AgriPost January 31 2020

The AgriPost

January 31, 2020

Annual St. Jean Farm Days a Huge Success Hay Disaster Benefit Activated for 2019

A full room at the successful 35th St. Jean Farm Days with more and more farmers attending from far and wide explained Chair Gilbert SabPhotos by Harry Siemens ourin.

By Harry Siemens The 2020 farm show season got underway with the 35th annual St. Jean Farm Days at the St. Jean-Baptiste Centennial Hall. Titled as the Biggest Little Farm Show in Canada on its website and promoting it as one of the best local networking events in the Red River Valley, times were not always this good for the conference. Still the organizing committee together with farmers battled through to success.

“What stands out to me 35 years ago there were so many local farmers around, and you look at it 35 years later with maybe 20 percent of the farmers left,” said Chair Gilbert Sabourin.

“But still the attendance keeps growing every year.

There are just farmers; I guess the word is out there, the farmers travelling from much further distances.

They’re coming from quite far away to attend the show.”

With a four-year waiting list for exhibits, the 60 this year maxed out the showing area and Sabourin said some things never change with the show as the daily invocation and prayer to start each show day, but some things change every year.

In other years when the show numbers were low, the question often asked was what about next year?

“There were a few years where attendance was getting lower and lower, and we weren’t sure if we’re going to continue. Then we said, okay, let’s make it to the 20th anniversary. And then things picked up and they said, oh, let’s try to make it to the 25th anniversary,” said Sabourin. “And now we’re at the 35th an-

niversary, and there seems to be no slowing down.

When there’s no battle to get exhibitors to come in and speakers, it just seems almost everything falls into place by itself. And I guess why stop? We’ve got some new blood on the board of directors on the committee, so that gives us a good boost.”

Sabourin said three newer people joined the board all within two to three years and were pumped to bring this show about every year.

“And we have one more person that wants to join next year so it’ll lighten the workload as well because this is the first year that we have no administrative help from Manitoba Agriculture.

With their budget cuts and that they said they couldn’t afford the time to help us so Drew and Jen Sabourin took over most of the adminis-

trative work that Manitoba Agriculture was providing to us beforehand.”

Gilbert, who is part of a sixth-generation farm, now farming with his son Jaden spoke about the attitude of the farmers at the show this year. “For myself, which probably reflects some people in the area here is that 2018, 2019 we were putting our seed in the dust. We were so dry in the spring,” he said. “We’ve had extreme droughts for the past two years, but now since September 19, we’re out of that drought, we’ve got excess moisture, but now we have moisture in the ground to get the crop growing right away next spring. This moisture is a positive thing for us.”

Sabourin said the 2019 crop did not go much better than 2018.

Continued on page 2...

Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) is notifying producers the Hay Disaster Benefit (HDB) has been activated and associated payments will begin shortly. The estimated payout for 2019 is in excess of $5 million on approximately 1,500 claims, announced Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen.

“We recognize it has been a difficult harvest for many farmers in Manitoba,” said Bibeau. “The Hay Disaster Benefit is one of the ways our government is supporting farmers to protect their businesses against weather-related risks, such as this forage shortfall.”

“The Hay Disaster Benefit (HDB) is a complimentary feature of the AgriInsurance program that compensates insured forage producers for the increased cost of hay and transportation when there is a severe provincial forage shortfall,” said Pedersen.

“All producers who are enrolled in the Select Hay Insurance and Basic Hay Insurance programs are automatically enrolled in the HDB.” The HDB was first introduced in 2014 as part of a revamped forage insurance offering. Payments were made to producers for the first time in 2018.

All insured hay types (alfalfa, alfalfa grass mixtures, grasses, sweet clover and coarse hay) are eligible.

To trigger an HDB payment, at least 20 per cent of producers with Select Hay or Basic Hay Insurance must harvest less than 50 per cent of their long-term average hay yield. For 2019, producers will receive an additional $40 for each tonne below their Select Hay or Basic Hay Insurance coverage.

There is no cost to producers for this benefit. Premiums are cost shared 60 per cent by the Government of Canada and 40 per cent by the Province of Manitoba under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

The deadline to sign-up for 2020 forage insurance is March 31. For more information on forage insurance in Manitoba, contact a MASC office or visit masc.mb.ca/masc.nsf/program_forage.

January 31, 2020

The AgriPost

We Want Respect

By Les Kletke There was a time when Ag Days was used as the forum to release major announcements by the provincial government of the day. In recent years it has become less a stage for announcements and some administrations have chosen not to visit at all. Premier Brian Pallister chose to be at the opening day of Ag Days 2020 to tell farmers about his tie to the farm and what a good job they were doing.

In his opening comments, Pallister made mention of his growing up on a Manitoba farm and “That he was the first premier in 60 years to know which end of the cow the hay goes into.” He then reverted to the same message he had shared with Prime Minister Trudeau a day or two earlier when the Federal Liberals met in Winnipeg.

Premier Brian Pallister tells the crowd on opening Day of Ag Days he wants respect for the efforts Manitobans have made to keep the environment clean.

Photo by Les Kletke

“We want some respect for what we have been doing,” said Pallister. “We lead the country in clean and green and want some respect for that.

The Premier drew polite applause for his comments about Manitobans investing 3 times as much per capita in the development of hydro generation. “That is our own money at risk, and we are doing it to provide clean power,” said Pallister. “We think provinces like Quebec and British Columbia could learn from that.”

He then went on to provide his view of the CAP and how the tax should be applied.

“We think it should be flat like the prairie horizon,” he said. “We want to make the environment better for out grandchildren.”

Pallister called on his background growing up on a 5th generation farm. “Stewardship was not a choice, it was a way of life, we just accept that we are stewards of the environment for the next generation and we want to leave the world a better place.”

While not a block buster announcement Pallister did announce that the government would be increasing the levels of ethanol in fuels from 5 to 10% as well as the limits on diesel from 2.5 to 5 %.

Pallister stressed that he did now want a special deal for Manitoba but that he wanted recognition of the measures Manitoba had taken and respect for the role it had played as a leader in the steps toward a cleaner environment. “The Made in Manitoba Green Plan is in place and we want some respect for the efforts we have taken and will continue to take,” he said.

Annual St. Jean Farm Days a Huge Success Continued from page 1

crops both years that made crop insurance and the other yields weren’t that much above crop insurance position. But that’s why I’m just looking forward to next year just because of the moisture we have in the ground,” he said.

However, while drought affected most of his crop in 2019, the heavy rains and snow killed some additional crops. “I got soybeans along the Plum River and the Red River totalling 110 acres not harvested and will remain so, but that’s too bad. That land flooded this spring as well. It was my only pieces of land that had more moisture. The beans that we harvested right beside the water, which flooded this spring, yielded 55 bushels an acre,” said Sabourin. “Travel just a bit further in the same field where the land didn’t flood in the spring the beans we’re doing more like 25, 26 bushels an acre, less than half. We’re very moisture deficient.”

Gilbert’s father, Giles, who helped start St. Jean Farm Days 35 years ago, has since retired from farming and said this, was his

last year on the show board.

He provides the rides to the fields and does some other tasks but he is not operating machinery now.

Now Gilbert as a father lets his son Jaden make his own decisions. “He’s renting, and he bought 80 acres.

He’s farming his land, and I farm my land, but we work together. We each make our own decisions.

That’s why I’m letting him farm his land instead of becoming part of my land, so then I don’t overtake his decision-making process because he needs to learn,” said Sabourin. “He’ll be the fifth generation in this yard, but the sixth generation in St. Jean Baptiste.

Yeah, we were a Centennial farm in 2012 and the Sabourins came to St. Jean in 1896. They came from the Quebec area and then they came from France to Quebec in 1655.”

As far as crop rotation, he will for the most part continue with the same crop rotation he has had over the past few years.

“Wheat, oats, canola, soybeans, sunflowers and corn. We used to grow up quite a bit of malt barley,

but then contract prices kept going down and down so we kind of let that go. I may look into that again.

We’ve grown edible beans the odd year here and there.

I may look into that again as well.”

Volunteer Organizer Brunel Sabourin chairing the first-morning session said most farmers are hoping to forget last year. It could be an interesting spring depending on what kind of weather Mother Nature presents.

The AgriPost

January 31, 2020

The Toll of Dealing with PED Virus

By Harry Siemens Dr. Karine Talbot, who is the Director of Animal Health with Hylife, said the emotional experience of dealing with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea is as bad as or worse than anyone would realize.

PED virus entered Canada in 2014, showing up in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and discovered in Alberta a year ago.

In Manitoba in 2017, the worst year on record for the province, the industry confirmed 80 cases and, after dropping off in 2018, numbers in 2019 surpassed any previous year.

Manitoba Pork reported on January 19, 2020, 82 cases of PEDv in at 38 finisher barns, 14 nursery barns, 29 sow barns and 1 barn quarantined.

Of the 82 cases, 46 are presumptive negative, eight are transitional, and 28 are positive.

Dr. Talbot said dealing with PEDv is something no one wants to repeat because it is very traumatic and awful.

“It’s even worse than anyone can think of, mostly in a sow barn and something you never forget in your life affecting your day-to-day activities,” said Talbot. “It changes the

way you think about biosecurity, bio-containment.

Talking to our employees and staff that work in the barn that went through PEDv, we very often hear the comment, if my barn gets it again I will quit. It’s so hard; people don’t want to face that again. It’s not just hard emotionally but also physically because you have to work so hard.”

She said there are so many steps to go through and mostly in a sow barn, handling all that death is not something good. “After that, we see the after effect for eight to twelve months of sow production loss so, even once you think you’re through it, you might not return to your previous production level,” said the HyLife Director of Animal Health. “That seems to be driving the problem too, and it’s even worse when you get it the second time. It’s not something you forget easily.”

Dr. Talbot said through all of these outbreaks they continue to develop a concerted effort to create awareness of the need to improve biosecurity protocols to battle this infection.

It is occurring mostly in sow barns where the producer loses all piglets for about six

weeks. It is a hundred percent mortality affecting the bottom line significantly. “In nursery finisher barns, the impact is maybe not as drastic. Animals will not die of PED virus at that age but will be sick, vomiting and diarrhea which affect production. Slow growth pretty much, but not too slow.

The problem is they shed the virus and then become a possible infection point for sow barns around them,” she said.

“While not that easy to avoid, if so, the industry would have a solution by now, but it’s not that complicated. So it’s all about biosecurity and biocontainment, which should be in place on farms and it, will prevent any other disease, too.

Not just the PED virus but it includes everything coming in contact with the farms from people visiting, truck trailers, including feed. Any visitors that come onto a site need to be totally aware of all those protocols. You can successfully eradicate PED, but it means a lot of cleaning and a lot of work.”

Dr. Talbot said the vectors could be anything entering the farms because the virus can attach to anything including people. Not that people can be sick with it like other

diseases. “It’s just that we carry it on our shoes or hands or hair. So anything coming onto the farm has to be a concern. Even pigs can be coming in with PED if infected at the previous barns,” she said.

“In Manitoba, we’re wondering about air transmission or dust. If there’s a lot of dust in an area that is shedding a lot of PED virus, that could be a potential source. And we’re also looking at manure in lagoons, while an unknown; we believe there’s a higher risk of a barn that previously broke with PED in the other years.”

Dr. Talbot reiterated how important it is to have tight

biosecurity even though it is so easy to say. It means absolutely no gap in the total farm’s biosecurity protocols applied on the farm every day, every minute, every second. It’s so tiring she said.

“When fighting things like dust or manure spreading, we don’t have all the secrets yet, but that’s where we’re looking into filtration or dust control.”

While developing and following a biosecurity plan and protocols, a strong emergency plan when the PED virus hits the barn is essential. “How do you stop the movement of your pigs? Who do you contact if you get a disease like

Dr. Karine Talbot, who is the Director of Animal Health with Hylife, said the emotional experience of dealing with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea is as bad as or worse than anyone would realize.

that? How can you contact all those peoples within five minutes? So being prepared is something we’ve learned is very useful,” said Dr. Talbot.

Eligible Producers Compensated for Unpaid Deliveries to ILTA Grain Eligible producers who were not paid for grain delivered to ILTA Grain Inc. will be fully compensated through the Canadian Grain Commission’s Safeguards for Grain Farmers Program. Payments have been issued and will be delivered in the coming days.

ILTA Grain Inc. was put under creditor protection in July 2019, resulting in the company defaulting on amounts owed to grain farmers for unpaid deliveries. The Canadian Grain Commission subsequently assessed 271 individual claims from producers, the largest number ever received against a company’s security.

Following a review of individual producer claims, the Canadian Grain Commission determined that 222 were eligible for over $11 million in compensation. These claims are fully covered by the security posted by ILTA Grain Inc. under the terms of its licences.

The AgriPost

January 31, 2020

I Don’t Get No Respect It is unlikely the premier of our province and Rodney Dangerfield will ever be confused, though their requests are very similar, both just want some respect. Dangerfield passed away a few years ago so I suppose the line was unclaimed and our premier

seems to have taken ownership of the request for respect.

Premier Pallister addressed the crowd on opening day of Ag Days in Brandon early this month and after using his opening comments to establish that he did grow up on a farm and had a real understanding of environmental concerns went on to make the point that Manitoba was doing a good job with its Green Plan.

Having had the luxury of a 5 hour drive to Brandon the previous day I was able to spend enough time listening to the radio and every possible clip that could be garnered from the Premier’s meeting with the Prime Minister the previous day in Winnipeg. It became clear to me by about hour 3 of the drive the Premier had made the point of wanting respect for the efforts that Manitoba had made with its environmental plan. The

final two hours confirmed it. Pallister told Trudeau he wanted respect for what Manitoba had done.

A long time ago a professional speaker told me that it was easier to find a new audience than write a new speech. Mr. Pallister must have gotten the same advice.

His remarks to those gathered at the opening of Ag Days were indeed the same as was reported he had made to the Prime Min-

ister. Now whether he just found it easier to find a new audience and use the same speech or he deeply believes in what he was saying and carries the message forward I do not know, but the message is consistent.

I am willing to give Mr. Pallister the benefit of the doubt on this one and believe that the issue is important to him and that is why he kept it consistent from Sunday to Tuesday to a vastly different audience.

He believes Manitoba is doing a good job of keeping the environment clean and green and while the task ahead is large he would like some respect for the steps already taken. That seems like a reasonable request and should not be too much to ask.

They are not perfect but the government of the day deserves some respect for the steps they have taken and the journey they are embarking on.

KAP’s Initial Data Shows Impact of the Carbon Tax on Grain Drying Earlier this month, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) released initial data on the impact of a carbon tax on grain drying last fall.

KAP asked farmers as did the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association late last year to send in their invoices that so clearly show the devastation the carbon tax will cause to their bottom line.

KAP compiled the data, and as the release came into my email folder, I turned it around as quickly as possible and tweeted it out to my farmer followers on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. First, according to the KAP release, Manitoba producers paid almost $1.7 million in carbon tax related to the cost of drying on their corn alone by the time this harvest season ends, which will be this spring before seeding.

“We are firm in our position that there needs to be an exemption for farmers under the carbon tax framework for all the costs associated with

drying all-grain, as well as for heating barns and farm buildings,” KAP president Bill Campbell said. “Now that Manitoba falls under the federal backstop, farmers are left paying prices that, as pricetakers in the global economy, cannot be passed along.”

Following the meeting of the federal, provincial, and territorial agriculture ministers in late 2019, KAP worked with farmers across the province to compile data to demonstrate the need for an exemption under the federal backstop. The requests came from Federal Agriculture Minister MarieClaude Bibeau and Manitoba Minister of Agriculture and Resource Development, Blaine Pedersen.

“The carbon tax on grain drying not only impacts our profitability as farmers but our competitiveness in a world market,” said Manitoba Corn Growers Association president Dennis Thiessen. “If we look to corn farmers in the northern United States, they

are paying less for their drying costs and, on top of that, don’t pay a carbon tax. That corn comes into Manitoba, making Manitoba farmers uncompetitive. This is completely unacceptable, impacts Manitoba farmer’s profitability, and the federal government needs to be aware of this.”

Initial data shows that the average producer paid $3.69 per acre in carbon tax on grain drying (primarily corn), including propane and natural gas. That means that almost $1.7M left the provincial economy this year from corn production alone.

A typical farmer in this province growing 500 acres of corn spent approximately $14,145 on fuel for drying, while the carbon tax added $1,722 to their fuel bill. Wet conditions this harvest meant that other grain had to be dried as well. Significant and atypical rates of precipitation during the 2019 harvest season forced many farmers to dry grains that would not oth-

At @FarmerFrase the Carbon farmer said more info on another substantial hidden carbon tax cost sent to KAP with numbers coming from CN, CTA and The Grain Monitor.

erwise need drying.

The responses on Twitter to my initial tweet of the KAP release caused an excellent discussion varying from this is, “Just the tip of the iceberg”, to a debate of more costs.

Somerset area farmer Gerry Demare said this is one data point that many farmers are absorbing related to the carbon tax. “Ask the question of why KAP Manitoba is taking this singular position before their upcoming KAP AGM, which also coincides with the PC caucus and PC Manitoba “Made in Manitoba Climate and Green Plan”.

Gary Stanford, a producer in Alberta and outgoing chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission, said the Alberta Wheat Commission is asking for an exemption on the carbon tax also for drying Grain. “Farmers are price takers, and this carbon tax is costing us too much money we will never get back. Farmers are sequestering lots of carbon and are very sustainable.”

Brent J @lastmountain36 said the buck starts and stops with the farmer. Not an infinite supply, though. “Misguided thinking that by punishing a market with a random penalty will have an expected result.”

That statement is so real and

bears witness to the fraudulent hoax the government of Canada, and maybe Manitoba is using to grab more taxes.

As reported in The New Telegraph (TNT), a media initiative by a small group of journalists, Conservative MP John Barlow said the direct costs of the CT on households prove unappealing. “With a $20 per tonne carbon tax nationwide on January 1, 2020, that number will rise to $50 per tonne in 2022. To meet our Paris Targets by 2030, we would require a $210 per tonne carbon tax,” reported the TNT. “By those estimates, gas prices will rise as much as 40 cents per litre. Additionally, it is par for the course that grocery bills rise, especially during the winter months.

While it impacts everyday Canadians, it affects the agriculture industry, even more, especially farmers.

According to @FarmerFrase the Carbon farmer said more info on another substantial hidden carbon tax cost sent to KAP with numbers coming from CN, CTA and The Grain Monitor. “The Trudeau Carbon Tax cost one Saskatchewan farmer $5,495.18 last month. I can guarantee his rebate won’t cover this extra cost.”

According to FarmerFrase the Carbon farmer, the Carbon Tax cost one Saskatchewan farmer $5,495.18 last month.

The AgriPost

January 31, 2020

Here’s What’s Wrong with the Carbon Tax

By Dougald Lamont When it comes to the carbon tax, Brian Pallister has been about as consistent as a windsock.

First he was for it - a flat rate of $25. He and every one of his PC Ministers and MLAs voted for it, over and over again.

Then he was against it. I remember well - it was my first day as an MLA in the legislature. He complained that the Federal government wasn’t “respecting” the province’s Green Plan, so he walked away from the negotiating table.

As the saying goes, “He tried nothin’ - and was all out of ideas.” The only reason the feds stepped in with a carbon tax is because the premier walked away.

All of this had a lot more to do with getting elected - or helping Andrew Scheer get elected - than anything practical or good sense.

Now, he’s arguing with the

feds again.

Let’s be clear about the carbon tax. It’s not a “leftist” idea at all. The International Monetary Fund (the IMF) is not a leftist organization. For 30 years, people have been saying we need to do something about climate change.

Dealing with climate change is not “leftist” either. Stewardship of the land is something that farmers recognize as a necessity. You can’t dig up and burn a trillion tons of coal, gas and oil, and send it into the atmosphere without it having some kind of impact. People have known about it for decades.

The carbon tax was cooked up as a “conservative” or “market-friendly” way of dealing with climate change instead of having governments step in and regulate or ban practices.

The theory is that by having a carbon tax that goes up steadily, goes up every year, people know the change is

coming. It gives them an extra incentive to change, or get more efficient, so they avoid paying the carbon tax.

The reality is that the costs of adjusting are dumped on private individuals and business. It is a way of trying to get the private sector to shoulder the costs of the change.

Many people, businesses and farmers don’t actually have the means to make the changes. Canadian households are in deep debt with mortgages, student loans, and credit cards. They don’t have disposable income and are at their borrowing limit.

This means they can’t actually afford to make the switch to avoid the carbon tax.

We also have to be realistic about the “green” technology that is available. There are a million vehicles in Manitoba that run on gasoline. In a world where we switch to electric vehicles overnight, we would have a million cars

Quick Dick McDick

There’s a new sheriff in town. His name is Quick Dick McDick, a farmer with an iPhone, a YouTube channel and a burning desire to give the world a “toonie’s worth of his mind.” He’s a modern-day Socrates from Saskatchewan who’s been cranking out hilarious slices of farm life for the last couple of months.

No subject is off limits to the quick wit of Quick Dick, from everyday items we take for granted, to Canadian politics, to dating advice. Most of the content is of an adult nature, so if you’re averse to swearing and quite literal toilet humour, maybe stay away.

But every farmer will find a number of good belly laughs coming from Quick Dick productions.

His rapid-fire style is reminiscent of Rick Mercer’s rants on CBC’s “This Hour has 22 Minutes.”

Basically, he takes selfie videos with a variety of constantly changing backgrounds. Sometimes they flip in mid-sentence, while he delivers quick one-liners of wisdom and observations from his shop, to the shed and to cattle corrals, from vacuuming out a grain bin or outside of a curling club at three in the morning. The more uncomfortable and noisy the setting and conditions, the better.

At the time of this writ-

ing, the latest gem to go out over the internet was a four-minute homage to “number nine wire” or, as he calls it, “the agricultural technician’s left hand.” Did you know, “You are an elite member of the Quick Dick number nine wire group if your Dad, Grandpa or Uncle ever sent you to the house when they were out of number 9 wire to ask your mom for a coat hanger? Furthermore, you are a seasoned veteran of that club if said coat hanger had to come off the rabbit ears on the television and that night you and your brothers could not watch CTV.” Another personal favourite is the spotlight on the “all-weather chore boot.”

It was originally sold to the co-op by the military for three cents apiece, who have been reselling them ever since to farmers for 80 dollars a pair. Fun fact, “It is also acceptable attire in Saskatchewan to wear to a fall supper, graduation or a wedding.”

“Coffee Row” shines a spotlight on every coffee shop in rural Canada.

“Members of coffee row typically comment on how their wives are such bad gossipers as they endlessly sit around with their friends and gossip. Coffee row topics include but are not limited to weather, well we got way too much rain, ah we just need to get

headed to the scrap yard.

So given all that - what’s wrong with the carbon tax?

It’s all stick, and no carrot.

It’s not enough to impose a carbon tax and expect people to make up the difference themselves.

As Manitoba Liberals, we believe there should be “carbon credits.” These are funds that people, businesses, farmers and local governments could apply for. The bigger the impact on carbon reduction, the bigger the investment.

We need greener fuels, so that people can switch fuel, without switching vehicles.

We need to reduce emissions and we need to start drawing CO2 out of the atmosphere and putting it back in the ground.

Trees do that. Wetlands do that. More wilderness does that. “Regenerative agriculture” does that. Public transit does that. They all make the world better for tomor-

Penner’s Points

enough rain, oh we finally got the right amount of rain but it By Rolf all came at the wrong Penner time, and how’s a guy just supposed to make a go of it now a days, the cost of fuel, who’s If you’re looking for pickup gets the best fuel a good laugh or a lightmileage, and why that one hearted break from the farmer who’s not at cof- everyday farming grind, fee row is too cheap to go head over to Quick Dick buy a new pickup because, McDick’s YouTube chandon’t ya know, he’s got a nel. You won’t be disapmillion dollars in the bank, pointed. And like Quick still got crop in the field, Dick says, “A man will who’s still got crop in the never get tired of pulling field, who got all their crop on his number 9 wire.” in the bin, what kind of And, “keep your wheels shape was their crop when turning, and your old they got it in the bin, and lady’s fire burning,” and what with the price of grain “Keep a spoon in your why does anyone try to do cup, and your spirits up!” this anymore, CP rail, CN rail, the co-op, the credit union, Pioneer, Viterra, John Deere, New Holland, Case, Bourgault, don’t forget about the RM and how they don’t grade the roads enough and have you seen this guy named Quick Dick on YouTube and how coffee row could solve all the world’s problems in three days if only they had control…”

Let’s not forget politics.

There’s a five-minute rant on the federal carbon tax, four minutes on protestors’ diets, two minutes on the 2019 federal budget, trains vs. pipelines, and a fiveminute song called “Parliament Hill,” recorded live in Quick Dick’s basement.

row while increasing future growth and reducing cost.

So … why aren’t we doing it?

If Manitoba can do a better job of dealing with climate change than any other province, we should be rewarded for it. That’s the deal

we would push for with the Federal Government. Instead, we’re getting exactly what scientists have predicted: a lot of extreme blasts of hot air.

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

January 31, 2020

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Dealing with Residue, Ruts and Compaction in Spring

By Harry Siemens At the 35th annual St. Jean Farm Days, farmers listened and spoke about the year 2019, that in their minds could never happen, but never say never. While, for the most part, crop yields held up, the quality dropped. Wet fields and an elongated harvest left many fields a mess and little applied fall fertilizer crowding that process for the coming spring.

Jeremy Hughes, the Product Manager at HORSCH, LLC North America working from Fargo, ND told farmers at St. Jean Farm Days in early January that the harvest starts with the harvest setting the stage for next year’s crop.

“When I talk about a harvest starting with the harvest, is that we always talk about when we start harvest, we’re already setting the stage for next year’s crop. So like this year, for example, the combine started hitting the field, making some ruts, the residue, whether it’s processed properly or not,” said Hughes.

“All of that process of pulling the grain off the field is your first pass of seedbed preparation for the next year. No matter if you’re in a no-till environment, conventional till environment or whatever, harvest sets the stage for the next harvest.”

He told Manitoba farmers they’re fortunate for taking off most of the crop and

showed a slide that showed corn in the fields from the North Dakota border-right through Texas.

Whether dry, wet or just right soil moisture content, the soil structure sets the stage for the next crop and how well it will do. “I think soil structure is something we talk about, but I don’t know how much attention to detail that we put into it. We see 60,000-pound combines running across the field, 2,000-bushel grain carts pulled by 50,000-pound tractors running across the field, trucks pulling our Super Bees and running around,” said Hughes. “All these steps in the field can have an impact on our soil structure. There’s a little bit of this misconception that the frost takes care of all of our woes. And we know that that’s not the case, and we need to be conscious of that. That’s the big thing.

Can we eliminate all compaction? No, because we’ve still got to get in the field, and we’ve got to get a crop in, but farmers need to look at different techniques, the different tools in the toolbox to be able to help eliminate the compaction we can.”

Next, Hughes said farmers need to use the residues properly. That is a huge topic in the US right now about the 200-bushel corn stalks left in the field. “How can I process that and get it into a place

where I can get the benefit out of it for the next harvest?

So I harvest it, I process it during harvest, tillage, whatever, but that residue is going to be a benefit or a negative for the following harvest,” he said. “We’re finding today is a lot of farmers, especially when I call, like monoculture areas, say like corn on corn and we’re starting to fight this a little bit with canola on canola here in western Canada as well. Take a monoculture system; residue use is more critical because of bad bugs, pathogens harbour in there just as much as the benefits of the micronutrients and organic matter.”

Hughes told farmer timing is everything. “I know it’s an old cliché, but it rings so true in farming. I see so much potential left on the table, so much money left on the table every year simply due to timing. And we talk about planting time and seeding time in general, but how much time do we screw around during planting season just because of lack of preparation,” he said. “Take 400 acres a day at; let’s say $500 worth of revenue, that’s $200,000 worth of revenue that’s being put in the field that day.

At 400 acres, if I lose one, two, say I lose three days to that, I could be up to $10,000 behind just because I didn’t get planted at the right time.

And it’s something you can’t

The process of pulling the grain off the field is your first pass of seedbed preparation for the next year said Jeremy Hughes, the Product Manager at HORSCH, LLC North America at St. Jean Farm Days.

quantify. It’s something that’s not going to be the same every year. It’s just a practice that you got to put in place to maximize the moment.”

He said seed placement is enormous no matter what crop the farmer grows, making sure he has the right seed depth, in the moisture, and functional furrow integrity.

“So this year we’ve got a lot of challenges ahead of us, not only here in Manitoba but also in a lot of other areas especially where there is still crop on the ground that needs harvesting before planting can happen,” said Hughes.

“We have to focus in on some ruts in the field, some straw or stalks out there. What are we going to do? It could be vertical tillage. It could be compact discs. It could be a number of different things

that we do, multiple paths, whatever, to prepare that field for planting, but at the end of the day, we want to be able to get a condition put together where we accelerate the decomposition of that residue. You get the benefit out of it, at the same time providing the proper cradle to put our seed into.”

He concluded by telling farmers it is not only about getting across the fields and planting. “Exactly, I made the analogy there; I hear a lot of producers say, ‘oh, I just got to get it done, just got to get over it’. You know?

Down, back home in North Dakota, I hear it all the time.

‘I’m just going to drag this across the field’, and it’s like a magic wand, and ‘I’m all good’,” said Hughes. “I told you guys, I can drag a

Jeremy Hughes, the Product Manager at HORSCH, LLC North America at St. Jean Farm Days told farmers that health soil structure should be paid attention to as we see 60,000-pound combines, 2,000-bushel grain carts pulled by 50,000 pound tractors running across the field.

dead chicken out there, but it doesn’t mean I’m not accomplishing anything. And we had to be cautious of that, because sometimes that pass we make in the field if we don’t have the right tool, can do more harm than good.”

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The AgriPost

The AgriPost

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Producers to Benefit from Yield Trending

Nothing Beats a Good Wagon Ride

Wayne Moffat drives his team to pick up three generations of the Moffat family for a wagon ride on a mild winter day on the Moffat farm near Strathclair, MB. Photographed are Harry Airey, Wayne Moffat and Murray Moffat.

Photo by Joan Airey

Province Announces New Legacy Farm Award A new category has been added to the Manitoba Farm Family Recognition program, said Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen announced recently.

“Agriculture has changed greatly over the past 150 years and it’s important that we recognize those families that have been involved in the industry for generations,” said Pedersen. “With technology advancing at such a rapid rate, it’s exciting to think of where we may

be 150 years from now, but it’s important that we don’t forget our past.”

As part of Manitoba’s 150th birthday, the Legacy Farm Award has been created to celebrate farm families that have 150 consecutive years as a Manitoba Farm Family.

The Century (100 years) and Heritage (125 years) Family Farm Awards will still be available.

“Going back 150 years ago about 90 per cent of the population were farmers. These farms produced enough to

feed their families, with limited surplus to trade or export,” said Pedersen. “Now about four per cent of our population are actively farming and agriculture production is a key economic driver in our province.”

Since the first Century Farm was recognized in 1981, there have been more than 1,810 farms that have received the award. There have been an additional 97 farms that have received the Heritage Farm award since the first was recog-

nized in 2010.

To be eligible for the award, the land must have been held in continuous ownership by direct descendants of the original owner, with a minimum land area of at least 20.23 hectares (50 acres) over the life of the farm.

More information on the Manitoba Family Farm Recognition program can be found at gov.mb.ca/agriculture/farmmanagement/transition-planning/heritage-and-centuryfarms.

Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development advises that ongoing technological, agronomic and genetic advances have resulted in an upward trend in yields for many crops grown in the province. To help reflect these changes, yield trending will be introduced in Manitoba’s AgriInsurance program for the 2020 growing season.

A positive trend has been identified in eight crops including red spring wheat, canola, soybeans, grain corn, oats, white pea beans, irrigated processing potatoes and hemp grain.

Probable yields, used to determine insurance coverage, will increase for these crops as a result of implementing yield trending.

With regular updating, as well as the implementation of yield trending, total insurance coverage will increase to almost $3 billion in 2020 with producers paying premiums similar to 2019.

Additional program changes for the 2020 growing season include: - MASC will offer the contract price option (CPO) on canola, including specialty oil canola, and field peas. Manitoba producers have been requesting greater coverage for higher value crops for several years. This option will allow producers to blend the price from their contracted production with the base AgriInsurance dollar value (weighted by production) to better reflect expected market prices.

- Fall rye will be introduced as an eligible crop for organic insurance.

- Producers will now be eligible for a reseed benefit on annual novel crops based on 25 per cent of the per acre dollar coverage selected for their novel crops. If the annual novel crop fails to establish by June 20, a reseed benefit will be available on those acres. Producers may select from three different coverage levels: $150, $200 or $250 per acre.

- Forages used for extended-season grazing are now eligible for wildlife damage compensation. This includes crops used for in-field bale and swath grazing, as well as standing annual crops intended for grazing (e.g. corn). Producers will receive 45 per cent of the value of the loss caused by big game and waterfowl during the extended grazing period.

- Strawberries are now an eligible crop under the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program. Compensation will be available for plant loss, as well as production loss.

Manitoba has the highest level of AgriInsurance participation in Canada with over 90 per cent of annual crop acres enrolled and more than 8,000 farms are registered in the program. The total governments’ share of AgriInsurance premium for 2020-21 is expected to be $125.01 million. AgriInsurance is provided for over 70 different annual crops and forages during establishment and production, as well as for the inability to seed land in the spring due to wet conditions.

Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, AgriInsurance premiums for most programs are shared 40 per cent by participating producers, 36 per cent by the Government of Canada and 24 per cent by the Manitoba government.

Administrative expenses are paid 60 per cent by Canada and 40 per cent by Manitoba.

AgriInsurance is a risk management program administered by MASC. For more information about it and other programs, visit a MASC office or masc.mb.ca.

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The AgriPost

The AgriPost

Potential for Profit in a Different Spring

By Elmer Heinrichs Spring on the farm is likely to be different from most other years since less than half of the province’s grain corn and sunflowers were in the bin when the final crop report of the season was released in mid-November.

Dry beans were 73 per cent harvested and soybeans 82 per cent.

Farmers have been picking away at these crops over winter as time and conditions allow. For those farmers who haven’t harvested over winter, the first order of business will be to salvage what remains of the 2019 crop and getting fields that were soggy going into winter ready for planting.

The sight of farmers harvesting in January or corn fields half under snow underscores the challenges ahead as they consider plans for the coming growing season. During the first few months of 2020 farmers will be wrestling with the important and pivotal decision of which crops to grow this year. There are many factors that go into the process of finalizing the decision but the end result is mostly based on marketing.

This unusual start to spring work potentially delays how soon they can actually start planting the 2020 crop and that will affect not only yield but possibly the crops they choose to grow. In other words, the cropping plan for 2020 might not be what farmers want to grow, but

rather what they can grow given the time and management constraints.

Profit potential is the main driver in the decision-making process and on that front, 2020 crop production estimates published by provincial analysts are promising.

There is potential for farmers to make a profit this year - weather permitting - of course.

Altona production advisor Dennis Lange said the Manitoba cost of production is a budget for farmers to look at, to plug in their own on-farm costs, and estimate their returns in order to show which crops would be most profitable for their farm operation.

One calculation points to grain corn and pinto beans as top choices for profitability and revenue potential out of 17 different crops included in a cost of production analysis. However, these crops are best suited for the southern most areas of Manitoba where heat units are the highest and the growing season is the longest.

It’s also notable that in 2019, these crops made up the highest proportion of crops that didn’t get harvested before winter set in.

That explains why canola, soybeans, and hard red spring wheat are farmers’ top-three cropping choices, making up 78 per cent of the acreage sown to crops in the province over the past five years, even though they are ranked fur-

ther down for profitability potential. And oats, fourth-largest crop in the province by acreage, is the farmer’s third most profitable cropping option.

Oats has a lower profit potential, but it also costs less to produce than a crop such as corn. It’s highly competitive, which reduces the amount of herbicide farmers need to apply and it doesn’t need as much fertilizer. That lowers the risk.

While most of the crops analyzed show potential for modest returns in 2020, barley, peas, winter wheat, flax and special purpose wheat all point to a negative return on investment. But that doesn’t mean farmers won’t be growing them.

In the end, what it comes down to is that farmers look for crops for which there is a demand, a decent price, while still watching their rotations, and weather conducive for spring seeding.

The next two or three months are when all the important decisions will be made. The most important and the pivotal decision is which crops to grow this year.

Trade is a big deal for this country. It generates over 60 per cent of our gross domestic product.

The grain industry is a significant contributor, but to continue to be an important sector, farmers need to grow crops for which there is a demand and then sell them at good prices.

Why Buy Insurance?

Why buy insurance? If you’ve asked yourself this question before, you are not alone. If you’ve pressured your insurance broker, stating that you may be withdrawing your business and placing your premium dollars in a bank account to self-insure, you are not alone. If you have followed through with that and actually placed that money in a safe place rather than blowing it on a winter vacation, you may be alone.

With insurance costs rising in certain categories, along with less flexibility offered by insurers, we have entered an insurance marketplace where you may find yourself asking why do I even buy insurance.

The answer lies in the basic concept of insurance - the premiums of many pay for the losses of a few.

However, over the past year or two, the premiums that many insurers are collecting are falling short of paying for the losses of the few.

This is causing rates to increase and insurers less willing to be flexible or

think “outside the box” when it comes to finding solutions for clients.

When the marketplace changes like it has, it is important for you to stop and rethink the why – is there risk that you are comfortable taking on yourself without the security of an insurer backing that risk? Is this a time for you to take on a larger share of the risk by increasing your deductibles to lower your premium?

There are also risks such as potential liability and business interruption claims that may be less frequent, but contain larger risk that is very difficult to selfinsure and could jeopardize the long-term financial health of your operation.

I had the privilege of delivering the largest cheque I have ever seen to a client this past month, and it reinforced why I do what I do, and it also reinforced why insurance coverage is purchased. Without the backing of an insurance policy, the client would likely have had to beg their banker for a sub-

stantial investment to keep their doors open, or walk away from the operation and cut their losses. Not only are they in business today, but they are back on track to growing a successful business that should one day soon allow them to retire and enjoy winter months far away from winter.

Regardless of your situation, make sure you are working with an insurance broker who has time and capacity to negotiate coverage on your behalf, and explains your options to you.

Consider making Rempel Insurance Brokers your insurance broker of choice. We work hard to make sure our clients have the resources to make educated decisions on risk.

David Schmidt is an Account Executive at Rempel Insurance Brokers in Morris, MB, specializing in insuring farms and businesses across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Office 204-746-2320, Text 204-712-6618, email davids@ rempelinsurance.com or rempelinsurance.com.

January 31, 2020

Invest in Your Dairy Faraway Dry Cow Feeding Program As a young dairy nutritionist, university research taught me, years ago that once a lactation cycle is completed, the dairy cow should be dried off, dry-treated and put onto a 60-day dry cow feeding program, an initial faraway stage of 40 days, and followed by a 20/21-day close-up stage. As a result, a lot of metabolic and physical problems are avoided as well as she gives birth to a healthier calf and it helps her prepare for her next lactation. That is why I still advocate these basic principles in my own present consulting work.

Consequently, in order to set up a good 40-day faraway feeding (and management) program, I believe that it should achieve three underlying objectives by its conclusion: 1. Allow the udder to rest – During a 10-month lactation cycle, there is a 50% decline in the number of secretory cells within the mammary gland.

During the faraway dry period, the number of secretory cells is restored to its full complement, needed in the next lactation. However, the extent of milk-cell rejuvenation is complete by 25 days into the dry period (University of Maryland).

2. Restore organ health – Given time (aside from feeding high forage diets) allows the cow’s rumen to rebound; regrowth of the essential papillae tissue, restoration of healthy pH levels and resets muscle tone. All, which is compromised by feeding high-energy (nee starch) lactation diets. Last, a 40-day faraway program also allows the cows’ liver, some time to recover from metabolic problems such as ketosis and fatty liver syndrome.

3. Restore hormonal and immune function – Lactating cows milking at high production levels have a lot of hormonal changes going on in their bodies that affects natural dry matter intake of feed, feed digestion/metabolism, body fat and bone mobilization as well as fertility. It also helps restore the cows’ immune function that is very active during lactation to combat mastitis and other infections.

From these objectives in which many of my faraway feeding programs are based; I also keep them in mind when assessing a cow’s immediate nutritional status after months of lactation. This means, a dairy cow should be brought into dry period with a body condition score (BCS) at 3.0 – 3.5 (1 = thin, and 5 = fat). And, it should be fed for the next 40 days (dovetails into the close-up feeding program) which can either maintain optimum BCS or build up cows of thin BCS, until calving.

Therefore in order to maintain/build such optimum BCS in faraway dry cows as well as support their growing fetus (65 – 75% of fetal growth occurs); a faraway dry cow diet should be made up of bulky good-quality grass-type forage by which the cow consumes 1.8 – 2.2% of her bodyweight (dm, basis).

On an absolute basis, this mean the whole diet should supply about 14 - 16 Mcal of dietary energy (or TDN = 60 - 62%), and 13 - 14% crude protein. A dry cow premix ought to be provided to round-out these forages; 0.50% calcium, 0.30% phosphorus, 0.5% salt and trace-minerals (copper, zinc, selenium) and vitamins (A = 100,000, D = 3,000 and E = 1000 iu/head). Lastly, 10 g per head per day of commercial yeast would be included.

In contrast to my 40-day faraway dry cow feeding programs - some dairy specialists advocate that dairy lactation cows really don’t need this seven-week period to prepare for lactation. They point out that many high milk producing cows could produce more milk of significant economic benefit by allowing: an extra 25 lactation days (325- day lactation cycle, instead of the standard 305-days), which is then offset by a new modified 30 - 35-day dry-cow program. Subsequent university research (2008 - 2013) performed on such proposed short faraway dry cow periods have been mixed, namely; mature cows are largely unaffected, while 1st time calf heifers have consistently reduced milk yields.

In this way, a friend of mine that milks 300 Holstein cows tried to reduce his faraway dry cow program by ten days, about ten years ago.

After about a couple of months, he returned to his previous program. He discovered that many of his dairy cows often come into the dry period in a relatively thin body condition and on the new program; they did not recover this bodyweight, which they did on a longer faraway program. On a personal note, he also speculated that his older program pushed the dry cows’ “reset button” – leading to better long-term cowherd longevity.

Faraway dry cows.

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Losing the Weed Battle Could Mean Losing the Farm Tammy Jones, Weeds Specialist, with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development presents at St. Jeans Farm Days.

ASF Vaccine Needed But Don’t Rush Trials

By Harry Siemens

An article that appeared on The Pig Site December 19, 2019, said reports emerged of a successful African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine, developed by researchers from the Agricultural Research Service based at Plum Island, New York.

International livestock consultant, veterinarian and lecturer Dr. John Carr, when contacted on the news, cautiously said it should work. “But I seriously worry about rushing; we need to be sure about this. ASF creates excellent immunity to the particular strain, so vaccination is going to be successful. But there is so much hype, I worry science and proof go out of the window,” said Carr. “Again, obviously the vaccine will be great, we need it but over the years even with human diseases, so much of this hype is about the rush for getting funds not really about fixing the problem. The Chinese have 3,000 Ph.D. guys looking for a vaccine! The US has but a handful.”

He said apart from another publicity stunt, it is not what we can do for the researchers. It is what they can do for the pig.

“The worrying words are ‘looks promising’, so this is very, very early results. The tests were only over a month. And I bet the trial was only over five pigs,” said Carr. “They should not be allowed to publish this as it only gets peoples hopes up and we have already been here a few times. This is like crying wolf!”

Dr. Carr said of course researchers are working on a vaccine and that there are promising results although there is no timeline provided by the researchers. The question is when will it be available and where are the research trials going to take place. He does not believe it will be in the US. “It is just a shame they didn’t carry out this work in the last 40 years so that Africans could have developed their industry and fed people but now they have no money!” said Carr.

Further to the article on The Pig Site, he said that the early results of the trial look promising as all pigs remained essentially free of clinical signs of the disease. With that said, the article further stated that after the pig was exposed to the complete virus the unvaccinated pigs also remained free of clinical signs, indicating that the vaccine does not increase the risk of other animals contracting the virus through shedding.

Dr. John Carr is cautious about the early research publication for a vaccination against African Swine Fever (ASF).

By Harry Siemens Tammy Jones, a Weeds Specialist, with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development told farmers at St. Jean Farm Days earlier this month that losing the weed battle on their farm could well mean losing the farm.

A vital part of that weed battle has to do with herbicide resistance to the products used over the past five to ten years that do not work as good or in some cases, not at all.

Jones said a key issue is that herbicide resistance is not going away, and that concerns her as a weed specialist. “It’s never going away, and we need to try to figure out new ways of combating it because as time goes on, we’re losing more and more of our herbicide tools,” she told farmers at the 35th St. Jean Farm Days and again at Ag Days 2020 in Brandon. “That was our easy button where we’ve tried to rely on because it’s less time consuming than some of the other tactics, and it’s less complex. But as we lose that tool, we need to come up with other ways to enhance that so that we can keep them for as long as we can.”

Jones said, take wild oats for example with mainly a group one resistance. “We’re seeing increasing levels of group two resistance there, and there aren’t that many other herbicide groups that work on wild oat. Kochia, same kind of thing,” she said. “We’re looking into weeds that are almost the superweeds down in the United States that have huge problems there. We hoped that they wouldn’t creep into Manitoba, but they don’t respect borders, and they don’t seem to get the message that our climate isn’t where they’re supposed to grow. They’re managing to adapt and start to impact on our cor-

porate action ability here as well.”

She said the water hemp issue is real because it surprised her at how much of it they found in 2019. “I think it’s going to be something that if we get some flooding, or when we get some flooding, we’re going to have a lot more of it to manage this year.”

While listening to her presentation, a farmer from Altona, whispered to a person sitting next to him, “Have you ever heard of a farmer having that particular weed on their field?” No, he had not either because nobody’s telling anyone else at the moment. “I think that’s a huge issue because it’s not containable whether it’s Kochia that tumbles along or water hemp that moves with wildlife and equipment and with water,” said Jones.

“It takes a community, the same as it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a community to combat our herbicide resistance issue. We need everyone to be pulling in the same direction. And it’s not a blame game.

It’s not saying, hey, you caused it.

It’s, hey, how do we solve it?”

Jones said many communities have come together and said let’s talk about it. “And I have some noxious weeds regulations that I need to work with where we have to destroy tier-one noxious weeds and that sort of thing. That isn’t because we’re trying to punish anyone; it’s because we’re trying to make sure that at the end of the day, at the end of the decade, at the end of the century, we still have productive cropland so that we can continue to feed the world,” said Jones.

The same as is happening with the hog industry and the eradication of the PED virus. The industry and regulatory bodies have focused

on cleaning up the problem by enhanced biosecurity to eliminate the disease and keep it out.

“That’s why I say things like sanitation are essential, including biosecurity and patch eradication.

If you have a few weeds, get rid of those few weeds before they become a field or a section, or they infest the whole municipality because that’s what happens,” Jones explained. “There’s no way once we’ve let the cat out of the bag to get the cat back into the bag. So let’s be vigilant with surveying, making sure that we admit we have a problem and then working with everyone else in the area to try and solve the problem because there’s too much to lose.”

A vital part of that weed battle has to do with herbicide resistance for products used five to ten years ago that do not work as good or, in some cases, not at all said Tammy Jones, Weeds Specialist, with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development.

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Partnership Forms Supercluster Funded Project to Develop Proteins

Pitura Seeds will utilize its state-of-the art seed cleaning plant to develop a set of cleaning standards to achieve optimal protein and quality levels for canola and peas. Secondly, Pitura Seeds will source and test varieties to determine which have the best agronomic fit for growers in western Canada, while meeting the quality needed for this application.

Pitura Seeds has announced their involvement in a Protein Industries Canada funded project. The project will develop highquality pea and canola proteins, and bring additional opportunities to western Canadian farmers.

The partnership is being led by Merit Functional Foods and also includes The Winning Combination. Both companies are based in Winnipeg. The three businesses from across the value chain will work together to develop pea and canola proteins for use in high-value food applications such as plant protein based food and beverage products.

Protein Industries Canada (PIC) is an industry-led, not-forprofit organization created to position Canada as a global source of high-quality plant protein and plant-based co-products. They are one of Canada’s five innovation Superclusters.

“This project is a great example of why the Innovation Supercluster Initiative was created,” CEO of PIC Bill Greuel said.

“The consortium consists of businesses across the value chain coming together to create new products not currently produced anywhere else in the world. This will increase the demand and value of some of western Canada’s biggest agriculture commodities, peas and canola, and create new products to sell to customers across the globe.”

Pitura Seeds’ involvement in the project will be two-fold.

First, the company will utilize its state-of-the art seed cleaning plant to develop a set of cleaning standards to achieve optimal protein and quality levels for canola and peas. Second, Pitura Seeds will source and test varieties to determine which have the best agronomic fit for growers in western Canada, while meeting the quality needed for this application.

“We are very excited to represent the agriculture sector in this cross-value chain project,” said Tom Greaves, President and General Manager of Pitura Seeds. “Pitura Seeds is focused on bringing value to our customers, and this project brings a unique opportunity to develop new end-use applications and secure the best varieties for farmers.”

The processing of the new products will occur at Merit Functional Foods’ plant protein facility, currently being constructed in Winnipeg. The Winning Combination will help Merit assess pea and canola functionality and stability.

“This funding is exciting and empowering for Merit as it grows as a company,” Merit Co-CEO Ryan Bracken said.

“It is helping us overcome many of the hurdles that new companies typically experience, and instead, unlocking numerous opportunities for us including job creation, technology expansion, and more.”

“Pitura Seeds is proud to partner in this new project, which Tom Greaves is proud to partner in this new project which will bring sig- will bring significant value to nificant value to western Canadian western Canadian farmers,” said Tom Greaves.

Submitted photos farmers.

The AgriPost

Affordable Horsepower

By Les Kletke It occupied what would normally be centre ice at the Keystone Centre in Brandon. For most of the winter the rink is inhabited by the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League but for a week in January the Keystone Centre belongs to agriculture and centre ice belonged to a new tractor with a new colour.

Ken Windross is the MTZ Equipment Territory Manager for Manitoba who has been selling Belarus tractors for over 35 years. He along with Don Findlay of Rapid City was responsible for having the massive tractor on display at Ag Days. “It is 443 horsepower,” proclaimed Windross. “It is affordable horsepower delivered in a convenient way, and in a way that is easy to work on.”

Windross said Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ) in Belarus is the oldest tractor manufacturer in the world. He recently returned from a visit to that country and a tour of the massive plant. “The facility is huge, it is 5 square miles, and employs 70,000 people,” said Windross.

In his more than 3 decades with the company he has seen tremendous changes. “Some of the early tractors that were marketed in North America did not have the same finish that farmers here were used to,” he said. “They

New machinery always causes excitement at Ag Days, but a new tractor draws a crowd. This beast is already booking spring field days.

Photos by Les Kletke

were built for use in the former Soviet Union and things were a bit rough.”

He said the one trait that stems from the Soviet time and still proves to be a bonus is the simplicity of the tractor. “Things have changed a lot with the finish of the tractor and the cab is much more comfortable but it has remained a machine that is easy to work on,” he said. “Much of today’s equipment has become so complex a farmer can no longer do any of the maintenance or it requires a factory trained technician, this is a tractor that is simple and provides economical

horsepower.”

While the tractor did draw good attention he was not overwhelmed by farmers who wanted to sign orders for the new machine. “We are going to have a couple of field days in spring, one with Don Findlay at Rapid City and another with our dealer at Carman. That will give fellows a chance to see it in the field and see how it is to operate.”

He said that not only does the tractor compare well price wise as a source of horsepower but the fuel consumption of the Mercedes engine makes it attractive to operate on the farm.

Lessons from Nature: Wild Wheat Responds to Climate Change In Canada, the Prairies are a major wheat growing area with the crops generating farm gate receipts of over $6.7 billion in 2018. With wheat being one of Canada’s most important crops, producers and industries are looking for ways to minimize climate change, as hotter temperatures and more severe droughts are expected to strain crop production.

To understand how plant populations respond to climate stress, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers and collaborators are looking at modern wheat’s ancestor, wild emmer, to see how it has genetically adapted to deal with the stress of changing climates.

The project, led by researcher Dr. Yong-Bi Fu, looked at 10 populations of wild emmer wheat in Israel. The team analyzed population samples collected in 1980 and 2008.

In that 28-year span, the average annual temperature in Israel increased while the average annual precipitation decreased.

Through their analysis, the researchers found that plant populations can acquire beneficial mutations, such as temperature tolerance.

One practical implication stemming from this research is the presence of adaptive genes responsible for climate adaptability. If identified, these climate-resistant genes could

Dr. Yong-Bi Fu inspects the head of an emmer plant in his lab.

eventually be bred into modern wheat crops using traditional or cloning techniques. This could help to help make food crops more resilient.

“While the threat of global warming can seem overwhelming, these challenges can, in part, be addressed by learning from nature,” explained Dr. Fu. “This study is exciting because it shows an example of plants knowing how to survive global warming.”

Dr. Fu said much can be learned from this research in terms of predicting plants’ adaptability and vulnerability in a hotter, drier climate.

Predictive models (using statistics to predict outcomes) can provide

guidance when it comes to crop production vulnerability in a changing climate.

Overall, the research findings underline the need to protect and conserve the diversity of plant genetic resources found throughout the world before they are lost to various threats, including climate change.

Wild emmer is a relative of modern day wheat varieties.

The AgriPost

January 31, 2020

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NPPC Raises Concern Over Labelling Used by Beyond Meat

By Harry Siemens The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is raising concern over the potential confusion that the naming convention used by Impossible Foods for its plant-based products designed to mimic real pork is likely to cause.

Impossible Foods recently launched a line of plant-based artificial pork products marketed as Impossible Pork or Impossible Sausage.

NPPC Director of Science and Technology Dr. Dan Kovich said the use of the word pork to describe a plant-based product as a brazen attempt to circumvent decades of the food labelling law. And centuries of precedence setting how it is possible for something that does not come from a pig, but the company now calls it pork.

In Canada according to the Toronto Star, Health regulators cleared the way for Impossible Foods to sell in Canada products such as the Impossible Burger. According to the story, this could set up a two-way battle for the burgeoning plant-based meat alternative market so far dominated by rival Beyond Meat.

In Manitoba, Beyond Meat announced a multi-year pea protein supply agreement with France-based Roquette that is building a $400 million pea processing facility near Portage la Prairie. The agreement will significantly increase the amount of pea protein going to Beyond Meat over the next three years.

“I think if someone is calling something a pork product, people are going to assume that it comes from a pig, so using that term, pork, on something that does not come from a pig, could create consumer confusion,” said Dr. Kovich of the NPPC. “Now I’m sure with other things, statements on the label, maybe, maybe not the company can make it clear it doesn’t come from a pig. But I think that there is a deeper issue that we need to consider too. It’s not necessarily that it will confuse consumers about what the product is, but I think there are implications with using the name that nutritionally the products are the same. Again, this is a very different product in terms of its ingredients, its makeup.”

For example, he said it has much more salt in it than pork.

It is not nutritionally equivalent to ground pork which he thinks is an important piece of information that people need to understand. “Even though they may think the flavour profile and texture is similar, nutrition is not the same.

They’re trying to imply, that it is by misusing a product name for something their product is not,” Kovich said.

He said those are the two significant areas that labelling laws are supposed to provide clarity on, and misuse of them

is not doing anyone a service. Further to that, Dr. Kovich said the Impossible Foods Company is coming up with a product line that they are calling Impossible Pork a processed food product, made primarily from soy protein, among other ingredients.

“I mean, we firmly believe pork can stand on its own and has a welldeserved reputation among consumers. Certainly, people have a right to have options when it comes to protein, and we do not take issue with people developing new products and making them available to consumers,” he said. “They must label them appropriately, so it’s obvious what the product is. And again, in this case, it’s not pork. I think that the primary intent of US food labelling laws is to make sure that it is crystal clear what someone is getting. That it is very obvious what it is from the name on the product package. I think again, consumers can have a lot of confidence when they go to the grocery store or restaurants, you name it, that they’re getting what they think they’re get-

ting. Because again, the body of law about product names, as well as other requirements of food labelling is very clear and consistent over the years. Particularly in regards to the fact that you can’t portray a product as some other product. That’s very clear under both USDA and FDA labelling laws.”

Dr. Kovich said if people try to play fast and loose, or find loopholes with these laws, this has the potential to have a harmful effect in terms of consumer confidence in the food supply. Some of that has played out in other food industries, and the pork industry wants to prevent that happening in their industry.

“We are currently looking at all of the different options to protect the use of that term pork for what it is, meat from a pig. I mean obviously, the USDA’s food safety inspection service has the primary role of regulating and labelling claims for actual meat products,” he said.

“Plant-based products tend to fall under the food and drug administration’s purview, where again, they have laws that say very explicitly;

for example, you can’t present one product as another. Both agencies have roles to play potentially, as this moves forward if they continue to misuse that term.”

He said several states are taking action, understanding that this confusion is out there, wanting to make sure that state labelling laws are clear. “So I think there’s a lot of potential groups, agencies, authorities

that come to play here. And we’re really taking a look at those right now to determine the best way forward again, to protect the use of that term pork. This is not about keeping products off the shelves; it’s about making sure they’re called the right thing, and pork can only come from a pig, and that’s what we’re fighting to make sure remains the case in the US,” said Dr. Kovich.

The National Pork Producers Council is raising concern over the potential confusion that the naming convention including on labels used by Impossible Foods for its plantbased products that is designed to mimic real pork is likely to cause. Dr. Kovich with the US National Pork Producers Council thinks if someone is calling something a pork product, people are going to assume that it comes from a pig and could create consumer confusion.

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January 31, 2020

When is Beer Not Beer?

By Les Kletke

Peter Watts is the Managing Director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre and he told the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association that the trend to micro breweries has changed the demand for malt barley.

He said the requirements of micro breweries in the characteristics of malt are different than the large scale breweries and that is reflected in their preference of malt.

Watts started his presentation at Ag Days with a slide of a Chinese brand of beer, Snow beer and asked if any one recognized it. Not a single person in the audience could lay claim to being familiar with the variety, but yet it is the largest selling beer in the world. It sells 5 times as much as Budweiser and Bud light combined. That was something the audience could relate to.

“It is cheap and produced for the masses, it is low alcohol and not particularly strong in taste,” said Watts, who had tried the product but was not a convert. He went on to say that China has 4 of the top ten breweries in the world and produces 1/4 of the world’s beer.

“It imports malt barley, not malt,” said Watts. “So this is an important market.” Watts said that Japan is also a major market for Canadian malt barley but it is just in the production of tea in that country, not for beer.

Watts went on to outline how the change to small scale production in micro breweries and brew pubs has changed the requirements for malt. “Breweries in China use a lot of adjunct like rice in the brewing process but micro breweries use strictly malt so their requirements are different.” Currently about 13% of the beer in the US is procured in micro breweries.

He said that a protein range of 10-12 % is required by the domestic market but that increases to 11-13.5 % for the export market. A high germination is demanded in both cases. “For the past 20 years we have seen Metcalf and Copeland dominate the malt barley scene but that is changing with the demand from the smaller breweries,” he said. “We will continue to see the decline of Metcalf.”

He predicted that a variety called Synergy would increase in demand and become much more prevalent in prairie production.

One farmer in the audience challenged him saying he had produced it this year and while he liked the agronomic of the variety said it had been rejected by the selection process.

Watts replied that it could have been a case of the individual malt company having a demand from a specific sector of the industry and that might be a characteristic of the evolving malt barley business.

The AgriPost

Take a Mid-Winter Inventory of Your Barley Swath-Grazing Acres for Beef Cows

By Peter Vitti Barley swath-grazing has become a viable alternative as well as practical means of feeding low-cost forage to their overwintering pregnant beef cows. Since, nutrient supplementation may be required later-on as beef cows approach calving, producers should take a mid-winter look at swaths to evaluate their current value in order to assure all nutrient requirements are always met.

It is well accepted that the best cow candidates for barley swath grazing are early to mid-gestation cows in reasonable body condition of 2.75 (1= emaciated and 5 = obese). A barley crop late-seeded in mid-June and harvested in mid-September in its soft-dough stage lends itself to support most of these cows’ energy and protein requirements of 52 55% TDN and 8 - 9 % crude protein fed on a daily basis for body maintenance, and to support an early-term fetus.

Nutrient supplementation to the same barley swaths is most likely needed as beef cows enter their last trimester of pregnancy. They require a higher plane of energy and protein nutrition; 55 - 60% TDN and 11 12% crude protein, as well as now are responsible to support a late-term fetus and maintain an optimum body condition score of 2.75 (1 = emaciated, 5 = obese) by calving. In addition, 1st calf replacement heifers entering the cowherd are also growing and thus have similar requirements.

Consequently, a table of feed sample analysis taken some years ago by the Western Beef Development Centre (1998) illustrates how well typical barley swaths match the above dietary energy and protein needs of early to late gestating beef cows. Keep in mind that one’s own feed samples may differ. (see chart 1 below) This information also shows, that around mid-December, barley swaths tend to physically degenerate

Barley swath grazing 2020.

in the field - higher fibre/less available TDN energy levels and also lower protein. This is the same understanding that many swath-grazing producers have experienced.

Some of them also realize that as the weather gets colder in January/February, that their cattle tend to eat more of the swaths (up to 30% more), yet may still lose some body condition, regardless of stage of gestation. I usually tell them that some western research on the effect of winter weather upon cattle dictate - the beef cows’ dietary energy requirement “just to stay warm” increases by 2% for every 1°C drop in temperature below 0 °C. This means that their barley swath-grazing cattle often require 40 - 50% more dietary energy, while being left without any shelter on the open prairies.

To combat such universal cold challenges as well as account for increasing nutrient requirements of his gestating beef cows grazing hundreds of acres of barley swaths - this is a simple protocol of what a rancher of 200 Angus x Simmental cattle that I visit, follows: - Estimate swath carrying capacity – He currently estimates his carry capacity at 225 cow-days per acre.

Over the years, this number changes greatly due to differences in estimated crop yield, herd size, replacement rates, weather and observed wastage.

- Get ready to supplement cows

– My friend saves a significant number of round mixed alfalfa x grass hay bales for his cows as they approach calving date of March 1. He also provides 20% protein lick tubs at the rate of 1 block to 25 cows.

These are provided near available automatic waterers, where animals visit on a daily basis.

- Provide a good mineral program – He feeds a 2:1 breeder mineral in loose form at the rate of 100 grams to all his beef cows. Its calcium and phosphorus compliment the barley swaths as well as contain high levels of chelated (bioavailable) trace minerals and vitamins.

- Be ready for challenges – Some years the snow is very deep on the swaths. His cattle seem to break through them up to 2’. If the snow is heavily encrusted, my friend will take a payloader and drive over the swaths. Note – he does not rely on snow as a water source, since a few automatic waterers are set up near his home.

Such a plan of action to overwinter his cowherd on barley-swaths has worked for this producer over the years. He has been able to help his gestating cows meet their nutrient requirements and as a result achieve trouble-free and successful calving rate. His overwintering costs are about half of a conventional hay/ silage feeding program, which he feels anybody that is able to swath graze should achieve.

Chart 1

New Protein Consortium Created in Manitoba

Peter Watts says that after 20 years the varieties of malt barley popular on the prairies is about to undergo a change.

Photo by Les Kletke

The Manitoba government has created a new committee, the Manitoba Protein Consortium, to provide leadership on projects of strategic importance and encourage stakeholders to continue actions to implement the Manitoba Protein Advantage strategy.

“We committed to working with industry, academia and government to create value and jobs from growing and processing animal and plant protein,” said Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen.

“The consortium brings together

members of the plant and animal protein value chains from producer to processor to retailer, academia and innovator to provide leadership for a path to position Manitoba as first in class in sustainable protein industry development.”

The Manitoba Protein Consortium will focus on three main activities providing advice to the minister, industry, academia and other stakeholders on implementing the Manitoba Protein Advantage; engaging with stakeholders to define sustainability and create

metrics to quantify Manitoba’s sustainability advantage; and ensuring that stakeholders are accountable for specific actions under the Manitoba Protein Advantage.

The Manitoba Protein Consortium supports Manitoba’s “Economic Growth Action Plan”, which identifies priority areas including the development of targeted sector strategies as a way to foster competitiveness, facilitate growth, identify investment opportunities and address economic barriers in the province.

The AgriPost

The Opportunity in Trade Wars

By Les Kletke Jonathan Driedger urges producers to look at the big picture when considering grain markets.

Driedger is the Senior Market Analyst with LeftField Commodities Research and delivered the market outlook for the Wheat and Barley Growers meeting held at Ag Days in Brandon.

Driedger points to a change in global attitude towards trade that is having a large impact. He said there are 4 of the 6 largest economies in the world having leaders that are decidedly nationalistic. “The US, China, India and the UK all have leaders that are decidedly nationalistic and the current agreement with China is only a blip in the process and as we can see Canada is a small pawn in the trade wars. The tension will come back,” said Driedger.

“Japan and Germany round out the remaining top spots in the world’s 6 largest economies.”

He said that sometimes disagreements can provide opportunities for other countries and provided exam-

ples of a disagreement between the US and EU that is an opportunity for Canadian bean producers while the China – Australia conflict is providing a demand for Canadian barley.

Driedger urges producers to consider long term trends and consider their impact on the industry, while they may look at spot markets to make selling decisions the business of agriculture is long term. “The demand for vegetable oil is strong and that transcends the next crop year,” he said.

While the oat crop was the biggest in 10 years the quality was down and US mills are buying. “There are some good offers out there for new crop oats and this might be the time to take advantage of those,” said Driedger.

He said the corn market is somewhat of an unknown with ending stocks in the US being 1.8 billion bushels but the conditions of last fall make it difficult to know where spring planting numbers will be.

“We have to wait and see if plant-

Jonathon Driedger urges producers to look at long term trends when making marketing decisions. Photo by Les Kletke

ing acres will return to more normal levels,” he said. “But there is still crop in the field and we don’t know what condition that will be in.”

He also noted that canola in the field in western Canada is still an unknown. “There is some canola in the field and Europe has been importing rapeseed, so those are things to watch for the short term.”

Be an Influencer with the Tools Available

By Joan Airey An influencer is a person or thing that affects the decisions of another. The dictionary says it is an individual who has the power to affect the purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his or her audience.

We all need this ability in order to run our business or improve things in our community.

Blahey explained the different methods with today’s technology and tools on how you can make your voice heard. “The traditional ways to get your presence known are through presentations, speeches, visual presentations, articles in the print media and demonstrations. Today with modern technology you can be an influencer by using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Blog posts and YouTube. Other tools you can use are groups like

Manitoba Women’s Institute, Manitoba Provincial Council of Women, Keystone Ag Producers, or Association of Manitoba Municipalities which all bring forth resolutions to lobby their local representatives of government,” said Blahey.

Blahey pointed out to the attendees, how everyone can use these tools to their great advantage.

But stressed that the information needs to be correct and this information is something that should be shared with the public in general. It all begins with great communication skills, verbal or nonverbal and you have to choose the way that works best for you.

For more information join the conversation with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development by subscribing to their newsletter. You can follow at twitter.com/MBGovAg, visit the website Manitoba.ca/agriculture

Thelma Blahey spoke on being an influencer with the tools available at a recent Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference.

Photo by Joan Airey

or call the general inquires line at 1-844-769-6224 said Thelma Blahey to those attending the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference in Winnipeg.

Other methods of communication that the department team uses are e-mail leadership@gov. mb.ca, Twitter, Blog posts and face-to-face with people.

WGRF Commits to 16 New Research Projects Through a continuing co-funding partnership with the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, and other producer commodity groups, Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) recently announced over $2.1 Million of new funding for 16 crop-related research projects.

“We continue to see tremendous value in a collaborative approach to funding research,” said Terry Young, WGRF Board Chair.

“WGRF partners with producer commodity organizations and government funding agencies to maxi-

mize the investment farmers are making in crop research. WGRF is excited about the potential impact these projects can have for western Canadian farmers.”

The approved projects include research into soil health, intercropping, nitrogen management, agronomics for precision agriculture, herbicide-resistant weed surveys and surveillance, weed management in oats, fusarium resistance, clubroot resistance, nitrogen use in wheat, lodging, water efficiency in wheat and analytic tools for improved crop breeding.

“WGRF established this fund-

ing partnership with ADF seven years ago,” said Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director. “Since that time WGRF has invested over $18 million into 146 research projects in partnership with ADF and crop commissions. WGRF looks forward to increased and continued collaboration investing in crop research that benefits western Canadian farmers.”

A full listing of projects will be posted on the WGRF website once research contracts are in place. More than 500 past and present WGRF funded research projects are currently listed on westerngrains.com.

January 31, 2020

Ease into Automation and the Tech Future

By Les Kletke Spencer Myers is a machinery reporter for several agricultural outlets in western Canada and he said that while machinery advancements are coming along at record speed producers need to be aware of what fits in their operation and what will provide them a better bottom line.

He cites the example of auto steer. “Your technology bills can skyrocket with auto steer, and there is no data to indicate that it provides you with more money.

It is a luxury,” he said.

That does not mean that producers should not have it but they should be aware that it is a cost that does not contribute to the bottom line. “It does contribute to operator comfort,” he said.

His presentation at Ag Days was titled Reinventing machinery -Past Present and Future and he recalled when GPS was a new innovation and had to prove itself. “I remember it being new and my Dad aspiring to having GPS in his tractor,” said Myers.

“Today it is a given and farmers just expect it. That is the way things change.”

His presentation went back to the early days of John Deere and how the company transitioned from the mouldboard plow to the Waterloo boy tractor. “There was a time that farmers thought horses would be a part of the business forever.”

Myers recommended that farmers ease into technology with minimal investment when possible. “Drones are a part of the landscape now but I would

recommend getting started with a low end model and get familiar with the technology. See where it fits on your farm and if you will use the technology. You can buy an entry level drone for about $500 and it has a relatively good camera you can use to scout your fields and get acquainted with the technology,” said Myers.

He said investment in weather stations might prove worthwhile.

“With the size of farms now conditions can be different from one area on the farm to another,” he said. “Wind conditions may vary and it may be too windy to spray in one area but at another field 5 miles away conditions might be different. If you have a weather station at different points on your farm you can get that data quickly and cheaply.”

On the larger scale he provided a look at different energy sources for tractors and said he saw nothing in the immediate future that would change the industry although he has seen models that used electricity or methane but they would not be practical in the next few years.

Spencer Myers encourages farmers to evaluate the return on new machinery not just purchase it for comfort.

Photo by Les Kletke

Seeding Forecasts More Wheat, Less Canola and Corn

By Elmer Heinrichs Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in its January Outlook for 2020, said the area seeded to field crops in Canada is forecast to increase marginally from 2019-20 as the area seeded to wheat and coarse grains is expected to increase slightly while the area seeded to oilseeds and pulse and special crops decreases marginally.

In general, average yields are forecast to increase compared to 2019-20 because excessive moisture conditions in some areas reduced yields last year.

The production of grains and oilseeds and pulse and special crops is forecast to increase modestly so that total field crop production is expected to increase by two percent to 95.3 Mt. Last year’s production of all field crops was estimated at 93.3 million tonnes (Mt), unchanged from the previous year, as higher production of pulses and special crops offset the decrease in pro-

duction of grains and oilseeds.

The Outlook suggests there will be little change in wheat acreage, while the area seeded to corn in Canada is forecast to decrease by only two per cent from 2019-20 as corn prices remain relatively strong, and the area seeded to oats in Canada is forecast to increase by nine per cent mainly due to good prices and strong demand.

Seeded area of canola in Canada is forecast to decrease by two per cent to 8.3 million hectares (Mha), as farmers seed slightly more wheat and coarse grains at the expense of oilseeds and pulses and special crops.

Planted area in soybeans is forecast to fall marginally to 2.25 Mha, due to low prices and concerns over growing conditions.

In general, abundant supplies of grain at the world level are expected to pressure world grain prices but prices in Canada will continue to be supported by the low value of the Canadian dollar.

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January 31, 2020

The Bread, Beer and Dollars of Wheat Breeding

By Les Kletke Santosh Kumar acknowledged that new tools in plant breeding have helped and indeed shortened the process needed to bring a variety to market but the challenges still remain. Kumar is a wheat breeder with Ag Canada based in Brandon and one of the presenters with “Bread, Beer, and $$$” at the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers program held in conjunction with Ag Days.

Wheat remains one of Canada’s major crops at 14.5 million metric tonnes and only canola surpasses it in volume at 17 million metric tonnes, while barley accounts for 4.8 million metric tonnes of production. Canada Western Red Spring (CWR) wheat accounts for over 70% of the wheat production.

Kumar outlined how a variety goes from the initial cross to a registered variety. The process requires 12-14 generations he explained. At one time that would have meant 14 years of production but with modern breeding methods and winter production that process has been shortened to as little as 8 years.

One thing that has not changed is what producers want from a new variety. “I spoke to a producer and asked him what we should be considering in our breeding programs, he said, ‘Number 1 should be yield, number 2 should be yield and number 3 should be yield’,” said Kumar adding that while breeders consider increased yield as a priority there are other considerations.

“We have to look at appropriate maturity, because increasing yield can come with a longer maturity but a year like this past one emphasizes how important it is to keep a variety in that 98-99 day range.” he said. “We also have to look at stalk strength, farmers don’t like straw.”

Disease is also an issue when a breeder works on new lines.

Kumar said Ag Canada has 50,000 plots annually at 7 sites across the prairies to evaluate the new varieties for rust and diseases like fusarium head blight. He went on to explain how breeders incorporate the genes that provide a resistance to wheat midge.

“We also work with international nurseries to obtain new sources of diseases or rust, and some of these have to be handled in strict quarantine,” said Kumar. Sending varieties to New Zealand for multiplication in winter can save up to 4 years in the process.

While he did not tip his hand on what the next great variety might be Kumar did allude to several new varieties that will be available for commercial production in the next year or two.

The AgriPost

We Can Always Do Better

By Les Kletke The man who became known for his 5% talk returned to Ag Days with a presentation about the value of farm employees and how building a team goes a long way to getting through a harvest like this past year. Kristjan Hebert is known on the agricultural meeting circuit for his talk on how making a 5% change in revenue or cutting cost can have a dramatic impact on the bottom line, and while he still refers to those small changes his talk at Ag Day focused on the value of an on farm work force.

Always one to challenge the status quo, Hebert said, “We don’t know what we don’t know, and our approach is if it ain’t broke we have not looked hard enough.”

Looking hard at a farm operation does not strictly mean looking at machinery, rather it is an approach to everything. “We can always do things better, we just have to look for ways to do things better, not just be happy with what is happening.”

He used the example of a combine operator on his farm this fall. The farm runs several combines and one operator found that by changing the setting on his machine and

his travel on the field he could gain an extra 8% capacity on the machine.

“He did not tell me this till the end of the day and wanted the acknowledgment for finding out the new information. My first thought was why didn’t I have this information earlier and all the machines could have done this. I was wondering why my other 4 machines were operating at less than capacity.”

He used another example of a relative simple task. “Everyone knows how to refuel a machine, right?” he asked the audience. “Well think of all the mistakes that are made. We had our fuel truck driver train one of the girls from the office one day and she wrote the instructions for fuel truck operations. You can bet it was better than if someone wrote the instructions and assumed what people know. She had no information before hand and did a better job. Those instructions are now posted in the fuel truck.”

On a larger scale Hebert said that less than 1/3 of producers set goals and strategic plans and only 20% have a Standard Operating Program. “We work on a plan with our team and then beat it around to

Kristjan Hebert says having employees engaged in the farm operation makes a great difference on the bottom line.

Photo by Les Kletke

see the flaws and see where we can improve,” said Hebert.

Everyone in the audience knew he was right and his presentation made sense, but how many producers will put his advice into practice. “That is the point,” said Hebert.

First Timer Will Be Back to MFWC

Leanne Tibbatts, Rural Leadership Specialist in the Industry Advancement Branch for Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development facilitated the planning session.

Provided photo.

By Joan Airey The 2020 Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference (MFWC) planning session was an oppor-

tunity for farm and rural women to come together to generate innovative ideas for the future and sustainability of the MFWC. Leanne Tibbatts, Rural Leadership Specialist in the Industry Advancement Branch for Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development facilitated the planning session said that she saw many more women from all over Manitoba attending this year’s meeting.

Tamara Peitach commented, “My first conference was 2019; honestly I didn’t have high expectations about another conference. My friend who went before was enthusiastic about going to-

gether, so I registered. I have to say once you’ve gone to one, you won’t miss another.”

“Being in a room filled with women, with the same ideals and passion is so invigorating.

I’m excited to see what MBWFC 2020 will bring us,” said Peitach.

“My partner took over his grandfather’s farm and we’ve recently doubled both our cattle and grain acres. I’m in my mid- 20’s and the extra demand on work can sure take a toll even though I have the energy to do it. Being in a room full of understanding and likeminded women is great.”

Plans are to hold the conference in Brandon in November 2020.

Disaster Financial Assistance for 2019’s Severe Weather Event

Santos Kumar says that farmers ask for higher yield varieties but there are Photo by Les Kletke other factors plant breeders must consider.

The Manitoba government will make disaster financial assistance (DFA) available for eligible farms along with municipalities, homeowners and small businesses impacted by severe weather in October 2019.

When a natural disaster occurs, the province may declare the event eligible for DFA. The Manitoba Emergency Measures Act allows the provincial government to provide financial assistance if the event meets the criteria outlined in the act.

Disaster financial assistance is generally available as a last resort for evacuations, municipal re-

sponse costs, repairs to damaged infrastructure and non-insurable damage to principal residences and buildings essential to the operation of eligible farms and small businesses. Home and business owners affected by the fall severe weather are encouraged to seek assistance first through private insurance claims, and to carefully check insurance coverage to ensure they are protected against potential risks in their area.

The Federal government may provide financial assistance to provincial and territorial governments through Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements following

large-scale natural disasters. The Premier noted the province is confident the impacts of the fall 2019 storm will be eligible for federal funding.

Applications and further details are available online at manitobaemo.ca or by calling the Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization at 204-945-3050 or toll-free 1-888267-8298. Applications are also available at most municipal offices.

The storm also created the need to use the Red River Floodway for the first time ever in the fall. The province previously announced a compensation program related specifically to the floodway.

The AgriPost

Focus on Africa at Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference

Display of products made by women and sold in Africa that are sold to Photos by Joan Airey feed families.

By Joan Airey There is so much to see and do at Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference that it can’t be all covered in one article in one month.

Myrna Ronald is one of numerous hard working volunteers raising money to help Beacon of Hope in Nairobi, Kenya. Ronald accompanies her husband an HIV/AIDS physician who has been involved with the University of Manitoba in Africa since the early 1980s. Twice in recent years Ronald has bought a display of clothes, iPad covers, purses and kitchen linens to the conference to sell to raise money for the Nairobi women who made them.

“When in Africa I have taken orphans by bus to their doctors appointment, counselled teens about re-entering school, helped women to better their tailoring skills, learned how to build a school and made sure money allocated appropriately goes to designated projects. We often spend four weeks at a time in Africa,” said Ronald.

The mission of Beacon of Hope is to bring hope to women living with and affected by HIV/AIDS within poor communities by empowering needs.

Their goal is to equip the poor communities’ women and children and empower them to meet their spiritual, physical, emotional and economic needs. One such example is the Ongata Rongai community that has a population of 147,000.

To date they have assisted over seven thousand women through training in income generating programs, to be independent, to leave prostitution and have resources for their children to be fed and schooled. The vision of the women of Rongai is to grow to become a training centre for Nairobi, Kenya and other African countries.

“We received a request from Beacon of Hope, a resource centre for HIV affected women and families that we at Focus Africa, here in Winnipeg partner with. We are a small group the African women started after a conference at Calvary Temple in 2004. We are a group with five members born in Africa and five born in Canada. We were approached to see if we could provide lights for children who continue to fall behind because they cannot do homework; reading, etc.,” said Ronald.

Can you imagine what it would be like to have no form of light in your home or light for walking at dark except a small candle or a bit of paraffin with a wick. You would have no way to do home-

A photo of students and a teacher in a school in Africa.

Canadians have donated through Focus on Africa to LuminAID so that students have light to study by.

Myrna Ronald at Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference.

work and continue to fall behind those that have at least a light. In fact many of the teachers do not have access to light except candles to prepare their classes. Many students have not dreamed of a better future because they have no way to study.

“LuminAID came to our attention on Shark Tank. These solar lights were a result of two young university students who wanted to do something to enhance the lives of young vulnerable girls in developing countries. They agreed to provide the lights for us at a fair price because they are going to resource poor teens to upgrade not only their lives but there is enough light given off that several can read and study from one light. We have been told the lights are changing lives in many ways.” said Ronald.

Isaac was one of the first to receive the solar light in August last year. In his last term in Grade Eleven he improved his final marks from a D to a C, in one term. If he continues he can finish Grade Twelve well prepared to enter any technical school and with a B average can enter some universities.

“George Otieno is being raised by a single mom who is selling dried sardines to try to feed nine mouths. There was often not enough food and a huge struggle to educate some of her children. For George to be in high school is a miracle. It is his thirst for knowledge that has driven him. He has often had to miss school to work for food and pay back owing school fees. His school has electricity so many days when he went; had to stay behind to catch-up. Getting a solar light is a big break for him. He is determined to be a Governance Expert to help craft policy to benefit widows and orphans,” said Ronald.

If you want to find out more about the group and the solar lights visit focusafrica.ca.

Photos courtesy of Myrna Ronald

January 31, 2020

Three Disruptors to Watch in 2020, Say FCC Economists Climate change, protectionism and automation, three forces Bloomberg identifies as major disruptors to the global economic outlook also appear among the most significant trends to watch in the Canadian agri-food supply chain for 2020, according to Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) economics team.

These trends have the potential to not only disrupt the global economy, but they could also have a significant impact in shaping Canada’s agriculture and food industry outlook, said J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief agricultural economist.

“We call them disruptors for the simple fact that these trends could significantly change the way Canadian farm operations, agri-businesses and food processors do business at home and around the world,” Gervais said.

“The test is how they will adapt to take advantage of the opportunities or mitigate the challenges that come with each of these trends.”

Gervais said the disruptors come with the potential to promote or inhibit growth in Canada’s agriculture and food industry.

Changing weather patterns will impact production and demand. According to Canada’s 2019 Climate Change Report, Canada is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world. Increases in both annual and seasonal mean temperatures may extend growing seasons with additional hotter days. However, the potential for warmer weather also increases potential for more rain during seeding and harvest, which makes controlling disease and pests more challenging. It also brings a higher likelihood of extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts.

“As we’ve witnessed in recent years, weather disruptions can lead to production losses across major agriculture producing regions, and this has serious and rippling repercussions for Canadian agriculture and food sectors,” Gervais said.

Unstable growing conditions worldwide also raise the importance of food security. Individual nations may increase their efforts to stockpile, leading to more intense price competition for available crops. This could benefit Canada’s agriculture exports, according to Gervais.

Another disruptor is trade agreements, protection against protectionism.

Protectionism contributes to market volatility, which has an overall detrimental impact on the world economy. This would appear to be especially true for Canada, which was the world’s fifth largest exporter of agriculture commodities in 2018 behind the United States, Brazil, the Netherlands and China.

However, Canada has done extremely well in establishing strong trade relations in a number of key markets, thanks to a long-held focus on getting trade agreements in place, according to Gervais. And while more market access issues could arise in 2020, it’s just as possible that market disruptions could create new opportunities for Canadian producers and exporters.

“Our trade agreements help buffer Canada from some of the negative impact that growing protectionism is having on the world economy,” he said. “When tariffs are imposed or borders close for any number of reasons, having a broader range of export markets allows Canadian exports to be re-allocated, rather than simply reduced.”

Bottom line, protectionism in an evolving and uncertain international trade environment should not have a significant impact on Canada’s longterm export growth potential. The main reason, according to Gervais, is that food demand has grown both domestically and globally and is expected to continue in 2020. The animal protein sectors could even see growth accelerate based on the evolution of African Swine Fever in China and the rest of the world.

Lastly, is automation and innovation that will fuel future success. Despite global economic turmoil, the outlook for Canadian agriculture and food in 2020 remains positive due to ongoing investments in technology and innovation. These investments enable Canada to produce a wide range of commodities and processed foods, which help the country maintain its competitive position in the world export market, according to Gervais. Advances made possible due to automation in both agriculture production and food processing reduce costs.

In processing, automation helps solve the long-term challenge of labour shortages, especially for skilled manufacturing labour. In agriculture, Canadian producers are adopting various technologies that help reduce costs and increase efficiencies, while managing highly variable growing conditions.

With interest rates expected to remain low, the environment for continued investments in innovation and technology looks positive, Gervais said.

“Canadian farm operations have been a bit more cautious about making new investments, given the recent decline in net income,” he said. “But they also know that market conditions will eventually improve and that innovation is a long-term investment that eventually pays off.”

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January 31, 2020

The AgriPost