AgriPost August 31 2018

The AgriPost

August 31, 2018

Manitoba’s First Full Sow Barn Conversion Goes Live with Great Results

Training sows how to eat under the electronic system was one of the biggest fears. In Pembina Colony’s case, they set up two different pens. One they call the self-training pen because it uses several gate systems with feed on one side and water on the other.

By Harry Siemens In loose housing facilities, the new standard allows pigs to be social creatures. They will thrive not only on healthy interaction with each other but also with the personnel within the barn.

Barn designs that allow interaction for pigs that desire it and enable the people within the barn to engage with the animals freely are the most successful swine barns according to studies and research.

In group sow, housing with electronic sow feeding (ESF), sows typically hang out with the same friends each day and will even use the same laying area each day.

“We design knowing the social needs of sows and issues that may arise if we don’t meet those needs.”

In a recent tour of the first newly-renovated and converted sow barn on the Pembina Colony west of Morden, Kevin Kurbis owner/partner explained the system with help from Stanley Hoffer and his son Silas.

Kurbis said the whole idea behind the Electronic Sow Feeding system or ESF is that sows can spend their entire gestation in an open group rather than in a stall that typically happened before.

Under the old system, this same barn formerly held 600 stalls; with the conversion it contains only 44 stalls. “Same barn, same footprint, the same number of sows in production, now we’re down to 44 stalls rather than the 600 plus that we had in the same area before,” he said.

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Provincial Services Available for Producers Affected

by Drought Manitoba Agriculture is reminding agricultural producers affected by dry conditions of the programs and services available to livestock producers to manage forage shortages. To date, low levels of precipitation and soil moisture have affected the growth of pastures and forage crops in parts of Manitoba.

There are a number of tools and resources for producers to manage the impact of lower forage supplies including alternative feeding strategies such as straw and feed grain rations, greenfeed and utilizing other crop products as feed sources, the Manitoba Hay Listing Service, which allows producers to list hay, pasture or alternative feed that is either available or wanted, forage and pasture management and livestock production.

Producers with AgriInsurance contracts who intend to put their crop to alternate use are required to contact the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation for a field appraisal prior to harvesting the crop. Crop producers managing crop residue should consider making crop residue available to livestock producers as an alternative to burning this residue.

Manitoba also provides risk management programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership that help producers to manage production and price risk. These include forage insurance under the AgriInsurance program, which insures hay and pasture production and establishment against potential losses. Producers can check their coverage and learn more at masc.mb.ca or by calling their local MASC office.

In addition the AgriStability voluntary program for producers offers support following large income losses and is based on a producer’s margins. More information is at agr.gc.ca/agristability.

Another tool is the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program designed to help farmers protect themselves against unexpected price declines. More information can be found at gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/priceinsurance-program.

Producers can contact Manitoba Agriculture toll-free at 1-84-GROW-MB-AG, 1-844-769-6224 for more information on any of these programs and services or go to gov.mb.ca/agriculture under Quick Links.

August 31, 2018

The AgriPost

Manitoba’s First Full Sow Barn Conversion...

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Pigs relaxing in the larger loose housing pens. Sows typically hang out with the same friends each day and will even use the same laying area each day.

Moving to large groups of sows allowed the Pembina Colony to use this space properly separating parity stratification with the gilts or P1s in a separate group from the larger animals by allotting square footage differently.

Kurbis said one of the people’s biggest fears is how to get these animals to use the systems. In Pembina Colony’s case, they set up two different pens. One they call the self-training pen because it uses several gate systems with feed on one side and water on the other. “Give them time, those animals figure out how to go back and forth on their own. So after a few weeks of that and introduced to the full ESF station, they know their way in. They know they’re going to get rewarded with feed,” he said.

This step takes them to the point of not needing to push these animals through busting employee knees every day to make sure they’re doing what they want them to do. It’s giving them time to let their curiosity and intelligence take over. “If you feed these animals properly without any stress in an area once, they remember where that is and will come back to it,” said Kurbis.

In some cases, people call this a renovation, others call it a conversion but needless to say this is what a large part of the industry will need to do by law. In this colony’s case, much of the building infrastructure is in excellent shape. “But if we have to get rid of our stalls, we still have to do

something with those animals,” Kurbis said.

“Feeding is the biggest challenge, and if you just pulled all the pins out and let them go wild and free, they’re going to be competing for feed the whole day. So this allows us to move them into a protected station, no other animals can get at them while they eat. They get their ration every day.”

“The machine can identify them individually by an RFID chip, which says if you’ve come in and you’ve eaten already, I’m going to kick you out. If you haven’t eaten, here’s the amount of feed that you can have,” he said.

Silas Hofer, Stanley’s son, said the best part of this system is coming in each day seeing the animals relaxed instead of laying or standing in a crate as before, eating when they want. “I see a big difference in the sow’s behaviour, comfortable, and moving around by themselves making the work so much easier instead of using force. The system runs itself like Kevin said you keep an eye open, like look after your animals, it’s just way better,” said Silas.

Stanley Hofer, the assistant hog manager, said he’s worked with hogs for 30 years and managed this barn from day one. “It was a good barn until it started deteriorating. Like the slats started breaking, the stalls started getting rusted and breaking, and it was like fix and repair daily for us. It was quite a challenge,” said Stanley.

The Colony markets their hogs through Manitoba Pork and Maple Leaf at Brandon does the processing. “We don’t have any contracts right now, but we’re going with the flow. The price is pretty good right now, so we’re happy.”

Loose housing pens ready for use. Under the old system, this same barn formerly held 600 stalls with the conversion it contains only 44 stalls.

Kevin Kerbis said that under the new standard when it comes to the cost of building a new hog barn or converting to group sow pens, equipment-wise, they are going to be very comparable and to keep in mind that you are not building a new building.

The AgriPost

Dry Summer with Yields Surprising Farmers

By Elmer Heinrichs

With hot dry weather the harvest is coming in quickly.

Warm and hot temperatures in most regions rushed crops to maturity, and farmers are reporting surprisingly good yields.

Anastasia Kubinec, cereal specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, said the winter cereal and field pea harvest is complete, with spring cereal and canola harvest underway, all with variable yields. “In the really late maturing crops like soybeans, sunflowers and corn, we are seeing a lot of stress due to the lack of moisture. And in soybeans we are seeing a lot of premature ripening, plants really drying off and maturing much quicker than we’d expect,” said Kubinec.

In its weekly summary, the August 20 crop report notes that warm dry conditions continue and the harvest advances, with the winter cereal and field pea harvests now complete.

Dry conditions across Manitoba are causing crops to advance quickly. Moisture stress is evident causing premature ripening, crop wilting and limited pasture regrowth.

Spring cereal and canola harvesting is underway with yields highly variable, dependent on the amount of inseason rainfall received. Central regions report favourable harvest conditions with night temperatures moderate to cool providing some relief to the later maturing crops.

Winter cereal yields ranged from 30 to 80 bushels an acre, and 40 to 90 bu/ac for hybrid rye. Field pea yields also ranged from 30 to 80 bu/ ac. Quality of crops is good.

Spring wheat harvest has progressed, with some producers finished. Yields range from 40 to 90 bu/ac with good grades, protein levels and low fusarium damage.

Canola crops are turning and early fields are being swathed. Earliest harvest fields are reporting slightly below average yield with good quality. “Manitoba soybeans will be ready for harvest well ahead of normal,” said provincial pulse crop specialist Dennis Lange, suggesting yields will be down, perhaps about 30 bushels an acre. Lange, based at Altona, said farmers are generally surprised by crop yields, with wheat 35 to 70 plus, oats 80 to 140 plus, and canola from

New Appointees Made to the Manitoba Farm Industry Board The Manitoba government has appointed four members to the Manitoba Farm Industry Board.

The mandate of the board, established under The Family Farm Protection Act, is to administer the Family Farm Protection Act, The Farm Lands Ownership Act, The Farm Machinery and Equipment Act, and The Farm Practices Protection Act. The individuals who have been appointed to the Manitoba Farm Industry Board are Penny Anne Wainwright (Eriksdale) as Vice-Chair, Linda Ransom (Boissevain), Adrien Grenier (Woodridge) and Elizabeth Cloud (Waywayseecappo).

The individuals who have been reappointed are Greg Perchaluk (Roblin) as Chair and Kenneth Lucko (Dugald).

The board’s activity involves mediation of disputes between farmers and creditors, and farm machinery vendors and dealers. It also accepts and adjudicates applications from any non-Canadian residents or publicly traded corporation as to whether they would be allowed to take interest in more than 40 acres of Manitoba farm land.

The board deals with such issues as preventing the unwarranted loss of farmers’ operations during periods of difficult economic circumstances, protecting farmers, manufacturers and dealers in licensing, warranties and repossessions related to farm machinery, and protecting farmers from nuisance claims regarding agricultural operations that are carried out according to normal practices.

40 to 55 bushels an acre. The crop report for the Eastern region notes continued hot dry weather, with no notable rain, and crop stress due to lack of moisture is evident in soybeans, corn and sunflowers.

Yields in Eastern areas are variable dependent on moisture but with 90 per cent of spring wheat harvested, yield reports range from 50 to 70 bu/ac, with good quality and protein.

With 70 per cent of oats harvested, yields ranged from 80 to 130 bushels/acre, with some reports of lower yields and bushel weights in dryer southern and central areas.

Swathing and pre-harvest

spraying of canola and combining has begun.

Soybeans are ripening prematurely due to dry conditions with an early harvest. Corn has advanced rapidly especially in the dryer areas, with lower leaf wilt and die back evident. Baling of pastures, hay land, ditches, sloughs, greenfeed and harvested cereal straw to provide winter feed for livestock is underway.

Grains and corn that are considered for use as winter feed have livestock producers sourcing alternate feed sources to meet their needs.

August 31, 2018

The AgriPost

August 31, 2018

How Do You Play This Hand?

There is an old adage in poker, “That anyone can play the good hands, it is how you play the poor hands that makes the difference.”Maybe poker borrowed that from farming. Either way the truth is evident in both.

For most of the province what was looking like a great hand until the July 1 has turned into a below average collection of cards and there is not much we can do about it.

I visited a corn field this week were the projected yield was 40 bushels at one end and 140 at the other end so the field will average somewhere between and that is just going to pay inputs if it does at all. This is going to be one of those years that crushes a lot of dreams, and we all know how quickly the bench mark gets raised, a year like last year, and we are planning on 60 bushel canola and 200 bushel corn. In many cases farmers expect 40 bushels of soybeans because they planted them, and if they did anything right it should be more.

The truth is agriculture is one of the few businesses that rely on the weather, and even the guys with irrigation and tile drain like to see the weather cooperate. Even sports teams have built rooves on their facilities so they can eliminate the weather but we toil on, at its mercy.

Sometimes when things go wrong you can point to a specific moment, where you might not have made the right decision, or you bet heavy on the wrong odds. That is not the case, a crop that looked like a good one, was in most cases just a good rain away and guys will end up with less than it takes to pay the bills.

I wonder if those farm advisor meetings that deal with risk and long term planning are going to draw better attendance this year. I know they were a tough sell last year when we grew a bumper crop. Here’s hoping that some of it got put away to cover the short falls this year.

It is an ugly reality that even though you did everything right, it just quit raining.

There is another old adage from the world of poker that might fit the case. “As long as you got a chip and a chair, you’re still in the game.” Next year is getting awful close and we will do well just to get through this hand.

Guilty Glyph?

A jury in California just awarded $289 million in damages to a retired school groundskeeper who claimed to have contracted non-Hodgkins lymphoma from exposure to glyphosate. The windfall is to be paid by Monsanto, who makes the chemical. The headlines that broadcast the verdict around the world signalled an escalation in the fight against one of the most popular, most studied and safest herbicides we’ve ever had.

In the simplest terms, the trial presented a battle of emotion versus science. Science lost.

This backward outcome is not entirely unusual with jury trials, where it’s easy to identify and sympathize with the plaintiff. We all want to help out someone who has cancer, and if we can do so by forcing a rich faceless corporation to write a big cheque, some might conclude, “What’s the harm?”

According to the plaintiff, he sprayed hundreds of gallons of herbicide on his schoolyard every week, without any protective clothing. On windy days, he claimed, he was covered with a chemical mist and was once soaked from head to toe when a hose burst or came loose. Some trial observers noted that the time line between these exposures and the development of the lymphoma was probably far too short to claim a causal relationship between the two. Apparently this fact was among a number of things the jury didn’t find convincing.

Scientific study has time and again shown that glyphosate is extremely safe. For instance, the Agricultural Health Study, published in 2017 in the United States by a number of partners, including the National Cancer Institute, reported on the health of 54,000 pesticide applicators they monitored, 82% of whom used glyphosate. No link was found with any sort of lymphoid cancer. Furthermore, even though glyphosate use has increased dramatically since the late 1990s, the incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has declined over the same time period.

Even though their conclusion was wrong, you can sympathize with the jury in this case. Lay people

Penner’s Points

may not necessarily have the knowledge By Rolf or expertise to discern Penner scientific fact from fiction. Lawyers on both sides of the case had the ability to cherrypick studies that favoured their arguments. Monsanto’s lawyer also had the extra burden of proving that the lymphoma was not caused by glyphosate, and it is impossible to prove a negative.

Monsanto will no doubt appeal the verdict. They have a good chance of winning, as the scientific evidence is clearly on their side. But damage has already been done. Most of the public simply reads the headlines, notes the story and moves on without a lot of thought.

Adding fuel to the fire, an activist group used the headlines from this trial as a springboard for a fear-based junk science campaign to scare the public about breakfast cereals. We saw all sorts of headlines like, “Weed killing chemical found in cereals, oat products, report says.”

As a side note, the mainstream media really doesn’t like it when it gets accused of “fake news.” But a lot of their reporting on this weed killer in cereal story is exactly that.

Here are some facts that conveniently got left out. An adult would have to eat 118 lbs of cereal each day for the rest of time to get to the EPA’s limit for consumption of glyphosate.

That’s over nine servings per hour without sleep for the rest of your life. Or the “one part per billion” terminology is the equivalent of one second in 32 years, one silver dollar in a roll stretching from Detroit to Salt Lake City, one sheet in a roll of toilet paper stretching from New York to London, or one pinch of salt in 10 tonnes of potato chips. Further, the glyphosate molecule binds to an enzyme that only plants have, and humans aren’t plants.

That’s just for starters.

Propaganda, misinformation, junk science and fake news are everywhere. We’ve got to do a much better job of telling our story, explaining the science and even how science actually works. If we don’t, we’re going to lose a lot of valuable tools, and our hungry world will get even hungrier.

Liberals Fail to Diversify Export Markets for Canadian Agriculture Dear Editor: Trade is critical to the Canadian economy; in fact, one-in-five Canadian jobs and 60% of Canada’s GDP are dependent on trade. Global trade tensions and diplomatic failures have created pressure on Canadian producers of products such as barley, corn, oats, pulses, soybeans and wheat.

This is one reason Conservatives requested an emergency session of Parliament to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Conservatives recognize the importance of the CPTPP to our economy; while the Trudeau Liberals have left this important trade agreement stalled in the House of Commons, delaying its introduction and failing to take steps to advance it to secure first mover advantage over our competitors.

With the US providing a $12-billion bailout to ease tariff pain for American farmers, it is imperative the Liberals ensure this does not worsen market conditions for Canadian producers by taking steps to diversify Canada’s export markets.

Whether it is market access for our natural resources, tax and regulatory competitiveness, or international trade diversification, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have failed to address Canada’s faltering position in the global economy. They have also failed to maintain, and contributed to the decline in access to some key export markets for our agricultural products.

Pulse growers looking to India are now facing higher duties, severe import restrictions and they still do not have a long term fumigation agreement.

Italy has closed its doors to Canadian durum wheat and Saudi Arabia has stopped buying our wheat and barley.

Canada has an opportunity to show leadership on the world stage. We should step up, ratify this agreement and put pressure on other signatory countries to do the same. The Liberals need to act immediately to ratify the CPTPP and diversify export markets for our Canadian producers without further jeopardizing any existing access.

The Conservative Party recognizes the importance of the CPTPP, its role in our economy, and the good paying jobs trade creates. Conservatives will continue to voice their support for this critical trade agreement.

Under the leadership of Andrew Scheer, Canada’s Conservatives will continue to defend our vital agriculture industry, holding Justin Trudeau and the Liberals to account. We will continue to work with our producers to help them survive the Liberals’ failures on behalf of Canada’s farmers.

Sincerely, John Barlow MP Foothills (Alberta) and Luc Berthold MP for Mégantic- L’Érable (Québec) Conservative Shadow Ministers for Agriculture.

The AgriPost

Harvest for Kids Smashes Guinness World Record The harvest is in the record books, the combines are back in the sheds, on fields, where ever those owner-operators took them after that momentous day on Saturday, August 4 from 2 pm through 2:15 pm when the dust settled.

The community of Winkler and surrounding area, and I mean community meaning nearly everyone from young to old and every age in between worked hard and gave of themselves, not so much for the harvest but for the cause of helping young children around the world.

There is another community I pay tribute to, and that is the farming and extended agricultural community which I’m, so proud to serve. My father instilled in me the desire to first farm, and then become a farm journalist. He also showed me the way to accept what Jesus Christ did for him and what he could do for me.

This combine, event was not a race, but farmers always compete, first with the weather, with the weather elements, with the markets, with the supply companies, and with each other. At ten minutes before two Saturday, combines running, hearts beating faster, it almost seemed like a race, but it wasn’t. I said farmers compete, but when one is in distress neighbours help neighbours whether putting in the crop, rebuilding a downed building, or harvesting the crop when things aren’t going right for one individual.

Saturday, an estimated $250 million worth of equipment owned and operated by farmers, some who drove hours to get there and leave their own crop sitting in the field came together to show the world they care about others - the one million children that will have an opportunity for a better life.

I had a chance to visit with Philip Robertson, the Guinness adjudicator, and I call him the judge after as he put it, scraped the two or three layers of dust off and settled into his hotel room. I asked him what does the record mean. “So quite often, people ask me to categorize it as what does it mean as a record, or what does it mean like an event? And in this instance, it was more than just achieving a record. This event had to take incredible coordination and safety measures put in place. Considering you have potentially a quarter of a billion dollars’ worth of equipment on a huge field with thousands of people watching it, in a straw field, that if a match had dropped and burned it to flames, you’ve lost a quarter of a billion dollars’ worth of equipment. Let alone people’s safety,” Philip told me. “But then you think about what it means as a record, which is an incredible feat of organizing and coordination. And then you think about what it means because what they were trying to achieve was raise lots and lots of funds and donations for Harvest for Kids. So they’re sending kids better opportunities for life in a way that people came together to achieve.”

I sensed here is a man who came to do a job, but goes away with a sense of community, something he had not experienced before. Philip lives in New York but grew up in England.

A Winkler area farmer, and combine driver on Saturday called it an awe-inspiring experience. It’s unbelievable when you get all that, 300 combines starting their engines, the rumble, the excitement, the people standing and watching, and then having a good cause to where it’s all going for,” said Froese whose family farms the land harvested on Saturday. “The land where the project was taking place was land that we farm. We initially seeded the crop to winter wheat last fall and put in the fertilizer, made a couple of applications, and had a lot of winter kill on parts of the field and ended up reseeding some of it to spring wheat this spring.”

And it was a good thing right from the beginning. “No question. It was so dry when we seeded the crop, but it did emerge, and then we had the winter kill. The day was set a year ahead of time when you’re going to have this harvest. So I planted the spring wheat, got a good start, but you know, when you’re planting spring wheat the beginning of May and to have it ready by August 4, that’s a tall order, but God is good, and he made it all happen.”

Harvest for Kids and Children’s Camps International volunteers captured the Guinness World Record achievement for “Most combine harvesters working simultaneously on a single field on August 4, 2018, south of Winkler, Manitoba by breaking the record with 303 combines, smashing the previous record of 244.

2. Endless thanks goes out to all of those who made the August 4 weekend near Winkler possible.

Photos by Harvest for Kids and Children’s Camps International

August 31, 2018

Canola Industry Raises Concerns on Banning Two Insecticides The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) released proposed decisions to phase out the outdoor use of clothianidin and thiamethoxam, two products used by canola growers to prevent damage caused by flea beetles.

Clothianidin and Thiamethoxam are neonicotinoid pesticides used to protect crops, crop seeds and grass from insects. Both can be applied to the ground, to leaves (foliar), and to seeds.

In response to concerns about the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on bees and other pollinators, Health Canada in collaboration with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Pesticide Regulations conducted three separate pollinator risk assessments on this class of pesticides. Consultation, proposals and research studied the risks to insect pollinators and which uses of clothianidin and thiamethoxam do not pose risks to pollinators and are proposed to continue.

To protect pollinators, Health Canada is proposing changes to the way clothianidin can be used by phasing out foliar application to orchard trees and strawberries, to municipal, industrial and residential turf sites and reducing pre-bloom application from 2 to 1 for cucurbit (cucumbers, squash etc.) vegetables.

For the insecticide thiamethoxam, proposals have been put forward to phase-out foliar and soil applications to ornamental crops that will result in pollinator exposure, application to berry crops, cucurbit crops, fruiting vegetables and orchard trees. In addition foliar application to legumes, outdoor fruiting vegetables, and berry crops would no longer be permitted before or during bloom.

“Sustainable production and science-based decisions about risk are the foundation of our industry,” said Brian Innes, Vice President of public affairs for the Canola Council of Canada. “Today’s announcement is concerning because these products are very important for our growers, and without viable alternatives, the ban will significantly impact the canola sector.”

Innes said that the canola industry continues to support PMRA’s science-based decision-making process. The canola industry relies on continued investment in agricultural innovation, which is facilitated by predictable and science-based regulatory approval processes.

The proposed decisions are of concern for the canola industry as a ban will reduce yield and increase the risks faced by growers. A study published in 2017 based on European growers’ experience that without these products growers were faced with increased risk of insect damage, had lower yields and, as a result, seeded less canola. With more than 22 million acres of canola in Canada in 2018, banning these plant protection tools would have a dramatic impact.

These products have been used by canola producers as a seed treatment to control pests as part of their integrated pest management programs. Innes noted that, today’s decision is not related to bees. PMRA earlier determined that clothianidin and thiamethoxam do not pose a risk to pollinators, including honey bees, when used as a seed treatment on canola.

“The Canola Council of Canada will thoroughly review the proposed decisions on clothianidin and thiamethoxam and will continue to actively contribute to the review process,” said Innes.

Grain Grading and Variety Designation Changed The Canadian Grain Commission reminds grain producers and industry of changes to the Official Grain Grading Guide and variety designation lists that came into effect on August 1.

Beginning in the 2018-19 crop year, individual official standard samples will be used to assess frost, heat stress and mildew damage in western Canadian wheat. An updated version of the Official Grain Grading Guide is available on the Canadian Grain Commission’s website.

New variety designation lists are also in effect. Following a 3 year transition period, 25 varieties of Canada Western Red Spring and 4 varieties of Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat that do not meet the revised quality parameters for their current classes will be reassigned to the Canada Northern Hard Red class.

These changes will help maintain Canada’s reputation as a consistent supplier of high quality milling wheat and ensure Canadian producers are able to realize the benefits of growing premium classes.

August 31, 2018

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

Auction Market Upgrades Uses Tips from Temple Grandin

Harold Unrau is confident changes to the ring at the Grunthal Auction Mart will reduce stress on the cattle and buyers.

By Les Kletke Harold Unrau is the Manager of the Grunthal Auction Market which will soon see a major overhaul to modernizing the facility.

“It was built in the 1970s,” he said. “This is 2018. So it is time for a change.” The facility was purchased by a new ownership group last December and renovations started this spring will be completed in time for the fall run of feeder cattle.

While the upgrades and renovations are ongoing sales are being held in make shift quarters behind the ring in the holding pens. The new auction ring will be in the same location but will be turned 90 degrees from the previous configuration. The scale will now be located directly under the ring rather than as animals approach the ring. “We will have a larger ring and scale

so that will accomade larger lots but it will be more convenient with the scale directly under the ring,” said Unrau.

“The new ring will also allow animals to leave from the same place they entered.”

While Temple Grandin did not consult on the design of the facility in Grunthal, Unrau said that many of her findings have been incorporated into the design. “It is based on a lot of the things that she said about handling cattle,” he said. “The design of the new system is focused on reducing the stress on the cattle. In the past it was difficult to get the cattle to leave the ring because they had come in on the other side but that is changed now.”

He is hopeful the new configuration with the abilty to handle larger lots and have cattle exit more easily will decrease the time of sales.

“When we are running long sale days, and late into the evening it is a lot of overtime that we are paying so we hope this will help reduce the costs of operating on sale day,” he said.

Shorter sale days will also keep buyers in the seats for the entire auction. “It made for some long days here, but with the shorter sales days we should see more buyers staying for the entire sale and the more buyers you have the better the prices are,” said Unrau.

While the intent is to have the renovated facility operational for the fall run, and construction was on schedule the auction run started early.

Numbers were already increasing by the August 21 sale. He expects the scale to go in late August and the revamped facility to be ready early September.

Agri-Food Canada Projects Lower Wheat Production

By Elmer Heinrichs Canadian wheat production for the current crop year, which began August 1, is down from last month’s estimates, according to updated supply/demand tables from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, released on August 17.

Agriculture Canada’s market analysis branch forecast wheat production at 30.300 million tonnes, which would be down by 300,000 tonnes from the July forecast. The total area seeded to field crops in Canada for 2018 increased marginally with the higher area seeded to all wheat and coarse grains which more than offsets the lower area seeded

to oilseeds, peas and lentils.

The branch also noted that there is currently a high degree of uncertainty regarding expected yields due to dry conditions in some parts of western and eastern Canada.

It also forecast total field crop production at 92 Mt, of which 92 per cent are grains and oilseeds and eight per cent are pulses and special crops.

Due to lower supply and higher exports, total carryout stocks are expected to decrease significantly to 13.7 Mt which is below the five-year average.

Production of spring wheat is projected to fall by two per cent to 24.5 Mt due to a return

to trend yields, with average crop year prices increasing because of the lower world, US and Canadian supply.

The canola crop outlook remains favourable despite dryer than normal soil moisture across much of western Canada. Localized harvesting has begun and will be in full swing soon. Production is forecast to be the second highest on record, at 20.3 Mt versus last year’s record of 21.3 Mt. Soybean planted area is down 13 per cent to 2.6 Mha, a reversal of the long-run trend of steadily increasing acreage in Canada. Production is forecast to fall by eight per cent to 7.1 Mt.

August 31, 2018

August 31, 2018

The AgriPost

Drought Hurting Manitoba’s Cattle Industry

A panoramic view of Teichroeb’s pasture near Langruth with cows grazing in the distance.

By Harry Siemens Tom Teichroeb, a rancher at Langruth, Manitoba and the new President of the Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) attended the third annual Canadian Beef Industry Conference in London, Ontario giving him a good handle on what cattle producers are saying across Canada, and especially here at home.

“We’re sort of in-between in more ways than one. You look at it from where we are on the political side, and we have an exciting domestic party in power. We have some very challenging dynamics with our trade and where we are with our partners down south,” said Teichroeb with all three NAFTA participants in attendance at the conference.

“All three recognized that we have a wonderful thing in NAFTA serving us well. We need to find cool and calmer heads for that to prevail, and we’ll be good.”

He said under the duress of the trade battles and extra tariffs, all business sectors, auto and agriculture, not just the beef industry, but grain, pork and poultry are affected. “When governments impose more tariffs, it will impact them, as well, so you are immediately interrupting trade, enterprise, and we all know what the bottom line is on that. Your commodity prices go down, and you end up with a suffering economy, and that’s not where we want to go.”

As an elected Vice President the MBGA policy states he takes over as interim President until such time that the

membership makes its decision. “In this case here, I aspire to continue as President and run again next year in the final year of my six-year term here with Manitoba Beef Producers,” he said. “Our job continues to be, with the current drought and not just here in Manitoba, but all across western Canada, to make sure that we have a continued conversation with our Ag Minister, Mr. Eichler, and that is happening shortly. We will continue to do the work that we do, just as we have before.”

The newly appointed MBP President said the drought and subsequent feed shortage is severe in spots across western Canada. Hardest hit locally is the Interlake and into the RM of Grahamdale including the surrounding municipalities.

“In spots, producers didn’t produce any feedstuffs, hay, or grain because there was no rain,” said Teichroeb. “They cannot get straw and there is no way to source any feed ration. And for some of those folks, as we saw at the Winnipeg Livestock Sale yards, one or two livestock operations liquidated. Just three short years ago, Ag Minister Eichler announced that we are pursuing a goal of doubling our herd. It is a challenge.”

He said since it is almost the end of August; there is still not a lot of rain in sight. Beyond the lack of feed there is also the amount of people hauling water for months now. Not days, but months. “And so when we look at the industry going through a dryer cycle, as we are, we do not only

have to prepare for this year, but into next year, and the planning makes it very, very, challenging,” he continued.

Teichroeb outlined plans for bringing in feed and straw to drought-affected areas keeping in mind that with disasters like this, costs go up. There are now, reports of straw bales selling for triple and even four times the regular price and people are sourcing from all over. “The limiting factor is the freight because there are areas with an abundance of hay and feed where pockets had good rainfall and descent crops,” he said. “But it’s a matter of getting it to the right area, and freight costs money.

“I’m so extremely grateful for where I’m at, and I try to be very humble when people ask me where I’m at. I have some reserves from last year. I was in an area where we caught some rain, so we were at approximately 50 per cent on our first cut production. I was able also to acquire additional acres that helped me with my feedstuffs, and then we also can source straw,” said Teichroeb. “Between my second cut, which I have a tiny little bit of, and my first cut, our wild hay and our straw, and the other feedstuffs that we can source, I will be okay.”

Combine that with rotational grazing and sound pasture management Teichroeb said he will manage. “We are still on our first rotation, so I still have three weeks to go before I’m going to be on the pieces, except for one or two the second time around. For me in my immediate area, I’m doing okay.”

Langruth rancher Tom Teichroeb describes this parcel of land as the new pasture they moved their cows into earlier this month (left). He added his quad (right) to give reference to how much forage there is in parts of the field.

Even under drought conditions this pasture will respond very quickly after a rain.

The AgriPost

Dry Corn Fields Concentrate Nitrate and Starch in the Lower Portion of Stalk

By Les Kletke Mike Weir warns producers of nitrate concentrations in corn stalk, and he said understanding the physiology of the plant can help with a strategy to deal with the buildup in the lower part of the stock.

Weir is the agronomist for Eastern Manitoba for Pioneer Seed and was one of the speakers at a Corn Management Day held near Grunthal. The field which looked good from the road had some startling results upon closer inspection. “The field did not look bad driving by but when we walk in about 10 feet there were a number of plants that did not have a cob,” said Weir. “The ear is the sink of the plant, that is where things concentrate and when there is no ear the nitrates stay in the bottom part of the stock.”

He suggested that the lower foot or two of the corn plant would have the greatest concentration of nitrates in a year like this where the corn has been stressed by drought and in many cases did not even produce a cob.

“There is nowhere for those nitrates to go, so they stay in the bottom part of the stalk, if you are chopping corn especially corn that has not

formed cobs I would suggest you cut a little higher or have the chopped product tested for nitrates.” Much the same process will occur for starches as there are fewer kernels for the starch to be concentrated in.

On a positive note he suggested that the digestibility of the fibre for this year’s corn may well be increased.

“The digestibility of the fibre could be significantly increased because of the process that is going on due to the drought stress,” he said.

Marcus Dueck, a livestock specialist with Marc Hutlet Seeds agreed saying that some of the silage put up in 2017 was some of the best he had seen. “The drought did have a positive impact on the digestibility last year, but this year it has carried on to a greater extreme,” said Dueck.

Weir suggested that the example field might yield 6 tonnes of silage per acre which is just over a third of what most farmers in the area expect of an average crop.

He stressed that the drought would cause variability in the crop and producers need to work with their nutritionist to get the maximum value from the feed they are putting up this year.

Mike Weir says that the cob acts like a sink to catch the nutrients of a plant. When it is missing, the nitrates may concentrate at the bottom Photo by Les Kletke of the stalk.

August 31, 2018

CGC Invests Surplus in the Harvest Sample Program Canadian producers will have access to even more information on the quality of their harvest thanks to enhancements to the Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) Harvest Sample Program.

“We are pleased to announce a key investment in the Harvest Sample Program,” said Patti Miller, Chief Commissioner, Canadian Grain Commission. “It’s an important tool that makes data

available to promote the sale of Canadian grain, helps producers ensure the best return for their crops, and contributes to research on grain grades and the end-use quality of Canadian grain.”

Beginning in the 2018-19 crop year, producers who participate in the Harvest Sample Program will receive falling number and deoxynivalenol (DON) results for their wheat samples at no cost. With this additional information in hand, producers

will be better able to market their crop to ensure the best return for their farms.

Enhancement funding is planned for the next 5 years with $4 million from the CGC’s accumulated surplus.

This is the first step to investing $90 million through a Surplus Investment Framework to strengthen safeguards for producers, improve grain quality assurance programs and enhance grain quality science and innovation.

The Canadian Grain Commission is committed to working with grain sector stakeholders to ensure enhancements to programs and services deliver clear benefits to producers and add value to the sector into the future. In the coming months, the Commission will consult with grain sector stakeholders to develop more detailed proposals within the Surplus Investment Framework.

Grain Growers Disappointed with CGC Plan for User Fee Surplus

Grain farmers are disappointed that following years of overcharging grain farmers and accumulating over $130 million in surplus user fees, the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) has announced a plan to keep the surplus and expand its operations.

Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) has previously called for the surplus to be returned to grain farmers through reduced user fees.

“Grain farmers are the ones that overpaid user fees for years, and the

common-sense solution would have been to reduce user fees to draw down the surplus,” said Jeff Nielsen, GGC President. “We welcome the opportunity for further consultation, but fees should have been reduced as a first step.”

GGC submitted a proposal to the CGC consultation calling for user fees to be reduced.

GGC has also repeatedly called for modernization of the CGC and supported previous attempts at legislative reform. Some elements of the framework announced today

respond to grower concerns, but the announcement has been made without a longterm plan or business case.

“Farmers had welcomed the Government’s commitment to driving growth in the agrifood sector through regulatory reform, and that should have included changes to the CGC,” added Nielsen. “This is a missed opportunity and now more than ever there needs to be a fulsome plan for modernization of the CGC and the Canada Grain Act.” The grain value chain has

submitted input to the Governments’ Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table calling for regulatory modernization. The Strategy Table’s Interim Report echoed this in a call for “modernizing infrastructure and regulations.” The Government also recently launched consultations on regulatory reform which should lead to changes in the CGC’s operations.

The Surplus Investment Framework runs counter to the objectives of these important reviews.

Industrial Hemp Gets Approval for Whole Plant Harvest The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA) would like to thank the Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, and officials at Health Canada for the August 10, 2018 decision to allow whole plant harvest of industrial hemp for the 2018 crop.

Health Canada’s revision of Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) allows hemp farmers to immediately collect and store industrial hemp flower, bud and leaf material. This material will be available for sale and research activities after the scheduled implementation of the Cannabis Act on October 17. These new parts are economically valuable and will provide a new source of CBD and potentially other canna-

binoid products. CBD is in high demand within the natural health product, medical marijuana and companion animal sectors.

“This permission from Health Canada will allow hemp producers to use the 2018 crop to learn more about harvesting, drying and storing whole plant material,” explained Jason Green, a Saskatchewan hemp producer and Director of the CHTA. “Hemp farmers know the importance of quality assurance in the collection and handling process,’ added Green. ‘The ability to start working on developing these good agricultural practices right away is fantastic!”

Jeff Kostuik, a field agronomist employed by Hemp Genetics International, and Chair of CHTA’s Research Committee said, “We need to experiment with harvest, preservation and storage

technologies, and this exemption means we won’t waste a year which would have been the case if we were unable to collect plant material until October 17.

We need all the time we can get to adapt equipment, devise new processes and work with buyers to meet their quality standards, “ continued Jeff. “These next two months will enable us to research the most efficient and economic ways to capture the full value of the hemp plant.”

The CHTA has worked closely with Health Canada over the past weeks bringing this matter to the forefront and identified a solution which respects the intent of the new Cannabis Act, while still allowing for a commonsense approach to the realities of hemp farming.

The producers, processors, researchers and other

members of the CHTA are united in complimenting Health Canada on their response to this request by the hemp industry. “From the outset, the hemp industry has been active and vocal in our attempts to reflect the needs of the industrial hemp industry,” claimed Russ Crawford, President of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance. “Clearly, Health Canada has been listening, and this action reflects their understanding and support.”

The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance is a notfor-profit organization which represents over 260 growers across all 10 provinces as well as numerous processors, distributors, developers and researchers involved in Canada’s rapidly growing industrial hemp industry.

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August 31, 2018

The AgriPost

To Increase Production Means Diversify and Expand Trade

By Harry Siemens Lawrence MacAulay, Canada’s Agriculture Minister, said he remains committed to diversifying and expanding the market for Canadian agriculture and agri-food products as his government works to reach its target of $75 billion in agricultural exports by 2025.

After concluding his agricultural outreach mission to Argentina and Chile during which he attended the G20 Agriculture Ministers meetings in Buenos Aires he held a conference call with reporters. He said his government is committed to grow and diversify trade by opening new doors in new markets, including in South America while striving to reduce Canada’s dependence on trade with the United States.

“The US is the biggest trading partner and best friend, and we will always be doing a lot of business with them, but we want to do more business in Chile, and we want to do more business in Argentina, and also we want to work with them on science and the world stage,” said MacAulay.

He said Canada needs to diversify its trade and is very dependent on the US, in many ways, and its missions like this that help do that.

“We sat down with retailers

Jack Froese, who farms in the Winkler area is also President of the Canola Growers of Canada sees agriculture as having a bright future with expanding populations and a growing middle class in many parts of the world. The first thing they do is to have better diets and protein is a part of that diet says Froese (right).

Photo by Harry Siemens

here to find out just how we can promote more agriculture and agri-food products,” said MacAulay. “We need to know what problems exist that we can rectify so we can have the Canadian products in Argentina and Chile and around the world.

That’s what I am doing and hopefully with a substantial amount of success. As you know, the target is 75 billion, and we fully intend to meet that figure.”

MacAulay said the efforts are paying off, noting last year Canada’s agriculture and seafood exports hit a new record.

Jack Froese, who farms in the Winkler area is also Pres-

ident of the Canola Growers of Canada and takes the role of farming and participating in farm organizations very serious and meets farmers and governments around the world. “Well, everybody sees agriculture as having a bright future. I mean, the world is growing, populations are expanding. The middle classes are also growing in many parts of the world, and the first thing they do is to have better diets and protein is a part of that diet,” said Froese. “And look at Canada in the last budget, with the Barton Report expecting agrifood exports to increase to $75 billion within years, so things look bright. It’s just

a matter of making sure that the prices and the crops are good and stable.”

With the harvest underway in southern Manitoba, yields may be down because of hot, dry weather and rains coming far in between. Froese, a wheat grower, said the initial reports on protein content is high and higher, maybe as high as 17 and 18 per cent where normally it is closer to 13 or 12 per cent. He said several years back getting higher protein content was more difficult, and farmers would get a premium. But that premium has collapsed so this year with even higher protein content, the premium may edge back up again.

Field Mapping Paid Off

By Les Kletke Armin Dueck sees satellite mapping of his farm as a valuable tool, one he would not want to be without. He said the mapping convinced

him of its value in the first year. “We had a field that had been worked as two separate 40 acre fields in the past and now we are treating it as an 80 acre parcel,” he said.

Armin Dueck says mapping has been a good investment for his farm.

Photo by Les Kletke

“The mapping showed us a line down the middle of the field and when we did soil tests, there was half of the field that had an abundance of phosphate and the other side needed phosphate.”

He said the only difference in the way the two parcels had been treated was crop rotations, but the mapping provided the information that allowed him to make decisions that were the most beneficial for inputs.

This year he will use the mapping to separate a corn field in the Grunthal area.

“We can see the variation in the field and will cut it separately,” he said. “It will allow us to maximize what is here and we can make the best of the crop that we harvesting for silage.”

Dueck said the field looked good early in the year but with the end of moisture the drop did not develop. “We have a lot of plants further in the field that did not produce a cob,” he said. “That means

there will not be much value in the silage and it will be very light. About 80% of the weight comes from the grain portion and that is missing.”

Yield estimates for grain production on the field vary from an estimated 140 bushels an acre while the poorest comes in at 40 bushels. The estimated yield of silage is 8 tonnes per acre and he said that is about a third of a normal yield.

Dueck said he will be alright for feed on his 50-cow dairy. “We had a carryover of feed and that is the benefit this year,” he said. “We still have feed left and will be starting to cut silage soon but we will not be selling feed.

We will try to build up the reserve on the yard.”

Dueck said that fine tuning management with tools like satellite mapping has allowed him to make better decisions and that allows him to make the best use of a crop like this one which is tall in stature but short on yield.

The AgriPost

Agricultural Trade in the Age of Protectionism The world has entered a new age of nationalism, resulting in growing trade protectionism and increasing barriers for Canadian farmers and exporters who depend on international markets.

The idea that trade is about winning or losing is dangerous and misleading. This idea ignores the world’s growth over the last 75 years and the disastrous outcomes of “me first” economic policies that preceded trade liberalization.

We cannot forget the prophetic words of former US Secretary of State (and Nobel Laureate) Cordell Hull who noted “Unhampered trade dovetails with peace; high tariffs, trade barriers, and unfair competition with war.” Secretary Hull would be disappointed with the current state of global affairs, particularly the retreat of leading nations from cooperative and rules-based systems.

Canadian farmers see examples of growing protectionism every day, with tweets from the President of the United States, barriers to Canadian durum entering Italy, Saudi Arabia banning Canadian wheat and barley, and countries using phytosanitary rules to block trade. Recent court and regulatory decisions in the European Union (EU) have the potential to severely limit accessibility to this market. The list of market access barriers seems to grow on a weekly basis. What can we do about it?

We need our Government to rigorously enforce current trade agreements. A trade agreement is not worth much without enforcement. Since the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union (EU) came into force, one of Canada’s largest exports to the EU, durum wheat, has virtually disappeared.

Canadian farmers need our Government to assertively challenge the protectionist measures Italy is using to keep our durum out. A strong Canadian response is neces-

sary to recover the Italian market and to prevent other protectionist countries from adopting Italy’s methods.

We also need every part of government to consider the trade implications of policies and public statements. All agencies and departments need to have an understanding of the importance of keeping markets open for Canadian exporters. This “trade lens” does not exist today. Some of our key regulatory agencies have explicitly stated or shown that trade considerations are not part of their mandate. This must change.

We need our regulatory agencies to carry out necessary consultations with the Canadian value chain and our trading partners before public announcements are made. We need agencies and departments to consider if diplomatically making statements in private, rather than public, will keep markets open. We need regulators to acknowledge that some decisions will make Canada less competitive despite the fact that they might be popular on the internet.

This does not mean that the Government of Canada should back away from the fundamental principles of our country. Nor does this mean that regulatory agencies should favour commerce over rigorous science-based defense of Canadian’s health and of our environment. It does mean that decisions should be made with a clear understanding of the implications for Canadian competitiveness and trade and that all possible steps have been taken to mitigate negative impacts.

It is not all up to governments. Farmers and industry have a critical role to play in keeping our markets open.

Protectionists are looking for any excuse to block trade.

Producers need to ensure that the actions they take on their farm do not provide a pretext

KAP Announces New President The Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) board of directors has appointed Bill Campbell to the position of president, as per its by-laws.

He replaces Dan Mazier who stepped down earlier this month to pursue a federal party nomination.

Campbell has served as KAP Vice-President for the last year and a half, and previous to that was involved with KAP at the district level

and on the board of directors.

Campbell is a fourth-generation farmer near Minto, with 2,640 acres, 1,700 of them seeded to annual crops.

He also runs a purebred Limousin cattle operation.

“I accept the presidency with great enthusiasm, and look forward to engaging with our grassroots farmer membership, as well as with industry stakeholders

and government,” Campbell said. “There is a lot for our organization to do. We need to look down the road five to 10 years to see where agriculture fits in the Canadian economy. At the same time, we need to look at shorterterm issues that are affecting our industry today.”

Justin Jenner, who has served as KAP Vice-President in the past, will fill Campbell’s vacated position.

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Dairy TMR Moisture Within the Bunk is Not the Same

By Peter Vitti

for trade barriers.

Improper use of pesticides is one example of a practice that can jeopardize trade. All of our grain shipments are under increased scrutiny for residues. These can occur when farmers don’t follow the label directions. For example, if glyphosate is applied to green cereal crops the seeds will carry residues. “Green” means anything above 30 percent moisture, when the seeds are still maturing. Improper fall application of glyphosate could provide the excuse to block Canadian exports.

Farmers also need to be aware when new products don’t have approval in key export markets. Often there are zero-tolerance limits for unapproved residues in Canadian shipments, even though products have full approval in Canada. When this occurs farmers need to consciously make the decision to protect our export markets and avoid using the product.

The other parts of the value chain, like crop input suppliers and exporters, have a role to play as well. Suppliers should be aware of potential market access issues for new products. They should be reminding customers of the need to rigorously follow the label when applying products.

This is why commodity associations have come together to launch the Keeping it Clean campaign. Farmers and suppliers can visit keepingitclean.ca to get up-to-date data on new products as well as information on products of particular concern. The industry really is a partnership in the effort to keep markets open.

Cam Dahl is President of Cereals Canada.

August 31, 2018

Each time I visit a lactating dairy barn, I have a mental checklist in which I assess the cows, the feed put in front of them and their living conditions.

More often than not, the dairy producer accompanies me and we discuss its current status. On a recent barn walk, I learned that the moisture of the TMR within the bunk is not always the same and may lead to sorting of the dairy diet before corrective action is taken.

My lesson happened in a barn walk of a 110-dairy farm on a recent hot July day. The overhead doors of the lactating barn were opened on one end and a bank of fans was spinning on the far wall.

I started my walk with the dairy producer at the open doors and we continued along the head-locks, and in front of the TMR, laid down three hours before. Several cows were still at the bunk, eating and that’s when I noticed that many cows were “sorting” their diet. Without much hesitation; I grabbed a handful of lactation TMR to see if it was well-mixed, moist, contained lots of effective forage-fibre and if it smelled good. Then, I looked down the feedbunk and saw if the feed was mixed consistently and pushed up for easy access by all cows.

Upon closer examination, I found that the top of their dairy diet was notably dry for about 10 cm into the feed mass and then became wetter as I dug down toward the concrete feed-pad.

Concurrently, the owner took two feed samples; one of this driedout feed and another dugdown sample. He then went back to an adjacent storage room and he tested them for moisture content using a Koster dryer and battery-operated weigh scale.

Within the hour, the results showed that the driedout feed had a moisture content of 43%, while the layer underneath was 50%.

All made sense to me, when the producer told me that he makes up only one TMR batch for 110-dairy cows per day. He then puts the entire load in front of the cows just before the morning-milking and afterwards pushes it up 4 – 5 times a day. During the next morning, he says that

there is little left over and he feeds the cows in this way, again.

It was no surprise that the 10 cm crust that formed would have a lower physical density compared to the buried part of the TMR. I believe that this anomaly allowed these dairy cattle with a shake of their head, sort the finer grain and protein supplement material from coarser forage fibres. Unfortunately, when they gobble up this latter part of the diet, it tends to be low in effective fibre and making them susceptible to subclinical acidosis or SARA. If left unchecked, SARA will eventually compromise their milk performance and health. In contrast, it is much harder for them to separate out a wellmixed lactating TMR that is about 50% moisture.

In order to prevent cows sorting this type of dairy diet, I suggested to the dairy producer that he add up to 500 lbs. more water on the next TMR batch, but only during hot weather. As a result, the new TMR would slightly exceed the 50% moisture thumb-rule upon unloading it in front of the cows, but by the time the TMR sits in front of the cows for a couple of hours and then throughout the day - the final moisture of the exposed TMR should dry down toward a more acceptable level.

Consequently, I was very happy that this dairy producer had a Koster tester (and scale) at our fingertips. While there are many ways to test moisture content of TMRs and forages (re: haylage and corn silage), I like the two easy-todo approaches; namely, using a Koster tester or by Microwave oven (MV).

Dairy cows eating TMR rations.

The moisture-content procedures for both methods are virtually identical: 1. Weigh 100 – 500 grams of TMR or forage samples that are representative of a bunk or harvested fields on a gramweighing scale.

2. Dry down by either the Koster tester or Micro-wave oven.

3. Re-weigh dried-down samples.

4. Calculate moisture results; % moisture content = ((Initial sample wt. - Dried sample wt.)/Initial sample wt.) x 100. Therefore, if a 504-gram of TMR is dried down to 242.6 grams, its % moisture content would be 48.1%.

Interestingly, the Koster tester is an electrical dryer that is specifically designed for drying TMR feeds and wet forages to determine their moisture content. This apparatus has a heating element and fan built in its base by which hot air is blown through the feed sample placed on a built-in screen for moisture determination. Its drying procedure takes about 20 – 25 minutes.

Because I know this dairy producer is quite diligent and checks his TMR ration about every week with his Koster tester, I called him about two weeks after my July visit.

He said that he added an extra three hundred pounds of water to the next morning’s TMR, which increased its overall diet moisture content.

As a result, it reduced the lactating cows’ ration sorting throughout the next few hot days.

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August 31, 2018

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

August 31, 2018

21

Bean Harvest Ahead of Schedule Dealers can expect smaller beans from early fields in Manitoba and North Dakota said Klassen.

New varieties of slow darkening pintos being grown in different parts of North America show great promise said Alvin Klassen, publisher of Dry Bean World.

The hot weather in August took its toll on all crops, dry beans were drying down too quickly in many parts of North America, said Alvin Klassen.

By Harry Siemens With the harvest of cereals and canola in full swing and yields varying depending on where the spotty rains hit, farmers are looking to start harvesting pulse crops, too.

Alvin Klassen of Winkler, Manitoba, publisher of the Dry Bean World newsletter and website said some new dry bean varieties could hit the bins two weeks earlier than other varieties. “We have some new varieties of slow-darkening pintos that we are trying in Manitoba

for the first time this year primarily targeting higher value markets around the world,” said Klassen. “The current varieties we have now are looking to be a tremendous yield and quite early, as far as maturity goes.” In the third week of August, he said some could be cut later that week, which is almost two weeks ahead of what some of the varieties producers are growing in Manitoba.

Klassen primarily assesses the production of dry beans in North America, investi-

gates different varieties of beans for different markets, and works closely with primary growers, and some industry partners, to provide support for their area of production. “I publish reports for my members at Dry Bean World quite frequently, and many of those I upload to my website, but I do email most of my reports directly to my members, so they also know when there’s new information,” he said.

“There are some areas within North America where

the crop looks very promising, equal to last year, which resulted in some record yields. But there are a lot of areas that have experienced extreme heat and droughtlike conditions that have taken away from the potential of the crop,” said Klassen. “The acres are down. Here in Canada, not so much as it is in the US, but the one particular class of bean that is of real interest this year is the pinto bean. Those acres have plummeted in the US, probably more than 35 per cent from last year’s production.”

Klassen said the tariffs have not

impacted or changed the markets within the industry, at least at the grower level. “I do believe that the imposed tariff has some US dealers looking at this, and Canadian dealers looking at this, as an opportunity to increase the value of their export sales to Europe,” said Klassen. “At this point, it’s as if the beans, the pulses, and the legumes, that American bean growers would like to ship them into Canada, and baptize them as Canadian beans so that they wouldn’t have that tariff.”

He said there would be some of that going on, especially with classes of beans such as Great Northern, dark red kidneys, light red kidneys, and even navy beans.

Those beans are typically going into Europe. Some US origin beans will make it

into Canada, but it cannot be done on a large scale, because the companies and their export sales are monitored and regulated.

“You can’t ship a lot more beans than what you’ve taken into inventory, as your company goes. You do have to, at some point, show some origin,” said Klassen. “For example, here in Canada, we have approximately 4,000 acres of dark red kidney beans, while in North Dakota; they are growing 58,000 acres, which is up 22 per cent from last year. Now, there’ll be a big push for a lot of dark red kidney beans to funnel through Canada, going into the European market, but because we grow so few here, it will be difficult for us to sell huge volumes.”

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August 31, 2018

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

August 31, 2018

23

Five-Star Feed Strategy for Beef Cattle Now and After a Hot Dry Summer

A herd of cattle struggling to find nutritious grass in their dry pasture.

Western Canada is having one of the hottest and driest summers in thirty years. It might not be widespread drought of the past, but this year’s pastures are either simply non-existent or filled with nutritionally hollow grass. As a result, cattle performance is likely to be compromised now and months ahead, namely a loss of body condition and immunity (against disease) in all animals, while nursing cows have likely dried-up, which contributes to poor weaningweight of their calves in the fall. To reduce such a terrible impact of a hot dry summer, many people should implement my five-star feed strat-

egy in their cowherds.

Success of this plan becomes a serious matter of providing supplemental nutrition to cows and calves: energy, protein, minerals and vitamins, which are lacking in dried-out pastures. It could be a means to reduce the amount of essential nutrients required by the average beef cow and her calf to the point where they can be matched with available forage and other feeds.

Consider my five-star feed strategy for beef cattle now and after a hot dry summer: 1. Assess body condition and nutrient needs of all beef animals – Body condition score (BCS) gives us a

relative score for each cow (and calf) of her level of body fat at any particular time and therefore is a good snap-shot of her current nutritional status. It is based upon a scale of 1 – 9 (1 = thin and 9 = obese) in which mature cow should maintain a BCS of 5.5 – 6.0 for most of the summer and into the fall. Their spring-calves, both steer and replacement heifers should also not deviate too much from these pivotal-points.

Consequently, in late-August, those cows that calved out in the spring and bred only a few months back are in the early part of gestation.

In a normal year, they would

Combines Roll as Foodgrains Harvests Begin

By Elmer Heinrichs Harvesting of Manitoba’s 40 community grow projects to raise money for global hunger relief through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) is underway, and one of the first to combine may have been the SHARE project harvesting wheat near Morden on July 30. The CFGB partners with a number of farmers and farm groups throughout Manitoba and the rest of the prairies to fight global hunger.

While yields are lower this year thanks to the high heat and lack of rain, Manitoba regional representative Gordon Janzen said farmers have been just as excited to donate their time and the proceeds from their fields to combat global hunger.

With help from seven combines, three grain carts, a number of trucks, and a handful of volunteers, harvest of the Common Ground growing project near Rosenfeld was completed Saturday, August 11, said Kevin Nickel, one of the organizers. Nickel said that with farmers finishing their own wheat harvests, and canola not quite ready, a few

phone calls was enough to bring farmers and equipment to the 300-acre field of spring wheat, a grow project to raise money to fight world hunger.

This team of volunteers harvested a crop yielding 47 bushels an acre, an amount that Nickel said “is alright,” considering the dry conditions. Nickel noted that companies contributed to the effort by donating fertilizer, paying toward seeding cost and a number of custom applicators sprayed herbicide on the field several times. Many volunteers contributed with labour, fuel, time, and equipment. “It’s always a great time to have people come together for the harvest. It’s a lot of fun to do that with a group of people and when it goes so quick it’s very rewarding,” added Nickel.

Long-time volunteer Isaac Froese helped organize the CHUM Plum Coulee group grow project harvest of 150 acres of spring wheat north of Altona recently. Harvest day brought 30 volunteers with eight combines, nine trucks and three grain carts. “It’s not a bumper crop but it’s a decent crop,” explained Froese,

noting that the field lacked adequate rainfall. Another volunteer-organizer Doug Dyck estimated that the field still produced 60 bushels an acre, with proceeds likely totaling more than $65,000 for food aid.

And east of the Red, a team of farmers gathered on Monday at the 22nd annual HOPE (Helping Other People Eat) grow project east of Arnaud to harvest 160 acres of spring wheat.

Jeremy Calder noted that 13 combines, five grain carts, 10 semi-trailer trucks and 90 people came out for the HOPE project harvest. “It was one of the best turnouts in years,” said Calder. In just over one hour they collected 70 bushels an acre, which Calder estimates will equate to between $50,000 and $60,000 for the CFGB. The project received a number of input donations, including seed and fertilizer, from businesses in the community.

Janzen said The COOL group near Springstein, the FOCUS group at Elie, and one group in western Manitoba are also harvesting in August.

be on a decreasing slope of producing milk and thus be supplying less than 50% of their calves’ nutritional needs.

Subsequently, this puts them in a modest stage of nutrition in which they need to consume about 25 – 30 lbs of grass that consists of 52 – 55% TDN and about 9 – 10% proteins. In turn, their market calves (including replacement heifers) should be fed a diet of about 68 – 70% TDN and about 13 – 14% protein.

2. Supplement dried forage when necessary – Throughout this summer, I drove by many over-grazed pastures and I was hopeful that whoever owned these cattle was supplementing hay bales.

In these cases, for every bale of precious hay supplemented, one bale of hay for the upcoming fall/ winter forage inventory needs to be accounted and replaced.

For example: In a 200cowherd, if I estimated 1/3 of the pasture was supplemented in hay bales (one bale = 700 kg) until the end of October (90 days), the producer would need to feed approximately 180 bales of fair quality hay. Note: I assumed that each mature cow and her calf consume about 12 kg and 6 kg of dried forage, respectively with a 15% waste factor included.

3. Creep feed spring

calves – Creep feeds tend to bridge the nutritional gap created between the loss of natural milk production by the cowherd/poor pastures, and still allows good overall performance for calves that are weaned and sold in the fall. Most university field data demonstrate that creptfed nursing calves raised upon even a limited plane of summer forage nutrition can potentially maintain a daily bodyweight gain of about 1.8 – 2.5 lb/head/day by which 30 - 60 lbs of this gain can attributed to creep feeding.

Such optimum creep feeding performance is based largely upon its feed efficiency consumed and utilized by the beef calf. For example, creep feeding calves grazing fair to medium quality pastures yields feed efficiency of about 8 - 9 lbs of feed per lb of gain compared to rations provided on droughtstricken pastures of about 6 - 7 lbs per lb of gain.

4. Feed cattle lick-tubs on pasture – They supplement protein, mineral and vitamins to grazing beef cattle when pasture grasses are deficient in such essential nutrients. Often during a hot dry summer, I often recommend a low-moisture molasses cattle lick-tub of either 20% or 30% protein that carries a forage-compliment of essential macro-minerals, trace minerals and vitamins.

Such low-moisture molasses blocks are hydroscopic (absorbs moisture), which allows only the surface to become tacky, while the rest of the block remains hard. This feature limits cattle intake to about 0.50 – 0.75 lbs per head per day, because cattle can only lick

and consume the softened surface.

5. Provide a balanced mineral/vitamin program – Most dried-out pastures and even supplemental forages contain very low levels of essential trace minerals and vitamins. They might also contain antagonist elements that bind existing nutrients in the diet or upon ingestion by beef cows. A test of many western pastures contains grasses with a high molybdenum content, which has been proven to lead to copper deficiencies in cattle.

That is why, I recommend producers feed a high-quality cattle mineral that not only contain high levels of complimentary calcium and phosphorus to dried out pastures, but also contain optimum trace minerals in their more “bio-available” forms (such as “chelated” copper) as well as high levels of vitamins A, D and E. By implementing my fivestar feed strategy now and after such a challenging summer should help reverse some of the poor pasture conditions for grazing beef cattle. The benefits of doing so should help meet the modest nutrient requirements of the early gestating beef cow and keep their calves on the right track for optimum

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Plowing Match Enthusiasts Host 2018 Competition

By Joan Airey The Manitoba Plowing Society was in existence until sometime in the sixties when it disbanded. The historical record shows Cyril Haines of Emerson representing Canada in the Netherlands in 1962 and in 1963 Toby Trimble of Portage La Prairie represented Canada in Caledon, Ontario at the World Match.

Then in 2006 the Association was revived by Allison Briggs of Portage, Tom and Jean Ryall of Rivers, Sandy Donald of Alexander, Andrew and Barb Boundy of Boissevain and Ken Innes of St. Andrews.

The 2006 match was won

by Tom Ryall and that year Manitoba sent a team to the Canadian Championships at Chilliwack BC comprised of Allison Briggs (conventional) Tom Ryall (reversible) and Nick Boundy (junior).

Since then Ryall has competed in the Canadian National Championships numerous times representing Manitoba from Chilliwack BC to Owen Sound, ON. “When the Canadian Championship’s don’t clash with harvest we have sent teams to compete. I lived in Ireland until 2000 where I competed in about twenty matches a year. It is very popular over there, also in a lot of Euro-

Tom and Jean Ryall will have this David Brown Tractor on display at the 2018 Plowing Match Completion along with several of Tom’s Antique tractors.

Photo by Joan Airey

pean countries,” said Ryall.

“My competition plow is the only piece of machinery I brought to Canada when we purchased a farm in the Rivers area.”

Ryall has judged plowing matches around the world, in such countries as Ireland, England, France and Kenya. His wife Jean has traveled around the world with him helping with ploughing matches and his interest in antique tractors.

Now, in 2018, Tom and Jean will host the 13th Annual Manitoba Provincial Plowing Match west of Rivers on their farm. “We will have classes for hydraulic vintage and trailed vintage in Senior and Beginner classes. Horse walking plow and single furrow sulky classes will be available to compete in too,” said Ryall. “Along with the plowing match we will have

a vintage and classic tractor display. If the sled owners have finished harvest we will also have a tractor pull.

We hope to have competitors from across Manitoba. Anyone with a plow is welcome to come; we will make a class for you.”

“First and second placed in the senior tractor class qualify to represent Manitoba at the Canadian Championship’s in 2019 which will be help in Durham, Ontario. The winner from Durham will go on to represent Canada at the World Ploughing match which will be held in Russia in 2020.”

He said that everyone can test their knowledge in the tractor quiz and that there is no charge to attend the event.

The Ryall’s farm is located nine miles west of Rivers on highway 259 and three quarters of a mile south on road 130.

Cattle Auctions Begin Early

By Les Kletke “It’s early,” said Harold Unrau leaning on the rail of a pen that is serving as a gate to the makeshift auction ring.

Normally this is the alley that cattle take when they are leaving the ring at the Grunthal Livestock Auction Market. For sales in late August the area is serving as the ring and it seems to be working just fine.

Unrau said the August 21 sale had 150 animals on offer and that is about twice what he would normally expect at this time of year. The Market is undergoing extensive renovations in time for this. “We are about a month early this year,” he said. “And it is going to get busier as guys cull more of their cows.”

The August sale offered a mix of calves and cows.

“Some fellows are taking the calves off grass as the pasture runs out and they are selling them now,” he said. “The will cull their cows next and I expect we will see an increase in numbers in cows for the next couple of sales before we get into the fall run of calves.”

Unrau is hesitant to say that the drought will bring about an improvement in the genetics of some herds but he does acknowledge that some older cows are going to be sold while producers replace them with heifers. “A cow that doesn’t have a calf on her will most likely be gone this fall even if she was his favorite and gave him a good calf last year,” he said. “Guys are keeping heifers because they eat less and everybody is short of feed.”

Unrau is confident that numbers of cattle through the facility will continue to

increase. “When we get the new scale and ring in it will speed up our sales,” he said.

“We are also seeing cattle from a larger area being sold here. That should continue and they are a lot of cattle that are going to be sold this year.”

He said the current shortage of pasture is a contributor and will continue. “Guys are going to sell their cattle right off pasture,” said Unrau. “They don’t have a lot of feed in the yard and they are not going to be able to buy it so they are going to sell their cattle early.”

Buyers are content to work from a makeshift sales ring on the early fall run of cattle at Grunthal.

Photo by Les Kletke

The AgriPost

Peculiarity of Water and Manure Infiltration Through Clay Soil Add just enough fertilizer, and crops thrive. Add too much, and you may end up with contaminated surface and groundwater.

Excess nutrients from farms can be transported to groundwater reservoirs by water starting at the surface and flowing through soil. But the flow of water through soil is a “highly dynamic process,” said Genevieve Ali, a researcher at the University of Manitoba. “It can vary from year to year, season to season, or even rainstorm to rainstorm.” It can also fluctuate depending on soil type and even if organic additions, like manure, are applied.

Ali is lead author of a new study that shows water infiltrates deeper into cracking clay (vertisolic soils) when liquid hog manure is applied. The study also showed that even though water infiltration went deeper in the presence of manure, it did not reach depths of 39 inches (100 cm). That is how deep tile drains designed to remove excess subsurface water are typically installed in the study region.

“This observation challenges previous studies, which showed

that cracks in clay soils can promote the travel of water and associated contaminants from the soil surface into tile drains,” said Ali. “Our study suggests that not all clay-rich soils behave the same.”

The researchers focused on vertisols because they are present in large regions of North America. “They are common in agricultural plains, where excess nutrients may be common due to intensive farming,” said Ali. But knowledge gaps remain about soil water flow in vertisols, especially with organic additions. Water can flow through soil in different ways. ‘Matrix flow’ occurs when water moves slowly through tiny spaces between soil grains. ‘Preferential flow’ takes place when water travels relatively quickly through bigger channels, called macropores, such as cracks and earthworm burrows. “Imagine a bucket of sand with plastic straws inserted throughout,” said Ali. “If you dumped water on this sand bucket, the water traveling through the straws would reach the bottom first.”

Similarly, preferential water

Matthew Walker points to a macropore in which water travelled during the experiment, thus leaving blue tracks or fingerprints behind. The picture was taken while excavating a soil profile, three days after bluedye water had been sprinkled onto that soil profile.

Photo by Genevieve Ali

flow through soil macropores can carry contaminants quickly from the surface down to groundwater reservoirs. Macropores are often connected to one another. “They act like a network of pipes, and they can be created or exacerbated by human activities,” said Ali. “Knowing when and where there is preferential flow and how to manage land in those areas is critical to preserving groundwater quality.”

Clay-rich soils such as vertisols tend to crack, which creates macropores. “That makes these soils natural candidates to study the relative importance of matrix and preferential flow,” said Ali. This study was conducted in research plots in Manitoba.

Researchers added liquid hog manure to one plot but not the other. They sprinkled water mixed with blue dye on both plots to determine how water moved through the soil.

In the plot where manure was applied, water reached up to 25 inches (64 cm) into the soil. In contrast, water reached up to 18 inches (45 cm) in the plot where manure was not applied.

Both plots showed evidence of matrix and preferential water flow.

The researchers also found that the water moving through the macropores was not completely separated from the rest of the soil. “If you think back to the analogy of the sand bucket with the straws in it, the straws have a bunch of small little holes in them,” said Ali. “Water can be exchanged laterally between the macropores and the surrounding soil.”

Lateral exchange has been reported frequently for smaller macropores in forested soils, said Ali. “But it is less common in agricultural soils where cracks tend to be larger.”

This study focused on a single site, so Ali said that further research is needed before generalizations can be made.

Ali is also studying the role of soil cracks in spring (created by the soil freezing and thawing multiple times) versus the role of cracks in summer (created when soils become especially dry).

MFGA’s 10 Tips to Stretch Forage Supplies Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association (MFGA) canvassed the expertise within our organization to come up with 10 tips for producers to minimize the impact of dry condition on forage supplies.

The key is taking action now to help things later.

Here are MFGA’s top ten tips: 1. Start to consider annual crop fields to cut as green

feed and to bale straw off.

2. Line-up corn fields to take as silage, or have producers drop the stalks for baling.

3. Electric fencing on cornfields for grazing the Stover.

4. Weaning early to reduce feed requirements.

5. Reduce need for feed via herd management such as preg-checking cows to determine energy needs.

6. Buying feed in advance.

7. Feed to real weights.

It’s important to only feed enough hay to support the true weight of the cows in the herd.

8. Feed right amount of hay and meet the nutritional needs at different stages of life.

9. Use Supplement and look for alternative feed sources.

10. Feed test your feed and balance your rations.

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The AgriPost

Establish Accurate Corn Yields Before Deciding on Markets

By Les Kletke Producers looking for a quick answer on the value of corn silage did not get a definitive answer at a Corn Management Day sponsored

by Marc Hutlet Seeds. What they did get was a formula on how to estimate yield, and some conditions they should consider beyond the selling price of the silage.

“If you are growing grain corn and decide to sell it as silage you have to keep in mind that much of the organic matter produced by the crop is leaving the field,” said John McCoullagh who is the agronomist with Pioneer Seeds in Eastern Manitoba. He suggested that a typical corn crop use 12 lbs of Nitrogen per acre, 4 lbs of Phosphate and 25 lbs of Potassium and the removal should be considered in the price of the crop leaving the field.

This year, producers are considering cutting their corn for silage due to a feed shortage and the lack of cobs in the field. “This field looks good at the road but you walk in and 10 feet into the row there are plants that did not produce a cob,” he pointed out. “That might have you considering silage.”

He suggested that producers do a yield estimate of their field before mak-

Many factors contribute to the value of standing corn relative to the feed market.

Photo by Les Kletke

ing the evaluation. The field that was used for the demo day was estimated to have a yield variation of 100 bushels an acre from one end to the other.

Armin Dueck who owns the field said that he would cut it in sections and vary the timing to maximize the value of the crop from the field.

McCullough told producers to establish an accurate estimate of the yield to determine if they were financially better off to sell the crop into the silage market. He suggested that prices for new crop corn were considerably higher than the $4.50 street

price of the day, “We are hearing $5.25 for new crop corn so that might be what you want to use as a guide for pricing.”

He did note that some price quotes for corn silage in the area ranged from $35 to $55/ tonne. “There are a number of factors to consider,” he says. “If you are selling silage you do not have harvest costs. If you are buying silage you need to consider the distance to your farm and the quality of the feed. There is no easy answer to the question of price; there are too many factors to consider.”

The Southern Cattle Demand Remains Steady

By Les Kletke Dave Penner welcomes the upgrade at the Grunthal Auction Market, and said it will help him fill his orders in shorter time. “The scale is going to be much bigger and that will allow them to handle almost a pot load of cattle at a time,” he said. “That means they can sell bigger lots and the sales will go quicker.”

Penner is a buyer for South East Livestock and has had a standing order from a packer in Minnesota for the past 40 years.

While at the July 21 sale to buy cattle for his buyer in the US he said that will the number of cattle was up and coming to market sooner because pastures had dried up it was not a concern for him.

“The plant we buy for in the US is so large that our numbers don’t impact their kill,” he said. “They source cattle from a number of different markets and our increase in numbers is not significant.”

Penner said the renovations undergone by ownership of

The US is still a ready market for Canadian cattle.

the market would help the entire process as cattle could move through more quickly.

“The scale is larger, and directly below the ring so the animals will be weighed as they come into the ring. Currently they are weighed before going into the ring. This will increase the flow and make it easier on the cattle,” said Penner.

While the August 21 sale had increased numbers of cattle offered it was not yet the beginning of the fall run.

“We are seeing some of the calves come off of pasture early,” he said. “And some cull cows but we have not yet seen the beginning of the fall run. Though it will be earlier this year, when guys

get through culling and move into marketing their other cattle.”

The animals coming to market were in good condition said Penner, that was reflected in the price. “The market was strong and me might see it soften a bit as we get into the larger run but so far the market was strong and there were a number of calves on offer and they have been selling well. The market for yearlings is hot,” said Penner.

He expressed confidence that the American market will stay in place for cattle as it has for 40 years and that with a renovation to the Grunthal facility it will attract cattle from a larger area.

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KAP Looks at Trade and Veterinary Drugs Delegates to Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) summer advisory council meeting passed a resolution that instructs KAP to urge the federal government to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“In light of the lack of progress with NAFTA and the climate of trade sanctions when it comes to the US, we need to see this agreement ratified as soon as possible,” said KAP president Bill Campbell. “It will open market access to numerous Pacific countries, and this will be very beneficial for Canadian agriculture.”

In another resolution, delegates called on KAP to lobby Health Canada not to proceed with its proposed fee increase to veterinary drug manufacturers for reviewing products that are used or will be introduced in Canada. “The proposal is to increase substantially up to 500 per cent the fee that Health Canada is currently charging,” said Campbell. “The current fees are already high and that means drug companies are not marketing drugs to smaller industries such as the Canadian sheep industry. Our producers are being put in a less competitive position in the global marketplace.”

During the meeting, delegates repeatedly raised the need for increased cell coverage, especially after the Alonsa-area tragedy. They noted it is not only necessary for disaster warning, but also for farmers working alone in the field who may experience an accident or medical issue. One delegate said it was very frustrating to be able to see a cell tower, and not have reception.

A resolution was not passed on this issue, as it is already KAP policy to lobby for better service.

Many delegates said their districts were experiencing extremely dry conditions, with some noting that dugouts that have not been empty since the 1980s are drying out. As a result, yields appear to be down for those crops already harvested. Many stressed that hay and forage supplies are dire.

Tariffs and Trade Battles Hurt Profits of Hog Producers from Both Sides

By Harry Siemens Dr. Dermot Hayes, a Professor and Pioneer Chair in Agribusiness with Iowa State University, calculates the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on US pork will shift the profitability of US pork producers from break even to losing money. Trade was on the top of mind discussed in June as pork sector stakeholders from around the world gathered in Des Moines for World Pork Expo 2018.

Dr. Hayes said the reaction to US tariffs imposed on imported aluminum and steel was swift and for the pork industry is costly.

China placed a 25 percent duty on US pork April 1 and in the week before and afterward US live hog prices stretching out a full year were down significantly. “That’s in part because some of the products we export to China don’t have another alternative market,” he said. “Mexico imposed a 10 percent duty on US hams and shoulders, and that will go to 20 percent in early July. The average producer in Iowa was expecting a break-even year where they just covered their total costs with no extra profit. Now it looks like they’ll average about nine dollars lost per head over the course of a year. The drop in the futures and the nearby contracts were greater than that but the reduction in the futures out further there was less.”

Dr. Hayes said that was all the China impact and not a Mexico affect. That is in part because Mexican ham buyers, realizing that the duty is going to go from 10 to 20, are buying hams right now rather than pay a 20 percent duty and also because there are all sorts of leaks out of the administration that none of this is permanent.

Dr. Hayes said other nations are also upset with the US over the aluminum and steel issues and there is concern that Japan might impose retaliatory duties on pork as well. “The US ships a lot of pork to Canada but Canada ships even more to the US and I suspect, if Canada imposes duties on the US, it will not touch pork because Canada has a positive trade balance in pork,” he said.

Closer to home Tyler Fulton, the Director of Risk Management with h@ms Marketing Services, said higher US pork production combined with uncertain demand due to Chinese and Mexican tariffs on US pork would put significant downward pressure on North American hog markets through the fourth quarter.

Fulton said the 25 percent duty imposed by China on US pork and a 10 percent duty imposed by Mexico on US hams and pork shoulders that rose to 20 percent in July, has created a great deal of uncertainty. Especially heading toward the fourth quarter which is expected to see about five percent more pork produced in the US than a year ago.

He said Mexico and China represent two of the top four destinations for US pork with Mexico being number one in volume and probably number two in value and China being number four or number five depending on the year.

Fulton points out Canada uses US pricing points as the critical dynamic feature of their hog pricing formula, so when US hog prices decline, that lowers the price that Canadian producers get. He believes a reasonably healthy hedge would be something as massive as 50 percent of production from that September to December time frame. It may be even more substantial than that on further rallies given the uncertainty on the export side which does not seem to be diminishing.

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August 31, 2018

Volunteers Make Virden Draft Horse Show A Roaring Success

By Joan Airey Five years ago around the kitchen table over a cup of coffee, Kim and Grant Gee along with Faye and Darryl Horn decided if Virden wasn’t having an Agricultural Fair they should start a draft horse show August long weekend. They did not want to see the great facilities in Virden go unused.

“Three years ago we decide to have one charity class that cost fifty dollars to enter and encouraged everyone to enter a cart in the class,” said Kim Gee. “Previous years Murray House and Westman Dreams for Kids received the money collected from this class. This year we raised $2,900 for STARS Air Am-

bulance a very important service in rural Manitoba. The money raised came from the entry fees charged from the class and donations from the crowd. The Royal Bank Staff in Virden helped with the show and donated a thousand dollars to the charity.”

This year’s show had seven, six horse hitches from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Robert Black the visiting judge from Ontario commented on how great the show and the hospitality were at the Virden Show.

“We want people to realize draft horses can be enjoyed in more places than in the show ring. Next year we hope to start a new class in the show which will be a hat

class for women to enter, this class is very popular in the United States and Ontario,” said Gee. Prizes are awarded in each class based on a draw of a name rather than who won the class to give everyone a chance to win a prize.

“Chore teams also were part of the event as they watered the arena,” said Gee on one of the many hard working volunteer requirements needed to put on a large event. A committee organizes the show and numerous volunteers help make it a roaring success. One committee member’s wife prepares supper for exhibitors and sponsors which is about one hundred and fifty people.

Jeff McConnell receives the cheque for STARS Air Ambulance from committee members, Kim and Grant Gee (front right), Miles Roberts, Crystal Chisholm, Jack Chisholm, Darcy Strange, Faye Horn, Darryl Horn, Kim Boreham and Darcy Boreham. Missing is Trevor Nolan.

Photograph supplied by Carlanna Horn

Demonstration Tests Moisture in Corn Silage

By Les Kletke Ben Signer has a few rules of thumb for corn growers who are not sure whether they should be cutting their corn early to get the value of silage.

Signer is with Marc Hutlet Seeds and with some simple demonstrations showed producers what they could do to salvage their corn.

The field that was used for the demonstration offered tremendous variation with estimates of grain yields varying from 40 bushels to 140 bushels at the opposite end of the field.

Signer’s first warning was that corn that looks like it is dead might in fact not be. “We have been driving by fields and saying they are dead, but that is not the case and I would suggest that you walk your fields and get a better evaluation of what is really dead,” he said.

He also fielded questions that if the plants would come back if the area did receive rain. “What if we got an inch or two of rain on a field like this?” asked one producer and then added, “I know it is not likely but…”

Signer said the plants would come back but that might also raise some concerns with nitrates moving up in the plant.

At this point nitrates are concentrated in the lower part of the plant and he suggested cutting higher

Ben Signer said this corn crop appeared dead but still has some value and could revive with a rain although nitrates would be a problem.

Photo by Les Kletke

than usual to avoid nitrate concentrations in feed.

Signer fed several plants through a chopper and then offered a simple test on moisture. “If you grab a handful and squeeze it between your hands for 90 seconds, it should stay in a ball,” he explained. “You should have some moisture on your hands, not water running out but some sticky material left on your hand. If the material is dry and fluffy after the 90 second squeeze you may have missed the window for optimum silage production.”

He suggested that 65% moisture is a good time to start cutting and some fields would be approaching that level. “Eighty per cent of the

moisture is in the stock,” said Signer. “So you want to be aware of how fast the plant is drying down and start to cut in time.”

He advised that the type of storage system producers are using also impacts what is the ideal moisture level for storage. “If you have a horizontal system you want to start when moisture is about 65% but if you have a vertical storage system you want it a little drier,” said Signer.

He advised producers to make sure they have a good seal on their silage particularly if they are using plastic bags. “The sugar attracts wild life and they can make quiet a mess, so make sure you store the feed you have.”

Research Funding Announced to Grow Canada’s Organic Sector The Canadian organic industry is one of Canada’s fastest growing agricultural sectors. Research and innovation are vital to ensuring this sector continues to grow to help meet consumer demands. Retail sales of organic food products have grown, on average, by double digits over the past decade, with current sales estimated at $5.4 billion across Canada.

Recently the Federal government announced funding of up to $8.3 million to the Organic Federation of Canada, under the Canadian Agricultural Partner-

ship, AgriScience Clusters.

“Demand for our worldclass Canadian organic products continues to grow around the world and our Government is proud to support our organic farmers and food processors so they can meet that demand. Today’s significant investment into the science of organic agriculture will help our organic farmers grow more and grow better. And, we are pleased to support the Canadian Organic Standards, which are the backbone of the organic industry,” said Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

The targeted research fund, which includes an additional $4.4 million in contributions from industry, will help the organic sector enhance productivity through better soil health and fertility management, advance crop breeding research, improve pest management, and evaluate the environmental impacts of organic farm practices.

In 2016, 4,289 farms reported organic farming in Canada with the total acreage of organically farmed land at 2,433,602 acres. The organic acreage in Canada grew by 5% per year between 2006 and 2015.

The AgriPost

Antiques Still Draw Them In History came alive at one of Manitoba’s most dynamic four day family festivals in late July at Austin during the Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede.

The Manitoba Agricultural Museum’s Executive Director Anaïs Beirnat reported attendance at the 2018 Reunion was very good with Saturday numbers being excellent. The grandstand was full for both the Saturday afternoon show and the evening’s Rodeo.

The Sunday finale of the Threshing Competition had a steam crew face off against a gas crew in threshing. As well as being judged on the speed of set up, loading sheaves onto racks and threshing, the crews had to avoid penalties from how many sheaves were missed while loading the racks and the number of sheaves miss fed into the thresher.

This year’s battle was hard fought between gas and steam and while the steam crew won the Sunday event, over the four days of Reunion the gas crew had a seven second advantage overall wining the 2018 threshing championship.

The Sunday finale of the Threshing Competition at the 2018 Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede where a steam crew faced off against a gas crew.

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Livestock Producers Temporarily Allowed to Cut Hay and Graze Crown Land Livestock producers will temporarily be allowed to cut hay and allow animals to graze on Crown land not normally designated for agricultural use due to dry conditions across parts of the province.

“Pastures and forage crops in parts of Manitoba have been greatly affected by low levels of rain and dry soils this summer,” said Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler.

“By providing producers with additional options, such as access to Crown land, we are easing the burden on farmers who are seeing low yields on forage crops.”

Under certain circumstances, Crown land can be made available for agricultural use. The Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing program will administer the use of available land and provide necessary permits. Livestock must be removed when the naturally existing forage is exhausted or by October 31, 2018. Baled hay must be removed

by November 15, 2018.

“With many beef producers facing poor pasture conditions and a shortage of feed, having the ability to graze and hay these Crown lands is both necessary and welcomed,” said Tom Teichroeb, interim President, Manitoba Beef Producers. “Cattle grazing inside these wildlife management areas can deliver important conservation benefits as well as be an important strategy during times of feed shortages.”

Manitoba Agriculture provides a number of additional tools and resources for producers affected by dry conditions which can be found at gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/beef. The resources include the Manitoba hay listing service, information on managing pastures during dry conditions, alternative feed for beef cattle and options to stretch feed when supplies are tight.

Producers with AgriInsurance contracts who intend to put their crop to alternate use are required to contact the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) office to arrange for a field appraisal prior to harvesting the crop. Crop producers should also consider making crop residue available to livestock producers.

Manitoba also provides risk management programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which help producers to manage production and price risk. These include Forage insurance under the AgriInsurance program, which insures hay and pasture production and establishment against potential losses. Producers can check their 2018 coverage and learn more at masc.mb.ca or by calling their local MASC office.

The Western Livestock Price Insurance Program, which provides a range of coverage and policy options to help manage price risk and protect against volatility in the marketplace. Producers can purchase price insurance year-round for their feeder and fed cattle. More information is available at wlpip.ca.

Producers can contact their local Manitoba Agriculture office or call the department toll-free at 1-84-GROWMB-AG (1-844-769-6224) for more information on any of these programs and services or go to gov.mb.ca/agriculture under Quick Links.

Fox Steps Down as Manitoba Beef Producers President Ben Fox, who has been President of Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) since February 2017, has stepped down effective August 7 from his role as president to seek a Federal party nomination.

Tom Teichroeb, MBP’s Vice-President, will assume the role of MBP President on an interim basis.

MBP thanked Fox for his service as MBP President and for his dedication to advancing the interests of Manitoba’s beef producers, and wishes him well as he pursues this opportunity.

The MBP board of directors met on August 28 to discuss filling the vacancy on its board executive.

The AgriPost

Harvesting Corn Silage in a Drought Year

By Les Kletke Marc Hutlet said that he did not plan on having a plot tour on August 21 but circumstances required it. The annual event that normally allows producers to compare corn and soybean varieties offered by Marc Hutlet Seeds took a different turn this year with an emphasis on how producers can best utilize the corn crop that is in the field.

“Our staff is busy evaluating our trials and walking fields,” said Hutlet. “But we were getting so many questions about what producers can do with the crop that is out there that we decided to have a Corn Management Day.” In his opening remarks Hutlet said that the southeast area is 10-15% ahead of average on corn heat units although it has received less than half of the normal rainfall. “The Steinbach area has had 4.6 inches of rain this growing season.”

Marcus Dueck who handles many of the silage concerns for the company said that the drought of 2017 had carried over becoming much

more severe. “We had some very good quality silage last year,” said Dueck. “This year the conditions got to be extreme and we are finding plants that did not make a cob at all.”

He said that can cause problems because the silage will not have the mosture it usually does and will not pack down. That will lead to storage problems for an already low quality feed.

Dueck advises producers to adjust the length of the silage they are cutting. “You can address some of the packing issues by reducing the length of the cut,” said Dueck.

“That will help somewhat.”

He said producers who normally gauge the amount of feed they have by the volume might also be surprised this year and suggests they pay more attention to the weight of silage they are putting into storage. “The plants that don’t have cobs are going to yield a very light silage and you might be surprise by how much less a pile of similar volume weighs than other years,” he said. “It is also important to be aware of the quality because you will

Marc Hutlet says it was not a normal field day, but corn growers need information on how to handle the drought stressed crop.

Photo by Les Kletke

have a fluffy silage that is not as high in feed value.”

He said that harvest would start soon, at least a month

earlier than usual with plants down to 65% moisture which is the normal starting point for silage cutting.

New KAP Chair Focused on Matters Both Important and Urgent

By Les Kletke Bill Campbell knows the difference between important and urgent and right now getting the crop in the bin is urgent. Campbell takes over the Captain’s chair at Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) as Dan Mazier resigned to seek a Federal nomination in northwestern Manitoba. It is unlikely there will be a major shift in direction for the organization as Campbell serves the term till the annual meeting in January.

Campbell took time from swathing on his Minto farm to speak to the Agripost.

“Auto steer is a wonderful thing when it comes to multitasking,” he said.

He went on to describe harvest conditions with the main concern being drought across the province and in his area, a hail storm that swept through. “We had a hail storm go through and some of the reseeded crops are much later and suffered from the drought,” he said. “A real concern across the province

is the shortage of moisture for pastures and dugouts. If we don’t get some rain there is going be real concern for a lack of water in pastures.

There will dugouts dry and people will have to start moving their livestock.”

The northwest area of the province reported adequate moisture but the rest of the province received below average moisture, “We got a good crop last year with timely rains but we did not have that moisture going into this growing season and it is showing up. We needed a bit more rain this year,” said Campbell. “Farmers are focused on getting the crop off and feed secured. They want to get this production cycle over with and go on from there.”

The recent advisory council meeting asked for a crop update and considered policy issues. “There is concern about trade talks and producers would like to have some certainty when they get this crop off, they want the ability to market it to every cus-

tomer around the world,” he said.

“It will be important when we market this crop; with lower yields we need certainty in markets.” Campbell would like to see more progress on international agreements and less time on tariff issues.

For Campbell involvement in KAP’s policy group is especially import. “To be an advocate for prime producers. To me sustainability is being able to put a crop in next year. We need to bring farmers perspective to people outside the farm. That is one of the things that make me want to participate,” he said.

“I have always said if you’re going to complain better be part of the solution not just part of the problem.”

Campbell is well aware of things getting tighter on the farm and said his area has experienced it more than most. “The squeeze has been a concern, in my area we have had problems over the last 7 or 8 years. I have been through the 80s and 90s but

young farmer might not have been and times are tough for them. They have not seen these conditions before,” he said.

He is concerned about capital costs and low returns as well. “Producers get 4% return and we are capitalized in land and equipment. Is there enough for farmers to live on?” he questioned.

Campbell would like to see more focus on the AgriStability program. “We have ongoing discussion and we have seen agri stability decline in usage and relevance,” he said. “I would like to see enhanced agri-stability.”

He said longer term weather is going to be a greater issue.

“Climate change has been acknowledged and how we address it is an issue. AgriStability is the vehicle you can fall back on, I would like to see producers have more say, but the ministers are saying they have the programs I place. On the landscape we see they are not functioning and how we make them work is a concern of mine.”

The AgriPost

Melita Family Starts Monarch Homestead Project

By Joan Airey Monarch Homestead a project started by Natasha and Daniel Forster have held workshops in Melita and Souris to show people how to raise Monarch butterflies. Monarch caterpillars eat Milkweed which is considered a noxious weed in Manitoba.

“Mexico, USA and Canada’s leaders came together and said we need to protect the Monarch, whose population has declined well over eighty per cent in the last decade mostly due to habitat loss,” said Daniel Forster.

“Since then Ontario removed the Milkweed completely from their noxious weeds list in 2015.

The Forsters are not only reintroducing the Monarch’s primary cocoon plant back into the Homestead project they are researching the economic benefits and uses of milkweed. “To help Manitoba get to this point we are focusing on the potential for international trade for the plant which could have an economic and environmental impact by growing this plant as a crop,” said Forster.

“To introduce the Milkweed back into Manitoba we are helping people understand the plant and its properties, as well as the most important link of all, Monarch’s have the world’s second longest known migration of an insect.”

Because Milkweed floss is absorbent, it has potential to be used in the oil industry.

“One product I have focused on comes from my work in the oilfields after hearing Milkweed seed floss has oil absorbing capabilities,” noted Forster. “There is start up company in Quebec harvesting Milkweed seed floss for that very purpose. This company also secured a contract with provincial facilities to supply them with these absorbent products. Milkweed floss is more than 1.5 times absorbent in oil than our current polypropylene sheets we use in the oil field and are naturally hydrophobic so they do not attract water.”

From their research they also found that in World War II, the military in North America used it to line lifejackets for their pilots and sailors. “A pound of milkweed seed floss could keep a grown human afloat for up to six hours,” said Forster. “My grandfather told me that some economic ventures in the US were looking into the plant’s seed pods to be used to stuff jackets and pillows.

Photograph of Monarch Butterfly raised by Brenda Eisler after some of her family members attended the workshop in Melita.

Photo courtesy of Brenda Eisler

After more research I found the connection between Milkweed and Monarch butterflies.”

The Homestead project began after a visit to a local bird sanctuary. “I got involved with Milkweed a few years ago after finding it in our local bird sanctuary outside Melita, Manitoba,” he said. “Last year my family started looking for our first caterpillars and were successful in finding seven Monarch caterpillars in common milkweed along a gravel road north of Pierson, Manitoba. We raised our first Monarchs last year and started collecting seed pods and stalks of milkweed that had been left over from the previous year’s growth and tried our hand at making some products from the plant.” Forster would like to grow a ten acre plot in Manitoba after doing extensive research on the potential of milkweed and its economic value.

The Forster family has also introduced the practice of raising Monarch’s into retirement homes and lodges for therapeutic benefits of the residents and a benefit to the Monarch Butterfly as less than 1% survive to become a butterfly in the wild. “We tag the migrating generation of Monarchs with a sticker that has a serial number on it, we upload the data and there are people in Mexico that will retrieve the tagged Monarchs for $5 USD per tag and report the findings,” he said.

“This is all managed through a program established by MonarchWatch.org.

This year we plan on tagging two hundred Monarchs if we have enough butterflies from their chrysalis.”

To learn more about their workshops and what they make with the Milkweed visit their website at monarchhomestead.ca.

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The AgriPost