AgriPost March 25 2022

The

The AgriPost

Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is on March 28-April 2, 2022

March 25, 2022

See website for details provincialexhibition.com

Lamb Sextuplets Make an Entrance at Strathclair Farm

The McIntosh Family had a surprise when their lambing season started on their farm near Eriksdale, Manitoba. One of their ewes delivered 6 lambs to start the season off. Bexley and Adalyn help their parents Nikoda and Colton feed the lambs. See Page 11...

Photo by Nikoda Holoponia

Flood Forecast for Manitoba Improves

By Elmer Heinrichs In its second flood outlook of the season, issued March16, Manitoba’s hydrologic forecast centre has lowered the potential peak of the Red River flood this spring.

Under an unfavourable weather scenario where heavy rain or snow falls along the

Red River drainage basin in the coming weeks, provincial flood forecasters now expect flows along the Red in 2022 to be no higher than they were in 2011.

That marks an improvement from a month ago, when forecasters predicted flooding similar to that in 2009 under

an unfavourable weather scenario.

However the risk of major flooding on the Red River and tributaries remains high, and flood preparation activities are underway.

Though significant high water activity is expected in southern Manitoba, flood water levels

are expected to remain below community flood protection levels with water levels to be influenced by the rate of snow-melt and future snow and rain accumulation.

There is also a risk of moderate flooding on the Assiniboine and Souris rivers and tributaries.

Federal Government Funds Expansion of Organic Industry The agriculture and agri-food sector is a key driver of Canada’s economy, with the organics industry being one of the fastest growing sectors in Canada according to Agriculture and Agri-Food. To support this growth, the Federal government has announced funding up to $770,000 for the Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) to support market development for organic products.

The funding focus will help create domestic and international export opportunities and promote the “Canada Organic” brand. The project includes the development of market activities at major food shows in Germany and the US with additional activities related to market accessibility and technical assessments. The investment, made under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriMarketing Program, will support the association in welcoming incoming missions, offering retailer training, creating market reports and developing a directory of organic producers and exporters.

With this funding, COTA has developed a 4-module retailer training program as well as a webinar training series on how to become ‘Export Ready’.

It continues to expand the training program in order to deliver sessions virtually as well as in-person to a wide stakeholder audience. In the first two years of the program COTA has trained over 600 participants from 300 companies with estimated related sales close to $1.7 million.

“Canada’s organic landscape continues to shine on the world stage and grow at a pace that highlights the increased demand for climate-friendly products by consumers worldwide,” said Tia Loftsgard Executive Director, Canada Organic Trade Association. Canada Organic Trade Association is a not-for-profit industry association representing the organic value chain in Canada.

Globally, the organic sector shows a worth of $147.5 billion dollars in 2018, up from the $102 billion in 2016 and is expected to continue its burgeoning growth. The Canadian organic market is now the sixth largest organic market in the world valued at $8 billion, which is up from $5.4 billion in 2017. There were more than 7,500 organic operations in Canada in 2019, accounting for roughly 2% of total agricultural land.

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

Before Signing That Grain Contract, Talk to Your Neighbours

By Harry Siemens The invasion of Ukraine

by Russia has created more market uncertainty on top of last year’s drought in western Canada that had many farmers struggling with grain contracts when there was no grain.

Kevin Hursh, a farmer in southwest Saskatchewan and executive director of the Inland Terminals Association of Canada, ITAC said there is a lot of concern over last year where contract buyouts were a big issue for some producers. He said there is general frustration over some of the contract terms or what was perceived to be contract terms.

“What I think is less clear, is exactly how to address it and how you can come out with what people call fairer contracts,” said Hursh.

He explained that people sign contracts often for things like software and phone apps, never thinking much about what they sign but clicking here or there to agree to the contract. Most contracts are not easily read and understood, unfortunately.

Hursh said something as important as a crop contract; nobody should sign unless they understand it, making it incumbent upon both sides.

“I wish people would write contracts in plainer language or had an interpretation for some of the legal clauses in them,” he said. “But by the same token, if I sign a contract, it’s on me to understand the terms of that contract.”

Hursh said the industry has had this discussion before.

But unfortunately, easy answers are not readily available when people design contracts or sign contracts or until the government starts taking measures to make contracts fairer.

“Its several years since this issue surfaced, but I just don’t see leadership and political will to make something happen, nor do I know how exactly it would work,” he said.

“So I’m not sure how it’s go-

ing to proceed. I would suspect that people will be a lot more cautious about contracts they sign in the upcoming year.”

He believes that for some crops where “Act of God” clauses were not present before, there might be some offering “Act of God” clauses at a somewhat lower price but still providing some protection in a crop failure. This change could lead to some adjustments by both the producers and some contracting companies.

“I have rarely signed a deferred delivery contract where if I have a crop failure I’m on the hook to replace that product or pay for the price difference,” said Hursh. “I’m a grower mainly of specialty crops where ‘Act of God’ clauses are typically the norm.

So in many cases contract the first 10 bushels per acre of production, and there’s an ‘Act of God’ clause saying that if you have a crop failure, you don’t have the product to deliver, that you’re out of the contract.”

Companies are further requesting that if there is a claim under the “Act of God” clause; a crop failure, the company gets to see the crop insurance records. Those companies are trying to protect themselves with this extra piece of documentation.

Some groups have advocated that all contracts should have an “Act of God” clause. However Hursh does not think that will happen although more contracts on some commodities will have an “Act of God” clause.

He said that a producer may still regret signing a contract with an “Act of God” clause because the prices went much higher in his case. “I’d been far better off if I had not signed the contract. But at the time the prices looked good, and that’s why you signed the contract,” said Hursh. “I also didn’t produce the contracted amount in many cases and didn’t have to buy myself out of the contract because there was an ‘Act of God’ clause.”

Kevin Hursh, a farmer in southwest Saskatchewan and executive director of the Inland Terminals Association of Canada, ITAC said it is not clear how to address what people call fairer contracts.

Submitted photo

Last year some farmers suggested that a few companies would not answer phone calls and in some cases companies even appeared to be making rules up as they went along, at least from the farmer’s point of view.

Hursh would not comment on what individual companies did but he also heard the wide range of stories. For the grain companies he works with within the Terminal Association, companies with significant farmer ownership, they did the best they could on a case-by-case basis to work with producers and try to resolve it the best way possible. He said that they also took losses in regards to these contracts. It was not just the producer.

“So I would suggest that producers should have long memories,” said Hursh. He said that some companies reacted far more prudently than others, were more compassionate and worked with producers while others took a tough line and lacked communication, and producers should remember that.

“Talk to your friends and neighbours about their experience with various companies, and when you’re doing business in the upcoming years, when we again have grain to sell, remember who was good to work with and who wasn’t,” said Hursh. “That’s how business should work.”

Potash Producer Adds Production

By Elmer Heinrichs Nutrien Ltd. of Saskatchewan, the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, is raising its potash production for this year in response to the uncertainty of supply from eastern Eu-

rope as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.

The company said it will increase production by roughly one million tonnes to about 15 million tonnes. Most of additional volume is expected to be produced in the second

half of the year. The company also said it will be hiring additional workers at its potash mines in Saskatchewan.

Canada is the world’s largest potash producer, but Russia and Belarus are also major exporters.

The AgriPost

Fertilizer Supply and Transport are Concerns for Farmers this Year

By Harry Siemens Ryan Dyck, territory manager-Manitoba with ADM Agri-Industries in Lasalle, MB said ADM have advised farmers to lock in fertilizer positions since May of 2021 for spring of ‘22.

“We had no idea about half the events that drove prices up, but we could see tight grain supply and demand driving demand for fertilizer in a market with depleted inventories.”

He cautioned to not listen to those who do not trade a global position. Marketing companies that report or react on barge sales at the gulf in New Orleans, Louisiana; whether it is a small or large quantity may not be considering the potential impact overall and local suppliers often do not have a global point of view on fertilizer inventories.

Dyck said that if a producer has not purchased enough fertilizer for spring seeding, prices will not magically correct themselves from now through spring. “Get your logistics locked in, manage the risks you can if you haven’t yet, and stop trying to save a few dollars by waiting,” he said. “It won’t pan out.”

Ryan Dyck, territory managerManitoba with ADM Agri-Industries sees shipping and transport concerns still affecting supply of fertilizer due to rail strikes, denying entry of vessels based on origin, and cross border supply.

Photo by Harry Siemens

There are many farmers that can only plan their crop rotations and planting decisions now though. He said the current situation is not the same as 2008 where many held off purchasing fertilizer. In 2008 different factors drove down the markets on opposite ends. A demand-driven market followed the crop up and back down again.

In 2020, 2021 and this year supply issues are moving the market whether geopolitically driven with embargos, plant shutdowns, or weather events, explained Dyck.

“On paper you can make a bullish case for all crops to look good with new crop pricing where it is at today,” he said. “Also what looks potentially to be a continued bullish cycle for commodities backed with current supply and demand issues surrounding many crops.”

He thinks 2022 is seen as an opportunity, with the higher risk being input costs.

For many who guaranteed their commodity prices today coupled with good yields they can stomach the higher input costs.

“I feel that farmers will stick close to their rotations that work for their farms,” said Dyck adding that there will be minor adjustments like every year but nothing to create a significant shift in acres.

Over the long haul, a solid rotation will bring the most success over chasing what worked last year. The weather will continue to be the wild card that dictates a large part of the outcome of bushels per acre in the bin. “Anytime you have a chance to lock in grain you should be locking in fertilizer to lock in potential margin and sticking to a rotation that works for your farm is the way to be successful over the long haul,” said Dyck.

Dyck also sees other factors that will affect farmers including shipping and transport, plant shutdowns, sanctions and rail strikes.

“Shipping will remain an issue with the CP strike, denying entry of vessels based on origin, and cross border issues,” said Dyck. “We expect logistics to be a major issue this spring. Plant shutdowns have not been an issue in Canada but more of an issue in the US.” Dyck said fertilizer supply might be available in New Orleans, but when the market opens wide, volume of rail cars will remain at the same amount at the same speed.

In addition, the markets say farmers will consume more inventory than in years past, which puts a strain on the logistics system. CP rail issues are very concerning and could cause delays in receiving critical products like urea and phosphates from the river system he cautioned.

Plant shutdowns have not happened for a few months.

Still, some major outages occurred at the start of the fertilizer year (June/July of 2021) where producers were not putting urea-ammonium nitrate into storage and duties will limit supply from Russia that likely increase prices in all of North America.

“This changes too frequently to get a solid point of view, but even the war in Ukraine ends tomorrow sanctions will not roll off overnight,” said Dyck.

Dyck reflected on how ADM as a company is preparing for the most unpredictable spring t meet farmer’s needs. “We have slowed our sales to ensure our inventory matches commitments,” he said. “We are trying to ship anything with wheels to interior market destinations and working with truckers to find more drivers.”

Get your logistics locked in, manage the risks you can if you haven’t yet, and stop trying to save a few dollars by waiting, said Ryan Dyck territory manager-Manitoba with ADM Agri-Industries. Photo by Harry Siemens

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

Keep the Faith as the Roller Coaster Called the World Keeps Turning

First the effects and fallout of the two-year pandemic that lingers, a 60 per cent crop in western Canada, the horrific killing of men, women and children in Ukraine, and now a 3,000 follow-the-leader rail strike that could cripple a mostly fragile economy.

Canadian business and agricultural leaders warned

a work stoppage at the railway would be “catastrophic” for the flow of goods across the country, at a time when supply chain disruptions have already driven up food costs to a level not seen in almost 13 years.

Come 2022 growing season, Canadian grain farmers are under more pressure than usual to produce a good crop since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has destabilized farming operations in one of the world’s most important grain-growing regions.

When the world needs more Canadian grain, a rail stoppage would directly damage Canada’s capacity to act as a reliable source said the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, representing more than 200,000 farmers.

The strike involving nearly 3,000 engineers, conductors and other train employees took effect at 1 am ET Sunday, after the company and the workers’ union dug in their heels over a long-sim-

mering contract dispute.

Well what do you think?

I call it greed, mismanagement and lack of government leadership.

In another article, Ryan Dyck territory managerManitoba with ADM AgriIndustries located in Lasalle, MB said ADM advised farmers to lock in fertilizer positions since May of 2021 for spring of ‘22.

“Get your logistics locked in, manage the risks you can if you haven’t yet, and stop trying to save a few dollars by waiting; it won’t pan out,” was his message.

That is Great advice from Ryan and his company. Do what you think is best under the circumstances and don’t try to outguess the system is what that said to me.

I asked Jonathan Driedger of LeftField Commodity Research if we have a strike; what’s your first reaction or the marketed factored it into the prices? Since it’s always a little challenging to know how this will play out.

“From a grain market per-

spective, a part of me says if a strike, this would be the year to do it and maybe this time of year. Simply because our small crop from last year means that we have no choice but to export much less grain than last year. Because a lot of that moves earlier in the season we have crops like canola or some others where weekly volumes are a fraction of what they would typically be at this time of year,” said Jonathan.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing good about it, but I guess there is an element of if something like this were to happen, at least in terms of shorterterm grain movement, it’s better now in this year than some others. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t create challenges for shippers or exporters or adds more uncertainty on top of all the uncertainty we already face.

Just because the volumes are smaller, it may mean that there’s less potential backing up in the system, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t

still have a big problem for those trying to execute what sales they’re making.

Harry: “There is corn supposedly coming in from the US and fertilizer.”

Jonathan: “Yeah. Oh, very true. The point you make about the stuff coming into Canada is very relevant.

“With the corn imports, it’s a year when there’s so much corn coming in because feed grain supplies are just so incredibly tight. So for that sector, and again, on a widespread basis, the impact is smaller, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a huge problem for individual companies, circumstances, or farmers. Then as you mentioned, Harry, which is so true is its just one more thing on top of just a tremendous amount of uncertainty that agriculture globally is facing, including us in western Canada.

So on its own, it’s less severe than it might have been in other years, but it’s just compounding other challenges and a significant concern.”

Harry: “I mean, obviously the powers that be within railroads and within the unions, I mean, they all have their reasons. They all have their bluffs and whatever else, but I guess they know precisely what you and I know. There isn’t a lot of grain. So if we’re going to strike, let’s strike now.”

Nevertheless the muchtalked-about phrase “supply chain” will undoubtedly suffer and prices will skyrocket one day and plummet the next day.

Keep the faith, my friends; it is all we have to hang on to in some cases.

Editor’s note: As of press time Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and the union representing 3,000 conductors, engineers and train and yard workers say they have agreed to final and binding arbitration to end a work stoppage.

Workers returned to the job at noon local time Tuesday March 22nd, 2022.

Government Seeks Guidance on Path to Reduce Fertilizer Emissions The federal government through Agriculture and Agri-Food has launched a new round of consultations, beginning with the release of a Discussion Document.

These consultations will focus on how we can achieve Canada’s national target to reduce absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with fertilizers by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.

The document is a key part of consultations with industry to help reach this goal.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) met with producer groups and provincial and territorial partners in 2021 to discuss the emissions reduction target and initiate conversations on how to work together to develop a realistic approach. Stakeholders identified important opportunities and challenges for industry which helped inform a Discussion Document that will stimulate discussion and lead to a shared understand-

ing of how Canada can reach its 30% fertilizer emissions reduction target. The Discussion Document is now available for comment until June 3, 2022.

Fertilizers play a major role in the agriculture sector’s success and have contributed to record harvests in the last decade. They have helped drive increases in Canadian crop yields, grain sales, and exports.

However, nitrous oxide emissions, particularly those associated with synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use have also grown significantly.

That is why the Government of Canada has set the national fertilizer emissions reduction target, which is part of the commitment to reduce total GHG emissions in Canada by 40-45% by 2030, as outlined in Canada’s Strengthened Climate Plan, and enshrined in legislation through the “Canadian NetZero Emissions Accountability Act”.

Reducing nitrous oxide emissions associated with synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use is necessary to contribute to meeting and exceeding Canada’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target and achieving net-zero by 2050. This voluntary reduction target will help position the agriculture sector for the future. The agriculture sector has generated approximately 10% of Canada’s total GHG emissions annually since 1990.

The Government is focused on meeting this emissions reduction target through a range of policy measures and approaches, such as working with farmers to encourage broader adoption of new products and implementation of beneficial management practices, resulting in both economic benefits for farmers and environmental benefits for society. An important aspect of Canada’s path toward reaching the target while not compromising

crop yields will require ongoing support from industry stakeholders.

Industry-led initiatives like Fertilizer Canada’s 4R Nutrient Stewardship program will also play an important role in promoting sustainable use of fertilizer in crop production and can reduce GHG emissions.

The Government of Canada has already made major investments in new programs to help farmers adopt new beneficial management practices and clean technology which can improve productivity and lower GHG emissions, including through the Agriculture Climate Solutions - Living Labs initiative, the On-Farm Climate Action Fund, and the investments delivered through these programs are designed to leverage existing practices and technologies in order to meet Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.

In the coming months, AAFC will be hosting virtual

discussions for participants in Canada to continue the conversation on the emission reduction target. AAFC will consult with Canadians, including producers, processors, Indigenous communities, women in agriculture, youth, environmental organizations, small and emerging sectors and other stakeholders and partners to develop a path forward.

Working together is vital to identifying solutions to address the serious environmental challenges at hand.

Reducing emissions associated with fertilizer can help contribute to meeting and exceeding Canada’s 2030 GHG emissions reduction target and achieving net-zero by 2050.

Visit agriculture.canada.ca to join the discussion. Until June 3 share your guidance and feedback online via Simple Survey to the 2022 Fertilizer Emissions Reduction Consultation at agr.surveysondage.ca.

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

G7 Agriculture Ministers Condemn Invasion of Ukraine by Russian Federation

Dear Editor: We, the G7 Agriculture Ministers and the Commissioner for Agriculture of the EU, met today in the presence of our Ukrainian colleague, as well as the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS).

We are all appalled by and condemn the large-scale aggression by the Russian Federation against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, enabled by the Belarusian Government. We are deeply saddened by the devastating human losses and suffering, and we express our solidarity with Ukraine in line with our G7 Leader’s Statement on the invasion of Ukraine by armed forces of the Russian Federation.

We strive to provide national, bilateral and international support to help facilitate harvests in Ukraine and ensure the ability of Ukrainian farmers to feed their population and to contribute to global food security. We call on international organisations to support food production in Ukraine during this crisis and ensure food security in affected areas. We remain determined to do what is necessary to prevent and respond to a food crisis, including with humanitarian aid, and stand ready to act as needed to address potential disruptions.

We are deeply concerned about the impacts on food security and the rising number of people suffering from hunger and all forms

of malnutrition, caused by the unprovoked and unjustifiable Russian war of aggression, adding to the already severe situation caused by COVID-19, climate change and biodiversity loss. This will only increase the suffering in the region and put pressure on food security globally. We note with grave concern the severe effects on global food supply chains and the sharp rise of already high prices for agricultural commodities and inputs, such as fertiliser, impacting food security and nutrition for vulnerable countries and populations.

We deeply condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine. As Ministers of Agriculture, we are greatly alarmed by the targeting of critical agricultural infrastructure, including transportation and storage, which is having significant regional impacts. Given Ukraine is the fourth largest supplier of wheat and produces half of the world’s sunflower oil exports; this will additionally have global impacts on food systems and food insecurity.

We commit to cooperating closely and taking concrete actions to safeguard global food security and nutrition, especially supporting food security for the people of Ukraine. We reaffirm the importance of working together to maintain the flow of food, products, seasonal labour and inputs essential for agricultural and food production across borders in line with all measures adopted in response to the current situation. Moreover, we will work together to address transportation challenges for food ex-

Funding Targets Malting Barley Export Market Development Canada is recognized worldwide for producing high-quality malting barley. To remain competitive in the global marketplace, the industry must continue to build on this reputation, expand its customer base and promote new varieties that meet the needs of customers.

Based on this, the Federal government is investing over $960,000 for the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC) to expand existing and develop new markets for Canadian barley and barley products.

Canadian barley, as a cereal crop, is important for crop rotations, furthering sustainability and has a lower environmental impact compared to other crops.

Barley is also the main feed stock for the livestock industry

in western Canada.

With this funding, through the AgriMarketing Program, CMBTC will undertake marketing and promotional initiatives in major export markets and prospective countries. It will also provide technical services to optimize the quality and performance of Canadian barley, as well as education and training to help customers gain acceptance of the unique qualities and special processing attributes of new malting barley varieties.

Canada is the fifth largest barley producer and the third largest malt barley exporter in the world. Domestic and export sales of Canadian malting barley and processed malt generate $1 billion annually.

ports and commodity production.

We call on all countries to keep their food and agricultural markets open and to guard against any unjustified restrictive measures on their exports. Any further increase in food price levels and volatility in international markets could threaten food security and nutrition at a global scale, especially among the most vulnerable living in environments of low food security. We nevertheless recognise the extreme circumstances behind the export restrictions announced by the government of Ukraine and the vital importance of preserving the availability of food in Ukraine.

We will not tolerate artificially inflated prices that could diminish the availability of food and agricultural products. We will also fight against any speculative behaviour that endangers food security or access to food for vulnerable countries

or populations. Therefore, we are closely monitoring markets affecting the food system, including futures markets, to ensure full transparency. We will continue to share reliable data and information on global food market developments, especially through the relevant international organisations.

We will work together to help ensure that sufficient, safe, affordable, and nutritious food continues to be available and accessible to all people, including the poorest, the most vulnerable, and displaced people in a timely, safe, and organised manner, and particularly for the people of Ukraine. We deeply thank all farmers and workers, and food and agricultural businesses along the supply chain, who continuously provide our food supply in a sustainable manner. We will continue to support food security in line with climate and environment commit-

ments and the sustainable development agenda.

Together with G7 foreign and development ministers, we will continue our close cooperation within the G7 and with relevant international organisations, multilateral development banks and international financial institutions to respond to the impacts of the war on food security and nutrition. In this regard, we will inform one another and strive to coordinate the measures we take to ensure food security and market stability, in respect of both Ukraine and countries and regions that may experience food insecurity.

We stand united with our partners and with the government and people of Ukraine during this crisis. We will continue our close cooperation to respond to the impacts of the war, including on agricultural and food trade, food security and nutrition.

G7 Agriculture Ministers

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

Manitoba Dairy Farmers May Not Be Able to Return to Ukraine

By Harry Siemens Teresa and Garry Verhoog of St Labre, in southeast Manitoba are professional associates with the Evangelical Free Church of Canada (EFCCM). Their blog Moooosings talks about their move to mission work in Ukraine from their Canadian dairy farm.

“This blog is our way to share our thoughts and photos with you as we farm and live in Ukraine as written by Teresa. Garry does things and I write about it!” said Teresa.

“We have farmed in NJ, NY (the Catskills) Ontario and Manitoba since starting to milk cows in 1982.”

July 2009 Garry and Teresa left their sons milking 700 cows in Manitoba for Ukraine so Garry could start a small demonstration farm in the village and work with young adult orphans on the farm.

Garry said a call into mission work took them to Ukraine. It looked like they could use some help with their dairy farming on a visit.

“We would go to Ukraine for a couple of years, start a small farm, help the local farmers,” said Garry.

It changed into a project taking care of mostly handicapped orphaned children.

“If 18 years old and no place to live, we would invite them to the farm to give them places to live and jobs. Some

have continued with us for six or seven years, four couples on the farm and three little kids,” he said. “We’re milking 110 cows with a total herd of 250 animals and farm about 800 acres.”

Fast forward to the Russian invasion and what it could mean for the Verhoog family, the dairy herd in Ukraine and their Ukrainian adopted family.

When Garry referred to “we” about their dairy farm in Ukraine, it includes the staff, a lady who takes care of the dairy cows, a young man who takes care of the equipment and growing the crops and a Ukrainian couple who take care of the physical and spiritual needs of the kids. “Over the years, we’ve bought about ten houses in the village and renovated houses for the staff and students,” he said.

Garry and Teresa had plans to return to Ukraine and resume normal life when scheduled to return at the beginning of February. However, the mission strongly advised them not to go but hoped things would get back to normal in several weeks.

“Our tickets were for the Monday two days after Russia attacked. So we were almost back,” said Garry.

Initially he offered to take the women and children to Poland. They all said no, they wanted to stay since

Garry Verhoog in a Ukraine cornfield.

Ukrainian dairy farm.

somebody had to take care of the cows. The Russian army was about 50 to 60 km away but on the other side of the river making them feel safe.

On March 11, the farm had electricity, some fuel, and enough feed to last until spring. “When I talk to them there, everybody’s pretty calm and not too worried.

The Ukraine farm staff considered a couple of days ago, sending the wives and children away. Then they talked to people from the Ukrainian army who said there was no possible way Russia was getting anywhere close to our village. So they decided to stay for now,” said Garry.

The 2021 crop was excellent, corn at 250 bu. an acre, all irrigated where the government pumps water to the farm. The farm fertilized the 300 acres of winter wheat this spring but has no idea what will happen with farming in Ukraine this year.

Fertilizer prices are through the roof if even available and whether farmers will have money to buy.

“I can’t imagine there being much of a wheat crop in Ukraine this year,” he said.

Garry thinks that in another month staff will be milking the cows by hand, selling fresh milk right from the farm gate. “I suspect there won’t be electricity and too expensive to run the generator all the time to milk the cows. And we’ll just be milking them by hand,” said Garry. “Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow?

We plan the best we can, but we can’t make it rain after that. Only God can.”

Garry and Teresa’s collective heart aches for Ukraine.

“I know so many people there so well. I always assumed that it would be my second home for the rest of my life.

And now I’m sitting here in Canada, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be back, which hurts so bad,” said Garry. “It’s like losing half my family. I’ve got 16 young people and three grandkids there that I might never see again.”

On the Ukraine dairy farm they were milking 110 cows with a total herd of 250 animals and farmed about 800 acres.

The Ukraine dairy farm staff.

Submitted photos

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

Recipients of the Cherban Agricultural Program Announced The Manitoba government and the Manitoba 4-H Council have selected the Bioscience Association of Manitoba (BAM) and the Prairie Fruit Growers Association (PFGA) as the 2021-2022 recipients of the Alexander Cherban Agriculture Industry Development Program (ACAIDP).

“Both of these organizations are worthy recipients of these grants, made possible through the generous legacy of the late Alexander Cherban, a Swan River farmer who made his living in agriculture and wished to see the industry continue to develop and prosper,” said Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson.

“BAM and PFGA have both initiated projects very much in tune with the spirit of the program that supports those that strengthen public trust and build awareness on the sustainability of food production in our province.”

The ACAIDP was established to strengthen public trust, support labour development and promote career opportunities in the agriculture and food industry.

BAM will receive $40,000 and the PFGA will receive $10,000 in grants that will cover approximately 62 per

cent of project costs for each association.

BAM’s Accelerating Awareness of Agriculture and Agri-Food in Manitoba project includes several partners such as the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Manitoba Starch Products, Prairie Fava, Assiniboine Community College, Red River College Polytechnic’s Prairie Research Kitchen and Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals. The project aims to develop and design communication materials to increase public awareness on career opportunities in the agri-food sector and its importance to the provincial economy.

“We are honoured to receive this award in recognition of our work in promoting the bioscience industry’s important role in present and future provincial economic development,” said Kim Kline, president of BAM. “This program will help us develop promotional materials that showcase the many interesting, diverse career opportunities available in this burgeoning sector.”

PFGA’s Education and Promotion of Local Prairie

Fruit project will increase awareness of the fruit production process in Manitoba, the types of fruit available, when they are available and where to find locally grown fruit through the PFGA website and other social media platforms. The PFGA has approximately 65 members across Manitoba.

“We are honoured to receive this award and look forward to the good work that it will allow us to do in advancing our industry,” said Angie Cormier, executive director, PFGA. “With these funds, we plan to hire a summer student to travel the province, visiting our Upick farms to gather information and photos that will be used to create new marketing materials to promote local fruits and the people who grow them. We are proud to be able to showcase the hard work of the dedicated farmers that produce local fruit, while also creating an interesting job opportunity for a young Manitoban.”

ACAIDP provides up to $50,000 per year to nonprofit organizations, governments and academic institutions for innovative province-wide initiatives.

Growers Eye Mid-April Seeding Start

By Elmer Heinrichs Spring has arrived, but with plenty of snow on the ground, and at least some flood potential farmers might be excused for not finalizing their cropping plans for the year.

Here in southern Manitoba, it’s been one of the snowiest and coldest winters in years and it may seem like a mixed blessing for farmers, providing much-needed moisture for fields while also raising flood fears in some areas.

Dennis Lange, a pulse specialist for the Manitoba government, believes growers will have to wait before they can start seeding.

Lange does not foresee that this will be a year of midApril seeding, unless something dramatic happens. “I think it will be towards the end of April, beginning of May before we get into the fields,” he said.

Pulse growers in the Red

River Valley are keeping a close eye on the potential for flooding due to the relatively large snow pack. “There have been some concerns…but time will tell,” Lange added.

While prices for pulses are higher than last year, with rising prices for other commodities, it will be hard for these crops to gain seeded acres in 2022, said Lange.

Last year, we had about 175,000 acres of dry beans planted in Manitoba in 2021.

“I would expect that we might see a slight drop in acres, to around 150,000,” said Lange. “I don’t think we’re going to see any big swings in either direction.”

He also estimates 1.2 million acres of soybeans to be planted this year in Manitoba, similar to last year. As for peas, Lange believes the planted area will be equal to or slightly less than the 277,000 acres grown last

year.

“What may swing things a little bit more for pulses may be the high nitrogen prices,” he said. “If growers are looking to grow pulses, they won’t be adding any additional nitrogen for peas and for soybeans. In those situations, they may grow a few more acres but they also have to keep their crop rotations in line.”

However, the biggest determinant for whether there will be any semblance of a normal pulse crop or not in 2022 is the amount of moisture in the soil after the devastating drought of the previous two years.

“Having timely rainfalls throughout the growing season makes a huge difference,” he said. “Everything else being equal, timely rainfalls would be a big help for most of the crops in Manitoba.”

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

Selling Calves Privately and Off the Farm Has Advantages

By Harry Siemens Tom Teichroeb, who operates his ranch with 400 cow-calf pairs at Langruth, MB, recently sold his calves privately and off the farm through an online auction with three other cattle producers.

While selling privately and off the farm for years, the last two years involved the Gladstone Auction Mart to give it the third party validity.

Teichroeb said it was about maximizing profits per calf.

For example taking a calf to the auction market will cause about 10 and 12 per cent shrink. “When we sell our calves off the farm, we agree to a shrink value of 4 per cent. We weigh the calves in the morning take off the four per cent for shrink and the buyer pays based on the calf’s weight minus the four per cent,” he said. “So on each calf we save six per cent of shrink which is money in our pocket.”

The health factor is also critical. When a bidder wants a specific weight group with a particular vaccination program, they are able to pick up

an entire load or semi-load of calves. These calves never get exposed to any other animals in an auction market or other place where they would have to commune with other animals.

“So they go from your health and feed program directly to, in our case, they went to Prairie Livestock in Moosomin, SK,” said Teichroeb.

It is also significant when going through the auction market, and often they sell as small groups or individuals where the buyers usually pick them apart. “So when we sell them as a group, there are absolutely no outs, unless there is an obvious health reason or something got damaged or hurt, but they sell as a group,” he said. “The bid is on the entire group.”

Teichroeb said it’s important to include the local auction markets. For several years in selling privately and off the farm, they would phone the buyers to let them know that those calves would sell at a particular time on a specific date. “So they send us bids. We either reject or accept the bids they send us

and go from there,” he said.

He said while using the Gladstone Auction Market over the last two years they had buyers from Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta participating in the on-line sale, creating a win-win situation. “We take videos, scale them and package them into groups,” said Teichroeb. “So the buyers know what they’re buying and what kind of health program we have.”

The auction mart gets a commission while helping to expand the buyer base.

This year they sold almost 800 calves in just over an hour, with the majority from two operations, Teichroeb’s and another at Plumas and two guest sellers. He said it is a benefit for the auction market because they do not have to handle those calves. The calves benefit too because they never see the inside of that auction market since it is online and local.

“You can sit there in the auction market, watch it on a video in the auction market, or sit in your home and bid online on these calves,” he said.

Before the auction Teichroeb arranges the video. “It is always important to have a third party do it so that you have a very unbiased opinion about the description of the calves,” he said. “Auctioneer Tyler Slawinski came to the farms, videoed and described these cattle as he saw them confirming our description.”

At sale time the auctioneer talks about each producer’s business and health program before selling each lot.

Teichroeb said selling privately and getting paid can be a challenge but going through an auction market provides financial protection.

Auctioneer Slawinski’s take on their Facebook page said, “Last year we tried something new with selling some top quality cattle from two reputable producers via video sale during one of our regular sales. It turned out to be such a success we decided to do it again! This type of marketing is the best of both worlds, easier on the cattle with less shrink, and still able to sell them at a live auction, which is true price discovery.”

Cleanfarms Reduces Grain Bag Environmental Handling Fee As of March 1, Cleanfarms which operates the collection program to recycle agricultural grain bags in Manitoba and Saskatchewan has reduced the Environmental Handling Fee (EHF) applied at the point of purchase. The non-refundable EHF drops from the current 25 cents per kilogram to 22.5 cents per kilogram.

The fee is used to fund recycling programs in the province where it is collected to help keep used agricultural plastic out of landfill and the environment. Grain bags returned for recycling fuel the circular economy and are used to make new plastic film products. Environmental handling fees are commonly used to finance the recycling of many products. Examples are consumer electronics, oil and oil containers.

Cleanfarms operates the recycling programs in the two provinces on behalf of first sellers of agricultural grain bags in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. These companies take responsibility for recovering used grain bags

after growers are finished with them in compliance with provincially-regulated stewardship policies.

In Manitoba, the government designated grain bags

and twine under its Packaging and Printed Paper Stewardship Regulation in 2021.

The EHF in Manitoba became effective on December 1, 2021. Cleanfarms is the

non-profit industry stewardship organization that developed and operates the government approved programs to recycle used grain bags.

Tom Teichroeb, who operates his ranch with 400 cow-calf pairs at Langruth, MB, recently sold his calves privately and off the farm through an online auction with three other cattle producers.

Tom Teichroeb at Langruth, MB said that before the on-line auction the calves are weighed and four per cent is taken off for shrink. The buyer pays based on the calf’s weight minus that shrink.

Bidders at the on-line auction can view the calves and decide on a specific weight group with a particular vaccination program and can Submitted photos pick up an entire load or a semi load.

10

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

Lambing in Full Swing

By Joan Airey When the McIntosh’s first ewe started lambing they didn’t expect her to have sextuplets at their farm near Eriksdale (see Page 1 photo).

“This is the first set of sextuplets we have ever had. Six healthy lambs is definitely rare but higher multiples are more common with Rideau Arcott the breed of sheep we have. We always have lots of triplets and quadruplets as well as a handful quintuplets every year,” said Nikoda Holopina. “We leave two lambs on the ewe to be raised by her. The rest of the lambs get pulled to the nursery where

they are raised on an automatic milk machine.”

“Rideau Arcott is a breed that was developed in Canada to have high fertility, lots of milk and fast growth rate,” continued Holopina.

Nikoda and her partner Kolton McIntosh and their two children Bexley and Adalyn along with Kolton’s parents Karen and Kevin own McIntosh Ranch. They have a flock of four hundred ewes some purebred and some commercial.

“We have purebred Rideau Arcott and purebred Dorset ewes as well as commercial Rideau Arcott ewes,” said

Holopina. “We lamb three times a year: March, June and October. We sell purebred Rideau and Dorset rams out of the yard as well as packages of commercial replacement ewes lambs.”

The McIntosh family had to cut their cattle operation of purebred red and black Simmental and black Angus cows down to fifty head because of lack of feed available due to the drought of 2021. This year they marketed their McIntosh Ranch Bull and Replacement Heifer sale via DLMS Farm Gate which is a new way of marketing their cattle for them.

Lazy J Ranch (Rammer Charolais) near Strathclair owned by Matthew and Sarah Ramsey also shared this photograph with Agri-Post recently of sextuplets born on their Ranch. “We have nine commercial ewes and this is for sure the first sextuplets for us. Normally we have twins or triplets,” said Sarah Ramsey. “Our main livestock operation is sixty purebred Charolais and three hundred commercial cows. Until the drought hit this year we ran four hundred commercial cows.”

Photo courtesy of Matthew & Sarah Ramsey

Manitoba Pesticide Use Amendments Receive Support

By Elmer Heinrichs Manitoba is in the process of amending its cosmetic pesticide legislation following a public consultation, and stakeholders are in favour of these changes.

Amendments to the Environment Act will provide Manitobans the opportunity to use federally approved cosmetic pesticides, while expanding the list of areas that would be protected from cosmetic pesticides being applied, environment, climate and parks Minister Jeff Wharton said in the Manitoba Legislature recently.

Wharton said the legislation changes are in response to concerns of Manitobans who say the current methods are ineffective. “In response to the feedback we’ve heard

from Manitobans, we believe that these amendments would allow for flexibility of options of cosmetic pesticide applications on lawns, while also balancing the protection of sensitive areas in our communities,” the minister said.

In 2014, the Environment Act and non-essential pesticides use regulation was introduced to restrict the sale and application of prescribed pesticides for lawn care purposes.

Stakeholders and members of the public raised several concerns regarding the original legislation, including increased cost and increased usage of pesticides due to the lack of effectiveness of current products on the market.

David Hinton of the Manitoba Nursery Landscape Association said they support

these changes noting that, “Our green spaces contribute so much to our quality of life and produce enormous environmental benefits, but are continually being threatened by extreme climate conditions and invasive species such as the emerald ash borer.”

“Changes are long overdue,” said Hinton. “The new regulations will encourage innovation and allow more options when deciding how to deal with pests that threaten our landscapes.”

The new legislation would restrict pesticide use in municipal playgrounds, dog parks, picnic areas and provincial parks, while maintaining protections for schools, child-care centres and hospitals.

March 25, 2022

11

12

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

“There is No Farm, Without the Farmer”

By Brenda Hunter This profound statement by Gerry Friesen, Board member of the newly founded Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program (MFWP) absolutely hits the nail on the head, and is one of the driving forces behind the development of the program, which launched March 1. The program offers the ability to provide up to six, one-hour, one-on-one counselling sessions at no cost to farmers and their families, by qualified professionals with farm backgrounds.

“Farmers have a demanding lifestyle, and stigma remains a barrier for some to reach out for help,” said Friesen in a MFWP press release. “The Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program has been created to address the identified gap in availability of one-onone counselling services for farmers, whatever stage of the journey they are at.”

That is the key component of the program initiated and developed for farmers by farmers and farm-focused professionals who intimately understand agriculture and the specific challenges the industry faces. Farmers have

identified that they are more likely to seek out professionals that “get” where they are coming from; someone who knows innately what they might be going through, and specifically understands the unique stressors that they face.

“In my private practice and years working for Manitoba Farm Rural and Northern Support Services (MFRNSS), I was told by farmers that they preferred speaking with someone who understands the challenges associated with farming,” said Kim Moffat, who just opened her private practice, Maple Grove Consulting based out of Strathclair, early last fall after 20 years of working for MFRNSS. Much like the other counsellors that provide services to the MFWP, Moffat herself, can relate. She was raised on a small mixed farm in the Cardale/McConnell area and following her education and training as a psychiatric nurse, she married a farmer from Strathclair and they took over the family farm. They faced much of their own adversity in farming with the final straw being

the impact on their operation following BSE which forced them to seek careers in another direction. However, farm roots run deep, so it was not surprising, that she incorporated her agriculture background into her career of choice.

“Although it [BSE] was devastating to our family, it provided me with greater empathy and understanding for those struggling to manage farm stress,” acknowledged Moffat, a certain passion resonating in her voice.

“This work is important to me personally, because we ask so much from our producers. They are under constant pressure to do more, produce more, adapt to change and work with many factors out of their control. A farmer recently wept as they told me “I love farming, but not like this.” Too many of our farmers are struggling with the impacts of multiple stressors, leaving many of them feeling hopeless. We need to be there and take care of them so they can continue to look after us.”

Not only is Moffat one of the counsellors offering services to MFWP, she is di-

rectly responsible for getting the MFWP off the ground.

“Early in 2021, I was approached by Kim Moffat about starting a farmer wellness program in Manitoba,” explained Friesen. “We had learned about similar programs in PEI and Ontario.”

“It had become obvious through the work at the MFRNSS that farmers would like the option to meet in person and over a greater period of time,” explained Moffat.

The MFWP aims to bridge the gap between other agriculture-based mental health services currently available and work in conjunction with and complementary to programs like the Manitoba Farm Rural and Northern Support Services (formerly known as the Farm and Rural Stress Line), DoMoreAg, FCC’s Rooted in Strength program and Community Mental Health services offered by Manitoba’s healthcare system.

“The MFWP is an extension to what has already been done and is being done,” said Friesen. “It fills a gap.”

Moffat agreed. “The MFWP is there to sup-

“In my private practice and years working for Manitoba Farm Rural and Northern Support Services (MFRNSS), I was told by farmers that they preferred speaking with someone who understands the challenges associated with farming,” said Kim Moffat. “The MFWP is there to support farmers as they work through their challenges, one conversation at a time.”

Submitted photo

port farmers as they work through their challenges, one conversation at a time.”

The MFWP is providing a variety of ways for agricultural producers to access this service. Appointments can be held in person, virtually or by telephone with some availability on evenings and weekends making it more accessible and more conducive to a farmer’s schedule.

At time of writing, it was reported that there has been ‘significant activity’ on their website at www.manitoba-

farmerwellness.ca since its launch.

It operates as a not-forprofit and relies solely on donations and sponsorship.

“Any group or individual who works with farmers and is interested in financially supporting the MFWP should contact us,” explained Roberta Galbraith, MFWP Vice-Chair, in a press release. “We are working collaboratively with the agriculture community in our province for the health and wellness of the industry.”

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

13

Consistency is Critical in Conducting On-Farm Animal Welfare Assessments

By Harry Siemens A training program developed by the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) to expand the knowledge of pig care assessors is helping improve the accuracy and consistency of on-farm animal welfare assessments.

In partnership with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the University of Saskatchewan and pork sector stakeholders, researchers with the WCVM created a systematic and robust training program designed to expand the knowledge base of animal care assessors and improve the accuracy and consistency of their pig care assessments.

Veterinarian Dr. Giuliana Miguel-Pacheco a Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at WCVM said onfarm animal care assessments need to be consistent to avoid the problems resulting from inaccurate assessments. This program provides a systematic method to train and retrain observers and observe their level of knowledge.

“Providing these, we make sure that assessors receive the same level of training and we could know where their

weaknesses or strengths are so further training if needed,” said Miguel-Pacheco.

Pig care assessments verify animal care standards for the industry used for the quality assurance scheme of meat produced and sold by the Canadian industry. These assessments can catch issues and provide feedback to producers for continual improvement, for example level of lameness she explained.

“Our assessors mostly look at animal-based indicators of welfare, so measurements we can collect by looking at the pig itself, not the housing facility,” she said. “Examples of these indicators or measurements are cleanliness; how clean it looks, the skin, ear and tail lesions. They tell us of what the animal experienced in that particular environment.”

Miguel-Pacheco said because the consistency of assessments tends to decline over time, it is good to do periodic retraining to maintain the quality and robustness of the collected data.

The critical challenges that assessors may face are pig knowledge. They train people from pig naive to experienced assessors who may gave some missing indicators

or overrated by the eye. The other challenge is the level of experience he explained. For example, some people are more detail orientated, providing notes if needed. Everybody needs to know what to expect from a particular animal care assessment.

Then there are the personal biases with implications that the data is not valid or robust, meaning that the advice provided about the condition of the animals may not be useful to the farmer. A personal bias is a risk, as a farm could get flagged with problems not accurately measured.

The College’s systematic and robust training includes a webinar on the first day that explains the aims of the program and how to assess each indicator or measurement using pictures and videos, with time for questions.

This ensures everyone gets the same level of information said Miguel-Pacheco.

Next assessors complete an online picture assessment to test their understanding of the webinar details against the knowledge of an experienced assessor and themselves.

Finally, assessors carry out an online video assessment that tests their knowledge

on how they carry out an assessment on-farm. A week after the webinar, assessors again complete the video and picture assessment to test if their knowledge is retained at the same level as the first day. If their consistency in assessment decreases, then a retraining session is available.

Pacheco said the training methodology could even be modified to any other animal care assessment to train and assess farmers, barn staff, and assurance scheme assessors.

“Last year, lockdown events showed that, sometimes, we may need to go remotely,” said Miguel-Pacheco. “So

this methodology provides assessors with access to online training and assessment methods to keep their level of knowledge up to date.”

For example, farmers or assessment program managers can access data from the assessors for a good base level of accuracy or recommend further training.

“We expect that this training program could be part of a robust method to verify animal care standards for quality assurance programs; improving the QSC and consistency of the data is extremely important so producers make adequate animal care improvements,” said Miguel- Pacheco. “Ad-

ditionally, the methodology proposed in this program could help to reduce the time and expenses involved with onsite training.”

Veterinarian Dr. Giuliana MiguelPacheco a Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at WCVM said on-farm animal care assessments need to be consistent to avoid the problems resulting from inaccurate assessments.

Pig care assessments verify animal care standards for the industry used for the quality assurance scheme of meat produced and sold by the Canadian industry.

14

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

18

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

BC Flooding Blamed for Spike in Injury Welfare Syndrome

By Harry Siemens Dr. Jette Christensen, manager of the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network (CWSHN) blames last fall’s flooding in BC for a spike in the number of cases of injury welfare syndrome reported during the fourth quarter of 2021.

The CWSHIN released its swine disease surveillance report for the fourth quarter of 2021, and people in the quarterly conference call reported the effect of last fall’s flooding. The report indicates that it was much worse for hog farms in BC than reported in the news resulting in increased reports of injury and poor animal welfare.

Injury-welfare syndrome ranked fifth in the province of BC although it is usually ranked the eighth most frequent injury. The conclusion was that numbers increased in connection with the comment made, that in BC injury

welfare was a huge problem since last year’s flooding.

The situation on the farms was dire with animals in water which increased lameness, prolapses, back injuries, lack of feed for periods and excessive feed when they got it. Poor feed quality was also an issue contributing to injuries and poor welfare on those farms.

Dr. Christensen also encouraged Canadian pork producers to request African Swine Fever (ASF) rule out testing when they see possible symptoms of the infection.

CanSpotASF, part of Canada’s ASF surveillance, allows veterinarians to direct cases where symptoms are similar to ASF for followup testing. During the call, participants identified and discussed several eligible conditions in the region during the fourth quarter.

“We have tested 86 percent

Jette Christensen, manager of the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network said that many of the injury welfare syndrome cases resulting from the flooding in 2019 were also tested for ASF as a ruleout diagnosis.

File photos

of the eligible cases at the pathology laboratories in the region testing 27 percent of all pathology cases no matter what their diagnosis,” said Christensen. “So, yes, all tests for African Swine Fever were negative.”

Dr. Christensen noted that for producers and practitioners, diseases like sow mortality, torsions, and erysipelas are all conditions that are eligible for ASF rule out testing since these diseases could mask the very early occurrence of ASF in a herd.

“That’s why we want to have as many of these cases tested for ASF as a rule-out diagnosis to be sure that we detect ASF as soon as possible should it ever come into Canada,” said Christensen.

Dr. Christensen said the encouragement is for producers to request from their practitioners ASF rule out testing if they see any diseases. That would help the pathologists at the laboratories make sure they get all of the cases tested that could be eligible explained Christensen.

During the conference call, it was noted that the first results from a Strep suis project launched last April should be ready within one to two months. Back in 2019 and 2019 hog practitioners and producers noticed an increase in systemic syndrome caused by septicemia typically linked to Streptococcus suis.

“Because it showed up quarter after quarter, I investigated it more thoroughly

Dr. Jette Christensen encouraged Canadian pork producers to request African Swine Fever rule out testing when they see possible symptoms of the infection.

and the recommendation going forward is to only look at cases from 2019 and forward,” said Christensen.

“That would give a more accurate and better tool for detecting changes in Strep suis and septicemia and also in the systemic syndrome.”

Because Strep suis are such a frequent organism they started a Strep suis project in April last year using herd surveys for the first 64 farms.

“We no longer call practitioners to get these herd surveys but occasionally we might select new isolates, a new case of strep suis for sequencing and antimicrobial resistance testing,” said Christensen.

Dr. Christensen said helpful data from that project should be available within the next month or two.

To access the entire fourth quarter 2021 report at the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network go to CWSIN.ca.

Global Demand for Grains Strong

By Elmer Heinrichs Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in its March outlook for 2022-23, says based on current market conditions and historical trends, the area seeded to field crops in Canada is forecast to increase marginally from last year.

Year-end inventories for all principal field crops are forecast to end the crop year at a record low level, as carryin stocks were at multi year lows and production in the Canadian Prairie Provinces was drastically reduced due to drought.

There will be increased acreage in field crops in 2022-2023, as producers

react to the expectation of strong prices and maximize acreage planted.

Canadian area seeded to spring wheat is forecast to increase 5 per cent year over year to 7,598 thousand hectare (ha), with durum wheat acreage expected to go up about 9 per cent.

The report also suggests that wheat production globally is expected to increase in 2022-23, but with drought continuing to plague the US winter wheat belt and most of the Prairies and the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, uncertainty in supply and demand fundamentals for 2022-23 remain high.

In oilseeds, seeded area in to canola in Canada is forecast to decrease by three per cent to 8.8 million hectares as farmers shift into alternate crops such as cereals.

Planted area in soybeans in Canada is forecast to rise by 7 per cent to 2.3 Mha, on support from high prices, with area gains limited by concerns over low sub soil moisture, the short growing season in Western Canada and attractive prices for competing crops.

Crop prices are forecast to remain strong on support from: supply disruptions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tight Cana-

dian supplies, relatively tight global grain supplies and expectations for a continuation of firm international demand.

The economic outlook, for the world and Canadian grain markets, is particularly uncertain due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to a lesser extent the continued domestic and international uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

Crop prices are expected to remain relatively strong in 2022-23 but decrease from the record to near-record prices of 2021/22 as Canadian and world production is expected to increase.

March 25, 2022

19

Legislation to Expand Opportunity for Peak of the Market

By Elmer Heinrichs The Manitoba government is introducing legislation that would help expand the provincial table potato and root crop industry.

It says that in response to concerns among producers and marketing agency, Peak of the Market, that red tape has prevented growth of the sector, said agriculture Minister Derek Johnson.

“Our province’s farmers provide nutritious, local food to Manitobans, but for years they have not had the freedom to grow and sell their table potatoes and root crops in the province,” said Johnson. “At the same time, regulations have prevented Peak of the Market from modernizing its business model to promote, sell and distribute Manitoba’s table potatoes and root crops to the world.”

“This legislation would allow producers to grow as many table potatoes and root crops as they wish and to sell to any buyer, while paving the way for a modernized business model for Peak of the Market and strengthening our provincial economy,” said Johnson.

Provincial regulations and production quotas have been aimed at maintaining stable pricing in the domestic market, but the minister noted many producers have found the quotas too restrictive, preventing them from growing and selling their table potatoes and root crops to other Manitobans.

In its first 100 days in office, the Manitoba government committed to reducing provincial regulatory barriers that unnecessarily restrict the ability of Manitoba farmers to produce food for local markets and limit the ability of consumers to connect directly with local producers.

The minister said Bill 12, the “Peak of the Market reorganization act”, would remove red tape for table potato and root crop producers across Manitoba and allow Peak of the Market to make a transition from a regulated agency to an independent operation under the Corporations Act, with opportunities to expand by acquiring assets or other entities.

The minister noted through this legislation, producers and Peak of the Market would be better able to grow their businesses, expand local sales and exports, and provide opportunities for new growers in Manitoba.

“This is an important development for Manitoba’s vegetable growers by contributing to the modernization of the industry. It will provide significant economic benefit to our community,” said Peter Loewen, chair, Peak of the Market. “Growers are hard-working Manitobans who look forward to continuing to cultivate the best produce, in the most sustainable ways, to create jobs and economic growth for our province.”

Peak of the Market in its current form was established in the early 1970s by the Manitoba Vegetable Producers Marketing Plan regulation.

Read The AgriPost Online at

www.agripost.ca

20

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

21

Research Improves Food Conservation in Canada’s Distribution Chain

Two devices used to pilot-scale reproduce all distribution chain scenarios encountered in Canada. On the left, the “climate chamber with altitude control” is used to simulate transport conditions in an aircraft.

On the right, the “vibration table with controlled atmosphere” simulates the road transport of food.

Researchers Sébastien Villeneuve (left) and Louis Sasseville (right) during a trial to assess the state of conservation of lettuce after its passage through the devices for simulating food transport conditions (opposite).

Submitted photos

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a third of the world’s food is lost each year. In Canada, this proportion reaches 40% annually. Food waste reduction strategies were proposed in 2015 at a G20 meeting that Canada attended.

Since then, a team of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) scientists has intensified their research on the issue. In a huge country where

the climate can vary between -30ºC in winter and +30ºC in summer, preserving perishable food throughout food distribution networks poses many challenges.

Sébastien Villeneuve (Ph. D.) and Louis Sasseville (Ph.D.) have developed a series of models to simulate cold chains in the country’s food distribution networks and have identified possible areas for improvement.

“Cold chain” refers to

the multiple steps and refrigeration rules that must be followed to ensure that food is kept at an optimal storage temperature during transport and storage. Various strategies for managing this chain can slow down the deterioration of food between the time it leaves a farm or a processing company, and the time it arrives in grocery stores for sale to consumers.

“A cold chain breakdown of just a few hours combined

with the effects of transport vibration or depressurization at altitude can result in a reduction of the shelf life of a food of several days or even weeks,” explained Sébastien Villeneuve, Scientist in Food Process Engineering, AAFC. In Canada, both the winter and summer seasons are problematic. In summer, food is likely to be exposed to too high ambient temperatures. In winter, frost must

be avoided to protect cold-sensitive foods. We also note that the shoulder seasons are increasingly having impacts on production (e.g., late or early frost, spring drought). A succession of inadequate temperatures of varying lengths of time leads to food waste, for example if boxes of fruit or meat are left repeatedly and/or for too long out of refrigerated trucks.

Food is faded and sometimes even contaminated with pathogenic bacteria that have multiplied during transport.

The weaknesses of the cold chains have a much greater impact on the hundreds of isolated communities in Northern Canada, often Indigenous or Inuit communities, who are experiencing significant food security problems.

Improving refrigeration conditions where they pose the greatest risk requires being able to identify weak links in the land and air routes used by

food (including ice routes in the North) during the long chain of production, processing, transport, storage and retail.

AAFC scientists have recently developed small, medium and large-scale models at low cost to simulate the various cold chain conditions. Their forecasting models, based on food transport databases, can simulate many transport and storage parameters; predict what will not work; and have an impact well before the waste or contamination of food poses a health risk.

When the trials of these models are completed, weaknesses in Canadian cold chain management systems can be addressed, food waste reduced and food safety and security improved. Ultimately, resources such as water, land, energy, labour and capital will no longer be wasted in vain.

22

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost

Finally Feels Like Spring Maybe Coming!

Romaine lettuce growing under lights March 18.

Photos by Joan Airey

By Joan Airey This morning we can actually see stubble on the field across the road from our home; the sun has been warmer the last few days.

While sitting at the breakfast table I was reading through a new release “The Urban Garden by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight” that Steve Roth, Senior Marketing Manager, Quarto Group had UPS to me.

An article in the book that really caught my eye was winter sowing in milk jugs. I’ve seen lots of photographs of jugs set

out with planted seeds but never a photograph of what could be growing in that milk jug like the lettuce ready for using or transplanting in very early spring. Now my plan is to try at least lettuce, maybe radishes in milk jugs.

Don’t let the title of the book get you thinking since you live in the country it wouldn’t work for you because I know I’m trying several ideas in the book. Instructions in the book on how to build a salad table is an unique idea for gardeners like myself whose vegetable garden is surrounded by evergreens and four other rows of trees making it at least ten degrees warmer than our house yard.

I’d like one in the shade so my salad makings are available from May till October while the rest of the year I grow our salads under lights.

I’m hoping I can grow some radishes in pots before the pests arrive and demolish them. In the book there is some delicious looking ones growing in a plant pot.

Have you watched Cali Kim on YouTube? She has a new book out “The First Time Gardener Raised Bed Gardening” with step-by-step plans and photographs on how to build the raised bed you dreamed of. It includes ideas for everything from the salad garden, pizza garden to children’s garden the photograph on the front of the book of ripe tomatoes, cabbages and rhubarb all growing in different raised beds really piqued my interest.

Have you got your peppers

planted? My seeds from T & T Seeds arrived yesterday so will be planting my peppers right away. Summertime and Summer Crisp lettuce seed I ordered in the pelleted form I plan to start so many every two weeks in the greenhouse and plant outdoors.

The first lot more than likely will get started under grow lights. Summertime is a heat resistant bolt tolerant crisp head lettuce and Summercrisp Muir is a heat tolerant leaf lettuce. I’ve grown both before but not started just a few at a time. I invested in Kozy Coats for my tomatoes as every year I never have enough protection from wind when I first set them out. I had some before but they wore out now you can buy repair sleeves for them.

Before the next issue of Agri Post comes out we’ll need to be starting our tomato plants.

I figure one ripe tomorrow will pay for a Kozy Coat as I have been buying one tomato at a time and they are over $2.25 each. I’m trying awfully hard not to waste any produce I buy so that is why the one tomato at a time that is big enough to make two club house sandwiches.

A favourite pepper of mine is Chesapeake which I bought at Vesey’s as theirs was the only catalogue I received early. I grow a couple of varieties from T &T Seeds also.

Here’s to a beautiful spring for farmers and gardeners and peace overseas. We are enjoying peppers, green onions and lettuce under lights at the moment.

Two gardening books full of information for people looking for new and unique places to grow food and flowers.

Chesapeake Pepper just about big enough to go in a salad

The AgriPost

Weed Control This Spring Will Be an Issue

Kim Brown-Livingston weed specialist at Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Development said that weed resistance will be one of the biggest issues farmers will be faced with.

By Harry Siemens At a recent Manitoba Agriculture CropTalk webinar Kim Brown-Livingston, weed specialist at Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Development, outlined what farmers should look for in weeds in 2022. She also suggested what farmers need to look for after the very dry and drought year of 2021.

“I believe weed resistance is the biggest issue we will face in our weed control,” said Brown- Livingston.

“Going forward, it’s not getting better.”

The dry conditions in 2021 led to poor yields for many.

The poor yields will leave 2022 fields with lots of leftover fertilizer and some herbicide carryover issues. This means that soil tests should be carried out to know what nutrients are available. Also if farmers allowed weeds and volunteer crop to grow last fall, those use up a lot of nutrients. It concerned her to see what was happening with the amount of weed and volunteer crop growth, which at that point, becomes a weed.

With the massive snowfall of winter ‘22 farmers are going into the spring, definitely in a better situation for moisture. Hence, what producers did with their weeds and volunteer grain last fall is important whether they let them grow or tilled.

“That sets the stage for how our spring will look. First, we need to check the herbicide records and the rainfall data to decide if a residue is a concern,” said Brown- Livingston. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have that moisture to break down these residues.”

She said farmers might need to adjust the planned crop rotation based on the leftover fertilizer and the herbicide carryover.

Follow the labels she said.

“They’re more restrictive for some chemistry than others. Check the product pages in the current guide to field crop protection,” said Brown- Livingston.

There will be moisture for spring that will change weed growth timing because the seed bank remains in the soil. Since the seed bank does not disappear, where there is moisture, weeds will grow she said. The rate of snow melt will determine how quickly weeds should be dealt with.

“Are we going to have an early versus a later start to seeding if the snow hangs around till quite late and then does it go quickly? Do we have time to get in there and do some tillage? Are our soils fields going to be very wet going into seeding?” questioned Brown-Livingston. “So really a lot of this will depend on what this next month or two looks like.”

Early weed control is always crucial she added.

She responded to a ques-

tion about the supply chain affecting the availability of chemical and crop production products, and at what cost this year. “We have said since fall, book it, buy it and take it home as soon as possible,” said Brown-Livingston. “I don’t know how much product is on farms.

We are looking at some serious shortages.”

Farmers need to be careful especially if unsure whether the chemistry is available for the crop they want to plant.

“You need to be evaluating what crops you’re growing and make sure that you can get that chemistry,” she said.

“You do not want to have a crop in the ground and then not be able to spray it when it comes springtime.”

For early season weed control get those fields cleaned up and get that crop going as fast as possible so that it is competitive she noted. “We will need that if we’re struggling to get the right chemistries on that crop or getting them there at the right time,”

Palmer amaranth can grow up to 7 cm a day. During a Manitoba Agriculture CropTalk webinar Kim Brown-Livingston, weed specialist at Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Development, said to first check the herbicide records and the rainfall data to decide if carryover residue is a concern this spring.

Submitted photos

March 25, 2022

23

Maple Leaf Foods Ranked in Top Two Tiers by Animal Welfare Audit Maple Leaf Foods the only Canadian-owned company was ranked among a list of committed and impactful global leaders in animal welfare by the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), the leading global measure of policy commitment, performance, and disclosure on animal welfare in food companies.

Following its review of 150 companies in 25 countries, BBFAW Operating the hydraulics in new trailers for transporting pigs. ranked Maple Leaf Foods in Tier 2, a position occupied by just 12 companies. Only four companies are ranked in Tier 1. The high ranking recognizes Maple Leaf Foods’ industry-leading animal care programs and performance and makes the company one of only two North American protein companies in the top two tiers and the only Canadian-owned company to achieve this distinction.

The company has a demonstrated record of innovation in animal care. In addition to Maple Leaf Foods’ recent completion of its conversion of its sow barns to open housing, the company has advanced other industry-leading, animal care initiatives including deployment of trucks with hydraulic lifts to reduce pig stress when boarding and exiting trucks; purchase of temperature-controlled poultry trailers to protect chickens during extreme cold weather conditions common in regions where Maple Leaf Foods operates; the use of enrichments in nursery, finisher, and sow barns to encourage pigs to play and chew as they naturally would; and researching and piloting of a variety of enrichments in poultry barns that encourage chickens’ natural behaviours to hide, perch and peck. These enrichments also promote leg health in chickens by encouraging Aerial view of sows in the Maple Leaf Foods’ Advanced Open Sow Housing chickens to stay Photos from Maple Leaf Foods active. system.

24

March 25, 2022

Manitoba Habitat Heritage Announces Conservation Grants

By Elmer Heinrichs The Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation’s board recently approved $2.86 million in new grants for 20 projects delivered by 14 Manitoba-based conservation groups.

“These funds provide new opportunities to improve wildlife, water and soil conservation across the province,” said Stephen Carlyle, chief executive officer of the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation (MHHC).

The focus of the funding is to help re-naturalize Manitoba landscapes, Tim Sopuck, trust grant manager at MHHC said, and to support groups that can deliver projects that will provide multiple benefits.

The ultimate goal is also to support projects that help adapt to the impacts of climate change. “We’re thinking about projects that help to reduce flooding, that help to respond to the impacts of drought, that improve habitat for wildlife and biological diversity, and very importantly as well, projects that will help sequester carbon over time,” said Sopuck.

The Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation is a nonprofit, governed by a board of directors appointed by the province that works with landowners to maintain fish and wildlife habitats. It distributes money generated by a $200 million provincial trust fund to conservation projects.

Manitoba Beef Producers, one of the latest grant recipients, will receive $400,000 for a program to support projects that help cattle producers conserve grasslands and enhance habitat for threatened and endangered birds.

“Beef producers here in the province are really critical to the preservation of important grassland habitats that are host to such a bio-diverse amount of animals,” said Sopuck. “So it’s really important to support those producers to continue to conserve those lands in beef production.”

Some of the funding will be used to restore wetland through incentive-based, long-term partnerships with landowners.

Ducks Unlimited, Canada’s Manitoba Branch, is set to receive $750,000 in grants, said Mark Francis, the organization’s manager of provincial operations. Francis said the funding is needed. “Wetlands and grasslands in Manitoba continue to be threatened and this funding provides an opportunity for us to restore growth and wetland habitat,” said Francis.

Ducks Unlimited will inject another $1.5 million into the programming, Francis said. “We appreciate the importance the government placed on the value of natural wetlands, grasslands and ecological goods and services that they can provide to Manitobans,” he said.

In addition $200,000 will be provided to Holistic Management Canada to support its Regenerative Agriculture Accelerator Project, which helps Manitoba agriculture producers incorporate soil, water and wildlife conservation into their farming operations as well as funding of $25,000 to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Manitoba Chapter to work with the Fisher River Cree Nation to develop a conservation areas plan for the Fisher River watershed.

“An additional $7.5 million will be awarded in April for watershed-based conservation projects under the GROW Program delivered by provincial Watershed Districts , bringing total grant funding from the trusts to $10.3 million in 2022,” said Carlyle.

The revenue source for these projects is $204 million in contributions made to The Winnipeg Foundation between 2018 and 2020 to establish three trusts dedicated to land, water and wildlife conservation. MHHC manages granting programs for the trusts.

Establishment of the Conservation Trust, the GROW Trust, and the Wetlands GROW Trusts in Manitoba resulted in permanent revenue sources for new conservation activities. The trusts focus on restoring natural areas in the rural landscape to help address floods and droughts, water quality, wildlife habitat and biological diversity, carbon sequestration and connecting people to nature.

“The conservation investments will help make our landscape more resilient to the impacts of climate change in the future,” said Carlyle.

The AgriPost

Review Your Milk Replacer Program for Dairy Calves

Automatic CMR feeder.

Dairy producers who feed milk replacer to their baby calves are suffering from sticker-shock. It’s unprecedented to pay nearly $90 for a 20-kg bag of all-milk replacer compared to a $70-bag, only a few months ago.

Rather than switch to a less ambitious program, producers should review their current pre-weaned calf feeding program. And then make the necessary changes to make their calves grow to their full potential. In this way, these first-class calves will eventually cover the present costs of feeding them lots of milk replacer as they mature and enter the final milking herd.

As a dairy nutritionist, I believe that doubling a preweaned dairy calf’s birthweight in 8 weeks/56 days is the way to go. Therefore, a 95 lb. calf needs to gain about 1.7 lbs./head/dairy to achieve a 190 lb. weaning-weight, which is achievable on most dairies. Such optimum growth can only be reached on highly accelerated calf nutrition.

Consequently, Iowa State University proved over twenty years ago that modest calf milk replacer programs (still used widely today) yield equally modest calf growth rates. The researchers at that time fed milk powder at the rate of 1.25 – 1.50% to a group of pre-weaned calves,

which supplied only enough dietary energy and protein to support neonate maintenance requirements with a little left over for nominal growth.

Whereas feeding milk replacer at an accelerated 2.0 – 2.5% of their bodyweight allowed an identical group of calves to achieve above “double birthweight” growth.

A close look at their field studies showed these latter pre-weaned calves fed 1000 – 1,200 grams of a 28% protein/16% fat milk replacer achieved significantly better daily growth rates of 2.2 – 2.3 lbs. per head. As compared to control calves fed a “modest” 600 - 800 grams of a 20% protein/20% fat milk replacer, which grew at 0.5 – 1.0 lb per head per day.

These scientists point out that most of this weight gain on accelerated subjects was desirable skeleton and lean tissue growth, rather than fat deposition. Once these calves were weaned, they can easily be turned onto a conventional heifer diet.

I had a recent conversation and calf barn tour with an experienced dairy producer that operates a 150-lactating cowherd. He has fed hundreds of pre-weaned dairy calves in both modest and accelerated calf feeding worlds.

He first told me, despite that he is overquota, there are no

AAFC Sees Prairie Farmers Growing More Cereals and Less Canola

By Elmer Heinrichs Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in its February outlook for 2022-23, says based on current market conditions and historical trends, the area seeded to field crops in Canada is forecast to increase marginally from last year.

The area seeded for wheat, coarse grains, pulse and special crops is expected to increase, while area seeded to oilseeds will drop.

The average yield and production for all crops is forecast to increase significantly

immediate plans to abandon feeding 10 litres containing 1,300 g of reconstituted 28 - 16 milk replacer; in-favor of feeding whole milk, nor a return to conventional 20 - 20 milk-replacer.

That’s because his present automatic calf feeding system is set up for only feeding calf milk replacer powder, and not for feeding liquid whole milk.

Furthermore, his pre-weaned calves are achieving a computer-set weaning-weight of 225 lbs (2.3 lb/hd/d) at 56days. His first-lactation 15- to 16-month-old heifers are also yielding about 15% more milk as compared to those past modestly grown heifers, when he fed them on a lower protein/high fat (20-20) all-milk replacer powder. He also believes that his lactating mature cows – reared as preweaned calves on such a superior milk-feeding program should contribute to at least one more life-time lactation.

In addition to this advantageous milk feeding program, the producer also introduces a 21% protein texturized oatand corn-based calf starter to these pre-weaned calves at 7 days of age. By 3 – 4 weeks of age, they are eating about

700 grams, which by nature should stimulate good rumen growth activity. By the time, these calves reach 56-days of age; they are eating about 1.2 kilos, which facilitates weaning from the accelerated milk-replacer.

Like other dairy producers, my friend is concerned with the cost of his current calf milk replacer program in order to achieve its benefits.

Subsequently, here is a simple balance-sheet of his accelerated program as compared to a more restrained feeding option (see Table 1 below).

The cost difference between his accelerated compared to the conventional calf milk replacer program is about $150.

Despite, this 67% additional cost, this dairy producer does not focus upon the current expense of the milk replacer bags that are stored in his calf barn. Rather, he looks at them as a more nutritious investment, which achieves optimum performance in his pre-weaned heifer calves as he envisions them as superior milk-cows.

Table 1.

compared to the drought year of 2021-2022, based on a return to trend or just below trend yields, resulting in expected total field crop production and supply rebounding to more normal levels.

An expected recovery of barley production in western Canada is expected to reduce western Canada’s imports of US corn to meet local feed needs.

Canadian oat supply is projected to increase by 40 per cent to 4.6 Mt, mainly reflecting the expected recovery of production in the

Prairie Provinces. Total area seeded to oats in 2022 is expected to increase by 8 per cent from 2021, the secondhighest level since 2009.

Prairie farmers are also expected to cut canola acres by three per cent to 8.8 million hectares, as farmers shift into alternate crops such as cereals, as well as soybeans.

In general, prices are expected to remain relatively strong, but lower compared to the high levels experienced in 2021-22 as overall Canadian and world production increases.

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

25

Manitoba Crop Alliance Awards Six Students with Bursaries Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) has awarded six students from Manitoba with MCA 2021/22 bursaries valued at $2,000 each.

The MCA 2021/22 bursary recipients are George Meggison from Goodlands, Jada Ricard from Baldur, Joelle Little from McConnell,

Nicole Jonk from Bruxelles, Simon Hodson from Lenore, and Taylor Mutch from Crystal City.

“Congratulations to all of the MCA 2021/22 bursary winners and thank you to everyone who submitted applications,” said Fred Greig, Chair of MCA. “Through

the establishment of this bursary program, MCA hopes to encourage and support students studying work in or supporting the agriculture industry.”

The MCA 2021/22 bursary program was established this year and intends to assist with the financial

needs of students who are enrolled in a post-secondary agricultural program within the Province of Manitoba.

MCA received 14 applications, and six bursaries were presented during the MCA’s virtual Annual General Meeting.

Bursary applicants need to

have completed their first or second year of post-secondary education at the college or university level (Diploma or Degree) and are enrolled, full-time for the 2021/2022 school year in an agricultural program within the Province of Manitoba; have achieved a minimum cu-

mulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0; have an interest in wheat (spring or winter), corn, barley, flax or sunflower crops, or agriculture in general, as demonstrated in a brief, one-page letter; and are from a farm that is a member in goodstanding of MCA.

George Meggison, Goodlands

Jada Ricard, Baldur

Joelle Little, McConnell

Nicole Jonk, Bruxelles

Taylor Mutch, Crystal City

Simon Hodson, Lenore

Meggison grew up on a grain and red angus beef farm and has been interested in agriculture from a young age. While growing up he helped feed cows in the winter and maintained equipment and structures around the farm. In high school he began to operate machinery for spraying, bailing and harvest. He enjoyed working on the farm with cows and crops, so he decided to pursue a Diploma in Agriculture at the University of Manitoba (UM) to learn more about operating a farm. After graduating from the agriculture diploma program last year, he enrolled in the Agribusiness degree program at the UM to gain a stronger understanding of how to manage the business side of the farm. Once he completes his education, Meggison hopes to go back to the farm to work with his dad on implementing more sustainable practices so they can continue to produce food while doing their part to maintain and improve their land.

Ricard was raised on a dairy and grain farm and joined her local 4-H club when she was eight. She has been involved in agriculture since she was young but it wasn’t until the pandemic restrictions forced her to complete her final year of high school from home, where she chose the Diploma in Agriculture program on a whim; that she knew she wanted to work in agriculture. The decision changed the course of her life. She will graduate with her Diploma in Agriculture from the UM in October 2022, and hopes to continue her learning in a Bachelor of Science (Agribusiness) with advanced entry to the UM in Fall 2022. After she completes her education, she hopes to return to her family farm with new knowledge of farm business and poultry management to start a new enterprise and investigate starting a layer facility in their old dairy barn.

Little grew up on her family’s grain farm where she earned her allowance cleaning bins and doing chores around the farm. As she got older, she began running equipment and accompanying her mom scouting the fields. This is when she developed her interest in crop development.

She is a third-year student at the UM majoring in Plant Biotechnology. After experiencing the 2021 drought working as a summer student, Little saw first-hand how hot, dry summers can be disastrous for crops yields. She hopes to be a part of a solution for this in the future. Once she completes her degree, she plans to pursue a career in crop development research, ideally focusing on genetics-based drought and heat tolerance.

Raised on her family’s potato and grain farm near Bruxelles, Jonk is a third-year agronomy student at the UM. From a young age Nicole knew she wanted to pursue a career in crop production.

A major focus for her family farm has always been soil and environment conservation.

Witnessing the diverse range of crop management practices, growing seasons, soil and crop care for different crop species peaked her interest in agronomy. After she completes her degree, Jonk hopes to work as an agronomist and encourage farmers to incorporate sustainable practices within their farm management plans. She hopes to make an impact not only in crop production practices, but also on the health and sustainability of soil and our environment.

Agriculture has always been a part of Mutch’s life. Some of her earliest memories are of riding in the combine with her father or grandparents on her family’s grain farm where she was raised.

After school and in the summers, she helped her dad on the farm, which is where she learnt her appreciation for the hard work and dedication it takes to be a farmer.

Mutch is in her third year at the UM studying Agronomy. She was drawn into agronomy because she wanted to study agriculture on a scientific level to better understand how crops grow and how the decisions made by farmers’ impact the growth of their crops. After graduating she hopes to take on an agronomic advising role, working in fields assessing crops and advising farmers on the best course of action to get the most out of their land and crops.

Hodson’s passion for agriculture began at a young age growing up on his family’s cattle and grain farm. He spent his summers working on the farm learning all about cattle and crop production, where calving became one of his favourite seasons. Working with a variety of field crops including corn, canola, soybean, wheat, barley and rye, made Hodson curious about crop production. In his second year of his Agronomy Degree at the UM his passion for sustainable agriculture is his motivation for researching innovative solutions that benefit the agriculture industry. Upon completing his degree, Hodson intends to pursue a career in agronomy and work with farmers to help them achieve high yielding crops that are quality products year after year.

Canada’s Farmland Market Remains Resilient Despite Adversity Canada’s farmland values climbed in spite of impacts from pandemic supply chain disruptions and adverse weather that affected parts of the country, as Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) Farmland Values Report showed an 8.3-per-cent national average increase in 2021.

The report, which describes changes in Canada’s farmland values from January1 to December 31, 2021, covers an entire year of disruptions caused by the pandemic, as well as drought that reduced yields across much of the prairies.

FCC reported a 5.4-percent national average increase in 2020.

In Manitoba, average farmland values increased by 9.9 per cent in 2021, following gains of 3.6 per cent in 2020

and four per cent in 2019.

“The low interest rate environment and favourable commodity prices seem to have offset some of the many challenges that could have been expected to restrain the demand for farmland and the price producers are willing to pay for land,” said J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief economist. “It’s a testament to the resilience and business confidence of farm operators who are largely driving this strong Canadian farmland market.”

The largest increases were recorded in Ontario and British Columbia (22.2 and 18.1 per cent, respectively), followed by Prince Edward Island (15.2 per cent), Nova Scotia (12.3 per cent) and Quebec (10 per cent).

Other provinces showed

more moderate average increases, ranging from Alberta at 3.6 per cent to Manitoba at 9.9 per cent.

Saskatchewan recorded an average increase of 7.4 per cent, while New Brunswick showed a 5.2 per cent average increase.

There were an insufficient number of publicly reported sales in Newfoundland and Labrador to fully assess farmland values in that province. That was also the case in Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Gervais noted that Canada’s agriculture industry is still facing uncertainty, since labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions, farm input inflation and incremental interest rate increases are expected this year. At the same

time, FCC is forecasting that receipts of grains, oilseeds and pulses in Canada will increase in 2022, fueled by strong demand and tight global supply.

Increases in farmland values reported across the country are as wide and varied as the factors that may have influenced them. Average farmland values have increased every year since 1993, however, increases were more pronounced from 2011 to 2015 in many different regions. Since then, Canada has seen more moderate single-digit increases in average farmland values.

Ontario reported the sharpest overall increase, more than quadrupling its 2020 average farmland value increase of 4.7 per cent, while BC more than doubled its

average increase from the previous year. With a much smaller farmland market, PEI’s average increase was more pronounced from one year to the next.

Land markets in Prairie provinces were somewhat tempered by adverse growing conditions, while farmland values in several regions of BC were bolstered by limited supplies of available land and proximity to urban areas.

“Sharp increases are often a result of local market conditions coupled with relatively favourable economic conditions,” Gervais said. “For areas that reported significant increases, strong demand for a limited supply of land played a key role in bumping up values.”

Producers in many regions

were buying or selling land to gain operational efficiencies and to support family farm succession plans, which contributed to a strong farmland market in Canada.

Relatively good growing conditions in Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick contributed to the farmland value increases in those provinces.

Gervais reminds producers to have and maintain a risk management plan that takes into account possible economic changes, ensuring their budgets have room to flex if commodity prices, yields or interest rates shift.

They also need to exercise caution, especially in regions where the growth rate of farmland values exceeded that of farm income in recent years.

26

March 25, 2022

Insuring Custom Application It’s hard to believe that in a few weeks we will be enjoying spring! Remember running water, ground that isn’t frozen, and skin that hurts because it’s hot, not cold? And after spring comes summer – the time of the year where our frozen ground warms up long enough to produce some wonderful crops! The time of year where hockey sticks are traded for baseball bats and your favourite machines in the shed get to come out and play in the dirt! As the fun is right around the corner, let me explain two important elements of a good insurance policy that every custom applicator should have.

Some of the most important aspects of your insurance coverage are spray drift and misapplication coverage.

The spray drift coverage is fairly self-explanatory, providing coverage for losses caused by drifting chemical resulting in damage to neighbouring crops, yards, parks, etc. We often see the largest number of claims coming from neighbouring yards to fields, where tree damage is caused by drift. To defend yourself in the event of alleged claims against you, clear and precise documentation of the time, wind speed and direction, and product applied is crucial. While we are thrilled to see the value of crops increasing for farmers, it is also increasing the payouts on these spray drift claims as well!

Misapplication coverage is just as important. Applying the wrong product to a field can be catastrophic for a crop. Applying the right product with the wrong conditions, volumes, or timing can also be damaging. Applying the right product perfectly to a field can also result in claims against you when you finish the job, fold up the booms and start driving home, only to realize you perfectly applied product to the wrong field. Misapplication insurance is crucial to properly protect your custom application operations.

One word of advice if you are a custom applicator – make sure your policy does not limit your coverage for spray drift and misapplication losses. We have seen policies in the past providing $5M limits of liability, but a restricted sub-limit of coverage to $25,000 or $100,000 for spray drift and misapplication losses. With our current commodity prices, these limits are not sufficient to insure a mistake.

Perhaps you are a kind farmer, wanting to assist some neighbours with your sprayer or floater? Make sure you have proper insurance coverage prior to the start of your season. There has been a strong shift in farm liability insurance to exclude all custom spraying operations done by a farmer. This means that not only will your liability coverage not cover spray drift issues that may arise, but there is also a chance that any physical damage incurred by your machine while spraying on someone else’s land may also be denied coverage from your farm insurance policy.

Make sure you are working with an insurance broker who specializes in custom application insurance. At Rempel Insurance, we have an exclusive insurance program for licensed custom applicators and have the coverage and rating to allow you to be properly protected.

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

Read The AgriPost Online at

www.agripost.ca

The AgriPost

Playing Russian Roulette with Food Security

By Sylvain Charlebois

With war comes economic sanctions. Instead of sending troops to fight the old-fashioned way, wars are fought with money, and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is no exception.

Canada, along with the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, the European Union, Turkey and a few more have sanctioned Russia in one way or another.

Canada has targeted the banking system and barred Russian airlines from using its airspace. It has also cancelled all export permits and halted new ones, primarily affecting the aerospace industry.

Nobody knows for sure if these sanctions will work, but both the energy and food sectors have been spared so far by all sanctioning nations.

Sanctions are designed to affect President Vladimir Putin’s regime, not Russia’s people, recognizing that many Russians may not be supportive of the invasion of Ukraine.

Corporations are also potentially affected, as some Canadian companies in the food sector have invested in Russia over the years.

American corporate giants Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Starbucks have now pulled out of Russia.

Canadian corporation McCain Foods, which was

building a $200-million plant in the Russian Tula region, opted to halt its construction for now. The company may decide to pull its project out in the coming days. But it’s been reported that McCain is still conducting business in Russia.

Meanwhile, McCain has announced it will donate $200,000 to relief efforts in Ukraine, making clear that it condemns Putin’s actions.

On the other hand, Maple Leaf Foods doesn’t have any operations in Russia and has given $500,000 in relief funds to help Ukrainians.

Good on them.

Convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard also operates stores in Russia and could be affected by sanctions. The company just announced it was suspending operations in Russia. The company, which controls the Circle K chain, only has 38 stores and more than 320 employees in Russia. It was present in Russia by way of Norway’s Statoil Fuel and Retail.

Some Canadians made calls for a boycott of Canada-based Mac’s and Circle K stores operated by Alimentation Couche-Tard until the Quebec-based company made a clear decision to cease its operations in Russia. That’s likely why it did.

The company also donated US$1.5 million to the Red Cross in recent days.

Another major Canadian

food player in Russia is Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Tim Hortons. It also owns Burger King and the chain operates 800 stores in Russia. Other than a corporate statement registering concerns about the invasion, no clear decision has been made. Many people recently took to social media to ask the chain to stop conducting business in Russia.

Asking these companies to pull out and stop doing business with Russia is the easiest and most obvious thing to do. The atrocity of the invasion is simply inexcusable.

But we also need to keep in mind that these Canadian companies are very much part of the food security fabric for the Russian people.

On the surface, closing convenience stores or fast food joints or not selling French fries could be seen as trivial.

But any corporate decision to pull out or cease doing business in the country would compromise Russia’s access to food, thus penalizing its people.

It’s truly a delicate balancing act between reputational risks and food security. The stakes are different when compared with other economic sectors.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was vague and non-committal about whether his government would compensate Canadian companies hurt by sanctions

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

imposed on Russia. Compensating companies conducting business abroad affected by wartime sanctions would set a very dangerous precedent.

The federal government should not compensate Canadian companies hurt by sanctions imposed on Russia, including companies in the agri-food sector. Geopolitical risks are always in the mix when investing abroad, and these companies, not the Canadian people, took on these risks when they opted to invest in Russia.

Moreover, many of these companies have insurance against such sanctions. And sanctions against Russia were actually started more than eight years ago when Russia invaded Crimea.

Canadian companies shouldn’t be surprised by how things are unfolding, and Canadian taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for their choices.

KAP Sees Labour Woes and Environment as Key Issues

By Elmer Heinrichs Getting through the drought and dealing with labor shortages and supply chain issues exacerbated by the pandemic dominated addresses by government agriculture department and farm leaders at Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) annual meeting recently.

KAP targets solutions to labour shortages and environmental hurdles in its recommendations to the province ahead of Manitoba’s 2022 budget.

Federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau spoke about the federal government’s financial support for “sustainable” food and agriculture development.

“Helping transition Canadian farmers from too much carbon reliance is being sup-

ported by carbon pricing, which now contains refundable tax credits for things like grain drying, and funding for “clean technology” adoption, she said.

Referring to the vaccine mandate for truckers that has led to a sudden shortage of hauling resources for farmers, Mary Robinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said, “While we understand there is a need to protect public safety, some of these measures may overall cause more harm than good to the Canadian public.”

KAP president Bill Campbell highlighted the same issue at the beginning of his speech. “We’re all aware that farmers rely on an efficient although strained system to deliver products and receive shipments. Any chal-

lenges can seriously affect food security and economic competitiveness of operations,” said Campbell, who was re-acclaimed president at the meeting. “The federal government has to ensure that farmers have timely access to domestic and international markets,” he added.

It will take time, capacity and commitment to build a bigger labour base in agriculture, Campbell said, adding collaborations with Agriculture in the Classroom, Assiniboine Community College and the provincial government will be essential.

“Agriculture has a large role to play and is an economic driver in this province,” Campbell said. “But we require skilled labour to fulfill those needs.”

He added within the last

couple of years there has been some information that agriculture nationally has lost about $2.9 billion in productivity because of labour shortages.

Campbell estimated the sector accounts for around 10 per cent of gross domestic product in Manitoba each year.

But producers have faced adversity in past years due to extreme weather in tandem with chronic labour shortages.

Farmers have been well aware of the effects of extreme weather and climate change, he said, because they make their living on the land and the environment.

Producers are working to find solutions to ensure the industry can adapt and overcome the adversities it faces, but support from the provincial government will remain crucial said Campbell.

The AgriPost

Working Group Established to Examine Swine Disease Control and Prevention

By Harry Siemens

The impact of COVID-19 and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) on Manitoba’s pork sector has prompted a working group to look for possible solutions.

In response to the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the cycle of PED virus outbreaks, with 79 as of March 11 Manitoba Pork established a value-chain working group to answer the question, “What does the industry need to do differently to deal with disease and potentially help prevent the next pandemic?”

Cam Dahl, the general manager of Manitoba Pork, said disease control and prevention is a priority. In addition, the understanding of the need for extreme biosecurity measures has dramatically increased in the last five years in the pork sector.

“There isn’t a pork producer that I talk to that isn’t aware of the need to have strict biosecurity measures in their operations,” said Dahl. “But it still surprises most people when you tell them you need to shower when you go into a pork barn, not necessarily when you come out.”

That awareness has come about because of outbreaks like PED and producers taking steps to keep it out of their herds. It has come about because of outside threats like African Swine Fever (ASF) while looking at the damage caused in other countries and the cost to the industry.

“There’s a real recognition that we need to take those steps to keep diseases out and control them if they arrive,” said Dahl. “I think COVID19 has brought awareness of biosecurity to the general public.”

Social distancing tracking and tracing contacts when sick and taking measures like masks are all biosecurity measures so the awareness has come about in public because of COVID-19 and that is a good thing said Dahl.

Since PED first arrived in the province in 2014, a pattern of significant outbreaks occurred every two years, which isn’t sustainable.

“We’re looking for practical solutions whether in the communication of best management practices, whether it’s in signage or how we need to communicate to service providers on the status of a farm and how they should respond to have those tangible practical outcomes on how we might break the cycle” he said. “We seem to be in this two-year cycle.”

The goal is to look at some of the management practices

in other jurisdictions, in the US for example are they doing things differently than in Manitoba he asks.

“We’re lucky the value chain works well together, whether its veterinarians and swine health specialists at the integrated operations like HyLife or Maple Leaf or the independent vets and our Chief Veterinary Officer,” said Dahl.

It is a collaborative effort with farmers to work on these solutions and problems in a way that looks at the best interests of the industry and gets a consensus position across the sector added Dahl.

He said the goal of the value chain working group is to develop practical solutions that all of the industry can embrace. He hopes the working group will be able to start communicating findings by late spring or early summer.

Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference Dates Confirmed

By Joan Airey The Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference is a go for 2022 according to their organizing committee.

Conference days have been changed to reflect the days of the week that a recent survey showed most popular. The conference will be held on Tuesday, November 15 and Wednesday, November 16 in Brandon.

Programming will be split between two venues for the two day conference. Events on Tuesday will be held at the Victoria Inn in Brandon and includes an evening get together with Taco bar and more. On Wednesday, the

conference will move to the Dome building at the provincial exhibition site.

To date, Michelle Cederberg is one of the keynote speakers booked and she will present on Wednesday.

Cederberg is an in-demand speaker (both virtually and in-person), author coach and consultant who believes that personal and professional success is directly influenced by how well we harness the physical, mental and emotional capacity we each have within us. She helps people boost that capacity so they gain clarity, build confidence and get the discipline to create the life

and career they want.

She is also the author of three books with her latest “The Success-Energy Equation” which debuted in October 2020 and became a best seller.

Adrienne Ivey will also speak at the conference.

She is passionate about agriculture and rural living. Growing up on a family grain farm in Saskatchewan, and then following that up with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from the University of Saskatchewan, farming is in Adrienne’s bones. She ranches with her husband and two children near Ituna,

Saskatchewan.

She will entertain you with their ranching adventures, as well as create dialogue and conversations about farming, ranching and agriculture. If all else fails, please remember one thing, “Eat Beef, It’s Delicious!!” If you would like to learn more about this speaker you can check out her blog ‘View from the Ranch Porch’.

The all-volunteer Conference Committee is meeting monthly virtually to complete plans for conference to bring a fun, interesting, and educational conference to life in November.

Producers Compensated for Eligible Deliveries to W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions Producers who were not paid for grain delivered to W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions will receive an average of 80% compensation for eligible claims through the Canadian Grain Commission’s Safeguards for Grain Farmers Program.

In addition to realizing on the security held by the company, the Canadian Grain Commission pursued and obtained payment for pro-

ducers who held primary elevator receipts through sale of the company’s grain inventory, and also through the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. A total of 126 producers with eligible claims will receive total compensation of approximately $5.6 million for unpaid deliveries.

The Canadian Grain Commission suspended W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions’ grain dealer licence and five

primary elevator licences on April 20, 2021. The company entered receivership on April 26, 2021. The Canadian Grain Commission would like to thank all affected producers for their patience.

“We are glad to be able to help producers owed money in this situation,” said Doug Chorney, Chief Commissioner, Canadian Grain Commission. “The Canadi-

an Grain Commission advocated for producers before the courts and used the full force of the Canada Grain Act to maximize compensation for eligible producers. While our aim is to put as much money as possible back in the pockets of producers, the Canadian Grain Commission cannot guarantee full compensation if companies do not meet their security obligations.”

March 25, 2022

27

MPC AGM Keynote Topic Focuses on Invasive Wild Pigs and ASF

By Harry Siemens The Manitoba Pork Council (MPC) in an effort to show how big a problem wild pigs are in the province has lined up an AGM keynote topic called “Invasive wild pigs: Global, National and Manitoban Perspectives” by Dr. Ryan Brook University of Saskatchewan Department of Animal and Poultry Science. Dr. Brook is native to Manitoba and moved to Saskatchewan.

According to the Frontiers in Vegetarian Science in July 2020, an article titled, “Disease-induced mortality outweighs hunting is causing wild boar population crash after African Swine Fever outbreak.”

Over the last 12 years African Swine Fever (ASF) has spread throughout the Eurasian continent and although ASF’s negative economic impact on the pork industry is well-known, there is a lack of a quantitative assessment on ASF in the wild boar populations under natural conditions. Wild boar is not only a reservoir for ASF; it is also one of the critical wildlife species affecting the structure and functioning of ecosystems.

“Therefore, knowledge of how ASF affects wild boar populations is crucial to predict ecosystem response and design scientific-based wild boar management to control ASF,” states the journal article.

Manitoba strives to control and ultimately eradicate all wild boar in the province. Wild boars are not native to Manitoba. They came over from Europe in the 1980s as part of an agricultural livestock diversification initiative.

Current free-ranging wild boars resulted from escaped farm animals or their descendants.

Many of these animals came from interbreeding between wild boars and domestic pigs. Because of the mixed genetics between wild boar and domestic pigs and the extensive damages they cause, any swine in Manitoba not contained within an enclosure are invasive swine.

Invasive swine cause damage to natural ecosystems and agricultural land and pose a disease transmission risk to livestock and native wildlife. Manitoba is working with landowners, wildlife associations and other interest groups to eliminate all invasive swine populations in the province.

In the RM of Glenboro-South Cypress and RM of Victoria both have recorded the highest instances of wild pigs in the province, equal to some hot zones in eastern Saskatchewan as of March 31, 2021.

The Saskatchewan Pork Development Board encourages the public to report wild boar and other feral pig sightings immediately. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture has introduced enhanced measures to control feral pigs, including a moratorium on new commercial wild boar farms, developing regulations for licensing existing farms and enhancing surveillance and control.

Mark Ferguson, the general manager of Sask Pork said the most significant contribution the public can make is to report sightings because there are feral pigs across the province.

“When we say feral pigs, that’s wild boar and perhaps that could consist of other crosses that have occurred between domestic escaped pigs and wild boar so there are some different animals that could encompass but it’s pigs in the wild in Saskatchewan,” said Ferguson.

The wild boar problem in the province started in the mid to late 1990s. At that time, someone encouraged wild boar farms in the province, and unfortunately, some of those animals escaped or were released starting this problem. They are a species that does have a remarkable ability to reproduce so once they are in an area; they can expand their population quickly. Secondly, wild pigs damage property, get into crop and pasture land, dig it up and eat crops. Another concern to the hog industry is they can act as a reservoir for diseases that affect domestic swine, such as African Swine Fever.

“When that gets into the wild pig population; it’s a major problem in Europe,” said Ferguson.

Now Sask Pork operates the PIG-SPOT hotline. Ferguson encouraged the public to immediately report all wild boar and feral pig sightings by calling 1-833-PIG-SPOT.

28

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

Increase the Plane of Nutrition New Support for in Beef Cows After Calving Processors of

By Peter Vitti

Canada’s Supply-Managed Commodities

The Federal government has announced the launch of the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund, worth $292.5 million, to help processors of supply-managed commodities increase their competitiveness and resilience in the face of evolving markets.

The Supply Management Processing Investment Fund is part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to support processors in these sectors to address the impacts of international trade agreements.

“Dairy processors welcome the announcement of the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund, which will support the additional investments and innovations necessary for Canada’s dairy processing sector to transition to new market realities resulting from additional market access concessions granted in trade agreements with Europe and Trans-Pacific countries,” said Michael Barrett, Chair, Dairy Processors Association of Canada. “By supporting investments in processing plants, the Fund will help boost the competitiveness, productivity and long-term sustainability of the Canadian dairy industry.”

“We are pleased to see the government fulfill its commitment to support additional investments in poultry and egg processing plants as a means to mitigate the impact of market access concessions made in CPTPP,” added Ian McFall, Chair, Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council. “The Fund will leverage private investments in processing plants to boost productivity, respond to changing customer expectations and improve our industry’s efficiency, viability and competitiveness.”

Through this program, processors of supply-managed commodities will have access to funding to improve their productivity and efficiency through investments in new automated equipment and technology.

The Fund leverages private investment in processing plants to accelerate adoption of automation to lower processing costs, address labour shortages and enhance product quality.

Eligible projects include automation of an existing production process; improvement to an existing automated or robotic process; purchase of a new production line implementation or improvement of integrated management software.

Other eligible projects include improving environmental sustainability, such as equipment to reduce water and energy consumption; equipment required to treat waste water resulting from an increase in production or responding to consumer demand concerning food safety and animal welfare, such as packaging equipment that increases shelf life and processing equipment to reduce/control pathogen load.

Costs that are eligible include the purchase and installation of new equipment, costs related to the contracting of external expertise for services related to the equipment installation and costs for the modification of the processing facility necessary for the installation of the equipment.

The two-step application process includes first submitting a Project Summary Form, which will help to determine a project’s eligibility and alignment with program criteria and priorities. Those successful at this stage will be invited to submit a full application.

Applicants may apply at any point during the life of the program, until available funds have been fully allocated. The program ends on March 31, 2028.

Work is underway with supply-managed sectors to determine full and fair compensation for the impacts of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement within the year.

I took this photo of a beef cow that had just calved in a drylot-holding area. She is in good shape and health, so I would expect that once her newborn calf is up on wobbly legs, it will get its first taste of colostrum. Within the next few hours, this new mum will most likely clean and probably join the rest of the herd within the next day.

After which, she will get her first taste of a new post-calving diet that will provide a higher plane of nutrition, so she can continue to milk well and get ready for the breeding season.

Such post-partum blessings are built primarily on the dietary maintenance of good body condition of the nursing brood cow. According to the National Research Council (NRC), most post-calving mature cows, which maintain an optimum body condition of 2.5 - 3.0 (1 = emaciated and 5 = obese) and are nursing newborn calves should be able to consume 35 – 40 lbs of dry matter feed. Subsequently, this is so they can meet their dietary energy requirements of 60 - 62% TDN (total digestible nutrients) and 11 - 12% crude protein; when they are milking at their highest levels of 10 - 15 litres per day.

Since, first-calf cows do not eat and do not milk as well as older cows; their dietary requirements are almost identical due to extra nutri-

ents needed for growth. It is also important to remember that all cows regardless of age, that calve out in early February to April may also need 20 – 30% more dietary energy just to keep warm; added onto to their most basic maintenance needs and supersedes nutrients required for milk production and reproduction.

Essential cattle minerals (and A, D and E vitamins) should also not be forgotten. They should be provided in all post-partum cow diets, such as calcium, phosphorus and other essential macro-minerals. They need to compliment whatever mineral levels are found in post-partum forages and other supplemented feeds.

In a similar fashion, trace mineral requirements of beef cows nearly double since the start of the winter season, and good available sources of copper, zinc, manganese, iodine, cobalt, and selenium need to be fed.

Consequently, I conducted a mini-survey of four beef producers, which calved-out their cows during the last part of February until the end of March. I asked each of them about their own post-calving feeding programs until the breeding season.

Here is what they said: #1 – 250 beef cows – The producer feeds a traditional overwinter diet of 35 - 40 lbs of good quality alfalfa -grass wrapped hay to his Simmen-

Beef cow that had just calved in a drylot-holding area.

tal x Black Angus herd. Once they calve; 3 – 4 lbs of barley are supplemented. 3 – 4 oz of a 1:1 Breeder cattle mineral w/salt is fed on the side. #2 - 300 beef cows – This producer mixes up a TMR, which consists of 45 lbs of barley silage, 18 lbs of straw, 1 lb of a 32% protein/TMV supplement w monensin and 5 lbs of barley. If he finds the cows start to become fleshy, he reduces barley to a couple of lbs. #3 – 200 beef cows – This beef producer’s pure breed Red Angus brood and 1st calf cows came off the hardest part of the winter in good shape. He feeds a TMR of 20 lbs of barley silage and 25 – 30 lbs alfalfa/grass hay mixed with 4 oz of a 3:1 /vitamins premix with monensin. A few pounds of grain are only fed when the windchill temperature dips below -25 °C. #4 – 375 beef cows – All

cows and 1st calf heifers in this white-face x Simmental cross-herd are fed a TMR of 45 lbs of drought corn silage with 15 lbs of grass hay, plus a 3:1 mineral/vitamin premix. Grain corn is fed at the rate of 3 - 4 lbs per head, daily.

All of these nutritious postcalving diets have several characteristics in common; namely each cowherd had tremendous “as-fed” intakes - upward to 65 lbs. Next, energy and protein requirements were well-balanced and last, essential mineral and vitamins were adequately provided. Not to mention, plenty of water was always available. As a result of their similar heightened plane of nutrition during the postcalving period, the general body condition of each of the above cowherds was optimum, so most cows should be well-prepared for the upcoming breeding season.

New Usage-Based Forage Insurance to be Developed The governments of Canada and Manitoba are investing $253,600 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) to develop a new usage-based insurance (UBI) product, in collaboration with Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM), to respond to needs expressed by forage crop growers and other stakeholders in a 2020 review of forage insurance programs.

“Forage producers have seen firsthand the impacts of ongoing climate-related challenges, most notably this past year,” said Terry Duguid, MP for Winnipeg South. “By using scientific tools to gather and assess local conditions, projects like this will create new solutions for droughtaffected producers in Manitoba.”

“The forage and livestock sectors in Manitoba have been vulnerable in times of substantial forage shortages, as was the case during last summer’s drought conditions, and traditional risk management and insurance methods used for other crops do not always work well for their specific needs,” said Manitoba Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson. “We are pleased to work with industry to develop this ground-breaking insurance product that will help forage growers’ better meet operational challenges, especially under extraordinary circumstances.”

The province will enter a two-year contribution agreement (2021/22 to 2022/23) with DFM to provide up to $253,600 in CAP-Ag Action

Manitoba Strategic Initiatives (industry-led) federal flowthrough funding. The project will be led by DFM in partnership with Manitoba Beef Producers and four additional producer organizations.

“Dairy Farmers of Manitoba is pleased to work with the Canada and Manitoba governments and agriculture sector to support the development of this innovative UBI product that will benefit forage growers throughout the province,” said David Wiens, chair, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba. “Using leadingedge artificial intelligence, the product will measure and predict forage crop yields automatically and in nearreal time based on satellite remote sensing, weather and geophysical data.”

The project will develop a usage-based, farm-specific index insurance product for Manitoba forage growers. It includes the integration of satellite remote sensing and other big data, combined with an interactive web-based application that farmers can use to individualize their insurance, receive real-time and dynamic pricing, monitor forage production throughout the season and fast-track claims settlements, the minister noted.

AIRM Consulting will conduct the project over an 18month period and develop a website with a geographic information system interface for farmers to purchase insurance, monitor their policies and support claims settlements.

The AgriPost

Canadian Plowing Match to Be Held Near Rivers

By Joan Airey

Manitoba Provincial Plowing Association will host the Canadian Plowing Match on land donated by Harvey Wood, half a mile south of junction of HWY 259 and road 130 on the east side, ten miles west of Rivers or straight south of Oak River on 354. The event will take place May 4- 6 and practice days will be held May 2 and 3.

While helping to clean out an old Rivers Agricultural Fair Building Tom Ryall, President of the Manitoba Plowing Association found a program for the Brandon Farmers’ Institute Annual Picnic.

Included in the event program was the championship details for July 4, 1901.

Participates in the plowing match had to register before 9 am, the morning of the match. Anyone could participate except last year’s Provincial first Prize Plowman.

At that time plowing would have been done with horses.

Prizes were 1st place Provincial Championship winning an engraved gold watch, 2nd place received an engraved gold watch and 3rd place awarded a medal.

“We will have competitors coming from Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. They will be competing in conventional and reversible classes,” said Ryall. “The winners will go on to represent Canada at the World Championships which will be held in Estonia in 2023.”

This year’s World Match will be held in Ireland in September in conjunction with the Irish National match on September 20 and 21 followed by the World Match on September 22 and 23.

Tom Ryall will be going

to Ireland as the Canadian representative on the World Board. Brian Davenport will compete in conventional plowing and Daryll Hostrawser will compete in reversible; both from Ontario, will compete for Canada,” said Ryall.

Ryall has competed in Ireland and in Canadian plowing matches and attended matches around the world.

Head Quarters for the Canadian plowing match is the Blue Crescent Hotel in Rivers. You can check out the Canadian Plowing Association at canadianplowing.com.

Brochure found by Tom Ryall, President of the Manitoba Plowing Association at the Rivers Agricultural Grounds, showing plowing matches were popular back in 1901.

The Inside of the 1901 Plowing Match Brochure shows how a match was run back then.

National Farm Organization Partners with Canada’s Food & Agri-Tech Engine The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is the latest partner to join Canada’s Food & Agri-Tech Engine in recognition of the key role innovation has in the agriculture sector. Canada’s largest farm organization has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bioenterprise Canada to collaborate on uniting and strengthening agri-food innovation across the country.

“Farmers have a true understanding of the innovation needs on the ground and we welcome the opportunity to work more closely with the primary production sector so

we can support and advance the new technologies and opportunities that will best serve the industry’s short and long-term success,” said Bioenterprise Canada CEO Dave Smardon.

For CFA, which represents approximately 200,000 farm families from coast to coast, innovation is critical in supporting the sustainability, productivity and global competitiveness Canadian agriculture needs now and in the future. The partnership will help the organization build closer connections to the Canadian innovation sector through Bioenterprise’s na-

tional network while keeping farmers better informed about emerging technologies and opportunities.

“As a group founded on the principle of speaking with a unified voice, we believe Bioenterprise Canada is playing an important role in bringing together what can otherwise be a fragmented innovation ecosystem,” said CFA President Mary Robinson. “CFA looks forward to ensuring farmers have a strong voice in driving agricultural innovation and ensuring Canada has an environment conducive to the adoption of new practices and technologies.”

March 25, 2022

Sustainability Factors Will Come from Data Collection

By Harry Siemens At Tech Manitoba’s recent “Disrupted” conference Wade Barnes, founder and CEO of Farmers Edge spoke on how his company is bridging technology with agronomy. This will lead to developing a fully connected digital agricultural ecosystem supporting global sustainability and food traceability.

Barnes described the advances in technology and how it helps farmers.

To focus specifically on technology advancements, whether around GPS or variable rate applications and probably the biggest, most exciting element of new technology is around data and information, explained Barnes. Farmers have dealt with data for a long time because people told them for a long time that data would be valuable to them.

“We can now deliver on that promise because the information helps power decisions,” said Barnes. “Now we can deliver that data and that information so that farmers can use it to help make real critical decisions on the farm, not just agronomically, but in other aspects of their farming operation.”

He said that connectivity of data to new financial products for the farm like insurance, sustainability and carbon offsets and insetting in the food supply chain is coming quickly.

“Super exciting for farmers because they will get much value from that information,” said Barnes.

Food companies and renewables such as biodiesel and ethanol are under pressure to provide transparency of their emissions throughout their supply chain. “We’ve learned from the food companies, 40 per cent of their emissions come from the grain that they buy at a farm level,” said Barnes.

The same carbon tax pressure is on food companies to reduce their emissions down to zero over the next while. “We’re finding food companies want to understand the farmer’s emissions and if they can provide that data, those food companies will pay premiums to farmers,” said Barnes. “So food companies are looking for what they call low carbon intensity grain.”

He said carbon measurement is needed whether it’s canola that goes into a crusher that finds its way to a biodiesel plant or wheat that finds its way into a flour mill that ends up on a grocery store shelf as bread. Barnes explained it will be about emissions; from how much fuel the

farmer uses, how much fertilizer and how it is applied, and the propane use to condition grain all add up to a certain amount of emissions that move through the supply chain.

Those farmers who can record that information and provide it to the food company will have an opportunity to sell that as a carbon offset, which is happening on millions of acres with farms in western Canada.

“What we think will happen; the farmer will provide that as an inset to the food company who will pay the farmer instead of an offset, but a premium on his grain,” said Barnes.

He believes farmers would instead create insets and create value out of their grain because they understand that better. They’ve dealt with that for years, whether in specialty oil premiums, protein in their wheat, the ability to create low carbon intensity grain based on all the good things they already do.

Farmers manage their nitrogen already because it’s expensive. All they have to do now is record all the good things they do and put it in an electronic format to pass that on to the buyer.

“This is a huge trend that’s coming and every month it’s going to come out more and more and become the biggest thing that’s going to hit agriculture since GMO technology,” said Barnes.

The Canadian farmer has a tremendous opportunity because the consumer has different expectations of the food they buy, and farmers grow it sustainably. Farmers sometimes get on edge by that because they feel there’s overreach he noted. Barnes, reminds farmers of how many sustainable practices they use without realizing it. Many farmers soil test because nobody wants to over-apply fertilizer and that is just good business practices.

“Sustainability follows good business,” said Barnes. “Farmers that use no-till or zero-till are sustainable practices.”

Farmers Edge’s strategy is to get this on as many farms as possible, give them a free window to use the technology. Once farmers get comfortable with it, they convert over to a paid-for product, depending on the farmer’s need. He said that some farmers focus on fertility others collect data and tracking, while some like the weather elements or the satellite imagery.

Once farmers use this data and get a better insurance program for their farms to cover the risks that they have, or if they can use this data to get a better financing rate at their bank or to use this data to get premiums on the grain, that is where the adoption will come said Barnes.

Wade Barnes, CEO of Farmers Edge, sees connectivity of data to new financial products for the farm like insurance, sustainability and carbon offsets and insetting in the food supply chain is coming quickly. He says the most exciting element of new technology is around data and information and it will become the biggest thing in agriculture since GMO technology.

29

30

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

Pork Producers Focus on Risk Management Due to Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Tyler Fulton, the director of risk management with Hams Marketing Services, advises pork producers to focus on risk management strategies amid the market volatility created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

By Harry Siemens Tyler Fulton, the director of risk management with Hams Marketing Services, advises pork producers to focus on risk management strategies amid the market volatility created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Up to the last week of February futures markets had rallied to some of the highest levels in years. However, since then the futures market has been experiencing uncertainty associated with all

of the factors from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

All commodity markets are questioning the fundamentals they have traded on.

For example, while Russia and Ukraine do not directly influence meat protein markets worldwide, they significantly impact feed grain prices and supply.

“We have to go back to 2010 when they were a significant player in terms of bringing pork or other meat products into that country,” said Fulton. “Since then, they have built up their meat industry and have become much more self-sufficient in meat protein, so that’s not the factor that’s making things uncertain.”

He said that Germany for example imports a fair amount of feed grains from the Ukraine region. It would have a pretty significant impact on their cost of production and therefore the size of the herd and the supply that comes out of Western Europe.

Fulton advised producers

to keep an eye on global feed prices and implement strategies to mitigate the effects of that volatility and resulting inflationary trends. The market will be unpredictable with the current situation however, there are tools to secure hog prices and feed costs. He suggested now is the time to use those tools.

On the other hand, Fulton expects tight North American hog supplies and potential increased pork demand from China to limit the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on North American hog markets.

“One thing to watch for is the possibility of seeing more significant influence from China in terms of imports, especially if we start seeing a further slide in North American prices”, said Fulton. That might become a trigger point for purchasing higher volumes from North America he noted.

The other factor is to watch what global feed grain prices are doing and what strategies can be taken to mitigate the

effects of the volatility and inflationary trends on feed grain and how it factors into the whole farm risk management plan.

“We’re still dealing with a relatively tight supply, tighter than really anybody had anticipated,” said Fulton. “With, for example,

year-to-date hog slaughter in the United States is down eight per cent; that is a tight scenario, so it’s unlikely that we’re going to see a significant drop in prices.”

One thing that will be a steady theme is the uncertainty and the volatility that goes with that connection

to the whole situation in Ukraine.

Fulton repeated that there is uncertainty for all commodity market’s trading fundamentals, in global feed prices and it would be best to concentrate on strategies to mitigate the effects of that volatility.

Since 2010 Ukraine had built up their meat industry becoming much more self-sufficient in meat protein before the Russian invasion.

File photos

The AgriPost

March 25, 2022

31

Research Shows Benefits of Cover Crops Extend to Dry Areas Cover crops do far more than cover soils. They provide an array of benefits, such as the ability to reduce soil erosion and increase soil health. They can help attract pollinators, repel pests, turn into ‘green manure,’ or can be used as feed for livestock.

A new study shows that the benefits of cover crops extend even into semi-arid areas.

“Much of the research data we have on cover crops is from regions with high precipitation,” said Humberto Blanco, lead researcher at the University of Nebraska– Lincoln. “So, questions remain about ecosystem services provided by cover crops in drier regions.”

Some skeptics have argued that growing cover crops in more arid areas could use too much water. In turn, it could reduce subsequent food crop yields. But the research concludes that is not necessarily the case.

“We found that cover crops can improve most ecosystem services in water-limited environments,” said Blanco.

“In the majority of cases, these improvements come without negative effects on food crop yields.”

To determine how well cover crops work in semi-arid areas, Blanco and colleagues assembled and analyzed the limited number of studies on cover crops in dry regions.

They emphasized studies focusing on the semi-arid Great Plains in the United States.

The researchers looked at cover crops in connection with several ecosystem services. These included the amount of organic carbon in soils, soil microbial properties, weed management, and food crop yields, among others.

One of the key soil features the researchers focused on was soil organic carbon. “Soil organic carbon is the catalyst for many other changes in soil properties and soil services,” said Blanco. “Soils in water-limited regions are often low in organic carbon.”

The researchers found that in dry areas cover crops increased soil organic carbon levels close to 60% of the time. “This accumulation of organic carbon is critical to these soils,” said Blanco.

That is because soil organic carbon is the food source for many soil organisms, like microbes. Ultimately, these soil organisms play a vital

role in maintaining healthy, fertile soils, he said.

Cover crops also suppress weeds in dry areas. This is especially important because several weed species are resistant to current herbicides.

The suppression of weeds by cover crops has a knock-on effect on increasing water conservation and preventing soil erosion.

“Herbicide-resistant weeds can lead to tillage of typically no-till systems,” said Blanco.

“This can reduce the waterconservation ability of those agroecosystems.” Tilling can also make soils more susceptible to erosion.

Cover crops also provide food for livestock in dry areas. “Grazing or haying cover

crops can improve net returns without negating benefits to soils,” said Blanco. That is because even when grazed, a significant portion of cover crops remain on fields. Also, cover crop roots persist even when grazed, holding soils together and providing many benefits he explained.

The study found that cover crops can reduce food crops’ yields in some cases. These instances typically coincided with intermittent drought conditions. Water availability for cover and food crops decreased during these years.

“Adapting crop rotations and cover crop use to accommodate weather conditions is critical,” said Blanco. “Farmers in drier areas may not be

Comparing grazed and non-grazed portions of a cover crop field in Alexander, KS. This study focused on semi-arid environments like the Great Plains in the United States.

Photos by Augustine Obour

able to plant a cover crop every year. They can target wet years when cover crops can be successful.”

Blanco aims to continue researching cover crops in dry areas. “Long-term research is

critical to identify the enduring effects of cover crops,” he said. “Yet, long-term research data for cover crops in arid and semi-arid areas are virtually absent in the literature.”

Yearling cattle grazing on spring-planted cover crops in a field in Alexander, KS. Cover crops are often used as feed for livestock.

A cover crop field after four days of grazing by yearling cattle in Alexander, KS. Even when grazed, a significant portion of cover crops remain on fields. Cover crop roots persist even when grazed, holding soils together and providing many benefits.

32

March 25, 2022

The AgriPost