AgriPost January 28 2022

The AgriPost

January 28, 2022

First CUSMA Dispute Over Dairy Quotas Decided

David Wiens, a Manitoba dairy producer and chair of the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, said that it is confusing that both the US and Canada claim Submitted photo victory in the CUSMA panel ruling on Canada’s administration of its dairy tariff rate quotas.

By Harry Siemens David Wiens, a Manitoba dairy producer and chair of the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, said the recent CUSMA panel ruling on Canada’s administration of its dairy tariff rate quotas had two wins for Canada and one for the United States.

The ruling said that Can-

ada’s allocation mechanism for the 14 dairy Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQ) involved the establishment of “pools” where those pools reserved amounts of each TRQ for processors first, a practice that dates back to 1995 is not permitted under the CUSMA Treaty.

As a result these pools of

processors attained access to between 85% and 100% of each TRQ. Only after the distribution was completed for the pools other eligible TRQ applicants could then apply for the remaining amounts. This left 15% under each TRQ available. The US challenged Canada’s practice of reserving the TRQs exclu-

sively for processors.

“Both the US and Canada claim victory, which can be rather confusing,” said Wiens.

He outlined several points, one a win for Canada, the second a victory for the US. The panel expressly recognized the legitimacy of Canada’s supply management system.

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Agricultural Crown Land Lease Auctions to Be Held Online The Manitoba government’s agricultural Crown land lease and permit auctions will be held online from January 31 to February 4.

“The online auction format ensures we can offer all Manitoba producers the opportunity to lease agricultural lands while remaining in accordance with current public health orders,” said Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Ralph Eichler.

“Potential bidders are encouraged to become informed prior to the auction by researching the parcels and units of interest and becoming familiar with lease or permit obligations.”

A number of agricultural Crown land parcels will be available to rent for haying, grazing or cropping.

The official listing of agricultural Crown lands available for rent can be found at resd.ca/leases_ and_permits/LPproperties.aspx#agLeasePermit.

The online auctions will be hosted by Garton’s Auction Service with further information to follow on gartonsauction.com.

These leases and permits are available to farmers and ranchers to provide an additional land base to conduct agricultural activities. The Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing Program supports the sustainable expansion of the livestock herd in Manitoba, contributes to ecological goods and services, and supports mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

For more information about the upcoming auctions, visit manitoba.ca/agriculture/land-management/crown-land or contact your local ARD and MASC Service Centre.

January 28, 2022

The AgriPost

First CUSMA Dispute Over Dairy Quotas Decided

David Wiens, chair of the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, said that the message to the government is to satisfy the CUSMA TRQ ruling and not turn the industry upside down whole doing it.

Submitted photo

“So of course for us, that is good news. But Canada has the discretion to manage its Tariff Rate Quota policies under CUSMA in a matter that supports the Canadian supply management system,” said Wiens.

What did not go Canada’s way is how such a high percentage of TRQs were explicitly set aside for the processors. The CUSMA panel said this is not according to the CUSMA agreement. So the issue is not that the processors have, in some cases, 85% of the tariff rate quotas on specific items; it is more on how Canada allocates to processors.

The panel said Canada could not carve out a specific group of stakeholders that will receive all the TRQs or a certain percentage if one group gets the bulk of it through market access, and not allocated to

that group by the Canadian Dairy Commission.

However, the panel recognized Canada’s sovereignty in establishing its own TRQ allocation policy. It’s up to the Canadian government to assign TRQs and demonstrate its support for the domestic dairy sector said a statement issued by Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, and the Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

“Canada needs to adjust and rework the policy so that it does not create that carveout to address the concerns of the panel. However, the new policy adjustment must still support the domestic dairy sector and not further undermine or create instability,” said Wiens.

Every country has tariffs

on specific items which raises the price as it enters the country. In a trade agreement one country may allow another to bring in a particular product under a tariff-rate quota. If it falls within that tariff rate quota, there is no tariff for bringing that into the country.

For example it may be so many kilograms of butter, cheese, or yogurt in the dairy sector. “We will allow the US to bring in X amount of products, tarifffree and create room for imported product,” explained Wiens.

Some products under the tariff-rate quota will go to importers, retailers, and processors in Canada’s case.

However, it will not block imports from coming in.

The dairy farmers said they do not want the whole year’s allocated quota to come in the fall when it is

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the best market conditions and sold in such a short time. Producers would need to cut back on production for a few months until all the products came in. Once the market consumes the imports, it is back to regular production for the Canadian dairy farmers noted Wiens.

“But we cut back for two months and suddenly need to increase our production by a significant amount, logistically, it becomes a challenge,” he said. “You must have a policy that doesn’t shut out the other stakeholders that might want to tap into these TRQs,” said Wiens.

Weins’ message to the government is to satisfy the ruling and not turn the industry upside down. The governments of Canada and the US now have until February 3 to agree on a resolution of the dispute.

CPC Chair Sees the Biggest Issue is the Movement of Freight

By Harry Siemens Amid vaccine mandates, trucker protests, and product supply issues, Rick Bergmann, president of the Canadian Pork Council, said the biggest problem is moving live pigs south and animal feed north.

“We have a shortage of trucks and drivers, and this isn’t good for the hog industry nor is it good for society in general. So when people across the country send me pictures of store shelves that are not as full as they should be, but certainly for our business here in Canada of raising pork, it’s a big problem.”

Producers need to see trucks moving to get their live animals across the border into the US, which buys millions and millions of weanlings and feeders from Canadian producers. These restrictions impact the movement of live animals and all goods. It is not only pigs and pork but naturally the feed as well.

As president of the CPC, Bergmann keeps in contact with the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Marie ClaudeBibeau in meetings, exchanging text messages and updating her on the severity of the situation.

Regarding the feed shortage with the lack of truck freight availability, the minister spoke with the CEO of CP Rail to get the rails moving for feed transport. Despite washouts and derailments, the trains are rolling and a fair amount of product will

be coming in he said.

“I hope that will be enough because right now, there’s very little product,” said Bergmann. “In Alberta, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is very concerned about the feedstuffs on the farm right now. They’re very dependent on bringing in the feed just like pork producers.”

This on-farm feed shortage comes on the heels of a massive shortfall in the 2021 crop, down almost 40 per cent.

“It is a problem. And we must tell people that because I think the further away you are from the fire, the less heat you feel,” he said. “And we all know how it’s impacted our farms. Now with the challenge of transportation and so on, it’s heightened awareness.”

Bergmann is also in contact with their counterparts in the US, the National Pork Producer Council.

“They are aware of the situation because they need our

live pigs, and we import pork from the US,” said Bergmann.

“They’d like to see the trucks going north with pork.”

The CPC is working hard and hopes to resolve this significant problem sooner than later. Reports from the Federal Agricultural minister she is working hard on it. “We just got to keep on making sure that we get what we need to provide what we have to for our animals,” he said.

Instead of getting into the issue of politics, the CPC chair and a hog producer near Steinbach want to ensure that Canadian pork producers have the feedstuffs they need for their animals. The concern is to continue exporting thousands of isoweans and finishers because welfare and animal care are on the top of every producer’s mind in Canada. When the animals are ready to go, they need to go he said.

“So we’re a very much real-time producer, and ab-

solutely, we’re doing our best to make sure that the shelves are full in our country and other countries, but we can’t do that ourselves,” said Bergmann. “There are many links in the chain, and there are a few links that are very weak right now that need quick and firm resolution.”

Rick Bergmann president of the Canadian Pork Council said there is a shortage of trucks and drivers which is not good for the hog industry nor is it good for society in general.

Because of the feed shortage and a lack of truck availability, the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Marie Claude-Bibeau spoke with the CEO of CP Rail to get the rails moving to transport feed.

The AgriPost

Cattle Feeders Face High Prices, Shortages and Cold Temperatures

The increased snowfall has made swath grazing all but impossible.

By Les Kletke Cattle feeders are taking another hit from Mother Nature and it is affecting an already short feed supply.

Heavy snowfall in early January has further stressed overwintering cattle and increased the demand for feed this winter. The increased snowfall has made swath grazing all but impossible.

Animals that would normally get through some of the winter with feed that they source from fields has meant that they are relying entirely on feed delivered. The increased snowfall makes delivery more difficult and feed uptake less efficient. The cold extreme temperatures have meant that cattle require more feed.

“The animals require more feed just to maintain their body temperature,” said Tom

Wiebe, a nutritionist in western Manitoba. “The extreme cold that we have experienced already this year means animals are eating more just to maintain their body weight, now as pregnant cows move into the final stages of pregnancy that demand will increase even more.”

Many producers are facing feed shortages already because of last summer’s drought and animals requiring more feed than usual means increased costs if the feed is available.

“The supply of hay is extremely tight,” said Wiebe.

“So it is a matter of finding hay if they can. Some producers are getting some help from the program that sources hay from eastern Canada but that is only an emergency measure. These cows need

Submitted photo

good quality hay and in these temperatures need lots of it.”

High commodity prices are welcome by grain producers and most cattle feeders have some of their own grain but current prices made it attractive for off farm sales, and the grain crop suffered from a lack of moisture this summer as well.

“Supplementing with grain is always an option,” he said.

“But this year it is a very expensive option. Producers are being hit from every side; the short feed supply, expensive grain, and the weather is increasing their feed requirements.”

The only bright spot is that the increased snow may help with recharging depleted soil moisture but that will depend on spring thaw and how much finds its way into the ground.

January 28, 2022

The AgriPost

January 28, 2022

Making More Land

Read the AgriPost Online www.agripost.ca

Buy land, they’re not making any more of it. That’s the old saying but it’s not completely true. A new peer reviewed study in Nature titled, “Global maps of cropland extent and change show accelerated cropland expansion in the twentyfirst century” tells us where new cropland is being made around the world.

Generally speaking it’s coming from previously untouched areas of Africa (79% of all gross cropland gain area) south-east Asia (61%) and South America (39%). They may not be making any more land but there’s still plenty of wilderness that can be converted to crops if push comes to shove and that’s part of what’s happening.

Although that’s not the whole story it should also be pointed out that a significant portion of all of this (51%) was from converting

pasture land into fields for crops or the re-cultivation of previously abandoned marginal lands. Incentives matter, there’s times when you might want to crop a crappy piece of land and there’s times when you say screw it and just let it go back to grass.

Driving this overall growth are the two primary factors, a steady increase in the global population and also an ever increasing standard of living in which people want more and better food for themselves and in some cases also their pets which they never had before.

The report looked at changes in the first twenty years of the new century using data collected from satellites over this time. Maps were generated that combined data over four year periods. The reason for these four year intervals is that it “increased the number of clear-sky satellite ob-

servations in the time-series, which improves representation of land-surface phenology and the accuracy of cropland detection.” Or simply put, clouds happen and they mess up our pictures.

In 2019 it was estimated that there was 1,244 million hectares with an “annual net primary production of 5.5 Pg C per year”, which is a measurement of carbon stocks.

According to the report, “From 2003 to 2019, cropland area increased by 9% and cropland net primary production by 25%”, with the researchers noting a trend, “cropland expansion accelerated over the past two decades”. They also said that the annual expansion rate was double what it had previously been with the greatest increase being in Africa.

A sizable amount of this new farmland, just under half, came from ploughing

under “natural vegetation and tree cover”, said the study.

Looking at it on a per capita basis, cropland By Rolf area is down 10% overall Penner but that’s a bit deceiving as people are still making babies, overall global population increased over the timeframe. On the land area reductions were flipside though overall pro- found in Russia”. duction increased a modOf course the chatterest 3.5% per capita so on a ing classes have all sorts global scale the agricultural of things to say about these sector is still gaining in ef- trends. In hushed tones they ficiencies. “From 2003 to fret about over-population, 2019, the global population sustainable food producincreased by 21% from 6.4 tion, climate change and any billion to 7.7 billion. As number of other issues they a result, global per-capita deem “problematic”. But the cropland area decreased by truth is that as long as there’s 10%, from 0.18 ha per per- not too much meddling from son in 2003 to 0.16 ha per heavy handed governments person in 2019.” these things will self-adjust On a side note, “the USA to their optimum levels all by had the largest cropland area themselves. They might not by 2019, closely followed be making any more land but

by India and China” and sur- we’re really good at working prisingly, “The largest crop- with what we’ve got.

Penner’s Points

What Happen if Truckers Don’t Want to Drive and People Don’t Want to Work?

As I write this column on Sunday afternoon January 23, it is hard to believe what is happening. I’m watching video after video appear on social media from truckers and friends of truckers, on a nationwide truck and vehicle convoy converging from all directions.

Why? For various reasons, vaccine mandate by governments on both sides of the border, keeping trucks and

freight from crossing that border. So on one side its pigs waiting for feed and on the other side, its feed waiting for pigs. Not to mention the supply chain causing more and more consumers to wait for goods that usually would appear on shelves as the last one was dropping in the cart.

Even a GoFundMe account is growing by leaps [last read $2.2 million] and bounds to supply convoy participants with fuel, food, and lodging.

While those on the convoy and alongside it at various destinations want governments on both sides of the border to remove the vaccine

mandates, Rick Bergmann of Steinbach, chair of the Canadian Pork Council intends to have feed meet beast so farming can continue.

Ok, so who or what or where or when will this resolve itself? I think no one knows.

Fewer and fewer people want to drive a truck for a living and with the restrictions and mandates, the trucking system will go begging.

There is a bigger problem looming in the agricultural sector that over half of the potential jobs are also begging, meaning no production because no one wants to work those jobs on both sides of the border.

Fewer and fewer people want to drive a truck for a living and with the restrictions and mandates, the trucking Stock photo system will go begging and impact the agricultural sector heavily.

Cam Dahl, the general manager of Manitoba Pork warns global pandemic has worsened the labour shortage that’s limiting the agriculture sector’s growth potential.

According to Dahl, the labour crunch faced by Canadian agriculture is partly because rural populations are diminishing, so fewer people are available to work on farms.

Last year the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council surveyed agriculture businesses and found that 40 percent had not met their staffing requirements. That was even higher for the hog industry at over 50 percent.

By the end of this decade, it’s projected that agriculture will have almost 125 thousand open positions so it’s a real serious problem.

It’s something that’s inhibiting our growth potential and, in some cases, even causing some operations to question whether they can continue to go forward.

The COVID pandemic brought this to a head with labour shortages on the farm, in the barn and support industries like feed mills. We’re

short veterinarians, short people to work in our processing plants; it goes throughout the entire sector.

If agriculture producers or value-added processors can’t get the people they need to run their plants and farms, they will not take advantage of some of those growth opportunities. That’s a real problem for Manitoba’s economy, for the Canadian economy as a whole.

Dahl said someone needs to showcase agriculture and what an exciting career it can be. Whether it’s on the cutting edge of genetics, animal care nutrition or marketing, agriculture is an interesting place to be, and many don’t see it that way lack the understanding.

The industry is coming together to look for solutions, and it is on the radar screens of our political leaders, but we don’t yet have the answers.

That brings me full circle to what is happening in the trucking sector and the convoy heading to Ottawa. Everything moves by truck at some point, and farmers grow the food, companies process it, and stores sell it.

The AgriPost

COVID-19 Pandemic and Inflation Go Hand-in-Hand

By Harry Siemens Brett Stuart of Global AgriTrends of Preston, Idaho told the Banff Pork Seminar recently that Covid-19 allowed the US government to increase the country’s money supply by 40 per cent while causing jobs to go begging.

The US Federal Reserve is conducting the largest macroeconomic experiment in history he said. Putting 6 trillion dollars in stimulus in the US economy has increased the money supply by 40 per cent in two years.

“I think 20 years from now in Econ 101, students are reading about 2020 and 2021 and by then maybe they’ll know whether it was a good idea or a bad idea,” said Stuart. “I don’t know what that textbook is going to say. It may say here’s what never to do again. I don’t know.”

The US prints money and central banks print money but never has any country in the developed world increased the money supply by 40 per cent in two years he noted.

According to Stuart relative prices will go up and it does not matter if it is Bitcoin or sorghum, corn, wheat or

pork; everything inflates because of the money supply.

Stuart said look at Argentina and some of the African countries. They do this all the time and put another decimal at the end of every bill that they print. “But we just have never seen that in a developed country like this.”

Applying that to farm commodities that farmers sell and on inputs bought he said we all know what happens instantly. If there is one number every farmer knows, it is the market price of his crops. They also see the market price of diesel and the market price of all their inputs.

“But this inflation thing, it’s the thing that slaps you upside the head the fastest as a farmer. I think farmers were out in front of this,” said Stuart. “I think they saw this probably before a lot of the broad general economy saw it because they see it direct every week.”

It is painful and nobody wins he said. The only way to win at inflation was to buy land two years ago. However, the reality is how to survive inflation?

“In the farm sector, we all know we’re all price takers

not price makers. The decisions are what do we buy not what do we sell,” said Stuart. “We can make decisions on trying to increase our productivity on which inputs we buy, but we can’t set the price.”

The good news is that all farm commodities are inflated. He said that, “At first glance, everybody is giddy and excited; wow, look at these prices fantastic. And then they go for diesel and fertilizer, buy some equipment, and say, wait a minute. I’m not sure I’m making any money.”

That is the same story for consumers who see increasing prices for everything.

Elation is now turning into frustration with more inflation predicted for 2022. The most recent inflation data shows that US consumer incomes declined 2.4 per cent last year despite wages going up and stimulus money.

But their income will show a net decline when adjusted for inflation.

“Just like farmers, I don’t think the consumers are buying it. I think everyone can see through this now. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on,” said Stuart. “Now its

batten down the hatches and okay, how do we keep up with this monster?”

The most significant impact of COVID is the 6 trillion dollars in US stimulus and globally 10 trillion driving governments to print and give away money like never seen before he said.

The other impact is sick workers who cannot show up to work further backing up supplies. The most recent US hog kill showed about 93 per cent of complete kills in the US because the plants are testing, workers are calling in sick and people are not showing up.

The biggest challenge is companies need workers and this was true even before the effects of COVID. He said that unfortunately, the US administration is unwilling to consider immigrant labour right now.

“My gut feel is the administration’s not going to help us on it. I think they want wages to go up,” said Stuart.

“The US administration’s only hope of dealing with inflation is to get wages to go up fast with everything else and you do that with a tight labour supply and it won’t improve anytime soon.”

It’s a Great Start One of the traditions of January along with Ag Days when they could be held inperson was the release of the Manitoba Agriculture crop budgets. The release of budgets was not nearly as much fun as gathering at the Keystone Centre but it did play a role in farm decision making. While Ag Days is slipping into the category of things we remember, budgets are still a very real part of this business and this year they are good news.

This year for the first time in a while the budgets show positive returns on most

crops. There were a few years when not one crop pencilled out a positive return, but this year buoyed by improved commodity prices the bottom line is black on nearly everything. That is going to make choices even tougher, because mostly those red numbers meant a crop was taken out of the rotation or at least acreage was severely reduced. Now the choice is much broader and will give producers a wider range and the opportunity to “clean up” a field or two or use a different herbicide.

It is evident that farmers are not the only ones that monitor commodity prices, the suppliers of inputs have been watching as well, and it appears have chosen this time to increase their prices. Fertilizer prices have climbed almost as quickly

as commodity prices or in some cases more quickly. It is a case of charging what the market will bear, and $20 a bushel canola bears more that $12 a bushel canola.

That is the joy of a free market system, sellers can ask what they will and buyers vote with the dollars, they are only bound by the decisions they make and no one forces them to a purchasing decision but one cannot help but wonder how quickly the invisible hand of the market place operates. It is almost like the buyers of the commodity and the suppliers of the inputs are one. Oh wait they are.

The line from JFK comes to mind about farmers being the only ones who buy at retail and sell at wholesale. They are indeed and they know the business they have chosen

to be in, but it appears the margins have not gotten proportionally better. The prices squeeze is still there only at a higher number and now a crop failure means a bigger number to recover from. For the previous generation you might be able to recover it with an off farm job, that is no longer the case, and now those numbers are set to take another leap.

These good times and high commodity prices might bring some awful crashes to some farm accounts, and in the end it is still very dry across western Canada, and last year taught us that drought still impacts our production numbers. A year of normal precipitation would go a long way to making those black numbers bigger at the bottom of the budget page.

January 28, 2022

Hog Producers Could Drive Manitoba’s Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery

By Elmer Heinrichs What will drive Manitoba’s recovery from the pandemic? Perhaps, the agri-food sector, and specifically the hog sector, will be at the top of that list. Manitoba’s hog sector continues to enhance economic growth province-wide by creating jobs and opportunities in communities big and small, all while protecting our environment for future generations.

A stronger and more resilient province is key to our recovery and Manitoba’s hog sector may be poised to lead the way.

Pork production is a key economic driver in Manitoba.

The sector employs 14,000 Manitobans and contributes over $1.7 billion to the provincial economy each year, helping to fund important and necessary services like health care, education and road maintenance.

In the past five years alone, Manitoba has benefited from over $150 million in private capital invested across the province, to rebuild aging barns, construct new barns and expand processing capacity.

This growth and rural development is expected to continue in the coming decade, and will incorporate leading edge technology that will further improve animal care and continue to reduce the sector’s environmental footprint.

There are several good reasons for Manitoba hog farmers to be the leaders in Canadian production. It begins with the historical Crow Rate for moving grain to export location. When the rail subsidy was removed, it resulted in Manitoba grain being very expensive, and forced growers to look at alternate solutions. Manitoba farmers proved to be nimble and willing to try new ventures.

Hog production led the way in the expansion of agricultural production other than export grains. Over time, hog farms have popped up in every region of the province. Slaughter and production facilities have also spread into several regions including Winnipeg, Brandon and Neepawa.

Industry has recognized the decisive growth in production in Manitoba and has repeatedly invested in the Manitoba economy. A recent example is an investment of $182 million to build a pre-cooked bacon plant in Winnipeg. Maple Leaf Foods is building the facility. It is the company’s major supplier of ham and bacon to Canadians.

Another example of how farmers and industry have changed the way of life in rural areas include growing and processing hemp, processing oats, canola and sunflowers here at home, then shipping the processed product.

Manitoba farmers are nimble. They have to be so that they don’t get swamped by what is going on around them. Farmers have an amazing ability to grasp concepts that will work for them, right here in Manitoba.

Manitoba has the fifth largest population size in Canada. At 1.38 million people, it follows Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. But we’re number one when counting up the pigs in Manitoba compared to the rest of Canada, with 3.4 million pigs at home here and that is the most of any province in the country. The pigs are spread out over 550 farms, for an average of 5,720 pigs per farm.

Three quarters of the farms run farrow-to-finish operations, which mean they retain the baby piglets right through to finish weight.

Nationally, the Manitoba swine herd represents about 30 per cent of all the hogs in Canada. We also have the most hog farms and the largest number of pigs per farm.

Over the years, Manitoba hog farmers have developed a good business selling weanling pigs to US buyers who specialize in feeding baby pigs to market weight.

As a leader in global food production and one of the province’s largest employers, Manitoba’s hog sector is deeply committed to ensuring the right things are done to protect water quality and the environment.

Hog farmers across the province continue to innovate and elevate what they do each day as they work to build a better Manitoba for all of us.

January 28, 2022

The AgriPost

Assiniboine to Truckers Protest US-Canada Deliver New Vaccine Mandate Tuition-Free, Ag Equipment Operator Program Assiniboine Community College is partnering with the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) to deliver a tuition-free Agriculture Equipment Operator program to meet a labour market need.

The 14-week program starts February 2022 at the college’s North Hill campus in Brandon and is open to Indigenous people living off-reserve.

“This partnership is an important step in helping to meet an industry need and in providing learners, who may otherwise not have had the opportunity, with a chance to enroll in a program that offers a gateway to great job potential,” said Kevin Poirier, Dean, School of Trades at Assiniboine. “I’m pleased to welcome the support of CAP to help ensure that there are trained people who can step into areas of need so that the growing agricultural sector can reach its full potential.”

The program, funded by CAP, will provide a foundation for students who wish to pursue careers in a rapidly changing and dynamic agricultural sector focused on primary production.

“The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples’ Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program is a proud sponsor of Assiniboine’s Agricultural Equipment Operator (AEO) Program. A key objective of the ISET program is to provide skills training to off-reserve Indigenous people that address gaps in the labour market,” said Sarah Mitchell, National Project Coordinator with CAP. “Projected labour market shortages in this sector overall are significant, and CAP is happy to support an industry that is in need of skilled workers. CAP wishes every client in the AEO program the best of luck and a long and fulfilling career!”

The program begins with a one-week preparatory course and ends with an 80-hour paid work placement.

Students training with skilled staff from Assiniboine will learn safe farming practices and the operational skills necessary to manage multiple enterprises found on Canadian farms.

“Producers across Manitoba are facing serious labour challenges and struggle to hire employees with the necessary skills to work on a farm,” said Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Bill Campbell.

“The Agricultural Equipment Operator program will train participants with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. KAP was pleased to help develop the program and provide industry input to align the curriculum with agricultural labour needs.”

Students will have the opportunity to build ongoing industry contacts and meet potential employers as they take part in the regular tours, workshops, and events held nearby commercial operations and graduate with an industry-recognized credential.

“Removing the cost of training, a significant obstacle to employment, allows students to gain the skills and knowledge required for entry into the job market, without worrying about funding,” said Assiniboine’s Director, Indigenous Education, Kris Desjarlais. “With this, learners are free to focus on their training in this handson learning environment.”

The program has capacity for 15 students. Those interested in enrolling must first attend a free program information session as part of their admissions process into this program. For more program details and to register for an info session, visit assiniboine.net/ agequipTF.

Emerson Border crossing truck traffic.

By Harry Siemens Despite turmoil and confusion over whether truckers would remain exempt from the vaccine mandate approximately 20 truckers began a protest at Emerson, MB on January 17.

What appeared as a government flip-flop caught the trucking industry by surprise saying on January 12 that unvaccinated and partially vaccinated truck drivers crossing into Canada from the US would remain exempt from the vaccine mandate.

The confusion arose after the Canada Border Services Agency put out a statement that Canadian truckers could enter the country without having to quarantine even if they were unvaccinated or had received only one dose.

The Federal government corrected the CBSA statement the next afternoon with a statement saying someone had sent the information out in error and the exemption would still end on January 15.

Originally announced in October 2021 the US vaccination mandate will begin

on January 22, for all noncitizens who are non-immigrants. The requirement will be to show proof that they have been fully vaccinated with an acceptable COVID19 vaccine under the same vaccine standards as air travelers including for all drivers heading into the US. During the January 17 truckers protest Provencher MP Ted Falk posted a standup podcast on Facebook from outside the Emerson port of entry crossing to the US. “What you see in the background here is truckers from right across the province, hundreds of them, protesting Justin Trudeau’s vaccine mandate,” said Falk. “For over two years, our truckers, men and women who drove these big rigs back and forth across the border, were essential workers. And today, Justin Trudeau is villainizing them and telling them that they need the vaccination or are no longer able to do their job.”

Rick Bergmann, chair of the Canadian Pork Council (CPC] said in a WhatsApp group for hog producers,

Provencher MP Ted Falk at the Emerson border crossing to the US said that, ”For over two years, our truckers, men and women who drove these big rigs back and forth across the border, were essential workers.”

Submitted photo

G3 Canada Funds Ag Safety

By Elmer Heinrichs The grain company, G3 Canada, is providing funds for grain rescue equipment in several Manitoba communities.

The donation of $45,000 is part of G3’s support of the

Photos provided by John Wiebe

“We all know that the US border crossing requirements will create a big challenge on our farms. Animal care and animal welfare is job 1. The CPC continues to communicate and meet where possible with the federal transportation Ministers office, the Labour Minister’s office, Federal Agricultural Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, and in contact with our US counterparts.”

Bergmann noted that the US border is a concern but truckers unvaxxed cannot haul from one province to the next and efforts continue daily. He lauded the efforts of those who participated in the rally to raise the significance.

Bill Campbell, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) said farmers rely on a highly efficient transportation system to deliver products to market and receive essential shipments.

“Any challenges to an already strained system can seriously affect the security of Canada’s food supply and the economic competitiveness of individual farm operations,” said Campbell. “The Government of Canada must ensure that farmers have timely access to domestic and international markets.”

Manitoba Pork Council’s general manager, Cam Dahl expressed those same concerns on a recent RealAgriculture.com podcast saying the entire pork production system is under strain and uncertain what could be coming next.

Before this latest strain, the pork industry was short

of trucks and drivers before pulling out additional trucks or drivers when sick. Some of the larger trucking companies could lose up to 10 per cent of their drivers because of the mandates. Dahl said it is not one-sided as the US is a significant market for weanling pigs coming out of Manitoba. He talked of reports from producers that some shipments were cancelled even before the US mandate came in. Other reports indicated significant impacts on feed and feed ingredients that are coming north.

A member on the H.B. Hog WhatsApp group said the Maple Leaf processing plant at Brandon, asked if any of the Hutterite colonies would help move some trailers with product out of the plant and pull them to the plant in Winnipeg.

Rick Wall of Winkler, organizer of the truckers protest told Fox News truckers sit in their trucks for approximately 16 hours a day. Then, depending on how long the trip is, they may get out two or three times a day.

He shared the experience of one of his company’s drivers the first one that crossed after January 15 when the mandate kicked in on the Canadian side. He came into Manitoba with a load destined for British Columbia where he reloaded, before coming back home. This is about a seven or eight-day journey.

However, when he gets back home, he is still such a danger to society that he needs to quarantine before he goes back out on the road.

Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) BeGrainSafe program, which raises awareness of the risks of grain entrapment and provides rescue training to local first responders.

The RM of Morris will base

its grain rescue equipment in the Rosenort Fire Hall to be dispatched throughout the municipality. G3 also provided grain rescue gear in 2021 to the Rivers, Minnedosa and Arborg fire departments.

The AgriPost

MPC Updates Producers on the PEDv Outbreak

By Harry Siemens Manitoba Pork Council (MPC) hosted a town hall meeting on December 7 via Zoom to update producers on the current PED outbreak.

Chairing this session Manitoba Pork’s Jenelle Hamblin Manager, Swine Health outlined the current status of the outbreak which stood at 22 and has since climbed to 27.

The majority of outbreaks are in the high-risk area for PEDv. As of January 11, the updated reports show 54 new PEDv cases.

“Reason is the majority of our cases or a large number of our cases either begin in that area or continues in that area in previous years and 2021 is no different,” said Hamblin. “In and around, Richot, Ste. Anne, Randolph, and Tourond area are where the majority, 19 of our cur-

rent 21 cases are, with two of them having jumped the 75 highway over here around the 305 Brunkild area.”

Fortunately, they had biocontainment implemented at the onsite of clinical signs, if not earlier, for the majority of the cases she said. The early mitigation was due to vigilance so that when the breaks started in that highrisk area, many producers were on high alert, implementing some level of biocontainment even before seeing the clinical signs on their farm. This helped lock things down a little bit earlier said Hamblin. Currently entire case investigations are underway working with IPs, the herd veterinarians, the CBO and the MPC. “We implemented surveillance of nursery farms surrounding the five-kilometre

Janelle Hamblin Manager, Swine Health spoke to participants at a Zoom meeting held by Manitoba Pork Council that a large number of our cases either begin in a high risk area or continue in that area as in previous years and 2021 is no different.

One of the messages during a producer Zoom seminar is that the Manitoba Pork Council and hog producers continue to respond with communication and outreach which is strength when tackling the PEDv.

buffer area, a practice in place since 2019 and acts as a bit of a perimeter surveillance to see if the virus is expanding outside of current buffer areas,” said Hamblin.

Hamblin said the MPC encouraged producers to test before moving if located in a buffer area to minimize risk.

This is extremely useful for ensuring the virus does not move further than necessary. And lastly, enhanced biosecurity is essential and critical not only in the buffer areas in that southeast part of Manitoba but throughout the province.

Looking back at PED in Manitoba, no one will forget the big years of 2017 and 2019 with major outbreaks.

With 54 cases as of January 11 the trend does not look good, surpassing case numbers for 2018.

As of December 17, 2021, 188 of the 219 total cases in Manitoba previously confirmed to have PED are now determined to be PED Presumptive Negative following a negative status protocol developed by the Chief Veterinary Office (CVO) and Manitoba’s swine veterinarians.

“It’s trending very unnervingly close to our 2017 and 2019 cases and what has come on at that point. Not to say that it will continue in 2019 and 2017 trajectories,” said Hamblin. “However, what we’re seeing right now is not, I guess, what we would like to see but we’re hoping that that curve can come down in the coming weeks.”

In terms of repeat cases in 2021, nine are first-time breaks, six are the second break, four are their third break of PED, and two are, unfortunately, their fourth break of PED in Manitoba. Seven of the first breaks are in the high-

risk area, two of which are in the Brunkild area.

Breaking that down more in terms of risk probabilities, they found a 17.5 per cent probability of infection for premises that never broke with PED before and a 32.4 per cent probability of infection if the premises were infected previously. This is nearly double, if broken with the PEDv before.

Hamlin told the Zoom meeting participants that many factors play into why that might be. For example, analysis in the past on barn age and design is a factor that contributes to PED and some area spread and biosecurity factors are at play.

“We continue to operate our PED surveillance program at high traffic facilities in Manitoba such as our federal abattoirs, assembly yards, wash facilities, and positive dock samples continue to come in with immediate follow-up.”

This is an excellent indicator of what is happening, the level of shedding in the province and validating the practices at the facilities.

Cleaning and disinfecting docks at the end of each day with protocols for accepting PEDv recovered sites.

“We are at the point in the outbreak where our earlier cases have held and followed that for the timeframe to hold the animals, and they will be considered recovered and moving into slaughter,” said Hamblin.

She said there is risk associated by putting in risk mitigation measures including moving those animals on designated days, going through designated docks and communicating out to the sector when those animals will move. Communication and outreach continues to be strength in Manitoba.

January 28, 2022

Grain Growers’ Welcome Canada’s Membership in International Coalition On news that the Government of Canada has joined the Sustainable Productivity Growth (SPG) Coalition, Canada’s grain growers would like to commend Minister Bibeau for this positive step and offer our support in adhering to the Coalition’s vision for agriculture.

“We are proud to join likeminded nations around this important table to ensure our shared interest in securing a sustainable future for our sector and our world is achieved,” said Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) chair Andre Harpe.

Launched by the United States at the United Nations Food Systems Summit in September 2021, the newlyfounded Coalition, “aims to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food systems through agricultural productivity growth that optimizes agricultural sustainability across social, economic, and environmental dimensions.”

According to their website and stated vision, the Coalition will work towards the “acceleration of sustainable productivity growth” in a holistic approach that encompasses critical factors such as food security, food safety, food affordability, diet quality, farmer income, farm worker income and wellbeing, food loss and waste, resource conservation, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation.

GGC has repeatedly stated that science and innovation must be utilized in order to maximize agriculture’s economic potential, continue our ever-improving record of sustainability, and feed a growing population.

“As farmers, we are proud of the progress we have made in combining sustainability with increased productivity, and we appreciate that our government recognizes that too,” Harpe added. “As members of this Coalition, we look forward to working with them on policies and programs that continue to prioritize sustainably increasing our productivity.”

The SPG Coalition boasts membership from across the globe, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Liberia, Paraguay, Philippines, Republic of North Macedonia, United States, Vietnam. It also incorporates several industry partners within academia, the private sector, NGOs and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

January Snow a Welcome Sight

By Elmer Heinrichs These January winter blizzards coming across the Prairies through Manitoba are seen as good news for farmers hoping for an end to continuing drought and good crop germination.

While other Manitobans are likely tiring of digging out from recent snowfall, agriculture producers in the province are breathing a sigh of relief.

They say the recent snowfall may give producers the added

moisture they need to get a good start to the 2022 growing season.

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) agrees saying the current trend is encouraging for production of grains and oilseeds.

“We’ll just have to see how spring melt happens, and hopefully we do get some runoff to replenish our lakes, streams and rivers,” said Bill Campbell, president of KAP. Many farmers have been

battling drought-like conditions in recent years with reduced yields and looking to find water for thirsty livestock. John Heard, a soil fertility expert with Manitoba agriculture, said he expects the new snow, along with the earlier moisture will help these producers.

“The only thing more important than fertilizer is water,” said Heard. “Farmers are delighted with what they have received. Few fields are bare

this year. The farmers left the stubble standing so the snow wouldn’t blow off into the ditches. Most of the snow is staying where they need it.”

Graham Schellenberg, a spokesman with KAP, said farmers will need more help from Mother Nature than just snow. “We need a slow thaw,” he said. “We need this moisture to melt and to soak in. Certainly the snow we have and which is coming is good to see.”

The newly-founded Coalition, “aims to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food systems through agricultural productivity growth that optimizes agricultural sustainability across social, economic, and environmental dimensions.”

Read The AgriPost Online at

www.agripost.ca

January 28, 2022

The AgriPost

FCC Economists What’s Ahead for Agriculture Identify Five “Crystal” Charts to Watch in 2022 This Year

By Elmer Heinrichs As we enter a new year, farmers and agricultural leaders are looking forward and outward as they try to approach a new year of operation confidently. The next agricultural policy framework will be a big focus for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) in 2022.

“We’re looking forward to this next policy framework and hoping to see all Canadian producers having equal program eligibility across all programming areas. We know that some producers are locked out from programs,” said CFA president Mary Robinson.

She noted other priorities for the group in 2022. “We want to see investments in agriculture at a level that reflects our increased scale of prominence. We’ve not seen these programs keeping up with inflation, let alone keeping up with the kind of growth that we see within the industry.”

Bill Campbell, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, said the organization will focus on four main areas, business risk management programs, environmental stewardship, economic development and public trust as they head into 2022.

Looking back, Campbell viewed the collaboration between Eastern and Western producers in accessing hay for western producers as extremely positive, especially now that the transportation cost issue gets covered. He encouraged producers with inventory concerns to contact HayWest.

Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler said the Province is positioned well investment-wise to get us to the level where we are going to be leading the protein sector. Referring to protein strategies Eichler noted the openings of Merit, and Roquette, with expansions of NutriPea and Winkler Meats along with Maple Leaf’s bacon and ham centre in St. Boniface it’s creating more opportunities and jobs for Manitoba.

The minister added, “We’ll finish up with our policy framework in July, and then we’ll be able to announce it for 2023, and we know there’s some recommended changes for our stakeholders.”

According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) for 2021-22, total seeded area is expected to decline marginally year over year, with oilseed and coarse grains areas increasing at the expense of wheat, pulse and special crop areas.

Dry conditions affect much of the country, with the most significant concerns in Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan. The winter snow is helpful but timely precipitation throughout the growing season will be required to achieve trend yields.

In 2022, additional capacity will be added to the province’s pea processing industry, as Manitoba positions itself as a plant-based protein hub. The province’s newest pea processing facility, Roquette manufacturing plant, is set to ramp up production to full capacity in 2022, boosting output in this sector by 50 per cent.

In the Royal Bank’s provincial outlook for 2022 it noted that throughout the pandemic food product receipts have been largely responsible for growth in Manitoba’s manufacturing sales. It also noted that in 2021, Manitoba issued 10,000 invitations through its provincial nominee program, which is expected to lead with to a rising number of successful candidates. Well qualified newcomers will broadly benefit Manitoba’s economy, filling job vacancies, boosting consumer spending, and generating additional tax revenue for the province, said the bank.

TD Bank’s provincial economic forecast said, “We think 2022 should be a better year for these industries.

The manufacturing sector should get a lift from solid growth in the rest of the country and the US. We are also assuming a better year for the agricultural sector after a very difficult 2021.”

Like fortune tellers with crystal balls, Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) economics team has been studying their “crystal” charts to forecast what’s in store for Canada’s agriculture and food industry in 2022.

“Sometimes the best indicators of what will happen in the future can be found in the recent past,” said J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief economist. “But with a slowerthan-expected recovery from the pandemic and multiple challenges that have rocked industry supply chains in 2021, this year’s forecast for Canada’s agriculture and food industry has been a real challenge.”

Despite the uncertainty, Gervais suggests industry producers and processors keep an eye on five key trends: Canada’s inflation and interest rates, ongoing supply chain challenges, labour shortages, supplydemand imbalances and strength in meat demand.

Understanding these trends will help business owners and operators mitigate risks and take advantage of opportunities throughout 2022 and beyond.

Inflation is expected to be above the Bank of Canada’s target rate for most of 2022, which also should drive interest rate increases in an effort by the central bank to keep a lid on inflation.

“Persistent supply chain disruptions and global demand will continue to prompt higher prices on virtually everything; two trends that began well before 2021,” Gervais said. “Supply shortages may continue for some key commodities, and overall price increases on oil, gas and global agriculture commodity supplies are not expected to weaken before mid-year.”

Throughout the pandemic, supply chain disruptions caused by shortages and backlogs in global transport networks created inflationary pressures. Average month-over-month global transportation costs for dry goods increased 7.3 per cent in 2020 and more than doubled in 2021 with an average increase of 15.3 per cent.

“Looking ahead in 2022, we see strong demand for raw agriculture commodities and other manufacturing inputs. Coupled with shipping container and transportation labour shortages, we’re forecasting a continuing trend toward higher transportation costs,” Gervais said. “It’s highly predictable the higher cost will be passed onto consumers and reflected in the price we pay for food and beverages in the grocery store.”

At the same time, chronic labour force shortages in the food processing sector made

worse by the pandemic could also contribute to higher food costs.

Drought and other extreme weather events, plus surging demand since 2019 have each contributed to recent global supply/demand imbalances for several major crops. Not even the price spikes produced by record demand curbed the trade of raw commodities around the world throughout 2020 and 2021.

“This has been good news for many Canadian producers who have seen reduced yields, since global demand for commodities has been generating overall stronger prices,” Gervais said. “But since global stocks aren’t that tight for some commodities such as wheat and soybean, strong demand will be needed over the longer term to sustain these prices.”

Shifting consumer demand in meat consumption patterns are normally driven by consumer income and prices, but lockdowns and food service closures during the pandemic have added a new challenge for the sector.

The pandemic has had a clear impact on both meat consumption (consumer purchases) and demand (consumer preferences). While consumer demand for chicken rebounded in 2021 in response to widespread food service re-openings and per-

haps higher red meat prices, consumer purchases of red meat have waned.

“Meat consumption has shifted and declined as households have cut back on more expensive meals, due to job and income losses,” Gervais said. “We’ll be watching closely to see if the demand for meat returns to its prepandemic growth. But business conditions in the food service sector will be major influences in 2022.”

The last prediction is a stronger, more resilient market and driven by innovation.

Gervais believes market conditions will eventually improve, and he’s optimistic that Canada’s agriculture and food industry will emerge stronger and more resilient to rapidly changing economic conditions and unexpected global situations. Innovation has also been a hallmark of the food supply chain, as it continues to adjust to the realities of the pandemic.

“While there are many challenges on the road ahead, there are also many opportunities for Canadian agriculture and food producers, processors, suppliers and service providers,” Gervais said. “One key is to have sound risk management strategies to ensure your business can thrive despite some economic headwinds and take advantage of those opportunities as they arise.”

Helping Sheep and Goat Farmers with New Genetic Services

The Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement (CCSI) is receiving an investment from the Federal Government of almost a half a million dollars to work with goat and sheep stakeholders to increase innovation and resiliency in their respective industries.

Through this investment, CCSI is collaborating with project partners on developing a Canada-wide integrated genetic services system to help sheep and goat farmers improve productivity and increase supply. Farmers will be able to

use the new service system to access new developments and industry information on livestock genomics that can improve breeding and provide a more sustainable supply of high quality products along the sheep and goat value chains.

CCSI is working with a number of partners to integrate genetic services, including the Canadian Sheep Breeders Association, Ontario Sheep Farmers, the Canadian Goat Society, Canadian Livestock Records Corporation, Centre for Genetic Improvement of Live-

stock, Centre d’expertise en production ovine du Québec, AgSights, and the Canadian Meat Goat Association. The integrated system will include services such as phenotype measurements on traits such as growth rate and milk yield, training for farmers to adopt new technologies, genetic evaluation, and research and development.

Canada’s sheep and goat industries offer many growth opportunities for farmers across several agricultural sectors, including meat, dairy and fibre. Increasing industry collaboration in ar-

eas such as genetic services will benefit farmers with improved breeding stock to develop a more adaptable, competitive industry.

There are more than 1.2 million head of sheep and goats in Canada on approximately 15,000 farms (2016 Census of Agriculture); with over $250 million of farm cash receipts, which in 2020 had combined annual revenue of more than $263 million. Potential for growth is large and illustrated by the fact that the number of goats has more than doubled in the last 30 years.

Heating Our Homes with Leftover Canola After years of meticulous research, Dr. Ajay Dalai’s exploration of canola meal pellets as an eco-friendly alternative to coal and natural gas for both heat and energy is poised to move into its next phases as scaled-up pellet production and commercialization.

“Eventually, the world is going to phase out coal because of pollution,” said Dalai, Canada Research Chair of Bioenergy and Environmentally Friendly Chemical Processing in the University of Saskatchewan (USask)’s College of Engineering. His quest is to find ways to turn leftover materials from crop production, like canola meal, into biocoal.

It is already happening in the forest industry but not in agriculture, he said, despite an ample supply of biomatter.

In 2019, Canada produced over 18 million tonnes of canola and 10 million tonnes came from Saskatchewan.

The oil extraction process leaves behind canola meal, which is about 60 per cent of the original crop by weight.

Some canola meal is exported and about 40 per cent is fed to livestock. The remainder is what Dalai sees as potential biocoal. The challenge is to produce high-quality pellets suitable for storage and transportation to facilities where it can be burned to produce heat and power, he said.

Dalai and colleagues have been using computed tomography techniques at the Canadian Light Source at USask to examine lab-produced pellets.

When he first visited a synchrotron in the US about 25 years ago, Dalai saw things nobody can see with the naked eye. “It ignited a passion in me to apply these techniques to biomaterial,” he said.

“We need to know how they look on the inside, what the structure looks like,” he explained. “Tomography allows us to assess the impact of different additives and different amounts of water on the mechanical strength of the pellet and the amount of energy produced when you burn it.”

His latest research demonstrates the optimal amounts of various additives that serve as binders and lubricants to create a canola meal pellet that will not absorb too much moisture or crumble when stored or transported. It is a

Computer tomography for biopellets where the white spots are porosity in these materials.

Submitted Photo

Dr. Ajay Dalai, University of Saskatchewan. Photo by David Stobbe

recipe that is now ready to be tested in the real world.

“We’ve been working for five or six years on this project. It’s time to produce the pellets on a large scale to see the consistency of the product,” said Dalai.

The team’s pellet-making equipment has arrived and, working with industry partners, they will conduct an economic analysis of the canola meal pellets. “Are we ready to formulate and produce on a large scale for export? No, but our dream will come true one day,” he stated.

As the up-scaling continues, Dalai’s team will investigate alternative, lower-cost additives and apply their recipe to other biomaterials, including canola hull, mustard meal and hull, and oat hull. Supplies are plentiful, “Because we don’t have enough cattle in Saskatchewan to eat all of the biomass.” Dalai is also interested in combining agriculture biomass with forest residue to create new formulations.

“The potential of using biomass for bioenergy is enormous and exciting,” said Dalai. In addition to generating significant revenue for the agriculture industry, “We all have a responsibility to create an environment that will be good for our children and grandchildren.”

The AgriPost

January 28, 2022

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January 28, 2022

The AgriPost

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January 28, 2022

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

Manufacturing Human Organs … with Farm Animals

In an unprecedented surgery, a 57-year-old American with serious heart disease had a heart transplant with a genetically-modified pig’s heart on Jan. 7. Almost two weeks later, the patient is reportedly still doing well.

Submitted photo

By Sylvain Charlebois In an unprecedented surgery, a 57-year-old American with serious heart disease had a heart transplant with a genetically-modified pig’s heart on Jan. 7. Almost two weeks later, the patient is reportedly still doing well.

This surgery was a first, performed by a team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. It’s among the first to illustrate the feasibility of a pig-to-human heart transplant, a procedure made possible by new gene-editing tools. Science has given us xenotransplan-

tation through gene editing.

Despite the successful operation, the patient is still hooked to a heart-lung bypass machine, which is keeping him alive. For a transplant, however, this is not out of the ordinary.

Agricultural production has supported our agri-food sector since the beginning of time, essentially to feed humans. It has also developed new vocations over the years, for example, with the energy industry.

Now, some researchers are contemplating animal production to help the health-

care sector, which is in dire need of organs. At any given time, 4,000 to 5,000 people are waiting for organs in Canada. And every year, 200 to 250 people in Canada die while waiting for an organ transplant.

For the patient in Maryland, xenotransplantation was his only option to stay alive.

Xenotransplantation can save lives – but some people will surely ask questions about the ethical and moral aspects of breeding animals to produce organs to save human lives.

The university obtained

emergency clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under its compassionate use program a week before the operation. A few days later, the donor pig, raised in a hyper-sanitized environment, was slaughtered to extract its heart.

Science can be amazing.

But the concept of a gene-edited pig, designed to produce a compatible organ for a human, will make some people uneasy. The science is real, and a debate is warranted.

Xenotransplantation has been discussed for years, but Continued on page 17...

January 28, 2022

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FCC Continues to Support Customers Through Pandemic’s Fifth Wave While food producers and processors across the country face more disruptions and uncertainty as a result of the pandemic’s fifth wave, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is reminding customers that Canada’s leading agriculture lender is here to support them.

“Those involved in the agriculture and food industry are very resilient,” said Michael Hoffort, FCC president and CEO. “Over the past number of months, we have all seen how they have dealt with weather and supply chain issues, let alone managing through the twists and turns of the pandemic with the fifth wave creating additional challenges for some of our customers.”

From the onset of the pandemic and through the weather challenges of the past year, FCC has been offering loan payment deferrals and increased credit lines to assist customers in navigating their situation.

“If you are a producer concerned about having the cash flow required to plant your crop or feed your livestock, or you are a food processor feeling the impact of lost production due to a supply chain disruption, FCC is here to support you,” Hoffort said. “Customer support is a cornerstone of our business and it’s challenging times like these where we can help.”

FCC will work with customers to come up with solutions for their operations on a case-by-case basis, which may include principal payment deferrals and/or other loan payment schedule amendments to reduce financial pressures these circumstances may create.

Customers whose operations have been impacted are encouraged to contact their FCC relationship manager or the FCC Customer Service Centre at 1-888-332-3301 to discuss their individual situation and options.

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January 28, 2022

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The AgriPost Manufacturing Human Organs … with Farm Animals

Continued from Page 15...

this is the first successful operation involving modifying a pig’s genetics to increase the chances of compatibility.

For years, chimpanzee kidneys have been transplanted into humans, even a baboon heart into a baby, but the survival period has never exceeded nine months.

After a series of failures, the scientific community temporarily abandoned xenotransplantation – until pigs were considered. Pork production lends itself better to xenotransplantation as it’s possible to obtain an organ of adequate size within six months. Several patients have received valves and other parts from pigs with positive results, so the con-

the genetic editing practices applied to the pig to allow the heart to stop growing once inside the human body. The company behind the technology, Revivicor, remains very discreet. We also don’t know much about what happened to the carcass of the donor pig.

This is a discussion worth having. Revivicor could have at least given the pig a symbolic name like British researchers did with Dolly, the famous cloned sheep.

After all, the pig is the real hero here.

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

cept isn’t new. But transplanting a pig’s entire organ is unprecedented.

Before we judge or condemn the practice, we must consider the egalitarian issue of transplants.

A hidden aspect of transplants is related to racialized groups. A black, Asian or Indigenous person is less likely to get an organ donation than a white person. Chronic diseases, genetics and blood history make it more difficult for them to find a donor. A person from these groups has between 50 and 70 per cent less chance of getting a donation when on the waiting list.

But animal gene editing to support xenotransplantation

means it’s scientifically more probable to produce compatible organs for everyone, regardless of their genetic makeup. So xenotransplantation can further democratize organ donation.

Xenotransplantation supported by gene editing offers humanity a tailor-made organ donation system. But this brings its share of bioethical questions, especially when it comes to the ethical treatment of animals.

There’s also always the risk of transmitting porcine viruses to humans. And in light of the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve all been living through for nearly two years, that’s no small consideration.

We don’t know much about

Cold Weather Feeding Strategies to Help Overwinter Beef Cows

By Peter Vitti After New Year’s, I was driving just south of the Trans-Canada highway in southern Manitoba and I noticed a 100-cow beef herd swath-grazing just along the fence-line. Most of these cows were in good body shape, despite it being -25 °C and a 25 kph wind (-40 °C windchill) on open prairie.

I could only assume their hardiness had something to do with the quality of grass laid out in front of them, and they were fed nutritious supplements, elsewhere. If my assumptions proved correct, these cows should overwinter and come into spring calving season, without concern.

Unseen to the naked eye, these overwintering beef cows also acclimatize themselves against above frigid temperatures by increasing their metabolic rate to increase heat production at the cellular level. This metabolic priority gives rise to an eleva-

tion in their basic energy requirements, which is accompanied by an increased heart rate, respiration and blood flow throughout their bodies.

This response also triggers feed appetite, which increase feed intake by about 30%; limited by rumen volume, feed digestibility and rate of G.I. feed passage.

Such safeguards are vital to all stages of gestation in beef cows, but are particularly important for the late-gestation, calving and early lactating fresh cows. It becomes a matter of assurance that these beef cows are getting enough energy from their feed and producing/conserving energy against the cold to maintain or a BCS of 5 – 6 (thin = 1, and 9 = obese) during the calving season and right afterwards. In the end, all cows with an optimum BCS at calving/post-calving time will have fewer calving problems, then better colostrum/milk production for their newborn

Unseen to the naked eye, overwintering beef cows also acclimatize themselves against above frigid temperatures by increasing their metabolic rate to increase heat production at the cellular level. This metabolic priority gives rise to an elevation in their basic energy requirements.

calf and later-on fewer days to active estrus, and higher conception rates.

To help set up a good set of cold winter-feeding strategies; university and extension research has come up with a cold weather rule of thumb as follows: for every 1 °C drop in temperature below 0 °C, the beef cows’ TDN energy maintenance requirements are increased by about 2%.

Although, this is only an estimate and is based upon effective air temperatures, producers can also utilize windchill temperatures without adjustments, if the cow herd have little shelter. This means that if our above early morning windchill temperature is -40 °C, there is an increase of about 80% in the cows’ basic dietary energy needs.

Consequently, I spoke to a half-dozen beef producers at this winter and asked them when they planned to feed high-energy grain during such frigid weather. I reminded them that their cowherds would eat only so much good quality forage in order to maintain body condition, so it was best to increase the energy density of their overwintering diets.

For example, one producer that runs a 150 cow-calf farm just brought his cows home to a 20 acre plot from an open pasture and now rolls out good alfalfa-grass hay bales, every morning. He plans to feeds to about 3 - 4 lbs of barley, once they calve-out in the middle of February.

Another producer that runs

a 300-cow purebred/commercial operation feeds them a TMR of high-energy corn silage and mixed hay; will add about 4 - 5 lbs of a 14% protein/65% TDN grain-screening pellet during the coldest weather.

Still, a third producer with 100- beef cowherd makes up a TMR with barley silage, grass hay, and 3 - 4 lbs of dried distillers’ grains to maintain optimum body condition of her mid-gestation cows (plus replacement heifers) throughout the entire winter.

In the same way, most them make use of tree stands and portable windbreak fences that reduce windchill temperatures by 5 – 10 °C, or have pole barns that their cattle could go into, when a north-west wind picks up.

All these producers provide a clean source of water for their cows and practice that fresh straw is put down in the loafing pens to allow cows to lie down on an insulated and comfortable bed.

Their testimonials vary a bit, but their philosophy is very much like my own, when it comes to feeding overwintering beef cows. That is; the sole purpose of these cold winter-feeding strategies is to increase their plane of dietary energy in a timely fashion to help the cowherd cope with frigid weather and to maintain vitality and optimum body condition. The payoff of this plan is that a healthy herd of cows will be ready for a successful calving season and beyond.

January 28, 2022

KAP Presents Recommendations for Manitoba Budget The need for safety and stability in the province’s agriculture industry was brought into focus during the drought of 2021, as well as the supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic.

This year, in its pre-budget submission to the province, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) highlighted government policy that can impact those dynamics including ones pertaining to the environment, economic competitiveness, labour and public trust.

KAP has been lobbying hard for a couple of years to exempt fuel used for drying grain and heating barns from the carbon tax. While there was some recognition from the federal government last year that it was being considered, Bill Campbell, KAP president suggested “the election issue” kept it from being finalized.

The province’s education property tax regime has always been a bone of contention with farmers and Campbell said they are pleased that progress has recently been made and that a panel has been announced to continue to look at the issue. “We want to be sure we are at the table,” he said.

KAP’s six budget recommendations for the first budget of the new Stefanson-led administration are to address economic competitiveness, the environment, labour and public trust.

“Many farmers struggled in 2021 because of ongoing drought conditions in parts of Manitoba,” said KAP president Bill Campbell. “This has re-emphasized the fact that government policies, programs and services are important to the competitiveness of agriculture, especially in difficult times.”

KAP recommended increased funding toward initiatives and programs that build climate resiliency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, recognizing the work that farmers do to ensure a healthy environment for future generations; allocating contingency funding to assist Manitoba’s agriculture industry if drought conditions persist in 2022; continue removing education property taxes from farm property and consult with KAP when developing Manitoba’s new education funding model and develop a targeted agriculture labour strategy in partnership with KAP’s labour committee to reduce chronic labour shortages facing the sector.

Another recommendation targets supporting educational programs like Agriculture in the ClassroomManitoba, which promotes agriculture literacy and awareness to build public trust in agriculture.

Campbell also said both levels of government need to find a solution regarding carbon pricing in Manitoba.

Any plan must exempt fuel used for drying grain and heating barns and return all tax revenue earned from agricultural activities to the sector.

“If there is vulnerability in the industry we want to make sure the tools are there to ensure that we remain an economic driver,” said Campbell.

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The AgriPost

January 28, 2022

Research Shows More Drought Tolerant Riparian Buffer Strips Can Variety Genetics Protect our Waterways Receives More Interest

By Les Kletke The development of varieties that can produce a crop with less water is back on the front burner, thanks to a lack of rain in North America’s major crop growing area in 2021.

The idea of developing drought tolerant varieties received considerable attention several years ago as a way of increasing food production in African countries that were often affected by drought. Scientists have balked at referring to the crops as drought resistant, preferring to use the term “drought tolerant” or saying that the crops used water more efficiently.

Regardless of the term used, the result would be research focused on varieties that would produce a higher yield with less water. It would be a tremendous boost to self-sufficiency of food production in many areas of Africa, but it could also mean a more stable production in North America where farmers felt the effects of last year’s drought across much of the Prairies.

“We saw a real drop in production, and in an area of intensive agriculture,” said Joe Burma of the Crop Development Group, an industry organization that is in the formative stages in the US. “We are looking at what could be done to make varieties more productive when drought occurs in the areas farmers are faced with high input costs. The input costs of today mean that a farmer cannot withstand a crop failure and two back to back could mean the end of his business.”

Burma said that while genetics have been developed where a plant would require less moisture, they come with a yield drag and today’s farmer will not tolerate that.

“Farmers want the highest yield and we see that with their variety selection every year,” he said. “They want optimum yield and that has been the emphasis of most breeding programs but now it is a matter of getting those yields with less water. It is possible but we are a few years from commercialization.”

Burma said that breeding programs for any crop are always a balancing act of increased yield and other factors like disease resistance but now more efficient use of water by the plant has come into play. He said breeding programs get their emphasis switched by the practical problems agriculture faces.

“It is a matter of reacting to what is happening in the field,” he said. “We have seen that for generations, but the dry conditions of last year and changing weather patterns mean that more emphasis is placed on this problem.”

The development of varieties that can produce a crop with less water is back on the front burner, thanks to a lack of rain in North America’s major crop growing area in 2021.

Submitted photo

A new study suggests we may have more opportunities to protect our waterways.

That’s because one system for keeping too many nutrients out of streams could be used more widely than it is now.

Known as saturated riparian buffer strips, the system slows down and redirects water coming off farm fields.

Water passes through a strip of land planted with native plants (the buffer). The technique allows more nitrogen to get absorbed by plants or turn into nitrogen in the air. The system is affordable and fairly simple, and it can remove up to 92% of nitrate, a form of nitrogen.

Without edge-of-field technologies like buffer strips, farmland often spills excess nutrients from fertilizers into nearby streams. Those nutrients degrade water quality and can kill wildlife. But one effective way to reduce the spread of nutrients is a special buffer between crops and streams.

The new study discovered that these buffers could be installed in more places than previously thought. By expanding the sites where the buffers are placed, farmers could protect more of their local streams.

“Limiting nutrient transport off of fields and into water

bodies prevents overgrowth of harmful algae and protects in-stream ecosystems,” said Loulou Dickey, researcher at Iowa State University, who led the research.

Current guidelines limit where the riparian buffers should be installed. One big concern is that the redirected flow of water will weaken the stream bank. If the stream bank erodes and falls into the stream, it hurts water quality and damages the land. The buffers are limited to banks that are not too tall, in hopes this protects the banks from damage.

Dickey’s team tested the assumption about bank height.

They also looked at how adding in a new riparian buffer affected stream bank stability. They combined real-world data collection with models of hundreds of possible scenarios.

“We wanted to help practitioners and designers to make determinations about site suitability in the future,” said Dickey. “Therefore, we needed to include a wide range of possible site conditions.”

The team found that most stream banks turned out fine once the farmer added a new riparian buffer. Only in about three percent of the scenarios did the new water’s flow through the soil endanger the stability of the bank. The

A solar-powered data logger measures water levels at an experimental saturated riparian buffer. It was installed by a team from Iowa State, whose research determined criteria that show more farmland qualifies to safely install riparian buffer strips.

Photo by Loulou Dickey

conditions where the bank failed included sandy soils that didn’t hold together very well and riparian buffers that were less than six feet wide.

Those situations are unlikely to happen in the real world, said Dickey.

The biggest predictor of a failing stream bank was one that was already unstable. “If the stream bank is already failing, it is likely to continue to do so, but if the bank is relatively stable, it will likely remain stable even with saturated riparian buffer flow,” Dickey said.

The height of the stream bank also didn’t predict the future stability. Instead, a bank that was too steep was more likely to fail. Steep

stream banks have always been at risk of erosion. The takeaway is that many sites that used to be off limits could be good candidates for new riparian buffers.

“I hope our work will give farmers and landowners the confidence to install more saturated riparian buffer strips,” said Dickey. “I also hope farmers know how grateful we are to have the opportunity to study these practices because of their support.”

Expanding the use of the saturated riparian buffer could give farmers a straightforward and cost-effective way to protect their land’s water quality. That’s a boon for the farmer - and for everyone downstream.

Greenhouse and Market Gardeners Prepare to Plant

By Les Kletke While most Manitoba farmers are making seeding plans and placing seed orders the first crops of the year are ready to go in the ground.

And while large acre farmers may be complaining about seed prices, it is the small scale producers who deal with some high cost seed.

Imagine the cost of a bushel of carrot seed.

The province’s greenhouse operators and market gardeners are ready to put their early crops into the ground to take advantage of the sunlight that is coming in February.

Canola and soybean producers have faced a proliferation of varieties in recent years and corn growers have endless choices of varieties that offer shorter time to

maturity or a greater yield but vegetable producers have those choices 3 or 4 fold.

The days of Ox Heart tomatoes being the go-to variety are long gone; the list of choices is in the hundreds and grows annually including various colours of tomatoes.

Mary Derksen starts her own plants in what she calls a small greenhouse and then plants them out in her 1 acre garden. “I have worn out a seed catalogue or two by this time,” she said. “I have my favourites that I know will produce for me but I also like to try something new and there is always something new.”

She said that the development of new varieties has come with a cost. “Seed prices have been moving up

and of course the new stuff is always more expensive, but I like to try it,” said Derksen.

Derksen said that she is past the packets of seed stage that most home gardeners purchase although hesitant to give out the value of what she spends on seed. “Let’s just say my seed costs are significant,” she said with a

chuckle. “I do have a lot of tomatoes and that is expensive, but things like celery or carrot seed is more expensive per pound.”

It will be a while before the seed displays appear in garden stores but for most greenhouse operations some of the 2022 crop is ready to go in the ground.

For most greenhouse operations some of the 2022 crop is ready to go in the ground.

Submitted photo

The AgriPost

January 28, 2022

China Becomes Top Importer of Major Farm Commodities

By Harry Siemens Brett Stuart of Global AgriTrends of Preston, Idaho, recently said at the Banff Pork Seminar that China is the top influencer in agricultural markets around the world.

Stuart told the participants that things have changed over the last five years for many of the farm commodities such as corn, wheat, beef, pork, and chicken because China dominates the purchases in those commodities.

Within the last three years China went from the number eight importer of corn to the number one. In wheat, from the seventh importer in the world to number two. China became the largest beef importer by a factor of two over the last ten years. Pork, due to their African Swine Fever (ASF) went from a million tonnes imported to 4 to 5 million tonnes. Chicken, same story he said.

“With all of these commodities, China is the biggest or at least in the top three buyers of every major commodity,” said Stuart. “People in agriculture anticipated this happening for years and it happened in only three years.”

Travelling to China over the last 2 decades, Stuart has heard from many farmers who said if China would only buy a little more of this or that, sales would skyrocket.

“My business partner, he’s from your generation and his attitude is that China’s the market of the future, and it always will be,” said Stuart.

“It’s the moving goal post.

We always think, boy, China’s going to be so big. It never happened. What I’m telling you, it just happened.”

All farmers want more markets and rising demand and China creates new demand.

Unfortunately, China is an

unreliable trading partner by often imposing their selfserving political directives at the peril of global suppliers said Stuart.

“Consider the way they book soybean cargoes, then cancel and rebook if prices rise. Then, they delist foreign meat plants over COVID on the boxes or “‘illegal residues”. Some plants remain delisted for years,” he noted.

“Now as China tops many lists as a larger global buyer, that creates more volatility in these commodity markets as farmers are more affected by an unreliable buyer.”

Stuart said they are a buyer that buys big until they see a threat or opportunity and then creates barriers. So the world allows China to avoid rules that other countries keep.

As an example he explained that before ASF decimated the Chinese hog herd, they owned and consumed half the pigs in the world.

“If you know China and seen the swine sector, you knew that in 2018 when China said, hey, we found one case, you knew it was going to decimate their industry,” said Stuart. “They had over 40 million backyard farmers and probably still have close to that today. Those backyard farmers share trucks, feed

mills, everything. This ASF virus would gut the world’s largest swineherd.”

Stuart said he travelled to China three times between 2018 and 2019, speaking to the government officials and producers and remembers being there in May 2019 when the world did not know yet about ASF affecting the swine herd. The Chinese government kept saying it was not a big deal. The USDA Beijing office had just put out a report and said the herd would be 5 per cent smaller this year he said.

“I came from a conference in China where the China Swine Association said they think 30 per cent of the herd is already gone. It will be way bigger than five per cent, and it may well kill half the herd,” recalled Stuart. “In the end, nobody knows how many hogs are in China.”

He guessed that China culled 65 per cent of their swineherd during 2019. As a result, their prices went up two to three hundred percent for the next 16 months, which weighed heavy on global markets.

The Chinese people did not worry about eating that pork because ASF does not affect the meat, only the pig’s health he said.

“Maybe it would be a con-

Brett Stuart of Global AgriTrends of Preston based in Idaho at a Banff Park Seminar said the Chinese claim they have vaccines for African Swine Fever even though there is no proven vaccine yet.

sumer issue here in the US or Canada but not there. A few people said oh, we’re eating less pork,” said Stuart. “But when the price is up 300 per cent, everyone’s eating less pork.”

However, the virus is hardy, lasts up to ten years in frozen pork and is hard to kill he said. “A person could freeze pork in China in 2020, thaw it out in 2022, eat it, throw the scraps outside, the pigs eat the scraps and they’re infected,” said Stuart. “The original virus is around 95 per cent fatal, kills everything.

Here’s the kicker. There’s no vaccine. Even today, there is still no vaccine. The Chinese claim they have vaccines but there’s no proven vaccine on earth, at least not yet.”

Brett Stuart guessed that China culled 65 per cent of their swineherd during 2019. As a result, their prices went up two to three hundred percent for the next 16 months, which weighed heavy on global markets.

File photo

WGRF Commits to New Research Projects Through a continuing cofunding partnership with the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, and other producer commodity groups, the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) has announced up to $6 Million of new funding for 43 crop-related research projects.

“Our ability to work with other research funders and grower groups is one of WGRF’s greatest strengths,” said Dr. Keith Degenhardt,

WGRF Chair. “Co-funding partnerships help maximize the investment we as producers are making in crop research. These 43 new promising research projects will undoubtedly help lead to improved crop production for western Canadian producers.”

WGRF is co-funding 24 projects with ADF as well as an additional 18 projects exclusively with other commodity groups. The approved projects include research into Nitrogen use efficiency;

understanding the effects of crop rotation; developing tools and management of insect pests and weeds; fusarium head blight management; soil management; managing fungal diseases; drought tolerance; phenotyping, as well as genomics and breeding for disease resistance; increased yield and trait improvements in multiple crops.

“WGRF continues to invest in both single-crop and multi-crop research through partnerships like the one with ADF,” said Garth Pat-

terson, WGRF Executive Director. “We have also continued our efforts to accelerate crop research, through our Capacity Initiatives ensuring the equipment, buildings and people are in place across Western Canada to increase research capacity.”

A full listing of projects will be posted on the WGRF website once research contracts are in place. More than 560 past and present WGRF funded research projects are currently listed on the WGRF website wgrf.ca.

Manitoba Crops May Be Money Makers

By Elmer Heinrichs An analysis conducted by Manitoba Agriculture shows most of the big acre crops should turn a profit in the province in 2022 with estimates that even growers with average crops should have a profitable year.

Based on current cost-of-production, forward prices and expected yields, only barley looked to be a money loser among the big-acre crops on the eastern Prairies region.

That’s in terms of “net profitability,” which includes costs for land, machinery and living costs. And in terms of operating costs, all crops should be in the black in 2022.

That’s a product of high crop prices, despite high input prices. It is based upon the assumption of modest yields compared to long-term averages, but much higher yields than some drought-ravaged farmers got last year.

The best-returning major crops, based on today’s assumptions, appear to be oats, canola, northern hard red wheat and corn, with barley, soybeans and peas appearing the poorest.

If farmers are looking at the same bottom-line numbers, these projections should continue to favour canola acres and discourage soybean acres.

In 2017, soybeans were grown on 2.3 million Manitoba acres, but that has trended lower, to 1.3 million acres in 2021, which was a slight increase on 2020’s 1.15 million. Despite relatively low production costs due to soybeans’ low fertilizer requirements; the low expected yields of 35 bushels per acre do not compensate enough to raise it from the profitability basement.

Canola, despite challenges with clubroot and other tight-rotation issues, continues to be a steady money maker and a dominant crop on Manitoba’s farmland.

When you add up everything, growing crops in 2022 should be profitable. The bottom line of the analysis is that the three elements of crop profitability, yield, cost of production and price are much less certain this year.

The outlook is pretty good if it all works out.

But these bottom-lime calculations hide some giant risks that become obvious when you look at the elements of these returns, coming in the form of inflated cost, and price and production volatility.

AAFC Sees Farmers Seeding More Wheat and Less Oilseeds

By Elmer Heinrichs Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in its January outlook for 2022-23, says rotation and moisture conditions, expected prices and input costs/availability are the main factors determining seeding decisions in the spring.

Based on current market conditions and historical trends, the area seeded to field crops in Canada is forecast to increase marginally from last year. The area seeded for wheat, coarse grains, pulse and special crops is expected to increase, while area seeded to oilseeds decreases.

The average yield and production for all crops is forecast to increase significantly compared to the drought year of 2021-2022, based on a return to trend or just below trend yields, resulting in expected total field crop production and supply rebounding to more normal levels.

It projects a drop in corn imports to meet local feed needs and reflects the expected recovery of barley production in western Canada.

In general, prices are expected to remain relatively strong, but decrease from the high levels experienced in 2021-22 as Canadian and world production are expected to increase.

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January 28, 2022

Explaining Subscription Policies In the midst of an insurance market where insurers are less and less excited to write new policies, and where they are scaling down their capacity for existing business, we are seeing the need for more subscription policies to insure the increasing limits on property insurance policies.

What in the world is a subscription policy? In a nutshell, it is a policy where two or more insurance companies agree to rating and coverage, at a split percentage between the insurers, to total one hundred percent of the required limits.

In a non-insurance example – consider a scenario where you are asked by a friend to move a piano. If you show up by yourself with a truck and successfully navigate the piano from point A to point B with nothing going wrong, you are a hero. Your photo is displayed on a social media page, you are talked up by your friend to other friends, and before you know it, you are moving all of the pianos in the area as your reputation has made you the go-to celebrity piano mover in your circle of friends.

However, it is all fun and games until you drop a piano, have another one slide off the truck, and then accidently go into the wrong house and move the wrong piano.

Instead of doing it yourself, the other solution is the age-old team lift scenario. This allows you to share the heavy lifting and the heroics with others. It also spreads out the risk with your friends if something goes terribly wrong with moving the piano.

Subscription insurance policies are similar to recruiting a few friends to help you move a piano. Instead of one insurer taking on all of the risk, they share the risk, along with the premium dollars collected, to reduce their exposure. If a subscription policy insured piano falls down the stairs, all insurers on the policy would pay for their portion of the loss, rather than being responsible for the entire amount.

We are in a unique insurance market, as we are seeing replacement cost values increasing as inflation runs rampant. At the same time, we are seeing insurers pulling back capacity leading to more scenarios where subscription policies are required.

I want to share that while this isn’t always the ideal scenario, it is not a bad thing for consumers who end up in a situation with a subscription policy. This approach removes some of the volatility of the hard market and also provides a solution to make sure that adequate limits are in place. In a scenario where a claim occurs, it is often set up with one independent adjustor handling the claim on behalf of all of the insurers, rather than having each insurer sending an adjustor to the party.

Have further questions on subscription policies? Feel free to reach out. Looking for a friend to help you move a piano? I know a guy that I can refer you to!

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. Contact office 204-746-2320, text 204712-6618, email davids@rempelinsurance.com or visit rempelinsurance.com.

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The AgriPost

Zinc Adds Vitality to Well-Balanced Dairy Diets Zinc is one of about a dozen trace-minerals that are essential to the good life and productivity of dairy cattle. Yet, unlike some of the other essential trace-minerals, zinc is not easily forgotten in a wellbalanced dairy diet, because it performs so many different functions in dairy cows and in so many different ways.

Much of this attention upon dietary zinc is because it has been studied so extensively over the last one hundred years, where it was first discovered (1922) to play a vital role in the growth of mice.

Since then, zinc has been scientifically proven to be part of over 300 of mammalian enzyme systems (specialized proteins that trigger bio-chemical reactions in the body), which are involved in cellular energy metabolism, protein synthesis, the reproductive process as well as genetics and immune function in cattle.

Consequently, the National Research Council (NRC) recommends dairy cattle require about 40 mg/kg zinc in their diet to adequately per-

form these functions. Being a dairy nutritionist, I have balanced several lactating, dry and young stock dairy diets with these NRC amounts, and even more fortified levels; and from many different zinc sources. As a result, here are some of the “hit, miss or draw” dairy examples of my own dietary zinc experience: - Hit: About 10 years ago, I developed the dry cow and lactation diets for a southern Manitoba 100-cow dairy herd. The producer’s dairy herd had a high incidence of foot-rot, and white-line sole separation. I suggested that we feed zinc-methionine (a specific chelated-zinc) at 4 grams per head, daily. After six-months, most of these hoof issues were almost non-existent. The hoof-trimmer even commented that the cowherd’s hoof-horn became much harder during trimmings.

- Hit: Zinc methionine has been proven to stimulate keratin production; the tissue that forms protective plug in the teat canal and helps prevent mastitis. So,

Zinc methionine has been proven to stimulate keratin production; the tissue that forms protective plug in the teat canal and helps prevent mastitis. Supplementing TMR rations can have many benefits.

about 5 years ago, I added zinc-methionine at 5 grams per head, daily to a lactation TMR diet fed to a 150-cow dairy upon the producer’s request. His herd SCC dropped from 260,000/ml to about 190,000/ml in about three weeks. About a week later, he culled a few cows with SCC of over 1.5 million/ml, which dropped herd SCC, even further.

- Miss: Elevated zinc levels have been used as a growth promotant in baby pigs. I elevated the zinc level by formulating more zinc oxide in a dairy calf starter from 40 ppm to 60 ppm. Neither growth rate, feed efficiency or health was noticeably improved in pre-weaned calves raised in dairies that fed my zinc-fortified calf starter.

- Draw: Zinc has been shown to play an essential role in many of the dairy cows’ reproductive functions such as strong estrus cycles, improved conception rates, promotion of normal postpartum uterine involution, and reduction of metritis. On occasion, I have often recommended to many farms to add “breeder cattle mineral” with chelated zinc at 50 g per head. Surprisingly, the testimonials by producers to spark their cowherd conception rates have been generally positive.

Each of the above points are real-life situations, which are backed up by actual university and extension trials. For example – stronger hooves as outlined in my first story is similar to when the Illinois State University fed a group of replacement heifers, an additional 200 mg/hd/d of zinc in the form of zinc methionine (organic zinc) for

75 days and had fewer cases of foot rot, heel cracks, claw dermatitis, and laminitis.

Much of my experience and similar research demonstrations on zinc for dairy cattle is most likely due to heightened enzymatic functions of zinc in dairy nutrition.

In contrast, there is a growing body of studies that are examining the more physical/direct non-enzymatic and anti-bacterial activities of dietary zinc in dairy cattle.

For example, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NP) have been recently developed, which have a microscopic particle size of 1 – 100 nm. At this ultra-small size, researchers in India (2020) demonstrated 650 and 850 ug/ml ZnO-NP significantly lowered the level of mastitis organisms - S. Aureus and E. Coli in contaminated milk samples collected from a local lactation dairy herd.

Similar laboratory in-vitro studies of ZnO-NP improved the growth rate of rumen microorganisms by improving their rumen fermentation of added dietary nutrients as well as improved rumen microbial proteins synthesis.

Such zinc technology is still in its infancy of study.

More research is necessary before nano-zinc like common-grade zinc oxide can be added to practical dairy diets. Regardless of this current timeline, it still shows that dietary zinc has a timeless vitality in dairy nutrition and has a promising future as a vital essential nutrient for dairy cattle.

Gimli Whisky an Award Winner

By Elmer Heinrichs Manitoba grains are used in the production of fine award-winning whisky distilled at the province’s Gimli distillery and recently, Crown Royal nabbed some serious hardware for its Manitoba-made whisky.

The Gimli-based distillery, owned by international drinks giant Diageo, took the whisky of the year award at the 2022 Canadian Whisky Awards for the Crown Royal Noble Collection Winter Wheat. The winning dram was distilled at Diageo’s Gimli distillery, where all Crown Royal whiskies are made and

blended in Diageo’s facility in Montreal.

The head judge and founder of the awards, David de Kergommeaux, lead writer on spirits in Canada, described it as, “A truly stunning whisky, incredibly complex, flavourful and well-balanced.”

In addition to the Winter Wheat, Crown Royal’s Noble Collection Rye – Aged 16 Years, the Extra Rare 18Year-Old and the XO were all awarded gold medals.

The competition also awarded Diageo’s Gimli facility with the distillery of the year award, while Crown Royal blender Jo-

anna Zanin Scandella received a lifetime achievement award.

“Crown Royal invented the way Canadians blend whisky and it is Canada’s most popular whisky by far,” wrote de Kergommeaux in the blog post about the competition. “Consumers buy more per year than the next six brands combined.”

In 2016, Crown Royal was awarded Whisky of the Year by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible for its Northern Harvest Rye, beating out hundreds of other brands and marking the first time a Canadian whisky had ever taken the award.

The Gimli-based distillery, owned by international drinks giant Diageo, took the whisky of the year award at the 2022 Canadian Whisky Awards for the Crown Royal Noble Collection Winter Wheat.

The AgriPost

More Rain on the Plain

By Les Kletke At least one recognized source is predicting a more normal rainfall pattern for 2022. Tim Shields of AgWeather is calling for more normal precipitation patterns across the mid west of the US and the Canadian prairies for this year. Shields and his firm have established a solid record with their predictions over the last decade.

“This does not mean everyone is going to get the rain they need to produce a bumper crop,” he said. “But we should see a more normal pattern on precipitation

across the western plains this year, and that will be good news for agricultural producers who faced a lot of problems last year.”

He bases his prognostications on a number of things and said it is more scientific than the “Old Farmer’s Almanac”, which he admitted has a long standing reputation.

“There were some things in that little yellow book that were based on science and still have value, but we have moved a long way over the last 150 years,” said Shields.

“It is still an entertaining

read, and I do not discredit it but we have more science now, and that is saying that we are likely to see more general rainfall across the major area of crop production in North America.”

He acknowledged that last year was a difficult one for both crop and livestock producers. “It was a huge area that was impacted and we saw that in feed shortages and the resultant movement in cattle numbers,” he said. “We will see more general rains across the area this year, and while that is not always the answer for everyone it should boost

crop production numbers.”

“We are going to continue to see an increase in the number of major weather events and that is not good news for agricultural people,” said Shields. “They do not need a massive amount of moisture at any one time, but we will see more storms as well.”

Shields grew up on a farm and still has interest in the family operation. “I know what we went through on our farm in Missouri and it was typical for so many people, indications are that we should see a better situation this year.”

Higher Returns an Opportunity to Change Annual Crop Rotation

By Les Kletke The release of Manitoba Agriculture’s crop budgets confirmed what many producers already knew. Higher commodity prices would allow them to make a return on any crop if they got an average yield. The stumbling block is if extreme weather will be a factor.

Bob Hansen farms at Miami and said he was aware of the possibilities but welcomed the numbers confirming a positive return for all his crops seeded to 2,000 acres.

He will use this year to

deal with a few problems on his farm. “I have been crowding the oilseed rotation a bit, so I will plant a few more cereals this year,” he said. “That will also give me the opportunity to work with some different herbicides and avoid the possibility of herbicide tolerance in the weed population.”

Hansen is considering planting oats this year which is a change compared to past years. “It has been a few years,” he said. “There is always the volume issue and storage

concern, but there are some more options out there this year and I am going to go back to oats. The past few years, wheat has been the only cereal in the rotation so it might be good to try something else.”

He is already marketing some of his crop and has locked in seeding intentions. “These prices are pretty good and I can lock in a profit, so I am doing some marketing,” said Hansen. “I don’t know if things will go much higher but I will have some crop left unpriced if they do. I don’t

want to sell everything and not be able to take advantage of a run up in prices if it does happen.”

Hansen has welcomed the snow cover but says it is too early to count on replenishing soil moisture levels. “It is good cover for now, and is a lot better than bare ground for drifting but it depends on the thaw how much of it will soak into the ground. It would be great to have a good blanket of snow and then get a nice slow melt so we get the advantage of it going into the ground,” said Hansen.

Plans in the Works for Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference “Together Again”

By Joan Airey The date for the 2022 Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference is set for November 16 and 17 in Brandon and

Doris Doelger, Vice-Chair of the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference.

while that may seem a ways off, a group of volunteers already met recently via zoom to start the wheels rolling to make it possible to have an in-person conference.

The meeting participant decided that registrations will be limited to seventy-five people.

Committee members discussed the result of a survey they put out in December to see what attendees would prefer for a conference and now plan on putting those ideas to work.

Chairing the conference will be Tracey Chappell with Co-Chair Anita Penner.

Vice-Chair is Doris Doelger, Past Chair Jody Jury,

Government Liaison Cathey Day; Secretary is Ann Madzuik and Treasurer Tamara Babisky. A number of subcommittees were established to plan the conference.

This year’s theme for the conference will be “Together Again”.

Tracey Chappell, Chair of Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference Committee.

Committee members plan to keep everyone in the loop as to what their plans are via social media. You can also check out Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference web page.

Anita Penner Co-Chairman of the Manitoba Farm Women’s Submitted photos Conference.

January 28, 2022

Hog Producers Keeping Focus on Risk Management

By Harry Siemens Tyler Fulton, the director of risk management with HAMS Marketing Services said the need for effective risk management strategies would be critical in 2022.

Despite significant volatility throughout 2021 due to uncertainty over the pandemic, hog prices were good but record-high feed prices reduced profitability. Amid this continued volatility pork producers will need to focus on risk management.

“Follow a fairly standard plan, incremental selling especially in some of those higher periods of the summer and when the late fall months come available, covering some of those needs depending on where those values start,” said Fulton.

According to Fulton, there are scenarios where summer prices look favourable. From a historical standpoint, $250 per market hog is attainable right now or very near obtainable in forward pricing. But corn, soybean and feed ingredient prices are exceptionally high, cutting back into the profitability potential he noted.

“We’re going to follow a fairly normal trend where the summer timeframe will be the profitable period,” he said. “Then, moving into the fourth quarter of 2022, producers will have to buckle down and squeak out those margins if we can find them on the forward and the feed ingredient pricing opportunities.”

Fulton said the need to do risk management is everpresent in this uncertain economic environment with one of the most significant factors driving hog markets is the impact of the global pandemic on pork processing capacity. In late 2021 slaughter hog production dropped, resulting in a decline in hog numbers and triggering a significant reduction of pork stocks, stimulating higher pork cut-out values. While that short supply will continue, the global pandemic influences the hog market.

“In the short-term hog processing facilities are dialing back their production levels simply because they’ve struggled to maintain a full labour force in the context of the Omicron variant,” said Fulton. “It’s widespread, whether in the US Midwest with many packing plants but also in western Canada where, after the holidays, plants have dialled back production.”

So far there are no major disruptions, but the industry needs to move through these issues and learn to work with these constraints to remain current with hog supplies in the short term said Fulton.

Longer-term, the USDA’s Hogs and Pigs Report showed a general lack of any growth in market hog supplies for at least the next four months. However, looking further out the breeding herd will increase resulting in larger market hog volumes, as long as producers can deal with the disease disruptions that have plagued the industry over the last year.

Fulton said these relatively tight supplies could result in continued support for pork cut-out values, increasing hog values.

The director of risk management with HAMS Marketing Services, Tyler Fulton sees short-term hog processing facilities dialling back their production levels due to struggles maintaining a full labour force in the context of the Omicron variant. He advises to use incremental selling especially in some of those higher periods of the summer and when the late fall months come available.

Photo by Harry Siemens

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January 28, 2022

Starting Gardening Plans For 2022!

By Joan Airey I’m planning on starting some begonias Nonstop Deep Rose, later today as well as some Gloxinias. March will be about time to start your peppers. T & T Seeds suggest you start them six to ten weeks ahead of your last frost date. For successful germination ideal temperature is 25-30 °C. Seedlings also need to be fertilized with transplanter fertilizer.

Several varieties grow great in pots. When grown in the

garden they require 12 to 20 inches between plants. You can pinch off early blooms before the plant is grown to help direct their energy into leaf and stem stability and you’ll have bigger fruit later in the season.

“Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden” by Jessica Walliser is well worth the read it is new at bookstores. You’ll find bug profiles introducing dozens of beneficial insects and down and dirty details on how they

catch and eat their prey. It includes plant profiles featuring the best plants for supporting beneficial bugs and explains why gardening for bugs is just as important to the greater world as it is to your garden.

I’m a person who prefers not to be round bugs. Although Lady Bugs and dragon flies have always intrigued me but otherwise I just as soon not be around. I found it fascinating the introduction to the predator and prey cycle and

its importance in both wild ecosystems and home gardeners. I’m going to see if this works to keep bugs away from my much-loved veggies.

I’m sure many of my fellow gardeners preserve much of their produce in Gem jars. Personally, I have about three hundred Gem jars I fill each year and Bernardin plans to quit making lids for these jars as they did in 2002 when thousands of gar-

deners wrote them and they kept making them for another twenty years.

Once again it’s time to tell them we need that size lid and they need to make them if they want our business.

Here is what they have published on social media.

“To our subscribers and the conservation community, we would like to inform you that starting spring 2022, we will stop producing GEM lids and bands. We know this is a product highly appreciated by some, but the production of lids and bands has become inefficient, and we want to focus production on our lids and bands to REGULAR and BIG OPENING popular jars.

By focusing our efforts on our most popular items, we will be able to increase the global production of canned lids for our Canadian customers, and make our high-quality canned lids available in larger quantities to meet the growing demand.”

The company continued with, “It’s important for us to inform you enough in advance so you can stock up on GEM covers and bands. With that being said, we look forward to introducing you our other products that, we know, you will love for all your canning and craftsmanship needs. If you need help finding replacement solutions for our GEM lids, feel free to contact us and we will offer you great choices.

We’ll continue to post articles on unique ways to use the available jars and inspire you with recipes! If you have any further questions, you can visit bernardin.ca/fr/foiresauxquestions for more information.”

As I write this we are in the midst of another much welcome snow storm to fill our dugouts, rivers, and wells next spring. It’s time to plan our gardens and order our seeds because the demand for seeds has risen even more for this coming gardening season.

Winter lettuce from Sage Greenhouse in Winnipeg grows great under grow lights and also this Holland greenhouse cucumber from T & T seeds.

“Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden” by Jessica Walliser is a natural approach to pest control in your garden.

Photos by Joan Airey

The AgriPost

January 28, 2022

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Community Initiates Free Seed Library in Roseau River As the winter wears on, many of us itch to start our garden plants and get our hands back in the soil. Unfortunately, job and supply chain disruptions over the past two growing seasons have made certain seeds harder to come by. Paper shortages have led to seed catalogue delays while an increasing interest in home gardening has caused the demand for some seed varieties to exceed the supply.

This could very well be a problem if it weren’t for the tremendous opportunities it provides.

“Out of stock” messages mean tracking down alternate sources, which can lead to the discovery of smaller seed suppliers, many of which offer unique and fun alternatives to the norm, such as heirloom, open-pollinated, or native varieties of vegetables, grains and flowers. Another opportunity comes in the form of seed saving and sharing.

For seasoned gardeners, seed saving is par for the course – a simple way of ensuring that our favourite or most successful foods and flowers can be planted again next year. Selecting seeds from fruits with favoured qualities like sweetness or resistance to environmental conditions, such as disease or drought, will result in those qualities becoming dominant over time. Saving and sharing our seeds offers a safeguard against crop failure when we can turn to our successful neighbours to help us recover from the loss. Moreover, sharing seed from our favourite plants is undeniably fun and a great way to cultivate relationships with other community members.

Seed sharing is not new. In fact, seed swapping events have become quite popular in both urban and rural areas of Manitoba, our local community included. With specific times scheduled for these events, however, not every-

one who would like to attend can.

Enter the Community Seed Library.

Located in Artisan Hall at Reimer Concrete and Building Supplies in Roseau River, this seed exchange works just like our Little Free Libraries – take some seeds, share some seeds – with one difference. To make it easier to search for certain seeds, sharers are asked to clearly label their seeds, including the year they were harvested, and file them alphabetically by type, rather than variety. For example, “Scarlet runner bean, 2021” would be placed under “B”. If you are open to fielding questions about your seeds, consider including your name and/or phone number, as well.

The more people who participate in the Community Seed Library, the more fun it will be! Contributions of both unique and common varieties of food and flowers have already been deposited and we look forward to seeing our local seed bank grow.

Located in Artisan Hall at Reimer Concrete and Building Supplies in Roseau River, this seed exchange works just like our Little Free Libraries – take some seeds, share some seeds Submitted photo

How to Start a Seed Library in Your Community If you’re interested in starting your own, then there are a few things to consider prior to creating seed libraries.

- Present your idea to a local group, such as a garden club or master gardeners. There is a lot of work involved, so you’ll need a group of interested people.

- Arrange for a convenient space, such as a community building. Often, actual libraries are willing to dedicate a space for a seed library (they don’t take up much space).

- Gather your materials. You’ll need a sturdy wooden cabinet with dividable drawers, labels, sturdy envelopes for the seeds, date stamps, and stamp pads. Local hardware stores, garden centers, or other businesses may be willing to donate materials.

- You’ll also need a desktop computer with a seed database (or another system for keeping track). Free, open source databases are available online.

- Ask local gardeners for seed donations. Don’t worry about having a huge variety of seeds at first. Starting small is a good idea. Late summer and autumn (seed saving time) is the best time to request seeds.

- Decide on categories for your seeds. Many libraries use “super easy,” “easy,” and “difficult” classifications to describe the difficulty level involved in planting, growing, and saving the seeds. You’ll also want to divide seeds by the type of plant (i.e. flowers, vegetables, herbs, etc. or perennials, annuals, or biennial.) Include classifications for heirloom plants and native wildflowers. There are many possibilities, so devise the classification system that works best for you and your borrowers.

- Establish your ground rules. For example, do you want all seeds to be grown organically? Are pesticides okay?

- Gather a group of volunteers. For starters, you’ll need people to staff the library, sort and package seeds, and create publicity. You may want to promote your library by inviting professional or master gardeners to provide informational presentations or workshops.

- Spread the word about your library with posters, fliers, and brochures. Be sure to provide information about saving seeds!

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January 28, 2022

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