AgriPost July 26 2019

The AgriPost

July 26, 2019

Dairy Farmers of Canada Optimistic About the Future

At the recent AGM in Saskatoon, David Wiens, a dairy farmer from Grunthal, and the Vice President of the Dairy Farmers of Canada said he feels invigorated even with some major challenges facing the industry today because of the many opportunities available to Canadian dairy farmers.

Photo by Harry Siemens

By Harry Siemens David Wiens, a dairy farmer from Grunthal, and the Vice President of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, summed up the 2019 AGM in Saskatoon, this way. “A fascinating conference with lots of good, hard information presented to us.

We see some major challenges in our future but also many opportunities,” said Wiens. “I’m feeling quite invigorated. Our dairy industry in Canada will continue to play an important role, in terms of economics and ultimately, the living that it provides for dairy farm families across the country and the processors.”

The first question put to Wiens focused on the $11.4 million of research money announced by Agricultural Minister Bibeau at the start of the conference.

With some matching dollars from several of their partners, the total comes to $16.5 million. “With this money, we can continue to invest in research in a very significant way. Over the years, we have seen how research is a good investment,” he said. “It has increased efficiencies in productivity on dairy farms, but also the human health and nutrition Continued on Page 3...

Temporary Access Granted to Cut Hay and Graze Animals on Crown Land Manitoba Agriculture advised that, due to dry conditions in parts of the province, livestock producers will temporarily be allowed to cut hay and allow animals to graze on Crown land not normally designated for agricultural use.

Under certain circumstances, Crown land can be made available for agricultural use. The Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing program will administer the use of available land and provide necessary permits.

Livestock must be removed when the naturally existing forage is exhausted or by October 31. Baled hay must be removed by November 15.

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

Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) welcomed the news that the Manitoba government is allowing cattle producers to graze cattle and to cut hay on certain Crown land not normally accessible for these purposes.

“The dry conditions of the past couple of years have created challenging conditions for beef producers in terms of the amount of grazing days available on their pastures and the volume and quality of hay they have been able to harvest,” explained MBP President Tom Teichroeb. “We had identified these concerns to the Manitoba government on behalf of our producers.

This announcement will provide an important option for producers who require additional feed options and we thank the government for making this available.”

For more information, contact the Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing program at 1-204-867-6550 or a local Agricultural Crown Lands representative.

“The province is also asking crop producers to think about making their crop residue available to livestock producers and I know there are many beef producers who would welcome those kinds of conversations,” added Teichroeb. “We will continue to engage with the government about the effects of the dry conditions and possible strategies to help producers deal with these situations, such as water supply challenges.”

July 26, 2019

The AgriPost

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July 26, 2019

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Dairy Farmers of Canada Optimistic About the Future Continued from Page 1

side. We’ve seen important scientific information that has come out certainly that would support dairy in terms of good human nutrition for healthy lifestyles. So that’s been important for us.”

Wiens said that research is extremely relevant. One example is increased dairy farm efficiency and sustainability so that it directly impacts the viability of farms in Canada. “It’’ about things like increasing production, how do we best utilize Alfalfa forages for example and the developments that come out of that. It’s about trying to identify the best management practices for silage production. Those are all very, very important things for on-farm. But then you have the cow health and welfare, that’s a big one. Dairy farmers realize that cows cared for, comfortable, and healthy

will be more productive.”

He said the research is so valuable whether for udder health, in terms of the work with the mastitis network or some of the unraveling of the genetic susceptibility for Johne’s disease so that precautions can be implemented by keeping a closed herd or requiring that replacement animals come from testnegative herds to extend cow longevity. “As we glean more information out of this research, we can improve in all these areas. Improving milk quality improves the productivity of the cow, improves overall production.

The research is also about reducing the antimicrobial use on the farms,” he said.

“And how you best do that, which addresses the whole concern about antimicrobial resistance. But certainly the fewer antimicrobials we use

on the farm is an indication of better health of cows.”

Wiens who also heads up the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba said milk production had increased significantly in Manitoba. About three years ago, Manitoba producers were not able to produce to their full allocation for the province. “There was no extra processing capacity in the province, and at times other provinces could help us out, but not on a steady basis,” said Wiens. “Milk production is about feeding cows in the barn; so you can’t go from week to week or month to month not knowing if next week or next month there may not be a home for the milk. It dampened the production in Manitoba. So it’s about two years ago now that we had a new plant opened up in Manitoba.”

He said it is a combination

of Vitalus Food’s of Abbotsford, BC, and Gayley Foods out of Ontario who came together in this project known as MDI. “They are processing butter but also on the protein side of the milk; they are producing milk protein concentrates for markets around the world. So that is a very positive development,” he said. “That has increased the processing capacity in Manitoba by about 40 per cent, which is significant.

So from the time, the plant opened in October, almost two years ago now, the following year we increased our milk production in the province by about 12 per cent, which is significant.

We’re still catching up because we had fallen so far behind. But the production continues to be strong.”

A Growing Organic Industry Receives Federal Funding A recent funding announcement of $992,131 for the CanadaOrganic Trade Association made under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriMarketing Program, will support the industry in resolving market access issues, ensuring Canadian organic products remain competitive.

The funding will also help create export and domestic opportunities to promote the “Canada Organic” brand.

The project includes activities such as attending trade shows, hosting incoming missions, participating at international trade advocacy meetings and creating a retailer training webinar series and manual.

The Government of Canada has also recently supported a review of organic standards and has provided program support to the Organic Federation of Canada to help maintain the sector’s sustainability.

Globally, the organic marketplace is estimated at $102.76 billion (USD), growing at a rate of 17.6% per year.

Annual retail sales of certified organic food products in Canada is approximately $4.4 billion. Approximately 4,289 certified organic and transitional producers are working on over 930,000 hectares of land in Canada.

The AgriPost

July 26, 2019

Letters to the Editor can be sent to: The AgriPost Box 308, Richer, MB R0E 1S0 E-mail: editor@agripost.ca Opinions expressed in the letters and editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. While we will withhold names upon request, all submissions must be signed and include a contact phone number for verification.

Busting Wheat Myths A modern myth says that back in the good old days - when we all had to walk uphill to school both ways - wheat varieties were way better than today’s counterparts. A new, peer-reviewed study released just this June in Nature Plants, a monthly scientific journal, completely blows that notion out of the water.

According to the paper’s lead author, Dr. Kai VossFels, “There is a view that intensive selection and breeding which has produced the high-yielding wheat cultivars used in modern cropping systems has also made modern wheat less resilient and more dependent on chemicals to thrive.” It’s a view held by consumers, environmentalists, organic and even conventional farmers.

But it just doesn’t hold up to serious scrutiny.

“The results of this study clearly contradict, in one of the world’s most important crops,” says Voss-Fels, a German scientist working

in Australia. “The popular paradigm that intensive plant breeding results in cultivars that have high performance under optimal conditions but a poor capacity to perform under suboptimal growing conditions. In fact, we found the opposite to be true.”

Researchers looked at winter wheat varieties in Western Europe, particularly in Germany over the last 50 years, because that’s where we find the highest yields on the planet. They planted them side by side in distinctly different locations over a number of years.

“In total,” the study states, “the main trials and validation experiment comprised 18,844 full-sized yield plots, in which a total of 209,806 trait values were measured.

These extensive, multi-location (6) and multi-season (12) field evaluations with at least two replicates per site provided detailed insight into the long-term effects.”

Seeds from 191 registered European wheat cultivars

from between 1966 and 2013 were used.

What they found out was that, “Recent cultivars outperform older cultivars under both high-input and lowinput scenarios.”

One of the other things they confirmed is that, over the long run, wheat breeders have incrementally been able to get undesirable traits out of wheat. “As a consequence, the newest 20% of cultivars carried significantly fewer detrimental or neutral haplotypes than the oldest 80% of cultivars for almost all traits.” This goes a long way to improving productivity and performance under all conditions, be they weather-related, low input production, or intensive high input farming.

Dr. Voss-Fels says the research also cleared up another misconception, that modern varieties are all too similar, thereby lacking “adaptive diversity”. The fear is that it sets us up for some kind of disaster should

Penner’s Points

conditions or the environment suddenly By Rolf Penner changes in the future.

“We found that genetic diversity within the often-criticised modern wheat gene pool is rich enough to generate a the other hand, can be confurther 23-per-cent increase fident that things are slowly in yields.” moving in the right direcThe paper concludes, “Our tion. And all the money that study demonstrates that goes into research and debreeding promotes both cul- velopment isn’t just being tivar performance and yield thrown out the window. Usestability across diverse envi- ful things are done with it. ronments and management From a global perspecscenarios.” This should be tive wheat is one of, if not good news for farmers and the most, important food in consumers everywhere. the world, with the amount But the findings do pose of acres grown that is larger some challenges for the or- than that of any other crop. ganic community, which Those who are concerned tends to favour older, less- about food security also take meddled with plants. Does all of this very seriously, one grow a more vigorous especially with all the fearhealthy modern variety, or mongering we see these days an older more traditional one about climate and so called that may not deliver as many “extreme weather.” bushels but might satisfy the The bottom line? Modern customer more? Sometimes wheat varieties consistently the story is just as important outperform older varieties as the product. in all conditions and circumConventional farmers, on stances. Myth busted.

Dr. Carr Observes the Handling of PED Virus in Manitoba

International livestock veterinarian consultant and lecturer Dr. John Carr told me recently, “At the moment, I have two major issues on the planet. We’ve got to fix Manitoba’s PED outbreak. I don’t know; we seem to almost to get there and then not quite enough.

This is quite frustrating.”

In speaking candidly from the Manila airport, John said the second issue is African Swine Fever (ASF), with the majority of his time spent on that one.

You see when I ask him in which country he feeds pigs, a pat answer is in which one I don’t. Dr. Carr has as good a handle on the ASF in China as anyone may claim to have because he is responsible for the health of at least 150,000 sows. When I spoke with him recently while waiting to catch a flight back to the US, he’d spent four or five days with the pig industry

where they are still free of AFS. How long is hard to say. John is also responsible for the health of various hog operations in Canada, and therefore, his concern rests with the continuous outbreak of the PED virus in Manitoba.

“You know, in some respects, I don’t want the PED to be a lesson regarding ASF, but some of the same principles apply. The advantage of ASF is, it doesn’t move through the air, but convinced PED moves through the air. I haven’t finished all my analysis, of course; But one of the problems I have is, I still think the, Chief Veterinary Office (CVO) is not making a big enough exclusion zone.”

He said the exclusion zone is too small. “When they do their maps, they make it with circles around the farms, and I make bigger circles around the farms. I haven’t looked at this latest outbreak, but the one a year and a half ago, all of the new outbreaks, all within my zone. I mean, they were no surprise to me. They were well within my experience, expected zone of infection. But they were outside

of the province’s expected zone,” he pointed out.

“See, I give it a 10-mile radius, at least, around farms.

In my experience, particularly with the wind blowing in one direction, a virus can move a long way. And 10 miles is not very far when the wind is blowing, when you work it out, the wind’s blowing 50 kilometres an hour, the stuff’ is there in 5, 10 minutes. And people tend to ignore the weather more than I think they should,” he stressed.

Dr. Carr has another concern. “People are now trying to grow out some of these pigs, and I’m not entirely sure if that’s a way to tackle the problem. It seems that people have got almost punch drunk so they have got used to it, and that’s what frightens me.

They’ll suddenly panic because they get used to two or three cases, and then it’ll get to 20, and they’ll panic. And then it’ll get back down to two or three; they’ll not get it to zero,” he said.

“But again, no disrespect to the government, we should know that the cases are all related. I could do an RNA analysis and know where

it came from. I should very quickly be able to tell whether it’s the United States or Canada. I should see if its origin is from Ontario or Manitoba. I probably should know if it’s the same strain or something new,” he explained. “And in truth, I should know whether it’s your farm versus Joe’s farm.

Now I appreciate the government sometimes doesn’t want me to know all of that details, but they should do. If they don’t know, they should know.”

Carr said they should know where this is coming from, and he finds there’s a wall of silence which is unpleasant.

Another observation by my good friend John, “I’ll tell you, it doesn’t move by people. Not really. I mean, not if you wash, change your clothes, change your boots, wash your hands, soak or shower. I wouldn’t be able to do my job. If people easily transmitted all these diseases, there would be a wake of diseases behind me.”

Dr. Carr said the industry needs to make some hard decisions. “To my mind, each farm needs an eradication plan. Total PED eradication,

not pigs,” he said. “I don’t mean to depopulate for PED, I think I can control PED, but I need a formal plan for each one of those farms carried through to completion. And if you don’t want to go along with this, then they should be made to depopulate.”

He believes strongly Canada needs to make the PED virus a notifiable disease.

“The difference in England, we made PED a notifiable disease, and I was instrumental in achieving that goal.

Because in Canada, it’s not, I only have to advise people that I have the problem. But in England, we made PED a notifiable disease. It means that, as a practiced veterinarian, I must report this. I don’t even have to have confirmation, and I need to have some signs.”

The sad part in all of this said John is that PED virus in Manitoba is a considerable distraction. “We need to take a really good shake at the whole industry and just say, “Boys, this is not good enough. To my mind, we need to be concentrating on feeding China and not being distracted by PED.”

By Joan Airey

The AgriPost

Welcome Relief for Parched Prairies

By Elmer Heinrichs Much needed rain finally came to southern Manitoba about mid-month and in some areas did not stop until the parched prairie had gone from dry to drenched.

After a hot dry start to the growing season for most of the prairies, the rains provided some relief for crops.

Most areas received good amounts of rainfall, with localized areas reporting surface runoff and standing water, said Manitoba agriculture in its July 15 crop report. It reported that corn and soybean crops have experienced significant growth, early seeded cereals reaching the dough stages and most canola was flowering.

Hay and forage yields are less to significantly less than normal across the entire province, with shortages most severe in the Interlake region.

Central region reports that

wheat, oats and barley are growing well with early barley starting to turn color as it matures. Fall rye is also turning with winter wheat in the early soft dough stage.

Potato fields are flowering and showing good growth with the recent rains and warmer conditions. Irrigation of potato and vegetable fields is occurring where needed to maintain soil moisture and support growth.

Rain north of Morris and east of the Red River midmonth was a welcome sight for producers. Well over 100 mm of moisture fell between the two areas over the course of 24 to 48 hours, according to Dane Froese with Manitoba Agriculture. “Some of those areas are dealing with lodged crops and water pooling in fields, however they were dry to begin with so we’re expecting that moisture should be soaking in

fairly quickly and we hope to see the crop bounce back very soon,” said Froese.

Significant runoff occurred in the Aubigny to St. PierreJolys area due to short and intense bursts of rain. Plant growth continued at a rapid pace, particularly for the warm season crops.

Beef producers are into the first cut and say yield was 50 to 60 per cent of normal.

Livestock are being rotated through pastures as rains have helped to improve growth.

Hay fields fertilized with hog manure were looking good with average to above average yields. Half of first cut hay was still standing, 10 per cent was cut and 40 per cent baled or turned into silage.

Manitoba could be looking at its largest edible bean crop in over a decade, as acres were up and early development generally looks good.

Manitoba farmers seeded an

estimated 163,700 acres of edible beans in 2019, according to Statistics Canada data.

That would be up 20 per cent on the year and marks the largest bean acreage in the province since 2006. Seeding went as planned, although the beans were slower coming out of the ground due to cooler spring conditions, said Manitoba Agriculture pulse specialist Dennis Lange.

Edible beans do better in dry conditions than soybeans and lower yields for soybeans over the past few dry years likely contributed to farmers switching some acres out of soybeans and back into edible beans, according to Lange.

Manitoba farmers seeded an estimated 1.47 million acres of soybeans in 2019, which would be down by roughly 400,000 from the previous year, according to Statistics Canada data.

Producer Input Critical Ahead of Proposed Changes to Seed Royalties Canadian producers are being asked to share their views on proposed changes to seed royalty structures for cereal crops in a new online survey that launched recently.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency held a series of public meetings over the winter to gauge feedback on two potential new models of collecting royalties on saved seed. The government consultation process is currently on hold; however, several prairie farm

groups would like to hear more from producers on the proposed changes before the consultations resume later this year.

“The creation of a new seed royalty model for cereal crops will mean significant changes for producers when it comes to the issue of farmer-saved seed. Further exploration and consultation is absolutely critical to ensure that the interests of Canadian producers are reflected in any resulting model,” said Lynn Jacobson, president

of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture.

“It is crucial that we hear from farmers and producers on the two new proposed models, because consultation with those who are directly affected ultimately leads to better decision making,” Bill Campbell, President of Keystone Agricultural Producers said. “Our hope is that producers will take the time to get involved in this process and ensure their needs are met under a new royalty structure.”

Pork Exports to China Temporarily Suspended by CFIA as a Precaution Dear Editor, Canadian pork producers were informed recently that China will no longer be accepting Canadian pork products due to concerns regarding the validity of an export certificate. As a result, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has stopped issuing export certificates to China for all pork and beef products as of June 25, 2019. This halt in Canadian exports is not the result of a food safety concern but the misuse of Canada’s reputation as a supplier of safe quality products.

China is a very important market for Canadian producers. In 2018, Canada’s pork exports were valued at almost $4 billion, of which $514 million was exported to China it is our third-largest export market. Sales in 2019 have increased by 50% over 2018 levels and this increased demand was reflected in higher prices for live hogs.

The Canadian Pork Council, Canadian Meat Council and Canada Pork International, are working closely with government officials to better understand the situation and identify potential next steps. We are aware that Canadian government officials have been in contact with their Chinese counterparts and are hopeful this will lead to a quick resolution.

Demand for pork products remains strong in China and Canada producers look forward to having the opportunity to continue to meet the needs of our Chinese customers.

Gary Stordy Director, Government and Corporate Affairs Canadian Pork Council

Todd Lewis, President of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan agrees. “Producers certainly weren’t satisfied with the level of engagement and consultation that went into the development of the two models currently under consideration. We want to make sure that producers stay on top of these discussions and have their voice heard throughout the process,” he said.

The survey is now available at seedroyaltysurvey.com.

July 26, 2019

Wouldn’t Miss It The World Plowing Championship is coming to our area, and I won’t miss it. I’ll have a front row seat.

Well not exactly a front row seat, I will be in the stands. I did however have a front row seat to plowing in the past, it was on a Case DC4 and I spent a lot of time watching that right front wheel in the furrow of the last pass. Then I remember moving up to the Cockshutt 560 which could handle a 4 bottom plow, and seem like a quantum leap.

I did have the opportunity to spend some time on both tractors of the Kletke farm but thankfully cultivators became the choice of my father and the tedium of plowing passed into history. While the skill was lost on the Kletke farm not so in much of the world.

Both farmers and linguists around the world cannot agree on the spelling of the word although they have agreed on a set of rules that allow for a worldwide competition and that is going to be held in Minnesota in August. I want to be there, but I am having a bit of trouble convincing my friends that they should accompany me.

“What, curling isn’t slow enough? You are going to watch plowing?” is the common response from my friends who know that I enjoy watching the Roarin’ game on television. I have to admit there was a time that both activities were the domain of western Canadian farmers and while they spent a fair bit of time plowing, they did not have the dominance on the world scene that they did in the curling rink. But I digress, the World Championships are coming to our neighbouring state and I will make the sojourn southward to partake in the festivities.

I acknowledge that it will not be the fast paced excitement of a rodeo, and I like those too, but it is a skill that was important at a time when the land of western Canada was being broken and it deserves to be recognized. I will take the time to go and see it and perhaps learn a bit more about the skill that was required to turn a proper furrow.

The event will attract competitors from 30 countries and I am sure in some of those countries the ploughman (note the change in spelling) is still a recognized individual.

The pubs in England still feature a Ploughman’s Lunch.

So the excitement is building, it is less than a month to go to the World Championships of Plowing and I will be there, will you? You don’t have to answer that, I have a fair opinion of what many people think of plowing as a spectator sport. Hey, bet you can’t ride that bull for 8 seconds.

July 26, 2019

The AgriPost

Ceres Global Ag Buys Winkler’s Delmar Commodities

By Harry Siemens Ceres Global Ag, an international company focused on grain storage, procurement, and merchandising of specialty grains and oilseeds through storage and handling facilities in Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Ontario announced in July it had secured an exclusive option to buy Manitoba based Delmar Commodities, Ltd. in Winkler.

Subject to the successful completion of due diligence activities and the finalization of a definitive share purchase agreement, Ceres hopes to close this potential acquisition on or about August 1, 2019.

Under the terms of the option agreement, Ceres has the right through July 31, 2019, to buy all of Delmar’s issued and outstanding shares for $16 million in cash paid to Delmar’s shareholders, and the assumption of approximately $7.6 million in existing term debt.

Delmar would operate as a subsidiary of Ceres. Delmar’s operations and about 55 employees would be integrated into Ceres’ overall operational network.

Robert Day, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ceres said they believe adding Delmar’ grain assets is a first step to adding strategic origination for their core products, while also significantly advancing the company’s portfolio diversification with the inclusion of Delmar’s soybean crush, agricultural seed sales and distribution and birdfeed product lines.

“We see significant value in Delmar’s capabilities,

market knowledge and customer relationships, but perhaps the most attractive aspect of Delmar is its people and their talent,” said Day. “This potential combination is an important step for Ceres as we execute our growth strategy, and we look forward to tapping the potential our teams as we work together.”

Dale Heide, President of Delmar, said they are excited about the prospects of being a part of Ceres’ business and team. “Delmar’s growth ambitions and plans, combined with Ceres’ customer network and access to capital, would provide us with a unique opportunity to profitably grow together,” said Heide.

Ceres the acquisition of Delmar in February 2019.

Pioneer and founder of Delmar Commodities back in 1996; Martin Harder also the Mayor of Winkler had some mixed emotions. “On one hand, yes, you see a company that you started, and suddenly you lose that identity with the company, the name and everything we initiated as family. My understanding is the name will continue, but the connection is different because I’m no longer involved,” said Harder. “My children, my friends locally that bought it are involved, and the partners that I brought on side while owning the company are still involved. It is great to see the growth and great to see the opportunity for many more than just myself.”

He said as Mayor and from a city perspective that the office is in Winkler but does not know for sure whether it will stay or not, although he is hoping it will.

Delmar Commodities, Ltd. is a Manitoba-based agricultural processing and supply chain company with four primary business lines that include grain merchandising, soybean crush, birdfeed production and sales, and is the exclusive distributor in western Canada of Legend Seed products under a license and distribution agreement with Legend Seeds, USA.

Pioneer and founder of Delmar Commodities back in 1996; Martin Harder also the Mayor of Winkler has some mixed emotions on the company purchase by Ceres Global Ag.

The flagship of Delmar is the Jordan Corner grain elevator that Harder bought from the Manitoba Pool Elevators Association in 1996.

“But I started the company in 1995, so that’s 23 years ago since it began with a dream.

And now, obviously, it has become much more than a reality for me; a reality and opportunity for many others, and that’s gratifying,” he said. “This could be one of more great opportunities and destiny, and you hope the corporate office would continue to be here, and you build on that. And so it’s with that that I would go forward.”

Ceres Global Ag through its network of commodity

logistics centres and the team of industry experts procures and supplies North American agricultural commodities and value-added, industrial, fertilizer and energy products combined with reliable supply chain logistics services to customers worldwide.

Delmar Commodities, Ltd. is a Manitoba-based agricultural processing and supply chain company with four primary business lines that include grain merchandising, soybean crush, birdfeed production and sales and is the exclusive distributor in western Canada of Legend Seed products under a license and distribution agreement with Legend Seeds, USA.

Senate Committee Recommends Changes to Expand Value-Added Food Sector Canada should expand the value-added food sector by improving regulations to allow for the expansion of international trade of processed food products, investing in innovation, and reducing the barriers to growth inside its borders, a Senate committee said.

The value-added food sector takes raw agricultural products, like apples or hemp fibre, and transforms them into something else, like cider or cat litter. Currently, only about half of the food grown in Canada is processed here, demonstrating a gap the

committee believes should be closed.

The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry is recommending regulatory changes that maintain Canada’s brand of quality and safety while expanding its reach to international markets.

It recommends updates for the Canada Food Inspection Agency and Canada Border Services.

It also recommends investing in research and development and using existing mechanisms to support innovation in the sector, including grants, rebates and superclusters, to en-

courage the launch or growth of businesses that manufacture value-added products.

Barriers to growth within Canada’s borders should also be resolved. The government should look to harmonize trucking regulations and reduce trade barriers between provinces and territories, improve transportation networks across the country and rectify the industry-wide labour shortage. There are 59,000 positions currently vacant in the industry. To help fill them, the committee recommends expediting the path of temporary foreign workers to permanent

residency when they comply with the program.

The food processing sector is one of the country’s largest employers, representing 17.3% of manufacturing employment.

Of all value-added food companies in Canada, 94.1% have fewer than 100 employees. Companies with more than 500 employees make up only 0.5% of the total. The average job vacancy rate in the agriculture sector varied between 4.5% and 6.3% in 2017, while the average for all Canadian industries was only 2.8% that year.

The AgriPost

Busy Summer Ahead for Grassland Carbon Research in Manitoba

By Les Kletke Researchers will be digging down on six Manitoba fields this summer as part of a national project to look at the role of forages and grasslands in reducing Greenhouse Gases in Canada.

A joint research project between the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Greenhouse Gases Program is aimed at measuring the impact grasslands can have on carbon emissions. The sheer volume of grasslands makes them a significant contributor and Manitoba alone has 6 million acres of its farmland covered by grassland.

“Grasslands around the world warrant significant attention when discussing GHGs due to their sheer size, whether they are serving as a source, sink, or reservoir,” said Cedric McLeod, CFGA executive director. “The Canadian Forage and Grasslands sector is the single largest land use component of Canadian agriculture, covering over 70-million acres of cropland, with 36-million acres devoted to native rangeland and the remaining 34-million acres dedicated to the production of annual and perennial tame forages. CFGA saw a real need to lead our project and paint a national picture as to how impactful these areas are in reducing greenhouse gases in Canada.”

The funding for the projects has allowed for 6 research fields in Manitoba with the Brookdale Farm near Brandon being the flagship. The site was the former Zero Till Farm and is now operated by the Manitoba Beef and

Clayton Robins has been using mixed forage and annual crop pastures on his for several years.

Forages Initiate. Dr. Terence McGonigle of Brandon University will lead the research team in sampling the nominated fields.

Five other farms have been selected and these include Clayton Robins farm where he uses annual crops integrated with the forages. The farm is located between Brandon and the approach to Riding Mountain National Park. He has been working with annual crops in his rotation for several years and has seen the impact on a qualitative basis and welcomes the opportunity to put more quantitative measurement to the work he has been doing. The cereal or cerealfababean crop is undersown to a late-season forage mix, with grazing in strips across the field from September. The crop is baled, with feeding at the site formed. Robins, a Nuffield Scholar has studied the use of other crops extensively on his farm.

Ryan Canarts’ farm at Miniota is providing a look at intensive rotational grazing.

The field being studied has been rotationally grazed for 15 years.

East of Miniota the farm of Allan Preston is providing an

in depth study of balanced fertility.

In the south-western part of the province the farm of Matt Van Steelandt uses adaptive multi paddock grazing and extensive livestock wintering to build soil health. Historical bale grazing events are evident across the site.

In the eastern part of the province, near Anola Jonathon Bouw uses extensive rotational grazing as well as bale grazing from November to May. Heifers and steers are introduced to the program at a year and half.

The funding for the project also allows for the information to be shared on a much wider basis. The results of all the studies are expected to be compiled and available in November at the annual meeting of the forage association and at Ag Days in Brandon in January.

The studies on actual farms give researcher the opportunity to measure long term effects of the practices being evaluated as well as making the measurements on field scale trials. They are providing measurements of practices that have been in place for 15-20 years on some farms.

Government of Canada Invests in the Future of Canadian Beef An investment from the Federal government of $8.3 million for six projects will help support Canada’s worldclass beef industry producers with becoming more competitive and providing the tools needed to remain sustainable and innovative.

Through these projects, organizations such as the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Canada Beef will develop and strengthen international market opportunities for their high quality products, bolster Canada’s global beef brand, and ensure the highest standards in animal welfare and sustainability are maintained.

The largest portion of this investment, $5.3 million, is going towards Canada Beef to grow beef sales in important international markets, by expanding programs with retail partners and increase foreign consumer confidence in Canadian beef. This funding will help the Canadian beef sector further capitalize on the trade agreement the Government of Canada has advanced with Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and North America.

This also includes an investment of $1.7 million to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to offer producers

new tools to build public trust in their product around the world. The funding will help all producers take full advantage of the Verified Beef Production Plus Program.

Other investments include almost $800,000 to help the Canadian Beef Breeds Council grow markets for our world-class beef genetics; over $250,000 to help the National Cattle Feeders Association ensure public trust in animal welfare practices on our beef operations; and over $230,000 to help the Canadian Aberdeen Angus Association to improve animal welfare through genetics.

July 26, 2019

July 26, 2019

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

July 26, 2019

Young Dairy Farmer Speaks Out

During the Dairy Farmers of Canada AGM, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said the Federal Government did not consult the Dairy Producers on the changes to the National Food Guide that eliminated the dairy product food group.

By Harry Siemens Greg Debbink is a young dairy farmer from Leduc County, Alberta. At the Dairy Farmers of Canada AGM in Saskatoon, he questioned Canada’s Conservative leader Andrew Scheer about what his party will do if elected to make it less difficult to transition the family farm to the younger generation.

Attending the Dairy Farmers of Canada AGM was Greg Debbink a third-generation farmer on a family farm, who milks 160 cows in Leduc County, Alberta.

Debbink is a third-generation farmer, part of a family farm, who milks 160 cows.

“We just built a new barn in 2012 with three robots, a pleasant change bringing in lots of technology and that’s the part of the industry that I enjoy. Just that progression and innovation,” Debbink said in an interview.

Debbink described his concern about transitioning the family farm. “The concern is, for myself and other producers who want to invest in this industry and have an understanding that this industry is going to be around,” he said.

“That it’’ not going to be chipped away at by government and more trade agreements. I’ve had discussions with other young producers, and they’re quite concerned, and I’m bringing those concerns forward.”

When asked at what point they are transferring the family farm over to him, Debbink said, “It’s tough to say, but we’re in the early stages because we have a lot of siblings so then it makes it even more complex. You want to be able to pass a functioning farm going forward, equable to the other siblings, profitable for ourselves, right? So it’s just dealing with those issues,” he said.

With dairy farms expanding in Alberta, the demand for quota increases, causing the price of the quota to rise to $40,000. “Many farms are expanding, thereby raising the price of quota a little bit. That makes it more difficult for the younger generations trying to progress their

farms,” he said.

With new milk processors coming to Manitoba, increasing the milk capacity by 40 per cent, Debbink is hoping for the same thing to happen in Alberta. “We’re starting to see a little increase in processing, but we’re hoping to get more processing in the province. Our production has gone up, so we’re just trying to find a way to process all that milk,” he noted.

When Debbink talks about the assault on his industry and the chipping away by governments of the product itself, his concern grows.

First, Conservative leader Sheer had this to say about that chipping away, especially as it pertains to the Liberal government’s National Food Guide eliminating the dairy product food group. “I believe it was clear that there was no consultation with the dairy sector when it comes to the Food Guide,” said Sheer in a further interview. “The complete change in the approach of decades’ worth of science and a firm understanding, then for the government to eliminate dairy products is unacceptable.

I’ve committed to review that and to bring the sector into the consultations. Use the science and evidencebased decision-making process that they have helped them in the past.”

The other thing is front package labelling with warning labels on chocolate milk packages. “The idea that healthy dairy products that humans ate for millennia are suddenly now danger-

ous doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Scheer. “The idea to have a diet pop and a bag of chips and not face any warning. But if you had a glass of chocolate milk and a cheese string that’s somehow dangerous for you, I think defies common sense.”

When Debbink was questioned about the labelling changes he said, “Unfortunate, because a lot of hard work goes into producing milk; then seeing that our product is not as valuable as something that is water and sugar is concerning to me,” he said. “With the younger generations moving towards more snack foods, and they grab snack foods and see the so-called ‘dangerous to your health labelling’ on milk, they don’t see these labels on chips and pop, what are they going to grab. That’s quite concerning to me and should be I think for anybody in this country.”

Debbink found the discussions at the DFC AGM encouraging. “I think that discussion will hopefully lead to a good future going forward for the young producers.”

He is one of ten dairy producers on the Alberta provincial board and the youngest by several years. “I think it’s a good thing to have a variety of different people on the board, not only young people, and not all the older people either. Spreading it out encourages a lot more ideas, bringing a better perspective to the making of decisions,” he said.

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The AgriPost

July 26, 2019

Canada’s Supply Management System Needs Innovation

By Harry Siemens Christophe Lafougere, a director with Gira, a consultancy and research firm close to Geneva on the French side, had some interesting things to say about the outlook of the dairy industry worldwide and nationally in Canada at the recent AGM of the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Christophe Lafougere Director with Gira, a consultancy and research firm close to Geneva had some interesting things to say about the outlook of the dairy industry worldwide and nationally in Canada at the recent AGM of the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

While supply management is the envy of many countries and an excellent system for the Canadian dairy industry, Lafougere has some concerns going for the system going forward. “While working within a closed market place, the consumption is declining for certain products, stabilized for other products, and growing for others,” said Lafougere. “The consumption growth will not be enough in Canada to increase the margin of your different players, and they will have to fight for market share because the market is a small one.”

Lafougere said on top of that, every time Canada participates in a trade agreement the border opens a little bit more. “So on the one hand; you are not growing your consumption. On the other hand, you are increasing your inputs. So for me, that’s raised a lot of questions for the future.”

Globally, milk production will continue to come from the historical bigger markets such as the US, EU, New Zealand, Argentina, and some South American countries. However, these countries are having more and more weather problems, environmental law restrictions,

and to add value as a company; they need to reduce milk intake. “When you take these three elements together, this explains why the growth will not be as high as in the past,” he said. “So from a collection point of view, an export point of view, we’re going to see more milk on the market, but less than we used to have in the past. That is one point. The consumption will continue to come from the EU and US for the next five years; it will represent still 30 per cent of the growth of consumption. But China will represent 26 per cent of the growth for the next five years, and China will continue to be the engine of the dairy world.”

A national rarity among government messaging these days is the Chinese government that pushes dairy consumption. It is one of the only governments that encourage its citizens to eat and drink dairy products.

To make his point, he referenced Canada’s Agricultural Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau who spoke before him at the conference as well as the President of the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) Pierre Lampron who said that people would link more

and more dairy products with fat and some sugar contents.

“Okay. So we need to be careful. But in China, its go, go; and therefore China will continue to be a major consumer of dairy products.”

Lafougere was asked about some of the negative environmental impacts of dairy production such as cow gas and how this will affect the future of the dairy industry.

He responded, “It’s a difficult question, but we know people will talk about the environment in every country, one way or another. We will have more environmental laws. And so maybe as I was answering one of the questions in the room, we need to be proactive,” he said. “We need to work with the governments to propose something that we could apply to, or that we could even run and at the end where we could also use for market-

Canada is No. 13 in world milk production.

ing reasons. And I think that could also be good for the image of the dairy industry to be proactive not just reactive.”

In Lafougere’s presentation, he said that implementing future innovations will matter to the dairy sector but it is difficult for a closed group to change referencing supply management. “It’s difficult for innovation, but you’ve got no choice. You’ve got a

Photos by Harry Siemens

reduction in price and even a price war, so you need to go back to innovation. You’ve got no choice. And if you want to fight back for what you’re losing in terms of liquid milk consumption, etc., the Canadian dairy industry needs innovation,” he said.

“You’ve got some innovation, you’ve got interesting things happening here, but I think you need more.”

At the recent AGM of the Dairy Farmers of Canada in Saskatoon dairy farmers from across Canada met.

The AgriPost

Actions on Food Waste Highlighted in the Food Policy for Canada The Federal government has earmarked a $26.3 million investment through the recently launched Food Policy for Canada to reduce food waste.

Responsible for one in eight jobs across the country; the food sector is a powerhouse of the economy, particularly in rural communities. However, more can be done to improve the food system to reduce more than 11 million metric tons of wasted food every year, worth nearly $50 billion.

The Government is discussing with key organizations concerned

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, visited Quest Food Exchange in Vancouver to highlight investments to reduce food waste as part of the Food Policy for Canada.

with food waste over the coming months to finalize the terms of the Food Waste Reduction Challenge, which will launch in early 2020. The challenge is a $20 million investment that will fund the most innovative food waste reduction proposals in key areas such as the food processing, grocery retail and food service sectors.

Challenges are internationally recognized innovative funding models used to address complex issues. Challenges shift the programming focus from an activity-based approach to one centred on outcomes and impact, with solutions that demonstrate tangible, measurable results for Canadians.

The Food Policy for Canada is the product of consultation and collaboration with Canadians across the country. The Government of Canada heard from more than 45,000 Canadians, including food producers and processors, experts in environment, health and food security, Indigenous groups, non-government organizations, and community advocates.

The Government of Canada is investing a total of $134 million through Budget 2019, to sup-

port new initiatives in key action areas, including Local Food Infrastructure Fund designed to support community-led projects that improve access to safe, healthy and culturally diverse food; a new Canada Brand and Buy Canadian promotional campaigns that will aim to increase pride and consumer confidence in Canadian food; support for community-led projects like greenhouses, community freezers, and skills training that address food challenges and food insecurity in Northern and isolated communities; new funds to help the Canadian Food Inspection Agency crack down on food fraud, the mislabelling and misrepresentation of food products to protect consumers from deception and companies from unfair competition; taking the first steps to work alongside provinces, territories, and notfor-profit organizations towards the creation of a National School Food Program; and the creation of a Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council to bring together the expertise and diversity needed beyond government to address the food challenges of today, as well as the future of Canada’s food system.

Farmers’ Markets Open for Summer

By Elmer Heinrichs Farmers’ markets are popular destinations for consumers looking to find locally grown and homemade foods.

Producers grow, pick, make and sell a variety of quality local fruit, vegetables, fresh baked goods, home preserves and unique crafts.

Farmers’ markets bring together a number of producers in one location to sell their goods directly to consumers. Here’s where the homemaker may go for the first fresh strawberries, raspberries or saskatoons which are now in season. They are a

place where consumers can interact with food producers and processors to ask questions about the products they have for sale. If you’re craving some fresh jam, bread and other local goodies, you’ll likely be in luck.

Enjoy farm fresh produce and delicious home baked goods produced by market gardeners, fruit and vegetable growers and local bakers.

The farmers’ markets are open now and will be run through the summer into early fall. The Altona farmer’s market, for example, is open Saturday morning

downtown under the tent from 10 am to noon with a variety of fresh produce, including baked goods, honey and noodles.

Manitoba’s premiere farm market may well be the St. Norbert Farmer’s Market, usually the first to open and the largest. It attracts Winnipeg residents and visitors from near and far.

But from Winkler to Killarney and from Beausejour to The Pas, and in many other communities, similar markets and roadside stands are open for the summer throughout Manitoba.

July 26, 2019

Agriculture Officially Part of Canada’s Immigration Plan “Mushroom growers and our workers feel we finally have a seat at the Canadian immigration table,” said Ryan Koeslag, Executive VP, Canadian Mushroom Growers Association.

Ahmed Hussen, Minister for Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada announced details for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot that was included in Budget 2019. “We can finally say agriculture is officially part of Canada’s immigration plan,” said Koeslag.

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot will provide agriculture and agri-food 2,750 federal immigration spots so farm workers and butchers of all skill levels, employed in year-round occupations, will now have a chance to immigrate in all provinces of Canada.

Canada’s agriculture is a high growth sector. The Canadian Agri-Food system contributes $111 billion per year to our economy. That’s $304 million per day, creating 2.3 million jobs. Food safety standards in Canada are well known, making Canadian agriculture and agrifood highly sought after by countries that actively seek the Canadian brand. Mushroom farms contribute over $900 million to the Canadian economy annually and create 4,000 jobs with competitive wages and benefits. Growth and export potential for mushrooms is phenomenal increasing by $50 million last year alone.

In spite of these economic contributions, the agriculture sector is encountering massive labour shortages. Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) research shows agriculture having 16,500 vacancies; this is larger than any Canadian sector with $2.9 billion in lost sales to the Canadian economy. Double what it was in 2014. In 2017, a Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) survey found Canadian mushroom farms to have 9.7% job vacancy rate with vacancies now climb-

ing to 19.3%. Mushroom farms encountering vacancies reported throwing out 23% of their crops and $43 million loss in 2018.

“For the last decade or more, mushroom growers and other farmers, have fought for immigration access for our sector’s farm workers employed in yearround jobs,” said Koeslag. “Agriculture needs immigration access, just like any other sector.”

Koeslag also expressed concern about the recent occupation-sector work permit announced by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in a regulatory notice of intent Friday, June 21. “Mushroom growers support hiring Canadians first at our farms that employ 70% Canadians. Occupation work permits for TFWs is a mandate change for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). We feel that a robust economic and labour market impact study is necessary before this goes any further,” said Koeslag.

Mushrooms recommends the TFWP become proactive in protecting workers with “Respect for Access to Remedy,” an International Organization of Migration (IOM) as well as provincial labour standard that is missing in the TFWP. Legislation should be strengthened on the definitions of abuse and the consequences, protections against reprisals, a robust conflict resolution system for employees and employers, and work permit timelines should be expedited for vulnerable workers.

The majority of the TFWP is made up of agricultural workers, approximately 60%. “In a time of trade tariffs and trade wars that Canada doesn’t control, we need to ensure we take time to fully research any changes to the TFWP that could bring unintended consequences for vulnerable workers and to our Canadian food system,” said Koeslag.

KAP Identifies Priorities of Agriculture for 2019 Provincial Election Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), the voice of farmers in Manitoba, will be advocating for the major issues that face the agriculture industry during the upcoming provincial election campaign, said President Bill Campbell.

According to information from the provincial government, the agriculture sector represents over $6 billion to the Manitoba economy and creates over 35,000 jobs across the province.

“The investment that the agriculture sector makes in the Manitoba economy starts with

the investment farmers make on their land and the next provincial government needs to recognize that income on these investments is getting smaller,” Campbell said. “The next provincial government needs to come to the table with a real plan for the agriculture sector so that providing a cost-effective food source remains a financial success for Manitoba farmers.”

During the provincial campaign, KAP intends to advocate on behalf of farmers on three major policy issues. The specific issues are equitable edu-

cation funding for Manitoba’s children, effective climate change programming, and enhanced infrastructure spending. A survey focused on these three key issues will be delivered to the four major parties and responses will be shared with both KAP members and the general public.

“A provincial election provides a great opportunity for both farmers and people not involved in our industry to ask those running for office about their priorities when it comes to agriculture,” Campbell added.

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Diagram showing impact of a 19.3% emplyment vacancy rate in the mushroom industry.

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July 26, 2019

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

Rivers Fair Highlights 4-H Youth Abilities

Show judge Carman Jackson watches competitors in the team grooming. Zack Veitch groom a 4-H steer as Brendan English helps Chase Airey foam its legs. Following the motto “Learn to do by doing”.

Photos by Joan Airey

A group of the youngest watch the 4-H competitors prepare their cattle for show.

Ellie Nolan prepares her 4-H calf for the Pee Wee Achievement Show at Rivers fair in early July.

July 26, 2019

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Manitoba Youth and 4-H Members Get Ready for Junior Livestock Weekend August 2- 4, 2019 will be the Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup 12th annual event in Neepawa, Manitoba.

This exciting three-day event brings together junior members, 4-H members and cattle enthusiasts from all across the province.

The show is organized by representatives from various beef breeds that have been involved with National and Provincial shows in the past. Our goal is to prepare young entrepreneurs in the livestock industry, thru this exciting showcase of youth, cattle and friendly competition. This event will educate, encourage, stimulate and unite participants in the business of agriculture and the beef industry. It encompasses a variety of competitions and events to match all interests and skill levels of participants. Some of the events are Team Grooming, Individual and Team Judging, Showmanship, Impromptu Speeches, Art, Photography, Scrapbooking, as well as cattle confirmation classes.

Featured events are MYBR Agribition Judging Team, MYBR Scholarship, Grand Aggregate Prizes, Showmanship, Team Grooming and Educational Workshops.

This will be a celebration and showcase of Manitoba Youth and agriculture in our province. Young and old are encouraged to stay involved in the agriculture industry, explore career opportunities, increase national trade and awareness, and be proud to be part of one of Canada’s largest industries. The celebration of past shows exemplifies the importance of youth and agriculture, and will strive to present innovative opportunities that promote and educate future cattleman dedicated to the cattle industry.

Roundup is being undertaken as an all breeds show to bring young purebred and commercial cattle producers from across the province to see friendly competition amongst the new and upcoming producers from within Manitoba.

The Manitoba Youth Beef Round-up due date for registration was July 1 and the 4-H Champion Yearling Heifer Competition entry form due date is July 25. Details can be found at mbyouthbeefroundup.weebly.com, check out Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup facebook page or contact Chairperson, Lois McRae 204-728-3058.

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The AgriPost

July 26, 2019

Disease and Production Has the Pork Industry in a Quandary

By Harry Siemens The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is forecasting pork production for 2019 at 27.662 billion pounds, 360 million pounds higher than the forecast presented a month ago. The June inventory survey pointed to larger inventories of hogs available for marketing this summer and the pig crop for the March-May period was 3.7 percent higher than a

year ago, which likely caused USDA to up its slaughter/ production estimates for the fall months.

Tyler Fulton of HAMS Marketing Services is advising swine producers to watch for any rallies in the futures market and consider locking in fourth-quarter hog prices.

About the USDA’s secondquarter Hogs and Pigs Report, Fulton said it showed an unprecedented eight percent

year over year increase in US slaughter hog numbers further pressuring hog prices and adding to the volatility of the past several months.

He said as large as the hog numbers are and as burdensome as the pork inventory has grown this took the industry to another level, further increasing pressure on both the cash and futures markets.

Fulton said China is expected to increase pork imports

to make up deficits resulting from African Swine Fever, but there are constraints such as its trade friction with the US. “African Swine Fever is established now in Vietnam, and it’s moving through southeast Asia, so we’re not necessarily beholding to what these issues are in China,” said Fulton. “And to some degree, it’s a bit of a shell game where, if European suppliers concentrate filling that defi-

cit in China, that may open up opportunities for North American pork in other destinations where the Europeans had the foothold. But there’s no tangible shift in sales patterns yet.”

He said there is minimal certainty as to what the timeline would be behind any kind of increased exports to Asia. “We think that if we were to get a good recovery, even a 25 percent recovery back to some of the highs that we saw, just 25 percent, that might be a decent pricing point to cover some or more of your fourth-quarter production,” said Fulton. “It’s really not clear as to when we will start to see some price movements that reflect increased exports so I think in that circumstance if you can secure good profitable prices in the fourth quarter, which is not the norm, then it’s probably a prudent action to do a portion of your production.”

Fulton said producers should look for any rallies and react accordingly. “We see a continuation of unprecedented volatility. The market is struggling with trying to reconcile the near term heavy supplies and sufficient production levels against the possibility of exceptional demand, in particular in the export markets as a result of the ASF. Those two are at odds with each other,” he said.

Hog commentator Jim Long who spoke recently at the National Pork Industry Conference (NPIC) in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, US said that about 960 people registered at the conference.

“Our premise is that right now the USA-Canada market depends on when and if

China begins large shipments of pork to China,” said Long.

“In our talks, we pointed out why we know and pay attention to China. Genesus in the last three years has exported more than 35 percent of all breeding stock shipped to China from anywhere in the world. It follows the money trail. It’s our vested interest to pay attention to when the massive airlift begins to restock Chinas breeding herd.

Currently, we have several 747 shipments of breeding stock on hold until China’s customs feel comfortable to import.”

Long said hog prices in the US and Canada are under siege. “Maybe, we are the boy that sees the Pony in the Manure Pile. Maybe, but we can’t ignore what we hear and see!” He said that Conference participants conveyed to him the significant decrease in hog numbers which is impacting feed businesses One participant said, that “Our budget is down 4 million hogs for this year due to ASF.” Another said that “We had 70,000 sows, now 30,000.

We are in the feed business.

We just had a conference call with many other Chinese feed companies. Feed production is down 60 percent.” said an owner-producer.

Hog number replenishment is taking a hit as well according to conference participants.

“With government inspecting and testing storage stocks for ASF beginning July 1, storage is being emptied,” said a producer-packer. “We had 15,000 sows; now we have none!” said one producer.

“Had 60,000 sows in NorthEast now 6,000,” commented another producer.

Foodgrains Bank Crops Flourishing

By Elmer Heinrichs Most of our province has now received much needed rain, and Foodgrains Bank project crops are coming along well, said Manitoba regional representative Gordon Janzen.

Janzen noted that while parts of western Manitoba had some good rains during June, crops in other parts, including the Red River region, had been under stress from very dry conditions in June.

He added that in contrast to dry parts in Manitoba, “My colleague Dave Epp, regional representative in Ontario, re-

ported that an extremely wet and cold spring in Ontario has delayed seeding of most Foodgrains Bank growing projects in that province.”

As a result over half of the growing projects in Ontario were seeded late in June instead of in May as normal.

Whether it is too much moisture, or too little, farmers everywhere have constant challenges throughout the growing season, Janzen observed, concluding that “We rejoice in all that grows in field and garden and look forward to the promise of harvest.”

The Ploughmen are Coming

By Les Kletke Joe Henry acknowledged that the World Ploughing Championship is not the typical event hosted by the Lake of the Woods tourism bureau, but he said the area is not as distant from agriculture as people might think.

“We host a lot of agricultural companies on their fishing trips in both summer and winter,” said Henry. “So the companies know the area and the individuals have been here before but yes we are best known for walleye fishing.”

The county that will host the event has over 40,000 acres of farmland and is the no. 1 producer of rye grass seed in the US. Henry was asked how the decision was made to hold the World Championship in Northern Minnesota. “The event only comes to US once every 30 years,” he said.

“Because there are 30 member countries and it rotates between the countries. Next year it is in Russia.”

The Lake of the Woods Tourism bureau was successful in winning the bid to host the event just over a year and a half ago and has been working with neighbouring communities on both sides of the border. Some visitors may have to travel up to an hour to the 600 acre site that will host the event. He said communities have been very co-opera-

tive in putting together host packages for the 3-day event.

The first two days will be dedicated to the international plowing competition with the competitors from 30 countries. The final day will feature the US national competition to determine the representatives for that country next year in Russia. As well as a competition between Canada and the US. The international competition will have two categories, the mouldboard plough and the reversible plow which allows the ploughman to go back and forth in the same furrow. It is much more popular in European countries. The first day of the event will feature stubble land ploughing while the second day will be spent on grassland ploughing.

Henry said the World Ploughing Organization came about after World War Two and has a motto of “Let peace cultivate the land”. “It is about more than the skill of ploughing,” he said. “It is about celebrating agriculture and food production. It is competitive but it is also about building friendships between the competitors and those attending the event.

The competition is scheduled for August 30 through September 1 and will feature antique tractor and equipment displays as well as draft horses.

What Constitutes a ‘Worker’ on Your Farm in the Eyes of the Law? On farms it is not uncommon for a neighbour, family member or friend to come and help out. What many producers do not realize is that the moment that person steps foot on your property and starts helping with a task, they become a “worker” and the farmer becomes an “employer”.

“This great culture of helping each other out often leads to situations where, for example, a friend visits when you are in the middle of trying to repair a piece of equipment that friend just ‘rolls up their sleeves’ and starts helping”, said Farm Safety Program (FSP) Consultant Morag Marjerison. “Unfortunately, sometimes things go wrong and people get caught up in moving parts or blocking fails and equipment falls on them. In this scenario, the helper could be deemed to be a worker.”

Per the Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act and Regulation, a worker is any person who is employed by an employer to perform a service whether for gain or reward, whether under a con-

tract of employment or not.

An employer is every person who, by himself or his agent or representative employs or engages one or more workers.

This means that regardless of whether someone is being paid, in the eyes of the law they are a worker if performing a task on your farm.

It is important for all farmers to be aware of the Duties of Employers under the legislation. Take the time to consider the things that could go wrong, and plan how the task will be done to reduce the risks to everyone involved.

For further information on how safety legislation applies to your farm, contact Morag Marjerison at (204) 5703290.

The Manitoba Farm Safety Program (FSP) was established in 2016 to provide workplace safety and health advisory services and training to producers. FSP is hosted by Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP); however our services are available to all farmers whether or not they are KAP members, all sizes and all commodities.

The AgriPost

July 26, 2019

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US Agriculture Needs to Get Back to Reason

By Les Kletke Not all American farmers are pleased with the changes to US farm policy.

Tom Pederson farms near Hillsburg, North Dakota and he would like to see, “A return to sanity.”

Pederson said trade issues have caused a great deal of uncertainty in commodity markets all the back to making critical decisions on the farm.

“It is the uncertainty more than anything,” said Pederson who grown primarily soybeans and corn west of Grand Forks. “We don’t want low prices but they are easier to deal

with than the uncertainty of current market conditions. It is impossible to make long term decisions in these conditions.”

Pederson said this year’s crop is developing nicely and he has presold some of it but is not able to make further marketing conditions or plans for next year. “We just don’t know what this administration is going to do,” he said.

“That makes it difficult for us to plan. We don’t know what the trade rules are going to be and that impacts us.”

He said that the US is no longer a market on its own.

“Back in the 1980s when Trade Wars were going on, we were our own market and

subsidies worked,” he said.

“We could compete with the budgets of the European Union and support our farmers because that is what was needed to keep us in business.”

While the support programs of the European Union are long gone and US policies have been replaced, he considers himself worse off. “We adjusted to the conditions and things had sorted themselves out,” he said. “We had a relatively stable industry and were able to make some long term plans but that is gone by the wayside now. We don’t know who we will be trading with and that means uncertainty.”

He said that the uncertainty is already reflected in land values and rent prices. “We don’t see much land being traded and rent prices are all over the map. No one wants to make a long term commitment,” he said.

Pederson has a son that is working into the family farm and current conditions make it particularly difficult for him. “He can’t make a decision about whether he wants to farm, and when it looks like this, I can’t blame him,” said Pederson. “We have been on this farm for 4 generations and I don’t know if the 5th will choose this as a way of living if we don’t get some sanity back into the business.”

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The AgriPost

July 26, 2019

Issue-Free Fall Desiccation

Drought Tolerant Sunflower Crop Stays in Rotation

By Les Kletke Sunflower acreage in the province has dropped in the last decade as soybeans and corn acres have increased. Yet for some producers the crop is a mainstay that has contributed to the farm over the years and has earned its place.

“Typically, the southwestern corner of the province has been dry and sunflowers are a crop that can handle drought conditions,” said Neil Dryden who farms south of Souris.

He laughs about changes in rainfall patterns. “We have also had some floods in the last decade and that has changed the view of things but overall we generally have less rainfall than the rest of the province.”

Sunflowers have been a part of his farms crop rotation for more than two decades. “It is like any other crop, we have good years and we have bad years,” he said. “But when you have the equipment and work it into the rotation, you don’t drop the crop because of a bad year, or

The sunflower midge can cause complete destruction of the crop but has not yet appeared this year.

double the acreage when you have a good year.”

It has meant that he has moved away from malt barley production which was once a larger part of his acreage. “There is some danger with sunflowers contaminating malt barley samples so we have moved out of malt barley production and concentrated on doing a good job with the sunflowers.”

So far this year insects and disease have not been a problem for the drought tolerant crop, but he said anything can happen. “We have been through the midge problem and know that anything can happen,” said Dryden. “We also know that having a crop out in the field late in the fall brings other challenges.

We have worked through snow and seen what a wind storm can do.”

He contracts his production and locks in prices so he does not have to worry about price fluctuations.

“We went through that in February at contracting time,” he said. “So we know what the crop is and it is just a matter of getting enough of it and in good condition.”

The crop did come through the dry conditions of spring better than most and has been able to take advantage of the heat in July. “Sunflowers love this,” he said of the heat in early July. “They are growing a couple of inches of every day, now we just need the heads to fill.”

One of the hot topics in the industry these days is the controversy surrounding glyphosates and their effect (or lack thereof) on our world. I am the first to admit that I am simply not educated enough to dive into that debate, so instead, let me put my energy into reminding us all of the best ways to remain issue-free when desiccating your crop this fall: - Don’t ignore the obvious.

Wind mixed with fall chemical application can be a deadly combination. We have seen yards that took decades to grow and mature, damaged by spray drift, and valuable crops weeks away from harvest lost due to improper boundaries or conditions while spraying. Respect the wind and its potential effect on your neighbors.

- Don’t forget about the risk of inversion. Depending on the weather, the shorter days in fall can lead to a higher risk of inversion, which again, mixed with a fall chemical application can be deadly. To know if inversion is possible, you need to pay close attention to the current weather conditions, and also the temperatures at ground level and at waist level prior to

attempting to spray.

- Double check your insurance coverage if you are being asked to perform any work for a third-party farm. Many farm liability insurance policies now specifically exclude any custom spraying done, leaving you at risk of having to pay for damages out of your own pocket (or crop) if something does go sideways. A simple discussion with your insurance broker will provide clarity on whether you are covered or need to enhance your coverage to extend to this exposure.

- Use the proper nozzles and volume – this will help to achieve the best possible results while spraying, and also reduce the risk of your chemical drifting to unwanted locations. If your sprayer is not set up for proper fall application, there are custom applicators willing to provide this service.

Alternately, if you are custom applicating, and working long days to get all desiccation completed before harvest, here are a few reminders for you in addition to those already mentioned: - Document everything – keep a log of the date, time, wind speed, product & volume applied as well as noting other weather factors.

This will go a long way in defend-

ing you should there be an alleged claim made against you.

- Double check before you start – we have seen several claims made against applicators for spraying the wrong field. When you are spraying fields that you may have never seen before, there is a risk of misapplication. GPS coordinates should be used to reduce this risk. However, our experience has shown that the risk of misapplication becomes more common when there is a rush to get work done; mixed with lack of rest and stress, this combination has led to large losses.

Would you like to work with an insurance broker who provides advice, not just insurance? Consider making Rempel Insurance Brokers your insurance broker of choice.

We work hard to make sure our clients have the resources required to make good decisions on risk.

Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from those who understand your business! 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 204-7126618, davids@rempelinsurance. com or visit rempelinsurance.com.

The AgriPost

Hay Producers Facing Rain Challenges

By Les Kletke John Klassen wants a break, a break in the weather, and he knows that it seems not that long ago he was asking for rain.

“We were dry,” he said. “But now we would like a couple of days of sunshine to put up our hay crop.”

Klassen said his dairy herd is enjoying the increased pasture production that has resulted from the last month’s rainfall.

“We were late getting out on pasture,” he said. “We have used up a lot of our feed through the winter and extended the feeding season so it was critical to put up a good volume of hay this year.”

Like so many other producers Klassen likes to have an extra year of hay in the bank. “We would like to have an extra

year of feed on hand for when you get years with little or no hay. You don’t want to get caught buying feed in a year of shortages,” he said. “The dry conditions of the last two years have meant that we used that up. Ideally we would have been replacing that this year.”

He said the slow start in spring put added pressure on the stocks in supply, but then when conditions changed hayfields and pastures responded well to the moisture and heat. The crop came along and while late has produced a significant volume. Now the challenge is to get it up in good condition. “We seem to be in a time when we get a rain every couple of days and that has kept us off the fields.”

He said, as of July 20 he had only put

up about 1/3 of his crop and normally would be looking at a second cut by this time. “We are not going to get that large second cut, never mind the third one,” he said. “We would have liked to get some extra this year to rebuild the stocks but that is not going to happen, we are going to be happy to get some good quality feed for our primary needs.”

“It seems that we are always asking for something,” he said. “We asked for rain to get the pasture going but now we need some time to get the hay off, and then we’ll be waiting for regrowth.” He said it is too early to start looking at other sources than his traditional hay crop but he might be forced to supplement his feeding program with some corn.

AAFC Sees Higher Production in July Pre-Harvest Outlook

By Elmer Heinrichs Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in its July pre-harvest outlook report is forecasting a one per cent increase in total production, but supplies are forecast to decrease by one per cent, due to the significant decrease in imports.

Carry-out stocks are forecast to increase by about five per cent due to the increase in carry-out stocks of course grains and dry peas.

Production is projected to rise by 4 per cent to 27 metric tonnes (Mt), which is 1.7 Mt lower than in the June report because of the reduction in seeded area for spring wheat and higher abandonment for winter wheat.

For 2019-20, the seeded area for corn

in Canada is forecast to increase slightly from 2018-19, with the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario contributing to most of the increase.

For 2019-20, the area seeded to oats in Canada is forecast to increase by 18 per cent from 2018-19 to 1.46 Mha, due to attractive prices and significantly lower carry-in stocks. The Prairie Provinces, especially Saskatchewan, accounted for most of the increase.

For 2019-20, farmers seeded almost 8.5 million hectares (Mha) to canola compared to the 9.2 Mha planted last year.

Production is forecast at 18.6 Mt, assuming a normal rate of crop abandonment and normal yields.

Moisture conditions improved across

the prairies in late June following a series of rain storms across southern Saskatchewan. Yields will be more dependent than usual on rains during the months of July and early to mid-August. AAFC still assumes trend yields with prices down slightly.

For 2019-20, soybean planted area is estimated down by 10 per cent from last year, to 2.3 Mha under pressure from low prices and dry growing conditions across western Canada. Soybean prices are forecast to rise slightly to $390-420/t.

Grain prices will continue to be pressured by an abundant supply at the global level but the impact on grain prices in Canada will continue to be mitigated by the low value of the Canadian dollar.

The Hunt is on for Food Fraudsters The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has been provided $24.4 million through the recently launched Food Policy for Canada to help them crack down on food fraud.

The funding will help the CFIA tackle the mislabeling and misrepresentation of food products in order to protect consumers from deception and companies from unfair competition. This investment includes the revamping of the current food fraud program, conducting more inspections and collecting more samples to uncover sources of food fraud, and gathering surveillance data for additional intelligence. The funding will also support the development of new detection methods and tools to help

identify food fraud, and enhance efforts to bring awareness to partners to improve food authenticity.

By tackling food fraud, the Government of Canada is also protecting domestic producers, such as honey producers, from unfair competition. On July 9, the Government released a report announcing that surveillance and enforcement actions by the CFIA prevented nearly 12,000 kg of adulterated honey, valued at close to $77,000, from entering the Canadian market. In 2017, Canada produced 92 million pounds of honey, worth $188 million, while imports were worth $41 million.

Food fraud can be found in all different types of food but may be most often

reported in olive oil, honey, dry spices, fish, and organic food products.

In certain cases, food fraud can be a health risk if someone has food allergies and/or when a hazardous material is added to food, such as melamine in milk.

Food fraud can occur at any step in the food processing continuum (raw product, processing, packaging, etc.).

In Canada, it is prohibited to sell a food that is unsafe or falsely labelled. However, food fraud still happens and is an emerging issue around the world. It is estimated that fraud may cost the global food industry between $10 and $15 billion per year, affecting about 10% of all commercially-sold food products.

KAP Wants Education Taxes to Be a 2019 Election Issue

By Elmer Heinrichs Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), Manitoba’s main farm organization wants education taxes on farmland to become a provincial election issue, said President Bill Campbell.

Currently, said Campbell, Manitoba’s education tax burden is quickly shifting to farmers. Two reasons for this are the declining portion of education paid directly by the province and the rising value of farmland.

It’s causing KAP to push the issue to the front of the debate during the provincial election campaign. With an election slated for September 10, the group hopes to push

politicians into committing to taking action.

KAP said education taxation is not only inequitable, it’s unsustainable as farm profits shrink in the wake of declining prices and rising production costs. “Manitoba is the last jurisdiction in the country that collects education funding from assessment values of property and farm buildings,” said Campbell in an interview on July 4.

“We’ve seen an evolution of less people on the land that has been compounded by the increased asset values of farmland,” said Campbell. “We’ve seen the municipal contribution to education increase by over 50 per cent between 2011-12 and

2018-19.”

Two factors, he said, account for what he sees as a tax inequity. First, the province’s contribution to funding K to 12 schooling as a percentage is declining over time, while the municipal share rises.

The other is the rapid increase in the assessed value of farmland, which has more than doubled in many parts of Manitoba since 2015.

While KAP is not sure what the solution is, Campbell suggests it might be funding education through income taxes, or removing education taxes from farmland and buildings and taxing farm homes.

July 26, 2019

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What Goes Down, Must Come Up: Part 2 If you read this column back at the end of May, I talked about how cyclical grain markets are, and what goes down must come up. Shortly after I wrote that, we did indeed see a nice rally in many markets which allowed the opportunity to clean up almost all of our old crop grain.

As a refresher, grain markets have been generally in a steady decline since last May when the trade wars started, and global fundamentals were providing no support for higher prices. The managed money traders that trade in Ag commodities (aka the funds) were also negative towards grain prices and had racked up a massive short position of nearly 400,000 contracts of corn (2 billion bushels) and 180,000 contracts of soybeans (900 million bushels).

But, always account for variable change. After the funds hit these record short positions, the weather for planting in the US went from bad to worse, resulting in the slowest planting pace for US corn and soybeans in modern history. It also left a lot of questions around just how many acres of corn actually would get planted, and how many acres would go into the Prevent Plant program instead. What impact did this have on the market? Imagine if you will, a pendulum swinging side to side with everyone in the grain trade on it for a ride. As that pendulum nears the end of its arc, everyone on the ride is looking in the direction the pendulum had been going, but at the end of that arc, the pendulum finally stops briefly, then starts heading back the other direction. Seeing when that arc is coming to an end, is the principle behind what we do at IntelliFARM. When the market bottomed out and changed directions, nobody saw it coming, in spite of the fact that all the news was bearish and there being a saying that, “The market is always the most bearish at the bottom.”

When it became clear there was a major issue in the US, the funds reversed their selling and began buying back their short corn position. In a matter of about five weeks, the funds bought 600,000 contracts of corn (3 billion bushels) and pushed the corn market up by $1.10/bu. To put that in perspective, from 2014 - 2019 the corn market traded in roughly an 80 cent/bu range, and it moved $1.10/bu in five weeks.

Of course, now the pendulum is going full speed the other direction, but what happens as the pendulum gets to the end of the arc again? Naturally it changes direction, but now everything on this ride is looking the wrong way, again! Now all those who were bearish corn through winter and early 2019, are completely bullish, but not accounting for the fact that the market has now priced in the potential production cuts that this spring inevitably is leading to. I’ll leave you with the last same paragraph I had in May, as it was apparently rather prophetic with where we stand today.

“However, what goes down must come up, in the grain markets. Eventually there is no more selling to be done, and things turn around. Grain markets have always been (and likely will always be) cyclical, and the funds have served to push the ranges between high and low. In the last two weeks with the abysmally slow planting pace in the US, it has caused enough concern that the funds have been buying back their short positions in massive amounts, causing grain markets to turn back up. While the global fundamentals are still not bullish, I think we have hit a point where the downside was overdone, particularly in light of the current conditions in the US. A bounce may not last long but should give farmers the opportunity to clean up old crop sales and get some new crop sales on the books as well.”

Brian Voth is the president of IntelliFARM Inc, working with farms to create customized grain marketing plans and carrying them out. For more information visit intellifarm.ca or call 204-324-3669.

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The AgriPost

July 26, 2019

A Need Inspired Young Farmer Entrepreneur to Innovate

By Harry Siemens Necessity is the mother of invention. A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem. This saying appears in the dialogue of the “Republic”, by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.

Farmers keep coming up with great ideas because they needed a tool, implement, machine, to complete a task out of necessity.

Twenty-six-year-old Bryan Devloo owns, operates, and is the chief welder at BD Manufacturing of Swan Lake in Manitoba manufacturing a wide range of land maintenance equipment, from yard to heavy ditching products as well as a line of snow removal equipment.

Recently Devloo showed his equipment at the Ag in Motion outdoor farm event near Saskatoon.

“We sell equipment throughout western Canada and this show for us is a great way to get customers to get a feel of the equipment we have on hand,” he said. “We don’t do live demos currently, but possibly in the

future, we will put products out on the live demonstrations.”

When asked how a young fellow like himself, “a farm kid” got involved in manufacturing equipment on the farm in rural Manitoba he said, “As the farm needed equipment such as this we started the business and realized there was a need for it, by other farmers and, that’s how we started to grow,” he said. “I started this venture six years ago.”

Innovation starts on the farm and Devloo spoke about how that first idea occurred and how he took that next step. “It came down to a family member, deciding to keep the yard up with a piece of equipment, something simple to use, easy to hook up.

And that’s, why we came up with, what we did at the time. So we started with our land level equipment line. I then expanded it from there.”

For now, it is mainly farmers and a few commercial enterprises that lease equipment and oil field maintenance. “Anybody that’s doing anything with a yard or even higher,

Crop plots along the main street at the Ag in Motion outdoor farm show held in Saskatoon.

heavier ditching projects, site prep, so just a wide range of people can use it. With our snow removal equipment, throughout Canada, we know that everybody gets a lot of snow. So it’s always nice to be able to, accommodate those customers as well,” said Devloo. “As time goes on, the business grows and grows. I was a part of the farm up until a few years ago, but more or less full time with this Recently Brian Devloo of BD Manufacturing in Swan Lake, Manitoba showed his equipment at the business now.”

Ag in Motion outdoor farm event near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Left, Brian Devloo with Brother Devloo said it is mainly a R. Alex Devloo, who helps with the equipment manufacturing business. family operated business, with some additional employees katchewan and a second in the Peace er manufacturing, possibly in the during busy times but, as the firm Country in Alberta. “Otherwise, any future.” grows, he definitely will hire more other region is sold directly through Devloo reflects on how being on people as the need dictates. “We us. So we work with a few different the farm he was always interested look at competitors, what they’re trucking companies, and we deliver in equipment and then building doing and what we can do different it right to your yard.” that first unit. “We decided to put in the market, making things a little Devloo operates the business in something out in the marketplace. bit easier to use, and better features,” shops on the farmyard but is look- Next getting into the quality cut he said. “We design all products on ing at building a shop dedicated to parts with CNC equipment, and the computer first and use CNC cut- the manufacturing business. “I see that changed things for us because ting and bending equipment to make us expanding our line, continue to we can become productive and efthe highest quality product possible. meet the needs of customers, to ficient at making the equipment,” I do most of the welding myself and keep up with trends and, provide he added. “I graduated out of high some by our family members, that equipment that’s reliable and, have school and worked on the farm, getare available at times and the other features that will stand out from the ting my basic inspiration, nothing employees that comes in when we rest,” he said. ‘I can see us eventu- other than that. And, everything was need them.” ally getting into a bit heavier land just learned, learned as you go basiBD Manufacturing plans on ex- maintenance equipment and maybe cally. And, sometimes it’s the way panding the list of distributors. They even venture off into completely you have to do it, and sometimes it have two so far, one at Rouleau, Sas- different lines, maybe such as trail- helps you be the most innovative.”

The AgriPost

Ministers of Agriculture Meeting Focuses on Innovation and Diversity The Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture concluded their twoday annual meeting in Quebec City recently, cochaired by Marie-Claude Bibeau, Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and André Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for Quebec. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to help Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector seize new opportunities, and tackle important challenges to ensure businesses prosper and create economic growth.

Given the critical importance of exports to Canadian farmers and processors, the Ministers were unanimous in their support of international trade that is based on trade rules and science.

Ministers agreed to continue to work together to take advantage of new trade agreements with key markets. They discussed the current trade challenges facing industry, particularly the canola, pork and beef sectors, as well as durum wheat, pulses and soy, and recognized the need for urgent resolution and to work with the sector to support industry’s sustainability, profitability and growth.

In support of Canada’s supply management system, Ministers reiterated the importance of providing compensation to the supply-managed sectors in a full and fair way in response to the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The federal government is taking the appropriate steps to announce details as soon as possible, to ensure that these industries are well positioned to thrive.

There was also an acknowledgement that the growing shortage of labour makes it difficult for agricultural businesses to operate and expand, despite their recruitment activities. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is a tool used by industry to access much needed labour resources. The Ministers reviewed sector concerns with the program and discussed the progress made. The Ministers emphasized the importance of finding solutions to immediate challenges agriculture and agri-food employers are encountering when recruiting workers through the TFWP, including challenges associated with administrative burden and processing delays. They look forward to continued engagement with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on short-term administrative changes to be implemented in a timely fashion. Provinces and territories affirmed the urgency of obtaining

short-term administrative changes, acknowledging that labour is a multi-dimensional issue requiring action at all levels of government.

Business risk management programs was underlined as essential in helping farmers address risks, such as natural disasters, weather events, severe loss or market volatility, acknowledging program challenges raised by industry. The Ministers discussed adjustments that could improve existing programs to address the needs of producers and complement private sector tools. The Ministers directed officials to return with a set of proposed improvements to AgriStability for consideration before year end.

One take away was the commitment to working with the industry to promote a modern and competitive sector. The collaboration depends heavily on the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which is now in its second year and represents a fiveyear $3 billion investment by the governments to strengthen and grow Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector. In 2018-2019, governments invested close to $346 million in FPT cost-shared programming and $79 million in federal programs to benefit the sector. The Ministers noted the significant progress made to date under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership and will begin work on the next policy framework.

A key decision was building a diverse agriculture sector by encouraging the full participation of youth, women and Indigenous Peoples. The Ministers welcomed a panel of young farmers, who shared their views on a range of topics from technology, to business management, to mental health.

The Ministers agreed to continue collaborating with industry representatives on a pan-Canadian action plan and implementing the plan to help proactively mitigate the potential impacts of African swine fever (ASF). Continued efforts in preparedness planning, biosecurity for small-scale farms and the strategic management of wild pigs were part of the discussion. The Ministers heard an update on the Animal Health Canada initiative and agreed to continue this work.

Also recognized is the need to reduce regulatory red tape, and to put in place effective and responsive regulations that support innovation, growth and competitiveness, and protect health and environment. They endorsed a set of regulatory guiding principles, and committed to continuing their focus on traceability and surveillance activities.

The next annual meeting of FPT Ministers is in Guelph, Ontario, in July 2020.

Interactive Tool Helps Canola and Pulse Producers Plan Product Application Canadian producers can ensure the crop protection products they use do not leave unacceptable residues on their harvested canola and pulses by adhering to the pre-harvest interval, or PHI, found on the product’s label. Often referred to as the “spray to swath” interval, the PHI is the number of days that must pass between spraying pesticides or desiccants and swathing/straight-cutting.

The PHI can vary greatly between products, from one day to over 60 days so it’s important that producers know and adhere to the prescribed interval for each product that is applied to a crop.

This will ensure the product’s active ingredient has had enough time to break down in the plant and not leave unacceptable residues behind, which could put the crop’s marketability at risk.

A useful tool that canola and pulse growers can use to help plan their pre-harvest spraying is the interactive Keep it Clean! Spray to Swath Interval Calculator found at spraytoswath.ca.

There are two ways to use the handy calculator: 1. To calculate how long to wait after spraying to swath or straight-cut, the producer simply selects their crop type and the product that they have applied. The calculator will instantly provide the minimum number of days that the producer must wait before cutting their crop, along with relevant information or warnings, if applicable.

2. To select a product to fit a specific timeline, the producer selects their crop type, product category and when they would like to harvest, and the calculator provides product options that fit within that window.

The easy-to-use, interactive calculator is mobile-friendly and filled with great information to help canola and pulse producers protect their investments and the marketability of their crop.

For more information on Pre-Harvest Interval and the Spray to Swath Interval Calculator, visit keepingitclean.ca/phi.

July 26, 2019

Continuous Fly Control for Grazing Cattle During the Summer

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By Peter Vitti Flies are a real threat to the well-being of grazing cattle. This is particularly true when their populations build up by late-summer into early fall in Manitoba. It usually occurs after periods of warm and wet weather.

By buzzing around their heads or biting the backs of cattle, flies are not only a great nuisance, but are a great transmitter of disease. Simply putting in the same insecticide ear-tag at the beginning of the grazing season is not continuous fly control. Rather, we should review the life-cycle of the specific fly and use methods that continuously control them, particularly during the latter part of the summer.

Consequently, the horn fly, and face fly are two major fly pests that I am most concerned about when it comes to managing beef cattle on pasture. A review of each pest is as follows: Horn fly: This fly is about 4 - 5 mm long. It is gray in color with 2 dark stripes on its body with diffused markings. It has piercing/sucking mouth parts and feeds on blood and tissue fluids of cattle. Female horn flies lay their eggs in fresh cow manure and emerging larvae complete a complete life cycle stages to adulthood from 8 - 14 days of age. Horn flies spend most of their adult lives on the backs and shoulders of cattle and survive by feeding upon cattle blood up to 40 times a day. Horn flies survive our prairie winters as pupae and emerge as adults in early spring. These flies are vectors of disease such as anaplasmosis.

Face fly: This fly is about 7 - 8 mm long. It is gray with four dark stripes on its body. It has soft mouth parts that feed upon secretions from the eyes and muzzle of cattle. The female face flies lay their eggs in fresh cow manure and growing larvae tend to pupate into adulthood in soil; this entire life cycle from egg to adult encompasses about 21 days.

Unlike horn flies, face flies spend only about 10% of their adult life on the face of cattle. The other 90% of their time is spent on fences, trees and other objects.

In the fall, face flies tend to overwinter in sheds and cattle buildings. Face flies are responsible for the spread of pinkeye among cattle.

Insecticides are the major means of effective fly-control used to reduce exploding populations of horn- and face-flies on grazing cattle. I find it interesting that they fall into a relatively narrow class of chemicals, namely: organophosphates, pyrethroids, organochlorine and macrocyclic acetone compounds. Their mode

of action is interference of nerve function in flies that fatally paralyzes them.

Application of these insecticides doesn’t mean horn- and face-flies control is easy.

Organophosphates have been shown to be effective control against horn-fly populations, yet less effective with face-flies.

Furthermore, numerous cattle specialists advocate that type of insecticide used be alternated each year in cattle in order to prevent chemical resistance by flies. (re: some disease resistance against pyrethroids have been reported in horn-flies).

When controlling horn- and face-flies, insecticide-infused ear-tags are most people’s first line of defense for their cattle.

However, timing of application means everything when ear-tagging cattle in the herd with at least one ear-tag. That’s because the fly-control of most commercial ear-tags last about 3 – months. So, unless they were applied at the beginning of June when the cattle were released on pasture, they might be weak by the latter of the summer when fly populations are booming.

Similar insecticides can be used in backrubber and dust-bags, where continuous fly control depends on actual self-application by cattle to distribute them. In backrubbers, the insecticide is mixed with a carrier such as mineral oil; saturating the wick that the cattle rub their backs upon.

It’s a good idea to occasionally check back-rubbers on occasion to see if they need refilling.

For example, one time, I was with a rancher checking his cattle and to his amazement, one of his cattle back-rubber’s with a pump applicator had leaked all the insecticide on the ground. In a similar fashion, some people use pour-on and sprays to control flies. Most of these insecticide formulas tend to be ready-touse formulas, which provide only a few weeks of protection against flies. Therefore, they should be re-applied at least once throughout the fly control season, which is not always practical when cattle are out on pasture. Amount and coverage are important for this type of insecticide application.

All of the above insecticidal fly control works in grazing cattle. It may mean putting in ear-tags with a combination of insecticides (both organophosphate and pyrethrin) at the beginning of the summer.

Then assuring a back-rubber is soaked heavily or filled dust-bags are placed on a continuous basis, where cattle congregate all summer long. It might even mean cleaning up that pile of fence-posts, where face-flies spend most of their day.

Face flies.

Horn flies.

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July 26, 2019

The AgriPost

Always Something to Learn in Gardening

By Joan Airey Driving into town at the beginning of July, I noticed a unique unit for growing herbs and lettuce in Larry and Terry Nolin’s yard.

Terry is our local postmaster so on my next trip into town I asked if I could photograph their herb and lettuce growing unit. She said sure and if her husband’s vehicle was home he would answer any questions on the vegetables and that she talk about the flower garden she maintained.

“I built the unit to grow herbs/lettuce using PV pipe that was no longer needed on a job after an upgrade and purchased caps for the ends reasonably,” said Larry Nolin. “The unit is self-watering with the flick of a switch.”

It was the fifth of July when I visited the Nolin’s yard. Larry was harvesting foot long zucchini and he had cucumbers forming on his vines all which were being grown in containers. Nolin catches the rain water from the roof of his house in a rain barrel and circulates through several barrels which are hooked up to an electric pump that is hooked to clear hoses which once again with the flick of a switch water his containers of peas, zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes.

“My irrigation system is made mostly from a recycled pump, etc. I use composted manure to grow my plants. The tall tomatoes are originally from the Ukraine and will grow as tall as a tree if the season is long enough. I also have beefsteak type tomatoes,” said Nolin.

My neighbour Jean and I went on the Master Gardeners tour and one of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Mennonite Museum at Steinbach whose gardens are maintained by volunteers. A member of the Steinbach and Area Garden Club (SAGC) spoke to us on the clubs involvement with the gardens at the Museum. The club’s website sagardenclub. com has information on their monthly activities and garden resources information.

“In 2018 the Club volunteers contributed a total of 1,056 hours of time to plant and tend the flower gardens, the flower pots, the orchard and the vegetable garden at the Mennonite Heritage Village for the enjoyment of over 40,000 visitors from around the world,” said Anne Peters a garden club volunteer.

“Our Lily Task Force of volunteers saved MHV’s beautiful heritage lilies once again last year by daily picking and destroying Lily Beetles.”

Approximately twelve years ago when the club started volunteering all there was at the

Village were three evergreens and a vegetable garden. The vegetables and big rhubarb patch supply the restaurant with fruit and vegetables from May 1 to October 1.

From personal experience, their Russian Borsht is delicious. The restaurant makes bread using the flour ground in the Grist Mill located in the village. The Village also grows a field of wheat which it threshes on ‘Fall on the Farm Day’.

A small Oak tree has been grown on the grounds from an acorn from a seven hundred year old oak tree which is a landmark of the Chortitza Mennonite settlement in south Russia.

A fast approaching event at the Village is Pioneer Days held from August 30 to September 2.

For further information on the event visit their website mhv.ca at that time they bake the bread in the outdoor oven.

On August 23 the International Peace Gardens will host “Gala in the Garden”. This is a formal event which includes food and cocktails, entertainment and a silent auction. Check for information at peacegarden.com.

An update on a method of growing potatoes in a potato grow bag is that it does work, we enjoyed new potatoes from one of those grow bags last night.

Potatoes grown in potato bag yield a colander full of potatoes.

Larry Nolin holds up one of few zucchini he picked in his container garden July 5th.

Larry Nolin made this herb and lettuce planter from recycled pipe.

The AgriPost

An Average Year for Provincial Honey Production

By Les Kletke Art Peters said that 2019 will be an average year and with a little luck may finish as a good year for honey production. Peters’ observations are based on the work of his bees in central Manitoba although not representative of overall provincial production.

“There are so many things that can impact honey production, it would be difficult to speak about the entire province until the final numbers are in,” he said. “But I know that production has been average for my hives.”

Peters has his hives in canola fields in the Manitoba and Crystal City area. “A single incident like spraying for insects can have a dramatic effect,” he said. “That can be devastating for a honey producer.” He said that the co-operation he receives from canola growers has been very good and the awareness of bees in the field has increased over time.

“Farmers are much more aware of the bees and the overall insect population in general,” said Peters. “Some of the campaigns have done a lot for the awareness and the general population has become more aware.”

A campaign by General Mills with their flagship cereal Cheerios has not had a real impact on his honey production. The campaign was aimed at increasing wild flower populations and providing more crops for bees to pollinate. “It may be having some impact but I have not seen a lot of fields of wild flowers in our area,” he said with a chuckle. “I have my bees in canola fields and that produces a

good quality honey that I have a market for.

He rates himself a large hobby producer and does not market his honey through the province’s formal channels.

Looking back, he said a longer bloom season for canola would have aided his production but a longer seeding season has made up for some of that. “The early crops were stressed by drought and the bloom did not go on for long,” he said. “But there were later fields that came into bloom and they provided other areas for the bees to work. So, we made up some production later on.”

Peters concentrates on the canola season and said there is little production after the season. “We used to try to get some sunflower honey, but there are not as many sunflowers around and it is a specialty market, so we have dropped out of that.”

“We had some setbacks and we have had some bright spots but overall it will be an average year,” noted Peters.

Art Peters says his bees are having a good year but he no long harvests sunflower honey.

Soybean and Corn Show Promise of Good Yields at Lowe Farm

By Les Kletke The rains came but they came too late for the early planted cereals and just in time for the corn and soybeans. The additional heat of July has provided almost ideal conditions for the crops typically thought of as Iowa production.

“We are not Iowa but we could see some very good yields this year in both crops,” said Tom Penner at Lowe Farm. He farms with his father and brother nearly 3,000 acres.

“We have been increasing our corn and soybean acres the last couple of years and are now at the point where we have leveled off to keep our rotation,” he said.

While the two later crops are far from in the bin, he said they show the most potential for this year. “The corn looks good,” he said. “It was in the best place to take advantage of the heat and moisture. It seems to make a jump in height every day. Its fun just driving by and seeing the difference.”

His early seeded crops were not able to take advantage of the moisture and have not responded as well to recent rains. “Our early seeded cereals struggled,” he said. “We know the yields are not going to be there. We will

probably be below average on them.”

He does acknowledge that expectations have increased after a couple of years of good yields. “The bar has moved up,” he said. “We have raised our expectations and our expenses, so this year is going to be tough to pencil a profit on the cereals.”

Penner said that while the budgets may be tough to show a profit, they will not replace the cereals in their farm’s rotation. “We need them for the rotation and especially weed control,” said Penner. “We want to get a different system of weed control into the rotation and the cereals provide that.”

For him overuse of one group of herbicides is a condition he does not want to introduce to the farm. “We don’t want to get into that situation,” he said. “We use glyphosate on some of our crops but we try to be careful to not overuse it and lose it.”

He offered cautious optimism about his longer season crops. “Right now, the soybeans and corn look really good,” he said. “We have had a good amount of moisture in July and it should be enough to finish them, but we would like a bit more rain as they mature. Not too much to make harvest a challenge.”

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The AgriPost

Twin Births are Common in High Producing Dairy Herds A dairy cow that gives birth to twin calves was once rare. However, with better nutrition and higher milk production has given way to average twinning rates of about 10% across most dairy herds. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do to prevent this troublesome trend, but we can set up some measures that can effectively assist both post-partum cows and their two newborn calves.

One might think that two twin heifer calves from one cow would be a bonus, but it’s not. Recently, I met a producer that told me, since April, his 150-cow dairy has had a twin-calving rate of about 17%. This means, if he calves out about 12 – 14 cows per month, he has dealt with one set of twins for about every six births.

His number of close-up dry cows that are ready to calve is usually lower toward late summer, so he anticipates he will probably have only a couple of twin sets, if it actually happens.

On a positive note, this producer told me that his twinning cows did not need much assistance from him during calving, despite in most cases; one calf being born – head first and the other one backwards.

Yet he did observe many of these cows had a higher incidence of retained placenta and he had to treat a few of the cows with twins for ketosis. Unlike, much literature that demonstrates cows with twins may take a longer time to get back to normal estrus and get rebred; there were no reproductive issues in this herd.

Aside from the twinning cows, he did notice the birthweight of both twins were about 15% less than the single-birth calves in the cowherd. However, he said they seem to do well in his new calf barn, where they are put on a standard pre-weaned feeding program; powder colostrum within hours of birth, then an eight-week feeding program of milk replacer and texturized calf starter. His only concern was

that from about ¾ of the twin sets; one newborn was a female and the other was a bull calf.

I can understand his concern, because from nearly all male-female twin pairs will produce an infertile heifer, known as a freemartin. She is irreversibly made sterile during gestation because her embryonic membranes are fused with those of the bull fetus and their bloods mix. The bull’s hormones contaminate the blood exchanged between both fetuses which cause abnormal development of the twinfemale’s reproductive organs that renders them infertile. In addition, there is some evidence that the bulls born with a freemartin have lower sperm counts and lower sperm quality when they grow into adults.

Ironically, it’s speculated by many dairy reproductive specialists that the push for higher milk production in dairy cows during the last few decades, led to higher rates of twins such as this dairy producer faced.

They say that high feed intakes/high milk production by dairy cows; increases the blood flow and metabolism of progesterone hormones through the liver and therefore reduces the amount of progesterone in the cow’s blood, which increases the likelihood of double ovulation/conception of fraternal fetuses in bred cows.

Good evidence of this hormonal connection - field trials conducted at the University of Wisconsin (2015) manipulated progesterone levels in lactating dairy cows and found that high milk producing dairy cows given progesterone therapy had less incidence of double ovulations (re: two separate eggs that are released at the same time and fertilized by separate sperm – leads to fraternal twin calves) compared to a low-progesterone control group of cows.

It has been my understanding that such research has led to the development of

several commercial hormone protocols, which allegedly prevent high rates of twinning in dairy cows. Otherwise, as a dairy nutritionist, I advise that we implement dry cow programs to assist dairy cows that are going to give birth to twin calves.

I like to keep my feeding programs of the faraway dry cows (40 – 60 days before calving) and the close-up dry cows (21 days before calving) separate. Dairy research has proven that they are biologically different animals. So, when I design a diet for close-up dry cows, it is my intent to meet their specific pre-calving nutrient requirements.

For this latter diet, I have designed a few practical transition formula pellets over the years. One of which is a 16% medium-energy/no salt formula that contains only palatable feedstuff ingredients.

It also has a micro-premix with higher levels of chelated trace minerals such as zinc-methionine and higher vitamin levels, especially vitamin E (+1000 iu/head/ d). Last, it contains feed additives such as yeast and probiotics that help improve rumen digestibility of the complimentary forages of the entire feeding program. It may also contain protected choline and niacin to help reduce the incidence of ketosis.

This is a good dietary approach that should help a cow that’s going to give birth to twin calves and help her transition her onto regular lactation diet, once she completes a double-birth. It’s a good testament that twinning in the modern dairy cow should not be seen as a problem, but we should find better ways to fit it into our dairy operations.

Drought Had Positive Results for Cattle Feeding Program

By Les Kletke Peter Friesen will not go so far as to say the drought last year was good for his beef operation, but it did have a positive effect on his feeding program.

“We have been thinking of switching to corn silage from our hay feed,” said Friesen who feeds 300 cows in his cowcalf operation near Grunthal. “But the shortage last year pushed us in that direction.”

He made the switch this year to planting corn and will have the silage custom cut. Before the drought the entire transition was too costly to justify for a 300-cow herd. “We have been considering it, and then with the lack of feed last year we were forced to buy some feed and thought we would try the silage,” he said. “While there were some challenges with the handling, we were able to make

it work. So, this year we planted corn and that gave us time to get things in place for the silage.”

He will have the new corn silage custom chopped and stored it in a pile for this year. “We just did not want to extend ourselves too far on the cost side,” he said. “We had a tough year with buying feed last year to over winter the cows so we are making the switch but being careful with the bottom line.”

He liked the results of having his cows on corn silage and said it did well for his calves also. “There is no argument about the quality of the feed,” he said.

“The choice comes about with purchasing equipment to chop the crop. We have to decide to buy the equipment and our herd does not justify that expense, so then it would mean doing some custom work to pay for the equipment. For this

year we are going to have someone else do the custom work and we will work on getting things ready to store silage and how we will handle it on the yard and for feeding.”

He is also considering expanding his herd, with the switch to corn silage and custom choppers. “We could probably handle a few more cows,” he said. “But we have to see how the market votes on that and if we will expand. There are more things to consider than just if we are able to feed more cows in our system.”

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CFA Disappointed with Lack of Minister’s Action on Trade Plight The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) was pleased to see the Ministers acknowledge the critical importance of rules-based trade and access to labour for agricultural business in its recent FPT release. However, farmers are currently facing challenges from a number of trade disruptions that require immediate intervention. CFA is concerned with the Ministers’ inability to both commit to immediate programming that would help farmers overcome these urgent challenges, as well as longterm improvements to Canada’s BRM suite.

These trade disruptions are caused by geopolitical issues outside the control of Canadian farmers. At the CFA Roundtable meeting with Federal, Provincial and Territorial Agriculture Ministers, CFA members urged them to implement immediate programming that would help farmers see themselves through the financial challenges stemming from blocked access to critical markets, especially in China.

CFA appreciates that Ministers have tasked officials with identifying improvements to AgriStability before years’ end, but CFA is disappointed that Ministers did not clearly commit further funding for enhancements to AgriStability.

CFA and its members specifically called to enhance AgriStability margin coverage to 85% and to remove the reference margin limitation. These enhancements are critical to ensure AgriStability has the capacity to provide meaningful support to producers facing unprecedented risks in the marketplace.

“With the Government of Canada having identified Canada’s agriculture and agri-food industries as a sector with immense potential to drive inclusive growth across Canada, we are disappointed that Ministers didn’t rise to the occasion and invest in this critical sector at a time of urgent need,” said CFA President, Mary Robinson. “We remain committed to working with FPT governments and their officials as they consider reforms to AgriStability, but fear that further delays of concrete action by the Federal Government will see many producers left unable to pay bills, or will force them to take on additional debt without any certainty in the marketplace.”

“Canadian farmers are bearing the financial brunt of the geopolitical brinkmanship across the globe and are disappointed to see a lack of support from the federal government for this critical economic sector, particularly when considered in light of the support provided to other sectors impacted by these trade wars.”

Members of Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) are also expressing their disappointment at the lack of response to the industry’s call for specific changes to the AgriStability program.

“As grain farmers, we have to ask where the government’s sense of urgency is,” said Jeff Nielsen, GGC Chair. “Real progress on Business Risk Management Programming was needed, and I would suggest achievable, long ago and yet we emerge from another FTP meeting with nothing tangible.”

“It is getting a bit frustrating, from a farmer perspective,” said Markus Haerle, GGC Vice-Chair. “As an industry we provided governments with reasoned, practical solutions to long-standing problems with BRM programs and all we got back were commitments to further consultations. I really wonder if the governments have any idea of the realities of running a modern grain farm in these volatile times.”

It is the hope that the conversations currently underway between federal and provincial agriculture Ministers and bureaucrats and the members of the AgGrowth Coalition continue to move towards implementation of the recommended changes to AgriStability. These changes need to be put in place as soon as possible so they can start to mitigate the impacts of the escalating trade volatility being felt by grain farmers across Canada.

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