AgriPost May 29 2020

The AgriPost

May 29, 2020

Combine on Saturday and Harrow on Monday

Combine on Saturday. Harrow on Monday said Rob Stone of Davidson, SK using Twitter account #harvest19 #plant20.

By Harry Siemens The two hashtags #Harvest19 and #plant20 continued to appear in similar tweets up until the writing of this article during Victoria Day long weekend.

Brian Kennedy of Calgary, AB of the Alberta Wheat Commission, said when asked about farming progress, he said, “Not bad and I don’t want to jinx it. Great progress on picking up the 2019 crop and good progress on seeding.

They are even seeding west of Edmonton.”

Farmer Frase in Manitoba said things are going well around Dauphin too. “Saw a combine doing soybeans today and lots of seeding going on. There is a real variation in moisture levels in the Parkland. I would guess 20 per cent done in the area, maybe,” said Frase.

Kelvin Heppner of Altona, MB, was getting started before Wednesday’s rain. Heavy

ground plus wet fall, lots of residues, cool temps equals late start,” he said Ron Krahn at Rivers, MB, said almost all the wheat is in for him. Peas, sunflowers, soybeans and canola to do yet.

Nature/weather and the calendar aren’t matching up so far this year,” he noted.

Jim Wickett at Rosetown, SK, had 40 per cent of his seeding done, but way behind on spraying due to consecutive frigid nights.

Walter Moebius said the west side in Alberta to west-central Saskatchewan looks generally pretty good with over half to three-quarters done in his estimation.

Ben Heide at Boissevain, MB, said that only six per cent was done and that land repairs from sinking machinery last fall are pretty much complete.

“We need lots of sunshine and warmth to dry the ground to do a reasonable job of planting.

Where there is still crop out locally, the frost is still within 12 inches of the surface.”

Rob Stone, who farms at Davidson, SK said earlier in the month it feels good to have the harvest out of the way. While less crop, leftover from last fall than most in the area, it certainly bothered him when still out in the field. He had more crop out than ever before in April and early May. “It creates a lot of logistical stakes, so to be able to proceed just to spring work now, it’s quite something,” said Stone.

He harvested lentils on a Saturday and started harrowing the following Monday, preparing the seedbed. After harvesting, some left over canola in swaths over the winter, he dropped samples off at the elevators. “It was garbage in the fall, and its garbage in the spring. I mean, it’s still saleable, but it’s certainly not number one canola by any

means,” he said. “It froze pretty green last fall, and 15 per cent moisture, drier than when we harvested it last fall. That made things a lot easier.”

Stone talked about how to get right back into the spring-seeding mode after harvesting last fall’s crop in the spring. Farmers say that anytime that there’s a nice day, make sure that all of their harvesting, seeding, and any other support equipment that they might require is ready.

“Lots of people were able to take standing crops off early on the frozen ground, and harvest right over top of ice, water, and all that sort of stuff,” said Stone. “Now that the frost is coming out, many couldn’t proceed with harvest right now just because the grain is dry, but the fields aren’t fit for it.”

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Grain Farmers Disappointed

by Federal Relief Package Following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement of a $252-million relief package for agriculture and agri-food, Canada’s grain growers are left disappointed by the long-term challenges that this measure fails to address.

“While we recognize the urgent challenges faced by other commodities, today’s announcement does nothing for grain farmers,” said Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) chair Jeff Nielsen. “This relief package offers no resolution to our existing issues, which result from long-standing market access challenges, rail blockades, and 2019’s harvest from hell.”

As net farm incomes continue to plummet, the federal government has only offered relief programs that are either not applicable to the majority of farms or prioritize access to debt for already highly leveraged farmers. This relief package, unfortunately, maintains that trend.

GGC has repeatedly stressed to the federal government that the AgriStability program is the most effective way to provide a safety net for all types of farmers who need it. Not only does it already have universal buy-in among the industry’s sectors, it provides targeted support to more efficiently address the challenges that the federal government has sought to remedy.

“Our Minister of Agriculture has already indicated that programs like AgriStability ‘need to be improved’, so why not start today?” added Nielsen.

“The only way forward is to implement the changes that we have asked for to support Canadian farmers this year and help us to rebuild their businesses for a post-COVID-19 world.”

For over a year, GGC has asked that AgriStability receive an infusion of funds, which will allow the program to cover losses starting at 85 per cent of historical reference margins and eliminate of the Reference Margin Limit while encouraging farmers to retroactively enroll for 2019-20.

Continued on Page 2...

May 29, 2020

The AgriPost

Addressing Needs of Agri-Food’s Mounting Losses is Critical for Our Nation

While the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) welcomed the recent announcement from the federal government for $252 emergency funding, the amount is not enough on its own to avert negative impacts to Canadian food supply in the coming months. The Prime Minister intimated more assistance will be made available as needed.

On behalf of more than 200,000 farm families across the country, the CFA has been increasingly vocal over the past two weeks as the impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian agriculture continue to intensify. Farmers have been hit hard from all angles with rising operational costs, reduced processing plant capacity and closures, significant labour shortages and impacts from major reductions in the food service industry all undermining the viability of food producers and processors.

“Farmers are making decisions today on how confident they should be investing in further food production this year. They are making decisions right now that will have a direct impact on the variety and cost of domestic food availability for everyday Canadians. With such

huge uncertainty in our sector and lack of a firm financial backstop, in essence we are asking our farmers to put themselves and their farms at risk to grow food for Canada. Many farmers are facing the reality that these risks are too great, and are having to modify their food production plans,” said Mary Robinson, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

“As a country we cannot allow this to happen,” she added.

CFA worries that the government’s position on using existing Business Risk Management programs, such as AgriStability, before rolling out additional funds will result in support arriving too late to make a substantial and positive impact on domestic food security.

These programs already had gaps and inequities in coverage between commodities, and this approach guarantees commodities that fall within those gaps will be hit hard, with some never recovering. “We understand that we aren’t the only ones asking for help right now. Many sectors and industries are in desperate need of support.

However, after healthcare, there is nothing more important for Canada during this

pandemic than domestic food security,” said Robinson.

“We know that when the dust settles on this pandemic and we look to begin the long process of economic recovery, a robust agriculture and food sector will be a sector we can count on to be a positive, economic driving force.

We must ensure to take the care and investment now to set us up to continue to feed this nation and recover from the required, unprecedented expenditures of today.”

“We are asking Canadians for help. Tell your MP that you value food grown and made in Canada. Tell them Canadian farmers need the financial confidence to invest today so our nation can eat tomorrow.”

Last week on behalf of the Agri-Food sector, the CFA outlined an Agri-Food Emergency Fund to maintain food security for Canada. The $2.6B ask was submitted to government to address critical, acute challenges facing a wide range of agricultural commodities from across the country. While the $252M announced today by the government is welcomed, it falls well short of what is needed to guarantee Canada’s food system for Canadians and the world.

Combine on Saturday and Harrow on Monday Continued from Page 1...

Some farmers did their best to get fields cleaned up while others decided that they were going to take a couple of days off in the middle of May, do their harvest then clean up some acres as the ground dried up. Everyone had a different plan.

In looking forward, Stone is moving more into the disaster insurance and carrying AgriStability forever but never collected. “We’ve looked at some private insurance to supplement AgriSta-

bility just to put that bottom in place,” he said. “I’m not as concerned about our yield outcome as I am concerned about possible disruptions.”

Stone said with last fall’s weather he is unable to say this will never happen to him. It opened his mind to disaster, focusing more on protecting their farm from past jaw-dropping events rather than just looking for a pop in the market. “Just try, do what we normally do, and not get too freaked out about

it all at the same time.”

He appreciated the Federal government extending the deadline on AgriStability for those who did not have a chance to look at it yet. These are unprecedented times and he hopes that if there is some need to flow some help out to people that they can do it through some of the existing programs and cut down on the ad hoc programs because ad hoc usually comes out quickly with unintended consequences.

Grain Farmers Disappointed by Federal Relief Package Continued from Page 1...

During today’s press briefing, the Prime Minister stated that, “We will be there for our agricultural producers because they are so important to all Canadians. The hard work they do and the support they give us all needs to be

respected, reflected on, and mostly, supported.” GGC hopes that the Prime Minister will act on these sentiments and support Canadian farmers.

“We have provided the government with these proactive,

practical measures to give farmers the tools they need to succeed,” said Nielsen.”

We ask now that the federal government take a leadership role and decisively implement the concrete solutions that we have outlined.”

The AgriPost

Manitoba’s Cattle Producers Look for Affordable Risk Management Insurance

By Harry Siemens When Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit announced $10 million in additional funding to help livestock producers manage the impacts of COVID-19 related market disruptions, Tyler Fulton called it outstanding leadership by the Saskatchewan Government. “The government understands that this announcement enables Beef farmers to take control of Risk Management for their operations.”

Fulton, who runs a cattle operation near Birtle, approximately 145 km northwest of Brandon, hopes the Manitoba government will follow.

The Saskatchewan government support includes $5 million for Saskatchewan’s share of the costs associated with participation in the national AgriRecovery setaside program and $5 million to partially offset higher premium costs under the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP).

Fulton runs a cow-calf operation backgrounding his

calves from about 600 cows, and is right now in the middle of calving season. Nothing stops during the calving season. It does not matter about the weather or the markets.

The calves keep on coming.

He will either sell them possibly in the fall at weaning or most often background them and sell them as heavier feeders as yearlings in March of next year.

“Our current situation with COVID-19, we’re managing. We got caught a little bit with some calves that we chased the market lower on,” said Fulton. “We got roughly 20 per cent lower for some heifers. We all know what happened over March.”

All cattle producers will face a reduction in revenue, causing a squeeze in cash flow this year and is a reason why the industry needs some of these other programs proposed by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA).

For cow-calf operations like Fulton’s, there are few tools to help manage the risk. And the price risk for cow-calf producers is the most signifi-

Tyler Fulton who runs a cattle operation near Birtle hopes that the Manitoba provincial government addresses this extreme crisis by contributing to make risk management the insurance policy much more attractive and less expensive just as the Saskatchewan government did.

All cattle producers will face a reduction in revenue, causing a squeeze in cash flow this year and is a reason why the industry needs some of these other programs proposed by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA).

cant. “You can lay things out otherwise, like markets and weather and other considerations, but at the end of the day in this type of environment, the price risk is pretty much the biggest thing that you need to manage and that you’re able to manage,” he said.

The only product available and the only program they use is the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program. It provides policies that allow cattle producers to put a floor price in for calves in the fall or feeders later in the year.

Fulton said that over the last two months the cost of premiums for insurance has nearly doubled in value, whereas the coverage fell by about close to 15 per cent.

“That’s a pretty nasty blow when your insurance prices go up to double or triple, and yet that only gives you coverage for less than what you were able to just two months ago,” he said.

He refers to a suite of proposals to address some of the major issues across the in-

dustry; the CCA’s proposal suggests both federal and provincial governments participate in a cost-share of the premiums. This means the producer can buy the policy, but both levels of government would cover some of those premium costs.

Fulton said it would possibly be similar to the way crop insurance works. Governments cover crop insurance 60 per cent and 40 per cent by producers. Previous to this proposal, producers covered 100% of the premium cost. “We’re suggesting to address this extreme crisis, get governments to contribute that would make the insurance policy much more attractive, much less expensive, and hopefully allow us to take some protection in this environment with all this uncertainty,” said Fulton.

Hence his approval of the Saskatchewan government’s $10 million in additional funding to help livestock producers manage the impacts of COVID-19 related market disruptions.

Follow the Label to Keep Markets Open Keep it Clean is issuing a reminder to growers to always follow the label for all crop protection products.

Improper or off-label use of crop protection products is illegal and may result in residue levels that are unacceptable to both domestic and export customers, which could jeopardize market access for all agriculture commodities.

To protect their investments and help keep markets open for all, growers should only use acceptable pesticides (ones that are registered for

their crop and will not create trade concerns) and follow the product label for application rate, timing and preharvest interval (PHI).

- Rate: Follow the correct application rate.

- Timing: Apply crop protection products only at the recommended crop stage.

- PHI: Stick to the product’s PHI. The number of days between spraying and swathing or straight-cutting the crop.

To support the information found on the product label, Keep it Clean provides growers and advisors with helpful

resources, including a preharvest glyphosate staging guide and the Spray to Swath Interval Calculator.

The Keep it Clean PreHarvest Glyphosate Staging Guide at keepingitclean.ca/ glyphosate provides visual examples of canola and pulse crops at the correct stage for pre-harvest glyphosate application (less than 30 per cent seed moisture), as well as an easy method for cereal growers to determine readiness.

Canola and pulse growers can use the Spray to Swath Interval Calculator to ensure

adherence to product PHIs. The interactive calculator, found at spraytoswath. ca, can be used to determine when it is safe to cut a crop after spraying or to find a product to suit a specific timeline.

On-farm practices make a difference in protecting Canada’s reputation as a trusted supplier of high-quality canola, cereals and pulses.

Visit keepingitclean.ca/follow-the-label to learn more about how proper product use can help keep markets open for all.

May 29, 2020

The AgriPost

May 29, 2020

KAP Responds to Federal Funding Announcement for Agriculture Industry Dear Editor: The federal government announced $252M in new funding for the agriculture industry across this country.

For the first time since this pandemic started two months ago, we have seen a measure of progress and support from Ottawa in terms of business risk management programming.

Producers across Manitoba and Canada continue to feel enormous pressure due to COVID-19. Beef and pork producers have seen their markets disrupted because of facility closures in other jurisdictions and potato producers have seen demand crater due to restaurant closures.

Additional money in the AgriRecovery program is a good start however the federal government can only provide 60% funding into the program. We need the provincial government to step up with their portion of the funding, which amounts to 40%. Reduced livestock price insurance premiums for cattle producers and crop insurance premiums for potato producers are required as well.

Business risk management programming needs to work better for Manitoba and Canadian farmers. KAP members have been clear on this issue since well before the pandemic started and now is the time to get stakeholders together to fix these programs so they are bankable, simple, equitable to all commodities, and predictable.

As we have said previously, there is no better time for us to work together towards larger scale improvements for the next policy framework and build on the programs and supporting administration that what we have now to make it through.

Bill Campbell President, Keystone Agricultural Producers

Modelling Scientific Scenarios Increasingly, it seems like our lives are being run more and more by mathematical models. While they have their place, far too much confidence is being placed in their ability to accurately predict the future.

Commodity markets, the global economy, stocks and all sorts of financial forecasters have used them forever but so have climate scientists and epidemiologists, most notably as a basis for the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Farmers use them too, but we call them something else, budgets and game plans for the year.

The University of Manitoba’s Agricultural Diploma program had students put together something called “the final presentation”. A binder with a detailed analysis and plan for the coming year and years to come filled with all sorts of numbers, assumptions and predictions. It is an excellent exercise and well worth cost and time of admission to the program.

However, as Mike Tyson so famously said, “Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face”.

Military commanders will say the same thing, there’s no plan that doesn’t change

once the bullets start flying.

Farmers are keenly aware of this too, no matter how many scenarios they run every year is still filled with surprises that are like getting hit in the face multiple times

by Mike Tyson.

Unfortunately, the public has yet to catch on and that’s causing no end of grief for everyone. Politicians, media, and even scientists themselves push these “models” as scientific evidence that’s not to be questioned.

Climate models for instance are notoriously bad; most of them run way too hot and do a poor job of lining up with reality. Many other ones are almost as bad, but the new champion may very well turn out to be the COVID-19 models. We are now learning that life and death decisions have been made about an incredibly complex situation based on a model built with computer code that’s “deeply riddled with bugs” filled with a lot of dubious assumptions, and maybe worst of all a whole bunch of bad data. At this point virtually all of the data we have on this new virus is unreliable.

It’s all well and good to say, “Follow the data” but

what do you do when all of your data is unreliable and you can’t trust it?

There’s no good answer to that one. What happens when we try to shut most By Rolf Penner of the global economy for an extended period of time? No one knows.

We’ve never done that before. No one’s even ever of what economist Thomas tried to model that one be- Sowell once said, “Much fore. We’re all going to find of the social history of the out the answer together in Western World over the real time as it happens. past three decades involved Meanwhile over in Europe replacing what worked with the central planners are look- what sounded good.” ing to turn their agricultural Models are better than world upside down based on nothing in most cases, done their own hazy models filled well they can be very usewith all sorts of questionable ful tools. But they’re not all assumptions and biases. The created equal. In some high plan is called “Farm to Fork”, profile cases random idiots simply put it is a widespread on the internet are better at rejection of conventional predicting outcomes than farming. Heavy on organic so-called experts. Check out production while strangling Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adoff the use of fertilizers, crop ams on twitter and periscope protection products, antibiot- as a good example. ics for livestock and fish and When you do get punched pushing more “traditional” in the face though, it’s good varieties for plant breeding. to remember what Rocky There may be a silver lining said, “Life’s not about how in the plan for us as it’s like- hard of a hit you can give... ly to make already expen- It’s about how many you can sive European food the most take, and still keep moving costly in the world; however forward. How much you can it’s also likely that imports take and keep moving forwill be shut off to the EU as ward.” There’s no model for well. It’s a perfect example that!

Penner’s Points

Never the Twain Shall Meet - Harvest by Fire What’s the meaning of the phrase ‘Never the twain shall meet’ - Two things which are so different as to have no opportunity to unite. While not pursuing that phrase specifically, it reminded me of the 2019 harvest that began August 2019 and for some farmers isn’t over yet, and most like will end with the lighting of a torch.

As I write this, May 24, I recall the story in the AgriPost with Jason Hildebrand describing his rutty, sinking, almost getting stuck with a track combine on May 9 experience taking off yet another pass of 2019 canola.

Still grading No. 1 on the first truckload harvested on the frozen field, but the next one graded No. 2.

Simon Ellis of Ellis Seeds at Wawanesa, MB tweeted a short video May 23, holding a torch on the opening frame, lighting a canola field,

quickly to show the strange coloured flames consuming part of the field several more frames into the show.

I asked him how many acres and why now? “Around 20 acres that were too wet. We were finally able to get a fireguard around it earlier this week, and today was the first day without absurd wind,” said Simon.

While 20 acres may not seem like a lot, it is symbolic of what farmers have to do to take off one crop and plant the next at the same time.

While tweeting my regulation questions asking farmers and supply people to tell me how things are going, along comes the storm, gigantic and devastating for some along the TransCanada with hail and heavy rains exceeding seven inches in a few places. Then Rolf Penner east of Morris who finished his seeding late last week, obviously waiting for rain and didn’t get any.

Again the twain shall meet meaning if you have fields too wet to harvest last year’s

crop and seeded on another part of your farm, the rain is not welcomed on one piece and more than accepted on another.

Craig Bandura, a Saskatchewan farmer, responded to Simon Ellis. “I did that to 2,000 acres last spring with no crop insurance to help out.” Neither did Ellis have crop insurance because they had combined more than enough last fall not to qualify.

Shelley Bartley tweeted, “Sorry for the loss.” Simon responded with, “This doesn’t bother me at this point. Just happy to be done another job. Now to fertilize what we can and seed wheat!”

He isn’t callous or anything like that. It is a typical attitude of young or old farmers who know what needs doing and when. In his case, it was time to move on, the same with Jason Hildebrand, who still isn’t sure what they will do with the 500 acres or less still standing canola from last year. He was sinking the

combine, making deep tracks realizing, wow this job is for another time.

Jason Voogt, @field2fieldag tweeted, “Rain update. Carman had 1.2” up to 2” north of Homewood and 3” by Fannystelle to Starbuck. 1.2” by Elm Creek.

6/10ths at Roland and Miami and nothing at Altona that I’ve heard so far.” I believe Winkler received 1.5 inches.

Tammy Jones Manitoba Agriculture weed specialist said, “Central/eastern Manitoba seeing lots of beans going in, heard a couple of guys got done seeding before the rain (Congrats!!).

Corn/canola/wheat still to harvest, lots of ground still to go. Some (mainly west) guys needed the rain on the high areas, but not the potholes.

Lots of weeds!”

Eldon Klippenstein, who farms at Altona, said, “Wrapped up #harvest19 this week - still planting canola and oats. More or less caught up with ground ready for seeding (waiting for some to dry a bit more). Finding some time to custom plant canola for a few guys. Stretching recommended seeding rate from 10 acres/bag to 16.”

You get the drift, and the twain shall meet.

Harvest by fire with Simon Ellis of Wawanesa, MB burning his 20 acres of standing canola remaining from his 2019 crop.

The AgriPost

From End to End We Are in this Together

I am tired of hearing and seeing the messages about how one sector of society is doing so much to get us through the current challenge while others are to blame for the hardships we face.

Kudos to the front line workers, yes they are doing a great job but other people are contributing as well.

Now before you phone my boss and tell him what a jerk I am lets clear one thing up.

No one and I mean no one is more supportive of front line workers. They have a tough job and are going the extra mile, I understand that. Yes, I have done the research, next month marks 40 years that I have lived with a nurse and I know the sacrifices they make, and the risks they take.

I even know the contribution they make to agriculture. So yes front line workers are doing a great job but this is

a thing that affects us all, and everyone is doing their part.

I am also tired of all the comments about how poorly paid grocery baggers are risking their lives and the millionaires are doing nothing. Everyone one has a role to play, and till now we live in a capitalist system. Some people make more money that others; some get an hourly wage and some are entrepreneurs. You choose the role you play, the risks and rewards.

While I am on a rant I would like to remind people that it is called a food chain for a reason. There are many links in it, and a chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

Pretty simple – when one link goes down, the chain is ineffective, that means there is a back up on the farm, and a shortage in the stores.

We left the days of selfsufficiency and one room cabins in the woods because we wanted a different lifestyle. Space does not permit me to go into an explanation of comparative advantages

and why we trade, but it is a foundation of our economy and provides the lifestyle we enjoy. To my knowledge we are still living pretty well, and that includes consideration of not being able to buy the kind of toilet paper you wanted.

I am also tired of this “Buy Canadian” talk. It is a great concept and no one would support it more than me, but I also know a bit about human nature and while consumers’ talk a good show, they are voting with the purchases they will choose; the one that is a few cents cheaper regardless of where it is made. Sure there are some people who might make that choice, but not the majority of consumers so let’s not pretend that is going to happen.

This is a tough time, I have used this space for the last two months to say that, but it is time to be realistic and get through this.

We are all in this together, so let’s make it work, yes that might mean toilet paper you would not have chosen last year but these are tough times, at both ends.

Farmers Need Consumers’ Help to Protect Canada’s Food Supply An open letter to Canadian Consumers: Dear Canadian Consumer, As a pork producer, you are my most important partner.

Because of your support, my fellow farmers across Canada and I have the tremendous opportunity to wake up every day and work in the business we love.

Taking care of animals and feeding you are what drives us to invest our money and ourselves into raising pigs and farming. That is why, every day, regardless of what the world throws at us, we get up and get to work. Farmers can face a host of challenges on a daily basis, but we always show up.

I want to reassure you that Canada’s pork is safe. Over and over again science has confirmed that COVID-19 cannot be spread through the food supply. Rest assured that you can continue to safely enjoy Canadian pork whether it be, bacon for breakfast, ham slices for lunch or a roast for dinner.

While Canada’s pork is safe, COVID-19 has put Canada’s pork supply and food security at risk. COVID-19 is causing a major disruption in the lives of farmers and we can no longer be confident that we will be able to continue to deliver the pork you enjoy.

The disruption is being driven by a collapse in pork

prices. While we saw the prices we get for our animals spike as you and your fellow consumers stocked up on essentials early in March, they have fallen, and fallen far and fast. Farmers now expect to lose between $30 and $50 per pig for every animal we sell in 2020 and the losses will likely continue into 2021.

While some farmers can manage these losses, most cannot. We believe that if little is done to help the people producing our food, our Canadian food security will be greatly affected.

Governments offer some programs meant to help farmers, but they are not designed to deal with the fallout of a global pandemic and are not well suited to the reality of pork producers. While the extraordinary measures announced by governments have offered help for businesses across the country, they do little for a business like pork production.

Now our commitment to you, and to our country, is to continue do everything we can to keep pork on the shelves, but it is becoming harder to do, given the significant pressure we are under.

We have heard from governments that protecting the food supply is a priority, but they have done little to offer concrete support to Canadian pork producers. To deliver

on their commitment governments must step up in this moment of need and directly support pork producers in a meaningful way.

Farmers have been telling government about the need to act for weeks, but it hasn’t been enough to get governments to get meaningful help to the producers that need it today. That is why farmers need your help. We need you to tell the Prime Minister, Ministers, Members of Parliament and Senators that now is the time to be serious about protecting our food supply by helping farmers. We need you to tell them that governments must act quickly to put in place the meaningful emergency programs that farmers need so we can stay in business.

Without meaningful emergency support, farmers risk being another casualty in the pandemic. Canada must protect its food supply, its farm families, and its rural communities so they can bounce back after this crisis.

Canadians have come together and stayed apart to flatten the curve and limit the impact of COVID-19. Now we need to come together and raise our voices to limit the impact on those on the front lines of Canada’s food supply.

Sincerely, Rick Bergman Pork Producer

May 29, 2020

The Premier Must Leave MASC Alone

By Jon Gerrard, MLA for River Heights and Manitoba Liberal Agriculture Critic Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) supports Manitoba farmers with a variety of risk management and financial programs.

Manitoba Agricultural Insurance Services offer vital services to farmers - including Agriinsurance (formerly crop insurance) and Agri-stability.

I spoke with one long-time farmer who told me the MASC programs are the most important programs for farmers. Another farmer told me he has not met even one farmer who has hesitated to put in a crop this year – even with all the uncertainty about the COVID-19 situation. Farmers are not hesitating because they know MASC is there for them. That is one of the biggest tributes I’ve heard in support of MASC. MASC has essentially been the insurer, the securer of our home grown food supply, and the food supply from Manitoba - which is exported around the world.

It therefore came as a considerable surprise when the Premier recently mentioned he would be laying off staff at MASC. This was a particular surprise because there is an urgent need for MASC at this moment. Last year was a very tough year for many farmers. There is a back log of more than 500 outstanding post-harvest claims that need urgent attention.

There is urgency in resolving these claims as many farmers are out seeding now. It cannot wait.

To add to this, there are additional claims from this year where farmers were not able to harvest last fall and have harvested the remainder of their crop this spring. A considerable proportion of those crops will need to be assessed. Farmers in spring can’t tolerate wait times. They need to get their crop in. If MASC is not working quickly and efficiently when farmers need their help, it is a big problem.

To add even more to this, farmers are currently seeding and very soon the crops will be growing. We hope there are no major problems with hail this year, but if there are, MASC will be needed. This is not the time to cut back on MASC services.

MASC has an outstanding record of performance, achievement and service to farmers. I have talked to many farmers and it is rare to find a farmer who is not thankful for what used to be Crop Insurance and is now MASC’s agri-insurance program. The program is working well.

Farmers are already a lean operation. In my experience, if you have a program with a really good track record that is running well, don’t mess with it and cause problems. Programs like MASC are an example of how a helpful government program can be run, yet the Premier sees it as yet another service to be cut.

MASC is currently in the middle of a technology transformation. It is a massive job. The government should not be cutting back staff at MASC in the middle of this transformation.

It involves major adjustments to the work and this is not a time to be cutting people when the people are badly needed by and for the organization.

Most MASC programs are run with a combination of federal and provincial dollars. It is important that Manitoba is able to deliver programs like Agri-stability and Agri-insurance well on behalf of both governments. We do not want to have cutbacks to MASC as it will result in farmers having trouble accessing federal as well as provincial programs in an already difficult time.

We are in the middle of a pandemic. Now is not the time to be cutting staff and destabilizing people’s lives. MASC is needed at full strength right now. Not just to deal with the backlog, not just to deal with the technology transformation, but specifically because there is added need for flexibility in the response to the pandemic.

Flexibility and rapidity of response are critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. You do not want to cut the very people who are so critical in helping with the pandemic response.

I talked to one who said, “I am not sure what message the Premier and his government are sending by making cutbacks to MASC – but I, as a farmer, don’t like the message.”

I don’t like this message either because there is a critical need for MASC to be fully staffed and fully operation at this most critical of years for all of us.

Liberals Fail to Release Cost of Carbon Tax on Farmers Dear Editor: In a response to a written question in the House of Commons, the Trudeau government has refused to publicly release the cost of the Liberal carbon tax on farmers and producers. How can the cost of a new tax be “secret”? The Liberals need to be open and transparent with Canadians.

While Canada’s farmers and producers have been struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trudeau government increased their costs by raising the carbon tax.

Instead of providing supports for this essential sector, the government decided to add more taxes. This is wrong.

The carbon tax hurts farmers and producers. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 82 per cent of farmers say the federal carbon tax is negatively impacting their business and that an average farmer paid $14,000 in federal carbon taxes last year. While Justin Trudeau says that the carbon tax helps farm families, we know the opposite is true.

The Trudeau government must immediately exempt Canada’s agriculture sector from the carbon tax. Canada’s agriculture sector needs our help right now, not higher taxes.

While Justin Trudeau is letting down Canada’s agriculture sector, Conservatives will always stand up and fight for Canada’s farmers and producers.

John Barlow Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food Richard Lehoux Associate Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food

May 29, 2020

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

May 29, 2020

Urgent Call to Action Amid Supply Chain Interruptions and Labour Shortages Canada’s food producers are urgently asking for more help from the government amid supply chain interruptions, labour shortages and mounting costs, said the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

In fact, new survey results reveal only 29 per cent of farmers say the federal emergency funding that was recently announced will be helpful for their agribusiness.

“We are hearing heart-breaking stories about farmers having to plough down crops, destroy produce, or contemplate putting down their livestock due to reduced capacity at processing facilities or changes in market demand brought on by COVID19,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s vice-president of Western Canada and agri-business.

“The government needs to move fast and provide more support for the entire industry to protect Canada’s food supply.”

The federal government announced $252M in emergency funding to help farmers and processing facilities adapt to the pandemic and $5B in increased lending capacity through Farm

Credit Canada. CFIB also recognizes the government’s hard work in ensuring temporary foreign workers can come for the critical planting season and helping farmers offset the cost of quarantining workers for two weeks. The new 3-year AgriFood Pilot will also help fill ongoing labour needs and provide a pathway to permanent residency which CFIB has advocated for in the past.

“We understand there are enormous challenges in designing support programs and getting them out quickly, so we appreciate the government’s willingness to change and improve emergency programs such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), based on feedback from small businesses and groups like CFIB,” added Braun-Pollon.

Unfortunately, food producers say the effects of the pandemic will be felt for many seasons to come and that the recent emergency relief announcements and current programs will not work for most. From a recent

CFIB survey the organization found that 42 per cent of farmers in the livestock sector said the emergency relief will be helpful for their agri-business, while almost 50 per cent said it will not be helpful; 25 per cent of fruit, vegetables and horticultural farms and 28 per cent of food product processing say the emergency relief will be helpful; 48 per cent of farmers are worried about debt (long-term financial consequences of debt and depleted savings and 40 per cent of agri-business owners are worried the “new normal” will not be sustainable for their business.

“While the $252M in emergency funding is a good first step, these survey results indicate there is much more needed to address the devastating impacts of COVID -19 on the agriculture sector,” noted Braun-Pollon. “The federal government has indicated, “These measures are an initial investment and if we need to add more we will.”

Well the time is now to do more. To support farmers, CFIB urges the federal government to immediately act on providing

additional emergency funding to the agriculture sector to offset lost income resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, improve current Business Risk Management Programs to ensure they are timely, responsive, effective and transparent, reduce red tape and barriers to interprovincial trade in agri-food products and while it is too late for some agribusinesses, continue to negotiate and work closely with key source countries for Temporary Foreign Workers. In addition, exempt propane, natural gas and aviation fuel used for farming activities from the federal carbon tax and very much continue to focus on trade and market access for all Canadian agri-food products.

“While a lot of economic activity has been frozen during the pandemic response, farmers can’t do that. Their animals still need to be fed and cared for. They have tight windows in which they can plant, harvest and get their product to market.

Government needs to act quickly to ensure farmers have the support they need,” concluded Braun-Pollon.

Federal Commitment Not Enough to Help Pork Producers Although any help from the federal government to support the food sector weather the storm brought on by COVID-19 is welcome, Canadian pork producers and their families remain at risk given the very limited support outlined in the recent announcement. The funds promised by the Government of Canada simply do not address the problems producers are facing.

Industry experts have estimated that the pork producers will

lose $675 million in 2020. For weeks now, producers have been expressing the critical need for support. We specifically asked for $20/hog to feed the animals, keep the lights on and ensure consumers have ready access to wholesome Canadian pork products. “For the past 5 years we have heard from our government that they want to help us to grow our sector, yet when our house is burning, they are offering us a glass of water to save

it,” illustrated Rick Bergmann, Canadian Pork Council (CPC) Chair.

Producers have been deeply affected by the sharp decline in hog prices and the reduced capacity of processing facilities to accept their animals. “We want to be able to continue producing food. Providing us with bandaid solutions will only relieve the immediate pressure, but doesn’t solve producers’ liquidity problem,” explained René

Roy, CPC 1st Vice-Chair.

The sector is critical to Canada’s food security, an important employer and a significant industry that will be instrumental to restarting the economy. “We are thankful for the Minister’s continued advocacy for our sector, but Canadian pork farm families are in danger. Should they fail, food insecurity will increase as supplies tighten and food gets more expensive,” concluded Bergmann.

Farm Credit Canada Launches New Business Solutions Fund

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has announced the launch of a $100million Agriculture and Food Business Solutions Fund to support proven, viable companies through unexpected business disruptions, such as the COVID19 pandemic.

Launched in partnership with Forage Capital Inc. a Calgarybased venture capital firm, the Agriculture and Food Busi-

ness Solutions Fund is set up to provide companies with the financial stability and flexibility they need to rebuild their business models during challenging times. FCC is the sole investor in the fund.

The fund is set up to support a wide range of enterprises in the agribusiness and agri-food sector, including companies involved in primary production,

agri-tech, manufacturing, packaging and distribution. The fund will help companies in times of need through innovative solutions such as convertible debt investments and other flexible financing solutions. Applications will be assessed individually on their merit, and will be supported to a maximum of $10 million.

The primary goal of the Agriculture and Food Business Solu-

tions Fund is to return recipient companies to a sound financial footing. To qualify, companies need to demonstrate an impact from an unexpected business disruption, such as the loss of a key supplier, temporary loss of a facility or permanent loss of critical staff or leadership. Funds cannot be used to repay shareholder loans or purchase shareholder equity positions.

The AgriPost

May 29, 2020

Boissevain Farm Family Harvests 2019 Crop While Planting for 2020

By Harry Siemens Jason Hildebrand is a third-generation farmer near Boissevain farming alongside his wife and parents planting about seven thousand acres, including wheat, oats, canola, soybeans and peas, but no livestock.

On May 9, Hildebrand posted a short video showing the deep tracks his combine made as he attempted to finish the 2019 canola harvest.

“We’re over 30 percent done planting our 2020 crop, many in the area are planting cereals, corn is either done or abandoned because of the wet fields and calendar. Farmers have started some soybeans and canola,” he said.

He said many farmers continue combining last year’s crop or merely taking the torch to it. Field conditions have improved hugely in the previous five days, but conditions range from wet to very wet.

The Twitter video posted on May 9, Hildebrand described his 2019 crop year and the harvest that extended into 2020 with 1,200 acres of good quality canola, which he did not harvest last fall.

Like everybody else in his area in Manitoba extending into Saskatchewan, 2019 was a challenging year.

First off, their seeding started later despite an earlier seeding date, it never

He remained optimistic and looks forward to having the 2019 harvest behind him and the 2020 crop in the ground.

warmed up. Therefore, the harvest only started at the very end of August, most of it in September. Rain plagued most farmers across Manitoba in August and September, making conditions even tougher. In October, with the severe conditions pushing their combine capacity the farm added a second track combine. He said it was so wet they kept getting stuck, the entire machine.

“We bought a track combine just to help get things moving to help to finish the cereals right before the Thanksgiving weekend snowfall,” he said. “Then we continued with our canola and our beans after the snow, which like everybody found, it was not fast and not a lot of fun.”

The Hildebrands generally straight combined most of their canola that was flattened by the snow, causing rock damage in the combines and degraded crop quality.

They harvested the 2019 crop this spring. He explained that it came off better than he would have thought.

Starting in late April, during a short warm spell in very muddy conditions because the top four to six inches had thawed the combine would sink about that far and then

drive on frost. “Our very first truckload came off as a number one, which surprised me.”

However, longer the canola remained unharvested some of the crushers and the buyers, said that spring canola, as it gets warmer, it swells and the seeds crack open.

“Once we went through a couple of warm-frost cycles, it damaged more seed, degrading it to a No. two,” said Jason. “We took off 500 to 550 acres earlier on the frost whenever we could between the little bits of snow in spring. Then at a certain point, as you saw in my video, I just said, you know what, we need to quit for now and get on with our seeding.”

With the eight to ten inchtracks on May 9, it was not frost supported, and their water table seemed high. “I would relate it to a frost boil in the yard with no ability to carry weight. At times, even in that video, where I almost had the combine at a stall, almost stuck, but crawled out and I headed for the approach, and I said, this isn’t the right time to be out here,” he said.

He still has about 450 acres of standing canola left. He

said that they are not sure what they can do other than seed the 2020 crop, hopefully and harvest the remaining 2019 canola, then reseed this year before the crop insurance deadlines.

When asked about the condition of the soil and the muddy tracks, he said that they were quite successful at using an old cultivator with some four-inch shovels. He called it a bonus when able to do a lot of the harvest on the frozen ground the same as in November 2019, making for fewer ruts than expected.

Hildebrand, who is 35years old, has a healthy outlook. “I would think I’m generally pretty optimistic.

You know, I’m just trying to move forward always.”

He remained optimistic and looks forward to having the 2019 harvest behind him and the 2020 crop in the ground. “I feel like we’re going to be in a good place next year, even though we are out here late,” he said.

“But it’s one of those things you just got to get through.

I farmed through; everybody did 2011 where I didn’t seed an acre of crop. We got past that, and I feel like we’ll continue past this as well.”

Video posted on Twitter shows how combining went one morning with a tracked combine using rear-wheel drive. The header kept pitching up when the back end dropped. “Think we can get an air drill on here next week,” mused farmer Jason Hildebrand of Boissevain, MB underneath the short video of his excursion

The AgriPost

HyLife Marches Forward with Two Major Purchases

By Harry Siemens

HyLife made two business deals recently that show the company continues to be serious about growing the business in North America.

The most recent was announced on May 22. The deal has HyLife partnering with Glen Taylor, purchasing 75 per cent equity interest of Prime Pork LLC from Taylor Corporation.

The critical element here is additional processing capacity for HyLife that includes Prime Pork, a recently renovated processing facility that produces, processes, and sells pork products out of Windom, Minnesota. The plant processes about 1.2 million hogs annually and will increase HyLife’s processing capacity to 3.2 million hogs annually.

“Prime Pork will allow us to expand our operations into the United States,” said Grant Lazaruk, HyLife’s President and CEO about the acquisition. “Plants in both Canada and the US will strengthen our supply chain, giving us further diversity in our operations to better serve our customers around the world.”

Glen Taylor, chair and CEO of Taylor Corporation, likes the start-up of Prime Pork in Windom. Prime Pork’s location in southern Minnesota provides an abundance of resources, securing hog supply and the other raw materials required to operate a processing facility efficiently.

Lazaruk said it is a unique opportunity to team up with an operation that already has a network of producers, customers, and employees.

Earlier HyLife bought ProVista’s hog farming operations, a company currently ranked as one of Canada’s

The recent announcement on May 22 has HyLife partnering with Glen Taylor, purchasing 75 per cent equity interest of Prime Pork LLC from Taylor Corporation based in the US.

most extensive independent hog farming operations with most of its production in Manitoba. The deal included 37,000 sows, nursery, and finishing barns supported by 252 employees able to produce about one million hogs annually. ProVista’s farms are near HyLife’s current operations. The geographical proximity of the farms is strategic, as the newly acquired farms will be part of HyLife’s existing infrastructure. As both companies share similar values, HyLife welcomed new employees who know how to raise quality hogs.

“We are confident this sale represents an opportunity for our employees to grow with a global leader in the pork industry, and it fulfills our farming business aspirations,” said ProVista owners, Harold and Arthur Rempel.

Said Lazaruk of HyLife, this acquisition enables HyLife to expand its production team and secure hog supply to facilitate future growth.

In April 2019, HyLife announced it sold 50.1 percent of its shares to Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF), a company based in Thailand.

Itochu, a Japanese firm, will continue to own 49.9 percent

of HyLife.

At the time of the sale, CEO Grant Lazaruk said it is a win-win for HyLife, CPF and Manitoba’s agricultural industry. Through this agreement, the company will build on the success of the growing pork business and brands globally.

The sale does mean there are no Manitoba-locally owned shares in HyLife.

HyLife Headquartered in La Broquerie employs over 3,000 people in multiple countries and produces 2.3 million hogs and processes 2 million hogs annually, with the pork sold to over 20 countries. . The company has earned Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies.

Taylor Corporation is one of the largest privately held companies in the US, Mankato, Minnesota based Taylor Corporation and its affiliates employ more than 10,000 people in 38 states and 8 countries. Taylor holdings include a variety of agricultural holdings, the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, the Star Tribune and is one of the top five graphic print conglomerates that serve more than half of the Fortune 500 companies.

Winter Wheat Tip

As the weather warms up, western Canadian farmers are eager to assess their winter wheat stands. Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has been an expert in winter wheat agronomy for almost 30 years and has the best tips for growers.

Early assessment is that winter wheat survived the winter in very good condition. If DUC has one message for growers at this time, it’s to get an early application of nitrogen on winter wheat fields as soon as possible.

Early application of nitrogen is shown to increase yields by 15 to 30 per cent.

“The biggest spring management tip this year is, as soon as you can get equipment on the field, get out there and put your fertilizer on to ensure you maximize your yield potential,” said Ken Gross, an agronomist with Ducks Unlimited Canada and winter wheat expert.

“A little fertility early on will maximize seed head development and help the crop get going vigorously.”

Early application of nitrogen is shown to increase yields by 15 to 30 per cent.

May 29, 2020

Farm Outlook Brightens as Seeding Wraps Up

By Elmer Heinrichs It’s busy in spring, and this year it may have been one of the busiest ever.

The arrival of warmer temperatures and drying winds before the Victoria Day long weekend have improved the outlook on farms across Manitoba as farmers put in the crop.

Seed germination and emergence was slow, but it’s expected to improve rapidly with warm conditions and a large jump in seeding progress.

Farmers in all regions began in early May using a piece meal approach seeding fields dry enough to support farm machinery.

Field peas and spring wheat were two of the first crops to be sown across all regions, followed by some corn acres in the Red River Valley.

Some farmers have also harvested overwintered crops, in cases where crop value remained, and stubble burning has occurred in all regions to manage excess residue.

Field pea, spring wheat, barley, faba bean and grain corn have all seen seeding progress across all regions. Canola and sunflower planting has begun in northwest and eastern regions.

In its May 19 crop report Manitoba agriculture estimated seeding progress at about 42 per cent complete, compared to a threeyear average of 55 per cent. Many farmers are unable to seed corner-corner, as frequent wet spots prevent machinery access. Delays and stuck equipment are common. More than 50 per cent of the region’s potato acres are planted, and while cold temperatures delayed early emergence the crop is now coming along nicely.

Seeding of wheat, barley, oats and corn planting is reported in all parts of Central regions. Earliest planted cereals on lighter well drained fields are emerging and growing well with the warmer conditions. The majority of field pea seeding is done.

Altona farm production advisor Dennis Lange said early conditions were challenging with the wet soils, but farmers really got going this week with the sunny warm weather and drying winds. Seeding of canola, soybeans and sunflowers is progressing rapidly.

Lange anticipates acreages similar to last

year for wheat, canola and corn, with fewer soybeans, a little more oats and about 140,000 acres of field beans. Winter wheat, fall rye and perennial ryegrass fields started out slowly. But winter survival is very good with recovery and growth evident, minimum reseeding expected.

A dramatic weather transition in Eastern regions really accelerated fieldwork and seeding in mid-May. There was significant progress on seeding with at least 50 per cent of overall seeding completed. About 80 per cent of spring wheat acres and 75 per cent of oat acres were planted.

Canola seeding was delayed as farmers focused on corn and cereals, but by the May 19 crop reports show 40 per cent of canola, as well as 25 per cent of sunflowers were seeded and corn planting was 70 per cent complete.

The biggest challenge to producers over the last week has been limited field access due to excess moisture on 2019 soybean and cornfields that were not worked last fall. While progress varies across Eastern regions, about 40 per cent of soybeans are also seeded. Most seeding is finished with some cereals, with a few crops for green feed still to go.

Hay and pastures are greening up and are now growing since temperatures have warmed up. Cattle are being put out onto pasture to get them out of confinement but still need supplement feed.

While farm people didn’t get away from the COVID-19 this spring, they may have found some relief and satisfaction in putting in a new crop. Farmers have been busy seeding, spraying and moving livestock out to pasture.

Steve Siemens putting in 50 acres of soybeans Photo by Elmer Heinrichs near Altona.

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The AgriPost

Farmers to Benefit from Changes to Canada Emergency Business Account The announcement to expand the eligibility to the Canada Emergency Business Account is a big deal for farmers across the country.

“We heard from many farmers that the Canada Emergency Business Account did not work for them, because many did not meet the payroll criteria,” said

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and AgriFood. “We listened to their concerns, and changed the eligibility to ensure farmers without payroll can now access the $40,000 interest-free loan available under CEBA, up to $10,000 of which is forgiven if the rest is repaid

by December 31, 2022.”

In dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, the federal government has consistently said that they are prioritizing speed, and will continue to fill the gaps.

To qualify under the expanded eligibility criteria, applicants with payroll lower than $20,000 would need a business operating account

at a participating financial institution, a Canada Revenue Agency business number, and to have filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return and eligible non-deferrable expenses between $40,000 and $1.5 million. Eligible non-deferrable expenses could include costs such as rent, property taxes, utilities and insurance.

Financial Support Offered to Farmers The Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) has potential to provide up to $670 million directly to farmers from the forgivable portion of Canadian Emergency Business Account interest-free loans.

It is estimated that the expanded eligibility to the CEBA announced on May 19 more than doubled the amount of farmers eligible for the CEBA benefits.

The changes allow an estimated additional 36,566

farms nation-wide to access the CEBA, for a total of over 67,000 eligible farms across Canada. This equates to up to $2.68 billion in interest-free loans to Canadian farmers, 25% of which is forgivable. Each farmer can access up to $40,000 in interest-free loans, which, if paid off by the end of 2022, entitles the farmer up to $10,000 of that amount to be forgiven.

“The announced expansion of the eligibility to the

Canada Emergency Business Account is a big deal for farmers across the country. We heard from many farmers that the Canada Emergency Business Account did not work for them, because many did not meet the payroll criteria. We listened to their concerns, and changed the eligibility to ensure a total of 67,000 farm operations without payroll, 36,500 more, can now access the program,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau,

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “In dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, our Government has consistently said that we are prioritizing speed, and we continue to fill the gaps.

For those farmers who are still unable to access CEBA, they can turn towards the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund. Farmers can be assured that we have their back, and we are continuing to roll-out supports for our agriculture sector.”

Helping the Dairy Sector Mitigate COVID-19 Impact The federal government has announced their intention to amend the Canadian Dairy Commission Act and increase the Canadian Dairy Commission’s (CDC) borrowing limit by $200 million to allow cheese and butter to be temporarily stored and avoid waste. Parliament adopted these amendments that will

increase the CDC’s borrowing limit from $300 million to $500 million.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant fluctuations in the demand for many dairy products. Unfortunately, dairy farmers have had no choice but to discard some of their milk.

Stakeholders throughout the dairy industry supply chain

are working closely with provincial marketing boards to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to a wide variety of dairy products, while implementing measures to temporarily reduce production.

The CDC plays an important regulatory role in supply management system, which allows the dairy

sector to match supply with demand. Increasing the CDC’s borrowing capacity will allow it to purchase and store more butter and cheese. These changes will complement existing CDC programs to help the sector manage surplus milk while delivering essential assistance to keep the supply chain strong.

Federal and Provincial Governments Project to Support Farmers and Food Producers The governments of Canada and Manitoba will be supporting a project, which will allow local food producers and farmers’ markets to sell their products online.

“Farmers and food processors across the agri-food value chain are working hard to make sure Canadians continue to have access to their high quality and affordable food. Our government, along with of our provincial counterparts, is working step by step to support our producers as they provide an essential service to all Canadians,” said federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. “By creating a centralized online

platform for Manitoban producers to sell their products, we are increasing flexibility in the supply chain during a very challenging time.”

“Increasing access to Manitoba’s diverse selection of foods grown or processed in the province will build resiliency in our food system and proactively address concerns about food insecurity,” said Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen. “Developing new marketing options at a time when important outlets such as restaurants, retail and farmers’ markets are disrupted will help strengthen distribution of local food to

Manitoba customers.”

Canada and Manitoba will be providing a total of $160,000 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to Direct Farm Manitoba to purchase a software platform that will allow Manitobans to order food online from local producers and farmers’ markets. The funding will also go toward the development of a network of pickup and delivery options to connect consumers with their orders, and the development of COVID-19 safe handling and packaging practices for producers and processors.

“Canadians have always been able to count on farm-

ers for good, healthy food.

It has never been more important for our food supply to be reliable and diverse,” said Phil Veldhuis, president, Direct Farm Manitoba.

“We have been working hard to connect consumers directly to local farmers. We appreciate this investment to reinforce our local food system at this time of crisis.”

The five-year, $3-billion Canadian Agricultural Partnership includes $2 billion for cost-shared strategic initiatives delivered by the provinces and territories and $1 billion for federal programs and services. For more information, visit canada.ca/Agri-Partnership.

May 29, 2020

Insuring the Risks of Management Managing a business includes risk. What an obvious statement now in the midst of a pandemic and economic crisis in our country. I am impressed at the resiliency of business owners who continue to move forward amidst the uncertainty around us right now.

It is times like these where having a team of great advisors who have your back is crucial. These advisors will help you understand their specific areas of expertise and manage risk.

While not new, many business managers are still unaware of management liability policies and the risks that can be transferred to an insurer for their management liability risks. This coverage is not found in typical commercial or farm liability policies, as it is underwritten by companies that specialize in the legal aspects of navigating legal issues with business management.

It is safe to say that adjusting a property fire loss and managing a wrongful dismissal lawsuit are very different issues and require different areas of expertise.

It is common to see management liability policies in place for non-profit organizations, as they protect their board members. However, the need for this coverage extends well beyond board-run non-profit organizations. Private businesses with investors, publicly traded companies, and may I suggest that even family-owned farms, should consider management liability policies.

Consider a family farm. The farm has employees. The managing partners of the farm have siblings who own portions of the farm, but are not involved in management. The farm has a controller or book-keeper that is given full authority to pay bills, manage accounts and take the noise away from the farm manager who wants to grow a crop. There are management liability exposures in each of these aspects that can be transferred to a management liability policy.

A well-rounded management liability policy can include four areas of coverage: 1. Directors & Officers liability coverage; protecting the individuals who are making decisions on behalf of an organization. 2. Employment Practices Liability; providing insurance coverage for employee exposures such as discrimination, bullying, sexual harassment, unfair dismissal or hiring practices. 3. Employee dishonesty coverage; can be included to provide coverage for employees caught stealing from the organization. The complex claims from this area reveal that most losses occur over a long period of time, which makes it harder for the organization to discover the theft. 4. Fiduciary liability; the final component that can be included and will provide coverage when an organization is making financial decisions on behalf of their employees. Simply making choices on a benefits plan, or an employee retirement plan can create exposures that are covered by this coverage.

Finally, here’s a shameless plug for a great organization here in Canada – the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) is an organization of professionals that invest their time to understand agriculture, so that they can serve their clients better. If you need a referral to an advisor who knows agriculture, feel free to research your options through the advisor link on their website at cafenet.ca.

Do you have questions? Rempel Insurance Brokers Ltd. are open for business throughout this pandemic and are glad to assist you with your insurance needs throughout this and all seasons of life. We wish you health and rich moments with your family throughout this time.

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 204712-6618, email davids@rempelinsurance.com or visit rempelinsurance.com.

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The AgriPost

May 29, 2020

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Manitoba Berry U-Pick Farms to Open this Summer!

For many, summer is not complete without a trip to their local fruit farm to pick fresh, juicy berries. Manitobans can expect to do that again this summer because fruit farms are an essential service providing safe, local food to consumers.

By Harry Siemens For many, summer is not complete without a trip to their local fruit farm to pick fresh, juicy berries.

Manitobans can expect to do that again this summer because fruit farms are an essential service providing safe, local food to consumers.

Fruit farmers are working towards having measures in place, so their staff and customers can stay safe while getting those delicious berries.

The Prairie Fruit Growers Association (PFGA) represents 70 U-Pick farms in Manitoba, working closely with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development Fruit Crops Specialist, Anthony Mintenko, to develop COVID-19 guidelines.

These guidelines are for farmers, their staff, and customers accessed through the PFGA website at pfga.com.

“Some farms may need as-

sistance in controlling the flow of people, by setting up this optional appointment system. It provides our farmers with a tool to help maintain physical distancing,” said PFGA president Colleen Edmunds (Grunthal Berries).

PFGA executive director Angie Cormier (Cormier’s Berry Patch) said they setup these guidelines to reassure the public they are doing everything to provide safe food in a safe environment.

Angie and Darren Cormier own Cormier’s Berry Patch, which is a 15-acre strawberry you-pick farm located just east of La Salle, MB. When contacted, they had removed the straw from the plants that will be picked from this year. They also, planted new plants for picking next year.

She hopes depending on the weather for the beginning of July, to start to the season for strawberries.

While a little too early to

tell what kind of crop to expect; she will not know until the flowers start coming out, possibly early June.

Like everywhere else, doing things differently and changing the protocol should be no surprise. “We want the public to be aware that yes, u-pick farms are going to be open for picking this year,” said Cormier.

“Some changes might be more hand-washing stations, measures put in place for people to be physically distant from one another. However, they’re going out into fields outside. So, hopefully, keeping people distanced from one another shouldn’t be an issue.”

She said the association is setting up an optional appointment system for growers to use if they feel the only way that they can control the flow of people is to have people book an appointment, a time to come and pick. “We’re setting up

a system on our website for growers to use that as an option.”

Cormier said 2019 was dry. Fortunately for their farm being along the river, they could irrigate. And a lot of fruit farms have irrigation set up just for that.

These plants and trees need a steady flow of water.

“We were fortunate that we were able to get through that drought,” she said. “And we had a lot of moisture going into the winter. Hopefully, these plants will have done

Farms want the public to be aware that yes, u-pick farms are going to Pictures all supplied and all last year. be open for picking this year.

okay through the winter, and we didn’t have a cold winter.

We are very hopeful and optimistic that this year will be a great season.”

Angie asks people wanting to come out to pick berries that they go to the association’s website or go to the farm’’ website, and check to see what changes or guidelines are in place so that they are aware when they come to the farm. “We also think there might be an increase in the demand for pre-picked berries, so we’re working

on setting up an online store for those farms that will need it,” said PFGA director Philip Ronald (Riverbend Orchards).

Haskap, Saskatoons, Strawberries, Raspberries and Sour Cherries could be ready for picking mid to late June. Practices will vary based on each farms’ specific needs therefore; customers should contact their local farm before heading out to pick. Please refer to the website for a list of farms and contact information.

Some changes might be more hand-washing stations, measures put in place for people to be physically distant from one another. However, they’re going out into fields outside. So, hopefully, keeping people distanced from one another shouldn’t be an issue. Customers should contact their local farm before heading out to pick.

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The AgriPost

The AgriPost

May 29, 2020

Straight from the Combine to the Seeder

By Les Kletke Daniel Enns has a lot on his plate. When the Agri Post stopped to ask him about seeding he was just making the transition from combine to seeder and not because he was done combining but rather the combine was stuck. It would be a major job to remove so time was better spent getting this year’s crop in.

Enns farms with his father and lives at Horndean but has a farm just east of Vita.

May 20 was there second day of seeding, starting with oats the previous day.

When asked how the corning was coming off Enns noted that filed conditions were not good. “The corn is drier than the land,” he said with a smile. “The corn is dry and not too bad. The

yield is not good, we had some management issues last year and the crop is not what it should have been but now the ground is still too wet.”

He had begun seeding oats and had silage corn, soybeans, alfalfa and millet to seed. “We sell feed,” he said after running through the crops the farm would plant.

They also have their own cow herd that they pasture near Vita and move home for the winter.

While he was focusing on putting this year’s crop in the ground, producing enough feed for their herd and some to market, the corn field had to wait. He expected it would be a day or two until things dried out enough to pull the combine out of the low spot.

His situation was not

unique, not far away another farmer was bailing corn stover from a field that had been too wet to prepare last fall. The operation appeared to be going smoothly when cloud of dust appearing behind the baler.

Enns had not yet decided what would happen to the corn stover on his field. First

he intends on getting some seed in the ground, then back to combining the corn and deal with the corn stalks.

All of that field work on an operation that is nearly two hours from his home. “We do have a camper here in the summer,” he said. “It does cut down on the travel time.”

By Elmer Heinrichs

Daniel Enns made the switch from combine to seeder at Vita.

Photo by Les Kletke

Ag Diploma Graduate Takes Stock and Makes Plans for the Future

By Les Kletke Acey Brinkman grew up west of Gilbert Plains on a farm yard that used to have 1,000 hogs. Today after finishing his Diploma in Agriculture at the University of Manitoba he has returned to that yard and is thinking about restocking it with some other type of livestock.

“We had a 1,000 hogs and a half section of grain,” he said. “But the economics of the times were such that it was difficult. My grandfather had a sawmill and we concentrated on that as our main economic activity.”

His love of working with animals had never left and today he is considering bringing back some type of live-

stock but is not sure what. “I have always loved anything with 4 legs,” he said with a chuckle. “So I am considering a lot of things, I don’t have to rush into. I will see what the best fit is. For his final Diploma presentation he chose to work with a sheep budget. He said that he did a good job on the budget but it did not show a great return.

Now he will wait and see.

Brinkman is currently working at a finisher barn near his home. “I enjoy the work and it is a good job at this time.” he said, “The Covid thing has thrown a wrench into a lot of things so I am waiting to see how this sorts out and what will make sense.”

When asked about the best

things he brought home from the Diploma course, Brinkman is quick to answer. “The course does a good job of explaining why you do things,” he said. “So often on the farm we do things because that is the way they are done. The Diploma program provides the background information and an explanation. For the crop producers it explains what the labels on pesticides mean and how dangerous they can be.”

He also values the contacts he has made in two years and has intent of using them for the rest of his life. “I don’t think you could have a flat tire in Manitoba and not have a friend to call,” he said.

“You make contacts from

across the province.”

He said the business training is what has taught him to take his time in choosing an enterprise. “It does not matter what kind of operation you are going to start, you need some outside capital,” he said. “That usually comes from on off farm job, and you need to work off farm until your farm operation can support you.”

That is what he plans on doing for now. The hog barn down the road provides his income while he continues to work on budgets for other livestock enterprises and waits out the effects of COVID-19. With thoughtful planning he will be ready for whatever course he chooses.

MCGA Appoints Board Member to Fill Vacant Seat Manitoba Canola Growers (MCGA) board table was left with one vacant seat following this year’s fall election. Earlier this year, an open application process was launched to start the appointment process to fill the seat. Nine highly qualified farmers from across the province submitted applications sharing their interest in representing canola farmers in Manitoba. From these applicants, Manitoba Canola Growers are pleased to announce the appointment of Nicolea Dow to the board of directors.

“The selection committee was pleased to see a strong slate of candidates seeking the position. The fact that Nicolea excelled within such a compet-

itive field gives us confidence that she will be an outstanding MCGA director,” said Bill Nicholson, MCGA Director.

“Even early in her farming career she is clearly respected in her local farm community, and her education and work in the Ag industry have provided her with skills and experience that will be a valuable addition to our organization.”

Dow is a fourth-generation farmer working alongside her dad, and brother on their family farm near Portage la Prairie. She has a Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) in agronomy from the University of Manitoba and spent several years working for Bayer before deciding to return to the

Canada’s Meat Packing Sector Needs Oversight

family farm full time. Dow’s experience in agronomy and research will be an asset to the board.

“I am truly thrilled to be joining the Manitoba Canola Growers board,” shared newly appointed board member, Nicolea Dow. “As a young farmer, it’s a real honour to be given this opportunity. Having my skills and experience in this industry recognized in this way has both a humbling and affirming experience. My grandfather served as the president of the Sugar Beet board for nearly 3 decades and I am proud to continue that legacy of service to the agriculture community in this way.”

Dow shared insight into her

hopes for her role with the board. “With the challenges that canola has had the last number of years, from pest problems to high input costs and global trade conflicts, farms are having a harder time seeing the profits they have in years past. However, I believe that challenge always gives rise to innovation and new opportunities, and I am very pleased about joining the Manitoba Canola Growers at this time. The vision of Manitoba Canola Growers of maximizing farmers’ profits through sustainable production is very much in line with my personal values as a farmer, and especially relevant in these days.”

The COVID-19 crisis has shone a spotlight into the dark shadows in the meat packing industry.

Industry concentration in search of economies of scale now means that upwards of 85 per cent of Canadian beef comes from three processing plants owned by two non-Canadian companies.

Seventy per cent of the country’s beef supply comes from two plants in Alberta first affected by COVID19.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has been flagging packer concentration for years. In a recent report the organization noted that in 1988, there were 119 federally inspected beef packing plants in Canada, all Canadian-owned. It blames the focus on increasing export volumes for the decline in local processing.

“The pursuit of maximum exports has resulted in a corporate beef sector that extracts all it can from workers, farmers, taxpayers, consumers and agricultural ecosystems,” it said.

Nearly half of the 2,000 workers in the Cargillowned Alberta plant have tested positive to COVID19, which points to a stunning failure by its management and public health officials to protect the health and safety of its workers.

It’s also become clear in the aftermath that this travesty is about more than plant safety. These plants rely heavily on imported workers who routinely share accommodation and transportation and for whom it was impossible to self-isolate.

Closing the plants to bring the situation under control has pushed back to the farm and feedlots where upwards of 130,000 head of cattle are on hold, increasing feeding costs and depressing prices. Similarly pork processors have been temporarily closed forcing some hog producers to euthanize young animals because they have run out of room in their barns. The repercussions have rippled up through the supply chain, creating shortages and higher prices for consumers, and now, for taxpayers.

Governments have stepped up to provide $100 million in assistance to cattle and pork producers, along with $77.5 million to the Canadian meat-packing companies to make their plants safer. It all leaves a bad taste that threatens to drive consumers away.

COVID-19 has shown us rapid behavioural change is possible, so it’s conceivable to see this as a turning point in our psyche around consuming animal products.

Well-managed livestock operations, with emphasis on well-managed are important nutrient recyclers.

As well, turning forages into protein through cattle is often done on land that is otherwise unsuitable for growing crops. Canadians are right to demand improvements to this country’s meat-supply chain. But abandoning it altogether would leave us even more vulnerable to future food shortages. COVID-19’s effect on North America’s food chain has yet to be determined, but what the pandemic has demonstrated is that the meat-packing industry is in need of rigorous oversight.

And perhaps Canadians will have to accept slightly higher prices at the meat counter in exchange for a reliable food supply and safe working conditions for those who provide it.

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May 29, 2020

The AgriPost

The AgriPost

Just Another Manitoba Spring for this Farm

By Les Kletke Darren Seward says it is just another Manitoba spring, his seeding operation was not far from the usual schedule and he wonders if there is a normal pattern at all.

Seward farms with his brother Daniel and mother Margret at Dominion City and on May 20 he was pulling on to a field near Ridgeville. He was done seeding cereals, primarily wheat and oats. He had another day left of planting canola and would then move into soybeans.

While he was moving on to the field with the planter his brother was broadcasting fertilizer that would be incorporated with the seeding operation. “We use a blend and broadcast it before seeding,” said Seward. “We are pretty much zero till so we broadcast the fertilizer before seeding.”

He expected to be done seeding by May 24 if the weather held and it did. Seward had begun planting on May 3 and said conditions varied across their land. “We have a few

Darren Seward was catching up to his brother who was spreading granular fertilizer. The move to zero till Photo by Les Kletke on the farm has meant some changes in fertilizer application.

different soil types from light to really heavy land so some of it was a little tacky but we were able to go cross all of it,” he said. “It is what we expected at seeding.”

The farm also has a beef herd of 250 cows and he had 15 cows left to calf. As part of that operation he was planning to seed some green feed and under seed it to alfalfa.

Seward’s calving season is almost complete. “Calving went well, he said. “We are

almost done and things went pretty smoothly.”

He has planted some corn that will be used for feed and said that while it has gone in a bit later than usual he did not change any seeding plans. “It was still early enough that we could stay with the varieties we had chosen,” he said. “We would have changed if things had gotten much later but at this time we were not concerned.

There is lots of time for it to

catch up depending on the weather from now on.”

He did voice some optimism about the growing season that was beginning and hope that it did not take him through the drought and excess moisture of last year.

“We had an incredible dry spell and then the moisture in fall made for some tough conditions at harvest, hopefully we don’t go through that again,” he said as he moved back to the tractor.

A Lot of Firsts for the Graduating Class

By Les Kletke Shawn Williment knows the School of Agriculture graduating class of 2020 is making history, some of it they knew going in and some of it was thrust upon them.

“We are the first class to graduate after the revision to the program,” said Williment who has returned to the family acreage near La Rivière.

He grew up on the acreage but the land was rented to an area farmer.

“I had a front row seat for agriculture though we did not farm,” he said. “I saw what was happening and that attracted me to agriculture and the Diploma program.”

Williment spent some time working in the political system before going into the program, and his interest in politics showed while attending school. He served the last year as the Faculty of Agriculture Students’ Organization, student representative

on UMSU council and was elected Senior Stick of the Faculty this spring. He will return in the fall to pursue a degree in Agri Business.

Williment was chosen covaledictorian of the 2020 class but is not sure when he will get to use the remarks he prepared. “That is another first,” he said. “We might be having a virtual graduation ceremony sometime in July, when everyone is done seeding and has a bit more time.

Shawn Williment was one of the co-valedictorians of the Class of 2020 from the School of Agriculture and is still hoping for a virtual grad ceremony.

That is still to be decided.”

When asked what he intended to say in his remarks as valedictorian, he replied, “The Diploma program delves you into one big family.”

“It turns a group of students from across the province and further into one community.

People you know you will be able to call on later in your career.” He said that while the bond has always been a part of the program today’s technology allows students even more opportunity to stay in touch.

There was a highlight at his time in the School. “The new program that looked at current issues, we had a class where we would discuss the issues of the day, whether it was rail blockades or the canola trade issue with China. It was about critical thinking and looking at the issues in agriculture.”

For now he is employed by an agribusiness and deals with farmers and their seed and chemical issues. “We have a number of plots on farms and I work with the farmers to get the plots in and to help with the evaluation that will be taking place as the plots go to harvest,” he said.

May 29, 2020

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Assiniboine Awarded NSERC Agriculture Research Grant Assiniboine Community College has received a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant of $190,880 to build applied research capacity in support of Manitoba agriculture, innovation and sustainability.

“As Manitoba’s Ag College, we are thrilled to receive NSERC support that allows us to further our contributions to the provincial agriculture sector, assisting employers in a tangible, solution-oriented manner,” said Dr. Deanna Rexe, Vice President Academic at Assiniboine.

The research grant spreads over two years, enabling the expansion of applied research projects while furthering the college’s partnerships with industry. This research will enhance regional innovation, productivity and competitiveness in the agriculture sector.

The research project’s goals will help to establish a partnership with Vermillion Growers, Manitoba’s first large-scale vegetable greenhouse that has faculty researchers at Assiniboine studying sustainable crop production technologies and integrated pest management solutions.

It will further research in the potato sector using a partnership with the Manitoba Horticulture Productivity Enhancement Council (MHPEC) to generate knowledge, technologies, and products that will enhance potato production and industry sustainability.

Together with Ag-Quest Inc., research will identify the most effective fungal strains to promote early seeding potency and growth in annual field crops grown on adverse soils.

As well researchers will collaborate with the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG) to develop survey protocols for disease and insect pests, soil fertility, and agronomy. This is in support of Roquette’s $400M pea processing facility currently under construction near Portage la Prairie.

“Combined, these applied research projects build our capacity as a college to work with and support Manitoba’s Ag sector with industry-specific knowledge and recommendations,” said Tim Hore, Dean of Agriculture & Environment at Assiniboine.

Faculty researchers Dr. Poonam Singh, Dr. Sajjad Rao and Dr. Baljeet Singh will provide scientific leadership to the applied research projects. Students in agriculture and environment programs at Assiniboine will be involved in field and lab activities related to the research, as part of the ‘learn by doing’ philosophy integrated into the college’s programs.

Assiniboine’s program leadership in agriculture and environment education began in the 1980s with farm production and agribusiness management programs. In 2011, a certificate in Horticultural Production program was developed around four key sectors of production horticulture: greenhouse, nursery, fruits and vegetables, and parks and landscape. Four years later, a post-graduate program in Sustainable Food Systems was introduced, emphasizing innovation in food production, food security, and post-harvest management to address a gap in hands-on training related to food production safety in the Prairies.

Programs in the college’s School of Agriculture & Environment continue to be attractive to students, with many forming waitlists each year.

Since 2010, Assiniboine has been the recipient of federal Growing Forward funding to support Manitoba’s agri-food industry, including the Field to Fork applied research initiative linking the farm gate to the consumer.

Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the college recently received $950,000 from the Ag Action Manitoba Program for industry-driven applied research. This research contributes to the development of agricultural knowledge and skills and improves competitiveness and sustainability in Manitoba’s agriculture, agri-food and agri-product sectors.

Dr. Sajjad A. Rao, faculty researcher in Assiniboine Community College’s School of Agriculture and Environment.

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May 29, 2020

KAP Launches “Growing Manitoba Together” Campaign Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), the voice of Manitoba farmers, has launched “Growing Manitoba Together”, a campaign to thank the thousands of Manitobans in the supply chain who are working to ensure that food continues to make its way to homes across the province and around the world amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Getting food from our farms to your table requires an entire team of dedicated and hard-working Manitobans doing their part each and every day,” said KAP president Bill Campbell. “Growing Manitoba Together is our way of saying thank you to the thousands of Manitobans who are uniting us around our shared goal.”

KAP will be distributing “Growing Manitoba Together” stickers across Manitoba and throughout the supply chain, encouraging people to share their story on social media about how they, or someone they know, are helping to grow our great province using the hashtag #mbgrow. We are also encouraging children to draw, paint, and color posters to celebrate food and where it comes from to share on social media.

Over the coming weeks, KAP will be thanking groups like truck drivers, grocery store employees, railway workers, restaurants owners and their staff, meat and food processors, farm suppliers, and individual commodity groups who have stepped up to support Manitobans. As well, KAP will be applauding the front-line workers who are keeping Manitobans safe during this unprecedented time.

“Food has a way of bringing people together, and that’s a lesson COVID-19 has reinforced for all of us,” Campbell added. “We look forward to being able to share meals together again soon, but for now, we celebrate the most important part of any meal, giving thanks for those who got it to our table in the first place.”

For more information on the campaign, visit kap.ca/growingmanitoba-together. Follow KAP on social media @KAP_Manitoba on Twitter and Instagram, and @KeystoneAgProducersMB on Facebook.

The AgriPost

Pea Plant Breeder Creates New Footsteps

By Les Kletke Pete Giesbrecht is following in his father’s footsteps by graduating from the School of Agriculture at the University of Manitoba, and that is not unusual, there have been many multi generational family members who pass through the School. What is unusual is that it has been nearly 50 years since the elder Giesbrecht walked the halls of the School.

“I took Dad along one day,” said the younger Giesbrecht. “He really enjoyed the day and visiting with some of the instructors. Ed Giesbrecht graduated in 1972 and had a career in Credit Unions in southern Manitoba. His name sake Ed, known as Pete has plans to enter the business world as well.

Giesbrecht has been involved in breeding new varieties of field peas and said he is only a couple years away from having his own varieties on the market. He has been

working with a North Dakota firm, “Because the plant breeder regulations are a bit better there.”

He is hopeful things will change in Canada and his varieties will find their way to the marketplace.

When asked what he emphasizes while developing new varieties, he said, “The first is always yield, farmers want more yield, then you have to consider the disease package, and over all agronomy.”

“Protein in also a consideration,” he explained adding that several lines he has been working on have shown good promise and he feels they could be commercial in 2 or 3 years.

Giesbrecht said he has always been interested in international agriculture and particularly Cuba.

“That is one of the reasons for the interest in peas,” he said. “I would consider doing some work internationally from home.” That may be possible with developing technology.

He decided to go back

Pete Giesbrecht graduated from the School of Agriculture almost 50 years after his father and is working on developing his own pea varieties for western Canada.

Photo by Les Kletke

to school after his kids had left home. “The kids were gone and it was something I had always considered, so I thought it was a good time.” he said.

The opportunity to connect with international students at the school was a highlight for him. “It was easy to connect with them,” he said happily.

“Maybe it was my age but I found it easy to relate to the international students and

build a relationship.”

Acceptance by other students was not a problem and he said instructors were almost like equals. “They were very good and it was enjoyable to spend time in discussion with them.”

He has no plans to go back to school. Instead he hopes to develop his seed business and work on releasing some new pea varieties that will work in western Canada.

The AgriPost

From Canada Goose Parkas To Much Needed Medical Masks and Gowns!

By Joan Airey Deasil Custom Sewing Inc. was down to four employees because the pandemic caused Canada Goose Parkas to slow down production.

Deasil Custom Sewing Inc. is a company owned by Ron Funk and his wife Cheryl Digby.

“My wife Cheryl thought we should make some masks to donate to the community.

I thought it was an excellent idea and when Fabric Land in Winkler heard of our project

they donated some material.

We made a thousand masks to be used locally and people donated money to help cover the cost of the masks they received,” said Ron. “The six thousand dollars they donated went back to help others in need five thousand dollars going to Main Street Winnipeg and one thousand will be donated to the Agassiz Medical Centre.”

Then orders started coming in from other communities and medical facilities. When

Farmers, trucking companies, government services, grocery stores, manufacturing facilities, police, assisted living facilities; meat processing plants, facility cleaning companies and the list goes on as who is purchasing the masks and gowns from Ron and Cheryl’s company.

they could not find elastic Ron and Cheryl decided a mask had to be designed without using elastic. “Cheryl worked with Shelley Ediger owner of Garmatech to design a mask using a jersey stretch fabric or black elastic with a wire nose bridge,” explained Ron. “The masks are 65% polyester and 35% cotton. To date we have made ten thousand masks and are working on orders for over forty thousand more.”

Farmers, trucking companies, government services, grocery stores, manufacturing facilities, police, assisted living facilities; meat processing plants, facility cleaning companies and the list goes on as who is purchasing the masks said Ron. “Since April 6, Cheryl and I have virtually not been home. Last night was our first evening home since this began. This is not a complaint, in fact the opposite, it is a great problem for us to have,” added Ron. “We were down to four employees a month ago and today we are at fifty employees plus

fourteen home sewers. We have also engaged a large Winnipeg company to assist us with some of the cut and sew operations. The pressure to deliver very quickly is immense. Now we are having daily government meetings to explain our production status for the forty thousand medical gowns we received an order for. ” Demand for masks has grown since I first interviewed Ron Funk and they have produced a hundred thousand masks and are still producing masks because of the demand.

“We have been selling gowns to the Manitoba Dental Association so they can start up their practices. The dentists were able to open up earlier this week but they were short on PPE and we were able to help them get going by providing them with thousands of gowns. We have enough staff we can ship masks out within 24 hours. Mask shipping is free,” said Funk.

Deasil Custom Sewing Inc. is located in Morden, Manitoba. Their site is deasil.ca.

Research Shows Viruses in Feed Survive Transport

By Harry Siemens Research continues to move forward on so many fronts in the pig business as research conducted by the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) has confirmed the ability of viruses to survive in feed under real-world conditions.

Laboratory research shows viruses can survive in feed ingredients during transport over long distances.

As a next step, in partnership with the SHIC, Pipestone Applied Research conducted a demonstration project this spring where they trucked viruses around the country in feed measuring the half-life, degradation, and survivability under real-life conditions.

SHIC executive director Dr. Paul Sundberg said researchers looked at endemic viruses such as Seneca Valley Virus, PRRS and PED in feed ingredients such as soybean meal, vitamins and amino acids.

What gave them confidence in this area of study is that the demonstration project mimicked what happened in the laboratory. It confirmed that, even out in the real world, as trucks transport these things

around the country that soybean products seem to be protective of the different viruses.

“They were able to survive longer in soybean products than others,” said Dr. Sundberg. “We don’t know the reason for that yet but hypothesize it has something to do with the protein content. It may also be something to do with the water content that’s within the products.”

He said while not absolute, it certainly mimicked what they saw in the laboratory, and the viruses survived longer in protein products like soybeans. They were limited in their survival in vitamins and amino acid ingredients.

“The good thing, we were able to maybe validate the experimental results in the laboratories by taking it out and looking at in under more realistic conditions.”

Dr. Sundberg said the evidence thus far is the transmission of viruses in feed is possible, and the next step is for the industry to figure out the next step and find a solution.

Still, with feed-related research, the executive director of the SHIC said by sourcing

feed ingredients from foreign animal disease-free regions, the risk of importing these infections in feed is minimal.

Dr. Sundberg said they tried to get an idea about those that are endemic within the US and apply those to the standard feed ingredients.

As mentioned, the researchers used soybean meals, vitamins and amino acid ingredients then researchers used those viruses that are endemic to the US but did not use any viruses that were outside of the norm. “We didn’t use African Swine Fever or those types of things because we couldn’t do that, and we didn’t want to take a chance on doing such a thing,” he said. “But we wanted to un-

derstand the survivability of the endemic viruses in these feed ingredients. We used Seneca Valley Virus because it is in the same family as Foot and Mouth Disease, so we think that it gives a pretty good indication of the way that Foot and Mouth Disease Virus would perform under similar conditions.”

Dr. Sundberg encouraged producers to talk to their feed suppliers about their source of feed ingredients and mitigations to avoid contamination.

If producers source ingredients from areas free of African Swine Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease or Classical Swine Fever, there is minimal risk that they would import those viruses in the feed.

Dr. Paul Sundberg encouraged producers to talk to their feed suppliers about their source of feed ingredients and mitigations to avoid contamination such as from African Swine Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease or Classical Swine Fever to reduce risk of importing those viruses in the feed. Feed sourced from FMD free regions poses minimal risk.

May 29, 2020

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Beating the Rain

By Les Kletke John Pow was hoping to get his fertilizer on before the foretasted rains and the threatening clouds on May 20. Pow did get his fertilizer spread and the rain did not materialize; now he is hoping for moisture to activate the nutrients and bring the crop along.

Pow farms at Woodmore and has an 85 cow beef herd. Calving started in April and as of May 20 he had 10 cows left to calf. His herd is primarily Angus genetics and he raises the calves and sells them in the fall, in a normal year.

“We don’t really know what the markets will bring so I am not sure what we will do this year.” said Pow. He has the option of keeping some feeders.

He tries to put up dry feed but that is not always possible. “I try to get up 100% dry feed,” he said.

“But that doesn’t always work. Last year I had to wrap some bales because conditions did not allow me to get the feed up dry.”

He was spreading a nitrogen potash blend on his alfalfa which was an established stand. “It came through winter pretty well,” he said. “I only take to cuts so that I have a bit more standing stubble to hold the snow.

That helps it overwinter.” He said the previous winter was particularly hard on alfalfa stands but the snow cover this year seems to have helped. “When we do have an early thaw and things ice over, that is really hard on the crop, and that is what happened the previous year,” he said. “I made an effort to leave more stubble to hold the snow.”

He would like to get his first cut off by the end of June but is not sure that will be the case this year.

“Thing are off to a slow start this year with the cool spring we have had. That sets everything back and can make that second cut later and not leave enough time for regrowth,” he said.

Pow is following his usual practices for hay land and feed practices while at the same time watching the beef markets. As of yet he is not sure what his market plans will be. He did not rule out buying more cattle if the market was down but would prefer to be selling.

“We don’t know what the markets will do, but for now we are concerned about getting the crop going and putting up some feed. We need some warm weather,” he said.

John Pow was hoping to get some nitrogen on his alfalfa before the rain came.

Photo by Les Kletke

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The AgriPost

May 29, 2020

Newspapers Shutting Down Marks the End of an Era

By Elmer Heinrichs The closure of eight Manitoba rural newspapers will have a negative effect on thousands of people in small communities and towns. Many of these papers provided some news of interest and added to life in these communities.

The news that Postmedia shut down eight community newspapers in Manitoba came as a shock to many. Many storied papers, some over 100 years old, printed their last editions recently.

These included the Winkler Times, Morden Times, Altona Red River Valley Echo and Carman Valley Leader, as well as newspapers at Selkirk, Gimli, Stonewall/Teulon, and the Prairie Farmer.

While blamed on a reduction of advertising due to COVID-19, the truth is many of these newspapers have struggled for some time.

And while one can debate the Postmedia newspaper model, the business side of the failure isn’t the most significant part.

Community newspapers are essential to holding locally elected officials accountable. They reflect the communities they serve in that they share what’s important to their readers.

They are both a way for the community to see itself, and a way to help challenge the community as it progresses. It’s a relationship that requires something from both sides.

A newspaper can play a very important part in helping community organizations get the word out about their programs and services. It can and should support the community at every turn. That inspires readers, which then inspire local businesses to support their paper, not just because it’s the neighbourly thing to do, but because it also helps them reach potential customers.

As long as all three parts continue to work – the newspaper giving readers strong stories and solid information, the readers continuing to celebrate their community through their local newspaper, and the businesses reaching the readers through advertising it’s a solid relationship.

In some of the communities that lost their newspaper there was another newspaper option. For those the consequences are not as severe. For others they are losing their only newspaper. That’s something that will affect the fabric of the community. No longer will readers read about themselves in their own paper.

Community newspapers were started as independent businesses, featuring some dedicated people who at times worked through the night to ensure the community had a paper the next day.

Now these communities are left with regional weeklies, the dailies, radio and television, and specialized newspapers serving various industry groups, i.e.

South-East Agri-Post.

Focus on Moisture Content of Ensiled Forages and Dairy Diets

As a dairy nutritionist, I have been balancing more than the usual number of lactation dairy diets in the last few months. One of the biggest reasons for these requests is the change in moisture content of the producers’ ensiled feeds or they are running out of one particular silage or haylage. As part of my diet-balancing protocol, I ask them for an up-to-date forage- and TMR-nutrient analysis.

Upon receiving them, I first focus upon the moisture content of these samples, before going over the rest of the lab paper. Even modest changes to the moisture content of ensiled forages and dairy TMRs can significantly dilute the total amount of nutrients eaten by dairy cows, which are turned into milk.

For example, I received a recent phone call from a young dairy producer that milks about 100 dairy cows.

He was concerned that his lactating dairy cows (re: 160 DIM) were eating slightly more lactating dairy TMR, yet producing about 480 less litres of milk on every twoday pickup. He also told me that other than drying up about a dozen cows in the last week and hitting a slightly wetter spot in his corn silage

There are many methods to determine moisture content of taken samples, in which the common Koster tester does a good job in this field

bunker, there weren’t many changes going on in his barn.

By the end of our call, I asked him to take a moisture sample test of his corn silage to determine its recent dry matter nutrient content.

Consider the following table (see Chart 1), which shows the initial moisture content of this producer’s dairy diet with a corn silage dry matter (DM) of 33% (re: 100 – 67% moisture) harvested in the fall; compared to a recent “wet spot” in the silage bunker of 27.5% dry matter (72.5% moisture).

This is a good demonstration in which these lactating dairy cows ate the same amount of total “As Fed” feed that was put in front of them, yet consumed fewer essential nutrients due to a 5.5% precipitous drop in

the dry matter content of the corn silage. As a result, these cows ate 1.3 kg of actual dry diet on a daily basis. And if we use the universal rule of thumb that 1.0 kg of wellbalanced nutritious dairy diet (dmi, basis) equals about 2.0 kg of average lactation milk production (Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois); then 1.3 kg of lost dry ration intake parallels about 2.6 kg of lost milk production. Thus, it largely accounts for the deficit of 500 litres of milk reported every two-days.

Interestingly, these same moisture rules also apply to excessively dry TMRs (caused by ensiled feeds such as dry corn silage), since they have a lower physical density that makes the ration easy for the cattle to sort out the smaller particles, such

Chart 1.

as the better tasting grains.

Sub-clinical acidosis, and other digestive upsets are frequently caused by sorted dairy diets that lack enough moisture to hold them together. Adding water directly to the mixer wagon is the most common practice to correct the density of dry dairy diets.

Whether dealing with ideal, wet or dry silage and the final dairy TMR - dairy producers should choose the best method that works for them in determining their moisture content. Subsequently, there are many methods to determine moisture content of taken samples, in which the common Koster tester does a good job in this field. It’s essentially an electrical dryer that is specifically designed for drying forages and wet feeds, and then determine their moisture content in as little as 20 - 25 minutes.

Consequently, I often recommend that ensiled silages should be tested for moisture at least once a month, while high-moisture feeds such as wet distillers’ grains are tested every load.

Lastly, the lactation TMR put in front of the cows might be tested from every couple of days to at least once a week. By using these guidelines, one can finetune their dairy feeding program, which is helpful to ensure that high-milk producing dairy cows are eating enough nutritious feed.

Grow Projects to Help Meet Food Needs During Pandemic

By Elmer Heinrichs The first priority for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is to make sure its ongoing programs can be maintained, said Jim Cornelius, executive director of the Winnipeg-based foodbank , a partnership of 15 churches and church-based agencies working together to meet food needs in the developing world.

“Our partners in the field are working creatively to do that,” said Cornelius, noting that it also gave them additional funds to buy protective equipment and cleaning supplies.

They are also modifying feeding programs by asking people not to go to central locations to get food, or by restricting the number of people who can get food at one time. In some countries they are delivering food to homes. “They are doing this to protect beneficiaries and staff,” Cornelius said.

Once it knows its regular feeding programs can be maintained, the Foodgrains Bank turns its attention to new groups of people facing hunger, he added, noting there is a sense of urgency for the organization. “We don’t know when the peak

of the crisis will hit, but for many it is right now,” he said.

One thing that helps the Foodgrains Bank respond to food needs is that it operates like a bank, he said. Money it collected last year is being used now to help people during the pandemic. “This means we don’t have to appeal for money, and then wait for it to come in before we can respond,” he said.

But, he added, “We need people to give again this year to replenish the bank.”

The good news is virtually all the 200 or so growing projects, where farmers

grow and sell crops to donate money to the Foodgrains Bank, plan to operate again this year.

Last year, these community projects raised $7.1 million.

Together with donations from other Canadians, $13 million was donated to the Foodgrains Bank last year, matched up to four times by the Canadian government.

Things are challenging for Canadians today but, “We still have food. Others are facing a genuine food crisis. We need to reach out to them. Without that we are looking at famine conditions,” said Cornelius.

The AgriPost

High Level of Resistance Making it More Difficult to Control Weeds this Spring

By Harry Siemens Tammy Jones, Weed Specialist, with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development told farmers at St. Jean Farm Days in January losing the weed battle on their farm could well mean losing the farm.

Jones is active on Twitter keeping her followers up to date on what she is seeing out there and making sure farmers understand the changing weed scenes.

In Manitoba, the cold spring and snow was a bit of a frustration that slowed seeding progress. “The perennial weeds and the winter annuals are having a great time, so lots of stinkweed, shepherd’s purse, flixweed, dandelion, Canada thistle, quack grass out there,” said Jones.

“Some weeds can get ahead of us, and so it’s good to either try to use tillage or herbicides or something to get that under control before we get a crop in the ground.”

She said some might think and hope the cold would kill the weeds but, weeds are weeds for a reason, and they tend to survive some of those cooler temperatures more than some crops.

While seeding is progressing in different parts of Manitoba, the annual crops are either slow to get into the ground or slow to come out of the ground. “The weeds are getting ahead, creating some messy fields and urgency to control those weeds within the right staging,” said Jones.

Fertilizers need to go on the field while dealing with ruts and wet areas through tillage, causing some disturbance of the soil. And using those tillage implements in the field before any weed control does slow some weed growth.

Before using sprayers, farmers need to wait for there to be active growth again to gain uptake with

herbicides.

She suggested using tillage more aggressively for some of those green patches in the field, and if it is too wet to till it may be not too wet to spray. Maybe there is a window there for that pre-seed herbicide application, to clean up some of the weeds, before proceeding with light tillage to get rid of ruts, or apply fertilizer, and then get in there quite quickly with the crop.

When farmers use vertical methods for improving the seedbed, in her opinion, it is not as useful for fertilizer incorporation, and it is not necessarily a great weed control tool. Farmers attempt many tasks with one job, and sometimes that does not quite work out.

“I think vertical tillage is for those times where it’s perfect for trash management, making sure the seedbed is the way you want it, not so effective for other things you are looking to do at the same time.”

In January, her topic of losing the weed control battle could result in losing the farm, she said economics play into every farming decision, or they should. There are many reasons why weed control is essential in maintaining profitability for crop production. Studies in the 80s in Alberta showed if one weed emerges a week before the crop, it is as damaging to the yield potential as a hundred weeds emerging three weeks after the crop emerges. So, crop competition with those weeds certainly impacts yield potential.

Jones said certain weeds cause more issues such as water hemp because it is such a prolific seed producer, up to a million seeds per plant. Biennial wormwood is another problematic weed with high seed production, and it is

challenging to manage. The other factor with water hemp is high levels of herbicide resistance to several different herbicide modes of action. “Very challenging to see fewer herbicide tools also with wild oats, green foxtail, redroot pigweed that has group two resistances, Kochia with glyphosate resistance, too.”

She said weeds are not getting any easier to manage since herbicides are not any more plentiful and have very few new modes of action. “We must work with all the tools that we have, tillage, cover crops, altering seeding dates, maybe taking something off for silage, or hay, instead of taking it to maturity,” Jones said.

“We have too much weed pressure in there, or even just patch management to ensure that we’re not having seed set and then having an even bigger problem next year.”

Jones noted that farmers need to look at the bottom line. “Make smart decisions now, invest in our future now, so that we’re not behind the ‘eight ball’, for years to come.”

Tammy Jones, Weeds Specialist, with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development checked out the weed situation earlier this spring said that last year’s corn stubble did not look that green until she took a little walk into the field.“Can’t afford to leave these growing much longer,” she noted.

May 29, 2020

COVID-19 Restrictions Causing Pig Pricing Discrepancies

By Harry Siemens

Bill Alford, general manager of Hams Marketing Services Co-op of Headingley said changes in the geographic hog producing and marketing areas plus COVID-19 restrictions cause significant pig pricing discrepancies in Canada.

Alford said the hog industry has moved to a more national-based reference model or reference market, off the USDA instead of a negotiated market-driven price formula here in western Canada or across Canada for that matter. With fewer hogs bought on a negotiated basis, such as the singular market in the western corn belt of Iowa or Southern Minnesota. They are making up a smaller portion of the hogs bought.

“The industry is using the national constructed price or national reference report on all formulas in western Canada and out east, too. Most of them, and there’s still some other ones in Iowa, Southern Minnesota based formulas, but not strictly negotiated,” he said.

That small geographical area is in regions that have shut down packing plants due to the pandemic. The result is, they are getting no or very poorly competitive bids. This is mainly due to constraint capacity, producing a very wide-spread in the pricing.

But in western Canada pricing from Maple Leaf, HyLife or Olywest is different. They do not use a singular market to construct the price, so there are cutout components in that national price and other purchase arrangements.

“It’’ not a hundred percent cutoutbased unlike what Quebec introduced last year, where the cutout skyrocketed from an all-time low; five or six weeks ago an all-time high,” said Alford.

As these packing plants shut down it is putting constraints on the supply of meat which in turn creates a very vola-

CFA Seeks Billions for Agriculture Fund The Canadian Federation of Agriculture has asked the Federal Government to provide an Agriculture and Agri-Food Emergency Fund of $2.6 billion to help maintain food security in Canada in response to COVID-19.

This amount is based on estimates of the immediate impacts of COVID-19 provided by agricultural commodity groups across the country. The emergency fund is required because of the shutdown of the food service sector, processing plant closures and other supply chain disruptions and increases in labour and associated costs. It should be noted that this figure was representative to the losses as of last week and losses and additional costs will continue to mount as farmers deal with the impacts of COVID-19, highlighting the continued importance of enhancing AgriStability support.

This emergency funding is for impacts which are not eligible under any of the government programs announced to date to combat the impacts of COVID19. These extraordinary costs are also not covered by existing Business Risk Management programs offered by Agriculture and AgriFood Canada.

The emergency fund would address the immediate impacts of COVID-19 and should only be seen as the first phase of emergency funding, to persevere through the issues the sector is facing today. It is very probable that more support will be required in the coming year as unforeseen challenges continue to emerge throughout the food supply chain. Additional funding will be required to maintain food security in Canada. “Imagine if six months ago someone had told

Canada to stock up on face masks, ventilators and personal protective equipment, our nation would be in a much stronger position to weather this storm. A month ago, we offered our government a similar warning for a different looming problem, the potential collapse of components of our food supply chain. ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ could never be more true,” said Mary Robinson, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. “We understand that the entire country is under duress. Agriculture is a unique player in our economy.

Not only does agriculture create value for our economy, act as stewards of our environment and employ over two million Canadians, agriculture also provides us the unique benefit of food, not only for Canada but for the world at large,” added Robinson.

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Bill Alford, general manager of Hams Marketing Services Co-op of Headingley said changes in the geographic hog producing and marketing areas plus COVID-19 restrictions is causing significant pig pricing discrepancies across Canada.

tile hog market. In some areas in the US price has become secondary without the availability of a packer.

“But fortunately in western Canada, the plants remained open rallying into this with meat prices going up, so at least getting a bit of a recovery,” he said.

Alford said for a cutout price they also use USDA reference reports and markets. In the US there is the USDA cutout that is reported daily with the main prime cuts such as hams and bellies of the hog carcass. These prime cuts are traded daily to comprise an overall cutout price.

With the COVID-19 lockdown, some panic buying caused a drawdown in supplies helping the cash hog prices in Canada and across the US. Then the demand backed off, and the workers in the packing plants started having numerous infections shut down production due to worker safety. This shut down immediately boomeranged the supply of available fresh pork and beef which was now moving into a shortage.

Alford said with the social distancing guidelines in place that they will be able to get to that previous capacity.

Producers in the US are showing signs of liquidation to get that herd back into balance, which will help prices over the long run.

“But, and kind of knock on wood here, our pork processing plants got through this without any shutdown.

Producers with higher prices recently, and the cutout being high, the packers are doing very well,” he said.

Bob Kleinsasser, hog boss at Suncrest Colony near Steinbach said it is going very good with prices up getting $225. “Isoweans not sure what’s going on. Our guy who buys ours didn’t take them two weeks ago and had to crowd them into our barn, so not sure what’s going to happen in 3 weeks,” said Kleinsasser. “We could get by this time, but next round, not so.” That is an indication of where the weanling producers are at.

Alford said the weanling supply is an oversupplied market. While not spoken about much, weanling exporters cannot ship their pigs at a price that would not return anything. This weanling oversupply disrupts and with that constrained capacity in the US, it is pushing right back onto the weanling guys he explained.

He said HyLife at Neepawa is the first packer in western Canada to phase in a cutout based pricing formula. “Again, timing’s everything. They were about to introduce these several weeks back, but that’s when you saw this acute meat shortage and the cutout soar to record levels, which like anything that happens too quickly, you got to wait until it slows down to get back in line with what your cost structure is,” said Alford. “At Hams Marketing, we’re moving towards cutout in the existing formulas. Now, this is the first western Canadian packer to go a hundred percent. But again, they’re phasing it in, using an adjusted value based on current formulas.”

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May 29, 2020

The AgriPost

Five Benefits of Creep Farmers Expect to Plant Feeding Calves in 2020

More Wheat, Oats, and Corn for Grain

By Elmer Heinrichs Based on a Statistics Canada farm field crop survey, farmers anticipate planting more acres of wheat, corn for grain and oats in 2020 compared to 2019.

However seeding intentions for canola, soybeans, barley, dry peas and lentils are expected to be down from last year. But as a result of the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic, these estimates were produced in March 2020 under exceptional circumstances. Active collection of data for the survey was halted earlier than planned in order to minimize burden on farm operators, resulting in a lower response rate. The situation reflects intended seeded area estimates that cannot reflect the full impact as a result of COVID19. Over time, as seeded area estimates are revised, a more comprehensive view of the impacts on seeding and production will be provided. Future surveys will provide estimates of actual seeded acreage.

Planting intentions may have been influenced by several factors, including high global supply for some crops and ongoing trade issues, including tariffs. Actual seeded area will differ from earlier intentions depending on a number of factors, including weather during seeding and delays in planting due to the ongoing spring harvest of the 2019 crop.

Nationally, farmers expect to plant 3.3 per cent more acres of wheat compared with 2019, to 25.4 million acres in 2020. Farmers expect to plant the same amount of spring wheat as last year (18.8 million acres), but anticipate more durum (5.2 million acres) and 1.4 million acres of winter wheat. The expected increase in durum is likely due to higher prices, while the increase in winter wheat area is largely attributable to favourable winter conditions, which resulted in less winterkill than in 2019.

In Manitoba, wheat areas are anticipated to be at 3.1 million acres, down 1.3 per cent from a year earlier.

Nationally, farmers expect to seed fewer acres of canola with area decreasing 1.6 per cent to 20.6 million acres in 2020. If realized, this would be the second consecutive year of decreases in canola-seeded area at the national level and the lowest seeded area since 2013 as farmers shift away from oilseeds to other crops.

But Manitoba farmers expect to seed more canola, some 3.4 million acres. Canadian farmers intend to plant 5.2 million acres of soybeans in 2020, down 8.7 per cent from 2019. The decrease in expected soybean area is likely due to lower prices.

Manitoba is expected to lead the decrease in soybean acreage; falling 17.6 per cent to 1.2 million acres, the lowest area since 2013 and the third consecutive year that seeded area in the province has declined. Such a decrease is likely the result of several years of poor yields in dry growing conditions. Canadian farmers intend to plant 6.3 per cent more acres of oats from a year earlier to 3.8 million acres.

Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta all expect to plant more oats in 2020. The increase in anticipated seeded area is likely attributable to higher prices and strong demand. Nationally, farmers expected to plant 3.2 per cent more acres of corn for grain compared with one year earlier to 3.8 million acres in 2020, but Manitoba expects to plant fewer acres of corn for grain, down 4.9 per cent.

While overall dry pea area is anticipated to fall to 3.3 million acres, Manitoba’s acreage is expected to be up 46,200 acres.

By Peter Vitti Over the years, I have discovered that there are three types of beef producers, when it comes to creep feeding spring calves. In the first group, they simply don’t feed creep feed to calves. In the second group, they only feed creep feed, if it makes economic sense. Finally, in the third group, some beef producers feed creep as a matter of course. Although, I have heard almost-convincing arguments from the first two groups, I tend to take sides with the last beef producers, because there are five solid benefits to creep feed spring calves, every year.

These five benefits dispel the first notions that as long as the cows are milking well or pastures are lush, producers don’t have to creep feed.

Something that I almost believed, since at the beginning of the pasture season, I often witnessed spring calves engorged with milk as their dams ate succulent grasses.

However, my attitude quickly changed on this when lots of university studies demonstrated that by mid- to latesummer, the nursing cow’s milk production is in steady decline and meets only about 50% of the growing calves’ nutrient requirements. Supplemental nutrition provided on pasture is the only way to close this “hunger gap” and help baby calves meet all their nutrient requirements.

These five good reasons also dispel the second impression that direct profitabil-

ity of creep feeding calves is necessary, even though I still recommend that producers take a hard look at the financial statement of a creep feeding spreadsheet. They should determine for their operation, the total profitability to put more saleable weight on spring calves during the summer as well as the ROI (% return on investment).

For example, I have tracked the direct total return ($) per calf and ROI for the last ten years, in order to put 60 lbs of creep feed weight by the end of a 100-day creep feeding program. As a result (see chart), each year showed a profit per calf or positive ROI; lowest being 2013 due to lower autumn calf prices relative to grain prices, while 2015 was a pinnacle year of $85 profit per weaned calf or 142% ROI on a reverse situation (see Chart 1).

Chart 1

For 2020, the profitability of creep feeding spring

There are five solid benefits to creep feed spring calves, every year.

calves is nominal with lower predicted feeder prices and relatively stable grain prices.

Yet this should not dissuade anybody from creep feeding calves, because as I advocate - the following five benefits of creep feeding calves, remains the same: 1. Weaning weights are increased - Producers can average 30 - 80 lbs per calf of added gain with creep feeding, particularly on large-frame good quality steers with a lot of growth potential.

2. Efficient gains are achieved - Good framed and quality steers are masters of turning high quality and palatable creep feed into lean body tissue. Calves weighing less than 500 lbs can convert good quality creep at the rate of 6 lbs eaten into 1 lb of gain.

3. Not so dependent on cow - I know of a few producers that put their creep feeder out as early as possible in the grazing season. As a result, they have witnessed that weaning-weights tend to be higher by 20 lbs with steady feed efficiencies of 6 - 7 lbs

of feed per lb of gain.

4. More uniform weaned calves - Creep feed tends to even out the nutrition received by all calves with a cowherd and as a result similar weaning weights by fall time. That’s because, some cows are not producing as much milk as compared to others, such as 1st calf heifers compared to older brood cows.

5. Less weaning stress -A friend of mine weans about 300 calves every fall. She finds that her crept-fed calves cry out for a day or so, but they quickly forget about mum. These weaned calves are also bunk-broke and tend to go onto a 45-backgrounder feeding program in a faster way.

Such benefits are five good testimonials that most cowcalf producers should creep feed calves. Even in 2020, when its direct profitability might be breakeven dollars, producers should still put their creep feeders onto pasture, so they can count better profits from these benefits on five fingers of one hand.

Letellier Farm Done this Week

By Les Kletke Marc Houle needed two more days to complete seeding and he got them. When the Agri Post spoke with him on May 20 he was beginning to plant his soybeans and said

Marc Houle says seeding may be a week later than usual this year but that is the case, he says reduced tillage has helped them get on the land earlier.

Photo by Les Kletke

that if the weather held he would be done by the weekend. The weather remained dry and Houle was done seeding by May 23. Houle farms at Letellier with his parents Denis and Kelley. They farm nearly 3,000 acres and operate a 60-cow dairy with a robotic milker.

Houle had put his wheat and canola in earlier and said that seeding was about a week later than it had been on average for the last 5 years.

While he was planting soybeans, Denis was working some lower spots that had excessive trash with the cultivator. The farm, which includes a large portion of river arrearage that undergoes some flooding each spring they have had to adapt management practices to reduced tillage. The farm has soil types

that vary from heavy clay to loam.

“We do get some collection of trash in the low spots of the river lots,” said Denis. “We don’t do any field cultivation and it is a change from what we used to do.”

“We still spike in our ammonia,” said Marc. “We are not completely zero till but would be a minimal tillage system.”

The farm has also made the decision to cut back on its soybean acres this year. “We will put in 3 quarters of soybeans,” said Marc. When asked about the change he said, “It is our least profitable crop. We have not been getting the big yields and the cost of seed even with reduced nitrogen costs our returns are not as good.”

While the seeding was pushed back a week because

of the wet cool conditions, Marc was not concerned that it would impact his final yields. He would have liked to see some warmer weather earlier to bring his alfalfa along. The cool late spring was hampering the development of pastures and hay land for most of the province’s producers and the Houle’s farm was no different.

He does not have a concern over a feed shortage but would like to see pastures and hay acres advancing more rapidly.

Houle was pleased with the conditions of his wheat stubble where he was planting soybeans. When asked about conditions, he smiled and said, “You should have been here earlier, not all fields worked this well especially when we were starting.”

The AgriPost

May 29, 2020

Sought After Reprint of 2019 “The Prairie Gardener” Now Available ing potatoes in a five gallon pail or grow bag. They have

An index of all issues of The Prairie Gardener is available at their website theprairiegarden.com, which makes it much easier to find garden info right at your finger tips.

By Joan Airey The demand for the 2019 issue of The Prairie Gardener ‘Growing Food’ was so high they did a reprint and copies are available. It contains information on growing tomatoes, growing vegetables in containers, making economical raised beds, perennial vegetables for the prairies and growing fruit. You can find it in many garden centres or order it from them directly. Their address is The Prairie Garden, PO Box 21043, Winnipeg, MB. R3R 3R2.

You can check out a sample of what it contains on line.

This is Western Canada’s only Gardening Annual and is produced by volunteers.

The 2020 issue ‘Inspired by Nature’ is available also. If you check out their website theprairiegarden.com they have an index available of where you can find info in past issues of your Prairie Gardener.

Walkers Greenhouse located east of Rivers is running a free contest “Plant it Green During Covid-19”.

This Year’s Winner will be awarded with a $150 gift certificate for Walkers Greenhouse. The contest is open to anyone within the Rivers and surrounding areas. To enter

send them a photograph of your yard.

Categories to be judged Design/layout, Theme of yard design and Overall curb appeal. Contest picture submission closes June 15 dependent on weather conditions.

There will be five finalist and we will come judge them personally. Submissions can be sent via email to walkersgreenhouse@mail.com subject line should be Covid -19 contest entry. For more information check out their website or Facebook.

If you don’t follow Brown Sugar Produce on Facebook or check their website it is a great source for gardening ideas plus they also sell their fresh produce in Brandon and if you are short of something you can check to see if they have it for sale starting mid June.

I start my own Spanish onions and know I’m going to follow Teri’s way of starting them individually in plug trays next year. I’m hoping my granddaughter Blake still loves planting as much next year and will plant the seeds in the plug trays for me.

COVID-19 has cut out so many horticultural events that I have been spending a lot of time reading Manitoba

gardener’s information on Facebook. Please respect the rules when visiting greenhouses and garden centres and stay safe. I’m looking forward to visiting our two local greenhouses to pick up some flowers for my planters.

Oak Lake Community Development Board is sponsoring an Extreme Yard Make over Photo Contest details can be found on Facebook.

Personally I have planted several cool weather vegetables in the garden from beets to onions. My youngest two grandchildren and I have some tubs of carrots, lettuce, potatoes, radishes, peas, and spinach growing in the greenhouse. Yesterday I saw on Facebook that Peavey Mart has a contest for grow-

a few nice gift certificates for prizes. Weather permitting I

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hope it’s warm enough this weekend to plant potatoes.

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May 29, 2020

The AgriPost