AgriPost April 30 2021

The AgriPost

Seeding Wheat in March is Unusual

Jim Pallister farming near Portage la Prairie tweeted that it is dry and on March 22 it was their earliest start to seeding by ten days although they are Supplied photo not confident there is moisture for proper germination.

By Harry Siemens Frost seeding or simply making a farm practise decision, it is all the same to Jim Pallister of Pallister Farms near Portage la Prairie, MB when he put in his first wheat, Starbuck and Faller ten days earlier than ever before.

“It’s dry. March 22 is our earliest start here by ten days. Not confident there is moisture for proper germination,” tweeted Pallister.

Others quickly ajoined the fray, with former MLA and cattle breeder Cliff Graydon tweeting a, “Turtle wouldn’t get anywhere if he didn’t stick his neck out.”

“But farming isn’t like lotto tickets; you do expect to win every year, lotto tickets you just hope you do.” Alf Cleggett asked Pallister why start so soon, there may be a little

more time.

Two reasons said Pallister, “It might get drier. It might get wetter.”

While Jason Rempel said, “If it catches and survives, great.

If not, reseeding isn’t that expensive.”

While soil temperatures do not differ too in an area at this time of year, Pallister figures it is going to hover around zero, freezing at night, until it fully warms up.

Skip Klinefelter in south central Illinois said, “Jim, we are making up for your early start, did a little fieldwork then have had 4+ inches rain in last two weeks with 3+ forecast that night. No March planting here this year in S Central IL!” Pallister responded, “Sounds good. Nice to get some rain!

Early planted corn and beans in the cold ground won’t grow

anyway. We are just planting wheat. South Dakota is doing tons of frost seeding now to get a jump on the drought and heat.”

On April 22, Pallister said the snow of several weeks back would help with germination with many seeds laying in the dry ground while the March wheat is starting to come up until the cold temperatures of April 24.

On Saturday morning, initially teasing, Pallister said that he felt they might have to replant everything seeded so far. “Soil can’t go below freezing. Zero is as far as it can go during the night I learned in grade 11 physics. Wheat is tough, tough.”

Back on March 23, Pallister said the early seeding took them by surprise too. “We haven’t had hardly any rain since the

end of August 2020, or moisture. Some snow blew off the field, but fields are black and open, and the ground dry, and it’s either going to rain. I mean, we either got to find moisture right now or wait. Maybe we’ll wish we had.”

He said that they are seeding quite a bit of spring wheat but getting back into canola a little bit after taking a one-year hiatus, but it is pretty hard to resist. “Even $14, even $13 canola, that’s pretty hard to resist,” said Pallister.

Now with $20, bushel canola, it may be even harder to resist. Pallister Farms also grows Navy and some Pinto beans but no peas. He said that they grow “Edible beans because worldwide with people at home, opening cans of beans over the last year. Do you know?”

April 30, 2021

Be Vigilant Against Invasive Species on Manitoba Farms “Manitobans can all play a part in protecting our province from invasive species, many of which can have significant ecological impacts on our province,” said Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen.

Manitoba has been working to raise public awareness of invasive species for decades and remind Manitobans of the constant threat they pose. The annual cost of controlling invasive species in Canada runs in the billions of dollars, so the importance of prevention cannot be underestimated.

The emerald ash borer (EAB) has been found in Winnipeg and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has designated the city as a control zone. Firewood of any species, ash nursery stock and any kind of ash wood cannot be moved in or out of Winnipeg without permission from CFIA. While Dutch elm disease, an invasive fungal disease, has been successfully managed in many areas in the province, the same management options do not exist for EAB. The key to defending Manitoba’s trees from this invader is prevention and early detection. Everyone is reminded not to move any firewood from the city to rural areas and vice versa, as this could move a forest invasive species like EAB. Manitoba is also home to some invasive plants, many of which can be mistaken for wildflowers. Unlike native wildflowers, these species can threaten agricultural productivity of both cultivated and non-cultivated land, as well as waterways and natural areas. The Noxious Weeds Act of Manitoba requires control or destruction measures for different invasive plants. For more information on noxious weeds in Manitoba, visit gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/weeds.

April 30, 2021

The AgriPost

Moisture and Seeding All Over the Map Say Farmers

By Harry Siemens An informal survey of farmers on Twitter taking in the snow and rain event of April and then reports on seeding preparation showed extremely dry seeding areas while others waited for it to warm up and dry.

Dan Stewart of Clearwater, MB, on the crazy and sometimes excessive temperature and weather swings this spring said, “Mother Nature needs to change up her meds or something. Bad mood swings.”

“A farmer from Crystal City said these massive temperature swings aren’t helping that’s for sure. Some consistent sun and heat would be lovely.” His Twitter handle @bigbushelsag said fairly decent conditions but will need timely rains to grow an outstanding crop this season.

Dianne Riding, a cow-calf producer from Lake Francis near Lake Manitoba and St. Laurent, said not enough moisture here, very dry. “Guess I will be sending my cows to your place next winter,” referring to Ben E. Fox of Dauphin who said adequate moisture, snow still in some fields around Dauphin.

Ron Krahn at Rivers, MB said seeding is going well with a good start in the wheat and early April wheat germinated. “Very little seeding is happening in the area though. Moisture conditions are good so far. Nice not to have to seed around mud holes like some other springs.”

Gilbert Sabourin at St. Jean-Baptiste said heavy winds on the second day of snow, filled road ditches and the tree lines.

On April 23 Ron Krahn said this picture was taken the day before his father Abe’s 75th birthday.

He said he started working in the field when he was 9 with a 30 hp tractor. So this is year 66 of farm work.

Ron Krahn at Rivers, MB said seeding is going well with a good start in the wheat and early April wheat germinated.

Supplied photos

“There will be nice green grass in the ditches, and the trees will flourish. Hopefully some good moisture in the fields as well.”

Eldon Klippenstein or @bsfarmzeldon received about three tenths to one-half inch of rain on April 9. “Thinking it’s safe to say the moisture value from the snow is somewhat similar.

Lots blew into ditches and shelterbelts.”

Tom Teichroeb, a cow-calf rancher near Langruth, MB said, “No seeding is going here yet.

It looks like this weekend some neighbours will start.”

Jack Froese at Winkler, harrowing fields in preparation for planting corn, possibly early next week depending on temperatures said, “Quite a few guys are rolling and seeding spring wheat.”

Trevor Peterson or @wheatiepete from Red Deer County, Alberta hadn’t started when contacted. He explained that “Semi got stuck in a no-till field today and frost at about the 5-inch mark. Moisture is okay at this point.”

Ken Foster of Arborg noted that, “Nothing is happening here yet, probably next week. Moisture is perhaps okay for germination, but the crops will need rain.”

Gunter Jochum who farms with his family St. Francois Xavier, MB said April 16, “We got a

good amount of snow, but it didn’t all stay in every field. The standing stubble trapped more than tilled fields. I’m just guessing, but it may have been as much as 3/4” liquid moisture. Very welcome but there is no runoff from this storm.”

Robert Brunel of Ste. Rose, MB said April 23, “Ground is white again this morning, a week or more away from being able to hit the fields.”

Landon Friesen at Crystal City started with peas on April 21, “With them going into excellent seeding pleasant conditions, seeding half-inch below the moisture.”

Korey Peters at Randolph, MB said on April 22, “A bit damp around field edges still. Able to work in some spring-applied manure today and hopefully start #plant21 with some wheat on Monday.” He said the moisture is moving down but slowly because of the heavy clay soils.

“Looks like really nice seeding conditions right now. Hopefully, it stays this way.”

Pam Pugh, indicative of many areas said, “They did not get very much moisture. Our dugout is still very dry and where it did snow, there is a little moisture, but the rest of the field is dry.”

Milk Plant Closure Won’t Affect Manitoba Dairies

By Elmer Heinrichs The large Quebec dairy producer, Agropur Cooperative, is closing its Winnipeg fluid milk production plant in September.

Agropur, which acquired the plant in 2014 from Sobeys along with plants in Edmonton and Burnaby will consolidate its Western Canadian milk production in its other western Canadian plants.

The closure of the plant, which primarily made Lucerne-brand milk for Sobeys and Safeway, will mean the layoff of close to 50 workers later this fall. The company, based in the Montreal area, said some employees will have employment opportunities at other Agropur sites and will receive severance packages.

Agropur says it is closing the plant in order to optimize its fluid milk manufacturing operations, adding given current market conditions, the company made a strategic decision to concentrate its fluid milk manufacturing operations for West-

ern Canada at three other facilities, located in Burnaby and Victoria in British Columbia and Edmonton, Alberta.

“Unfortunately, the level of investment required to maintain the plant’s competitiveness in the coming years was becoming too high” said CEO Emile Cordeau in a statement. “This will help simplify our business model and ensure our competitiveness.”

The closure of the plant – one of the largest of 11 dairy processing facilities in the province – is not going to mean a disruption in the volumes of milk produced by the 259 dairy farms in the province that work under the

regulated supply management model.

David Wiens, chairman of the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, a producer organization, said that while producers would have preferred the processor remained operating in Manitoba, it will only mean less milk will need to be shipped into Manitoba from Saskatchewan and Alberta.

When Agropur closes, the province will be left with 10 dairy processors, and Manitoba producers will be able to meet the demand, noting that two plants, Saputo at Brandon, and Bothwell Cheese have increased their useage recently, said Wiens.

Agropur Cooperative fluid milk production plant in Winnipeg.

The AgriPost

Seed as Early as Possible

By Les Kletke Brunel Sabourin with Antara Agronomy Services knows that you only get one chance to seed so it is best to do it right.

“We have a short season for planting so it is best to be ready and to do it right,” said Sabourin who was part of the Plant 21 panel sponsored by Agvisor Pro. Sabourin’s data confirms what most farmers believe intuitively, early seeding is the best option. He has been conducting various field scale trials in recent years and said that early seeding has shown benefits.

“We have a short season and it is import to get the seed in the ground early but it is also important to get good seed placement and an even emergence of the crop,” he said.

Data is available on the drop in corn yields when the crop

merges unevenly. The result is overall different maturity times for the crop planted at the same time. Sabourin said the same effect is evident on other crops.

He is familiar with the heavy soils of the Red River Valley and the advantage of minimizing the number of passes over the field. He told participants that most of the fertilizer goes down with the seed because top dressing can be an issue on the heavy soils.

Chad Andrukow, another one of the panelists, suggested that producers put 75% of the fertilizer down with the seed, and apply the rest later if moisture conditions warrant it. All 4 of the agronomists on the panel voiced concern about the lack of moisture going into seeding across western Canada.

Some cereal crops were planted in early April in the

Brunel Sabourin.

St. Jean-Baptiste area but producers were waiting for warmer conditions and some moisture.

Producers agree with Sabourin that it is a short season for planting and they are best to get it right the first time.

“Reseeding is never a good option, it is a last resort and never yields like a crop that gets in early,” said one producer.

Those that were planting were intending to get some cereal crops in the ground but would be waiting for warmer soil temperatures before proceeding with soybeans and corn.

Using Body Cameras for Animal Welfare Assessments

By Harry Siemens The use of body cameras proves valuable in conducting animal welfare assessments amid the current restrictions designed to prevent the spread of COVID19.

Researchers with Western College of Veterinary Medicine evaluated the use of body cameras, similar to those used by police departments, as an option for barn personnel to support remote animal welfare assessments.

Dr. Giuliana Miguel Pacheco at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine said producers could use animal welfare assessments to monitor their pigs’ wellbeing and assurance programs such as the Canadian Qual-

ity Assurance program.

“Because of animal welfare science, we know that animals require minimum living conditions to have a life worth living.”

There they carry out welfare assessments to assess that animal care standards are providing animals with good welfare. Running welfare assessments and using the information to improve living conditions could improve consumer trust in farms especially with the public.

Body cameras become part of the picture because they facilitate the monitoring of animals at any point in time or monitoring various farms at the same time. They could help producers to manage their animals more effectively.

Also, enabling production managers to streamline several barns’ assessments can support animal care and management within their animals’ companies.

On top of these benefits for animals Dr. Giuliana Miguel Pacheco at the Western Coland produclege of Veterinary Medicine said producers could use body camera animal welfare assessments to ers, it can remonitor their pigs’ wellbeing and assurance pro- duce travel grams such as the Canadian Quality Assurance costs for those program.

in charge of assessments and biosecurity risks for the farms involved.

Dr. Pacheco said when researchers looked into how to reach many farms to collect data; COVID-19 was not part of the picture, so this approach helps to work around the current restrictions.

Dr. Yolande Seddon said they will always need live assessments but this also provides the virtual ability and increased oversight.

In terms of automating this, if the research shows value in assessing animal welfare on carcasses at slaughter, they would need to automate that process because of the volume of animals processed in an abattoir coming from across the country.

“That would mean that we could automate the feedback and the understanding of the knowledge that is coming off these animals to have a continuous feedback loop.”

She said there is a lot of research going into artificial intelligence and how imaging systems can pick up animals’ behaviours. Also, marks on animals or indicators further down the line, could automate data capture on farms to help manage the animals and build up data on animal care.

Dr. Seddon said the video would not replace live assessments, but it adds another layer of oversight.

April 30, 2021

The AgriPost

April 30, 2021

Normal?

Will we ever get back to “normal”? What is normal anyways? Do we even know? For more than a year now, we’ve wanted to return to some kind of “normal.”

Okay, commodity prices are great. That’s probably the one exception in a farmer’s life. But fertilizer prices have gone along for the ride. In some cases, parts for repairs are hard to find and backorders always further delayed. Recently a retailer in the States had issues sourcing diesel exhaust fluid, a shortage which can potentially sideline a lot of diesel engines during seeding and maybe beyond.

What about the weather? With hardly any snow through the winter, it was a mixed bag. Way easier to work on the yard, little need to move snow or blow it away. But you also couldn’t go snowmobiling on week-

ends when, thanks to COVID restrictions, there wasn’t much else to do.

I wondered to a neighbour when we were going to get back to the more “normal” wet years. He remarked that it was the wet seasons that were abnormal; it’s just that we had ten years of them, so now we think that’s normal.

Maybe he’s right, maybe I am. Normal is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.

Speaking of COVID, we’ve had many carrots dangled in front of us by the authorities on what it would take to get back to “normal.”

But so far, there is no end in sight. The latest carrot, vaccination, gives us no more certainty than anything else that’s been tried.

In an article in the Spectator, Matt Ridley wonders

how long lockdown restrictions might last. He compared them to Britain’s rationing system from WWII; it carried on for nine years after the war had ended, before it was completely abolished. It’s quite a sobering thought.

As is Ridley’s description of the mind-boggling complexity and level of micromanagement Britain’s bureaucrats managed to cook up. For instance, they argued at length over how many Scotch eggs would constitute a meal if there was or was not table service. “This is the sort of tangled descent into detail that central planning always causes,” Ridley said. “We have seen it again and again over the past year.

What is essential travel? Is a picnic exercise? Can you

go inside a pub to get to its outside space? Ask the man from the ministry.” Sound familiar?

How about this: “The reluctant withdrawal of the state from rationing infuriated at least some of the British people, though much of the anger was, as now, directed at cheating rather than the rules.” Always, an unknown number of people actually prefer current restrictions over what we considered “normal” just a few months ago. They like the new normal. It makes them feel safe and looked after. Whether it accomplishes a specific goal is beside the point.

Vaccine hesitancy is a popular topic of discussion these days. But what about the hesitancy of those in power to talk about how and

Penner’s Points

when they will free things up By Rolf and let us get Penner back to normal?

“With few exceptions,” Ridley explains, “the tribe of academic scientists and hospital doctors which now controls our government has literally never heard such arguments. Their worldview is a top-down one: they assume things happen because somebody ordains that things happen.

Spontaneous order is a foreign concept to them. This is surprising, given that it is the essence of evolution, but when it comes to society they are in thrall to intelligent-design theories. They are political creationists.”

At some point the politicians will need to step in and

say, “enough is enough.” If they’ve drawn a line in the snow where that might be, they’ve given us no indication. All we hear is “everything is on the table.”

When it comes time to reverse things, Ridley has some advice, also based on history: “The best way to bring in reforms is fast. The best way to get rid of rules is all at once. The best time to liberalise an economy is far sooner than the experts think you should.” Or, “don’t just sit there, undo something.”

That’s how you get back to normal.

Majority of Healthy Protein Globally Comes from Pork In this column, I want to draw your attention [not too much] to the group called Hog Watch (HW). While claiming to help, they are I believe, wanting to destroy production farming and any farming with animals.

In April, HW hosted a three-part webinar, the hidden cost of industrial hog production with support from World Animal Protection, another group bent on ridding the world of animal Ag production.

In feeding the world, in particular China, 80 per cent of protein comes from pork, and yet this group would like to eliminate that source of healthy protein in the human diet.

I get it; we need to treat these animals with loving tender care and feed them the most nutritious and

humane feed possible.

Treat them when sick and so on.

My friend Dr. John Carr, who feeds pigs and consults with their owners in many countries worldwide, including Canada and China does precisely that - makes sure his clients do all of the above and then some below.

And after making sure the pigs have the best of both worlds; food and housing, then making certain people have access to the pork.

In the series of webinars, which I had plans to watch and participate in; I took in the first one, but for some reason the host blocked me in the second one. The following statement summarizes the subject matter of the three webinars.

“Explore the role of industrial hog production in antibiotic resistance, impacts of living near an industrial hog barn, and the connection between the industrial hog industry and the health of our lakes.”

See my other article on this issue “Get Proactive

with Animal Activists”, featuring Hannah Thompson-Weeman of the Animal Ag Alliance based in Maryland.

One thing that stood out for her is Hog Watch’s collaboration and connection to the World Animal Protection (WAP) on this webinar series. WAP is a global activist group that targets animal agriculture, wants to see an end to animals raised for food, said Hannah Thompson-Weeman.

Hog Watch Manitoba calls itself a non-profit organization, a coalition of environmentalists, farmers, friends of animals, social justice advocates, trade unions and scientists.

They say, “We are promoting a hog industry in Manitoba that is ethically, environmentally and economically sustainable.”

There are many concerns about threats to the environment, inhumane conditions for the animals and unsustainable economics that lead us to form Hog Watch Manitoba and advocate for an alternative model for the

hog industry.

My good friend John Sawatzky sales manager Topigs Norswin also participated in the first webinar, but like me the host banned him for the second one.

Here is part of a letter he wrote to Hog Watch C. Hugh Arklie of Cooks Creek, MB. I agree with John, HW banning the two of us, “To me, it only reinforces how far-fetched and incorrect the claims your organization makes. Your group doesn’t want to know the facts or have someone challenge with what is right and continue to spread false accusations about the pork sector.”

The second webinar dealt with Toxic Blue-Green Algae in our lakes. Hog Watch likes to blame the pig manure; this is what happens.

From a daily Winnipeg paper in early 2020, a list of sewage spills from the City of Winnipeg.

To put this into perspective: Several times, you and others in your group have mentioned our Delta Cana-

da barn west of Woodlands, Manitoba. This farm has a storage capacity of 5.9 million litres of organic manure (400 days of storage as required by law) injected into the soil for use by crops in the area, displacing commercially manufactured fertilizer. In 2018 alone, the City of Winnipeg dumped 8.654 billion litres into the Red River. Do the math! It would take the effluent of 1,466 barns like Delta Canada to equal this volume!

And hogs are destroying the water quality?

In the six years listed, the City of Winnipeg has dumped 53.579 BILLION litres of sewage into the Red River. That doesn’t concern anyone in your group?

Thanks, John, for that, and suffice it to say I’m proud to be part of the hog industry locally and worldwide because like every other farmer in Manitoba and Canada for that matter, we help feed the world.

Yet, people like Hog Watch want to put you out of business if you don’t subscribe to their rhetoric.

The AgriPost

What Time is It? “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”

It is very unlikely that Charles Dickens was thinking about spring in western Canada when he penned the line to open the Tale of Two Cities, he was probably more concerned about London and Paris at the time.

His concern may have been the European capitals but his writing fits the spring of 2021 as well as anything.

Commodity prices are high, some have hit record highs as buyers try to squeeze the last of the old crop from bins and influence seeding plans for this year. Prices are strong for new crop, a crop that has not yet hit the seed boxes in the majority of cases.

So how can this be the

worst of times? Input prices are moving up almost as quickly as the price of plywood, and they are about as likely to come down. That would rate in the Highly Unlikely category.

Fertilizer did not get more expensive to make, but the industry knows it can charge more because grain prices are up and farmers can calculate the benefit of an increased yield. So they are willing to pay more for inputs.

Most people recognize the Charles Dickens line that opened this dissertation; they are not as likely to be able to quote the next line that he penned. “It was the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness.” No one would argue that this is not the age of wisdom on the farm, we have never had

as much information about growing a crop and as many tools to produce the greatest yields.

It is not only producers that have a mountain of information at their fingertips. The industry that supplies inputs has as much or more information, and they are using it to their advantage, the price of inputs is going up because of higher commodity prices.

It is unlikely that the price of inputs will come down, yes they will drop somewhat but they are just like plywood or gasoline after consumers get used to the higher prices even a little drop seems like a reprieve.

After paying a $1.22 a liter at the pumps, a buck seventeen seems like a deal where as only a couple of months ago that was the high end of the price spectrum.

I may be wrong but in-

creasing input prices is a one-way street in most locations and commodity prices are one of the few things that seem to move just as easily downward as upward, some would argue that downward is easier.

So, this time of high commodity prices, though welcome as it is and a great treat for the crumbs that are left of the 2020 crop, it may have some long terms effects that will not be as welcome.

I could go on and site the example of 1973 and how record crop and record prices in the same year had used machinery appreciating and land prices jumping but the farmers of today don’t want to hear an old man talk about ancient history. They want to enjoy the prices of today, good luck.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…...

Canada’s Grain Growers React to Budget 2021 Dear Editor: We plan on working with the federal government to ensure an effective rollout of the investments outlined in the federal budget announcement.

As our members know, we have long advocated for a full exemption from the carbon tax on natural gas and propane used to dry grain.

We are pleased to see the government’s intention to return a portion of the proceeds of this tax directly to farmers in backstop jurisdictions, beginning in 2021-22.

However, we will continue to voice our support for the passage of Bill C-206, as it

remains the most straightforward, cost-efficient way of providing a full exemption for grain drying where no alternative fuel source exists.

We also commend the government for recognizing what we have been saying for years: Canadian farmers are part of the solution to climate change. We look forward to hearing more details of the proposed Agricultural Climate Solutions program and the Natural Climate Solutions fund. We are committed to achieving solutions for our sector to ensure these programs maximize the benefits for farmers and our environment.

As we seek to trade up to a friendlier export-oriented environment, we appreciate Budget 2021 recognizing the need to address capacity constraints, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies in our own transportation infrastructure – through recapitalizing the National Trade Corridors Fund.

We would have hoped to have seen additional investment in the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to address growing backlogs and ensure farmers can readily access new and emerging technologies. Our members will continue to advocate for increased resources in this

area, as well as a commitment towards further public Ag research funding. A failure to invest in research and development puts our sector at a competitive disadvantage relative to other jurisdictions and risks limiting our growth potential.

We look forward to working with the federal government and our stakeholders to take advantage of the opportunities available to support our industry and, in turn, drive Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

Andre Harpe Chair, Grain Growers of Canada

Trespassing and Biosecurity Dear Editor: Manitobans should be confident about where their food comes from. Farmers take biosecurity and food safety seriously because they know that the food they produce should meet the highest standards.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency creates and enforces stringent national biosecurity standards aimed at keeping livestock and the food supply safe. The livestock industry also creates on-farm food safety programs and

develops biosecurity protocols through consultation. These standards and programs are mandatory, universal, enforceable and include third-party independent auditing and verification.

An ongoing issue in Manitoba is the growing trend of rural crime and trespassing on farmyards and livestock operations. This trend is alarming and intimidating for farmers, who work hard to develop and adhere to biosecurity protocols to protect their farms and

livestock from the spread of disease. A breakdown in these protocols jeopardizes food security and often necessitates drastic action to prevent disease breakouts.

KAP has lobbied the provincial government for stronger legislation, with tougher penalties to deter rural crime and trespassing. Many farmers live and raise their families near their farming operations and are concerned that they may be threatened. Farm families should feel safe, secure and at ease living

and working in rural communities.

We are pleased that the Government of Manitoba has introduced legislative amendments to protect farmyards and Canada’s food system. Our industry and the farmers in this province have high standards for themselves and stringent requirements they must meet when it comes to the food on your plate.

Bill Campbell President Keystone Agricultural Producers

April 30, 2021

Grain Groups Encourage Farmers to Have Their Voices Heard Health Canada has launched a public consultation on new guidelines for plant breeding innovation. This will determine the speed at which Canadian farmers gain access to new crop innovations, the amount of crop R&D activity that will happen in our country, and ultimately Canada’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.

According to a group of Canadian grain associations, over the last three years exciting new plant breeding techniques have been advancing throughout the world, but the Canadian regulatory guidance has not kept pace. Health Canada’s proposal is a very positive step forward to show Canada can be both a centre of crop innovation and a leader in food safety.

Canada’s grain associations have come together to provide a straightforward way for farmers and anyone else who works in the grain value chain to send their own letter to Health Canada in support of the government using these new guidelines. It’s one simple click away.

“Many of Canada’s global competitors have moved towards clear and predictable science-based approaches to the regulation of plant breeding, including gene edited crops, and Canada needs to do the same so that farmers here are not left behind,” said Saskatchewan grower Gerry Hertz.

“We are encouraging the Canadian government to stand firmly behind the science of plant breeding innovation. Scientists around the world have acknowledged that using gene editing in plant breeding is just as safe as conventional breeding and our regulatory system needs to recognize this to ensure the Canadian agriculture industry can remain competitive,” said Rick White, Canadian Canola Growers Association.

“As we collectively face significant global challenges around food security and climate change, innovations like gene edited crops can help farmers adapt to changing climate conditions and pest pressures while continuing to grow safe, high quality food for Canadians and consumers around the world,” said Brendan Byrne, farmer from Ontario.

“We are standing at a critical juncture in Canadian agriculture. As an industry, we know what it will take for farmers to be successful, and that clearly includes continuous adoption of new crop innovation,” said Erin Gowriluk, Grain Growers of Canada. “Now is the time for growers and our colleagues in the agriculture industry to collectively speak up to encourage good government policy.”

Write now! Go to advancingagriculture.ca/take-action and send your own letter to Health Canada in support of fair and reasonable rules for plant breeding innovation in Canada.

April 30, 2021

Programs Target On-Farm Innovation and Markets for Poultry and Egg Farmers The Federal Government has announced two new programs designed to help drive innovation and market development for Canada’s 4,800 chicken, turkey and egg farmers.

These programs, totaling more than $691 million over ten years, respond directly to requests from producer associations and provide full and fair compensation for market impacts from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program will provide close to $630 million over ten years to support poultry and egg farmers through on-farm investments.

“The Government is delivering on our commitment to compensate our supply-managed farmers for losses from recent trade agreements. These investments will help ensure continued growth and prosperity for our poultry and egg farmers, who help keep Canada’s rural communities strong and vibrant,” said MarieClaude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and AgriFood. “We have worked hand-in-hand with industry to ensure they have the full and fair support they need to continue to keep our family farms thriving and our grocery shelves full of good Canadian products.”

Producers will be entitled to an amount proportional to their quota holdings. Eligible projects are anything that helps a producer modernize, become more competitive and adapt to changing consumer preferences.

This includes new barn construction or upgrading equipment like feeding, watering, lighting, ventilation, heating, and comfort systems that will promote energy efficiency and reduce environmental footprint. The Government of Canada will contribute up to 70% of the project cost, a ratio increasing to up to 85% for young farmers to help ensure a strong future for Canada’s farms. The intake of applications for this program will launch later this spring.

Funding will be distributed starting in 2021-22. The allocation will be $347.3 million for chicken producers; $59.6 million for turkey producers; $134 million for egg producers; and, $88.6 million for broiler hatching egg producers.

The Market Development Program for Turkey and Chicken will provide $36.5 million for the Turkey Farmers of Canada and $25 million for the Chicken Farmers of Canada over ten years.

This funding will help promotional activities that differentiate Canadian-made products’ reputation for high-quality, safe and sustainably farmed food that adheres to strict animal welfare standards. Funding will be distributed to the national industry organizations, who will submit a multi-year strategy to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for approval.

The intake for applications from these organizations launches April 13, 2021.

The four supply-managed poultry and egg sectors (chicken, broiler hatching eggs, turkey, and eggs) generated $4.9 billion in farm cash receipts in 2020, 6.8 percent of all farm cash receipts in Canada. According to industry, Canada’s poultry and egg sector supports more than 140,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The AgriPost

Manitoba Farmers Eye Seeding Most Crops in May

By Elmer Heinrichs Farmers are back in the fields as April ends seeding more of the cereals and early special crops, but it looks like a majority of crops will be seeded in May. As April’s snowfall absorbs into the ground, farmers across Manitoba are letting out sighs of relief.

Drought-like conditions this past winter and early spring was beginning to cause concern among producers and the blanket of snow across the regions acted as a bit of a comforter.

“It certainly isn’t going to stave off a summer’s worth of dryness if that’s what we’re expecting,” said Dane Froese, oilseed specialist for Manitoba Agriculture. “But it will help.”

Manitoba’s late wintry blast interrupted an early spring, but provided welcome relief to farmers watching dry soil drifting away until rain and snow helped replenish subsoil moisture.

When snow blanketed much of the Prairies, farmers waited to see how much of that moisture would soak into the fields.

Anne Kirk, a cereal specialist with Manitoba agriculture and resource development said, “The snowfall is definitely a huge blessing for people. For anyone that got snow, I think it was very welcome because soil conditions were fairly dry prior to the snowfall.” Kirk said the only downfall of the snow is that some of it may have blown off the field.

Winter wheat will also benefit from the moisture, according to Alex Griffiths with Ducks Unlimited. “The crops that I’ve checked have looked very good. I’ve checked a little over 30 fields across southwest Manitoba so far and everything has overwintered very well with minimal winterkill,” he said.

“The snow that’s coming now should provide some really good moisture and I

think when it melts, it will really help kickstart the crop.”

Drew Lerner, senior agrimeteorologist with World Weather Inc, said the majority of the prairies were being impacted by dry to extremely dry conditions that not only impact the Canadian prairies, but carried on through the western half of the US and Mexico as well. “Farmers won’t mind pushing back seeding in order to benefit from the moisture,” added Lerner.

This spring is setting up to be one of the driest on record after a mild winter with rivers that have already hit their peak in southern Manitoba.

While this meant flooding was unlikely, it brought in the potential for drought which was already causing heightened levels of wildfire risk and will impact the growing season for farmers.

“We are seeing serious grave situations across the prairies.

I’ve never seen Manitoba so dry as I’ve seen it this par-

ticular spring,” said David Phillips, a senior climatologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Phillips said this has been one of the warmest winters on record, putting the prairies in a challenging position.

Manitoba’s light melt is not much to celebrate for most farmers, but it has left them being able to get a head start on a growing season by seeding before the April snow.

Some Manitoban producers were getting out into their fields in record time to start the 2021 growing season, with some already planting thousands of acres of crops.

The dry conditions come much to the chagrin of Manitoba’s potato producers, who are not celebrating the lack of runoff from the winter’s snowfall. This growing season, like last year, will need plenty of timely rains to keep the crops growing. It happened last year, and the optimist believes it can happen again.

How are Seeds Labeled for a Farmer’s Purchase?

When planning their successful farming enterprise, farmers often start with buying high-quality seeds. Before even reaching the marketplace, seeds go through inspection and then are labeled.

According to Sustainable and Secure Food blogger Arron Carter, there are five different classifications of seed that can occur: - Breeder Seed. It is derived from the plant breeding program itself. When plant breeders develop a new cultivar, they often only have limited amounts of seed.

This first step in the process allows the plant breeder to increase the quantity of seed produced.

- Foundation Seed. This level of seed typically comes after Breeder Seed and is the highest purity classification.

Foundation Seed would look most like Breeder Seed

in terms of genetic purity. It has strict requirements for purity, including low or zero tolerance for Foundation Seed bins to be contaminated with weed seed, seed of other market classes, and seed of other crops.

- Registered Seed. Seed companies usually plant this high-quality Foundation Seed to produce Registered Seed. Registered Seed keeps high purification standards but is a step down from what was seen in Foundation Seed.

- Certified Seed. It is produced after planting Registered Seed and is the certification class that most farmers would buy if they wanted a high-quality seed source.

- Common Seed. Seed that has not gone through the certification process is often referred to this. Common Seed is held to no standard

Some researchers plant thousands of individual rows of the cultivar during their evaluation process. They look for anything that does not belong (flowers early, is too tall, a different color, etc.) Shown here, rows of wheat in a breeding program at Washington State University.

Some rows have been removed as they did not fit the breeding criteria.

Photo by Arron Carter

other than basic seed labeling laws. It is sold ‘as is’ and could have mixtures of other crops, market classes, or weed seeds.

To learn more about the

classifications of seed, read the entire blog: sustainable-secure-food-blog. com/2021/03/22/how-areseeds-labeled-for-a-farmers-purchase.

The AgriPost

It is Fun to Feed Pigs Once Again at Suncrest Colony

By Harry Siemens In 2020, Bob Kleinsasser hog boss at the Suncrest Colony near Steinbach, MB when asked about the hog business said that, “There is no more fun in feeding hogs.” A prolonged drop in hog prices, an outbreak of the dreaded PED virus, COVID-19 fallout made trips to the hog barn discouraging he said.

Kleinsasser looks after a 900-farrow-to-finish hog barn and said that 2020 was one of their worst years, with production in the barn coming off of PED in 2019. But the situation changed for the better coming into 2021. Production improved with the pigs performing after cleaning up from the PED virus.

“Then, in the end, you get the reward for it now with the nice hog prices and it’s beginning to make sense, not wondering why we are doing it.”

Their barns are busting over selling between 1,100 and 1,300 hogs every four weeks but weaned a little over 30,000 pigs, selling around 13,000 butcher hogs all to Maple Leaf Foods at Brandon. Plans are to add a finisher barn attached to the sow barn but not for another year or two.

While parts of the processing system slowed with COVID-19 disruptions, they never had one with Maple Leaf. “I think they cancelled an odd load, but we could rebook them at a different date. It’s is going well because Maple Leaf followed every protocol more than they needed to. In the end, I think it paid off. We had a couple of hiccups, but I think it worked well.”

When Olymel at Red Deer, AB shut down, the company shipped their hogs to the US so the plant would have the capacity to ramp up with local producer-owned hogs once they could restart.

“That’s what you got to see, and there’s a reason why they did that. Those 30 per cent hogs extra are their bread and butter. If those producers go elsewhere in the meantime and maybe stayed there, they would be struggling to get hogs.”

A significant change in the Suncrest sow-farrow to finish barn is moving from 21 days to 27-days weaning.

Those sows have their best milking period at 18 to 21 days, right when they wean them. It was a process to do it right. So after three, four months, they weaned at 26, 27-day old piglet. From a 6.2

Bob Kleinsasser with Suncrest Colony saw other producers getting better breed back for their sows. With changes implemented now their sows have more time to heal, piglets are blooming at weaning and the finished pig goes to market three days earlier but at the same weight.

Submitted photos

kg weaned pig, they have an 8 kg one. He said that is one of the best things they did after building the new barn in 2017.

Kleinsasser saw other producers doing it, getting better breed back for their sows.

These sows had more time to heal, the piglets are blooming at weaning and every 500 grams that the piglet gained meant that a heavier finished pig goes to market sooner at three to four days earlier, at the same weight.

Then the mortality after weaning was reduced, because there were sturdier pigs, better looking, much healthier and this resulted in fewer medications.

The Suncrest Colony built the first new group housing sow barn which continues to improve as they keep learning and improving the system. Before they tended to more lameness and injuries but now with better-gilt se-

lection, better breed back and healthier pigs, it all comes down to having better production and better husbandry in the loose housing area.

And it is better for the employees because there is less work with calmer pigs.

Another thing that happens if the sow heals better from 21 to 27 days, the born alive went up one and a half pigs.

“Before around 12.8 to 13.2 born alive, now we’re pushing 15, 15 and a half and it helps us much. We’re weaning more pigs, better pigs and we keep healthier sows.”

Aggressive sows savaging their piglets are almost non-existent because of the comfort of feeding them what and when they want to and not waiting for their feed. There are two feeders for 135 sows, so they have to take their turns. “The bullies are first, but the rest just lay back and wait their turn.”

A significant change occurred at the Suncrest Colony sow-farrow to finish barn by moving from 21 days to 27-days weaning.

April 30, 2021

April 30, 2021

Survey Looks at Future Crop Production and Research Focus As part of their 40th Anniversary, the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) commissioned a survey to identify and confirm cross cutting crop production issues of greatest concern to western Canadian farmers.

“I would like to thank everyone that participated in this survey,” said Dr. Keith Degenhardt, WGRF Board Chair. “WGRF’s research priorities and processes have evolved throughout its 40-year history, but we have always operated with the sole purpose of funding research to benefit western Canadian crop producers.

That is why it was so important to reach out to stakeholders for their views on the most pressing issues affecting farmers now and in the future.”

The survey was conducted by Amaethon Agricultural Solutions from January to March 2021. “Over that time Amaethon conducted 60 interviews with a total of 187 participants from all regions of the prairies,” said Dr. Stephen Morgan Jones of Amaethon.

“Respondents were asked what western field crop production could look like in the short (5 year) and longer term (10-20 years),” said Dr. George Clayton.

“There was general agreement that farms would likely continue to get larger. Cereals, canola and pulses would continue to be the major acreage crops grown but there was considerable divergence of opinion on which crops would have expansion opportunities and those that would decline in popularity. Research implications were identified in the areas of crop and soil management, sustainability and precision agriculture,” said Dr.’s Morgan Jones and Clayton.

The consensus was that large farms comprised of more than 10,000 acres would continue, while small farms would tend to specialize, grow more diverse crops and get engaged in identity preservation and traceability endeavors with processors or local markets.

The survey showed a diversity of opinion about crop rotation and the types of rotations that would be used in the different growing regions of the Prairies. There many concerns expressed about the potential of increased disease pressures such as clubroot in canola and Aphanomyces in peas and lentils. Some suggested that rotations needed to be much longer in the 7-8 year range with a greater diversity of crops grown. Others also suggested that the newer or niche crops such as quinoa, fababeans, hemp, and canary seed may need to be tested in rotations. Intercropping and cover crops were mentioned by many respondents as a mechanism to reduce risk from weather or disease by having more than one crop to harvest in the same field.

A highlight throughout the report is the mention of automation to tackle problems such as labour shortages and precision or digital agriculture as being a key technological change identified.

It was suggested that a farmer science portal could be developed where farmers themselves provide data such as the #agBugChat that could be integrated with the advances in drone scouting and sensors in the field.

This type of effort will need to accompany the ‘boots on the ground’ surveying for insects, diseases or weeds during the growing season.

Currently a limited science portal already exists with the Agroclimate Impact Reporter, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. Many farmers are reporting their weather on the farm resulting in maps all across the country showing drought, excess moisture and other factors that affect farmers. The sharing of data could be a very powerful tool in the farmers hand and provide an alternate approach to scouting and surveillance.

“I encourage everyone to read the report and stay engaged with WGRF as we move forward,” says Garth Patterson, Executive Director of WGRF. “This report was the first step. WGRF will be conducting a series of workshops in 2021 to identify research implications that will influence WGRF’s future research funding initiatives.”

The full report can be found on the WGRF website at wgrf.ca/special-initiatives/future-field-crop-researchneeds-and-funding.

The AgriPost

Get Proactive with Animal Activists

By Harry Siemens

Hog Watch Manitoba, in several webinars, attacked production agriculture namely hog production. With the chaos from the COVID-19 pandemic continuing, this group held a 3-part webinar in April titled the hidden cost of industrial hog production.

The group targeted antibiotic use in hog production, farm size, corporate farming, how hog production in Manitoba affects climate change, among other production agriculture facets.

According to Hog Watch Manitoba (HWM) they are a non-profit organization of a coalition of environmentalists, farmers, friends of animals, social justice advocates, trade unions and scientists. “We are promoting a hog industry in Manitoba that is ethically, environmentally and economically sustainable.”

There are many concerns about threats to the environment, inhumane conditions for the animals and unsustainable economics that helped form HWM to advocate for an alternative model for the hog industry.

Hog producers on a WhatsApp chat group expressed concern over the tactics this group may employ and has in the past. “If you want food prices to escalate, even more, allow this group to influence the government to shut down the pig industry,” said one commentator. “This group will work hard to defeat the current Brian Pallister PC government to have their way with an NDP government and make changes that could

hurt farming and potentially drive up food prices.”

The Animal Ag Alliance based in Maryland is an industry-united, non-profit organization that helps bridge the communication gap between farm and fork. Vicepresident Hannah Thompson-Weeman said Hog Watch Manitoba is new to their group profiles on more than 175 of these different organizations. New ones keep popping up with a regional focus or a specific industry focus.

“It sounds like a lot of the usual rhetoric targeting animal agriculture, specifically hog production, and focusing on farm size,” said Thompson-Weeman. “Now, I think it’s important to understand that a lot of these activist groups will focus on large-scale modern production systems as a stepping stone to their ultimate goal, which is ending animal agriculture.”

She said much of the wording on their website and efforts are about farm size, but frequently that is part of what they call the incremental changes to approach.

People do not receive “Go vegan”, “ban hog production”, nearly as well. Instead, they back up their demands, make them sound potentially more reasonable as a way to get their foot in the door she noted.

Another thing that stands out is their collaboration and connection to the World Animal Protection (WAP) non-profit on this webinar series. WAP is a global activist group that targets animal agriculture, wants to see

an end to animals raised for food. “That tie into that international organization is concerning.”

The trends in Canada are the same as in the US. Activist groups see the new Biden administration as more sympathetic to their plight, to their beliefs about animal agriculture, mainly because of the new administration’s focus on climate change. “We see an uptick in activism, targeting legislation, legislative efforts from activist groups here in the US over the past few months, which will continue,” said Thompson-Weeman.

Hog producers such as the Hutterian Brethern WhatsApp group must face reality and invest in correcting the narrative and get ahead of some of these efforts she noted. “If we aren’t providing that united voice and correcting the record, setting it straight, unfortunately, the messages of these types of organizations are going to be all that people like legislators, policymakers, the media, restaurant, and retail brands hear,” she said.

. One thing that stood out is Hog Watch Manitoba’s collaboration and connection to the World Animal Protection (WAP) on their recent webinar series because WAP is a global activist group that targets animal agriculture, wants to see an end to animals raised for food, said Hannah ThompsonWeeman.

Submitted photos

Together with producers and industry, people communicate positive and correct information about the animal agriculture community and respond to these efforts to target influencers with myths and misinformation. “We have to be there, we have to be part of the conversation, or they’re just going to fill in the blanks with a version of animal agriculture that we would disagree with,” said Thompson-Weeman.

Lynn Kavanaugh, farming campaign manager sees the World Animal Protection non-profit as a global activist group that targets animal agriculture that wants to see an end to animals raised for food.

PMRA Maintains Canola Farmer’s Seed Treatment Tool The Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) released its final special review decision on clothianidin and thiamethoxam, two important seed treatments that farmers use to protect their emerging canola crops from early season pests.

The final decision found that current use of these products by canola farmers does not pose an unacceptable risk to aquatic invertebrates and that the product use be maintained for seed treatment on canola.

“This is great news for

canola farmers as it maintains our ability to protect the canola crop at its earliest stages of development,” said Mike Ammeter, Chair of Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA).

“Flea beetles can dramatically reduce stand viability if not controlled early and maintaining access to these products is important for the environmental and economic sustainability of the crop.”

Seed treatments play an important role in a canola farmer’s integrated pest management plan and the environmental sustainability

of canola.

“We’re pleased that PMRA allowed time to consider all the relevant data to arrive at a decision based on the best science available,” said Curtis Rempel, VP crop production and innovation at the Canola Council of Canada (CCC). “Our competitiveness as an agriculture sector relies on a regulatory system built on rigorous scientific analysis and evidence-based decision making.”

The proposed PMRA special review decision from August 2018, based on results exclusively from data

modelling, proposed a phasing out of the two products for all agricultural uses. Canadian Canola Growers Association and Canola Council of Canada worked with farmers and industry stakeholders to present field-level data into the impact analysis of these products.

“As part of our stewardship effort, we provided three years’ worth of scientifically robust field-based research that supported the environmental sustainability of these products,” said Mark Walker, Policy Manager at CCGA.

The AgriPost

Reducing Wasted Feed in Pork Production

By Harry Siemens

Dr. John Carr, a world livestock consultant, veterinarian, and lecturer, presented recently on reducing production cost and particularly looking at the cost of feed waste in pig production.

Food accounts for the bulk of the production cost, about 65 per cent, genetics around 6 per cent, health bill at around four and five per cent, and labour about 12 to 14. Water, electricity, and bedding account for the remaining costs he said.

“It is the margin overfeed, which often relates to the profitability of the farm, so when the food prices go up too high, then the cost of production becomes extremely hard,” said Carr.

Carr said that food comes in two forms as an energy source, corn, wheat and barley, and a soya protein source.

This all goes into producing excellent quality pork at the right price. Unfortunately, when the price of food goes up and the price of pigs goes down at the processing plant, profits drop.

He noted that the first thing a producer must do is make sure the feed source is secure and secondly to not allow disease to come into the barn from food sources. Biosecurity means everyone needs to be involved from the producer to the person working in the feed mills. He said there should be no swill feeding.

Next, is actual feed waste.

A producer should look at the feed bin and feed manufacturing system itself.

“First, be careful how much feed goes to waste, how much dust does the system produce, what percentage

of feed does the production system lose,” Carr noted.

Maintaining on-farm and commercial systems is vital to process the grain without leaving any whole kernels, which the animals find difficult to digest.

While simplistic, Dr. Carr said that all the feed goes into the feed bin during delivery and leaves no piles when transporting from feed bin to feeder. “We don’t end up with the medicated feed in the wrong bin, or even just the wrong food in the wrong bin, because all of this adds to waste. Something producers forget medicated food particularly has temperature requirements. And so this antibiotic should be kept below 25 °C; difficult in the summertime to keep our feed bins below 25.”

A more practical problem is in the nursery where the temperature is at 30 °C, so don’t keep the nursery feed in the nursery just because it’s convenient to fill the nursery feed,” he continued. “At that temperature this high milk product will go sour and you’ll wonder why the pigs are not eating properly.”

“If the pigs don’t like eating the food, then you need to taste it; may be yourself watching health and safety.

But in truth, if you don’t want to eat the food, why should the pigs?” asked Carr.

He emphasized that there should be enough feed space for the pigs and asked whether the pigs are getting access to the food. He explained that pigs eat ad-lib, so the food must be there all the time. Sadly, several research projects show how many farms miss feed events

at 35 cents there is more interest but some of the acres have been committed to other crop,” said Loewen.

He credits the low price in January to the uncertainty in the baseball business, a lot of sunflowers are consumed at baseball parks and another year of reduced baseball would have meant reduced consumption forcing processors to hold off on their bids.

Loewen who is a Pioneer Seeds dealer said that he has seen increased interest in canola seed but warns that his numbers might not be representative of the industry province wide. “The

Farmers Pleased About Removal of Education Taxes from Farmland

By Elmer Heinrichs

In a recent presentation, Dr. John Carr said that reducing feed waste helps to reduce production cost, keeps our clients in business, and improve our biosecurity at the same time.

Dr. John Carr said to use the right boar to ensure the proper food conversion ratio to reduce feed waste.

for various reasons such as blocked and broken feeders and feed lines. And the research shows batches of pigs do not always eat every day, a significant problem for the industry.

“On several of my farms, we install video cameras to monitor the feed. Food is that expensive. We cannot afford to waste it in this way,” he said.

Carr said it is not unusual for pig farms to waste 10 to 15 per cent of their feed. The health bill can be around four or five per cent, depending on the pigs’ health, but the wasted food could be two to three times more than the vet

bill, which is a significant contribution to the cost of production.

He said to use the right boar to ensure the proper food conversion ratio. For example, using a boar that reduces the food conversion by 0.1 would reduce the feed intake by 10 kg for a 300 kg pig.

It reduces the costs, reduces the pig’s carbon footprint, and creates more profit if it is available in pig production.

“In summary, reducing the feed waste helps us reduce the waste and keep our clients in business, and improve our biosecurity at the same time,” said Carr.

Oilseed Sunflowers Making a Move

By Les Kletke Chris Loewen of Loewen Seeds in St. Joseph said that oilseed sunflowers are a hot commodity in the seed business.

“We saw good interest in them last fall,” he said. “And that continued to this spring.

The price is strong and we are seeing oilseed sunflower production move into areas that have not typically produced the crop.”

He said the confectionery market has proven to be a bit of a wild card. “The price was low last fall and there was not much interest at 30 cents a pound, the processers had to up the price and now

April 30, 2021

Liberty link is still relatively new for us, after having Clearfield varieties so our numbers show great percentage increases but that is over a base line of small acreage,” he said. “We have had some growers putting their expanded canola acres into some Pioneer varieties.”

The company’s flagship corn and soybean seeds have proven strong and he has seen increases in both crops.

Loewen delivers much of the seed he sells except for soybeans which are picked up as farmers go to the field.

“We had most of our seed delivered to farmers as of April 23,” he said. “We have

a few allotments still coming in and to get to farmers but most of our seed is already on the farm.”

Loewen said that some cereals have been planted and he expects seeding to become more general in the last days of April. “But when the calendar flips to May guys will really get going even if the ground is still cold they know it will warm up.”

Planting conditions for most crops looks good in late April and seed should be able to reach moisture although overall it is dry. While planting conditions are near ideal now the crop will need moisture to get going.

The Manitoba government recently introduced the education property tax reduction act, new legislation that would allow nearly $250 million in education property tax rebates to be provided to Manitoba property owners this spring, Finance Minister Scott Fielding announced recently.

Finance minister Scott Fielding announced the province would phase out education property taxes by 50 per cent over the next two years (25 per cent per year) for residential and farm properties, and 10 per cent for other types of property.

For 2021, owners of residential and farm properties will receive a 25 per cent rebate of the school division special levy payable.

The education property tax rebate will be based on the school division special levy before the education property tax credit advance.

Farm property owners will still have to apply for the farmland school tax rebate but the percentage eligible and the maximum amount will be decreased proportional by 25 per cent. The percentage will decrease from 80 to 60 per cent and the maximum amount will decrease from $5,000 to $3,750.

Manitoba’s main farm lobby, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) is pleased to see the government recognizes the important contribution farmers make to Manitoba’s economy in the 2021 Manitoba budget.

“The announcement that the provincial government will begin to phase out the education property tax this year is welcome news indeed,” said KAP president Bill Campbell. “We support the delivery of high-quality and affordable education for farmers, farm families and rural residents and have advocated for the complete removal of education taxes from all property.”

“Farmers pay a disproportionate amount of education property taxes and the disparity between what farmers are paying and what the average homeowner is paying remains an issue. Until the tax is completely removed, farmers will continue to pay more than their fair share,” he said.

Education property taxes on farmland have been a hot-button issue in the agricultural community for many years, and farmers are generally happy the government is addressing it.

In Manitoba’s April budget, farmers and homeowners were among the biggest beneficiaries, as the Progressive Conservative government announced rebates of 25 per cent on the education portion of property taxes.

An average-sized Manitoba grain farm is 2,000 acres or more and the education tax bill can amount to as much as $24,000.

An existing provincial farmland school rebate program refunds 80 per cent of education taxes, up to $5,000.

That program has become less and less helpful as farmland prices and taxes have soared.

According to the government’s budget documents, a farmer with a $5,600 education tax bill will pay $840 this year, after the old and new rebates are deducted, compared with $1,120 last year. While farmers will receive the 25 per cent rebate this year, their previous farmland school tax rebate is being reduced. This year, it will cover up to 60 per cent of school taxes to a maximum of $3,750.

But under the new rebate program, which has no cap, the bigger the farm, the bigger the rebate. So, that farmer with 10,000 acres who pays $120,000 in education taxes will receive combined provincial rebates totalling $33,750 this year. Last year, that same farmer would have received a rebate of $5,000.

Farmer Chuck Fossay, a director of the Keystone Agricultural Producers lobby group, said funding education on the basis of income rather than property is much fairer.

Morden-Winkler MLA Cameron Friesen noted that it’s a big change to move education funding away from property tax model to funding it from the central government. “It’s historic, and it does mean Manitobans are going to see rebate cheques in the mail this year,” concluded Friesen.

10

April 30, 2021

Federal Government Protection for Temporary Foreign Workers

By Harry Siemens As of March 21, asymptomatic temporary foreign workers (TFWs) will be able to travel directly to their place of quarantine after getting a COVID-19 test at the airport, provided they travel by private transportation and accompanied only by others who travelled with them to Canada. TFWs who will need to travel by public means to a secondary location upon arrival in Canada must stay in a government-authorized accommodation and await the results of their COVID-19 test.

The Canadian Agricultural Resource Council (CAHRC) and other agencies are working with the Public Health Agency of Canada to address many employers and temporary foreign workers’ operational challenges.

This has to do with the COVID-19 At Home Specimen Collection kit (test kit) test taken on day ten during the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

Janice Goldsborough human resources and training coordinator with Manitoba Pork said the TFWs come year-round as farms need them and now are relatively quiet. Maple Leaf and HyLife, have not used it much lately because of all the restrictions, but now there is a little bit more information in place, she said.

“Everything is a go. Maple Leaf and HyLife have great processes with smooth sailing. It’s the independents that have more difficulty navigating the system,” said Goldsborough.

On March 21 when the government first implemented the requirement that anybody returning to Canada had to stay in a government-approved hotel for three days waiting for their COVID test results they gave temporary foreign workers about a month to deal with the new situation and iron out the details on who was going to pay.

For Ontario, there are groups that have chartered an airplane to bring temporary foreign workers into Canada which means that these workers did not have to isolate for the three days.

In Manitoba, no one appears to have chartered an airplane. Instead these workers have come on regular flights through Calgary, Toronto, or Vancouver and must do the three nights stay at a designated hotel until they get a negative result.

“That’s the only time that they’ll waive; that is if they’re coming in on a direct charter flight with other temporary foreign workers, and those are the only other people on the plane.”

All temporary foreign workers now, whether they do the three-night isolation or not, still have to do the quarantine when they get to the farm.

“Any temporary foreign workers that fly into Calgary or Toronto are isolated for three days and test negative to fly to Winnipeg; taken out to the farm where they have to finish their 14-day isolation.”

Some seasonal agricultural workers coming from third-world countries tell Hamblin it is like winning the lottery when they come here. And they only come here for four to six months usually but can earn more than what supports their family. The families get used to it because some farms have 30 of the same seasonal agricultural workers coming year after year for the last 2030 years. This long term relationship with these workers is what keeps their farms going.

“And it’s what keeps the workers’ families in school and supported and well-fed and educated because they’re able to come here.”

On some of those farms, the majority of the temporary workers become permanent residents and stay on. “So, definitely especially our smaller independents, those that are in remote areas where it’s hard to find anybody who wants to work there. A lot of them, all they can get are temporary foreign workers to come in and work.”

The AgriPost

Learn from Crop Record’s History

By Les Kletke A crop panel with 4 agronomists each providing two do’s and don’ts proved extremely popular for western Canadian farmers. The event was sponsored by Agvisor Pro and ran in early April just as producers were thinking that they might get planting soon.

Cool temperatures prevailed and at least one of the agronomists thought that producers should wait before seeding but the time would be well spent going over their field records.

Shannon Winny, who operates GroWest Ag Ventures Ltd, advised producers to wait for the beginning of May before heading out with their planters, she was also hoping for more moisture across western Canada.

Winny advises producers to spend more time on their field records to be aware of not only the crops that they grew but also for specific problems that arose in the crop the last time they grew it on that field.

“Look at your crop rotation and the field records,” she advised. “What were the problems the last time you grew the crop on this field and were there specific problems that need to be addressed.”

Winny, who does much of her work in Saskatchewan said that weed problems spe-

Shannon Winny advises producers to spend more time on their field records to be aware of not only the crops that they grew but also for specific problems that arose in the crop the last time they grew it on that field.

Submitted photo

cific to a crop may also be a concern. “If you have a weed problem and used a pre-seed residual product you may be limiting yourself from crops like lentils and you may have an issue with group 2 resistant Kochia,” she said.

“Those are things that you want to consider at the time you are putting the product down.”

She said that field records are tremendously important and should be considered when making seeding plans.

“Herbicide can carry over

for the second year, a product you choose that is right to fight a certain weed problem may be limiting your cropping options, and you should not overlook that.” said Winny.

“There is so much more to rotation than just no flax after canola,” she continued.

“Don’t overlook the potential problems from previous crops.”

She warns not to overlook some of the problems that will arise and cause problems in specialty crops. “We

see the issue of carryover as more of a problem in dry years, and those are exactly the conditions that we have across western Canada going into seeding.”

Winny advised producers to take the time at planting and do everything possible for good plant stand establishment. “You cannot come up with a one size fits all for your nutrient program and you have to do the things that will get your crop out of the ground and establish a good plant stand.

Don’t Get Complacent in a Good Market

By Les Kletke Terry Aberhardt lives by the adage “make hay when the sun shines” and he is not in the cattle business. Aberhardt is part of his family farm at Langenburg, Saskatchewan and he was one of the panelists on Plant 21 a virtual panel organized by AGvisorPRO that brought together 4 agronomists from across the prairies to discuss planting conditions and provide some “dos and don’ts” as farmers head into seeding.

He was clear that part of the equation for a good year is in place, with current grain prices providing a good return but only for those who have the production to sell.

That part of the equation is what farmers can control and he advises not to become complacent and use a blanket approach to input management.

“You still need to get the best return possible this

year,” he said. “It is a one in ten or twenty opportunity and that requires putting the inputs where they show the best return.”

He advocates the use of fungicides but said they should be used only where they show a good return on investment and he recommends producers consider variable rate application rather than a farm wide or even field wide approach.

Aberhardt stops short of giving farmers a bench mark number for their return on when applying additional inputs may be warranted. But he is clear that it has to be a significant amount to justify the risk of putting more money into the crop.

“Putting inputs where you are most likely to get a return makes good sense,” he said.

“We are going to do some work with plant growth regulators in areas where there is adequate moisture.”

“Data is becoming more eration, it will become more important and that will only valuable,” said Aberhardt. increase,” he continued. “We When asked for wrap up have been working with crop comments he was clear about intelligence systems and it not becoming complacent has been a good tool. Where just because market prices we have weather stations we can provide a good return, he have had good results on wants to grow a good crop to management decision, much sell into that market. better than you would think.”

“There are some easy wins and you need to keep your eyes on some things that are coming down the pipe.

Think about data Terry Aberhardt advises not to become complacent and management in use a blanket approach to input management.

Submitted photo your op-

The AgriPost

April 30, 2021

11

Elmer’s Manufacturing Sees Record Sales

By Harry Siemens The production and sales of Elmer’s Manufacturing of Altona, MB is up 20 per cent over 2018 with plans to ramp it up another 40 per cent by September, said president Mike Friesen.

There is a sold-out sign for most of the company’s production of agricultural equipment for 2021. He attributes it in part to a strong agriculture economy driving up demand for Ag products, particularly those produced by Elmer’s.

It has taken two years of rebuilding, strong marketing programs and expanding its dealer network.

Dennis Friesen marketing coordinator for Elmer’s said things are great. “We’re reaching record sales with most of the production sold out for the remainder of the year with about 10-15 per cent remaining, which is unusual for this

time of the year.”

The pandemic presented some supply challenges, including ocean container freight, but crews are running as fast as they can to complete orders. Elmer’s product line includes high-capacity Haulmaster grain carts and tracks, the Super 7 harrow, the Wolverine Ditcher and the Ravage Bale Processor.

Dennis Friesen said Elmer’s held annual demonstration programs in the US in 2019, and those efforts paid off with the addition of more American dealers, specifically in Nebraska and Kansas.

The number of orders coming from Australia has also doubled this year, following a few drought years in the country.

President Mike said the company’s new 34,000 square foot shop, designed to quadruple the output capacity of

Elmer’s builds one Haulmaster Grain Cart a day.

Supplied photos

President Mike Friesen said the company’s new 34,000 square foot shop is designed to quadruple the output capacity of its previous facility to meet the demand. The company has over 100 full-time employees and looking to hire about 20 additional staff by the end of the year.

its previous facility will help boost production. The company has over 100 full-time employees and is looking to hire about 20 additional staff by the end of the year.

Elmer’s Manufacturing Ltd. continues to work in the Manitoban Red River Valley, starting as a small farm business in 1978 and incorporated in 1986.

They grew from building row crop cultivators to an extensive and diversified group of equipment lines for any size farming operation. They continue to expand its facilities and equipment capabilities to maintain its objective of designing and producing equipment that meets the needs of today’s high-tech farmers.

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April 30, 2021

Canadian Global Affairs Says US-Canada Relations Back to Normal

By Harry Siemens Colin Robertson, the vice president of Canadian Global Affairs Institute expects the Joe Biden administration to revisit membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) between Canada and 10 other countries, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, as it moves deeper into its mandate.

The National Pork Producers Council has identified lobbying for the US to re-join the CPTPP as one of its top priorities for this year. Robertson said the Trans-Pacific Partnership, was an initiative of the Obama administration from which the US withdrew under Donald Trump after the US had already completed negotiations.

While no word yet as to the US government’s intentions, Robertson said that their initial focus will be on domestic recovery from COVID-19. Trade policy will be something they look at into year three or four. Much will depend on mid-term election results and if the Democrats remain in control of the House of Representatives and sustain their majority in the Senate.

He is not looking for immediate progress. For geostrategic reasons the Biden administration would like to negotiate as much access as it can for pork producers and other American agricultural interests.

These interests would like preferred access that Canada, Australia, and Mexico already enjoy into that group of countries.

“I think it will happen but I don’t think it’s going to happen right away because it’s low on the list of the Biden administration priorities,” said Robertson.

He expects that the US will first do an interagency review and calculations leaning that way for geostrategic reasons to counter China. China is a member of one of the newest plurilateral trade agreements, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RECP) between the 15 member Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“As it concerns Canada many of the provisions contained in the CPTPP are a part of the revised North American Free Trade Agreement.”

After one month in office, Robertson said CanadaUS relations are returning to regular trade. “I think it’s a restoration to the regular order that we enjoyed with US Presidents until Donald Trump, who was singular and America first policy.”

After the US election, Trudeau made the first call to congratulate Biden on his election. Robertson said although the flow of people across the CanadaUS border has dropped substantially and there is no tourism, truck traffic carrying food products back and forth between both countries will not stop.

The AgriPost

Udder Edema Puts Dairy Cows Under Pressure Udder Edema is the swelling and visible accumulation of fluid in cows’ udder at calving or a couple of weeks ahead of time in the close-up pen. Fortunately, most distressed cows do not need any producer or vet intervention.

That’s because most of these cases disappear on their own; usually within after few days of cows being milked.

On the other hand, there are dairy farms that I have visited on my travels that seem to have every other cow come down with udder edema as they enter the milk-line. It is here that the underlying reasons for such problems should be investigated, so preventive action can be taken, particularly in those persistent and damaging cases.

Here is a recent photograph of a cow with udder edema on day-6 of lactation that I took on a 150-cow dairy (below right), which tells a similar story. The extent of her udder edema encompasses the entire udder as well as excessive fluid accumulation, seen right in front of the udder. The cow could still be milked, but her milk letdown was understandably poor. The dairy producer told me that it took a few days for her udder edema to disappear, but he said that on occasion there were other fresh cows in the herd, which had internal damage set in and he eventually culled them.

What exactly caused such mild or severe udder edema in this dairy or others is not exactly known. However, there are lots of credible theories that make sense to me.

Such notions are backed by

dairy producers, veterinarians and sound scientific research, which dictates that common udder edema, is a combination of parity of cow, metabolic changes prior to calving, genetics as well as inadequate pre-calving and/or post-calving diets.

First-calf heifers with udder edema are good examples of underlying parity, pre-calving metabolism and even genetic reasons. Subsequently, they are often compared to mature cows in this manner, because they are more prone to udder fluid-retention problems, since their mammary blood vessel network is still developing. So, it is expected that blood circulation in their udders will be significantly limited in the first place.

Furthermore, the transference of immunoglobulins from their blood to colostrum may increase vascular hydrostatic pressure, which naturally contributes to leakage of fluids from the bloodstream serum, and into the udder tissues’ interstitial spaces.

Such microscopic symptoms are eventually seen as visibly enlarged udders in either the close-up dry cows or post-calving pens. This means that a quick barn-walk will reveal that edema-filled udders are doughy to the touch and pressing any quarter should result in an indention that will quickly fill itself in, once outside pressure is released. Fortunately, most people don’t confuse them with udder quarters that are infected with mastitis, where quarters are hard and heat of inflammation is evident.

Aside from these helpful physiological reasons, it became obvious to me that inadequate nutrition played a much more substantial role in the udder edema problems that faced the above-mentioned 150cow dairy. I traced them back to three major challenges, namely: 1. poor quality water; high total dissolved solids (TDS) and unacceptable high salinity (sodium), 2. unbalanced close-up dry cow and lactating dairy diets. And 3. high levels of dietary elements of “oxidative stress”; excessive levels of iron, which can lead to cell damage in the udder and increased fluid permeability.

There wasn’t much that I could do to solve the udder edema problems associated with this dairy farm’s salty and hard water. Yet, I did start off - by reformulating the feeding program of the close-up dry cows; using the NRC recommendations for dietary energy, fiber, protein, no added salt, and plus a good dose of “anti-oxidants” such as vitamin E @ 3,000 iu, and organic-selenium @ 6 mg per head, daily.

Similar dietary changes were also made to the herd’s

lactation TMR, mainly in its mineral/vitamin profile; where all sodium-laden ingredients were either reduced or removed such as common sodium chloride (table salt), sodium bicarbonate, and dietary potassium chloride (with an equivalent increase in dietary magnesium). Finally, zinc-methionine, 150,000 iu/hd/d of Vitamin A and 2,500 iu/hd/d of Vitamin E were added.

As a result, the high incidence of udder edema in this herd was almost immediately cut down by two-thirds of its former self. Those few remaining cases per month became the mild-types that notably disappeared after a few days.

In the end, this exercise was a good testimony that by investigating the problem and then applying the best nutrition and management tools at our disposal, we were able to take away much of the pressure that was underlying a high incidence of udder edema.

Recent photograph of a cow with udder edema on day-6 of lactation

No FTP Minister Decision on AgriStability is Disappointing Canadian pork producers are disappointed by the outcome of late March’s meeting between the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Agriculture.

On news that the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Ministers of Agriculture reached an agreement to remove the reference margin limit, the Canadian Pork Council, representing over 7,000 pork producers from coast to coast, acknowledge the Ministers’ efforts to meet and discuss AgriStability, but are extremely disappointed

that Federal and Provincial Agriculture ministers could not reach consensus on Minister Bibeau’s proposal to improve payment rates.

“We know AgriStability negotiations are not easy, but removing the reference margin limit does very little for pork producers,” said Rick Bergmann, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council. “We expected that, in these difficult times, the prairie provincial ministers would have considered the challenges faced by pork producers.”

Over the last 12 months,

pork producers in every province have faced extreme price fluctuations, border closures and processing plants shutdowns. Fortunately, some producers weathered the storm, but others must now struggle with a program that could have worked better if Minister agreed to changes.

“We had high expectations that provincial Ministers understood that the situation was difficult for pork producers and that they placed their hope in this program for meaningful financial assistance. Our desired outcome

was for provincial ministers to support the proposed solutions put forward by the federal government, including raising the program’s payment rate from 70% to 80%,” Bergmann added.

While the United States government sees the value in agriculture and is supporting agriculture producers so they remain efficient and competitive, CPC strongly encourages the federal government to move forward with provinces that believe all producers should receive the assistance they need.

The AgriPost

April 30, 2021

Western Wheat Growers Say Federal Budget Not Based on Reality

By Harry Siemens According to the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWGA) there is little in the 2021 Federal budget that will benefit grain farmers. Agriculture contributes strongly to Canada’s economy during and the Federal government should support it accordingly since grain farmers adopted the latest technology that maximizes production and minimizes costs.

“I have trouble downloading software for my equipment now and cannot wait for them to design Earth Observation Satellites and send into space,” said Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, SK director and past president. “The Feds want a 30 per cent reduction in GHG by limiting nitrogen fertilizer use but has never consulted industry or farmers if this is even achievable.” Prairie grain farmers adopted low-till farming techniques decades ago and yet have no recognition for it she added.

“It is staggering to think that the Federal government wants grain farmers to adopt commercially available clean technology by moving off diesel and assist with the purchase of more efficient grain dryers, this is an odd proposal and suggests that

the farmers don’t already adopt the newest innovations that have proven benefits which couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Margaret Hansen, SK Director.

It irritates Jolly-Nagel at what seems to be a lack of understanding of the current state of affairs. For a number of decades many producers across the west adopted zero-till or minimal tillage soil practices and there’s no recognition for any of that.

“I’m not even sure that they fully understand the practice and how it improves our soil health,” said Jolly-Nagel.

She said that requesting farmers to improve crop yields, increase exports and add value-added processing is already what they do. “All of this comes down to increasing our yield or increasing the value of the commodity. And yet they want to cut us at the knees by reducing fertilizer use by 30 per cent,” said Jolly-Nagel. “It’s crazy.

It’s as though they don’t understand how we go about producing more on less land.

And to attack fertilizer, one of the tools that we need, you might as well leave it with bare hands.”

When her father and others adopted minimal tillage, he did not stand up and say give us credit for this later she re-

Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel believes there should be recognition that production of food here is safe, healthy and has the highest environmental standards on the globe; that there are amazing things that farmers have adopted to become some of the best farmers in the world and instead they are disregarded by the federal government.

Submitted photo

called. He saw the benefits of that technology. Farmers have not shared with the world when adopting new technology and the reasons why.

“And farmers are furious because every which way we turn, it looks like a carbon tax is going to cost us more money,” said Jolly-Nagel.

When the railways have to charge more carbon tax, the farmers pay for that. The trucking industry, logistics, fertilizer, manufacturing, everybody else charged a carbon tax passes that tax back onto the farmer. And the farmer has nobody that they

can pass that carbon tax onto but to absorb it.

She believes there should be recognition that production of food here is safe, healthy and has the highest environmental standards on the globe; that there are amazing things that farmers have adopted to become some of the best farmers in the world and instead they are disregarded by the federal government.

“We haven’t done a great job of communicating all of these adoptions because we didn’t know we’d be in this situation 30 years later where we’d have to explain it,” said Jolly-Nagel.

Prairie NDP Leaders Urge Provinces to Sign AgriStability Proposal NDP Official Opposition leaders of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba joined together to urge their respective provincial governments to go back to the table with the federal government and sign the full AgriStability proposal before the June 30 deadline for farmers and producers to enrol for the program.

On March 25, the Prairie provinces came to a partial agreement with the federal government to make changes to AgriStability.

The reference margin limit was removed; however, Conservative Premiers in all three provinces refused to invest the money necessary to change the compensation rate from 70 to 80 per cent.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau is

providing the Prairie provinces an opportunity to still agree to the full proposal.

Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have all signed on, but the agreement requires two-thirds of provinces to go forward and the governments of the prairie provinces have so far refused to do so.

In Manitoba, the PC government has refused to agree to federal program enhancements, despite clear support from Manitoba producers.

The Keystone Agriculture Producers called the government’s response “discouraging and disappointing” and urged the province to sign on immediately.

“After everything prairie producers have been through in recent years, the last thing

they need is conservative leadership that puts partisan fights ahead of their livelihoods,” said Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew. “It’s time to put away the egos and get this deal done for Prairie producers and the Canadian families that rely on them.”

In Alberta, 11 agricultural organizations from across the sector released a joint statement calling on the UCP government to agree to the full federal proposal.

“Agricultural producers made their voices clear that they do not want to settle for half of this proposal,” said Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley. “Agriculture is key to driving economic recovery on the Prairies. The Prairie provincial governments need to stop using farmers as bargaining chips and in-

stead invest what is needed to complete this deal.”

In Saskatchewan, farm and producer groups have pointed to the increased costs and risks for their members since the program was cut in 2013.

“The fact is that there is an urgency to act now, while we have a federal government that is at the table ready to make real reforms,” said Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “That has not always been the case. This is a significant opportunity to strengthen and sustain the economic recovery on the prairies.”

The three prairie NDP leaders made their collective call to support the full AgriStability program during a joint press conference held from Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg.

13

Researchers Examine Processing to Reduce Ergot Toxicity

By Harry Siemens Research by the University of Saskatchewan will help swine producers protect their pigs from ergot-contaminated feed toxic effects.

In feeding trials conducted with piglets by the University extreme processing of ergot contaminated feed using steam explosion reduced the amount of the ergot alkaloid. It caused a shift in the alkaloid profile reducing its toxic effects.

Assistant Professor Dr. Denise Beaulieu said that very low levels of ergot in the feed could impact productivity. Unlike other mycotoxins, which primarily affect non-ruminants or pigs and chickens, ergot affects livestock classes, including ruminants like cows.

In a Canadian Food Inspection Agency list ergot in animal feed is low as one part per million so at minimal levels. At those concentrations, there may or may not be effects at any stage.

‘We would think that livestock producers, in years where we know there is contamination, we wouldn’t encourage producers to feed contaminated grains.”

However, in years with severe contamination, producers might want to take steps to prevent the effects of ergot and or other mycotoxins in case some of the feed grain has these contaminants. In some years there is a low level of contamination in much of the feed grains.

It varies from year to year, depending on the environment during the growing season.

Dr. Beaulieu said while steam explosion effectively reduces the ergot’s toxicity, less extreme methods had no effect. Researchers are looking for other processing methods that will be effective and practical.

She said ergot is a series of mycotoxins produced by a fungus and infects primarily wheat and rye and grasses. If livestock consumes minimal amounts of ergot, they eat less and growth slows. If they consume more, it affects circulation. It can cause gangrene and, in very high quantities, they can lose tails and ears and maybe even some hoof growth stopping. Also, in lactating sows, it’ll cause milk output to drop.

Dr. Beaulieu said researchers first used some screenings from rye and wheat that remained after the feed processing that was quite heavily contaminated with ergot. They are analyzing the results from the last experiment with pigs. The growth experiments conducted is to determine at what levels it affects the animals and at what stage.

“We don’t see a sustained effect of the ergot; trying to figure out what’s happening. Does it affect only feed intake, or does the ergot also affect growth?” she said.

Although the pandemic slowed research, the next step is a similar experiment with poultry to determine if it affects poultry the same way. Not only will they learn about chickens, but go back and learn about the pigs to see if it affects poultry and pigs differently.

“It might help us explain some of the results that we see in the pigs, but there again, with COVID and the pandemic, everything takes a little bit longer for us to be able to do these experiments now,” said Beaulieu.

Assistant Professor Dr. Denise Beaulieu said that very low levels of ergot in feed could impact productivity. Unlike other mycotoxins, which primarily affect non-ruminants or pigs and chicken, ergot affects livestock classes, including ruminants like cows.

Submitted photo

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April 30, 2021

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

CFA Pleased Agriculture Prominent in 2021 Budget

By Elmer Heinrichs Agriculture got quite a bit of attention in the Federal government’s big-spending budget proposals delivered

by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in the House of Commons this April.

Mary Robinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), said they were pleased to see that it included several items in-line with their prebudget recommendations.

She noted that it included $50 million for the purchase of more efficient grain dryers for farmers across Canada, an additional $1 billion in the Universal Broadband Fund to support a more rapid roll out of projects across Canada and $57.6 million for the mandatory isolation support for temporary foreign workers program.

The government also proposed $1.9 billion to recapitalize the national trade corridor fund, reinforcing

commitments to compensation for sectors affected by recent trade agreements, and $200 million to launch immediate, on-farm climate action programs under the Agricultural Climate Solutions program.

Agricultural Climate Solutions is a10-year program that will help to develop and implement farming practices to tackle climate change. Through agricultural practices, such as shelterbelts or cover crops, farmland can store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases, noted Robinson.

Robinson said these initiatives demonstrate that the government recognizes the environmental potential of the agri-food industry, while taking steps to address its infrastructure requirements and the costs associated with protecting farm workers from COVID-19.

“It is heartening to hear Minister Freeland identify agriculture as one of

the foundational pillars of Canada’s ‘new, resilient and sustainable economy’,” said Robinson.

The CFA will be working closely with the Federal government to ensure that these words are followed with impactful actions that truly leverage the potential in our sector, concluded Robinson.

The Federal government’s budget also announced $60 million over the next two years, from the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund to target the protection of existing wetlands and trees on farms, including through a reverse auction pilot program and $10 million over the next two years, from the Agricultural Clean Technology Program toward powering farms with clean energy and moving off diesel.

In addition it plans to return a portion of the proceeds of the Federal price on carbon directly to farm-

ers in the backstop jurisdictions of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario for the 2021-22 year.

After acrimony from farmers over how tasks such as grain drying aren’t exempt from the Federal carbon tax, the Liberals said they will now rebate the levy collected on propane and natural gas.

The Liberals are also again topping up the universal broadband fund, a plan they announced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been slow to actually fund projects in Manitoba, which has some of the worst internet speeds in Canada.

Lianne Rood, the Conservative shadow minister for agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, said she is disappointed that the money they are spending is not going to programs that would help ensure our food sovereignty and get money into the pockets of farmers.

Maximize Your ROI

By Les Kletke Chad Andrukow with Point Forward Solutions said that higher grain prices make it even more important to maximize the return on investment (ROI) on field crops this year. He was part of a panel for Plant 21 sponsored

by Agvisor Pro. Ho noted that along with higher crop prices comes higher input prices and that makes it imperative to make the choices that will give farmers the best return.

Each of four panelists was asked to give some “do’s and don’ts” for farmers heading into seeding. Andrukow who has concentrated on precision agriculture for the past several years said that it is critical to be aware of the land you farm and to handle each field separately. The one size fits all does not work from field to field or even within fields.

His firm uses four maps to determine the characteristics of a field.

“The first is topography,” he said. “You have to be aware of the topography of the field

and manage accordingly.”

“With the drier spring conditions farmers may not encounter as many potholes or low spots that require special treatment but that can change quickly and you may want to consider different seeding rates for high spots in the field,” he added.

The second map that his company uses is based on soil texture. “Are you putting as much fertilizer on the sandy spots that are a lot less

likely to give you as a good a return?” he asked participants. “Perhaps you should be decreasing your seeding rate and the nutrient input because the odds of a good a crop in those spots are reduced.”

To maximize the ROI from a field it is important to know what the nutrient level is and the moisture that is available in the field he explained. His firm provides maps with those factors and

when working with a farmer they develop a management program that takes advantage of the best spots in the field and targets the highest yields while cutting back on the areas that are likely to be less productive.

“We are going into a very dry planting season across most of the prairies at this time and this is something that producers should be considering when they are planting.” he said.

Chad Andrukow with Point Forward Solutions said that higher grain prices make it even more important to maximize the return on investment (ROI) on field crops this year.

Submitted photo

April 30, 2021

19

Spring is Here to Stay, I Hope

By Joan Airey The snowfall this past week was much needed moisture. We’ll still need some spring rains for things to grow. Most gardeners will have started their bedding plants. My granddaughter Blake and I are going to start some flowers this afternoon to transplant into the garden to encourage bees to pollinate plants.

This past week I have been enjoying reading Micro Food Gardening, Projects Plants and Plants for Growing Fruits and Veggies in Tiny Spaces by Jen McGuinness.

An article on vermicomposting was really interesting.

Vermicomposting is the breaking down of food materials by worms. The by-products of this include worm castings (which are great additions to soil) and leachate which is a liquid that is from the worm casting bin that can be further diluted and used to boast plant growth.

I tried this once before but didn’t have access to all the information the book contain so will try it again with the added knowledge. Since then, I have learned of a new operation Smiley Worms near Brandon that has the worms available for sale and their by-products’ living soil and worm castings.

The book contains numerous projects of interest for gardeners wanting to make use of small spaces such as a wine box spice garden, mini food fountain with herbs, veggies and edible flowers and a strawberry cake tower you can build. It is available at Indigo, Amazon and many independent book stores.

Another interesting book “A Woman’s Garden” by Tanya Anderson let’s you visit numerous gardens through her book from Deanna’s Garden in California to Jan’s Devon United Kingdom to Tanya’s own garden on the Isle of Man where my own grandmother grew up. It includes information on growing herbs something I need to do more of so I can try all the recipes immediately. It includes info on growing things to make facials, chamomile tincture, soaps, and numerous other things.

Plus, most of the gardeners have their own websites which you can visit them- another bonus.

I have planted potatoes in my greenhouse floor like last year using the leftover Norland potato crop. Plus, Blake and I have planted some tubs of carrots to have an early crop in the greenhouse.

Earlier I planted a tomato seed in a large pot thinking it wouldn’t get set back by having to be transplanted.

Well, it didn’t grow after several weeks so I planted the tub to carrots. This morning I went down to my garden room and here is one lonely tomato in among numerous carrot seeds. That means it will have to get transplanted to a big pot of its own.

Tomatoes are a staple food in our house. This year I found a tomato called Big League Hybrid (68 days) in the T & T catalogue. They are called a true containertype tomato producing the largest tomatoes in the shortest time. Early maturing beefsteak fruit are excellent for fresh eating and salads. Due to the sheer weight of the 400–600-gram (14-21 oz) fruit, support will be required. I’m hoping they are true to their description so I can have some large tomatoes on my patio for BLT sandwiches.

The Prairie Garden has a sale on three of their books an excellent gift for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gifts.

The three included in the sale are Herb & Spices, Fruit & Berries and Healthy Gardening. You can order them at theprairiegarden.com.

Chesapeake Peppers produce well in the garden, in pots on the patio, and indoors. Numerous new gardening books have been printed because of the increased demand. These two sure piqued my interest.

Photo by Joan Airey

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April 30, 2021

The AgriPost

Farm and Food Discovery Centre Opens New Swine Exhibits

By Harry Siemens

Susan Riese manager, of PR and Consumer Marketing Programs with Manitoba Pork hopes that people will pre-book their visit to the Farmer’s Food Discovery Centre which is marking its 10th anniversary with some upgrades. The Centre has also added a few new freestanding activities, such as the “pig poop tic-tac-toe”, the “everything but the oink” display and “what’s the word in the barn”.

In mid-2020, Manitoba Pork helped refurbish the 10-year-old swine exhibit at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre (FFDC). The upgrades included new signage featuring bold primary colours and new imagery and content to provide visitors with better engagement while telling Manitoba pork’s production story.

“It’s open for business,” said Susan Riese manager, of PR and Consumer Marketing Programs. “FFDC looks forward to hosting tours in this space once COVID-19 restrictions lessen.”

Riese said the Farmer’s Food Discovery Centre is marking its 10th anniversary, thus the upgrade. They have also added a couple of freestanding activities, such as the pig poop tic-tactoe, the “everything but the oink” display and “what’s the word in the barn”. She said that visitors can uncover doors and learn about some of the language used on farms.

While still restricted, the centre is open throughout the week, but visitors need to book in advance. Cur-

rently they can accept private tour groups of up to 15.

It’s exciting with so many Manitobans now two generations removed from the farm and said that there is no shortage of misinformation available. “This is an excellent opportunity for people to learn about food production and how farmers raise pigs,” said Riese.

She said Manitoba Pork’s education and promotional approach is three-pronged, including online resources like kid’s activity sheets and some short videos. In normal times, they would use booths to display and engage at public events, like Discover Agriculture in the City and the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon.

“The most important relationship or approach that we have, and so rewarding, is our partnership with the Farm and Food Discovery Centre and also our support for Ag in the Classroom.”

For her it is good to think back on doing a wide gamut of activities and the rewards that come from sitting down with the little ones and showing them from where their food comes; and adults

too. “The number of people with a direct connection or an indirect connection with agriculture is, it’s waning,” she said.

“To counter again, the misinformation that’’ out there, whether that’s through social media or on the websites; you can’t always believe everything you read, she said.

Riese and her colleagues also monitor misinformation and speak with people in person to counter and answer their questions or resolve any misconceptions they might have. “It’s more difficult when these things happen online and through social media,” she said. But their website is pretty extensive and tries to drive people there. On the website people can watch videos of pigs and barns and learn how farmers raise their pigs; there is no better way than to see it firsthand at places like Farm and Food Discovery Centre, said Riese. “It’s real. You get a glimpse into a real working hog farm.”

When asked about the messaging during the pandemic she said that it is even more important now to spread the

message of healthy, safe, and readily available food because the food prices keep going higher. “That’s correct and across the board too,” said, Riese.

It is not only about safe and health food though it is about food insecurity, which is pretty scary for many after seeing some panic buying at the beginning of the pandemic. Notably at the same time, the public and industry alike continue wasting precious food.

“It’s super important for people to know where their food comes from and produced. The well-educated public will contribute to the whole food system’s success and help keep our food safe and affordable. So, the more AG literate the public is to meet that challenge of feeding the world; and what is that number, nine billion by 2050 - I think that helps,” said Riese.

She hopes the public takes the opportunity to visit FSDC over spring break with the family, call ahead and book a spot and visit the website, manitobapork.com for any information, including the activity sheets and videos.

The AgriPost

April 30, 2021

21

Writers Plan to Record “Milk Run” Memories

From left to right Shawn Airey, Tanya Airey, and Lori-Anne Heapy showing cattle at Harding Fair. Shawn and his sister Lori are third generation family members showing on the Milk Run. Tanya nee Moffat will be third generation too, showing at Milk Run Fairs. The Town that hosts Harding Fair may be under fifteen but on Fair Day it explodes to anywhere between five hundred and a thousand people. Their children also show on the Milk Run which makes four generations. How many generations of your family have shown on the Milk Run?

By Joan Airey For those who aren’t familiar with the Milk Run it is a group of agricultural fairs that take place the third week in July starting in Oak River (Monday), Strathclair (Tuesday), Shoal Lake (Wednesday), Hamiota (Thursday), Harding (Friday) and Oak Lake (Saturday).

At one time farmers would exhibit their best milk cow, horses, pigs and beef cattle.

Now beef cattle, horses light and draft, as well as commercial cattle are the big attraction as times have

changed. You will also find domestic exhibits, entertainment for children, and a variety of food to feast on. In 2020 these fairs had to be cancelled because of COVID-19 but I’m sure they’ll be back up and running as soon as COVID is under control.

Marcie Harrison and Brenda Hunter are awardwinning writers who have enjoyed telling local stories for over thirty years and plan to write a book to record Milk Run Memories.

Both their works have appeared regularly in numer-

ous community newspapers and both have contributed to a variety of magazines and publications on a freelance basis.

“The idea came to me this winter on one of my daily walks. I had been thinking of writing a book for some time (close to 15 years), but hadn’t quite decided on the theme or content.

Since I was taking a 7-day book writing challenge at the time, I started thinking of ideas for a book,” said Brenda Hunter. “I was reminiscing about my own days on the Milk Run and about

how a group of us back in the day had jokingly said we should have T-shirts made saying, ‘I survived the Milk Run!’ and offer them for sale at the end at Oak Lake fair. So, I got to thinking about that and how there are so many individual stories about events and happenings that took place on the Milk Run and thought it would be a great idea for a book. With COVID-19 restrictions last year and the fairs on the Milk Run being cancelled which could quite possibly happen again this year, it seemed like an ap-

propriate time to lift some spirits and get people talking about their memories of the Milk Run.” “Over the past couple of years, Brenda and I have often remarked that we feel like we are destined to work on a project together but we just weren’t sure what that project would be. Then one day, Brenda suggested writing a book about stories from the Milk Run and it just felt right!” said Marcie Harrison. “Brenda has personal experience of taking part in the week-long fair circuit, giving her insights and first-hand knowledge of just what it takes along with a passion and enthusiasm for the topic that is definitely contagious!”

“Growing up just across the road from the fairgrounds in Shoal Lake, I have my own memories of watching the caravan of people and livestock pulling in and setting up the night before the fair. There was such an air of anticipation as the midway went up creating a temporary skyline against the setting sun.

Oh, what fun awaited!” said Harrison.

“The small-town fair is an iconic part of rural Manitoba, and I think capturing these colourful memories on the written page will

make for a heartwarming read for generations to come,” added Harrison.

If you have memories of taking part in “The Milk Run” Brenda and Marcie would like to hear from you. Their e-mail address is milkrunmemories@gmail. com. They have a Facebook Page Milk Run Memories.

You can phone or text them at, Marcie Harrison 204764-7076 or Brenda Hunter 204-851-2913. They are looking forward to telling your stories.

They prefer written submissions. However, they realize that not everyone is a writer, but everyone is the author of their own life experience! If this is the case, feel free to contact them by one the means listed above to arrange for an alternate method to record your story to be included in the book, because they know they’re out there waiting to be told.

All stories told will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and assigned an anonymous tag for those who don’t wish to reveal their identity.

Many families will have been showing on the Milk Run for four and five generations. Hope you all will help these ladies record the history of these events.

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The AgriPost

April 30, 2021

Low Hog Supply and High Demand Raising Prices

By Harry Siemens Hog commentator Jim Long in his late March commentary said “hog prices continue to climb” with Iowa - Southern Minnesota price averaging at $91.44, the highest price since October 2014. Pork Cut-outs ended up closing at $102.99.

Long said, help those poor producers who listened to the Chicken Littles who encouraged producers to sell hogs last August into the 2021 market because those wizards said there would be more pigs in 2021 than in 2020. “Well, from January 1 to the week of March 14, the US hog slaughter was -4.4 per cent lower than a year ago, 1.330 million hogs fewer. No wonder the hog price is higher,” said Long. Sow Slaughter continues to be high. The last two weeks of data show over 66,000, a-week levels of liquidation in his opinion.

In an interview, Long said in 2020 and earlier the industry was not making money, with some months in 2020 as bad as ever. The cash price for feeder pigs last year, the lowest in 20 years had prices almost next to nothing. When producers lose money, it means fewer pigs and that is what is happening right now, he said. With fewer pigs coming to market and consumer demand remaining strong in an improved economy in both the US and Canada, people have money and are buying more meat. Exports have stayed strong which is good for producers.

“I think the prices are going to go higher because the second wave of African Swine Fever in China has hit them hard. It’s going to retract any recovery they’ve had in production. So exports are going to stay strong there, and I think there’s still a lot of upside to the summer market versus where the futures are today.”

In China, one company in Henan province lost all 80,000 sows and other data shows the country lost nine million sows in two months. That’s Canada, the US, and Mexico’s sow herd combined. It’s almost incomprehensible, but it’s the scale, and China has done nothing to control the ASF. They haven’t put the rules in place like other countries because the profits are so high said Long.

The producer needs to figure how to keep that pig alive to make good money where feeder pigs are at $275 US each.

“That’s a reflection of supply,” he said.”So you have a $275 feeder pig; today, with the feed price in China, it’s about $160 to $170 to feed that pig.”

Long said countries and companies could print lots of data and records, but the only truth is price. In the US, the USDA has trouble in the last two inventory reports getting it right. In China typically, two different reports, but usually, they’re six million sows apart he explained. He said that in China when pigs get ASF, they do not bury them. If it was in Germany, they shoot them and bury them, or Russia, shoots them and bury in China by shipping them to market where they eat the pigs. “There’s no danger to humans,” said Long. “But they empty the barns, slaughter them as pork.”

Data shows 18 per cent of all the pigs going to slaughter in China right now are less than 200 pounds. At $550 for a market hog, why ship a pig light he asked. “The only reason is they are sick and the producer is trying to slaughter before they die,” said Long. He said it puts pork on the marketplace driving down the price. The slaughter price still incredibly high came down, but what happens is that it kills the pigs, and then they’re not there he said. “The price will go back up,” he predicted.

“In the short term, it probably tempers imports because they have pork coming from these lighter pigs. We’ll see. That’s what happened before. I couldn’t figure out at first why the price wasn’t recovering. Once in China, I realized they don’t bury the pigs; they kill and eat them,” said Long.

The economic factor is part of their problem and what happens is the barns break. Then they try to fill farms right away because they want to get money back. “But the thing is, they don’t have the barn cleaned up right,” said Long. “And they break again, it is chaos.”

Jim Long said some months in 2020 were bad for feeder pig prices, the lowest in 20 years.

When producers continued to lose money in 2020, it meant fewer pigs planned and that is what is driving higher prices right now.

Casting Your Shadow

By Les Kletke Terry Aberhardt, a panelist organized by AGvisorPRO, said he tries to cast his shadow across as much of his farmland as possible and recommends other farmers do the same.

“I think we have a one in ten, or one in twenty chance to maximize profits with the way grain prices are this year, so you want to do everything possible to cast that shadow on your land either physically or digitally,” he said. Aberhardt refers to a hands-on approach for what is happening on the land and to the crop you are producing.

“There are a lot of tools like variable rate applications and fungicide that

can make a difference but you have to know the return they offer and if it is a good choice for you,” he said. “We can’t just go with a blanket application and assume that you are getting the best return, you want to put your money where you get the best return.”

Aberhardt farms himself at Langenburg, Saskatchewan and has an advisory role in several other companies. He knows that fertilizer prices are going up because of higher grain prices and said that farmers should be aware of the return they can get from increased nutrients.

“We know that input prices have gone up and applying more nutrients may not always be beneficial,” he said.

“You have to make that deci-

sion for your farm and you can only make that decision if you are aware of what is happening on the land and to the plants.”

He advocates use of digital programs that have made record keeping and monitoring of variable rate applications much easier. “We know from our experience that just turning up the tap is not the right answer,” he said. “Just turning up the tap on nitrogen, if you don’t have a balance of other nutrients can actually put you backward.” he said. “The last thing you want to do is spend more money and have a negative impact on yield.”

He had three recommendations which show a return every year but are especially important this year. First, check on your crop as much as pos-

sible, if you don’t have time to monitor find an agronomist who will.

Second, it is easy to invest in new products and blanket apply but that can eat into margins quickly. Make sure you are aware of where you are getting a return.

His last recommendation is that when those input prices increase it makes precision agriculture a better return. He believes that farmers should consider things like variable rate applications instead.

Aberhardt says you want to do everything possible to cast a shadow on your land either physically or digitally.

Submitted photos

Terry Aberhardt says “I think we have a one in ten, or one in twenty chance to maximize profits with the way grain prices are this year.”

Changing Trends Offer Opportunity Despite some setbacks caused by the pandemic, Canada’s food and beverage sector may emerge even stronger in 2021, according to a new Farm Credit Canada (FCC) report.

“The pandemic has brought losses that can never be recouped, but it has also opened a floodgate of opportunities for Canada’s food and beverage sector to become an even stronger part of the national economy,” said J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief economist. “In many ways, the pandemic did not create these opportunities, but accelerated the tide of underlying trends that promote them.”

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the report shows most economic indicators for the

food and beverage processing sector are strong compared to other sectors of the Canadian economy. Capital expenditures and employment in food and beverage processing, for example, fell less as a percentage than all industries combined.

The report also notes that higher disposable income and savings in 2020 will likely spur growth in food and beverage consumption once it is safe to fully reopen food services.

Success in containing the virus abroad also carries significant implications for Canada’s food and beverage processors, since more than 30 per cent of sales have gone to export markets over the past five years, according to the report.

Consumer trends and export markets offer a variety of opportunities for different parts of the food and beverage sector, which together represents

the largest manufacturing employer in Canada with almost 300,000 workers. It’s also the second largest manufacturing sector in terms of value of production with sales of goods manufactured worth $122.9 billion in 2020. That year, the sector represented 1.8 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Grain and oilseed milling is expected to see the most significant increase in sales at 13.4 per cent, due to increased demand for edible oils, flour, and other baking products domestically and abroad. Plant-based products are expected to capture a greater portion of food spending as part of a growing consumer trend.

Sugar and confectionary products are projected to see a 12.3-per-cent increase in sales for 2021 as consumers appear ready to indulge after going

through various lockdowns, according to the report.

There are also projected sales increases for dairy products (5.6 per cent), beverages (4.9 per cent), processed seafood (4.7 per cent), meat products (4.6 per cent), and bakery and tortilla products (2.1 per cent) in 2021. Fruit, vegetables and specialty foods sales are expected to remain steady in 2021.

“The food and beverage processing sector showcased its resilience by adapting to the evolving trends and challenges posed by the pandemic,” Gervais said. “Government investments in food security and safety, along with low interest rates, a weak dollar and strong demand for healthy and highquality Canadian food, could be the catalyst the sector needs to lead Canada’s economic recovery.”

The AgriPost

Harvesting Shrub Willow as a Bioenergy Crop With renewable energy demand and consumption at an all-time high the Shrub willow, a quick-growing woody crop can be an excellent source of renewable bioenergy.

The crop is harvested and turned into wood chips, which can be used for heat, mulch, animal bedding, biochar, and biofuel.

In a new study, researchers grew shrub willow on a semi-commercial scale to better understand the nuances of this bioenergy crop.

“We learned and developed key know-hows that we can transfer to industry partners interested in this crop,” said Armen Kemanian. Kemanian is a member of the American Society of Agronomy and is the lead author of the study.

Insights include determining which willow varieties to plant and how to best handle planting and harvesting. “Starting a willow crop can be expensive,” said Kemanian. “It also requires a perfectly choreographed operation to keep costs low and yields high.”

But shrub willow also offers several advantages as a bioenergy crop. “Shrub willow thrives in wetter areas with cold winters and mild summers,” said Kemanian.

Other bioenergy crops, such as switchgrass, grow better in areas with warmer summers.

According to Kemanian, “Shrub willow can be part of a geographically diverse combination of bioenergy crops.”

One important quality of

shrub willow is its ability to store a tremendous amount of carbon. That’s beneficial because when there is more carbon stored in plants, there is less carbon in the atmosphere.

When the carbon is in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, it can be a harmful greenhouse gas. But when the carbon is in the plant, it doesn’t pose a risk to the environment.

Shrub willow also has tremendous genetic variability.

That’s important for breeding key crop characteristics, such as pest resistance. “The study found that planting a mixture of willow varieties is critically important,” said Kemanian.

That’s because some highly productive willow varieties attract pests, like the willow leaf beetle. Surrounding these high-yield willow varieties with beetle-resistant varieties can slow down the pests.

“This is a different strategy compared to growing annual crops,” explained Kemanian.

Annuals can be replanted every year. In contrast, shrub willow can be harvested every two to four years for more than 20 years. “Growing different varieties together is critical,” said Kemanian.

The relatively long lifespan of willow crops also means that planning is vitally important. “Harvest costs account for a large fraction of total operation cost over the life cycle of willow crops,” said Kemanian.

The study established that a well-designed field is easier

Shrub willow can store a significant amount of carbon in the unharvested roots and plant crowns (lower stems) left behind after the harvest. Willow will resprout vigorously from these crowns.

Photo by Armen Kemanian

to harvest. That might seem obvious, but some of the findings are counterintuitive.

For example, while yields are important, seeking the highest possible yield per unit area is not the most critical parameter when planning willow planting schemes.

“Designing fields and plantings so that harvest machinery traffic is efficient is more important,” said Kemanian.

However, the study also found that at least on semicommercial scales, actual willow yields could be lower than the expected yield potential. “Willow thrives in productive soils,” said Kemanian. “Rocky soils can increase planting and harvest cost and lower yields.”

Researchers suggest that when it comes to growing shrub willow, the harvestable crop is not the only valuable outcome for farmers. “We should also monetize the ecosystem services that willow provides,” said Kemanian.

These services include storing carbon, hosting pollinators, reducing water runoff, and retaining nutrients such

as nitrogen in the soil. “Willow can play a significant role in improving our most intensely farmed land,” said Kemanian. “We just need to take advantage of the synergies between animal production and crop production.”

But quantifying the ecosystems services of willow at a large scale remains complicated. “We can tackle this challenge with computer modeling,” said Kemanian.

“That’s something our team is doing right now.”

Other next steps include monitoring for pest outbreaks with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These UAVs could also be used to detect and control pests efficiently and economically.

“Ultimately, we think willow can play a role in regenerative and climate-smart agriculture,” said Kemanian.

Armen Kemanian is an associate professor and researcher at Pennsylvania State University. This work was supported by the NEWBio project and the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Take Time to Plan Before Throwing Money on Micro Nutrients

By Les Kletke Higher commodity prices have producers looking to maximize yields and take advantage of the run up in prices but Shannon Winny advised producers to spend time before they spend money on micro nutrients.

Winny who grew up in Ontario now operates GroWest Ag Ventures Ltd. and tells farmers to take the time and make the right decision on

micro nutrients.

She was one of four agronomists on the Plant 21 panel put together by AgVisor Pro that featured each agronomist providing two do’s and two don’ts for producers heading into seeding.

Winny said that this is not the time to spend money on micro nutrients if you do not already have a program in place. “Micro nutrients are expensive,” she said. “You don’t want to

Shannon Winny advised spending time before spending money.

be throwing them at a crop just to make sure the crop has enough nutrition. You want to spend the time considering the field situation and making sure you get the benefit from your investment.”

Winny said a good micro nutrient program is more than just considering the crop you will be planting and what it might need. “I have a client who has a copper deficiency problem in field but the same field has a manganese toxicity problem,” she said. “That means sitting down and coming up with a plan that allows him to apply the copper and not increase the manganese toxicity.”

It is not a one size fits all or a one-time treat and forget it scenario. “You have to be aware of the problem that exists in the field and find a

product that addresses the problem,” said Winny. “You also have to be aware of the issues through the season and that might mean handling products in different ways.”

She that many micro nutrient products can be applied with herbicides; in this situation she first recommends tissue testing.

She fears that the cost of micro nutrients and targets of higher yield may have producers cutting back on their regular nutrient program and spending the money on micros. “You need to have a good long term nutrient program and use it in conjunction with micro nutrients, this is not something to switch for one year; this requires a long term plan that should be addressed with your agronomist,” she added.

April 30, 2021

23

Removal of the RML Welcomed

by CFA While the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is pleased to see the removal of the Reference Margin Limit (RML), which has unduly and inequitably limited support for many producers since its introduction, CFA is disappointed that it appears some provinces were unwilling to adopt enhancements to the compensation rate for farmers.

For years and throughout the pandemic, CFA and other national farm groups have been recommending to the government to enhance the AgriStability program since its capacity to assist producers in need was reduced considerably in 2013.

Minister Bibeau’s proposal to enhance the program represents the first new money to be put into the Business Risk Management (BRM) suite since 2013, and has received support from a wide-range of farming organizations and stakeholder organizations across Canada.

The federal proposal from November 2020 included removing the RML and increasing the compensation rate from 70% to 80%.

In light of this development, the CFA is calling on the federal government to offer the increased compensation rate to those provinces which have indicated their support for this aspect of the federal proposal.

“For years agriculture groups all across Canada have been telling their governments that these programs would not be sufficient in a real crisis.

AgriStability, as a program responding solely to severe income losses, is there to help producers in crisis. And now, at a time where Canadian agriculture faces immense disruptions and uncertainty, we see critical investments in risk management treated like a political game, with politicians haggling for over 100 days while farmers have real concerns about their livelihoods over the coming year,” said CFA President, Mary Robinson.

“In order to maintain a robust and resilient food supply system, farmers need to have the confidence to invest in and grow their business. In 2020, due to COVID-19, many farmers didn’t even have the confidence to plant a full crop. Without a meaningful risk management suite that provides sufficient support in times of need, concerns about their ability to grow, harvest and sell these products leave farmers having to make impossible decisions, all of which affect the food supply within Canada,” added Robinson.

Increasing AgriStability’s support for farmers in crisis is an investment in the future of Canada’s agrifood industry. This is a sector primed to drive our country’s economic recovery, but producers need sufficient support to continue investing in their operations and ensure they can weather risks beyond their control.

Since the RML’s introduction in 2013, it has unduly limited the support available to many producers and CFA is very pleased to see this inequity addressed.

However, an enhancement to the compensation rate would ensure all producers have access to increased support when they trigger payments.

CFA said they will continue to work with the government to secure these changes to BRM programs, as the enhanced level of compensation is critical to ensure AgriStability sufficiently responds to all producers when they face unmanageable risks. CFA cannot stress enough the importance of the provinces accepting the full federal proposal as an investment in the current and long-term risk management needs of Canadian agriculture.

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April 30, 2021

Rental Protection for your Farm Machinery There are a few areas of insurance that I believe are especially important.

Hands-on experience is a great teacher, and prior to my career in the insurance industry, I had the privilege of working on a farm for three years and I rather innocently learned the fine art of causing farm machinery insurance claims.

Please allow me to pass on my first-hand experience and wisdom – it is important to review your loss of use for farm machinery coverage prior to the growing season. This coverage provides a limit of insurance which pays for the additional expense of renting a replacement unit for machinery damaged by an insured peril.

A quick refresher on the basics of this coverage: Loss of use coverage can be purchased to a level that you select, often in increments of $10,000 in value. We used to see many farms buying $10,000 or $20,000 of coverage. Now as machinery costs rise, the rental costs per hour, or the cost to hire a custom operator to complete the same work is increasing as well. We now see many farms carrying between $30,000 to $50,000 of coverage.

Just like the quality of hired labour on the farm, insurance policies are not all the same and it is important to understand the coverage you are getting from your farm insurer.

While the differences are minor, they are important. Some insurers apply a deductible not only to the damaged machinery, but also to your daily rental costs. Other insurers do not apply a deductible to the loss of use coverage (you’ve already paid a deductible on the damaged machinery), but they will limit the coverage to 10% daily of the total maximum amount of loss of use coverage that you purchased.

While there is a need for this coverage throughout your seeding and spraying seasons, this coverage is most valuable during harvest. Whether it is an auger, conveyor, tractor, grain cart, swather, combine or even a header, there are multiple pieces of machinery required to keep your operations moving during harvest. We have seen claims where the loss of use payment is larger than the repair or replacement of the piece of machinery.

I encourage you to spend a few minutes reviewing your coverage or call your broker to review. Not sure who to call? Why not work with an insurance broker who innocently learned the fine art of farm machinery claims.

For some additional reading, on some real-life stories visit rempelinsurance.com/agri-post-articles/the-benefits-of-dual-valuation.

Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from those who understand your business!

David Schmidt is an Account Executive and Rempel Insurance Brokers in Morris, MB, specializing in insuring farms and businesses across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

David is a member of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors, Winnipeg Chapter.

And can be reached at office 204-746-2320, text 204-712-6618, or email davids@rempelinsurance. com or visit rempelinsurance.com.

The AgriPost

Creep Feeding Calves in a Challenging 2021

If we don’t get some timely rains this spring, dried-out pastures should make any creep feeding more of a nutritional necessity.

By Peter Vitti Bridging the nutrient gap between mothers’ milk and pastures has always been the traditional purpose for creep feeding spring calves on many commercial cow-calf operations. Some of these people put out creep feeders during the late summer when milk of the average cow can only meet 50% of her growing calf’s requirements and pasture quality is mature.

Other people put out their creep feeders as soon as the snow disappears in order to

improve calf growth throughout the summer.

Positive economics in both cases of creep feeding usually plays a pivotal role in creep feeding calves at all, since producers can directly profit from the sole practice of creep feeding as well as achieve heavier saleable weaning-weights in the fall.

Not likely in 2021, and if we don’t get some timely rains this spring, dried-out pastures should make any creep feeding more of a nutritional necessity.

Consequently, I have calculated the profitability of creep feeding calves for 2021 as I have done in the last ten years, which targets an average 60 lbs of extra weaning-weight gain in a 100-day creep feeding program and I compare it to that of a noncrept animal. As the following table illustrates - high grain prices coupled with this fall’s predicted feeder prices have made creep feeding calves appear to be unprofitable (see Table 1).

For example, a 14% creep grain pellet that cost $375/mt last year, now costs $470/mt due to feed commodities that simply cost more, such as $6/ bushel barley and $450/mt canola meal. If I had used the creep pellet price from 2020, the net cost of creep feeding yields about a nominal $10 profit per calf as compared to inputting today’s latter feed price, which show about a $9 loss per animal.

This is not the only reason for 2021 calf creep unprofitability. A wider weight-gradient discount in today’s feeder market severely discounts cattle as they gain more cwt weight. In this particular case, the price cwt discount from 500 to 600 lbs feeder cattle was discounted $14 cwt (USF), which results in a prorated 60 lb rate of about $8.40 cwt. If this final pro-rated discount was closer to those of other years or $ 5 cwt; about a $20 per calf profit could possibly be realized.

Furthermore, in the last ten years (re: not including 2021, yet includes 2013 - the lowest $ return per calf due to low autumn feeder prices/ high grain prices), I made the correct general assumption that milk production and pasture quality were at least good enough to achieve a baseline/non-creep weaning weight of 540 lbs. and creep feed simply added an extra

60 lbs by autumn. However now, I suspect that some current drought-stricken pastures might not be able to support milk production of 10 - 20 litres per brood cow and in turn may not support good non-creep growth as well as significant calf nutrition drawn from grazing grass.

There is still good news.

Spring calves might be forced to turn to the creep feeders for supplementary nutrition in lieu of past years’ good milk production and pastures.

But at least the conversion of creep feed to gain is significantly better (re: 6.0 - 7.0: 1) than that of average milk production and pasture quality (re: 8.0 - 10: 1). If these creep feed conversions were similar, we might be looking at a $50 loss versus a less than $10 discount in 2021.

As a beef nutritionist, I have put together several well-balanced creep feeds to achieve such efficient gains on spring calves. My go-to formulas use: a mineral-vitamin pack, some barley, wheat middlings, corn DDGS, soybean meal and a coccidiostat. I do this work in conjunction with local feed mills and often get a commercial pellet made, which has a 5 - 6% feed consumption advantage over home-made chop when fed to calves.

It just so happens that a friend of mine runs a 300head cow-calf operation and thinks along similar lines as me. He has already put out his creep feeders on pasture, and filled them with a nutritious concoction as described above. That’s because, he believes that efficient gains on his calves will be due more to creep feed, if 2021 turns out to be a dry year; thus, supplying essential nutrients that would otherwise not be available. On the other hand, he is also hoping there is rain in the forecast.

Table 1

Campaign Aims to Reduce City Food Waste

By Elmer Heinrichs The Winnipeg Food Council is encouraging residents to rethink how they shop for and store groceries in an effort to divert food from the landfill.

Partnering with Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) Canada, the city of Winnipeg citizen advisory council has launched an online education campaign to promote household food-waste reduction.

According to LFHW, an offshoot of the National Zero

Waste Council, the average Canadian household throws out 140 kilograms of edible food annually at a cost of roughly $1,100. Fruit and vegetables make up the bulk of the waste.

Wasted food means wasted resources used to grow, produce and distribute that food to consumers. It also creates greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

Tips to reduce food waste include more meal planning

and shopping trips around what you already have at home, keeping food fresh longer by storing it correctly and using over-the-hill fruit and vegetables creatively.

Councillor Brian Mayes, chairperson of the Winnipeg Food Council, said, “If you can do some of these things, that’ll help reduce the amount of garbage and save you a little bit of money.”

In Winnipeg, residential garbage rose 12 per cent in 2020 with more people

staying home amid the pandemic. Organic waste makes up approximately 40 per cent of household trash and the city is currently engaged in a two-year residential composting pilot project.

Currently the city diverts roughly 30 per cent of garbage from the landfill through recycling and yard-waste programs. While Mayes said composting is needed to increase waste diversion, residents can help by creating less waste at home.

The AgriPost

April 30, 2021

Smiley Worms Brings Recycling to a New Level

By Joan Airey Smiley Worms is a familybased business near Brandon, MB started by Elena and Martin Dupuis. The business has been in development since 2013.

Currently the waste disposal system in Manitoba is reliant on tax dollars, and with a quick google search you will find many marketable products that can be made or simply redirected to reduce landfill use.

In comes Smiley Worms operated by the Dupuis. They started with vermicomposting, but they have a series of other products that are in the development stage.

“My wife Elena is a teacher and is in charge of all the marketing of our products and services. The system we created uses both a hot and vermicomposting method. The ingredient list is organic material from local businesses (kitchen scraps) and wood chips, cardboard and paper as our carbon source.

These items were destined for the landfill. We try to avoid meat and dairy. These products can be composted, but they tend to attract rodents and other pests,” said Martin Dupuis.

“This material is blended with a ten-yard agricultural feed mixer. The mix will heat up and once it has cooled, it is fed to the worms. Volume of worms, temperature and moisture all play a part on how long this process takes,” explained Dupuis. “The product is then screened, allowed to dry and packaged. Worm Castings provide many benefits, such as water retention, high in the plant hormone

auxin, disease suppression and it is great for the environment.”

The black compost bins found in most yards are usually designed to create hot compost with smaller volume of material. However they get too hot in the summer for the worms.

Traditional composting needs a large volume of material (carbon/nitrogen) to get your pile to heat up. It is regularly turned to add air to the pile for an even compost. The heating process brings many benefits such as it speeds up the breakdown of material, destroys unwanted weed seeds and kills pathogens.

“Vermicomposting does not require the compost to be heated; therefore, smaller volumes can be composted and can be done year-round indoors,” said Dupuis. “Both systems add beneficial mesophilic and thermophilic bacteria to the soil. We created a system that combines both methods.”

“I discovered Dr. David Johnson through many customers buying worms to build their own bioreactor.

The more research I did on his composting method, the more I was convinced he maybe was on to something, said Dupuis.” The material needed is not specific; it’s following his instructions that is important and it allows it to be built anywhere in the world.”

“Dr. Johnson believes that constant disturbing of traditional composting methods destroys fungal development in compost. His method allows a combination that creates a fungal dominated compost and vermicomposting,”

The Dupuis sell living soil which is a vermicomposting based soil blend. (inset) Red Wigglers, the common composing worm assist in the process and are also available.

Submitted photos

explained Dupuis. “The end product can be used as a soil amendment or a compost tea to be sprayed on a larger scale area, a preferred method used by farmers. If you’re planning on turning a farm from conventional to organic, this would be a good place to start your research.”

The Dupuis sell living soil which is a vermicomposting based soil blend.

This means there is a community of microbes present that provides valuable nutrition to plants. Most soil blends purchased at your local gardening centres are lifeless or inert. Living soil is alive with many ingredients added to accommodate any mineral deficiencies, balance PH, improve aeration and reduce watering.

“In addition to selling living soil we sell worms. We have Red Wigglers, the common composing worm. We also have European Night crawlers relatively new to North America, but it is also a composting worm with the added benefit of being big enough to take fishing,” remarked Dupuis. “We have our worm castings and our living soil.

We also sell normal compost,

one plant based, vegetable and one animal based manure.”

If anyone is interested in starting their own worm farm or how to use worm castings the Dupuis say there is a lot of information online at YouTube and Facebook groups.

Like many topics of interest, there are all over the world vermicomposting, and Dupuis provides a brochure to help customers get started.

They ship worms all over Canada but will make arrangements for a local pickup. At the moment they are searching for an appropriate spot to grow their business to offer even more products to their customers.

Their worm castings are available across Manitoba at numerous greenhouses and garden centres. Check your local greenhouse.

I didn’t know my local greenhouse carried their worm castings until visiting with Martin and Elena. They also have a subsidiary company, Smiley Guys Green Waste Collection Service. For more information on composting, you can visit their website smileyworms.ca or find them on Facebook.

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Federal Funding Will Help Farmers Reduce Agricultural Emissions The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) is celebrating the Federal Budget, which included the announcement of unprecedented funds to help Canadian farmers adopt climate-friendly practices.

Investments in the budget include, $200 million in new funding over two years to support farmers to reduce emissions by improving nitrogen management, increasing adoption of cover cropping, and normalizing rotational grazing, $60 million over the next two years to protect existing trees and wetlands on farms through a reverse auction program and $10 million over the next two years to power farms with clean energy. The investments are expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated on farms.

This funding responds directly to Farmers for Climate Solutions’ (FCS) Budget 2021 recommendations report, which was the result of a first-of-its-kind farmer-led Task Force.

The CFGA joined the national farmer-led coalition in 2020, and CFGA executive director, Cedric MacLeod, sits on the Task Force that championed a suite of highimpact practices for reducing agricultural emissions and strengthening farm sustainability by supporting farmers to implement the practices and priorities that were directly referred to in the federal budget.

“This investment proves the federal government knows farmers play an important role in Canada’s climate plan,” said MacLeod. “The budget announcement is similar to support farmers in other countries receive for tackling climate action. In Canada, our farmers are passionate about this issue and this investment will help us work towards climate action goals together.”

Canadian forage and grasslands are the single largest land use component of Canadian agriculture, covering over 70-million acres of agricultural land area.

It is well-known that forage and grasslands safeguard valuable carbon stores through soil carbon sequestration, making the sector vital in the fight against climate change.

“The CFGA played a central role in developing the budget ask from Farmers for Climate Solutions and we are pleased with the news of the investment of $185million per year over two years,” said CFGA Chair Chris Martin. “Grazing management, cover cropping and nitrogen management all directly touch the forage and grassland sector so this is particularly exciting news for those of us in the industry.”

Prairie Innovation Centre Receives Boost from Compass Credit Union Assiniboine Community College’s Prairie Innovation Centre looks to build on the college’s long history of delivering agricultural programming that is responsive to industry needs, and Assiniboine continues to engage partners who see the value in the future of agriculture in Manitoba. Compass Credit Union has recently come aboard with a $25,000 contribution.

“When the college approached us to be involved in this initiative and said they wanted to build a centre that partners with industry to provide creative and innovative solutions to problems, this

was something that Compass Credit Union could get behind,” said Buck Bright, CEO of Compass Credit Union.

“Agribusiness is important to Manitoba, important to our communities, important to cooperatives, and it’s important to our members.”

The vision for the Prairie Innovation Centre is an integrated learning environment with a mixture of collaborative learning spaces, applied research labs and multipurpose spaces. The Centre will repurpose the Valleyview Building on the North Hill campus.

“The Prairie Innovation Centre will really be a hub

for agriculture education, applied research and extension. It will give the college the ability to collaborate and work with industry to extend or transfer knowledge not only to students, but also to the agriculture sector and producers in Manitoba,” said Tim Hore, Dean of the School of Agriculture and Environment at Assiniboine.

Aside from the agricultural and community alignment, Compass Credit Union has historical ties to the site of the Centre, having amalgamated with the Brandon Mental Hospital Employees Credit Union in 1988.

“Compass Credit Union

has a long history with the North Hill campus and the Valleyview building. Former employees and members of the facility joined Compass Credit Union with an amalgamation in 1988 and we feel that those members would be happy to see Compass Credit Union support an initiative that would ensure the facility would support future generations.”

The vision for the Prairie Innovation Centre is an integrated learning environment with a mixture of collaborative learning spaces, applied research labs and multipurpose spaces.

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April 30, 2021

The AgriPost

Building Carbon in Soil

Wegner has been using soil-boosting, planned grazing practices on his Virden, Manitoba-area farm for the last 15 years. He said that he recently heard a presentation that stated farmers need to be prepping for drought three years out.

Stock photo

Grazing Study Highlights - McGonigle’s GHG study measured shallow cores to 15 cm depth taken in all years. However, additional deep cores to 100 cm depth were taken where possible across field sites in 2020, diving those deep cores into depth intervals.

- McGonigle’s study has one year remaining under Manitoba Agriculture Resource and Development and pinpointed values for carbon stock that ranged from 96 t ha-1 under sandy conditions at one southwest Manitoba farm to 176 t ha-1 on a farm field located within southern Manitoba’s prairie pothole region.

- McGonigle’s study advised bale grazing provides a pronounced stimulation of grass cover in the location of the former bale. Infiltration rate was determined as 5.2 cm hr-1 under continuous grazing and 5.7 cm hr-1 under planned grazing.

- The AMP grazing study detailed improved water infiltration, enhanced vegetation biomass and litter as buffers against drought - The AMP grazing study declared benefits via the absorption of methane into the soil and more soil organic carbon.

Two recent soil-focused studies done in part on the benefits of grazing systems in Manitoba are showcasing the connection between grazing and improved water infiltration into the soil, a positive impact in production which may bode well for some of the forecasted dry times ahead on Canada’s Prairies.

However, as far as Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) is concerned, what is also becoming increasingly clear is that while water infiltration is seen as a window into healthy grazing-based soils that have the potential to be sequestering carbon, registering and documenting statistically significant numerical increases in soil carbon will take time.

Dr. Terence McGonigle of Brandon University recently finished two years of a three-year project funded by Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development on six Manitoba fields that was developed to complement a Canadian Forage and Grassland Association Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Project on same fields that wrapup this year. During similar time periods, University of Alberta researchers, Dr. Mark Boyce and Dr. Edward Bork, recently presented results of their Adaptive MultiPaddock (AMP) Grazing Study.

A connected story to the AMP study on the University of Alberta website states that AMP grazing uses a rotating system that has livestock graze in a smaller environment for a short time, typically less than one week. Livestock are then moved to another paddock,

giving the vegetation a chance to recover before being grazed again after several weeks.

“With more grass and more days of grazing needed for livestock production, improved water infiltration, improved plant communities and enhanced vegetation biomass and litter are all signals of healthy soil and productive lands,” said Larry Wegner, MFGA chair. “Both projects have shown this to be true on the grazing lands that can provide production benefits while having a greater ability to buffer the impacts of climatic events such as droughts and floods via the water infiltration abilities of the soil.”

Wegner touts MFGA’s belief that any farmer operating their farm in ways that put more carbon into the ground is doing good service to the greater community. He said that beneficial management practices and the focus on water and soil management focus of some regenerative agriculture practices naturally bode well for health of the soil as well as the greater ability of the soil’s water infiltration abilities to get through potentially challenging times. Wegner said the soil health aspects of on-farm water management will be a key component of MFGA’s participation in the Federal Government’s carbon consultation opportunity currently under way.

“The drive to adopt practices is in the positive outcomes seen on the land by the producers and not necessarily motivated by a higher test soil carbon value at this time,” said Wegner. “Soil carbon measurement and markets are com-

plex and still-developing and most of us are learning very quickly as we go along.”

Wegner has been using soil-boosting, planned grazing practices on his Virden, Manitoba-area farm for the last 15 years. He said that he recently heard a presentation that stated farmers need to be prepping for drought three years out. He figures some Manitoba producers might be right on that exact path should dry times prevail in coming months. Still, a drought is a beast no one ever hopes to see.

“It’s important to start prepping for a drought in the wet years,” said Wegner.

“Remember a properly managed pasture can respond

quickly after a rain but an over-grazed pasture can take years to recover, if ever. You can, not feed yourself out of a drought so it’s critical to have a plan.”

To Wegner’s points, while the grazing studies both identified improved water infiltration, a widely-accepted litmus test for healthy soil, measuring soil carbon at the levels necessary to shoulder a carbon system will take time. This is because measuring soil carbon is variable as every farming system and soil type is different and the gains will need to be assessed over time. The uniformity of the fields and datasets in the two studies will be valuable in that regard.

Larry Wegner’s Drought Preparations - Amalgamate your herds - Do a forage inventory and match the livestock to the forage inventory - Prioritize your herd into sustainable carrying categories; A - keeper herd B - can be sold but would prefer keep C - will be sold if it gets dryer D - can be sold anytime - Talk to Manitoba Agriculture Resource Development staff to help make a plan - Connect with producers that have grass when the others do not. What are they doing different?

The AgriPost

April 30, 2021

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Breeding Barley for a Changing Climate Climate change is a global issue. It affects our environment and our food supply.

Increasing temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events influence crop yields and where crops can live. These events limit the number of crops humans can use.

Cereal crops, like wheat and barley, are important to human diets. They provide starch, protein, and fibre, and can be used in livestock feed.

But climate change has had a significant impact on cereal crops. Rising temperatures make it hard to grow these crops in their usual environments.

One way to compensate for yield losses related to heat stress is to move the production northward. Nevertheless, more frequent extreme weather events can negatively affect yield.

Knowing these global issues, Magnus Göransson and his team researched how different climate conditions impacted cereal crop growth. They observed how different day length and temperature impacted the maturity time and height in Nordic spring barley adapted to high latitudes in Iceland.

“It is thought that climate change will impact cereal crop production,” said Göransson. “Breeding crops to better fit local environments can help close the expected yield gap.” The team used barley from their breeding program adapted to conditions found in Iceland. These plants had been selected to reach maturity earlier compared to similar barley varieties from other regions.

“Climate affects barley production in Iceland,” he explained. “In the fall, it is very cool and we have lots of storms.”

“Unfortunately, farmers see high seed loss with these storms,” Göransson continued. “If we can produce a crop that is ready to harvest earlier in the year, it will help avoid these issues.”

Despite these challenges, barley is the most reliable cereal crop in higher latitudes. To have a successful crop in the future, the plants need to mature earlier, have good straw quality, and be resistant to diseases.

“We wanted to know that the plants we selected for early maturity did well in a controlled environment,” said Göransson. “We used

four different growth chambers with different day lengths and temperatures to recreate the environment in Iceland and compare with other climate conditions.”

Growth chambers are rooms in greenhouses where researchers can carefully control the environment the plants live in.

They observed day lengths from 12 hours to 20 hours, and temperatures of 10 to 20°C (50 to 68 °F). From these trials, they determined the effect on flowering time, time to maturity, and height of the new barley plants.

“Following our controlled studies, we found genetic markers associated with the traits we observed,” he said. Genetic markers are segments of DNA that correspond with certain plant characteristics.

“Our goal was to find what genes are important for breeding the desired barley traits. From there, we can develop breeding tools to use in programs to precisely predict maturity,” said Göransson.

Their research uncovered information about the timing of maturity and plant height. It also gave insight on environmental factors

A field trial of Icelandic and Nordic barley varieties grown at Korpa Experimental Field Station in Reykjavik, Iceland. This barley displays variation in maturity and height.

Photo by Magnus Göransson

and genetics in cereal crops.

“On a global scale, we have looked at many early barley varieties from gene banks and have not found anything that matures earlier in the cold Icelandic environment,” said Göransson.

“In warmer regions of the world, early maturity is a way to escape the summer heat,” he explained. “In the future, traits from the Ice-

landic barley could be used to breed other crops with improved performance in warmer climates.”

“This study showed how important it is to select crops for their environment,” he said. “Crops perform differently in different locations. Our study can be used as a model for other cereal crops because they have similar genes. This will lead

to greater success in breeding early maturing wheat as well as other crops.”

Magnus Göransson is a PhD student at the Department of Plant Sciences at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. This research was supported by the Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre, the Research Council of Norway, and Graminor.

Don’t “Set It and Forget It” When Seeding

By Les Kletke Brunel Sabourin said that when it comes to planting some of the best decisions are made behind the seeder not in front of it.

Sabourin, an agronomist who works with 15-20 growers annually to conduct field scale trials on various aspects of crop production said that seeding is not the time to use

“set it and forget it” strategy.

“You will not get a great crop if it does not get off to a great start,” he said. “Getting even emergence and having the crop at the same stage can

affect so many things.”

He likened it to medications for humans. “You don’t give your child an adult dose of medication and it is the same with herbicide or fungal ap-

Brunel Sabourin said that when it comes to planting some of the best decisions are made behind the seeder not in front of it. He has an acronym for producers at seeding time, GOAL, “Get Out and Look” Submitted photo

plications if the crop is not at the proper stage.”

Early seeding is also advantageous to having the crop advanced when the heat of July and August hit. “You want to get the crop in early so it is advanced by the time of the heat and things usually turn dry in July and August; so if you can plant to have the crop advanced by that time, normally it shows as an advantage.”

He has an acronym for producers at seeding time, GOAL, “Get Out and Look” “There are several things to check. His check list included seed placement, making sure that the packers work or are pulling seed out of the ground, are the sidebanders working and always seed placement,” he added. “Moisture conditions change during the day, so you should be checking these things several times a day.”

While planting season has time at a premium he insists that time spent paying atten-

tion to the seeder is always well spend.

“Check the condition of the soil,” he said. “Sometimes you have to rely on your gut feeling and if things are not working quiet right you may have to wait a day or two for the proper soil conditions.”

He used the example of some producers who had already planted their cereals. “It was not as much that they wanted to get seeding as that they wanted to get some ground cover. We had little snow and it was a case of wanting to get some ground cover on the land before it started blowing so we had some oats going in very early.”

While conditions through the month of April have not done much to warm the soil he is confident that seeding will become more general the last week of April but again advised to take the time and do things right to get proper emergence and a good stand regardless of the crop.

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April 30, 2021

Opportunities to Grow and Re-Establish Indigenous Agriculture Farm Credit Canada (FCC) recently commissioned an online survey of Indigenous producers and stakeholders, which indicated more than 70 per cent of producers, plan to increase participation in the sector over the next five years, despite reporting a poor to average experience in the sector. Some of the biggest challenges cited were access to capital, equipment, labour and knowledge.

Most respondents believe growth is coming from multiple areas but tend to focus on crops and food processing.

In order to sustain the growth needed to re-establish Indigenous food security, respondents placed a high priority on the need to create agricultural and financial learning opportunities for Indigenous youth. They also want to see a deliberate approach for ensuring the next generation is prepared and excited to continue growing agriculture and food businesses, while fostering relationships with elders who offer a wealth of traditional knowledge.

“FCC is working to become a stronger partner in the advancement of Indigenous agriculture in the spirit of reconciliation and collaboration,” said Shaun Soonias, director of FCC Indigenous relations. “As Canada’s leading agriculture lender, we are uniquely positioned to contribute to the success of Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs in this diverse and dynamic industry.”

To become a better partner, FCC is providing extensive Indigenous awareness and relations training to its more than 2,000 employees across Canada. The training is meant to help employees better understand the legislative and systemic barriers that prevent Indigenous communities from fully participating in Canada’s agriculture industry, as well as the historic, social and economic challenges facing First Nations, Métis and Inuit across Canada.

“There is a rich history and traditions of Indigenous agriculture prior to European settlement, and we are now several generations removed from those practices and knowledge,” said Soonias, who is also a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation near Battleford, Saskatchewan. “FCC not only has an opportunity to better understand the landscape of Indigenous agriculture in Canada but, more importantly, provide Indigenous entrepreneurs with learning opportunities about agriculture and farm management.”

Most Indigenous producers and stakeholders surveyed suggested the key to overcoming the various challenges in Indigenous agriculture resides in training, education and mentorship opportunities, as well as access to capital to grow their businesses. There are also many Indigenous agri-food and agribusinesses that are well established, exporting their products internationally and expanding operations and others who are integrating indoor farming with traditional plants and medicines.

“As we gain a greater understanding of how to best support their success in agriculture, we will work in partnership with Indigenous communities, stakeholders and entrepreneurs to develop solutions that work for them, as well as address their community priorities,” Soonias said.

Almost half of those surveyed see significant opportunities in greenhouse operation, community gardens, Indigenous foods and food processing, although there is a wide range of other small-scale agriculture activities taking place on Indigenous lands.

“FCC is committed to building long-term relationships with key stakeholders in the Indigenous agriculture and food sector with the aim of being a trusted partner to support Indigenous peoples’ full participation in this exciting, dynamic and diverse industry,” Hoffort said.

The AgriPost

Do Canada’s Grocers Need a Code of Conduct?

By Sylvain Charlebois Many Canadians are oblivious to the fact that in the food industry, suppliers need to pay grocers to conduct business. Fees were justified by merchandising costs and shelf space- things anyone would expect.

But in recent years, things changed. Companies like Loblaws, Walmart and Metro used infrastructure and capital projects to justify new fees. Fees have been imposed quickly and unilaterally. Walmart’s latest $500-million distribution centre project is partially financed by suppliers.

Grocers have been charging fees by mainly dictating how business should be conducted in food distribution.

It’s their way or the highway, plain and simple. As grocers requested, suppliers and food manufacturers complied.

It was the same in the United Kingdom and in Australia, where oligopolistic powers in the grocery space prevailed – until a code of practice was implemented.

It seems Canada is now joining that club.

A draft code of practice exists now in Canada between food manufacturers and grocers; well, one grocer. Our country’s number two grocer, Sobeys (which recently acquired two key independent grocers in Longo’s and Farm Boy), felt it was time for a change.

Number one and three grocers Loblaws and Metro, respectively, have always stated a code wasn’t necessary in Canada and it’s highly doubtful they will join.

Agriculture ministers across the country recently agreed to create a working group to study this important issue.

But instead of waiting for a report to be presented sometime in July, Food, Health and Consumer Products Canada and Empire/Sobeys opted to go ahead and set a standard for the industry by presenting a new code of practice. The code includes five guiding principles that essentially get all parties to commit and act in good faith as they conduct regular business. No more unilateral decisions, no more last-minute ploys; just straight, honest business.

Current market conditions have made it more challenging for food processors in Canada. Food manufacturing contributed $26.5 billion to the Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020. In the U.S., it was $766 billion in 2020- a full 29 times larger.

As it is in the US, a strong food processing sector can serve as a strategic anchor for the entire industry. The supply chain isn’t as vulnerable to macroeconomic shifts and can allow the industry to better support our farmers. The mad cow crisis and our latest spat with China are good examples.

Despite the last decade seeing few new food plants open in Canada while several closed, food manufacturing was the second largest manufacturing sector in the country after transportation equipment in 2020.

Despite the financial heartaches, food manufacturing

also still managed to grow its GDP contribution from 13.18 per cent in 2010 to 13.47 per cent in 2020.

But the sector can do much better. While food prices continue to climb in Canada, grocers’ fees, in addition to low margins, haven’t helped manufacturers benefit from these rising prices. In most cases, farmers also didn’t benefit.

Some speculate that food prices may rise due to a code of practice that forces grocers to charge more to protect margins. But the United Kingdom has had a code since 2009 and food inflation there has generally been lower than in Canada over the last decade.

This code of practice is meant to change the culture of an industry in which vertical co-ordination and collaboration barely exist.

It’s also very much about dealing with a broken supply-side economic model few people in Canada can appreciate.

The code of practice is obviously an unproven concept in Canada and few know if it’s going to work without other major grocers participating.

However, the current situation was no longer viable.

Strong supply chain collaboration could lead to more innovation and growth.

When forced to work on issues, parties will need to share data and insights. As such, market gaps can be recognized more easily as developing and commercializing novel food products is more likely. The code of practice can create opportu-

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois says many Canadians are oblivious to the fact that in the food industry, suppliers need to pay grocers to conduct business. Fees were justified by merchandising costs and shelf space- things anyone would expect.

nities if the group remains disciplined and committed, since the code isn’t legally binding.

Independent grocers, on the other hand, will likely get some welcomed help with the code of practice. Unlike major chains, they couldn’t really impose anything on suppliers. The relationship Sobeys has now with suppliers can be used as a useful benchmark.

Only time will tell us if the code of practice works. But it’s a valiant effort. The concept is no longer just academic. Instead of letting politics dictate the industry’s good faith, suppliers and Sobeys are giving themselves some hope that, perhaps, things can be different.

Going ahead with a code of practice without everyone involved also implies that its creation would never have happened with Loblaws and Metro participating.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is senior director of the agrifood analytics lab and a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University.

The AgriPost

April 30, 2021

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Manitoba Pork Pushes Back with Complaint to the Competition Bureau of Canada

By Harry Siemens The Board of directors of Manitoba Pork hired a new general manager on February this year, whose name is Cam Dahl.

Dahl joined the organization with an extensive background in Canadian agriculture encompassing both crops and livestock, serving as the Chief Strategy Officer for Cereals Canada. He also served as the Manitoba Beef Producers’ general manager, as a commissioner for the Canadian Grain Commission, and as executive director of Grain Growers of Canada.

Dahl said Rothsay recently increased their farm pickup fee from $15 per visit to $150 per visit in Manitoba compared with $50 per pickup in provinces like Ontario. Producers in Manitoba are concerned about the fairness and necessity of a tenfold increase. In response to

these concerns, Manitoba Pork is taking this complaint directly to the Competition Bureau of Canada.

A majority of producers in Manitoba rely on Rothsay for dead stock removal.

There are no other alternative companies that will do on-farm pickup, and burial is not a viable option. Producers rely on this service.

Last November producers received a notice from Rothsay that increased the fee for on-farm visits from $15 a visit to $150. This is a tenfold increase for a service with no other option or competition. Further to that, the company operates in Ontario, and the fee increased in Ontario to $50 a farm visit.

In Manitoba, the hog chat group on WhatsApp said the average-sized hog farm requires an average of one visit per week. Another producer suggested it is about three

pickups a month. A third producer said when asked about how often Rothsay picks up at their barn they replied, “Never have, never will. We compost our dead stock.”

Under the new fee structure, the costs rise to $7,800 a year depending on the operation’s size in Manitoba. In Ontario, Dahl said there is competition for dead stock pickup. However the company raised their fee to $50 a pickup.

“Where there’s competition, we see a significant difference in the fees, an essential service for producers and the company increases it tenfold,” said Dahl.

In 2013, Darling International based in Texas, US, took over ownership of Rothsay from Maple Leaf Foods after being given the green light from Canada’s Competition Bureau to buy Canada’s top rendering company.

Now, Rothsay a Division of Darling International Canada Inc. operates in Manitoba offering pick up services to the agri-food industry to reduce food waste by collecting and repurposing animalbased co-products and other natural materials that would otherwise be discarded such as used cooking oil and meat byproduct collection.

This includes pickups from restaurants, supermarkets, meat processing facilities and livestock grower industries.

Manitoba Pork saw a significant disparity in Manitoba and Ontario’s fees, where Rothsay has competition in Ontario and none in Manitoba. “We feel this is something that the Competition Bureau should look into,” continued Dahl.

Dahl is one month into his role as Manitoba Pork’s general manager, starting to get a little bit more comfortable.

Cam Dahl is one month into his role as Manitoba Pork’s general manager and is getting comfortable taking on Rothsay a Division of Darling International a US based rendering company in a case before the Competitive Bureau of Canada.

Submitted photo

“It’s just over a month, but it’s a good team and a good group of staff, knowledgeable; enjoy coming to work, and enjoy working with each other,” said Dahl.

He said that in his first meeting with the Board, for him the group of people are dedicated to the industry and worked well together. It is a good place to be he said.

Battling Bad Bugs Scientists fight antibiotic resistance by using synchrotron to study scab disease in potatoes.

In the ongoing war against antibiotic resistant bacteria, a change in battle tactics may prove effective for controlling a common disease of plants and potentially other toxins that affect humans and animals.

Although bacterial toxins cause serious, often deadly diseases, “Bacteria aren’t trying to be nasty,” said Dr. Rod Merrill, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph.

“They’re hungry and looking for food, and we’re often the food.” He added that 99 per cent of bacteria are helpful, like gut flora so the battle is against the remaining one per cent.

Dr. Rod Merrill, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph.

The usual approach is to develop antibiotics, “That kill the bacteria but not us, or the plant, or the animal,” said Merrill. However, bacteria mutate quickly, as quickly as every 30 minutes, which leads to antibiotic resistance. “And unfortunately, the pipeline for new antibiotics is empty.”

The approach that Merrill and his research group are pursuing is an anti-virulence strategy, finding or designing small molecules that inhibit the tools bacteria use to colonize the host and create infection. “If we can put a lock on their weapons, they can’t get food and will move on so there’s not the same pressure to mutate. We’re going with this approach because we think it’s time to change up tactics.”

To validate the concept, Merrill turned to a bacterium called Streptomyces scabies that causes the common scab disease in root and tuber vegetables like potatoes and carrots. The disease creates lesions on the vegetables, making the food unsightly and unsuitable for sale.

“Potato is the most important vegetable crop in Canada and the fourth largest crop in the world,” said Merrill, who grew up on a beef farm in southern Alberta. Since there is no treatment, common scab

has a significant economic impact for producers, reduces the arable land available for growing because it persists in soil, and creates potential food security issues for consumers.

Merrill and his team used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan to study a protein toxin produced by the Streptomyces scabies pathogen. The CMCF beamline at the CLS helped them to generate a 3D structure of the toxin and to identify the active-site of the protein, which he described as “the mouth of the wolf.”

Scabin-DNA model.

The toxin uses its active-site to bind and cleave cellular molecules which damages the healthy host cells. It was critical information in finding a small-molecule inhibitor “to muzzle the monster.”

However, there is still further work required to demonstrate that the toxin inhibitors will work to neutralize the Streptomyces scabies pathogen. Once the antivirulence approach has been established in the laboratory environment, the questions

become, “Is it practical, at what cost and will it work in a crop field environment?” said Merrill. “We haven’t yet demonstrated that it will work in cell cultures, but ultimately, we hope to work with agriculture specialists who can make a viable product to help farmers. I would love to see this go to the next level.”

Merrill believes the antivirulence strategy in the fight against bacterial infections has potential applications far beyond diseases of root veg-

etables, including infections in humans, an area to which he devoted 15 years of his career.

Human medical research is rewarding, but finding trigger locks for the weapons of pathogens that affect animals, plants and his current specialty, honey bees, offered the opportunity to return to his agricultural roots.

“It’s very fulfilling working with the bee-keeping industry, and on other crop and animal diseases.”

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Webinar Brings the Green Spot into Country Homes

A relaxing area at The Green Spot to enjoy a coffee or cool drink. A great spot in winter to forgot our Manitoba weather.

A greenhouse full of geraniums at The Green Spot located in Brandon.

Photos Supplied by Bernie Whetter

By Joan Airey On April 9 the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference Committee arranged with Bernie Whetter, owner of The Green Spot in Brandon, to do a webinar from his business.

It included a presentation by Courtney Clark on Tropical plants some plants which some of us had never seen before.

The Green Spot is located on the north east side of Brandon on a flood zone.

Before purchasing the business, Whetter after graduating from the University of Manitoba with a degree in agriculture worked for twenty-five years at Wheat City Seeds.

“Originally this land was used as a market garden and in 1978 the owners started greenhouses. I purchased the greenhouses in 2007.

Now we have over 125,000 square feet of greenhouses,” said Whetter. “We produce annual flowers, vegetables and sell trees and shrubs. We belong to a Garden Centre Group Coop with forty-five greenhouses across Canada which gives us buying power by purchasing as a group 35 million dollars so we can be competitive.”

In 2009 they started adding women’s hats and scarves now they are a full-blown clothing boutique with clothes for women thirty to ninety. Seventy-nine percent

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light,” said Whetter. “However, everything survived and eventually all returned home happily. Meanwhile, we were able to re-locate a sales area to the east side of the old K-Mart store on Victoria Avenue West. Since we were not able to completely empty the greenhouse, staff was able to enter the facility daily to water. They were armed with radios, whistles, and knives and exit plans with a watchman located outside near the dike to warn should a disaster happen.”

“My niece Laryssa Stevenson and her husband Sid grow lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers in one of our greenhouses they lease from us and retail them to the public in June before most people have it in their home gardens. They also market their products with Brown Sugar Produce.” said Whetter on their current set up.

The Green Spot used to supply Walmart and Canadian Tire with plants at their Dauphin and Brandon stores but discontinued that service as their business on site grew and they opened their own outlet for plants at Onanole just outside Riding Mountain Park.

Keeping local products available at The Green Spot they teamed up with Boyd’s Beef owned by Sara and Ryan Boyd to sell their beef products.

“In 2012 they purchased Foxtail Café at Onanole where you can enjoy wood fired pizza. We use Boyd’s beef at the café. Green Spot Cottage Country located in Onanole is where we sell our bedding plants too,” said Whetter.

In their Brandon location you can find many products made in Manitoba including Maple Syrup that Dave Barnes has tapped from the Maple trees not too far from the greenhouse.

“We like to sell local products such as Morden Chocolates, White House BBQ Sauce, Flora and Farmer Krauts (not just sauerkraut) apple etc. and Fresh Roots honey from Somerset, and in the near future I plan to have fish from Gimli,” said Whetter. “We carry CPR lawn chairs made from 560 milk jugs and Smiley Worm products you might need for your garden.”

“We will be carrying the cheese made by Loaf & Honey of Winnipeg (the product formerly made by Trappiest Monastery at Holland MB).

This is very exciting news for me,” said Whetter.

Now they are getting ready for full blown garden season but in December you can visit the greenhouse and walk through ten to fifteen decorated Christmas trees plus swags and be surrounded by hundreds of poinsettias.

Don’t Overlook the Seed Quality

By Les Kletke The Plant 21 panel was a virtual event that featured 4 agronomists from across the Prairies. Each panelist provided an outlook of con-

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of the clientele that come into the Green Spot are women noted Whetter. One of the lines of women’s clothing No.Mi.No. U, is designed by Indigenous artists and made from recycled water bottles and hundred percent Canadian.

When the flood of 2011 happened the Green Spot was notified the dike could break and they were to evacuate immediately.

“We were out for about 3 weeks in 2021, Mother’s Day until the week after May long, the worst possible time for a garden centre. From the beginning of this evacuation, we had over ninety kind and helpful individuals from family, friends, staff, neighbours and businesses, show up to lend us a hand and about 20 trucks, semi flat decks, farm trucks, trailers to haul plants,” recalled Whetter. “The plants were stored at four nearby machinery sheds which the farmers generously cleared out for us.

Our staff went out daily to water and tend to the plants.

We drew from these sheds as we needed plants but in total, they were there for the most of the three weeks.”

It was not without its challenges though explained Whetter. “Although I was extremely grateful for what was offered to me, the plants were not totally happy as the sheds were cool and not much

Chad Andrukow had a clear message for farmers going out to seed. “Don’t overlook your seed.”

Submitted photo

ditions going into seeding time and two points of “Do’s and Don’ts” that producers should take to heart as the put the crop in the ground.

The panel advised that as crop prices have increased so have the prices of inputs as companies realized that producers would be willing to pay more to maximize their yields.

One of the panelists, Chad Andrukow had a clear message for farmers going out to seed. “Don’t over look your seed.”

He stressed that producers know the weight of 1,000 kernels they are planting and use that information to set the seeding rate to achieve the plant count they want.

Andrukow who operates Point Forward Solutions a company that concentrates

on precision agriculture said, “Don’t discount the value of your seed; you don’t have an opportunity to go back and fix it if things go wrong.

You can top dress fertilizer to overcome a mistake, you cannot do that with seed.”

Due to the dry conditions of this spring he recommended putting 75% of the fertilizer down with the seed and applying the rest later if it is justified. “Know your fields” said Andrukow and think about maximizing your yields. Perhaps you should be cutting down on hills or the sandy spots where you are less likely to get the top yields.”

He said that while producers should be considering varying their inputs they should not be considering cutting back on the quality

of their seed. “You cannot afford to over look the value of good seed and the importance of getting a quality stand of plants that emerge equally,” said Andrukow.

He said that more important than maximizing yields is maximizing the return on investment of inputs and that can only be achieved by being aware of the conditions in the field and having the very best seed available to get the stand established.

He did not vary his recommendations according to crops instead he stressed the quality of seed is critical regardless of the crop being planted.

Understanding the variation in the field is a factor that Andrukow feels is often overlooked with a blanket approach to the entire field.

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April 30, 2021

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