AgriPost August 28 2020

The AgriPost

August 28, 2020

Near-Record Crop Predicted Online Public Engagement Opens for Manitoba’s Ag Industry

FarmLink’s Virtual Crop Tour analysts are reporting an excellent crop, as seen in this aerial view taken from pilot and farmer Don Schellenberg’s Photo by Harry Siemens. plane.

By Harry Siemens Crop touring can be part science and part art. During FarmLink’s Crop Tour, scouting teams observe local crop conditions and use findings to compare data and calculate yield estimates. The company shares its findings with participants to help clients make better grain marketing decisions in the future.

The crop tour allows FarmLink’s analytical team to get boots-on-the-ground information about real crop conditions and yield estimates.

In 2020 FarmLink took the crop tour digital to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions and keep everyone safe. The crop scouts visited crop fields individually within their division, marked and outlined by Statistics Canada in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Each scout sampled at least 15 wheat, oat, canola, and pea fields in their area from July 20 to July 30, 2020.

Neil Townsend, the chief market analyst for FarmLink, said in the two previous years, ideally, the Crop Tour would have

two or three or four people in a vehicle where they randomly select fields. They also take all the necessary bio-security precautions so as to not spread any fleas around the fields.

“But they count the crop, and we get as objective as possible counts around western Canada to see how the crops do,” said Townsend.

COVID-19 derailed groups of analysts in one vehicle and instead only specific individuals visited fields. “We went into the Crop Tour thinking we were going to see a good crop but ended up seeing an excellent crop, generally,” he said. “There is a variance from farm to farm fields, but overall it looks like Canada could be close to a record or near-record yields for many of the main crops that we grow, including wheat, durum, peas, lentils, barley and oats.”

He said that cereals looked the best, followed by pulses while oats looked outstanding and barley looked very good.

Canola is looking good, although it is not

markedly different from last year.

“Where we were counting; getting pretty big crops for what we saw happening for wheat, durum, barley and oats,” said Townsend.

He said some of the better spots are southern Manitoba with some hardship in western Manitoba as well as the southeastern part of Manitoba which was hit by devastating rains early in the year. After the drought broke in southern Alberta Townsend said that there are absolutely excellent garden-like conditions right now.

The parts of Canada that look suboptimal are east of Edmonton, Alberta, where too much rain caused overland flooding. Planting was also delayed because of many were still harvesting last year’s crop this spring.

The Peace River district has also struggled. “There are parts of the Peace River district with good crops, but some parts struggled with the inclement weather and just suboptimal conditions for maximizing yield,” he said.

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The province launched an online public engagement opportunity seeking feedback on a broad range of agricultural sector issues and opportunities from Manitoba’s producers and industry.

“Engaging with farmers allows us to collect important information and make informed decisions and recommendations with my provincial and federal colleagues across the country this October at the annual conference of ministers of agriculture,” said Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen. “We are committed to bringing the voices of farmers forward.”

The province is seeking public input in four areas: business risk management, market opportunities, innovation and technology, and resiliency.

Business risk management programs are important tools that help producers manage their risk. For the past two years, producer feedback has suggested that existing programming is not effective for some sectors, leading to federal and provincial governments to explore changes.

Manitoba’s agriculture industry continues to be export driven. The province wants to ensure that producers and processors have continued access to current and new market opportunities.

Innovation is becoming increasingly ingrained into the agriculture and agri-food sector. Technology has the capacity to prepare for and mitigate risk, address labour shortages, improve animal health and welfare and build increased sustainability into the sector. Input from the public will help shape Manitoba’s capacity through the use of Ag Action Manitoba programs.

COVID-19 has impacted all Manitobans as well as food supply chains. Public input will help ensure the sector continues to be resilient in the face of future disruptions and crisis.

This engagement complements an in-person, week-long tour by the minister that included multiple stops in rural Manitoba in an open dialogue format. To take part in the online engagement, visit engagemb.ca/engaging-mb-ag-industry. The online public engagement will close Tuesday, September 1.

August 28, 2020

The AgriPost Near-Record Crop Predicted Townsend said most farmer’s attitude is still good considering the events of the past year evolving over two crop cycles. Nobody predicted COVID-19, but many road blocks occurred before the pandemic including a rail strike, blockades and extreme weather events that made 2019/2020 already a challenging year.

He said the ethanol era in the US incentivized farmers to get better at what they do.

When a farmer sees $7 corn for four or five years when

corn is above $4 consistently, that is profit for farmers. It is not only profit for farmers in the corn belt of the US it is profit for farmers in southern Manitoba, North Dakota, Ukraine, Russia and China. “We’re living in sort of a post-ethanol era where we’re not increasing the mandate for ethanol anymore but increasing the yield that people can get per acre,” said Townsend.

Townsend senses that COVID-19 made food security a top priority. He asks, “How

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long will COVID-19 last?

How long will the Indians be subsidizing 500 to 800 million people with a kilogram of pulses per month? We don’t know these answers, but will see how that unfolds.

But in the current condition, having more grain in the bin is like a security blanket for farmers,” said Townsend.

“Given a choice of having a small crop or a great crop, you’re going to take a great crop. It’s just that farmers are behaving the same way around the world.”

Neil Townsend, the chief market analyst for FarmLink said that they went into this year’s crop tour thinking Photo by Harry Siemens they would see a good crop and instead see an excellent crop overall.

Manitoba Ag Ex Cancelled for 2020

The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Manitoba Ag Ex which was scheduled for the last week of October 2020.

“The health and safety of our community is of the utmost importance,” said Greg Crisanti, President.

Due to the current health concerns related to the global pandemic of COVID-19, as well as the provincially mandated regulations for public health and safety, the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba made this difficult decision.

“Already having to cancel the Flagship event, Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, and Manitoba Summer Fair, as well as Midway Madness and numerous events in the Dome Building, our board decided this is the most fiscally and socially responsible action to take at this time,” said Crisanti. “Early in the COVID-19 pandemic some hard decisions were made to change the format of Ag Ex for 2020, but we remained cautiously optimistic we would be able to proceed with some form of livestock show for Manitoba Ag Ex. We have worked closely with other fairs and our exhibitors to monitor the situation and adjust plans as we

could. The current evolving situation and the regulations for public safety mean we must step back. The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba will continue to monitor the evolving COVID situation and will update the public on the status of future events.”

The cancellation of Ag Ex, the final event of the year, impacts the Cattle industry greatly. The opportunity to showcase and market cattle at this event is yet another hit to the cattle producers, the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba and the community as a whole.

“What’s even more difficult is this doesn’t just affect our organization. There are many businesses that rely on our events to generate revenue to support their families,” said Crisanti. “We are intertwined with the fabric of the community in so many ways. Everyone is hurting right now and while we want to help our community through celebration, we cannot commit to that right now.”

Crisanti added, “None of our events could happen without the dedication and hard work of the staff at the Provincial Exhibition, as well as the countless volunteers, so I’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to each one

of them.”

The Events hosted by the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba were expected to generate more than $18 million in economic impact for the community in 2020.

These events and activities also create hundreds of jobs, including first-time job opportunities for many youths.

The Provincial Exhibition is working closely with the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (CAFE) to advocate to the federal government for financial support to continue the legacy of events like this.

“Our industry has a very short seasonal window that has now all but passed.

Events specifically have one shot to generate revenue for the next 365 days and we’ve lost that, this is particularly challenging operating as a non-profit,” said Christina Franc, Executive Director of CAFÉ. “This is why we are calling on the government to provide federal support to our industry. Recovery is going to start local, and that’s us so we need to make sure we are there and ready when the time is right.”

“We are committed to producing the events our community needs, but when the time is right,” concluded Crisanti.

The AgriPost

August 28, 2020

Merit Functional Foods Receives Federal and Provincial Funding The governments of Canada and Manitoba will invest up to $2.5 million cost-shared funding under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership program to support new technologies in Merit Functional Foods’ new state-of-the-art, 94,000-sq.-ft. plant protein production facility in Winnipeg.

“Canada is a global leader in the production of plantbased proteins,” said MP Terry Duguid on behalf of Federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister MarieClaude Bibeau. “Through this investment, as well as the previously announced, nearly $100 million in federal financing support to Merit Functional Foods, our government is truly committing to stay on the cutting-edge of agriculture innovation and sustainability. This new facility will not only add value to Canada’s pulses and oilseeds, but will create many additional jobs thereby supporting the local Manitoba economy.”

“The development of the Merit Functional Foods fa-

cility will create new, immediate jobs helping our economy restart after the COVID-19 pandemic and support the Manitoba Protein Advantage Strategy,” said Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen. “This project will enhance Manitoba’s economy by providing economic opportunities for the agricultural industry including employment and contributing to the growth of Manitoba’s growing protein processing sector and further establish Manitoba as a Canadian leader in plant protein extraction.”

Merit Functional Foods is building a new processing facility in Winnipeg that will derive protein from both canola and peas resulting in up to 17,000 metric tonnes of canola being purchased from Manitoba producers in its first year of operation and 10,000 metric tons of peas at an estimated value of $14 million. In three years, Merit Functional Foods expects that amount to increase up to 35,000 metric tonnes of cano-

Merit Functional Foods’ new state-of-the-art, 94,000-sq.-ft. plant protein production facility in Winnipeg.

la and 20,000 metric tons of peas valued at $28 million.

In June 2020, the Government of Canada announced additional federal financing support of nearly $100 million for the new Merit Functional Foods plant.

This investment will bring new technology into the production process for Merit Functional Foods new plant protein processing facility allowing them to be competitive on the global market, and creating up to 85 local jobs as part of its Phase 1 project, growing to more than 200 jobs in future phases.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the provincial and federal support, which will help facilitate the rapid progression of our facility’s construction,” said Ryan Bracken, Merit Co-CEO. “It’s been just a bit over a year since we commissioned our project and we’re nearing an ontrack completion for the end of the year. We’re proud to put Manitoba on the map as a leader in the plant-based protein movement.”

The Manitoba government will also be providing $1 million for cost-shared training activities, as well as

an up to $4.5-million rebate over a maximum of 20 years to Merit Functional Foods through the Manitoba Works Capital Incentive (MWCI) Program. Cost-shared training activities will support the training of more than 100 new positions, and the training of five existing positions.

Merit Functional Foods’ currently manufactures MeritPro non-GMO pea and canola protein, glutenfree, vegan, non-dairy, allergen-free and non-GMO options, Peazazz a soluble, neutral-tasting pea protein

Supplied photo.

product that has more than 90% protein. The range can be used in dairy alternative beverages, ready-to-drink protein shakes, nutrition bars and ready-to-mix protein powders. In addition there is Peazac that is used for a meat alternative, baked items, and nutrition bars. The product lines also include Puratein-C canola protein, Puratein HS canola protein and MeritPro HS pea and canola protein blend. Merit is working with the Manitoba Food Development Centre to study the potential usage of some of its by-products.

The AgriPost

August 28, 2020

Random Stuff

Over the past month, a number of stories caught my eye. Here are four that stood out: an animal fact-checker, some wisdom from Mike Rowe and Matt Ridley, and a pleasant surprise during the ongoing pandemic.

Fact-checking is all the rage. We tend to think of it in relation to journalists correcting what comes out of our politicians’ mouths.

But other “facts” are worth checking as well. Enter Natasha Daly, a reporter for National Geographic who doesn’t like fake news about animals. Have you noticed all the stories about various kinds of wildlife returning all over the place thanks to corona virus lockdowns?

Daly has looked into them, and for the most part they’re false. We can thank overzealous media, putting a happy spin and an environmental narrative over top of current events, with stories that pull our heart strings.

They include small Italian islands near Venice where suddenly swans appear, except that it’s normal for swans to be there, ducks in a fountain in Rome, also normal, and the same for peacocks in India. Dolphin’s swimming through Venice?

Those pictures were actually taken in Sardinia. An orangutan in Florida washing its hands to mimic her caretakers’ precautions? That one was actually true, but the footage predated the corona virus.

Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame made a good point about the state of world on the Rubin Report podcast.

“We can be a safety-first country, but only for very, very, very short periods of time.” He’s seen it time and again with regards to vocational work. That kind of unrealistic standing in a culture’s hierarchy can have all sorts of unintended consequences.

Rowe says, “Risk is personal. You get 100 people in a room; everybody has a slightly different tolerance for risk. When you introduce protocols – safety features, for instance – the theory goes that your behaviour will change to suit the measures you take. Risk equilibrium is the thing that says you subconsciously adjust your behavior to adapt to your circumstances, [which] is perfectly rational, but as you start to introduce new safety protocols, subconscious things start to happen,” Rowe continued.

He later added, “Something is happening right now with regard to public safety and individual responsibility.

It’s a collision.”

Rowe is absolutely right.

We see that play out every day, with different people having very different ideas about what everyone should be doing in regards to virus protocols. When some-

one who is scared to death comes across someone who is more laissez–faire, conflict is inevitable. With our school year set to begin shortly, so far we may have only seen the tip of this anxiety iceberg.

Matt Ridley wrote an interesting piece back in May titled, “Dithering officials are holding back the next wave of innovation.” He sums it up by saying, “time is money, and delay can be lethal.” Using a number of examples from the current pandemic, he points out how quickly things can be accomplished when we allowed it. Emergency hospitals are built almost overnight, medical devices are rushed through approval processes, and vaccine development is accelerated.

Then he asks, “Why can’t we do the same in ordinary times?”

It’s a great question. The challenge for small busi-

Penner’s Points

nesses is not so much that they get turned By Rolf down when Penner they ask permission to do something. It’s that the green light to go ahead can take forever. The same is true for any kind of innovation, whether it’s new chemicals, pharmaceuticals or equipment. The list is endless.

As Ridley says, “We will never know how many innovations such delays have deterred, but they are surely one of the main reasons we were not better prepared for this pandemic.”

One of the great surprises over the last few months is the durability of the Internet.

While society was shutting down, this system kept on working. With pretty much everyone in world online all the time, sometimes with more than one device, it’s a miracle the whole thing

didn’t collapse. Everything from college classes, meetings, grocery shopping and yoga classes suddenly went online, not to mention the spike in the binge–watching of videos.

Internet traffic everywhere has gone up dramatically.

Those who provide that service have managed to scale things up to meet the new demand. It hasn’t been perfect, sometimes service is slower than you’d like, or the connection is a little weak, but it’s still there.

With a lot of other things going in the toilet, the internet is one of the unsung heroes of the pandemic. Let’s give a little credit where it’s due.

Crops, Memories, and Milestones While I sit here in my cabin in Canmore, AB, reflecting on the many stays and good times we had here as a family, many more with my late wife Judy, things continue to happen around the world that sometimes makes one wonder, and wonder…

The memories are sweet; the happenings in the world are not. However, driving through Saskatchewan and Alberta, makes one sit up and marvel at the crop our farmers can produce even without weather events beyond the pale.

My farm broadcaster colleague, mentor, and dear friend Orion Samuelson celebrating his 60th anniversary as the farm broadcaster at WGN Chicago next week called up to get a view on the crops in western Canada. As I reported in another story in this issue, there is an exceptional crop standing and partly coming off. Yes, the 2020 harvest is nicely underway, including canola, cereals, and

peas. With mixed yields to near-record crops depending on how the weather events are in your specific area, and COVID-19 fallouts and benefits, it is an excellent time of the year.

While election verbiage and pandemic hits and misses dominated the news cycles in the United States, the little storm that flattened 14 million acres of corn in Iowa alone almost went unnoticed by the rest of the world.

Consider that Manitoba has between 17 and 18 million farmland acres in total, 14 million acres of corn flattened in Iowa is nothing to sneeze at. I knew very little about it until Orion described it in an interview with me.

Here in Canada, in western Canada particular, we have those weather events. Last year we had snow in October, and even several millions of acres, as in the United States, stayed in the fields, and farmers had to harvest in winter and spring. I’ve got pictures on Twitter of farmers doing their harvest, finishing up in the first week of June and on a Saturday night and a Monday morning, they were out harrowing, seeding right back into that ground. I understand that even in the US,

the resilience of our farmers when it comes to weather events and those kinds of years, I don’t think there’s another industry in the world that can match that.

What do you think I asked Orion?

“I would agree with you.

The farmers can bounce back, and we’ve got that going on this week because I learned a new weather word this week that I had not heard before, it’s Derecho. According to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, it is not quite a hurricane, it has no eye, and its winds come across as a straight line. But the damage it is likely to do spreads over such a large area, it’s more like an inland hurricane, and a quick,

Canmore, AB

more powerful tornado,” he described in his booming 86year-old voice.

“The storm began in Nebraska, moved across the Midwest, and travelled 770 miles over 14 hours before finally losing its strength in western Ohio according to the Iowa state climatologist Justin Gilson. But, it was a severe storm. For example, in Iowa, the estimates are the storm, damaged 14 million acres in the largest corn-producing state in this country.

Along with that, Harry, the Derecho, destroyed half-billion bushels of grain and storage bins destroyed, and workshops and machine sheds, too,” continued Orion. “Once farmers can get in, the corn is flat in quite a few fields, and once they get into

harvest, they’ve got to find a way to pick up that blowndown corn and then find a place to store it their grain bin is probably gone.”

A person who celebrates 60 years of anything these days is great, but Orion started in 1952 at a daytime radio station in Sparta, Wisconsin.

“I moved to WGN Radio in Chicago, in 1960 and in several weeks I’ll celebrate my 60th year on the air covering agriculture at that powerhouse radio station. How long I don’t know. As long as I have a voice, and so far, I’ve gone through some health challenges, not that serious, but so far, my voice stayed with me, so I guess I’ll do that,” said my friend Orion on celebrating his milestone.

Photo by Harry Siemens

The AgriPost

How You Handle Normal?

“When things get back to normal.” I wish I had a dollar for every time I have heard that phrase in the last 5 months, and I am glad I don’t have to pay a dollar for every time I have muttered it in my own life. The reality is – this is the new normal. I don’t know if it can be classified as the new normal after 5 months but it is what is normal.

COVID is not going away and it is going to impact our lives for the next year or so at least, if you have the mis-

fortune in contracting it then it could be much longer.

Dr Brent Roussin has told us to prepare for these conditions to last to January and that is January ‘22.

How you deal with it is up to you, just as different nations approach things differently.

One day this past week I got a notice that Ag Days was being canceled for 2021. The show that has been the dominant event in the Keystone Centre for the past several Januarys will not be held next January.

The same day I got a reminder that Big Iron 40 was only a couple of weeks away in Fargo, North Dakota. It was a go and was

going to happen just like usual, in fact one of the tent events was moving inside.

Two very different approaches to very similar events, two events that have been mainstays on my calendar for several decades but times have changed.

The border to the US is closed but that would not have been a determining factor. I have decided that I would not be attending an event that brought 10,000 or so people together at any point in the near future.

America has the “Open for Business” approach and will carry on. Our province on the other hand is taking a more safety driven approach. Some would say that is the nature of living in a socialist country, but that is a point for another

day.

This column is about COVID being here for the long haul and how it is impacting our lives; most importantly, how you choose to handle it is up to you.

The large outdoor show in Saskatchewan chose to go virtual last month and things seemed to have worked, I am sure there were a few kinks and a couple of exhibitors told me that the new delivery cost them extra employee hours but they also had less travel costs, so it was not that much of a difference.

The difference is in your attitude and how you choose to approach the new normal which is quickly becoming not so new, and will still be here even as we plan another calendar year.

Open Letter from Conservatives to Agriculture Minister Dear Editor, John Barlow, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food, and Richard Lehoux, Associate Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food, sent the below letter calling on the Trudeau government to take urgent action to support Canada’s agriculture sector.

Dear Minister Bibeau, When your government made an announcement to support Canada’s farmers, food businesses, and food supply on May 5, 2020, the Prime Minister stated that “this is an initial investment and if we need to add more, we will.” We hope that it has now become clear that more is needed immediately and that some of the announced programs are not meeting the needs of farmers and food processors during these difficult times.

At your appearance before the Standing Committee of

Agriculture and Agri-Food on June 10, 2020, and in comments attributed to you in the media, you alluded to the fact farmers had to draw down their AgriInvest accounts before you would consider providing more support to producers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We’d like to point out no other group of people or sector of the Canadian economy has been asked to go to such lengths during this pandemic before receiving adequate assistance from your government, only farmers.

Additionally, it’s been revealed by your own department that most AgriInvest accounts have less than $10,000 and more than 10,000 accounts have a balance of zero. Grain Growers of Canada Chair, Jeff Nielsen, rightly described the situation as your government asking more than 73,000 farmers to draw down on

money they don’t have and that will hardly make a difference in any size of farming operation. We implore you to not predicate further support for the agriculture sector on arbitrary AgriInvest account balances.

Another matter of concern for farmers is their inability to access the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) due to the use of personal accounts on family farms and the lack of qualifying expenses under the program. Recent changes to the CEBA were encouraging; however, we ask that further improvements be made to the eligibility criteria to ensure that all farm businesses have access to the program.

Lastly, the Emergency Processing Fund was something agri-food processors saw as vital to aid in their response to COVID-19. However, access to those funds is still months away and processors

continue to face immediate and unprecedented challenges. Increased costs including PPE and other uncertainties such as access to labour are jeopardizing the industry’s long-term viability. To ensure our food supply chain is unbroken, it is imperative you continue to work with agri-food processors to identify and address their concerns and ensure they remain competitive as our country emerges from this pandemic.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely, John Barlow, MP Shadow Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Member of Parliament for Foothills Richard Lehoux, MP Associate Shadow Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Member of Parliament for Beauce

Major Farm Equipment Exhibition Planned for Manitoba The Manitoba Agricultural Museum announced the 2021 Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede festival will feature Cockshutt Farm Equipment and host the annual convention of the International Cockshutt Club. The 2021 festival takes place July 29 - August 1, 2021.

“Providing unique attractions for our 11,000 annual visitors is key to the success of our summer festival,” said Angie

Klym, President of the Manitoba Agricultural Museum. “We are excited to celebrate and educate our visitors on the profound impact Cockshutt farm equipment has had on Manitoba’s agricultural industry.”

“Our club is excited to be coming to western Canada for the first time in our 31 year history,” says Grant Weber, President of the International Cockshutt Club. “The Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion

and Stampede is a perfect fit to host the event which attracts hundreds of Cockshutt enthusiasts and exhibitors every year.”

The 2021 Cockshutt convention will highlight the 75th anniversary of the iconic Cockshutt 30 tractor; the first modern tractor designed and built in Canada. The tractor gained worldwide status for pioneering the use of live hydraulics and Live-Power-

Take-Off systems to power attached equipment.

Founded in Brantford, Ontario in 1877, the Cockshutt Farm Equipment Company was an independent farm manufacturer for over 85 years. Beginning with horse drawn plows, the company became known for a wide range of farm machinery built for Canadian Prairie agriculture. The company merged into the White Equipment Company in 1962.

August 28, 2020

Mine Project That Threatens Manitoba’s Largest Aquifer Needs Review, Not a Rubber Stamp

By Dougald Lamont Recently the Manitoba Liberals raised concerns that the Pallister PCs are going to skip essential environmental procedures and rubber-stamp the approval of a huge frack sand mine in the RM of Springfield that could pollute the province’s largest aquifer.

The Vivian Sands Project is a proposed sand facility mine project being built in the Rural Municipality of Springfield. It is supposed to pull 3.5-million tons of sand a year out of the ground, which the company’s CEO said will be used mostly in fracking.

Manitoba Liberals have many serious concerns about the project after residents in the area have reached out to express fears about the lack of safety and environmental procedures by the company CanWhite Sands Corp.

Residents’ concerns include the fact that bore holes, which should have been properly sealed, have been left open for a year; signage and fencing has been poor; identifying and required mine claim tags are missing; there are no warnings for silica exposure and no coverings to prevent sand stockpiles from exposure to wind.

The Pallister government needs to review the plant and the mine at the same time and to have a full Clean Environment Commission Assessment of the project.

Given the scale of this project, and the possible impacts on health and the risk of permanent and irreparable pollution to Manitoba’s largest aquifer, we can’t be cutting corners. Manitoba Liberals have called for a full Clean Environment Commission Assessment of the Vivian Sands Project.

Because the mine would pump sand and water up from the ground and then return the water, environmental scientists say there is a risk of contamination of groundwater as well as the Brokenhead River and Lake Winnipeg. The aquifer covers much of southeastern Manitoba.

The PCs need to understand that to build a strong and sustainable mining industry in Manitoba, health, safety and the environment can’t be an afterthought.

The Vivian Sand Processing Facility’s Environment Act Proposal is open for comments from concerned citizens until Aug 25th, 2020. Comments can be emailed directly to Jennifer Winsor at jennifer.winsor@gov. mb.ca. If you’re reading this after the deadline, you can still write your concerns to Sarah Guillemard, the Minister of Conservation and Climate, at mincc@leg. gov.mb.ca.

Dougald Lamont is the Manitoba Liberal Leader and MLA for St. Boniface.

August 28, 2020

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

US Pork Producers Call on Congress for Help

By Harry Siemens Dr. Steve Meyer, an economist with Kerns and Associates, said processing plant disruptions caused by COVID-19 resulted in the worst financial disaster ever for American hog farmers.

As part of a news briefing on July 21, the National Pork Producers Council outlined the economic devastation caused to pork producers by COVID-19. It urged Congress to act swiftly to preserve their livelihoods.

Dr. Steve Meyer, an economist with Kerns and Associates, said processing plant disruptions caused by COVID-19 resulted in the worst financial disaster ever for American hog farmers. As part of a news briefing on July 21, the National Pork Producers Council outlined the economic devastation caused to pork producers by COVID-19. It urged Congress to act swiftly to preserve their livelihoods. Photos by Harry Siemens

Dr. Meyer said the value of US pigs produced this year has taken a dramatic hit since the advent of COVID in February. “If we look at what this year’s production was worth back on March 1, as far as what the futures market said the producers could expect on pricing through the end of 2020 and we compare that to the July 10, the difference is about 4.7 billion dollars,” he said. “Producers haven’t lost that much money yet, but relative to where they were going to be, by the end of the year, they’re going to be about 4.7 billion dollars short.”

Meyer said producers had to euthanize some animals, something no producer wanted to or likes to do by any stretch of the imagination.

Producers have done everything they can to avoid euthanizing pigs including putting them on diets that meet their nutritional needs but does not provide the energy and protein for growth in order to hold the pigs by keeping them from getting too heavy.

In doing so, they backed up supplies of pigs in their barns across the US. “We think that there are two million-plus pigs backed

Hog commentator Jim Long believes pork cut-outs will lead the recovery if the hog market gains strength rather than the lean hog futures since cut-outs will reflect pork demand and supply.

up as of June 1, and the reason those pigs didn’t go to slaughter is that we just don’t have the slaughter capacity to do it,” he said.

Dr. Meyer said plant capacity had recovered dramatically since May when it was down by about 40 percent to where that reduction is now hovering around five percent. He suspects that a five percent reduction will be permanent though as the result of compliance with social distancing guidelines.

Hog commentator Jim Long believes pork cut-outs will lead the recovery if the hog market gains strength but not by the lean hog futures. Cutouts will reflect pork demand and supply.

Long agreed that the story of a massive number of backedup hogs is currently hampering the market. “If you were a pork buyer, would you be aggressively purchasing pork when all you read is a deluge of pork is coming,” asked Long. “The same buyers can see lean hog futures circling 50 cents a pound, not exactly an indicator that the pork price will explode on you.”

He said foreign buyers also read the US pork industry news and keep asking if US packers will keep operating to supply their own import needs due to coronavirus issues.

“Three factors – supply, futures, and Coronavirus, all negatives for hog price appreciation. That’s why the pork cut-outs price has to lead the way. Only the reality of an appreciating pork price can push back the negatives,” said Long.

In a week in the middle of July, US packers aggres-

sively handled 2,606,000 up 187,000 from a year ago, and slaughter weights continue to decline. Weights have come down 12 pounds plus from the May highs.

“We still can’t rationalize how the industry alleges three million-plus pigs backed up across the USA, but weights continue to drop,” said Long president of Genesus Genetics. “Having hogs for four decades, when we backed up hogs, weights went up, not down. Maybe it’s a new paradigm?”

Long believes the breeding herd continues to decline, the latest week about 68,000.

Last year averaged 57,000 and expectations are that every day the number of sows will decrease.

The Genesus US sales team recently named sow herds liquidated or liquidating. Also who they know is backed up with hogs. The sales members identified some sow herds across the Midwest and few, if any, backed up pigs in the eastern Corn Belt. In the Western Corn Belt, there are definitely backed up barns but certainly not all producers.

“Over the next two weeks, keep watching the hog weights. They’re at around 280-282 pounds now. If average weights go into the 270s, it tells us the number of hogs not backed up is next to nothing,” said Long. “If pork cut-outs continue to climb, it will reflect that buyers have to pay more, not that they want to. With gross packer margins good to excellent, we expect packers to keep pushing kill numbers.” The surest cure for low prices is low prices he noted.

New CEO for Cereals Canada Announced Cereals Canada has announced the appointment of its senior leadership team.

Dean Dias leads the organization as Chief Executive Officer, with Cam Dahl serving as Chief Strategy Officer.

The organization, which represents provincial producer commissions, grain

Dean Dias.

companies, processors, exporters, and life science companies, cited the leadership and dedication to the grain industry of both Dias and Dahl as contributing factors to their appointments.

“We are pleased to announce Dean Dias as CEO of Cereals Canada,” said Todd Hames, Chair of the Board of Cereals Canada.

“As CEO, Dean will bring a wealth of experience and energy to our new organization.

His passion for agriculture, combined with his leadership and strategic vision will be a driving force behind the success of our newly merged organization.”

Dias has served Cigi in various roles over the past decade, most recently as Director of Value Chain Relations

and Interim CEO. “There is no better industry to serve than Canadian agriculture,” said Dias. “I am humbled by the trust and responsibility the Board has placed in me, and I look forward to working alongside Cam and our dedicated staff as we seek to cement Canada’s reputation as a world leader in cereals.”

Cam Dahl has accepted the role of Chief Strategy Officer, which will be focused on driving policy, government relations, and market access. “Mr. Dahl played an instrumental role in the creation of Cereals Canada and is a highly respected leader in the Canadian agriculture industry. His support for the newly merged organization in this role will be pivotal to our continued development

and success” said Dias.

At the direction of the Board, Cereals Canada will now be focusing on developing a new strategic plan and completing a branding review, engaging with members, staff, and the industry at large. Key components of this vision will be centered on communications, policy, market development and support, research and innovation.

“At the end of the day, this new organization is all about returning value back to our members,” said Hames.

“With this leadership team in place, we are confident that Cereals Canada can hit the ground running as we seek to grow our industry and maximise Canada’s global presence.”

August 28, 2020

New Surplus Purchase Program a First for Canada

By Elmer Heinrichs More than 12 million eggs will be distributed via an emergency federal program designed to help farmers faced with too much food and nowhere to sell it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister MarieClaude Bibeau announced details of the first-ever federal government program that will provide millions of pounds of surplus food to Canada’s most vulnerable populations.

She said the $50 million program will align the needs of food banks and other community groups with high volume, highly perishable surplus products farmers and producers can supply.

Bibeau sees the program as meeting three objectives, to feed people in need, to support our farmers by buying some of their surplus at the cost of production and to avoid food waste.

“This is a win-win. Not only are we helping producers who cannot sell their goods to restaurants, but we are also aiding Canadians that have had to seek help from food banks, said Bibeau. “These eight impressive partnerships between food businesses and not-for-profit organizations, target those food commodities that had significant and urgent surpluses, making a difference both at the level of the producer and the food bank, from coast-to-coast-to-coast.”

The surpluses were created because the COVID19 pandemic largely shutdown the restaurant and hospitality industry, leaving many producers without a key market for their food commodities.

On the surface, the $50 million surplus food rescue program is simply a sensible response to highly unusual circumstances. The government is buying up surplus fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and seafood from farmers and fishers who would normally supply the food-service sector. Then the government is distributing it to Canadians suffering from food insecurity during the pandemic.

Food services remain one of the hardest-hit sectors of the economy since COVID-19 surfaced.

Not only does the program help support producers who might otherwise be put out of business, it helps put food on the table for Canadian families who have income shortfalls due to the pandemic-induced economic downturn.

The bonus is that it prevents large quantities of nutritious food from going to waste. The convergence of economic and social policy involving food may be a first for Canada, although these approaches are common in other countries, most notably in the US where the “food stamp” program for the hungry is a major component of farm policy.

But this program is consistent with the message Canadians sent during consultations around Canada’s first national food policy. Canadians who responded to the government’s call for input were pretty clear. They want governments to prioritize safe and affordable food for Canadians but not at the expense of farmers.

The triple-win scenario embodied in the surpluspurchase program is symbolic of a much bigger conversation that’s bubbling up about how recent events could and should force a rethink of Canada’s agricultural and food policies.

The COVID-19 crisis has lifted the veil on our food system, and there is now a spotlight on how we treat workers, whether migrant labourers in the fields or employees in a meat-processing plant.

Consumers increasingly want to know how it was made or grown, how the workers involved in processing, growing or harvesting, including non-resident farm workers, were treated, and if animal and environmental welfare matter to their brands.

August 28, 2020

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

August 28, 2020

Could Saliva be Early Manitoba Farmers Eye Detection Above Average Harvest for African Swine Flu?

By Elmer Heinrichs As we near the end of August, farmers have wrapped up harvest of the fall rye crop with yields reported in the 90-100 bu/ac range, the winter cereal harvest is nearing completion and the spring wheat harvest is well underway with yields in the 60-70 bu/ac range.

With plenty of sunny, warm and dry conditions, interspersed with a band of thundershowers bringing welcome precipitation, and while somewhat heavy in the Altona-Emerson and Morris areas leaving some water ponding the moisture greatly improved soil moisture conditions and crops look good.

Communities near the Canada-US border, at Emerson, Dominion City, Gardenton and Woodridge sustained the heaviest rainfalls delaying harvesting. Wheat, barley and oats have matured rapidly and combining has begun. Yields of 70 to100 bu/ac for barley with good

quality have been reported.

Some early oats has been running at 110-120 bu/ac.

Straw is also being harvested on many combined fields.

Most cornfields, now in the kernel development and grain filling stage are looking good with reasonable soil moisture and warmer temperatures. Combining of Canada’s large canola crop, which looks good, has just begun. Conditions are described as pretty good across western Canada and higher yields are expected.

Dennis Lange, provincial pulse crop specialist, said farmers have begun harvesting kidney beans, and soybeans. Both look promising with a yield of 35 bu/ac. Barley is yielding from 90-100 bu/ac, with oats in the 120 bu/ac range.

Laura Schmidt, a production specialist with Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers said early field peas in the Gladstone area are yielding well, generally in the 60 to

80 bu/ac range.

Soybeans are benefitting from the welcome rain in the sensitive seed development stage. The beans are filling and the yield outlook for the crop is generally promising.

Manitoba farmers grow almost a million acres of soybeans.

Edible beans are also doing well with many fields turning colour and with low blight levels, it means this year the crop has a really good yield potential, said Schmidt.

Over in eastern regions weekend rains delayed the start of harvest for many producers, but most were happy it arrived since the moisture will benefit the warm season crops now in the reproductive growth stage. With little standing water, producers were able to resume harvesting after the weekend.

Across the region, the winter wheat harvest almost complete, is yielding 65 to 75 bu/ac with good quality, and the spring wheat har-

vest has begun, with initial yield reports of 60-65 bu/ac.

Canola swathing has begun, soybeans are growing well, and so are corn and sunflowers. The field pea harvest is almost done and yield reports range from 60 to 80 bu/ac., with good quality.

Producer progress on second-cut beef hay ranged from 20 per cent done to complete with yields from 50 per cent below average to good quality. Third-cut alfalfa dairy hay harvest has started. Producers remain concerned about feed supplies for overwintering, and making arrangements with grain producers to purchase straw. Baling of forage seed and winter wheat straw is ongoing.

Central regions report a hay yield of 800 to 1,400 lbs/ac on second-cut alfalfa/grass mix. Annuals for green feed and silage is being harvested with mediocre to average yields, and corn for silage looks promising, most crops are past 6 tons wet mark.

Livestock Producers Ask for Any Extra Available Hay and Feed Challenging production conditions across Manitoba have provincial farm groups representing beef, grain and forage producers asking farmers with extra straw, hay or alternative feed to consider listing their products for sale.

Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) and Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), together with Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association (MFGA), are warning that livestock producers could be facing a challenging summer and fall that will affect their ability to source feed and straw for their livestock.

“In recent years Manitoba has experienced consistently inconsistent seasonal and regional production variability through drought

conditions, snowstorms, and heavy rains. These kinds of challenging conditions are prompting concerns that 2020 hay and forage yields could be lower than expected across the province this summer and complicate the feed situation for livestock producers this coming fall and winter,” said MBP President Dianne Riding. “In the spirit of co-operation, we are encouraging Manitoba farmers to avail themselves of the listing resources and work together to ensure feed and straw is available for cattle producers who require it. We truly appreciate those who advertise their available resources for sale.”

“Across the province, we have seen both dry and wet conditions being reported, leading to a lack of quality

hay and straw for livestock feed. We are calling on livestock producers and grain producers to work together to ensure that our industry can continue to thrive and to ensure livestock herds have enough feed for this year,” KAP President Bill Campbell remarked. “Our hope is that as grain producers begin to make harvest decisions, they will consider how they can support livestock producers who may not have enough feed for their herds. 2020 has been an immensely challenging year but we’ve learned that we all must work together when faced with difficulty.”

“While recent precipitation events have impacted certain areas, we are now heading into multiple consecutive years of key pro-

vincial regions in overall dry conditions. And with the dryness, we are very unsure of the forage yield potential coming off our fields,” said Larry Wegner, MFGA chair. “For producers that are planning to be carrying herds into fall and over winter, that feeding uncertainty makes the planning done now even more important.

As producers and producer groups working together, we can all help each other better prepare for the times ahead.”

The three organizations have prepared a resource that outlines different options farmers have for selling and purchasing feed.

Producers are encouraged to use any and all means available to list available feed for purchase.

By Harry Siemens The Swine Health Information Centre (SHIC) called for proposals for improved oral fluids PCR sensitivity. Although the deadline for accepting these research proposals was August 25, the aim is to improve oral fluids’ PCR sensitivity.

Dr. Paul Sundberg, the Executive Director of the SHIC, said the genesis of this is a question about ability to use oral fluids for African Swine Fever (ASF) monitoring and surveillance.

“CFIA [Canadian Food Inspection Agency] in Winnipeg, MB and USDA on Plum Island both did experiments with ASF by infecting one pig in a pen of 25,” said Dr. Sundberg. “Then followed that pen through the infection using oral fluids and whole blood samples to get an idea of the timeliness of being able to use oral fluids.”

He said one indicator they found very often was that the oral fluids will be positive with ASF when they infect the pigs, and that provides a lot of confidence in a positive test result.

The researchers question the sensitivity of the test itself because there is some concern about detecting ASF in that first infected pig. Even though it may be shedding, it may be viremic and that oral fluid may still be negative.

“We want to determine if we can increase the sensitivity of the PCR test for detection,” said Dr. Sundberg. “When you look at oral fluids with that very early infection, we think it may be a dilution factor with the oral fluids from the other pigs not infected.”

That may be the reason it is testing negative, meaning that the number of viruses in the collective sample would be very low, which may be lower than the detection limit.

Dr. Sundberg said first they are looking for urgency and timeliness of this research. “We don’t want to have a situation where we get African Swine Fever in Canada, and we say, gee, we wish we’d had that done. We want to finish it before that happens, and we don’t know when that will be.”

He said they would also look at PRRS, mycoplasma and PED, to use them as surrogates for ASF. “So we don’t have to use ASF directly, but we can do a better job with extraction using those types of pathogens.”

The plan is to get researchers that will partner with producers to use their oral fluids and send these samples in any way to decrease costs, prioritize, and urgently.

While research points to ASF early detection as a primary considerations the testing will help with mycoplasma, PRRS, and PED since it is a way to detect very low levels and increase the sensitivity of the PCR test. “Once we can do a better job looking for early infections, where perhaps the number of pathogens is low, we may be able to do a better job of managing them before they become real issues, said Dr. Sundberg. “We have long term potential for benefits with doing this type of research to try to improve our diagnostics.”

Dr. Sundberg said there is more information available on the swinehealth.org website or he can be contacted directly by email. He is looking forward to reviewing the proposals expecting to have more than they can fund and looking to collaborate with the National Pork Board in the United States. They have a key performance indicator, a KPI for 2020 that addresses diagnostics.

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The AgriPost

Manitoba Pork Zooms Its AGM

By Harry Siemens Manitoba Pork held its 2020 AGM by zoom webinar on July 29, with several board members physically distancing in the Manitoba Pork boardroom in Winnipeg while other board members, producers and observers called in via zoom.

Manitoba Pork employee Grant Melnychuk acted as returning officer in the election of four director positions. Members elected George Matheson for the West District and Rick Bergmann for the East District by acclamation. Next, they appointed Margaret Rempel director-at-large and James Hofer as director for the Hutter Schwein. All are two-year terms, from 2020 to 2022. The board executive also re-elected, George Matheson, chair, Rick Bergmann, vice-chair, and executive members Rick Préjet and Scott Peters.

Manitoba Pork general manager, Andrew Dickson, said for legal reasons, the council held an annual meeting of elected officers and conducted other business.

Dickson referenced two other issues. First, they hope to start a dialogue with the processing plants about getting some additional funds and putting into place a dif-

At Manitoba Pork’s’ AGM using Zoom there was discussion about starting a dialogue with the processing plants about getting some additional funds to recognize participation in quality control programs and making changes in Canada’s method of pricing formula. HyLife Foods, a pork processor at Neepawa, MB. Photo Supplied by Harry Siemens

ferent national price formula that also recognizes participation in quality control programs. That led to a broader discussion of all the processing plants in western Canada, and other pork councils, in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia about pricing formulas going forward over the next five years.

“The current pricing mechanisms have created all kinds of problems,” he said.

“They’re so US orientated with pricing mechanisms designed to deal with the US marketing issues; so different from ours.”

Dickson said the US consumes over 70 per cent of all pork domestically and exports 25 per cent. Canada does just the opposite, exporting 60 per cent and consuming a much smaller portion. With the US pork price set, based on whether the buyer wants the product or not, the current US pricing model with a surplus of pigs, is telling producers to

cut back on production.

In western Canada and in part eastern Canada, the industry has the opposite problem. “We have good markets for our pork products, and we move more pigs to our plants and make them more efficient,” said Dickson.

“We need to develop a pricing mechanism that reflects getting more pigs into our plants to make them cost-efficient to stay with competitors.”

Canadian producers saw some of that happen during the first three or four months of COVID-19. Prices differed across the country from province to province depending on where the processing plant was located and COVID-19 news.

In early August, the US pricing mechanism told US producers there is no market for all the pigs. They are trying to encourage producers to cut back production a little bit so that there is a better match between produc-

tion capacity on the farm, processing capacity, and the market reality.

“In the US, a significant part of its domestic market is the foodservice industry, like the restaurant trade, hospitals, bars, outside of the home, etc.,” said Dickson.

“Much of the trade vanished with the COVID-19 fallout creating a backlog in the system of an unneeded product.

As the American economy revives and as consumers start eating out, hopefully, that domestic market will increase.”

The pig industry in North America is a very finely tuned system. There is a very close match between production capacity on the farm and consumption because the product does not store well. “It’s not like the grain industry where they can store a year or two supply of grain. We can’t do that with pork, and we have maybe 20 days of cold storage capacity.”

Icelandic Sheep a Natural Fit

By Les Kletke For Kory Jonasson and family Icelandic sheep were a natural fit.

“It’s a cultural thing,” he explained. He has also found a market for his wool in people of Icelandic decent.

The Langruth farm has been in the family for 120 years and when he was growing up it was primarily a beef operation. He still has a herd of 30 beef cows but the sheep outnumber the cattle by 2 to 1.

“We started with the Icelandic sheep about 7 years ago,” he said. “The flock has grown and we have found a market for the wool.”

In the spring the animals are sheared by a professional. “Last spring she sheared the 30 sheep in about 2 and half hours. It would have taken me about two weeks,” he said. “She is a professional and knows what she is doing.”

Jonasson said that the 7 years have been a learning experience but sheep have many of the same concerns as cattle. “They are hooved

animals and can run into the same problems,” he said. “I have been surprised by how similar they are.” The breed is considered a triple use breed and can be milked, slaughtered for meat or raised for wool. He has recently had two inquiries from Manitoba producers about breeding stock to help establish their own flocks.

He said the Icelandic breed is easy to work with and most mature ewes have two lambs while first time mothers usually have one. “They are not completely grown themselves so you hope they have one lamb and can look after it well, but they are easy lambing and don’t require a lot of babysitting.”

He said that they will lamb on a snow bank if necessary but he prefers to give the newborns a day or two under a heat lamp so they dry off and get a good start.

The farm has a wide range of genetics that produce sheep from nearly white through brown and black with the occasional one that “Is almost gun-metal blue.”

He tracks the wool from the individual animal so that clients can get wool from the same animal even if they need more wool for a project a year or two later.

He finds the cleaning of wool to be a time consuming effort but finds it is also rewarding in the marketplace. “We have people that

want to do their own spinning and want the wool at least somewhat cleaned so we do that and charge a premium for the wool but it is hard to make a good hourly wage doing that,” said Jonasson. Typically a mature animal will yield 5-6 lbs of raw wool that translates to 3 lbs of clean wool.

Kory Jonasson says his Icelandic sheep come in most dark colours and his wool can be blended to match just about any colour. He keeps track of the wool from each sheep so it can be matched if a customer needs more at a later time.

August 28, 2020

Made-in Manitoba Regen Ag Conference Sets Roots Online Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) has been closely watching the situation unfold around us in regards to COVID-19 during the planning of the 2020 MFGA Regenerative Ag Conference. An in-person gathering of conference delegates is simply not feasible in these strange times.

“With the safety of our conference delegates, partners, speakers and MFGA networks front of mind, we believe we have come up with a great program to keep Manitoba’s interest and uptake on regenerative agriculture at the advancing leadership stages and levels that MFGA is leading and has helped develop in our province,” said Larry Wegner, MFGA Chair. “Thanks to the incredible support of our Platinum Sponsors at Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, General Mills and Credit Union Central of Manitoba and the determination within the MFGA board and staff to continue to advance Regen Ag in Manitoba, MFGA will offer the entire 2020 MFGA Regen Ag Conference online free of charge and live as it happens throughout the month of November.”

Regenerative Agriculture is a continuously-evolving, producer-led interest in Manitoba that focuses on farming practices around healthy soils and healthy lands. MFGA interests in Regenerative Agriculture lie squarely in producing high quality food while improving the natural ecosystem.

Ryan Boyd, MFGA finance chair/2020 conference committee chair, believes the free-of-charge speaker presentations on Thursday nights in November is a great way to keep regenerative agriculture at the forefront of super-keen Manitoba producers as well as the partners, governments and industry representation that support that producer interest. Bringing Nicole Masters, Diana Rodgers, Mark Shepard, some of the top keynote speakers on regenerative agriculture in the world under the MFGA banner for a month-long dialogue and profile will provide a great base for continued momentum among producers of all stripes.

“There’s so much information available online already that we didn’t want to discourage anyone from taking part in our celebration,” said Boyd, who will present his 2019 Nuffield Scholarship findings as one of the four keynote addresses. “I have been in really good discussions with our previously-announced keynote speakers and each one has agreed to put a very strong Manitoba flavour into their presentations and also be available for a post-presentation facilitated question and answer session.”

At this time, Boyd said delegates will register online for one or all of four concurrent Thursday nights in November designated as part of the MFGA celebration. The MFGA will also build momentum for regenerative agriculture during the presentations through snippets of Manitoba-based regen Ag topics and producers and via three pre-November on-farm tours, the first of which saw 98 socially-distanced attendees tour the Boyd family’s farm operations at South Glanton Farms in late July.

Details on the other two farms will be announced soon. Fees will be collected at the tours for 2021 MFGA Memberships. Boyd said that in addition to the free admission online that attendees will also be given a chance to support the MFGA and a robust online trade show presence will be structured to incur and reward sponsor support.

“People in our MFGA network support MFGA because they want to support us. They believe in what we are doing, what we are trying to do and what we stand for,” said Boyd. “We are a farmer-led board helping guide a truly grassroots, non-profit organization and leading some really cool things and learning opportunities for farmers. Hopefully producers and other supporters can get behind us and join us and help put some air in our tires as we roll along here. It should be a great month of November for regenerative agriculture in Manitoba.”

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To Market We Go

South Junction Farmers Market has rules in place to allow shoppers to social distance and still visit the vendors’ booths. Entrance and exit are clearly marked.

By Les Kletke When COVID-19 hit the province earlier this year no one knew the impact or how long the isolation regu-

lations would be in place.

Farmers’ Markets did not know if they would be allowed earlier this spring but some have flourished in the

Summer of COVID. The South Junction Market has found it can work within the guidelines and has stations in place to

meet provincial regulations. The market is held every Friday afternoon and has attracted a regular clientele.

Popular Dandelion Jelly Brings Them Back

By Les Kletke “The dandelion is a good seller, though most people only try the little one and then come back for the bigger one,”

said Kristen Penner from behind the table that features at least a half dozen types of jellies and an assortment of crafts. She offers a discount for those that bring their decorative jars back which speaks the future and how she attracts repeat customers.

She said the summer crowd varies from the winter buyers.

“In summer we have a lot of lake traffic and it does repeat and we get some regulars who make a point of stopping on Kristen Penner says Dandelion Jelly is popular this their way to year. Last year Orange Crush jelly was a big hit. the lake,” she

said. “They know the vendors and what they want from each one. Our winter market which is indoors is mainly locals and they know most of the vendors personally and they come by to stock up on preserves or some for Christmas gifts.”

Penner lives within sight of the market which is on the south side of Highway #12 at South Junction. She said that she had tried the market earlier but was not serious with her attempts and has now been a vendor for 4 years.

“People like the jelly and I make an assortment from Dandelion to wild raspberry,” she said with a smile. “Once you have the process figured out you can make jelly with just about anything. Last year I had some orange crush jelly that sold well. This year I tried some Pepsi and some Peach Lemonade just for something different.”

Her daughter Cassidy gri-

maces at the talk of Dandelion jelly. “It is a lot of work and we have to help pick the dandelions,” said Cassidy who has her own portion of the booth selling jewelry that features squashed coins as pendants. She relies on some help from the CN railway that goes through the town to provide the squashed coins. “I use some of Mom’s craft supplies for the bracelets,” she said proudly.

“I am a crafter,” said Mom with a laugh. “So she has access to a lot of supplies.”

When asked how trade has been this year Penner said she was happy. “It has been very good,” she said. “We have more lake traffic coming by here than we have in other years. The border is closed and the camp grounds at Moose Lake and Buffalo Point are more popular for Canadians so we get good traffic by here on a Friday evening.”

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The Art of Appreciating Good Wood

By Les Kletke Stan Goodman has been working with wood most of his life, and he appreciated that things have changed to make wood working easier.

He said that he started out about 40 years ago when he was farming and cut wood in the winter. “But we had a crew then,” he said. “Now I do it by myself so I have changed to a band saw and I can do everything from cutting the trees through to planing the lumber.”

Goodman has a couple of boat shaped shelves on display at the South Junction Farmers Market and while shelves look much the same, one is considerably less expensive.

“I like working with wood,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t like finishing shelves. That is my unfinished one, it is so much cheaper.”

He has the boat shaped shelves that would add

to any cottage but he has a considerable assortment of outdoor furniture and something for the do-it-your selfer as well.

“I started with the live edge slabs a few years ago and they have grown in popularity, “said Goodman. “Some people want to build a shelf or a mantle and like the bark on the edge so I have a few of them in stock all the time.”

Goodman works with most varieties of wood that grow in the area but says ash is his favourite. “It is a hard wood but I really like the look,” he said. “So I enjoy working with it.” He has plans for turning a large red pine into workable lumber.

“It is more of a hobby now,” he said. “But I still enjoy it and there is always something to do if you have a saw mill.”

He fits well into the rules of the Farmers’ Market’s requirement of Make it, Bake it or Grow it. Goodman has made every piece displayed in his booth starting back to when it was a tree.

Stan Goodman loves working with wood… any kind of wood.

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To Market We Go

Continued from Page 21...

Something Sweet for Everyone

Jennifer Edbaum says an early rain hurt the beets and carrots but otherwise her garden has done well. She plans to make about 600 jars of preserves.

By Les Kletke Just a few stalls over, Jennifer Edbaum has an assortment of baked goods and a cornucopia of vegetables.

“My beets did not do well this year,” she said almost apologetically of the two bunches of beets that are left on her table. “We had a wet spring and the beets and carrots did never really take off.”

Edbaum said that she has stopped short of commercial production and has always had a big garden but since she has been involved with the Farmers’ Market it has grown. She also serves as president of the South Junction Farmers Market.

“Pies are always a big hit,” she said rearranging what is left of her baked goods into a tighter display. One of her offerings is a Bumble Berry Pie that is filled with an assortment of berries that may vary depending on what is in season in early August.

Blueberries are dominant in the mix but it also includes some wild raspberry in the homemade crust that taxes the tin foil plate to the limit when it is picked up.

“We have people that order for next week, and we have the regular customers,” she said. “We have people that have asked for rhubarb. The demand varies.” She agrees that the lake traffic heading east on the number 12 Highway has increased and that has been good for the market.

“We have a winter market once a month but that is an entirely different clientele,” she said. “We have people that order preserves from that one. We also have some orders in summer but the winter market is more regular customers.”

Edbaum estimated that she will make about 600 jars of preserves this year, to supply both the summer and winter

markets. The summer market began on the July 10 and will run through to September with Friday afternoon/early evening offerings.

She knows her market and the impulse buy weakness.

Near the cash box she has an offering of snacks to attract both young shoppers and their parents.

On hand are bags of toffee that are soft in the afternoon sun. “Remember McIntosh toffee? In the red box, well parents like that because they remember it and there is no toffee available,” she said. “The kids like the other treats like the caramel corn but everyone likes treats and especially when you are going to the lake.”

She said that the South Junction market has been growing steadily over the last 5 years and more people are making it a regular stop knowing what they are looking for.

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Drought Squeezes Morden’s Sheep Herd

By Les Kletke Jennifer DeGroot has a small flock of sheep and it is about to get smaller. She said the price of hay is too much of a squeeze on her farm and wants to avoid the possibility of high priced hay this year.

DeGroot and her partner operate Big Oak Farm south of Morden and have a flock of Icelandic sheep.

“Last year hay prices went unusually high,” said DeGroot. “And while they have come down somewhat we have had another dry year and I want to make sure that we have enough pasture to get through fall.”

DeGroot is one of the vendors on the Manitoba Fibre Trail taking place from September 11-13. Selling off some of her animals is not the demise of the operation though since she also raises registered breeding stock.

Alberta and Ontario have proven ready markets for the heritage breed sheep. As part of the operation she has also sold some of the slaughtered male lambs to restaurants.

She chose the breed because of its soft wool which is known as Lopi when it is turned into yarn. “We mar-

ket under the name Manitoba Lopi and have found a good demand for the yarn,” she said. “It is a bit softer than the typical meat sheep’s wool.”

DeGroot has taken a holistic approach to her farm’s production and favours the Icelandic sheep because of their low maintenance.

“They don’t require a lot of help with lambing and typically have two lambs per ewe with little baby sitting,” she said. “We sell most of the yarn in natural colours so that requires less work and it is what people want in this market. Over all, the Icelandic are a good homestead breed of sheep.”

She has developed a client mailing list that offers the farm’s produce such as honey and some vegetables. “We have winter vegetables,” said DeGroot, “things that will store and are not as time sensitive.” The farm grows garlic for sale and to feed the sheep since it helps with respiratory problems and serves as a dewormer. Her product line also includes soap made from the farm’s hogs where she renders the lard herself.

Jennifer DeGroot (right) farms south of Morden and is reducing her flock to make sure she has enough pasture. She says the Icelandic breed (above) is a great homestead breed and easy lambing.

She and her son are also pursing a line of natural product dyes to be used on the sheep wool.

One gets the feeling that the product line might change both to meet demand and ac-

cording to the conditions on the farm, but she is moving ahead and will be an interesting addition to the Manitoba Fibre Festival 2020 on this year’s Fibre Trail.

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August 28, 2020

The AgriPost

Avoid These Five Myths of Mineral and Vitamin Requirements in Cattle

By Peter Vitti Autumn is a good time for producers to determine the best type of cattle mineral and how they will provide it to their early gestation beef cows. In doing so, they should avoid common five myths as they consider outside advice.

As a result, producers can effectively meet important mineral and vitamin requirements of their cowherd, now and months ahead.

For instance, I was driving down some back roads and saw a herd of Black Angus cattle with a few cows and calves that had a rough red sheen. I was always taught in school that a red coat colour is a clear sign of copper deficiency. However, it’s a myth that all black cattle with red hair coats suffer from poor copper status, because in reality, it could be something else, such as bad sunburn, which brings us to our first myth, which is followed by four others: 1. Trace mineral and vitamin deficiencies cause specific deficiency symptoms Rather than causing clear-cut visible signs, individual trace mineral and vitamin deficiencies usually underlie general ailments such as increase in sickness among cattle. For example, a Colorado study showed that about one-third of pre-conditioned calves that received vaccinations were

Chart 1.

still getting sick immediately after they entered feedlots.

The researchers speculated such morbidity was due to poor mineral supplementation starting with their originating cow-calf herds. I agree, because adequate intake of essential copper, zinc and selenium are part of enzyme systems that irreplaceably support good immune function.

2. Exceeding mineral requirements promote performance responses – Most of the time once a daily amount of 125 – 150 mg of copper is provided to most beef cows; it satisfies their vital performance functions. Furthermore, it should alleviate any problems with antagonistic minerals such as molybdenum that binds dietary copper in cattle. The notable mineral and vitamin requirements in gestation beef cows are illustrated in the accompanied table (see Chart 1 above).

3. Cattle minerals with the highest nutrient levels are the best value - As a beef nutritionist, I have reviewed many feed labels of commercial cattle minerals. Mineral A has 3,000 ppm copper and Mineral B has 4,000 ppm copper and both are fed at 50 g per head, daily. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Mineral B is the better choice. Sometimes, both are good values. In one unrelated incident, I reviewed a cattle mineral that had very high levels of Vitamin A and this could have been the cause of some performance issues that I saw in a set of bred heifers. In another situation, feeding high levels of zinc may have influenced a

Red coats on Black Angus cows.

copper deficiency.

4. Minerals do not have to be fed during early gestation – One of my friends feeds salt blocks (no copper, zinc, selenium or vitamins) to his beef cowherd. Just because these beef cows are in early gestation and their weaned calves are sold, doesn’t mean that they should ever be deprived of a sound mineral and vitamin program.

Granted, their NRC mineral and vitamin maintenance and production requirements are low compared to other times of the year; yet they steadily increase until the calving season in the spring.

5. Feeding trace mineral blocks are good enough – Another friend buys tracemineral blocks during the fall in order to save money. He believes the natural vitamins in pasture and harvested hay bales are “good enough” to meet his cowherds’ requirements. In contrast, I don’t agree, because vitamin A, D and E are often inadequate, variable and degrade over time in all forages. In addition, the quality and level of vitamins in commercial mineral are steady and guaranteed.

As a beef nutritionist, I can appreciate that some of these myths may make sense, but they are pure fiction and should be avoided.

Therefore, I believe an early gestation cow mineral should be provided (4 oz per head, daily) that meets their above respective NRC macro-, trace-mineral and vitamin requirements. It’s these cows’ best mineral and vitamin value.

The AgriPost

Local Producer Spotlight: Avonlea Honey

By Derek Hofer

Submitted by the Stuartburn Emerson-Franklin Local Food Initiative

Seven years ago, my apiarist friends finally convinced me to take up the hobby of beekeeping. I bought two hives and, that same year, split them into four after acquiring two more queen bees.

I extracted the honey using a borrowed 2-frame extractor.

My goal was to produce enough honey to supply the Avonlea Colony, but as word got out that we had our own hives, I was led to increase my number of hives to keep up with sales requests. Four years ago, I also started making beeswax candles. I am currently running 21 hives and using a 20-frame motorized extractor. I raise my own queens so I can make more hives if I need to.

Different flowers, such as wildflowers, canola, sunflower, and goldenrod, have unique flavours. By removing the honey supers when certain flower sources stop blooming, I can offer a variety of flavour choices. I love hearing what other people think of these flavours, it makes the extra work worthwhile.

People often ask me, “Is your honey organic?” My answer is always “no” be-

(Top) Beehives. (Bottom left) Various types of honey produced. (Bottom right) Students helping with the extraction process.

Submitted photos.

cause I can’t control where the bees collect the nectar.

Bees will fly up to 2-3 miles to collect nectar, so even if I put the hives in a patch of wildflowers, there’s no guarantee that the bees will only visit the wildflowers.

Beekeeping isn’t without its challenges. The first year, I went through a huge learning curve. The second year, a bear tore my hives apart.

In the winter of 2018, I lost all of my hives and had to start over again. Despite all of this, beekeeping is a great summer hobby and, as a full-time teacher/principal at Green Ridge School, it helps me to recharge and get ready for the next school year. I’m thankful for the support of my community, including my grades 5-8 students, who usually help with the extrac-

tion process.

My honey is available at Avonlea Colony and RV Meats at Ridgeville Colony.

It will soon be available at Can-Am Corner, as well. If you have any questions, or would like to place an order, please feel free to contact me at 204-712-6477 or derek@ greenridge.me. I’ll also be at the next Corner Farmers’ Market on August 19.

AAFC Sees Average Crop for Farmers in 2020

By Elmer Heinrichs Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in its recent outlook, projected higher seeded areas of durum, barley, oats and lentils, with decreases for wheat ex-durum, canola, soybeans and dry peas.

Seeding was completed in early June across all the provinces, and growing conditions to date have been normal, and timely rains are allowing some crops to fill nicely.

However, average yields are forecast to increase so that total crop production increases by 2 per cent to 95.2 Mt. To-

tal exports are forecast to increase largely due to higher exports of wheat ex-durum and corn. But total domestic use is expected to decrease significantly.

While the area seeded to durum wheat in Canada rose by 16 per cent, other wheat areas declined by three per cent, with a 17 per cent increase in winter wheat area more than offset by a five per cent decrease for spring wheat area.

For 2020-21, Canadian corn seeded area was estimated at 1.44 million hectares (Mha), down 4 per cent from a year

earlier and on par with the five-year average. In Manitoba, corn area dropped from last year.

Canadian oat seeded area for 2020-21 was pegged at 1.55 Mha, the highest since 200809. Oat area in Saskatchewan and Manitoba increased from last year and are the highest since 2008.

For 2020-21, seeded area of canola in Canada is estimated to have fallen marginally to 8.4 million hectares (Mha), as farmers shifted into wheat and coarse grains away from oilseeds. For 2020-21, dry

pea seeded area in Canada decreased to 1.7 million hectares (Mha), down marginally from 2019-20 due to good returns relative to other crops and continued recognition of the benefit of dry peas as part of crop rotation plans.

For the crop year ended July 31, total carry-out stocks, inventories are forecast at 13.8 million tonnes (Mt), about 10 percent lower than last year.

This is largely due to the decrease in total supply and the increase in the total domestic use, specifically for the grains and oilseeds.

Heritage Harvest All Set with COVID-19 Restrictions in Place

By Elmer Heinrichs The Heritage Harvest growing project at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin will hold its annual harvest again on Saturday, August 29 with one key difference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic it will be open only to members of the museum.

The museum explained that while the crop will still be harvested by volunteers with vintage machines, they cannot safely host the hundreds of Manitobans who have attended this unique festival in past years.

Since 2017 the museum and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB)

have jointly fundraised through the Heritage Harvest Growing Project. Using a 65-acre field owned by the museum, a CFGB committee farms the land with proceeds from the crop shared between the organizations.

All funds raised are stretched by government

programs. The federal government stretches funds provided to CFGB, up to a 4:1 basis, and the Manitoba government stretches museum funds on a 2:1 basis through its heritage trust program.

In the last three years over $195,000 has been raised to support these groups.

August 28, 2020

Stay Vigilant, Not Complacent on a Pig Farm

By Harry Siemens Dr. Jette Christensen, the Manager of the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network (CWSHIN), is advising pork producers to follow up with their veterinarians if they notice unusual signs of diarrhea, breathing problems, or skin discolouration within their herds. The CWSHTN released its swine disease surveillance reports for the second quarter of 2020.

Dr. Christensen said information gathered from the laboratories and the clinical impressions surveys of practitioners’ triggered discussions during the second-quarter call on diarrhea, a severe lung disease caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and on purple sows.

She outlined some practical tips where a producer needs to watch for purple sows, diarrhea and severe lung disease. “That means that you should contact your herd practitioner if you see purple sows.”

The previous quarter they discussed a condition where sows had discolouring on the belly, legs and ears but seemed to be otherwise healthy, but the producer still needs to contact the practitioner when these signs are noticed.

Dr. Christensen wants producers to look out for unusual diarrhea because it is one of the most common clinical signs in Canada’s swine herds. “But, if you see something that is a little bit more persistent and widespread, contact your veterinarian so they can investigate what is going on in your herd,” she said.

“Finally, if you have finishers with a short cough, like two or three coughs and you see some pigs with severe and very heavy breathing, you need to contact your veterinarian.”

Anyone can find further information on the secondquarter report at CWSHIN.Ca. Dr. Paul Sundberg, the Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Centre (SHIC), is encouraging pork producers to involve their veterinarians anytime they notice changes in morbidity or mortality on their farms to help guard against the introduction of foreign animal disease.

The SHIC’s July swine disease monitoring reports indicate a decrease this spring in PED, PRRS has increased in the wean to finish category and Mycoplasma has remained within expected levels. He said that they continued to see sporadic reports of Foot and Mouth Disease and Classical Swine Fever internationally. Still, African Swine Fever continues to spread and presents the highest risk of foreign animal disease.

He said to watch and monitor closely and recommended not to be complacent and always engage a health professional in a mortality event to get a diagnosis. “It’s essential, not only for your management on your farm with PRRS, PED or some other things that may be happening but also as it relates to the potential for foreign animal diseases entering the country,” said Dr. Sundberg. “To stop those things quickly is finding them as quickly as possible.”

He said that means if there is an adverse health event, whether it is an increase in morbidity or a mortality, producers should get with their veterinarians right away. He stressed that produces should not assume that they know what they have, instead they should confirmation to make sure it is not a foreign animal disease that needs addressing.

Dr. Sundberg said African Swine Fever continues to move in China, Southeast Asia and the southeast Pacific; it has now taken hold in India. Russia, Poland and the Baltic States all have infections which are of concern to all of the European Union.

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August 28, 2020

CHTA Launches International Recipe and Photo Contests “The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA) is always focused on bringing new ways to use Canadian hemp,” said Ted Haney, Executive Director of the CHTA. “Our first annual Recipe and Photo contests are giving hemp lovers an opportunity to show the world how they use hemp in its many forms food, feed, fibre and fractions,” continued Haney.

The CHTA invites interested individuals to submit recipes and/or photos. The competition was launched runs until September 25, 2020. Original recipes and photos will be adjudicated and a winner in each category chosen in mid-October. The winners will be recognized at the CHTA National Hemp Conference in November and their entries published by the CHTA. “We hope that everyone who grows, processes or consumes hemp will participate. Hemp is one of the most versatile and beautiful crops grown in Canada and we want to let everyone know just how many ways hemp can be used. Our recipe and photo contests are just two of the ways to reach out but they may be the most fun,” said Haney.

For more information, rules and entry forms go to chta.clubexpress.com.

The AgriPost

Cavers Family Named MCA Charolais Ambassador of the Year

By Joan Airey The Cavers family raise purebred Charolais cattle in the La Rivière area of Manitoba. At the 2020 Manitoba Charolais Association (MCA) AGM held on July 25, C2 Charolais, the Jeff and Jackie Cavers family were voted the 2020 MCA Charolais Ambassador of the Year by their fellow breeders.

The Cavers family are very active in the breed promoting and volunteering many hours to both the MCA and Manitoba Junior Charolais Association (MJCA). Jeff has just entered his second term as MCA President and has been an active board member for several years. Jackie is the adult advisor for the Manitoba Charolais Juniors.

Kegan Blehm their son has just graduated from the University of Manitoba with his Diploma in Agriculture. Keegan has been an active Canadian Charolais Youth Association (CCYA) board member and was a very important member of the MJCA and CCYA organizing committee when Manitoba hosted the 2018 Canadian Charolais Youth Conference.

Jeff is active with the Manitou Agricultural Society and has been active with the local 4-H beef club for several years. Jackie is secretary for the Manitoba Youth Round-Up held in Neepawa every August long weekend.

At the moment Jackie and their son Fisher are taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge Riding to Fight Kids Cancer. “At the moment we are $140 away from reaching their goal of twenty-five hundred dollars. Our first goal was five hundred dollars and biking a hundred and fifty kilometres when we reached that goal in two days we set a

goal of raising twenty-five hundred dollars and biking three hundred kilometres,” said Jackie.

The Cavers family work hard in the Charolais industry and support numerous charities and community events.

The Cavers family Jeff, Jackie, Kegan Blehm, Fisher and Lucas were voted the Photo supplied by Caver family.

2020 MCA Charolais Ambassador of the Year.

The AgriPost

GHG Research Takes Deeper Soil Dive to Determine Carbon Benefits Brandon University’s Dr. Terence McGonigle feels he is seeing a response in forage fields and pastures via research on “High Performance Management Systems To Reduce Greenhouse Gases in Canada’s Forages and Grasslands”. But, as the Brandon University soil scientist and professor enters the 2020 research season, McGonigle said he is not quite ready to declare what kind of field or grazing system is providing the most greenhouse gas reductions among the six Manitoba fields he is researching.

Not yet, anyway.

“More time is needed to say. We are now switching some cores to 100 cm to check for differences in carbon at depth,” said McGonigle. “We are also now exploring an alternative measure of microbes based on their activity. Even if the quantity of carbon is slow to respond to planned grazing, functionality may improve.

We hope to check for hydrological effects in soil.”

McGonigle is leading two Greenhouse Gas (GHG) research projects that closely intertwine. The Canadian Forage & Grassland Association’s (CFGA) Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Project that utilizes six fields selected and coordinated by Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association is entering the final field season.

According to McGonigle, the 2019 field results were promising regarding the ability of forage sites to sequester carbon.

McGonigle also leads a Brandon University project funded via Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development designed to complement the CFGA project “Soil Health Assessment for enhanced productivity and resilience for cattle grazing systems in Manitoba grasslands.”

According to McGonigle, the 2019 field results were promising regarding the ability of forage sites to sequester carbon. Quantities of both soil organic carbon and microbes were measured in the top 15 cm of soil. Producer fields showed encouraging signs for impacts of bale grazing and other aspect of management.

“In summary, the data shows that forage sites behave like grasslands, with about twice as many microbes per unit of soil carbon when compared to a crop field,” wrote McGonigle recently. “The

likely explanation for this difference is that roots of the forage plants provide a delivery of biomass to the soil microbes that is consistent across time and space in the field. If microbes are taken as a measure of a healthy soil, then forage production keeps the system healthy for carbon.”

Like many of his peers, McGonigle is entering a research season he has never faced before. Still, the broad brush of COVID-19 restrictions on research has not completely shut his research efforts down. Things are different, though.

“Restrictions imposed by the pandemic response at the federal and provincial level have impacted collaborative activity related to this project,” said McGonigle. “We will try to collect all the data we can, but some activities could be limited. In turn, research could suffer.”

The Alpaca Hobby That Grew

By Les Kletke Lila McFarland acknowledged that alpacas are not the mainstay of their farm south of Brandon; the alpacas are a hobby that grew and allows her and her daughter to continue with their hobby and pay a few bills.

McFarland has 10 alpacas in the herd and most of them came from BC. “We have added a few but most of them came from BC from a fellow that was getting out of the business. So it is an older herd.”

She said that her husband, Richard, and daughter, Lee does most of the shearing and then they ship the wool to Alberta to be processed.

“It is softer then sheep’s wool and does not contain the lanolin so it is not

as sticky as sheep’s wool,” said McFarland.

She uses some of the wool herself and has found a market for the processed wool in other hobbyists. “It was never my intention to grow this into a huge business venture but we have found people who want the wool for spinning or felting and some people like to spin the wool themselves and carry it through to the knitting.

She explained that the amount of wool produced decreases with the animal’s age. “We get about 5 lbs of wool per animal,” she said.

“That does not sound like much until you consider that a normal ball of yarn is 4-6 oz. I put mine in 4 oz balls.”

She also does some dyeing but most of it is left in natu-

ral colours.

McFarland said the hobby has grown over the past several years as the demand for alpaca wool has increased.

“It is extremely warm and people use it in blends or for their hand knitting of special projects, so that demand is good,” she said. “But for us, it is a way to have our hobby cover the expenses of the hobby.”

There are several alpaca farms in the province and most are the hobby type with owners using the wool themselves and selling a portion of it. There does not appear to be any one alpaca farmer moving into large scale production and processing of the wool for the most part is done at mills in Alberta.

August 28, 2020

Living with SARA in the Dairy Barn

It has been my experience, only a handful of producers don’t notice the few cases of mild subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) that pops up on occasion. Whereas, the majority of barn walks that I have conducted, producers accept SARA as routine, yet know it can adversely affect dairy health, reproduction and milk/milk fat yield. In some of these cases, SARA not only decimated dairy performance, but depressed barn revenues. Unfortunately, SARA cannot be totally eliminated in any of these situations, but it can be controlled - with an open attitude and wellbalanced dairy diets.

A worthy mindset recognizes that SARA exists in most lactating dairy herds. Its widespread presence naturally goes hand-in-hand with feeding grain (nee sugar and starch) and other non-fibre carbohydrates (NFC) to lactating dairy cows, which displaces forage (nee forage fibre) in their whole lactation diet. After which, these grains and other concentrates are digested by the cows’ ruminal microorganisms and then converted into volatile fatty acids (VFA).

These VFAs are absorbed across the rumen wall and metabolized in order to help lactating cows achieve their essential energy requirements.

At the same time, adequate forage fibre in the dairy diet allows a lactating dairy cow to go through the natural process of cud-chewing, which helps the cow produce large volumes of saliva; rich in sodium bicarbonate that buffers volatile fatty acids (and lactic acid) produced from the fore-mentioned grain and NFC carbohydrates. It is estimated that a lactating cow produces about 150 – 200 litres of saliva per day, which maintains a healthy pH of 6.0 – 6.5 that is necessary for efficient feed fermentation/nutrient yield for support of optimum milk and milk fat production in the udder.

In contrast, SARA is likely caused by inadequate forage fibre intake, which dovetails into lower

saliva production, an enlarged pool of VFAs and lactic acid, and smaller bicarbonate-buffering capacity; all contributing factors to depressed rumen pH. As a result, such acidic pH of lower than 6.0 - underlie poor DMIs, frequent digestive upsets and depressed milk/milk fat yields among lactating dairy cows.

That is why, whenever I conduct a barn-walk of a lactating dairy herd, I watch the cows resting in their stalls and chewing their cud. If many milk producers are belching and chewing without a care in the world, I am confident that their dairy diet has adequate dietary fibre levels for good milk and milk fat production. However, if active cud-chewing is difficult to spot, it immediately tells me that SARA is just around the corner.

The funny thing is that SARA doesn’t always behave this way. For example, I started working with a 150lactating dairy cowherd this spring, which had a variety of health and production challenges. I didn’t connect the dots to a SARA until about a month later. That’s because these lactating dairy cows did not exhibit major signs associated with SARA: * There were no “on-feed, off=feed” issues caused by acidotic digestive upsets.* The TMR appeared to have adequate forage fibre. Many cows showed cud-chewing activity and there was no evidence of TMR “sorting” by the dairy cows.

However, I started questioning as to whether there was an underlying SARA problem when milk production stalled at 29 litres per cow (140-days in milk), milk fat was limited to 3.7% and DMI never exceeded 22 kg per cow. Furthermore, cow manure was either brick-hard, diarrhea, sometimes “normal”, but never consistent.

Dairy cows eating TMR.

Consequently, I took a closer look at the TMR diet and that’s where SARA was hiding. Despite a lot of alfalfa-grass haylage mixed with some 2nd cut alfalfa hay to achieve a dietary level of 28% NDF (75% coming from forage fibre) in the entire dairy diet; much of this fibre was indigestible lignin fibre. As much as 25% of NDF was recorded on an analysis sheet and that told me, good consistent rumen function was slow and limited. Furthermore, a 15 lb per head inclusion of crushed barley (nee a good source of VFA and lactic acid) was also added to the mixer wagon.

So, I made the following 4 changes: 1. Replace 25% of this alfalfa-grass silage with some finer stem leafy alfalfa-grass hay, 2. Lower the amount of grain to 12 lbs, 3. Add 2 lbs of ground beet pulp – source of digestible pectin-fibre and 4. Replace 50% of the barley with 50% steam-flaked corn mixed with 5% molasses.

In the end, it took about six-weeks to implement all these changes. As a result, dry matter intake increased to 23.5 kg with no response to milk yield, yet milk fat increased to 4.01%, and most manure piles became porridgelike.

This dairy farm was a good lesson about SARA in lactating dairy cows. It taught me that SARA can still exist, although not all visible signs are clear.

However, when you do find it, make the dietary changes or otherwise that reduce anything that allow it in the lactating dairy barn.

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The AgriPost

August 28, 2020

Shetland Sheep’s Natural Colours in Demand

By Les Kletke Barbara Mulock lists their colour as one of the advantages of Shetland sheep.

“They are black and brown and gray, you seldom get a white one,” said Mulock who operates Prairie’s Edge Wool Farm at Kleefeld. Not only does she appreciate it but many of her customers do as well. “People want to use the natural colours and these sheep provide it.”

Mulock said the venture grew out of her hobby of spinning and knitting. When she moved to the country she thought it was an opportunity to raise some sheep and take her hobby of spinning back to the source.

“Everyone is familiar with the [Shetland] ponies and dogs,” she said. “The sheep come from the Shetland Islands as well and have some of the same characteristics with the long soft hair. That made them very attractive when I was looking for a breed to raise.”

Her flock has grown to 30 ewes over the years but she does not breed them all every year. “It is not as much a commercial venture as I am looking for quality wool, so

I choose the animals to breed on that basis. I could have a much bigger lamb crop and I am sure there would be a demand for them but I really want them as a source for the fibre.”

Mulock has her animals sheared in the spring and scours (cleans) the fleece herself before carding it.

“I have an electric carder which is much the same principal as the old paddles that people used when they did it by hand. It is about aligning the fibres so they are ready to spin,” she said.

Mulock has designed one room of her house as studio where she has her spinning wheels set up and product for sale.

“I go to two shows most years,” she said with a chuckle, “but this year that has changed and the Fibre Festival that was usually in Winnipeg has become a tour this year so I will have some people coming by.” This year the event will include a “fibre trail” consisting of small in-person gatherings in both urban and rural Manitoba as well as a variety of online offerings between September 11-13.

Barbara Mulock (right) raises Icelandic sheep (above) on her farm and sells wool products. She says she started with the sheep to have a source for her own wool needs.

She finds a good market for the finished yarn with customers who spin and those who felt. “I sell most of my product from the farm but really the sheep are primarily to keep me supplied for my hobby,” she said. “I have seen a real increase in demand this year with people staying home and looking to do more things for themselves.”

For more information on the workshop topics such as naturally dyed yarn, breed specific knitting, making a duvet, throw or felt tote, or various vendors and a list of scheduled stops for this year’s self-guided physical distanced tour during the Manitoba Fibre Trail, visit the website manitobafibrefestival.com.

The AgriPost

Arbitrary Fees Imposed by Large Grocery Retailers to Cost All Canadians The latest round of fees introduced by large grocery retailers on their suppliers has attracted coverage in the news media over the past month. This is occurring at a time when farmers and food and beverage processors are already facing a complex web of arbitrary fees and penalties in their relationships with large grocery retailers, in addition to managing the on-going impact of Covid-19 on Canada’s food system.

Arbitrary fees and penalties imposed by large grocery retailers on Canadian farmers and food and beverage processors negatively impact Canadian consumers as it results in lower investments and product innovation. Requiring food and beverage suppliers to cover the cost of investments in

retail stores will come at the expense of the farmers’ and processors’ own investments in their Canadian facilities. What’s more, it will also reduce revenues for Canadian farmers. There is no scenario under which these arbitrary fees and penalties will benefit Canadians. On the contrary, they will ultimately impact Canada’s food security, as small and mid-sized farms and food processors already struggle to continue participating in this retail environment.

In July, Walmart announced it will charge suppliers 1.25 per cent on the price of products it purchases from them, as well as an additional five per cent on goods sold through e-commerce. The company stated that the new fees, which start September 14, are to

help cover the cost of its five-year, $3.5-billion plan to upgrade its Canadian stores, distribution network and online ordering systems. Shortly after, on the same path is United Grocers Inc. a national buying group that includes Metro Inc. and Save-on-Foods announced they expect the same discount and fees.

An ever more concentrated and powerful retail sector versus a food production and processing sector that is being weakened to unsustainable levels was precisely what led the UK Government in 2009 to intervene and legislate against inappropriate practices through the introduction of a ‘Groceries Supply Code of Practice”.

This is an issue of strategic importance for Can-

ada’s food security. In a Joint Statement with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), Dairy Processors and many other Farming and Processing Associations have made a request to both the Federal and Provincial governments to investigate and take action.

“We therefore call on the federal and provincial governments to implement a code of practice in Canada to check this arbitrary conduct from large grocery retailers, review all current fees, penalties, and after sale deductions, and to protect Canada’s agri-food sectors. Governments must heed the lessons of the successful UK experience in rebalancing competitive forces in the food sector,” said the Joint Statement.

Farm Innovator Inspired by a Duck

By Les Kletke If it works for ducks it should work on the combine cutting bar, is the approach that Steve Kastning a Saskatchewan farmers used to design the Duck Foot, an innovative slip-over paddle tine to help clear the cutting bar on the combine and decrease header loss.

He spent hours of research in his combine cab watching the reel, push product to the cutting bar but he was not happy with the job existing machines did. So he spent time developing the clip on tine that is patterned after a duck’s webbed foot. He reasoned that if it helped propel ducks through the water the design should move product at the cutter bar.

Kastning and his wife Chrisa use their creativity to streamline their farming operation and business. They were part of the “Thanks for Farming” tour that made nine stops across the prairies in July. They had a good response from farmers who were looking for a better way to get product in the combine and from those who had made the switch to the Duck

Foot last year.

“It is cheaper than an air reel and it gets the crop into the combine,” said Kastning who continues to work on fine tuning the design. The farm innovation tool was first marketed in 2018 although he did have some proto types available earlier. It has found a favourable market in Australia where it is used primarily for lentils, sorghum, and lupines.

“In western Canada it has been used by soybean growers particularly,” he said. “It helps get the crop onto the cutting bar with less shattering.”

He has expanded his product line to fit most reels being used in western Canada after starting out with a model that was fitted to a MacDon reel. “We have kept the product simple and it is easy to change and attach to the reel,” he said. “It is attached by a clip that is a part of the molded tine and can be put on or taken off with only a screw driver.”

The tine flares to a width of 6 inches and in most cases can be used to replace every second tine on a reel. “The

Steve Kastning says hours on the combine lead to the development of the Duck Foot Tyne that gets crop to the cutter bar with a slower reel speed and less shattering.

Photo by Les Kletke

big advantage is that it allows you to run a slower reel speed while increasing your ground speed.” he said. “We are seeing a lot of fellows use it in straight cut canola and those acres are increasing across western Canada.”

The Duck Foot fits onto a MacDon, John Deere, Case IH, New Holland, Agco, Massey Ferguson and GTS to harvest lentils, soybeans, chickpeas, cereals, straight cut Canola, edible beans, flax, Lupins, hay and peas.

August 28, 2020

GROW Trust Targets Conservation and Watershed Resiliency Ray Frey saw the devastation first-hand after a series of intense thunderstorms blasted south-west Manitoba earlier in July, sending power-surged water cascading across fields, farms, communities and waterways. Frey believes things need to change and working with Ray Frey land managers and farmers to improve watershed health is a critical solution for the resiliency of Manitoba agro-lands and communities going forward.

That’s why you can count Ray Frey among those impressed by the Province of Manitoba’s $5.6 million announcement recently of 20 successful project proposals, 16 of which will be funded by the new GRowing Outcomes in Watersheds (GROW) Trust that will set sights on “farming the best, conserving the rest”.

“We are rolling the dice with these weather systems,” said Frey, chair of the Manitoba Association of Watersheds. “The GROW Trust funding is unprecedented in Canada. It empowers us to work with producers and promote practices that build resilience and benefit society. We need to maintain water storage capacity on the land.”

The program was established in 2019 by the provincial government and the GROW Trust is managed

by The Winnipeg Foundation. GROW is locally led by producers in partnership with watershed districts.

It focuses on watershed health, management and resiliency. When matched with the funding and inkind amounts provided by the Watershed Districts the new projects represent more than $14.7 million for the improvement of watershed health across the province.

“The intent of the GROW Trust funding is to support annual payments to producers to help reduce flooding and drought vulnerability and improve water quality and nutrient management in rural Manitoba,” said Frey. “Led on the ground by Manitoba’s 14 watershed districts and supported by the Manitoba Association of Watersheds, GROW will promote the restoration and enhancement of wetlands, uplands and riparian areas in rural Manitoba. Watershed District managers will work with local producers to develop projects that improve the environment by providing financial incentives.”

Frey said the early-July storms hit hard around his Riding Mountain National Park-area home and the nearby Little Saskatchewan River. The damages included washed out roads, flooded homes and towns, stranded cow herds and mandated evacuations around stressed existing water infrastructure on the agriculture-based areas north of Brandon. Over time, GROW will help alleviate such flooding by adding above-ground vegetation, increased organic matter and intact wetlands.

“We are making investments in watersheds today that will provide environmental benefits for decades to come,” said Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen. “Local expertise, the commitment of landowners and the support of our partners will help ensure these projects protect our water quality, sustainably manage our natural resources, and leave a sustainable legacy for all Manitobans to enjoy.”

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August 28, 2020

Gardening News

By Joan Airey Dave from Sage Garden is on CBC Saturday mornings from 8:30 until 9 am answering questions for gardeners and one Saturday a month an arborist does the show. I listen to him at 97.6. If you miss the radio show you can get more gardening info on his website or their Facebook page.

Did anyone try container gardening this summer? My youngest grandchildren and I planted carrots in large planters and when they were big enough to eat we moved them to the deck. By doing this the grandchildren can keep them watered and help themselves to a carrot whenever they want. Even though we have

lots of carrots in the garden we decided to plant a couple of new planters of carrots which we will move into the greenhouse when it gets too cool for them to grow outdoors.

A gardening acquaintance of mine told me her husband covers her greenhouse when it gets cold with an old swimming pool cover to keep it warm at night. I’d like to try that but so far haven’t been able to find a cover someone wants to discard.

All you cucumber growers out there Heinz pickling vinegar is not available this year, I’ve been told at local stores.

After a few phone calls I found a supply of Allen’s Pickling vinegar.

Chase Airey with carrots he grew this summer.

Photo by Joan Airey

Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup Awards Scholarships

By Joan Airey Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup (MYBR) was to have celebrated their 13th Annual August long weekend. Due to COVID-19 the Roundup committee decided to have a workshop on “How to take cattle photographs with Morgan Ilg.” The competitions were for Photography and Graphic Marketing. Participating exhibitors were Blake Airey, Chase Airey, Brogan Birmingham, Taylor Carlson, Dylan Frey, Reegan Frey, Kyleigh Magotiaux, Katherine Possberg, Madisyn Robertson and Alaina Verwey. All participants will receive a Roundup 2020 Award for their efforts and you can view the photos and marking items on the Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup Facebook page and their website at mbyouthbeefroundup.weebly. com. Evaluators were Morgan Ilg and Jill Harvie.

Taylor Carlson of Elm Creek was awarded a $1,000 scholarship by Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup. Carlson will be attending Lakeland College to study Animal Science Technology with a Beef Science Major. Carlson has been a 4-H member since she was eight-years-old and very active in the 4-H program, and is the Mani-

Pictured with her heifer Taylor Carlson of Elm Creek was awarded a $1,000 scholarship

by Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup.

toba Director on the Canadian Junior Shorthorn Board, Sunday school teacher and currently Co-President of the Student Council to name a few.

She has attended Roundup for the past seven years and currently is a Director on the MYBR Board.

Along with owning her own Shorthorn cattle she is also very passionate about Agvocation, an educational Livestock Display that her family has created to share the truth about animal agriculture.

Levi Best of Harding received a $500 scholarship. Harding will be at-

tending Apprenticeship Manitoba specializing in welding for three years. He has attended Roundup the last twelve years and is involved in the Manitoba Beef industry with his own herd of Angus cattle. Harding grew up in the 4-H program in Rivers 4-H Beef and in 2019 was the President of the Manitoba Junior Angus Association. Levi keeps busy with welding and his LB Custom Clipping.

“We’re looking forward to Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup 2021. Keep up to date with our Roundup happenings on our Facebook page and our website pages,” said Lois McRae.

The AgriPost

Protein Powered Farms Adding Value to Pulses

By Harry Siemens Protein Powered Farms (PPF) is a protein extraction plant that extracts protein from peas, lentils, and fava beans, creating new proteins for food and feed.

“Working with farmers and end-users to create beneficial and sustainable long term relationships,” said the general manager Heidi Dutton, also a partner with the Sunny Dale Hutterite Colony, the company’s location near Arelee, SK. Dutton said the colony looked for ways to add value to their distinct crops and different feed operations by creating a whole value chain within the colony. The decision was to open an extraction plant, with the plant becoming commercially active in August.

The three words in the name, protein, powered and farms tell the story. Dutton said the protein would go into both the feed and the food industry. There is a real push in the plant-based protein industry, the company’s main focus, and the feed industry also uses protein. The resulting two product lines physically end up in the US, Asia, and South American markets right now.

“We take pulse crops and concentrate the proteins taking out anything that’s not a protein to create a protein concentrate,” said Dutton.

“The product looks like flour for human and animal feed. Take a protein shake or a flour product that’s how it comes out of the system, a very pale-coloured flour.”

Protein Powered Farms started taking last year’s harvest for its commercial shipments in August. Farmers

deliver their pulses similar to an elevator with one big difference.

PPF is keenly interested in the protein and moisture content of the peas. “We test before we purchase the product, and offer a premium to farmers based on quality, protein and moisture content,” said Dutton. “We ship the product out in vans or intermodal units in tightly sealed bags.”

Like other protein processing plants, PPF does not like any soybeans and one of the quality tests is for zero tolerance on soybeans. The plant has a cleaning system on the front end of the plant, so the general dockage that comes in with the peas is not such a big deal, but soybeans create a big problem.

The PPF processing plant uses a dry separation process that does not require water as other plants do. Therefore, the plant and processing yield has no waste making it a very healthy process for the environment.

Dutton said the Saskatchewan plant is looking to purchase from farmers about 40,000 tonnes of peas for processing. Due to the significant investments the company had markets had to be in place before putting the shovel in the ground.

The colony produces about 5,000 tonnes of peas on their colony per year, all destined for the plant. The rest will come from farmers in the area. For the most part, every farmer will harvest a crop with slightly different protein content and receive a premium for protein based on the farmer’s sample. If the protein content is low, there is very little interest in

The general manager Heidi Dutton of Protein Powered Farms, also a partner with the Sunny Dale Hutterite Colony’s protein plant location near Arelee, Saskatchewan said they are working with farmers and end-users to create beneficial and sustainable long term relationships.

buying that crop. However if the crop has a high protein level the company is very interested in purchasing it with an added premium off the regular market.

Some regions and fields peas may have higher protein content while others do not.

In some cases, one field may yield 19 percent protein, and another field right next to it will have 21 percent.

“We know that there’s something that’s happened both in the soil, the land, and environmental to drive that,” said Dutton. “But it’s not all environmental because two fields side by side should have the same protein if that were the case.”

She said some of the newer

varieties are more genetically predisposed to give a higher protein. PPF is working closely with the Crop Development Centre (CDC) a field crop research organization within the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan to boost the protein level.

“I manage the plant and invested with the colony, so it is a partnership, and together we want to create value to make it successful and grow the value of this industry locally,” said Dutton. “Making plant-based proteins from pulse crops, making us plant powered, and we want to work with producers to help grow sustainable pulse crops.”

Protein Powered Farms extraction plant uses pulse crops to concentrates proteins for both human and animal markets globally.

August 28, 2020

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Why do YOU ‘Keep it Clean’ on Your Farm?

Keep it Clean is a joint initiative of the Canola Council of Canada, Pulse Canada, Cereals Canada, Barley Council of Canada and Prairie Oat Growers Association, providing growers with tips and tools for growing crops that meet the requirements of our domestic and export customers.

Keep it Clean talked to farmers and asked them a simple question “Why do you keep it clean on your farm?” Here is a response from a Manitoba producer Fiona Jochum of St. François Xavier.

Canola, Oats, Soybeans and Wheat It’s important because across Canada we are known for our quality products. That standard is what people look for when they buy from us, so that’s what we have to deliver. Exporting is so important for Canadian agriculture; we don’t want to jeopardize any of our markets or our relationships with our customers. Even beyond that, if you think about it, we’re all consumers here too, we’re consuming the food that we grow and we all want a safe, nutritious food supply.

As a young farmer, I’m still learning. That’s why I like using the Keep it Clean staging guides, in particular for canola. You can’t tell how the crop is doing by just looking at it from a distance; you actually have to go in, break open pods and whatnot. The staging guide is really easy, so it helps to take a quick look at it, so I know exactly what I’m supposed to look for when I go out to judge the timing. Then when I go out and check for seed colour change, I can make sure it’s at that 50, 60 percent color change before we head out there to spray pre-harvest glyphosate.

We all know what it’s like to be on a team, and market access is a team effort. Everybody needs to be on board, follow the rules and work together to keep it clean.

Drought and Rain Reshape Global Trade Patterns

By Elmer Heinrichs The global wheat trade is being shaken up again after extreme weather hurt crops in the European Union while harvests are booming elsewhere, and Canada will be affected as well.

Bloomberg News reports that fresh from leapfrogging Russia as the top exporter, the EU will drop to third place this season after drought and floods pummeled crops.

There is a different story playing out for other key exporters. Canada is set for record sales, Australia will export the most in four years and Russia will regain the No. 1 spot, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Here’s a summary of how crops and shipments are shaping up for major shippers.

A recent crop tour pegged Canada’s harvest at an alltime high and the USDA projects the country’s exports will beat the record set in the early 1990s, meaning supplies should compete with Australian grain in Southeast Asia.

The strong production outlook is weighing on near-term prices, according to Strategie Grains.

For US wheat, a weak dollar could buoy sales and exports to China have recently climbed. Overall US shipments, while little changed from last year, are set to surpass the EU this season.

With the harvest just a few months off, the market is looking to Australia to fill the gap left by the EU. Good production should help Australian wheat regain a stronghold in Southeast Asia. Analysts are raising production estimates as harvesting continues, with the crop expected to be Russia’s second-biggest ever, and ready to export grains.

In the EU, the region’s top grower France is still shipping to mainstay markets like Algeria, and cargoes to China, which emerged as a major customer last season. French exports could slump by a half this season after a poor crop, although better harvests in Poland and the Baltic states could ease some of the EU shortfall.

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The AgriPost