and a herd of 60 beef cows. The farm, with a value of $1.25 million plus $100,000 for the farm house, is profitable, but its future is clouded by the plans of their two adult children, their son, Edward, studying to be a plumber who may come home to continue the farm, and a daughter, Bella, who studied humanities in university and has no interest in farming. Ezra and Lucy should be able to leave the farm to Edward, but before that happens, they should do some tax management. First move: make Lucy an equal partner in the farming operation. Her value for income splitting is greater than her value as a deductible dependent, notes Don Forbes, head of Forbes Wealth Management Ltd. in Carberry, Manitoba. Don, who worked on the plan with Erik Forbes, a principal at the advisory firm, say that if Ezra and Lucy follow the plan to smooth out their individual annual taxable farm income at $30,000 per year for each and take other measures to harvest value from the farming operation, they can retire in comfort.

of being taxed at a 50 per cent rate. Or more. The risk is that the federal government may reduce the qualified farmland capital gain exemption, currently $1 million for each farm owner. The prudent thing is to make use of it while it exists, Don Forbes says. The Alternative Minimum Tax can be charged when using a large credit like the farmland capital gains tax exemption. So when making use of the farmlands capital gains credit, the income tax calculation is done before application of the credit. If the capital gains tax payable in a given year exceeds $40,000, it will be necessary to pay additional tax. However, the AMT

We can solve most of the problems They can use the money they take out of farm capital for offfarm investment. For example, they can fill up their Tax-Free Savings Accounts and add money to their non-registered savings. This money could serve as a legacy for their daughter. At the moment, Ezra and Lucy have all their off-farm money invested in low yield guaranteed investment certificates. They could do much better if they were to move their money to dividend paying common stocks, so-called dividend aristocrats that have paid steadily rising distributions of corporate earnings for at least 10 years, notes Erik Forbes.

Decisions are made in the field at Western Canada’s only outdoor farm expo! 16

LANGHAM

Getting started Ezra and Lucy can also start a process of shifting fractions of the farm, say a quarter section at a time, to Edward. The parents would take back zero interest promissory notes. Edward would pay rent on the land to the parents. The note would be a forgiven obligation at the death of the second parent, Don Forbes suggests. The strategy of gradual transfer of farm capital to Edward will hold income tax down to about 26 per cent a year. The alternative is to defer taxes until death. The latter plan would put farm income distributions at risk

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/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Columns Agronomy management

Understanding soil compaction How to manage each of the three main types of compaction in your fields Ross McKenzie

I

n the last issue of Grainews I wrote about the effects of compaction on soil. Now, I’ll discuss the specific types of soil compaction and the ways each type can be managed.

1. Surface soil crusting This type of compaction is caused by a combination of soil tillage and raindrop impact. Causes:  Tillage can bury much of the protective residue cover on the soil surface and degrade the granular structure of surface soils. Falling rain will cause soil aggregates to break down into smaller particles that can become suspended in water, flow together and then dry into a hard surface soil crust. The crusted soil can restrict water infiltration into soil and restrict crop emergence. Diagnosis:  Crusted soils are relatively easy to diagnose by simply examining the soil surface to see if soil aggregates have broken down and a tough soil crust has formed. Visual examination of the soil crust will reveal a plate-like, horizontal layered structure. If a crust is observed after seeding and germinating seedlings cannot break through the surface crust, plant population can be greatly reduced. Correction and prevention:  A shortterm solution after seeding is to lightly fracture the crust using a light harrowing or rolling with packers to aid seedling emergence. The best way to prevent soil crusting in fields is to minimize tillage operations and ensure that a protective layer of residue remains on the soil surface to absorb water droplets before they strike and break down stable soil aggregates. This can be achieved by reduced tillage or direct seeding practices. Including a forage in the crop rotation can also aid in the long-term development of a good granular-structured soil that has greater resistance to breakdown and crusting.

2.  Subsurface compaction, hardpan Causes:  A tillage-induced compaction layer is sometimes called “hardpan,” or “plow pan” and occurs in the layer of soil just below the depth of tillage. It occurs when soils are cultivated repeatedly at the same depth. The force of the tillage equipment, such as discs or cultivator shovels, can cause compression of the soil and smearing at the base of contact between the soil and tillage implement.

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Manage assets for successful farm transfer Further steps There is more that Ezra and Lucy can do to boost their retirement income. They can invest in the AgriInvest program up to 1.5 per cent of qualifying commodity sales. The matching government grant is fully taxable when withdrawn prior to or at retirement, Don Forbes notes. Increased annual

Usually the compacted layer is one or two inches thick. Compaction will increase when soil moisture conditions are wet at the time of tillage and/or if soils have a higher silt and clay content. In extreme cases, the compaction can be quite serious, affecting water and root penetration into the subsoil. However, with coarser textured soils, the hardpan tends to be weaker and more friable, and may have less effect on crop production. Diagnosis:  Hardpan can be detected by using a shovel or trowel to carefully shave away the tilled surface soil to the depth of the tillage layer, until the top of the hardpan is exposed. The hardpan can be examined visually to see if plant roots are growing horizontally along the surface of the hardpan, which is a good indicator that roots are having difficulty penetrating the hardpan. Correction and prevention:  It has generally been assumed that compacted soil layers break down naturally with annual freeze-thaw and wetting-drying cycles. When a hardpan soil layer persists, the soil may need some form of tillage to physically break up the hardpan. When soils are relatively dry, use a heavy-duty cultivator with spikes to penetrate just below the hardpan to fracture and break it up. This should be done in the fall when soils are dry. Great care is needed to maintain residue on the soil surface to prevent soil erosion and not intermix subsoil with topsoil. Tillage may reduce the hardpan compaction, but it may not address the sources of the problem. It may take three to five years of reduced tillage or direct seeding practices, freeze-thaw cycles and the use of a combination of taproot and fibrous-rooted crops to correct the hardpan problem. Deep ripping equipment should not be used. To avoid the development of a tillageinduced hardpan, land should be direct seeded to minimize tillage. If soil must be tilled, ensure soils are not too moist, and vary the depth and direction of tillage. For land seeded to row or root crops, soils should not be worked when wet.

3.  Wheat traffic-induced compaction Causes:  Heavy farm equipment, including tractors, grain carts, combines, trucks, high clearance sprayers and manure spreaders, can exert considerable weight onto the soil surface and into the subsoil. The effect of equipment weight can penetrate and cause compaction to a depth of about 24 inches when soils are very moist. As farm equipment continues to increase in size and weight, wheel traffic-induced compaction may become a more serious concern in the future.

taxable income ultimately extra Canada Pension Plan entitlements, which boost eventual CPP pensions. It also raises the couple’s eligibility for CPP disability entitlements. Edward, the son who will eventually return to the farm, can have land transferred to him at any price between the book value and current market value, Don Forbes notes. Bella could be given the value of the growing TFSAs if the total retirement income generated is far in excess of what Ezra and Bella need. This could be a very large sum if, for example, the

Wheel traffic compaction has increased in the past several decades due to the increasing size of farms, farm equipment and the time needed to complete farm operations at seeding and harvest. With the increasing axle weight of equipment, care is needed when soils are quite moist to minimize the potential for wheel traffic compaction. In spring, when soil moisture conditions tend to be higher, the risk of soil compaction is often the greatest. Diagnosis:  Examining crops growing in a field can help diagnose wheel track compaction problems by the evidence of reduced crop growth in wheel track areas. A key diagnostic is seeing poor crop in line with wheel spacing of heavier equipment. Use a shovel to dig up plants in affected and unaffected areas. Carefully examine plant roots from healthy, areas versus those from problem areas to see if growth is being affected by compaction. Plants from compacted areas may have malformed or restricted root development. Roots from a compacted soil area may also be confined to the upper layer of soil with minimal penetration into the subsoil. A soil penetrometer can be used as a diagnostic tool to measure the extent and depth of subsurface soil compaction. Normally, only researchers and agricultural consultants have this type of diagnostic equipment. If compacted areas are detected, use a shovel to dig soil pits to examine the soil or to use a hydraulic soil coring unit to confirm the soil is compacted. A soil texture change or a dry soil layer can mimic compaction when using a penetrometer, but there may not necessarily be a compacted soil layer. It is critically important to use more than just a penetrometer to diagnose soil compaction. Correction and prevention:  Wheel traffic-induced compaction can be managed using good agronomic practices, deep tillage or both. Where wheel traffic has created compaction to a depth of 12 to 24 inches, use deep tillage to fracture the compacted soil zone. Deep tillage implements have been developed to effectively loosen compacted soil layers. Avoid using subsoilers or deep rippers that cause considerable mixing of top soil and subsoil layers. One type of implement that works successfully has shanks slanted at a 45-degree lateral angle. As the angled shanks slice through dry soil, the soil is lifted slightly, shifted to the side and dropped back into place. This lifting-shifting-dropping action fractures the dry soil to reduce the soil density. Some units have adjustable shatter-plates behind the shanks to increase or decrease the disturbance of the soil. The soil profile must be dry to achieve the necessary fracturing to loosen and

TFSA grows at three per cent for 30 years. For the couple, both maximizing TFSA contributions of $5,500 a year each after making a $46,500 each contributions to fill space in 2016, the combined balance would be $764,800. The money, representing what might notionally be half of the farm’s present value, would go to Bella in lieu of a division of the estate. Just making her designated beneficiary of the TFSAs would be necessary. This is an efficient way of dividing the couples’ estate and far less costly than buying a comparable amount of

reduce the density of the soil. Ideally, implements must leave the soil surface relatively undisturbed, and leave topsoil and subsoil unmixed. Mechanical deep tillage is only a shortterm solution to soil compaction and is very expensive. It is costly to purchase or rent specialized deep tillage equipment, and the operating costs are also expensive; it’s important to diagnose this problem correctly. In the long term, farming practices may have to be modified to minimize wheel traffic compaction. The following strategies can minimize wheel traffic-induced soil compaction: •  Minimize traffic in fields when subsoil is wet; •  Minimize axle loads by increasing the number of tires on implements for weight distribution; •  Use the lowest acceptable tire pressure; •  Tracks may give better weight distribution than tires, but minimize track slippage, which could cause increased surface soil problems; •  Use headlands for heavier equipment and traffic, including for loading and unloading, to limit compaction areas.

Adverse effects of deep tillage Deep tillage can be beneficial under specific soil conditions, but use can also have serious negative effects on soil quality. Consider potential concerns: •  Some rippers cause greater mixing of surface soil with subsoil, which results in the deterioration of soil structure, reduction in soil organic matter, reduced soil fertility and increased potential for surface soil crusting. This can be worse than minor soil compaction problems. •  Loss of plant-available moisture can occur. •  Soluble salts in subsoil can be intermixed with surface soil, increasing salt levels and reducing crop yield potential. •  Subsoiling can make the ground surface rough and lumpy and can pull rocks to the surface. •  A subsoiled field may have a poor seedbed the following year due to an uneven and soft surface soil and reduced soil moisture conditions. •  If high or excessive amounts of moisture are received after subsoiling, the fractured soil can become a challenge to manage until dry. Ideally, I usually suggest trying ripping test strips in a field to evaluate the benefits and risks over one or even two years before deep ripping an entire field. † Ross H. McKenzie, PhD, P. Ag., is a retired agronomy research scientist. He conducted soil, crop and irrigation research with Alberta Agriculture for 38 years. He has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Lethbridge since 1993.

life insurance late in life, Don Forbes says. If Ezra and Bella retire when Ezra is 65, they will each have an estimated one-third of maximum Canada Pension Plan benefits of $13,110 at 2016 values or a combined total of $9,440, OAS benefits at 2016 rates of $6,846 (both in force when Bella is 65) of $13,692, tax credits of about $6,000, TFSA income of $16,650, RRIF income of $4,000 and continuing farm income of $30,000 each. That is a minimum of $109,782 annually. If taxed at an average rate of 25 per cent,

they would have almost $6,900 a month to spend. That would more than exceed their present $3,600 a month expenses. “We can solve most of the problems Ezra and Lucy have in dealing with the transition of their farm provided the couple adopts our plan and follows it,” Don Forbes says. “If they follow the plan, it will work for everyone, ensuring a smooth transition of ownership to the son and a good inheritance for the daughter.” † Andrew Allentuck is author of “When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Future After Work” (Penguin, 2011).

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

17

Columns Reporter’s notebook

A guide to low-stress cattle handling By Lisa Guenther

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help out with seasonal chores on my parents’ ranch, but I don’t think of myself as a “real” rancher. However, I think I’ve learned a few life lessons from working with animals. I’m not a stockmanship expert, but working cattle is basically about working their flight zones. You need to figure out where to stand or ride in relation to the cattle to get them to move in the direction you want. Some cattle are flightier than others, so the amount of pressure you need to apply varies. Sounds simple, right? But while people talk about low-stress cattle handling, there is no such thing as no-stress cattle handling. Herding young calves is like herding jackrabbits. You can cut out a pair or two and have them nicely moving towards the gate. Then — bam! — the calf is bounding away, for no reason other than it wants to try out its new, spring-loaded legs. The cows often remember seasonal patterns. “Oh, they’re moving us to the summer pasture. Let’s go!” They’re also used to being worked, so as long as they’ve been handled well, they’re not likely to freak out. But they may decide they don’t like the looks of your plan, and lose you by diving into the willows or a poplar stand. Or they might all want to move to new pasture when you only want to take 20 that day. The whole herd might rush the gate, mooing indignantly when you close it, like a bunch of teenagers crying for Bieber. All this is quite funny, to a point. Then it’s not.

ing her, she would go sideways or even try to rear at the drop of a hat. The last thing I wanted was a panicky Foxtrot. Yelling at disobedient cows was completely out of the question. In fact, I learned to not bother getting angry at all. Foxtrot calmed down, and is now a reliable ranch horse with just enough attitude to make her fun. I am much more Zen around cattle. I often feel a little detached, in a way, from what’s happening. Sometimes I do ask the cows rhetorical questions about their behaviour, but that’s about it. That lesson is one I try to apply to other stressful situations, with

varying degrees of success. For example, I had to testify in court a while back. The prosecutor doesn’t prep witnesses. So before the trial, I met with a Victim’s Services worker to find out what was in store for me. She told me that crying on the stand is fine, which is good because some very traumatized people have to testify in court. But public crying isn’t my style at all. Unfortunately for me, any displays of anger or sarcasm are not encouraged. In fact, she told me that such things would damage my credibility. It makes little sense to me that one emotion is fine in court, but another, closely related, emotion is not. But I

I suspect one of the biggest differences between low- and high-stress cattle handling is the amount of yelling. At some point you have to acknowledge that yelling at the cows, or your horse, or at the people helping, does zero good. I admit, I once was a cowyeller. It was my current horse, Foxtrot, who showed me the error of my ways. Foxtrot happens to be a very good cow horse. When she was three, she once jumped into the corral and started chasing the yearlings around. That horse lives to work cattle, and she’s better at it than I am. But she is also very sensitive. If you’re in a hurry when you go to catch her, she will run circles around you, even with oats. She can tell when I’m getting frustrated or angry with the cattle, even if I don’t say a word. She was never much of a bucker, but if she’s worried she tries to flee. When I was start-

Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. Guenther@fbcpublishing.com or on Twitter @LtoG.

This photo of good ol’ Foxtrot was taken after the bit fell out of her mouth while we were trying to move cattle. I was glad she actually stopped when I said whoa instead of running off like a maniac.

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I once was a cow-yeller The sensitive side

decided that if I can stay calm while moving uncooperative cows, I can be cool under crossexamination. I couldn’t resist a sharp response to one question from the defense, but I refrained from sarcasm or rolling eyes or yelling. And the process worked the way it’s supposed to. Please don’t think that I always handle terrible situations with perfect poise. I don’t. But I’ve come to realize that although I can’t control what’s happening around me, I can choose how to respond. †

photo: lisa guenther

The first thing to know is that there is no such thing as low-stress cattle handling

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/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Columns Can’t take the farm from the boy

Keeping busy on and off the farm Taking on a full-time off-farm job will add to Toban Dyck’s stress level, but will also add fun Toban Dyck

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usy begets busy. I had no idea there was space in my schedule for another full-time job. Apparently, there was. Life is busy right now. But I love it. I now work in the ag sector, collaborating with experts, professionals, and many other people smarter than I am. If you’re an adult and take the world around you seriously — recognizing it as a complicated mess of games and moves and things you understand

and things you don’t — some recommend that you should surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. I’ve done this, and couldn’t be happier. Our small farm will benefit from this. The crux of this column may boil down to a point as simple as, “it’s good to meet new people and keep yourself open to new opportunities,” but there’s more to it than that. My world was smaller a month ago. It consisted of my farm, my home office, some things not relevant to this column, and some stale notions of how the ag sector operates. It’s not magic. That’s not what I’m getting at. And that’s not what I want you to think. But

the ag sector is full of great, smart people tirelessly working to help farmers grow better crops at better prices. At least, this is the side of things I’ve been exposed to. I work in it now. It’s a world full of brains and optimism and energy. It’s exciting. And it alleviates the pressure of our small farm holding up two families. More farmers than just me work off the farm. Of course this is the case. In fact, many farmers work off the farm, and make it look easy, like a normal part of being a farmer. It makes sense. If you’re interpreting this as a pitch to get involved, I can sleep with that, though it wasn’t my intent. Off-farm work in the ag sector, for me, is unique. It’s

plunging me through what many of you learned over the course of an ag diploma or degree. I’ve learned to make my time count on the farm. When I come home for a sunny afternoon to work on the farm, those hours are full and purposeful. I do the things that need to be done with half a mind bent on how I could do those things more efficiently next time. It was once something I felt obligated to consider as the young farmer taking over, but now efficiency has become closer to a necessity for me, and that will only benefit my farm in the long run. But it has to work. “Mom and Dad, there will be days when it’s sunny outside, per-

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fect conditions for working/tinkering on the farm, and I won’t be around. Don’t feel obligated to work,” I said, calling my parents about this job opportunity. “I want you to know that even though I won’t be home as much, I’ll still get everything done.” I was nervous about this decision. I wanted to make sure my family was brought in. It’s a family farm, after all. They approved. More than that, they were excited, knowing full well the inherent benefits that come with meeting a larger cross section of farmers and agriculture experts. If I didn’t have other jobs, I wouldn’t focus on packing more work into a spring afternoon. I arrived on the farmyard shortly after noon. It was a sunny day and we needed to prep for seeding. It’s not a ton of work, but putting the seed tender on the tandem is a ballet featuring a few barrels, the forks on the bi-directional, the grain truck and an intimidating amount of finesse. We did it, with no incident. We’re batting 100 per cent — four for four.

We wouldn’t change a thing Then, because there was time left in the day, we installed a new (used) diesel tank on our yard to make it easier for us to separate fuel costs during the growing season. I’ve taken on 230 acres of rental land since moving back to the family farm in 2012. We split some costs last growing season, but this year we’re attempting to mimic two farms operating independently from one yard using one set of machinery. But now with two diesel tanks. It’s a start, and it feels big to me. We stenciled words “Toban Diesel” on it. I anticipate this will result in a nickname or two. The one that has surfaced already is my wife just calling me Toban Diesel, Vin Diesel’s younger, more muscular brother. The muscular part is definitely not true, and I have no idea how old Vin is. The transition from my office to the yard is seamless and complimentary. Discussing agriculture concepts and policy and chatting with other farmers, then putting these things into practice on my own farm is invaluable. It’s chatting about the forest then working with the trees. It’s the 40,000-foot view then working on the ground. I’m busier now than I ever have been. We still live in a trailer on the farm. I still want to take over the family farm. As of today, we wouldn’t change a thing. Well, it could dry up and warm up so we could get our wheat into the ground, but that’s just normal griping. Have a great growing season! † Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

Columns Off-farm income

Making money with Microsoft Never mind buying software. Andy Sirski is buying Microsoft shares and selling calls ANDY SIRSKI

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ince my wife and I came back from China in late February, our 1,000 shares of Microsoft (MSFT) have brought in around $5,000 cash through selling calls, so I bought an extra 100 shares and sold calls for April 22 (two weeks) and collected $1,640. This is close to a three per cent return for two weeks. I compound my gains when I buy more shares with the money I’ve collected from selling covered calls. Over time, I should be able to buy more and more shares and sell calls on more and more shares. And, if I’m reading Microsoft correctly, the value of the shares should go up, and I’ll collect a small rising dividend to boot. The last calls I sold were for a strike price of $55 for two weeks, for April 22, the day after earnings were announced. Share prices went above $55 and I was quite sure the earnings would be good and share prices would keep going up. On Thursday April 21, I decided to make some choices. I could do nothing — just wait and speculate that the earnings would be good, the price of shares would go up, and my shares would be exercised

at a nice profit. Or, I could buy the call back and sell another one right away for one week out (April 29) for $1.20 and have some room for capital gain. I decided to buy the calls back. I didn’t sell more calls. Instead, I bought some calls for strike price of $60 for May (giving myself an option to buy shares at a price of $60 per share). That’s how optimistic I was about Microsoft prices. But oh how wrong I was. On April 21, Microsoft’s Earnings were two cents below the expected earnings. The next morning, shares dropped to $50 and change — down about 10 per cent. Microsoft has missed its earnings forecasts only twice in the past few years and has gone on to hit new highs. In the long run, I think Microsoft will do just fine. If I have some spare money in my account, I might buy another 100 shares. And I will sell calls again. The premiums on Microsoft calls will be smaller now that earnings are out but I should still be able to collect between $500 and $800 a week. In five or six weeks I could easily have enough cash to buy another 100 shares. I was using this strategy four or five years ago when I had 3,000 shares of Microsoft that I bought for a cost of $27 per share. If I had understood the power of the strategy I’m using now, I would have at least 3,500 shares worth around $190,000 — a lot more than the $51,000 those shares cost.

Sadly the Canadian dollar started to go up at the time. I didn’t understand that the dollar would go up and likely come down while Microsoft shares have a good chance of going up and staying up. Live and learn.

Oil production keeps coming As you likely know, the world is sloshing around in oil and more keeps coming. However, from what I hear, fewer and fewer wells are being drilled in North America and year-old wells are losing volume. Pure economics will eventually knock some producers out of the market. Drilling will keep dropping, so it looks like the amount of oil will drop in the world. I decided it was time I stuck my toe in the water. I bought 1,000 shares of Precision Drilling (PD). Since I think the price of oil will not jump to the moon anytime soon I decided to bring in cash while I waited. So sold a call at a strike price of $6 for May and collected a few hundred dollars. Then I sold naked puts on 2,000 shares and collected more cash. I will either lose my 1,000 shares or I will end up with 3,000 shares. Either one will be fine with me. I have followed PD for years. The price was around $3 per share some years ago. The share price went up and up and when the price of oil dropped the share

price dropped to under $4 per share. The company has cash on its books so it can make payments on debt. It has top-ofthe-line drill rigs and does not drill in water. The company also has contracts to start drilling Kuwait. As the price of oil recovers, and I think it will, PD will be hired to drill again. In the meantime the company is in survival mode. I will continue to sell covered calls on my shares and naked puts on more shares to collect cash. Selling naked puts can be risky and is not for everyone. When the price of oil starts to rise I will just hold shares. The move to higher prices should be quite interesting. Somewhere around $45 to $50 a barrel the survivors will lock in or hedge the price of future production and go back to finish developing the wells that got shut down part way through the development process. So those wells could easily be in full production in a matter of days and at a low cost, not in weeks and not at a $14 million cost (as an example). That new production is bound to keep the price of oil lower for longer, as the saying goes. † Andy Sirski is mostly retired. He travels with his wife, plays with his grandchildren and has a small income tax business. Andy manages his family’s investments and also publishes an electronic newsletter called StocksTalk. If you want to read it free for a month send and email to sirski@mymts.net.

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/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Machinery & Shop

92-year-old Hal Burns (2nd from right) shakes hands with Doug Roy, also pictured are Brian Wilson (far left) and Henry Dechant (far right). Burns was the pilot who flew this same aircraft when it was based in Iceland during the Second World War.

photos: save the canso org

Classic machinery

High-flying farm workshop project These men went to great lengths to bring in and restore a 1943 Canso PBY-5A airplane By Scott Garvey

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any farmers have travelled long distances to bring back a unique restoration project to put in the workshop for the winter. But six men from Fairview, Alberta, may hold the record for having the most-difficult-to-retrieve farm shop project ever. They trekked all the way to Sitidgi Lake, Northwest Territories, to rescue an abandoned 1943 Canso PBY-5A aircraft. The classic airplane had once been assigned to the Royal Canadian Airforce’s 162 squadron based in Iceland and saw duty in convoy escorts and submarine patrols during the Second World War. It eventually ended up abandoned in the wilderness after a 2001 accident during firefighting operations while part of Buffalo Air’s fleet of water bombers. That company agreed to sell it to the group of would-be restorers. All they had to do was go get it. That, however, was easier said than done. “It was 40 kilometres, cross country, east of Inuvik,” says Doug Roy, one of the original group who decided to take on this extraordinary restoration project. “Don (Wieben) talked to other people around and put together this group. The Canso Group, we called ourselves. This was in March of 2008. Six of us went north to Inuvik.” The team lived in tents during the four weeks it took just to get the plane to Inuvik. They towed it across the frozen lake and wilderness on skies to the Dempster highway, then put it back on wheels for the trip into the city.

“It was 2:30 at night when we pulled it into town,” says Roy. “They had to close the highway for us.” Even with some of the transportation costs being donated to help the cause, Roy estimates just getting the plane home to Fairview cost the group about $35,000. Since then, restoration costs have risen to more than $200,000, funded in large part by donations since the group formed an organization called SavetheCanso Ltd. and launched their website, savethecanso.com.

The Canso came out of the farm shop in April to have its wing attached as the end of its eight-year restoration neared. “We like to say we started out with six, but now literally hundreds have helped out in one way or another and got involved,” says Roy. “We now have about 40 in our group. And seven or eight guys show up every Wednesday night (to work on the plane).” For the past eight years the Canso has occupied two farm workshops on Brian Wilson’s farm near Fairview. Some of the Canso group had pre-

vious experience with aircraft restoration, but many didn’t. They’ve been able to hire aircraft maintenance engineering students from Alberta technical colleges during summers and part time to help in the work. A town museum in Newfoundland had a similar non-airworthy aircraft on display that still had a pair of working engines, and the group was able to exchange them for the two that were originally on their plane, which required major overhauls. That reduced the restoration budget significantly. The working engines were taken to another group member’s farm shop for refurbishment before being installed on the plane. In late April the Canso was finally pulled out of the farm workshop to have its wings reinstalled as the end of the restoration approached. After that, the plan was to take the Canso to the Fairview airport for final airworthiness inspections. Roy says the group wants that airport to be its permanent home. The group will lease the Canso to the Fairview Aircraft Restoration Society, which intends to fly it around to different air shows and events across North America once a valid certificate of air worthiness is issued, making it probably the only example of a Canso PBY in Canada that still flies. “The goal has always been to restore it back to its original wartime configuration,” says Roy. “We know the interest in the long term will be in the time it served in the war.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

The original Canso Crew members, (L-R) Joe Gans, Norbert Luken, Brian Wilson, Don Wieben, Doug Roy and Henry Dechant.

It took four weeks to tow the plane across country to get it to Inuvik.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop

21

Seeding technology

CX6 Smart Seeder goes into production Clean Seed Capital Group unveiled its first production model drill in April

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nyone walking the aisles of a farm show in Western Canada dur­ ing the past couple of years has probably noticed a prototype of the Clean Seed CX6 Smart Seeder on display. It’s made the rounds to sev­ eral shows during that time. But when the first production model was introduced to the public in early April at a special event out­ side the production facility in Steinbach, Manitoba, it looked a little different. The version of the drill that is about to hit the market includes a number of design improvements over the original prototype. As he stood beside the drill explaining its features just before the official launch ceremony began, Noel Lempriere, VP of marketing at Clean Seed Capital Group, explained the design changes were made to both bet­ ter facilitate the manufacturing process along with improving the drill’s overall durability and efficiency. One of the most noticeable changes is in the design of the row units. The initial prototype had row units that looked very similar to a corn planter, with a small hopper mounted directly above each opener that fol­ lowed it over the field contours. Instead, the production model will have the individual row unit hoppers with their metres mounted rigidly on the toolbar frame. Only the openers will follow the field contours. That, says Lempriere, will improve durability and at the same time reduce manufacturing costs. The production version of the CX6 is the culmination of many years of R&D work by two gen­ erations of the Lempriere family, explained Graeme Lempriere, Clean Seed’s CEO and president, during the official launch cer­ emony. “My dad is 94 now, and he started doing this 20 years ago,” he told the crowd of visitors. “He started designing his own technologies from the ground up and was one of the first peo­ ple to start looking at the elec­ tronic aspect: how we meter and control the product that goes into the ground.” The in-cab controller will be a PC-based tablet. The CX6 has the ability to deliver six sepa­ rate products to each opener and meter them directly at each seed row, so it can work with very high resolution prescrip­ tion maps along with alternat­ ing seed varieties throughout the field. “As we (farmers) scaled up, we improved our fertility and chemical practices,” says Colin Rosengren, VP of product devel­ opment and a Saskatchewan farmer. “I think some of the compromises we made in distri­ bution (on a drill) and that type of thing were muted by the fact we made bigger advancements in other stages. This machine brings the ability to not have to make any of those compro­ mises.”

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photos: scott garvey

By Scott Garvey

2

All models coming off the line at the Steinbach, Manitoba, production facility will initially have a 60-foot working width. But it’s possible that will change in the future, according to Noel Lempriere. At the launch ceremony Graeme Lempriere announced the com­ pany had decided to make the Rocky Mountain Equipment deal­ ership chain its exclusive distribu­ tor, and RME will take possession of the first few models to come off the line in order to hold field demonstrations for interested farmers across the prairie over the early summer. “Our plan is to complete 16 strategic demos across Western Canada at five different dealer­ ships,” says Jim Wood, VP, agri­ culture at RME. One of the locations farm­ ers will be able to see the CX6 at work is the upcoming Ag in Motion farm show near Sask­ atoon in July. RME will seed a test plot with a CX6 this spring, then bring it back for a practical demonstration during the show days. “Once we finish demos and testing, we’ll get feedback,” adds Wood. “MSRP will be somewhere north of $600,000. I would say any time after June or July we’ll be available for orders.” For a video look at the offi­ cial launch event and interviews with company executives, go online to grainews.ca and look for the e-QuipTV episode under the “videos” link. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

3

800.565.2840 | twister.ca

1.  Clean seed main: Clean Seed Capital Group held a ceremony to mark the launch of the first production CX6 Smart Seeder outside the manufacturing facility in Steinbach, Manitoba. The event went ahead despite a sudden April snowstorm. 2.  Row unit design has been changed from what was shown on the original prototype. 3.  Two generations of the Lempriere family have been working on designing and bringing the CX6 to market: Noel (left), Noel Sr. (centre) and Graeme (right).

22

/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Machinery & Shop

Shop class

Cool it: cold temps for a smooth fit How to use extreme changes in temperature to ease parts installation in your shop By Scott Garvey

A

of replacement leaf springs makes for a good demonstration of that effect. The bushings are designed to stay firmly in position in the end of each leaf spring and not move, which prevents any wear to the leaf spring. Before attempting to install the bushings, we placed them in a deep freeze for a couple of hours. It was then possible to tap them part way into position with a soft-faced hammer. Next, a small hydraulic press was used to push them all the way home. All the bushings were easily seated this way, without damage. The press probably could have

pushed the bushings into position without cooling them down, but it would have taken much more force and increased the risk of damage to the thin metal sides of the bushings, which have a rubber centre. But if a part needs to expand in order to get it to seat in position, such as the ring gear on an engine flywheel, be careful to apply the heat as evenly as possible to avoid distortion. If a hand-held torch is used, keep it moving around the part to avoid uneven heat build up in one area. That will reduce the distortion risk. An old mechanic’s trick is to use a

portable propane space heater to do the job. Putting the part in front of the heater will allow a broader flow of heat than a small torch supplies to blow over the entire part at once (unless the part is really large), heating it evenly. Putting the part in an oven also achieves the same result, applying heat evenly. Heating one part while cooling its mate magnifies the affect and makes installation even easier, although it’s often impractical to do that because one component is frequently part of a large housing. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photos: scott garvey

variety of parts on ag equipment and vehicles are designed to have a friction or interference fit, which means components fit together so tightly they maintain their position relative to each other without any kind of fastener holding them in place. Bearing races, for example, remain fixed tightly in a housing this way. It’s an engineering procedure that works very well to keep things in place. The trouble is, removing and reinstalling some tightly-fitted

replacement parts can sometimes be difficult. But there is an easy way to help many parts easily slide into position: simply heat or cool them. An extreme change in temperature causes a part’s dimensions to change. A lot of heat makes things expand. Conversely, as you’d expect, cooling will cause them to contract. Often that subtle change in dimension is enough to allow a part to simply drop into place, which prevents having to beat on it with a hammer and possibly damage it. In this Shop Class example, cooling new suspension bushings that had to be installed in a set

Left:  These bushings were left in a freezer for a couple of hours ahead of time, making installation easier. Middle:  Cooling or heating parts that fit together very tightly can make installation easier. Right:  The bushings slid into place in the leaf springs easily without damage.

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MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop

23

Track technology

Can you save money with tracks? Two manufacturers say their rubber-belt tack systems can put money in growers’ pockets

Camso Another track systems manufacturer, Quebec-based Camso, claims its research has also shown clear advantages when comparing tracks to tires in ag applications. Although they acknowledge growers will have to factor in the higher purchase costs, the investment will likely be worth it over the long haul. “It’s difficult to achieve that same pure cost; but when you put the benefits in there, the advantages outweigh those of tires,” said Martin Lunkenbein, business line executive director of agricultural systems at Camso. A couple of years ago Camso began a research program it calls “Profit from the ground up.” Its purpose is to measure what, if any, agronomic advantages growers can expect when using tracks instead of tires on a planter. The study links a yield advantage to tracks, because of their reduced impact on the soil during seeding. “We’re showing a five per cent increase in yield,” said Lunkenbein. And the Camso program also suggests, like the Elmer’s research, that farmers could expect to see a reduction in their annual fuel bills, particularly when tractors are fitted with tracks. The reason is because of the improved traction tracks offer. “What you have to look at is how much work is being done in unit time,” Lunkenbein said. “You can get more work done in the same unit time, because you have less slip; and some of the studies are showing less fuel costs because you’re getting less slip.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photo: elmer’s manufacturing

T

here’s no doubt the demand for rubber-belt track systems on ag equipment continues to grow. Many new implements hitting the market are now designed specifically for tracks and don’t even offer wheels as an option. But no matter how you slice it, track systems boost the cost of an implement purchase pretty significantly. So, are they really worth the extra cash? Two manufacturers say, their track systems offer definite, measurable advantages. Manitoba-based Elmer’s Manufacturing recently released the findings of a study they say shows implement track systems can slow the rate the needle in a tractor’s fuel gauge falls. They conducted research near Altona, Manitoba, comparing tractor fuel consumption when pulling wheeled and tracked grain carts. The tractor pulling a cart equipped with their tracks showed an 11 to 15 per cent reduction in fuel consumption, according to the study. “We used a grain cart and compared wheels to tracks at the same weights,” explained Mike Friesen, general manager and lead engineer at Elmer’s, in a press release. “We tested on fresh tilled ground, tilled and then dried for a few days, untilled canola ground, and concrete for a reference.” Wheels performed better than tracks on the hard concrete, but when the carts were pulled across softer surfaces typical of those in a field, that’s where the tracks shined. Researchers believe the reason for that is because tracks “float” or stay higher on top of the soil, reducing rolling resistance. Tires, on the other hand, don’t have the same floatation ability and generally create deeper ruts, creating greater rolling resistance in soft soil.

“In plain English, the tracks don’t have to continuously try to get out of the rut they are digging like the wheel does,” explained Friesen.

Elmer’s Manufacturing of Manitoba says its study shows converting grain carts to track systems can save 11 to 15 per cent in fuel consumption rates.

graphic: camso

By Scott Garvey

Camso’s study shows tracks offer a variety of agronomic advantages in the field.

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Machinery & Shop Forage equipment

New Vermeer bale wrapper

By Scott Garvey

V

ermeer has added a new inline bale wrapper to its hay and forage equipment lineup. The BW5500 is designed to cut down the wrapping time for large-volume hay growers and custom operators. “As you increase the number of bales wrapped each year, producers should consider moving from an individual wrapper to an inline wrapper,” said Vermeer Product Manager Josh Vrieze. “Not only can you wrap bales faster using an inline wrapper, but larger operations also save on plastic.” The BW5500 also provides for more operational control during the wrapping process, claims the company. Its digital controller allows the operator to set the desired number of wraps on bales by adjusting hydraulic flow. Its LCD screen allows the operator to track data and determine the total number of bales wrapped. There is also an optional remote control to let the operator start, stop or steer the bale wrapper remotely. The BW5500 has three 30-inch (76.2cm) pre-stretchers, which the company says allows for faster wrapping. A soft start feature progressively starts the movement of the hoop, reducing machine wear and limiting the risk of tearing the plastic wrap on startup. †

Inline wrapper designed for larger operations

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

» photo: vermeer

Vermeer’s BW5500 inline bale wrapper is designed to help speed up the wrapping process for large producers or custom operators.

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/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Cattleman’s Corner Animal Health

Important tips for calf processing Be properly prepared and do it right — good for cattle and business

animal health

A

s spring calves are ready to head out to grass soon with their mothers, it is a good time to review your protocols, methods and any issues you had this year and introduce ways to improve even more so for next year. There are two main ways ranchers process calves. The first is the traditional way we call “branding” where calves are roped and pulled backwards to an area where wrestlers restrain the calves and all procedures are done almost simultaneously. These can go very smoothly depending on the experience of the crew but require lots of people power. Branding day is mixed with steep tradition and neighbours help each other out. The other method is separating and using a runway where calves go into a calf cradle (essentially a small chute) and are restrained and processed by a much smaller crew. While the traditional branding does require lots of planning it also allows people not all that familiar with cattle a chance to participate and experience a western tradition. I have observed and participated in several brandings over the years and for the most part they are well organized and accomplish excellent processing speed and accuracy. The key person to me is the one who

ABOUT VACCINATION With the vaccines, it is best to give a person one needle and have the syringe labelled with that vaccine and have them always administer it in the same location. With traditional branding the calves are on their sides and through necessity the shots need to be given on the same side. The wrestler is often lying over the calf’s neck so we must often pick the next best location. With the front leg lifted many give one vaccine under the elbow. I would give the least reactive vaccine — the one containing the viral vaccines — in this location. If these are modified live vaccines they are generally less reactive. Your clostridial vaccines could be given higher in the neck so this allows greater separation of different vaccines. At one branding I attended the owner had us use paint sticks on each calf with a different colour for each vaccine that helped the wrestlers insure everything was done before releasing calves. Store the vaccines in a cooler with ice packs and only reconstitute enough modified live vaccine to use in one hour. If taking breaks in-between groups that is the time to reconstitute more vaccine. Change needles frequently and use the disposable sharp needles, not the old thickwalled steel needles. Vaccinating during the rain also leads to more injection site abscessation. Insure

from your veterinarian vaccines selected are covering the intended disease complex. Gone are the days when just clostridial vaccines are given. There are many combination vaccines that help prevent respiratory disease and will serve as the priming shot for the booster in the fall at weaning.

will soon be mandatory for bigger calves in our beef Code of Practice. If calves are given NSAIDS (on the advice and consultation with your veterinarian) you will find they may recover quicker not miss even one meal and gain more weight. Your veterinarian may advise even just using the product on castrated bull calves for starters. A few calves get the odd sprain and strain from being roped and pulled to the processing area so the NSAID will help in that regard as well. NSAIDs are available only through prescription so must be prescribed by your veterinarian.

BRANDING TIPS

photo: file

Roy Lewis

assigns the jobs and of course I always focus on the health aspect.

Implants can really improve calf performance but proper application is important.

PAIN CONTROL If castrating with a knife ensure the same experienced people do it. The young calves are often done with a closed technique (testicle is kept in its outer protective membrane and the cord is pulled). This will lead to less infections as all that is touched is removed. I would follow this up with a disinfectant spray and have the castrator clean their hands as much as possible. With all the stress of vaccinating, castrating and branding it may be a very wise idea if NSAIDS (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories) are given. This

Branding may one day become a thing of the past but for now it still acts as identification and takes a lot of the labour at spring processing. Use the smallest calf irons. And to promote healing, treat the band area with an Aloe Vera liquid. They had found it promotes healing much like we do by applying it to burns. An added benefit of the NSAID’s is they will decrease inflammation and pain at the branding site for up to two days. This all bodes well for animal welfare concerns. Unless running cattle on community pastures or if pasturing finance cattle there really is little reason to brand these days. Think why you really need to brand. It may only be needed for your replacement heifers? Branding day is the ideal time to implant all steer calves and the non-replacement heifer calves with a growth promotant. Replacement

heifers can also be implanted safely once between one month and weaning with some of the implants. The implants simply replace some of the hormones we remove with castration. Only about 25 per cent of calves are implanted in Canada so we are missing out on lots of gains. Implants are extremely safe but it takes practice to get proficient in injecting the capsules in the proper location. Also on branding day, if due to weather (too wet, or too hot) and any sickness in animals, your veterinarian may even advise on certain years giving long-acting antibiotics as a preventive treatment. Some new macrolide antibiotics can last upwards of four weeks and for young calves the dose is very low. Fly control can be considered at branding as well as reading or replacing lost RFID tags. Some will use tag readers to monitor which calves have been processed. When the work is done “branding day” allows for some good comradery and socializing but always remember doing a good job is your livelihood so always critique yourself and get good ideas when attending other ranchers brandings. We can always learn from each other and improve what we are doing. Make a list of the new things you will implement next branding to improve the health, welfare and productivity of your herd. † Roy Lewis is an Alberta-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

THE MARKETS

Higher production keeps beef prices under pressure Slaughter numbers are down, but carcass weights are up Jerry Klassen Market Update

F

ed and feeder cattle prices have come under pressure over the past couple of weeks as the market absorbs the year-over-year increase in second quarter beef production. Cattle-on-feed inventories in Canada and the U.S. are running slightly above year-ago numbers, but carcass weights are sharply higher. Despite the lower cattle prices, retail beef prices are only marginally lower, which has caused consumptive demand to stagnate. Feeder cattle prices remain under pressure as margins continue to drift deeply in red ink. Earlier in April it was thought weaker feed grain values would be supportive for replacement cattle, but despite the increase in U.S. corn and Canadian barley acres, feed grain values have increased adding a second negative factor to the feeder market. U.S. cattle on-feed inventories as of April were 10.9 million head, up one per cent from April 1,

U.S. QUARTERLY BEEF PRODUCTION Quarter

2013

2014

2015

Est. 2016

1

6,172

5,868

5,664

5,945

2

6,517

6,183

5,855

6,190

3

6,608

6,179

6,066

6,395

4

6,420

6,021

6,105

6,295

Total

25,717

24,251

23,690

28,825

2015. Placements during March were 1.9 million head, up five per cent while fed cattle marketings were up seven per cent. We’ve seen a surge in placement numbers since February, which will ensure feedlot numbers stay above year-ago levels into the summer months. At the same time, carcass weights are running 17 pounds above year-ago levels. During the third week of April, beef production was nearly 10 per cent above last year for the same timeframe. On the latest USDA WASDE report, they increased second and third quarter beef production estimates. Cattle on-feed in Alberta and Saskatchewan as of April 1 were 941,000 head, up seven per cent from April 1 of 2015. The Canadian year-to-date slaughter is running two per cent below last year while actual beef production is up five per

cent. This is largely due to larger carcass weights which are nearly 90 pounds higher compared to April of 2015. The U.S. is absorbing the larger Canadian production with exports of frozen and chilled cuts up nine per cent over year-ago levels. This export pace may start to slowdown with the stronger Canadian dollar. Basis for fed cattle have been abnormally strong for Canadian feedlots. Exports of slaughter steers and heifers are up 32 per cent over last year as of April 9. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $160 to $162 in late April, which is down about 20 per cent from April of 2015. U.S. fed cattle prices have shown a similar decline. Despite the weaker cattle prices, U.S. choice wholesale beef values were quoted at US$222/cwt, which is a year-over-year decline of about 16 per cent.

When we look at U.S. retail prices, ground beef is only down about six per cent while higher end cuts are only five per cent below year-ago levels. The ability for retailers to hold up prices has tempered beef consumption. Restaurant values have shown minor adjustments but no real change. It always takes longer for retail prices to decline. However, over the next couple of months, we need to see a sharper drop in retail values to avoid a build up of beef in cold storage. If we don’t see this occur, it would cause fed cattle prices to overextend the downside until production starts to decline in the final quarter of 2016. U.S. away-from-home food spending dropped 3.2 per cent in comparison to March of 2015 while at-home spending was up 2.4 per cent. We are not seeing significant improvements in unemployment levels, consumer confidence and overall economic date that would stimulate beef demand with prices still near historical highs. I’m expecting to see Alberta fedcattle prices grind lower into the summer and early fall. Keep in mind September is a period of seasonal low demand and this will probably be the lowest prices for

fed cattle during 2016. Feeder cattle prices will trend in line with the fed market. Negative feeding margins will continue to erode equity weakening the buying power of finishing feedlots. As of late April, barley prices were slowly strengthening and it appears the 2015-16 barley carry-out may be tighter than earlier projections. I mentioned in previous articles that feedlots are being more prudent in feeder cattle purchases. The early fall period will likely be the lows for feeder cattle because of the weakness in slaughter prices. If the fed market overextends to the downside, this will be the opportunity for feedlots to reload on feeders. For the cow calf producers, next fall you’ll probably want to market your calves later or even background over the winter. Avoid marketing in August and September. † Jerry Klassen is manager of the Canadian office for Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Products Ltd. He is also president and founder of Resilient Capital — a specialist in commodity futures trading and commodity market analysis. Aside from owning farmland in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, he’s a University of Alberta graduate who grew up on a mixed farm feedlot operation in southern Alberta, which keeps him close to the grassroots of grain and cattle production. He can be reached at 204-504-8339.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

27

Cattleman’s Corner Anyone can start farming

Hoping a simple PCV feeder saves money Debbie Chikousky

O

ver the years we have utilized many different delivery systems for feeding salt and mineral supplements to our small ruminants and feed to our poultry. The focus has always been on waste control and low investment cost for the device. Along with the level of waste by spillage there has always been an issue with physical contamination. The minute little hooves paw through a tray of salt and mineral there is the potential for parasite/disease contamination. And with tight cost of productions, dumping uneaten mineral is not an option. Poultry love to jump into their feeders and scratch everything out. People are choosing more and more to use poultry to assist in pest control around the yard and in pens so keeping them out of the ruminant’s salt and mineral boxes is important. This spring was time to revisit the extensive use of PVC pipe feeders. PVC pipe feeders are extensively used in the United States in large meat goatherds. They can easily be attached to a barn wall or fence post with plumbers strapping or baling twine. In order to access the minerals in feeders the goats have to stick their muzzle

in the open end of the “elbow” to reach the minerals. Breeders we know, using the PVC pipe feeders, say they have had no more problems with urine or feces in their minerals or salt. And since the products are also protected from the rain, it lasts a lot longer.

FEEDER COMPONENTS The components of a common mineral feeder include one section of three-inch PVC pipe 12 inches long; two pieces of three-inch PVC “90° elbows”; and one three-inch PVC cap (it is optional); and PVC cement To assemble the feeder glue A, B and C together as per the illustration following manufacturer’s instructions on the PVC glue. The cap is only needed if there is a worry that something will get in the top (such as wild birds). The cap is not glued to pipe A. The top must be removed periodically to fill the feeder. To maintain the cap in place, yet have it also removable, position the cap on top of the pipe and then drill a 1/8-inch hole through the cap and continue on through the pipe underneath. Then place a cotter pin in the hole. It’s best to do this in an inconspicuous place (around the side or at the back) — goats are very curious and it is possible they will pull the pin out and swallow it. It is also recommended to drill a hole in the top cap and put a twine through it to make a handle. Put a knot in the twine so it cannot be pulled through and this should help you open the feeder.

The cost of the materials for these PVC feeders is approximately $20 depending on the size. An added bonus to the less waste scenario is they also take up less space. Animals can come and go with these feeders hanging in a corner of the barn, taking up no floor space. This also helps to reduce the risk of mineral waste and contamination. There are many uses for these PVC feeders other than as a salt and mineral feeder. Using larger diametre pipe a similar configuration can be used to make a creep feeder for small lambs/kid goats. Another producer reports they use one like we built for feeding free choice diatomaceous earth with great success. Using these feeders for the small ruminants achieved the goal of keeping the poultry from scratching in the salt and mineral. A quick online check revealed a two-foot length of pipe holds about 10 pounds of poultry feed — another money saving possibility. A commercial six-pound capacity plastic feeder costs about $16.99, but with a freestanding design it can easily be knocked over. The PVC feeder would not easily be knocked over and if always full the poultry wouldn’t be affected by feeder space. This summer there will be plenty of opportunity to calculate if these feeders save us as much as we are hoping. Now to investigate how to do the same for the cattle! †

photo: debbie chikousky

Pipe feeder should help protect the minerals and take up less space

These sheep have figured out the black plastic pipe on the wall holds minerals. Mineral feeder pipe:  The height of the pipe “A” can be changed to suit the area where the feeder will be used.

Debbie Chikousky farms with her family at Narcisse, Manitoba. Visitors are always welcome. Contact Debbie at debbie@chikouskyfarms.com

IN

THFIRS EU T NI TI TE M DS E TA TE S

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28

/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Cattleman’s Corner Ranchers diary

New calves get some creative names Horses getting into gear for another season of pasture checks

MARCH 24

L

ynn went to the doctor for the results of his MRI. His hip sockets are fine (he doesn’t need hip surgery) but it showed some old injuries — including a healed fracture in the pelvis. We don’t know whether those happened when he was trying to stay on a bucking horse (26 years ago), or when the bank under the old bridge caved in when he was trying to clear debris out from under the bridge during high water — and had to pull his leg out from several hundred pounds of dirt before he drowned — or the motorcycle accident on a blind corner, coming home from irrigating when he met a pickup on his side of the road. The doctor prescribed physical therapy, and also wants another MRI on his lower back because it is badly out of place. We brought some of the cows down from the field last week, and put them in the horse pasture where we can watch them, since several looked like they are close to calving. The next few days were very cold. We started training our heifers to go in the barn, in case it’s cold and stormy when they calve. After putting them in there the first time, they eagerly went in

APRIL 5 Young Heather’s boyfriend Gregory and his sister and brother-in-law came to visit, and stayed with Michael and Carolyn several days. Dani helped Andrea bring some loose hay (stored in the barn across the creek) in the little trailer with the four-wheeler to spread for bedding in the pen below the barn. We put the two young cows and calves in that pen where there are several good windbreaks. Little Gorilla Boy is still very tiny, but doing great. Charlie was very sick last Friday, with high fever, so Andrea took him to the clinic. The young doctor’s aid thought it was a virus and didn’t prescribe an antibiotic, but his fever and cough kept getting worse. Andrea took him to the ER Monday evening, and the doctor took a chest x-ray and said he had pneumonia. He gave Charlie a shot of antibiotic and a prescription for follow-up. Charlie was sick all through spring break but was finally recovering enough to go back to school this week. We’ve had several more cows calve. The kids were out of school that week so the girls enjoyed helping with the cows and calves. Sam helped Andrea take trailer loads of loose hay up to the calf houses for bedding, and put new bedding in the barn stalls. Sunday Andrea and I rode Breezy and Ed for their first rides this spring. We need to get those horses back to their routine so the girls can ride them.

Join us...

Charting the Course SSGA

AGM & CONVENTION June 13 & 14, 2016

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photos: heather smith thomas

heather smith thomas

every day, to eat some alfalfa hay. Now if we have to put one in the barn some dark night, it won’t be a scary experience! Michael, Nick and Robbie put tall wood slabs on this end of our second-day pens to create a good windbreak. Now our pens are ready for calving. The also put a pole “cover” over the ditch by the culvert under the driveway, so calves can’t fall in the ditch when we are taking them back and forth across the driveway. Michael and Carolyn had their first two calves yesterday. Our first one arrived today. When we drove to the field above the house we noticed a cow that didn’t come down to the feed truck. After we fed the cows we drove up there. Buffalulu calved three weeks ahead of her due date — a tiny bull calf. She’d licked him dry but he was very cold and hadn’t nursed. We put him on the back of the feed truck and Dani hung onto him while I drove the truck. Andrea and Robbie followed the young cow. She was confused because she wasn’t sure where her calf was, but he bawled, and she followed his voice. When we got to the barnyard she was too nervous to let us help him suckle, so we put her in the headcatch and got him nursed, then put the pair in the barn. Dani named him King Kong Gorilla Boy because he was so tiny; he needed a big name, and his face looks like a baby gorilla. We had another calf this afternoon and she’s charcoal colour (more grey than black) so Dani named her Charky.

New charcoal-coloured calf named Charky, was the second calf of the year.

APRIL 14 Last Thursday Dani stayed here overnight because she wanted to help watch the calving cows. Later that day Andrea and I rode Breezy and Ed again for their second ride this year. The next day I trimmed Dottie’s feet and rode her for her first ride, and Sam and Dani rode Breezy and Ed. Just as we were leaving, Buffalope calved in the horse pasture. Saturday afternoon Andrea and I rode Breezy and Dottie; we need to put a few more rides on the horses before our friends Walter and Jodi from Colorado come to visit, because Jodi wants to ride a horse. Buffalo Girl (Em’s old pet cow) started calving Sunday night so we put her in the barn. She’s a very strange cow; even though she’s a good mother, the first few hours are a challenging. She licks and bunts her calf, bellows, and knocks it down when it tries to stand up. We have to intervene to protect the calf. This is her 11th calf, and she does this every year. We keep her from injuring the calf, get him on his feet, and help him suckle, and then everything is fine and she behaves like a normal mama. About midnight that day I noticed Rocket (one of the first calf heifers) was in early labour, but she took a long time. Finally at 8:30 a.m. she pushed out a water sac, but there were cotelydons on it, which meant the placenta was detaching. So we took her to the headcatcher by the barn and Lynn reached in to see what was going on. The front feet were there, back a ways, and the calf was sideways. He couldn’t get the head coming. Michael and Nick were on their way to a fencing job so they stopped and helped us. Michael was able to push the calf back and get it coming straighter, and the legs pulled forward (they’d been hung up at the elbows) and finally got the calf pulled. It was a heifer. We got her breathing and put her and Rocket in a nearby pen, and she began licking and loving that baby. Michael went home to change clothes. Lynn went back around to the pen to check on the new baby. Rocket was lying down again, straining hard. I crept up behind her, and reached my hand in — and felt a furry rump and a tail. She was having another calf, but it was breech. We waved at Michael as he drove back down the creek, to help us again. Rocket didn’t want

to go back into the headcatch, but with three guys pushing on her, she went in. Michael had to push the calf back into the uterus far enough so he could manipulate each hind leg, one at a time, up over the cow’s pelvis and bring it backward, and then pull the calf. It had been dead awhile and wasn’t full term. We let Rocket go back to the pen to finish licking her live baby. Andrea went to town later that week to pick up Sam and take her to the doctor to have her elbow checked. She was doing cartwheels at school, landed wrong and heard something snap. The doctor took an x-ray but couldn’t tell if it’s broken. He put it in a sling, and told her to come back in a week to have it checked again.

APRIL 27 We had more rainy weather and snow and put some of the cows and heifers in the barn to calve. Thursday we cleaned house. I made chili and corn bread and we had lunch when Walter and Jodi arrived. It was great to see Walter again and meet Jodi. Friday morning Andrea took Sam to the doctor to have her elbow checked again and this time the x-rays showed both bones obviously broken, next to the growth plates. She was to continue wearing the sling, with lots of padding to keep the elbow immobile, until the bone specialist could look at it today. He ordered a hinged brace for it, which he will put on tomorrow. Meanwhile, last Friday Walter and Jodi enjoyed helping us feed the cows. Jodi had been hoping to ride a horse, so Dani rode Ed, I rode Dottie, and we adjusted stirrups on Sam’s saddle for Jodi to ride Breezy. We rode over the low range, and were lucky to get that ride accomplished, because the weather got stormy by late afternoon and it rained the rest of the days of their visit! Yesterday they had to go back to Colorado, but before they left, Andrea took them for a drive up the creek, so Jodi could see the old cabin where Walter lived when he first came here in from Austria in 1980 and worked for us building fences. We’re still waiting for our last cow to calve. † Heather Smith Thomas is a long time Grainews columnist who ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

29

Cattleman’s Corner Better Bunks and Pastures

In-season breeding management tips Preparing bulls for breeding begins before turnout PETER VITTI

E

very year, I receive calls from a few people looking to increase the nutrition and care of their beef bulls just prior to the breeding season in order to assure good fertility on pasture. On each of these calls, I find it difficult to tell producers this type of attention should have already been done during wintertime. When bulls are finally released into the cowherd, it becomes a matter of managing supplements on pasture, watching their general well-being, and helping them cope with summertime heat-stress. Continuous bull management tends to keep the bulls in good shape, so as many cows and replacement heifers can be settled in a short breeding season, which contributes to ultimate financial success. Once on pasture, one of the first rules of good breeding management dictates an acceptable stocking bull-to-cow ratio is chosen.

CALCULATING BULL POWER Although an exact bull/cow ratio depends on many factors (re: bull age, condition, libido, fertility, and breed); a good rule of thumb follows “one cow - per one month of age of the bull up to three years of age.” For example, a 20-month old bull could be run with 20 cows, while a three-year old bull could mate with 36 cows, respectively. When grouping bulls in a multisire herd, it is a good idea to run bulls of similar ages, body size, and breed within the same cowherd group to minimize problems associated with fighting and individual bulls getting overused. For those operations that rotate bulls during the breeding season, older/experienced bulls should be use during the first part of the breeding season, followed up with the release of yearling bulls during the last few weeks. The idea is there is less breeding pressure upon young bulls because fewer open cows are available, which gives these yearlings more time to grow and mature. The optimum stocking rates usually parallels my expectation active breeding bulls can lose between 100 to 150 kg of body-

weight. This loss equates to 0.5 to 2.0 units of body condition score, despite good quality pasture (TDN = 62 – 65 per cent, crude protein = 11 – 12 per cent) that should provide much of the essential energy and protein breeding bulls (and cows) require. If a bull gets too thin (re: BCS less than 2.0), I recommend it be pulled from pasture and substituted with a similar bull in better body condition.

Bulls need proper care well before they head to pasture, and during breeding season, as well. Aside from providing good, quality pasture, I am a big advocate for providing a well-balanced mineral and vitamin program, which I believe is critical for maintaining good mineral status of breeding bulls (as well as cows). This contributes to good sperm production and libido. I recom-

mend feeding a “breeder-type” loose mineral fed at three to four ounces, daily that contains complementary calcium and phosphorus levels to pasture grasses and has “chelated/organic” copper, manganese, zinc and selenium of high bio-available properties as well as high levels of A, D and E. In addition, make sure cattle have salt and a good source of clean water. When putting out their minerals or other feed supplements, it is always a good idea to make daily observations about the general condition of each bull in the herd. I would watch for all types of physical problems ranging from eye injuries due to pinkeye to lameness caused by foot rot. On a rare occasion, I also have heard producers complain good bulls have broken their penis while breeding cows. Other producers have removed injured bulls due to fighting with other bulls.

PAY ATTENTION TO HEAT STRESS Aside from these concerns, heat-stress can be a big unseen problem, particularly for bulls released after the beginning of June. Temperatures above 27 C

with at least 60 per cent humidity can literary sterilize bulls. Fortunately, this type of sterility is temporary (re: sperm production and recovery takes about 60 days), yet I have seen poor conception rates in a few cowherds traced back to otherwise fertile but heat-stressed bulls. In one particular case, a producer showed me a 20-month-old bull that failed to breed a pot of 18 replacement heifers during a bout of 35 C weather, only to later successfully breed them in a fall-calving herd. It showed me that aside from providing trees for shade and a good source of water, there was really little the producer could do to combat severe bull suffering. Regardless of heat-stress, producers are never entirely helpless, even if their breeding season falls upon the hottest months of the year. They can still implement an effective fly control program. I often recommend the strategic use of treated fly ear-tags approved in Canada, as well as dust bags, and back rubbers filled with insecticide located in loafing areas on pasture. † 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 MAY 17, 2016

Cattleman’s Corner Dairy Corner

Doubling the weight of newborn calves Consider an accelerated feeding program over 56-days Peter Vitti

W

hen I tour a calf barn along with dairy producers, I often ask them what their main goal in raising baby calves to weaning? Many people respond that they wish to double the newborn’s bodyweight by weaning. My first thought is that this objective is truly challenging from any angle. To start, I calculate the average daily gain (ADG) that a typical neonate Holstein calf needs to verify if such calf barn ambition is probable in the first place. Therefore, a 95-lb. calf needs to gain 1.7 lbs./head/dairy to achieve a 190-lb. weaning-

CALF GROWTH RATES Conventional

Accelerated

Birthweight (lb.)

95

95

Weaning age (days)

56

56

ADG (g/d)

445

954

Weight at 56-day weaning

150

212

Milk replacer (kg.)

29

55

Calf starter (kg.)

34

20

$ 109

$ 233

Milk replacer cost Calf starter cost

$ 34

$ 20

Total feed costs

$ 143

$ 253

Source:  (Iowa State University, 2005)

weight, given an eight-week (56 day) period. Now that I got my head wrapped around this idea (which I believe is certainly achievable), I outline a successful accelerated plane of nutrition

and management for these high performance calves. As backup, I refer to the dairy scientists of Iowa State University, which states that the traditional way of feeding milk/milk replacer

at a rate of 1.25-1.5 per cent of the calf’s bodyweight only supplies enough energy and protein; to support neonate maintenance requirements with little left over to allow for modest growth rates. Whereas feeding milk/milk replacer at 2.02.5 per cent of their bodyweight allows identical calves to achieve “doubling birthweight” growth.

HIGHER PROTEIN MILK REPLACER Their research shows dairy calves grown on 28 per cent protein – 16 per cent fat milk replacers fed at approximately 900-1,000 grams per day can achieve desired daily growth rates of 1.0 kg per head, compared to 0.25- 0.5 kg per

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day on a standard 20 per cent protein – 20 per cent fat milk replacer diet fed at about 600-700 grams per day. These scientists point out most of this weight gain on test subjects is desirable skeleton and lean tissue growth, rather than fat deposition. Once these calves are weaned, they can easily be turned onto a conventional heifer ration. To illustrate this point, here is a comparison of an Iowa State University 56-day trial (see table) which compares the calf growth rates of a conventional and accelerated milk feeding programs: Other conventional science proves dairy producers should introduce a nutritious and palatable grain-based calf starter to four-day old calves. By three to four weeks of age, pre-weaned calves should be eating an appreciable amount (500600 g), which yields fermentation nutrients such as butyrate, which stimulates rumen papillae growth and metabolic activity. As a result in a short period, there becomes enough rumen digestion to help the pre-weaned calf meet its own energy requirements from dry feed as well as to facilitate weaning from milk or milk replacer.

SCOURS A CONCERN In addition, it has been my concern that newborn calves of less than three weeks of age consuming a lot of milk/milk replacer in these “double birthweight” milkfeeding programs are very susceptible to nutritional scours. When nutritional diarrhea strikes pre-weaned calves, it is seen as bright yellow, cream color or nearly white liquid; all signs that a recently consumed milk/ milk replacer meal was poorly digested). Not only does such poor milk digestion lead to poor absorption of essential nutrients the calf requires to live and grow, but also these unabsorbed nutrients in the calves’ gut tend to draw retained water from the calf’s tissues and into the gut lumen, which amplifies scouring. I added my own price inputs (bold and italicized) in the above table as: $75/20 kg bag of 20 – 20 – 20 standard milk replacer, $85 for a 20 kg bag of accelerated 26 – 26 – 16 milk replacer and $20 per 20 kg bag of a 21 per cent textured calf starter. I speculate advocates of accelerated calf feeding programs might say the respective $110 higher total cost to raise a pre-weaned dairy calf to weaning is offset by well-established economic benefits of future milking performance; first-lactation 305-d actual milk production is shown to be five to 15 per cent higher compared to conventional-reared herd-mates. Rather than be an advocate of “double birthweight” programs, I am more of assistant to dairy producers, who are interested. I recommend: first measure birth weight of newborn calves, measure milk/ milk replacer and calf starter consumption. Finally, measure 56-day weaned weights. These are important numbers and should be tied to both present and future performance benefits and profit. † 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.

MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

31

Home Quarter Farm Life SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Woes of the workaholic Working too much is harming farmers and their families Elaine Froese

S

ometimes the overwhelming demands of farming cause the entire body to slump at the kitchen table. Worn hands stroking greying hair and the eyes are reddened and glassy. Farming is one of those businesses where you live at your workplace. There is no line between work and home. It seems that work is always just out the back door. Working too much is killing farmers and their families. People with a work addiction see their jobs “as an escape and find it difficult to be emotionally present to their families,” says Dr. Bryan Robinson. Robinson is the author of Chained to the Desk… a guidebook for workaholics, their partners and children, and the clinicians who treat them. Many farm families push really hard in calving season, seeding, haying and harvest… but the healthy families take time to renew, rest, recreate and have fun. Workaholics follow self-imposed demands, can’t regulate their work habits, and just don’t know how to have fun with their family because they work too much. Farm men tend to wake up one day in their late 50s and realize

that they haven’t really developed any hobbies. They know how to work, but as the signs of reinvention or retirement start appearing, they wake up knowing that work consumes them. Some of their spouses have stopped asking for dates to have fun. Work addiction “masquerades as a positive addiction,” says Robinson. When did you ever hear someone praise the next generation for choosing not to put in the long hours like the farming founders did? The hardworking farmer is praised for always being in the field at sunrise, and working 16-hour days. He’s deemed a “really hard-working guy” and wears this label like a badge of honour. Did anyone ask the family members if Dad was present for the special parties, Sunday afternoon fun or a child’s baseball game? Men and women alike need to assess if they have supports built into their family habits to prevent workaholism from taking root. Here’s Robinson’s reality check: 1.  The source of work addiction is inside us. Workaholics are not team players, they need to control, and they can’t delegate. Dad’s inability to let go and always work is his choice. 2.  Workaholics create stress and burnout for themselves and fellow workers. You may have clear boundaries about taking time off or having breaks, but someone

else on your farm is pushing you to keep going when taking a rest would actually increase everyone’s productivity. 3.  Workaholics operate from a Messiah Myth that says they have to do it all and save the company. They believe the myth that they are superheroes, wedded to their farms. They actually have poor self-worth and difficulty with intimacy. They fear loss of control. 4.  Workaholics overextend them­selves to fill an inner void, to medicate emotional pain, and to repress a range of emotions. They tend to work for the sake of working. If you can’t unplug from your cellphone or email, technology is feeding your addiction. 5.  The release of adrenaline creates physiological changes that lead to a “work high” that becomes addictive. I wonder if this is the “high of seeding or harvest” which is followed by weeks of needing deep rest when the rush is over. 6.  You don’t need a job to qualify as having a work addiction. Maybe you’re a careaholic. You’re burning out as the caregiver of others and meeting the needs of others without taking care of yourself. Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect, by Jonice Webb is a good resource. 7.  Workers who live balanced lives are more efficient and productive. They bring greater quality to the job because they are less stressed and have clearer minds.

Recovery requires some deep processing of the source of the pain coming from the inside of the person. Boundaries need to be set and time needs to be managed. For more boundary tools see Boundaries, by Dr. Henry Cloud, and the book Margin, by Dr. Richard Swenson. It seems weird to say but work needs to lighten up and play needs to be taken more seriously. Are you trying to fill a void of loneliness that has its roots in your childhood experience? “Remove all hurriedness from your life,” was the advice of one of my mentors. Let go of the motto, “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” Don’t chime in to the culture of “nothing we do on this farm is ever good enough.” Farm relationships crumble when pressed overtime by grumpy farmers addicted to work. Don’t let your work style be manic and impractical. Use common sense! Workaholics think they’re only as good as their last project as their self-esteem tanks are running on empty. Performance is how they measure their worth. Remember you are a human being, not a “human doing.” “I’m so busy taking care of my family’s needs, I have no time to take care of myself!” Ouch! That’s a prescription for poor health. “The best predictor of a positive approach to work is a full life outside of work,” says Robinson.

I recently met a very successful young farmer who finds riding horses a good break from the stress of managing a huge farm. His horses are in a joint venture, so he gets to play, not just do all the work. Take time each day to find a healthy pace and anticipate fun and fellowship away from the fencelines. Ask yourself these questions: I do a lot of ____? Because it makes me feel ______? And helps me hide my fear of _____? The source of my belief comes from _________? Dr. Val Farmer said, “workaholic farmers are lazy at relationships.” Discover ways to support your family’s healing from work addiction. Call your local farm stress line. Your family needs you to be present and to celebrate with them. Your farm business will thrive when the farm manager lives a balanced life. Reinvention at age 65 or beyond will not be a dirty word when you’ve intentionally taken time out to create hobbies and have fun with family. Google “workaholism leads to farm family unhappiness.” Then make some changes! † Elaine Froese loses all track of time when she is coaching and speaking to farm audiences. She likes to visit friends, camp, paint, garden, kayak, and walk with her farm husband. Send her your best renewal ideas for farmers at elaine@elainefroese.com or call 1-866-8488311. Visit www.elainefroese.com or go to “farm family coach” on YouTube.com.

Passionate about peonies Saskatchewan grower has about 97 varieties

A

lthough Ursula Brons grew up with parents who enjoyed gardening, it wasn’t until she and her husband Elwin moved to their farm near Christopher Lake, Saskatchewan and she got her hands into the rich dark soil that she knew it would become a lifelong endeavour. Brons became enamored with peonies in 2004. “I jumped in with both feet and purchased three plants of about 10 varieties. The prices were atrocious at the time and it was difficult to find wholesalers,” she said. Brons joined the Prairie Peony Society and the Canadian Peony Society, and after several years she was up to 97 varieties — her garden resplendent with swaths of vibrant colour. “I thought, there have got to be 1,000 blossoms here; they’re beautiful — I can leave them or I could try selling them. I started researching cut flowers and began hitting the local farmers’ market, in both Prince Albert and Christopher Lake. I wanted to share them with people. Then it became like, if I can sell the cut flowers and market some of the roots, then I can afford to buy more peonies,” Brons said with a laugh. What attracted her to peonies? “We often think exotic blossoms are only in the tropics and we undersell some of the beautiful things that do grow here,” she says. Also deer and rabbits don’t prefer them and they are drought tolerant and reliable. The blossoms don’t last long, but with multiple varieties, you can stretch the season out over about a month. Once peonies have finished blooming, the foliage is still beautiful. “In a

flower bed, the peonies will make a nice backdrop — a green spot for the eye to rest,” she said. Peonies are some of the most hardy and beautiful perennials that can be grown on the Prairies, and will last a long time if properly cared for. Ideally, they should be planted in the fall (about mid-September) in a clay loam soil that is well drained. The eyes on the crown should only be about two inches below the surface of the soil, and the plants should be spaced about 1.2 metres (three to four feet) apart and kept free of weeds. Peonies prefer a sunny location. Brons grows varieties with sturdy stems. “I can’t possibly stake as many as I have,” she said, “and most of the time I cut the heavy doubles when they’re in bud. Brons precuts, sorts, and stores the flowers in the cool basement overnight prior to market day. “I make the bouquets at the market. People generally pick what colours and varieties they like and I mix and match. I read some books on flower arranging and joined a few forums that deal with marketing.” Brons appreciates the support and help her husband has provided over the years to make the peony farm a success. “His constant help from clearing the land, tilling, and manure hauling, to planning how the operation will work and how we will sell our products is instrumental for the success of our flower farm. This is a joint effort from both of us.” Brons has a website where people can learn more about growing peonies in northern climates, and order roots. For more information go to: www.borealfarms.com. † Edna Manning writes from Saskatoon, Sask.

photo: courtesy

BY EDNA MANNING

Ursula Brons is passionate about growing peonies.

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/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Home Quarter Farm Life

Stop putting off that visit

Emma Stamm loves being hugged.

BY MARIANNE STAMM

A

nna* was a farm woman in her late 70s when a major stroke put her in a wheelchair and robbed her of her vocal and written language. Before the stroke Anna was active in her church and community and enjoyed spending time with friends. Her friends don’t come by so often anymore. Anna misses them. Barbara* slipped away slowly. Once a very talkative social woman, she began to withdraw.

If someone called, she gave her husband the phone. She began to do things she hadn’t done before. Barbara had Alzheimer’s, or a form of it. As long as her husband was alive, friends enjoyed coming by for a visit. After his passing, she moved to the care home. Barbara has trouble forming a sentence and seldom recognizes her visitors. But she knows that family members belong to her in some way and loves to be held. Many people are uncomfortable with the Annas and Barbaras in their lives. They feel guilty when

they think about them; feel they should go visit but keep putting it off. What are they going to say? How will they make the time go by? SueAnn Drschiwiski is a retired nurse from Fort St. John, B.C., who spent years working with people like Anna and Barbara. She has some important tips for those who want to visit their family or friends and don’t know how. 1.  Touch them. “People love touch,” Drschiwiski says. Depending on the relationship, touch the person on the shoulder, or give them a hug.

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Only rinsed containers can be recycled

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Helps keep collection sites clean

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Use all the chemicals you purchase

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Keeps collection sites safe for workers

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Maintain your farm’s good reputation

LOVE HEARING FROM YOU Do you have a story about a farm- or homebased business? How about some household management tips? Does someone in the family have a special-diet need? Share some of your recipes and some meal ideas. Send them to FarmLife, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0H1. Phone 1-800-6650502 or email susan@ fbcpublishing.com. Please remember we can no longer return photos or material. Sue

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2.  Look them in the eyes. “The eyes are the mirror of the soul,” she says. They will express much that the person cannot put in words anymore. Are they happy to see you? Are they feeling depressed? 3.  Talk about things the person was always interested in. If they loved their garden, they will enjoy your descriptions of the neighbours’ or friends’ gardens. Tell them stories about people that were/are in their lives. Let them know what is going on in the community. 4.  Do things with them. This is especially helpful if you’re not good at carrying a conversation on your own, as is necessary with people who’ve lost their ability to speak. Bring a craft project. Even if the person can’t help you with it, they will enjoy watching you and it gives you something to do with your hands. Do a puzzle together or play the memory game. Remember to adapt the puzzle or game to the new mental ability. If there is staff or family nearby they will be happy to give advice. 5.  Watch an old movie together. Familiar movies often bring back memories and you could hear stories you’ve never heard before. 6.  Listen to music together; sing together. Music especially goes directly to the heart. Many won’t speak anymore, but they can still sing the words to their favourite songs. 7.  Look at photo albums together. Relive the old times. Talk about those family reunions, the crazy antics of Uncle Sam. The great thing about visiting someone with dementia is that you can tell the same stories over and over. (The memory of most stroke victims will be much better.)

photo: marianne stamm

Many feel uncomfortable visiting care homes but here’s some tips to keep in mind

8.  Bring another friend or family member. Make sure you’re inclusive though so the person you’re visiting doesn’t get left out. 9.  Take your babies or toddlers, if you have them. But be careful. If the person often acts inappropriately it may frighten the children. The children’s noise might aggravate the person. But most elderly folks love seeing little ones. Read a book together. 10.  Visits don’t have to be long. Half an hour is fine; in fact, longer visits can often tire the person. It is tempting to think that visiting someone with dementia, especially in the later stages, is pointless as the person will forget the visit soon after it is over. Care home personnel will be quick to say otherwise. So why should you go visit anyways? 1.  To let your loved one know he/she is loved. 2.  It makes them feel good while you are there. It will make you happy to make them happy. 3.  The person could have one of their ‘golden moments’ while you are there. A daughter lay beside her mother on the bed, when suddenly her mother turned to her, said her name and, “I love you.” She hadn’t said her daughter’s name in over a year. 4.  Often they are happier afterwards, sometimes for a day. The visit does good long after they have forgotten it. 5.  Everyone needs to be loved. Staff members don’t always have the time to spend with individuals as much as they would like. The Annas and Barbaras in your life will thank you for making the effort to visit them. And you might wonder afterwards why you waited so long to go. *Names changed to protect identity. †

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MAY 17, 2016 grainews.ca /

Home Quarter Farm Life PRAIRIE PALATE

Fondest food memories Amy Jo Ehman

I

lost my mom this spring. She had Alzheimer’s disease so, in a way, we had lost a great part of her already. It was incredibly sad. I was assigned the task of writing her obituary for the local newspapers. As I scanned the fondest memories of my mom, it seemed so many of them involved food. Gardening in spring. Berry (and weed) picking in summertime. Shucking corn and shelling peas. Gathering eggs and plucking chickens. Special birthday cakes and shelves upon shelves of pickles and preserves. And picnics. Like so many moms she could pull off bountiful family dinners with the precision of a drill sergeant. Yet when we sat down to eat, her chair was always empty. We’d refuse to start without her, but as soon as grace was said she’d find her way back to the kitchen for a missing spoon or another basket of her famous buns. My mom collected salt and pepper shakers. She had hundreds of them. So it was common, at special occasion dinners, to find a “theme” salt and pepper shaker at every place setting. There were gingerbread men (and women) for Christmas and baby chicks for Easter and Prairie icons such as grain elevators for special dinners in between. For birthdays, she would bake a cake of our choice. I always asked for chocolate angel food cake with toasted coconut frosting. She was a master at angel food cake. She always put coins in the cake, the largest denomination earmarked for the birthday girl or boy by a strategically placed toothpick. One year (when I was too smart for my

own good) I surreptitiously moved the toothpick. Mom got me back by ensuring I had the piece with the penny. Whoever got the penny had to do the dishes. About 10 years ago, I decided to learn to make mom’s dill pickles. I’m not a big fan of dill pickles but my husband loves them. He claims my mom’s dills are the best he’s ever had. The funny thing is, she didn’t eat pickles either! Then came the time, as it does in farm families, when Mom and Dad moved to a house in town so my brother and his family could live on the farm. That meant cleaning out two large freezers in the basement. At the bottom of one freezer we discovered several milk cartons of saskatoon berries labelled 1998. “Mom,” I said, “these saskatoons are older than your grandchildren!” She just laughed and shrugged. No matter how many saskatoon pies she made (and she made many) there were always more berries in waiting, like pennies in a bank. For a special treat Mom made cream puffs. They were large like tennis balls and filled with whipped cream. Biting into one side sent the whipped cream squooshing out the other. To a kid, this was food heaven. I thought my mom was magic. Then I grew up and discovered that cream puffs aren’t magic at all. They’re really quite easy to make, given a little patience and practice. This recipe comes from her copy of Cooking the Co-op Way. Instead of a dessert, I turn them into a savoury appetizer by making mini puffs and filling them with chicken or salmon salad. In France these savoury puffs are called gougère. But every now and then, to feed my nostalgia, I will fill them with whipped cream and think of Mom in heaven. † Amy Jo Ehman is the author of Prairie Feast: A Writer’s Journey Home for Dinner, and, Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens. She hails from Craik, Saskatchewan.

photo: amy jo ehman

So many good memories of my mom involved food

CREAM PUFFS 1 c. water 1/2 c. butter 1 c. flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 3 eggs

In a saucepan, heat the water and butter to a light boil. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. When the butter is melted, add the flour mixture all at once. Stir vigorously and continuously until it forms a ball of dough that leaves the sides of the saucepan clean. Remove from heat and cool five minutes. Add one egg and beat well, until fully incorporated. Repeat with the other two eggs. Drop mounds of batter onto a greased cookie sheet. The size may vary from that of a walnut for appetizer puffs to an egg for larger cream puffs. Space them well apart as the puffs will double in size. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, then lower the oven heat to 375 F and continue baking until the puffs are lightly browned, 20-25 minutes for large puffs and 10-15 minutes for small puffs. Turn off the oven, open the door and allow the puffs to cool for a few minutes. To serve, cut a slit in the side of each puff and spoon in the filling of your choice.

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/ grainews.ca MAY 17, 2016

Home Quarter Farm Life SINGING GARDENER

2016 rose from the Canadian Artist series Plus, Ted shares some potato information as a result of an email from a reader ted meseyton

photo: courtesy philip ronald

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This is Oscar Peterson, rose of the year for 2016 in the Canadian Artist series. It has an upright habit with clean, glossy foliage. Large semidouble flowers are cream coloured in bud, opening to pure white with a centre of yellow stamens. Rose growers want a variety that’s extremely disease resistant with Prairie hardiness (Zone 3). Oscar Peterson meets all these attributes.

photo: courtesy mary adams

ith today’s means of fast transportation and instant communication we can truly say it is indeed a small, small world. I, Ted, say that because John, one of our local Canada Post parcel delivery fellows arrived at the door with seeds from Vicky at Early’s Farm & Garden Centre in Saskatoon, phone 1-800667-1159, www.earlysgarden.com. John the parcel guy and I got to talking about sprouting seed potatoes. Lo and behold if he didn’t tell me that he got mix variety seed potato packs — from yes, you guessed it — Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes at Bowden, Alberta, phone 1-877-224-3939, www.seedpotatoes.ca. Further along, I’ll have something to say about spuds as a result of an email from Grainews farmers based near Mayerthorpe, Alberta. Added to that is a new rose I’ll talk about from the Canadian Artist series. The whole nine yards (meaning the complete list or full story) should be more than enough to fill this Singing Gardener page. Got pictures too! After a lot of breezy days in April with fluctuating temps and varying amounts of rain, wet snow and wind, it should be safe to tip my welcoming hat to each and every one without concern it might blow out of my hand.

OSCAR PETERSON ROSE It’s quite an honour in the plant world when a newly introduced rose is named after someone. For example, in the Canadian Artist series we already have Felix Leclerc, rose of the year for 2009 and Emily Carr, rose of the year for 2011. The latest introduction from the breeding program of Agriculture Canada is Oscar Peterson, deemed rose of the year for 2016 in the Canadian Artist series. Watch for it already potted and growing at many garden centres and greenhouses throughout Canada. Here are some highlights. Oscar Peterson rose is a disease-resistant, repeat-blooming, upright plant of complex parentage. Sparkling-white semi-double flowers are enhanced by a large boss of golden stamens that drop cleanly. It’s probably the best non-suckering white rose to come along and so would double as an attractive hedge with an ideal height in the range of 1.5 metres (up to six feet) and a spread of 1.2 metres (four feet). For more information go online to www.jeffriesnurseries.com, email jeffries@mts.net or phone 1-888-857-5288.

WHO WAS OSCAR PETERSON? He was born in Montreal, August 15, 1925. Oscar started playing piano from a young age and as an adult was recognized as one of the foremost jazz musicians of his era. His phenomenal career of making music spanned 65 years, during which he is credited with more than 300 compositions. He performed and recorded with numerous jazz greats and has been recognized for his many accomplishments, including eight Grammy Awards and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. Oscar Peterson passed away on December 23, 2007, but his musical legacy lives on. He is now recognized with the Oscar Peterson rose named in his honour.

This peeled Sangre potato is connected to an inquiry from the grower. Details are provided under — Subject: Potato Problem — that appear on this page. Sangre is a midseason, good-storage variety with dark-red skin and oval- to oblong-shaped tubers, shallow eyes and white flesh.

SUBJECT: POTATO PROBLEM Original message April 19, 2016. — From: Lyle and Mary Adams Hi Ted, Thank you for your interesting and informative articles in the Grainews. Your page is the first one I read! I have always grown a bumper crop of potatoes, both white and red, for the past 36 years. I’ve been growing a variety of reds called Sangre. They are a medium- to large-size potato with smooth skin and nice flavour. I find they stay firm and last long into June in the cold room. However, last year, over half of them had a fine, thread-like dark line that extended one-quarter inch into the flesh. I can’t determine what it is exactly. I purchased new seed last year. Could something have come from them? Or is it something that’s in my soil? Have you heard or experienced anything like this? We live on a farm outside of Mayerthorpe, Alberta. Our soil type is grey wooded with a pH of 5.8-6.0. The garden has a base of sand, peat and manure. I look forward to hearing from you. — Mary. Sent from my iPad. Ted’s reply and suggestions (also see picture of reference potato on this page). I, Ted, spoke with a learned commercial seed potato producer. He’s not 100 per cent sure and it’s

a guess but thinks wireworms penetrated your potato tubers. Keep in mind it could be caused by something else and you can’t always diagnose accurately from only a picture. He also suggests doing a Google Internet search. Your soil pH is acceptable. From both our perspectives here’s some additional information and suggested controls. Wireworms are the larvae of the click beetle. They can become a problem when potatoes are planted in an area that was recently sodded, especially where alfalfa grew previously, as alfalfa can be a host for wireworm. In such case, move to a different garden spot preferably where peas and beans have grown. Both of these legumes fix nitrogen in the soil that provides a definite nutritional benefit to potato plants. Apply manure in fall prior to freeze-up is preferred and work it well into soil. Manure applied in spring can contribute to scab disease. When planting your spuds, place a handful of crumpled, dried onion skins in the planting hole under each seed potato. This may help ward off wireworms and potato beetles. Also a sugar and water spray, or kelp and water spray sprinkled inside planting hole and/or on foliage will help. Most insects cannot digest sugar as it can be fatal to them. Both sugar water spray and/or kelp mixed into soil or applied as a water spray raise the brix (the sugar content of an aqueous solution) so may increase sugar content in potatoes during conversion of starch; something diabetics may not want. Of course, we are not scientists nor studied this and it’s purely our opinion. Some potatoes are being developed now with a low glycemic index. We can’t resolve every problem totally but do the best we can. Later, Mary sent the followup. Thanks for the information Ted. I did a search on wireworms and it appears that the wireworm leaves a definite hole in the potato. The outside skin on my potatoes does not show any boreholes at all. It is only when you remove the peel that those dark threads are seen. I routinely rotate my garden crops around each year and last year the potatoes were planted where onions, carrots, Swiss chard, beets, lettuce and cucumbers were the year before. I certainly will be on the lookout for the larvae and for the beetles too. And will follow your advice at planting time. Thanks again for your time investigating this issue for me. I’ll let you know how this year’s crop turns out. — Mary. Sent from my iPad.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JOHN DILLINGER The above is a song title recorded by Canada’s balladeer and yodelling cowboy — the late Wilf Carter. Music with heart and lyrics that reflect emotion and feeling about real-life events were one of Wilf’s great gifts. With just his voice and guitar, Wilf recorded said song and hundreds of others. There are numerous historical events connected to gangster John Dillinger and here’s one of the least known about his startling escape from prison using the versatile and incredible potato as an aid. It’s reported that Dillinger confiscated a whole potato from the prison kitchen supply of vegetables. He carved out the replica of a real-life pistol with that same spud, dyed it with iodine and successfully escaped from prison. So much more to tell Grainews buds about versatile spuds — perhaps in a future column dedicated to potatoes. Meantime, don’t miss what I have to say in my closing tag. †

This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man. There are many stories as to the origin of the word “spud” for potatoes. The following account goes back to at least the 1840s. One story says spud results from a small, narrow tool shaped like a spade, used for digging up potatoes. Other similar tools were also called spuds and served a variety of purposes, such as digging up weeds and harvesting parsnip roots. In other words, a spud was more or less a small spade. The use of “spud” for potato is also connected to one of the most common Irish names. For some reason people named Murphy frequently acquired the nickname Spud and it led to the expression “as common as potatoes.” Here in Canada, spud for potato is also frequently interchanged with the word “tater.” There’s even a country song with lyrics that say, “take an old cold tater and wait.” My email address is: singinggardener@mts.net.

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This editorial was produced by Glacier FarmMedia’s sponsored content team on behalf of Crop Production Services. Grainews’ editorial department had no involvement in the creation of the content.

Long-term soil management just one tool to maximize canola yields ANNEMARIE PEDERSEN FREELANCE WRITER

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hen trying to maximize canola yields, it’s a no-brainer that an excellent fertility program is crucial. Canola varieties today are better than ever at reducing the risk of disease and increasing things like standability and drought tolerance. But according to Lyle Cowell, manager, agronomic services with CPS, no matter how good the options, canola variety selection will not influence nutrient requirements. So what are the tools available to canola growers in 2016?

A BIG TOOLBOX Agronomic tools such as seedbed utilization, rotations, fertilizer application timing and harvesting methods such as early desiccation and straight-cutting, can be used effectively to manage and maximize canola yields. But it all starts with selecting the right variety, with the right mix of attributes, in the right field, with high fertility.

FIRST DECISION – VARIETIES Every growing season begins with the most important decision – selecting the variety. Most canola growers will use yield as a driving factor in that choice. “The yield component is obviously essential,” says Cowell. “However, there are a number of canola breeding programs that now have very little difference between peak yield potential. When we are setting a very high yield goal, the other attributes of a variety become very important. Standability, disease tolerance, and weed control options are perhaps the next three most important measures of a variety. For some growers, the variety maturity is an additional consideration.” For many years Jon Prins has been growing canola with three generations of his family including his grandfather Bill and his father, Kent Prins, near Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. They switch

up the canola varieties seeded year-to-year on approximately 2,500 acres. “Right now we are switching between Round-Up Ready and Liberty varieties to help manage weeds,” said Prins. This allows them to select crop protection options in different groups with different modes of action. Prins is always on the lookout for the new varieties being developed and attends crop tours every year.

but maybe one year we will add faba beans or peas to the mix.” The importance of good crop rotations cannot be overstated, according to Cowell. “Crop rotation can impact soil fertility, soil and residue-borne diseases, insect pest pressure and seed bed quality. It’s a huge factor, and one that can affect many different elements of agronomy.”

SOIL MANAGEMENT

The four Rs are critical to remember when discussing fertilizer management – right time, right rate, right product and right placement. “You really need to have all of these in place to hit big yields,” says Cowell. “For example, nitrogen fertilizer needs to be applied at a sufficient rate very early in the season for the canola crop and the nitrogen should be banded under the soil to minimize loss and immobilization by previous crop residue. Before we look for a new magic bullet, we need to focus on these basic steps.” Canola is a cool season crop with a short growing season. Since very few nutrients are easily absorbed by leaf tissue, managing fertilizer application will depend on the nutrient. “Sulphur in a sulphate form can be quite efficiently applied as a top dress application before or soon after seeding canola,” says Cowell. “It’s a soluble nutrient that will quite easily move to the root system. However, phosphorus is not very soluble in soil, cannot be easily absorbed through leaf tissue and must be available to the crop quite early in the season. Most phosphorus should be applied near the developing root system.” Seedbed utilization is a best practice in fertilizer application in the seed row. “Certain fertilizer nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium are far more efficiently used if placed near the developing seed roots. And we have to remember that a canola seedling starts off with a pretty small root system,” says Cowell. It’s important to remember that roots only take up crop nutrients in a salt form dissolved in soil water. While this is required, if there are too many fertilizer salts near the root system, it can also

Everything starts off with very fertile soil. “A high yielding crop is not going to be achieved in just one year. It will be the end result of well-managed soil over many years,” says Cowell. Prins has 25 years of data on his fields to help him make accurate nutrient decisions, along with soil tests and agronomic advice. They run soil tests on their land every year or two to ensure they are making sound decisions. “There are definitely fields that have more potential,” says Prins. “We document yields, soil sample regularly and watch inputs so we know how we should approach each field.” With the goal of a high yield in mind, farmers really need to start with the right field. “For much of our western Canadian soils, the primary yield limitation would be nitrogen and phosphorus,” says Cowell. “They may not all need to be supplied by fertilizer, and in fact to achieve very high yields, a farmer should select a field with very high natural fertility.”

CROP ROTATIONS Jon Prins is considering changes to a few practices on his farm in order to maximize his crop yields. Currently they’re seeding canola in a three-year rotation with wheat and barley that also supports their cattle operation, which in turn provides a valuable fertilizer input. The Prins family has been encouraged to extend the canola rotations by their agronomist. “He is pushing for a three-year or even four-year rotation if we can. We haven’t gone as far as four yet

FERTILIZER APPLICATION

Yield potential is not the same on every field. Jon Prins uses 25 years of field data to help him fine-tune his fertility program in order to maximize canola yields. damage the seedling. “This can become an issue when we’re trying to achieve very high yields with very high rates of fertilizer,” says Cowell. “I think it’s still wise to apply at least some of the phosphorus fertilizer with the seed, with a safe rate based on soil conditions. The balance of required fertilizer will need to be applied out of the seed row. “When we expect to grow a big yield, we know that this will require a lot of nutrients, and these are best supplied to root systems early in the year.”

NO MAGIC BULLET A good yield is the product of many, many factors. Lyle Cowell sums it up well. “Soil fer-

tility management will certainly vary per soil zone and localized soil texture. Canola variety selection will not influence nutrient requirements. I would suggest that a farmer select a variety for the right characteristics for each farm and field and set realistic yield goals. Fertility requirements will then need to reflect the yield goal and native fertility of the soil.” And at the end of the day, there’s one variable that has the greatest impact on the health and yield of the crop and it’s completely out of the farmer’s control – the weather. “You can do many things to maintain yield but the biggest factor will always be the weather and growing conditions,” says Prins. Some things never change. †

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