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NEWS
JANUARY 5, 2012 | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | THE WESTERN PRODUCER
Mother Nature goes wild As a nasty winter turned into a cool wet spring in 2011, farmers were concerned about crop prospects and seeding was delayed across much of the country. “It was potentially a big hit, billions of dollars on the economy of the West,” he said. “Then a remarkable thing happened. Someone turned the faucet off. Summer came.” The long, hot autumn allowed crops to mature and harvest to be completed without major losses. The year was also notable for the unusual summer. “This summer, depending upon where you live, was the summer of summers for middle Canada and was really disappointing for the coasts, where summer came but it seemed to be after Labour Day.” Summer’s heat was a result of a huge dome of air trapped over 40 U.S. states and the four central provinces. Ontario recorded many record highs and people in and near Winnipeg were ecstatic, Phillips said. “You couldn’t say anything nasty
about the summer in Winnipeg. Even the mosquitoes left town and went to Edmonton, and the Jets came home.” The most troubling weather event on the list, from a long-term and global perspective, was the record low Arctic sea ice, said Phillips. “In 2011, we saw the sea ice extent … diminish to its second lowest in 50 years. We saw the volume of ice to be its lowest ever, eight percent lower than it was the previous year.” Number 10 on the list was high winds in Alberta in November. Though southwestern Alberta is known as one of the windiest places in Canada, speeds recorded during Grey Cup week were noteworthy. Phillips said wind reached speeds of more than 144 km/h and there was an unconfirmed report of 200 km/h in Pincher Creek. Part of downtown Calgary was shut down when the wind blew out window glass in high-rises. Damage across southern Alberta is still being tallied.
RESEARCH | FROM PAGE ONE
Breeders to ramp up stress fighters The research builds on previous studies into abscisic acid, a stress hormone triggered when a plant encounters drought. In 2009, Cutler assisted in the discovery of abscisic acid receptors, which are activated by the hormone and control a plant’s response to drought. “The receptor is like the conductor,” said Cutler. “It controls the whole orchestra that does all these responses.” With that knowledge Cutler went to work “supercharging” the plant’s stress response, modifying these receptors so that they can be turned on at will and locked in their “on” state to improve stress tolerance. “If you can modify the plant so that it lasts just a few days longer under conditions of drought than other varieties, then when the water does come back — when the rain does return — you can improve the amount of yield that the farmer gets out at the end of the day,” said Cutler. The results of his study , which was funded by the National Science Foundation and Syngenta Biotechnology, were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in December. Cutler’s team examined Arabidop-
sis, a close relative of canola and a plant beneficial to researchers because it grows quickly, but he said the research is applicable to all plants. “These hormones and the ways that plants cope with these stresses are shared by all plants,” said Cutler. “So new information from corn can be relevant for wheat. New information from canola or our plant … can be extremely informative for the crops that farmers care about.” Cutler said it will be many years, if ever, before the research hits the field. The team still has to show that supercharging these responses will improve yields in crop plants. “But we’ve shown that we know how to do that, and other work has shown that supercharging by other tricks can improve yield,” Cutler said. “And so we’re moving toward that next step.” Other research, including drought tolerant corn developed by Monsanto and BASF, is further along the pipeline. “The goal is not to turn corn or wheat into a cactus-like plant. It’s to broaden the range of environments it can be productive in and maximize the yield when conditions aren’t ideal,” said Cutler.
REGULAR FEATURES
INSIDE THIS WEEK
WEATHER | FROM PAGE ONE
Ag Stock Prices Classifieds Events, Mailbox Livestock Report Market Charts Opinion Open Forum On The Farm Weather
COLUMNS
Moments: The wet spring was a major newsmaker on the Prairies. For more photos from 2011, see page 61. | WILLIAM DEKAY PHOTO
NEWS
» APP FOR THAT: Agriculture » » »
is expected to become one of the biggest users of smartphone technology. 5 RISE AND FALL: The demise of the wheat board monopoly took decades. What’s next for the marketing agency? 14 ALUS PILOT: Four Saskatchewan RMs participate in an Alternative Land Use Services pilot project. 18 UNAUTHORIZED DRAINAGE: Wet weather causes a backlog in drainage complaints in Saskatchewan. 20
» TRADE TIGHTROPE: Canada’s » » »
new trade minister defends his anti-protectionist stance at world trade talks. 23 MORE IRRIGATION: A proposed water supply system in Saskatchewan could permit expanded irrigation. 26 THINKING LONG TERM: A new corporation is proposed to spearhead irrigation in Saskatchewan. 27 BROWN TREES: Farmers need to become detectives when determining what is causing their evergreens to brown. 63
MARKETS 6
» CWB GLITCH: A pricing glitch at the CWB »
could cause grain handling headaches. 6 SMALLER HERD: Record cattle prices fail to spark herd rebuilding in North America. 7
» GRAIN BAGS: Researchers try to back up »
farmers’ grain bag stories with science. 28 RECYCLING BAGS: A proliferation of farm plastic prompts calls for recycling. 30
» WHEAT DDG: A study finds wheat DDGs make a suitable livestock feed. TRACEABILITY: A national movement document may improve traceability.
65 67
AGFINANCE 70
» BIODIESEL FUNDING: A biodiesel plant in »
A photo on page 3 of the Dec. 22 issue had part of a protester’s sign obscured. The sign referred to “$20 billion gone” with the loss of the Crow Benefit transportation subsidy and was not referring to the Canadian Wheat Board.
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CONTACTS Larry Hertz, Publisher Ph: 306-665-9625 larry.hertz@producer.com Joanne Paulson, Editor Ph: 306-665-3537 newsroom@producer.com Terry Fries, News Editor Ph: 306-665-3538 newsroom@producer.com Newsroom inquiries: 306-665-3544 Newsroom fax: 306-934-2401 Paul Yanko, Website Ph: 306-665-3591 paul.yanko@producer.com Barbara Duckworth, Calgary Ph: 403-291-2990 barbara.duckworth@producer.com
Barb Glen, Lethbridge Ph: 403-942-2214 barb.glen@producer.com Karen Briere, Regina Ph: 306-359-0841 karen.briere@producer.com
LIVESTOCK 65
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Editorial Notebook Hursh on Ag Market Watch Perspectives on Management Animal Health Cowboy Logic TEAM Living Tips Health Clinic Speaking of Life
Mary MacArthur, Camrose Ph: 780-672-8589 mary.macarthur@producer.com
PRODUCTION 28
Alberta receives federal funding. 70 DROUGHT CORN: Monsanto wins approval for its drought tolerant corn variety. 71
FARM LIVING 74
Clarification
70 33 64 9 8 10 12 78 79
Ed White, Winnipeg Ph: 204-943-6294 ed.white@producer.com Ron Lyseng, Winnipeg Ph: 204-654-1889 ron.lyseng@producer.com Robert Arnason, Brandon Ph: 204-726-9463 robert.arnason@producer.com Barry Wilson, Ottawa Ph: 613-232-1447 barry.wilson@producer.com
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allowed to die in one rural community. 75 PEREHUDOFF EXHIBIT: New exhibit shows a different side of Saskatchewan artist. 76
New Year’s Resolution #1:
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