AgriPost October 31 2014

The Agri Post

October 31, 2014

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FNA Still Optimistic Where’s the Beef Going?

About CWB Acquisition

By Les Kletke Bob Friesen stated that Farmers of North America (FNA) is disappointed by the rejection of his organization’s offer to purchase the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) yet, by no means defeated.

“FNA had made the decision to get into the grain business before (the CWB was available for sale) and the decision is a sound one. Purchase of the CWB would have allowed us to get into the business quicker and to hit the ground running. The rejection of our offer means that won’t be possible but this in no way impacts of intention to get into the grain business.”

Friesen said the decision to enter the grain business was never about saving what remains of the CWB or trying to revive it in another form, “This was not a nostalgic or philosophic decision; it was business decision that came about as we moved ahead on the plans to establish a fertilizer plant.”

He said it became obvious that there were synergies to be had by owning both a fertilizer plant and grain business.

“Farmers are aware of those benefits and with recent changes in the industry we felt that there were times existing grain companies were benefiting from the difference in world prices and what they could obtain farmers grain for,” said Friesen.

He explained that if anything, the process that FNA went through to raise the capital for the purchase of the CWB has strengthened the resolve to get into the industry.

“We conducted a series of 100 town hall meetings at the worst possible time for farmers, when they wanted to be on the combine, and still had a tremendous response. We had the commitment of $50 million,” said Friesen.

The matter of acquisition is not dead and Friesen asserted that while he does not understand the rejection of the offer from the CWB, FNA would continue to speak with Federal Agricultural Minister Gerry Ritz about the acquisition and see if the company may still be successful although it is not placing all its eggs in the CWB basket.

“We have plans to move ahead with entry into the grain business and will pur-

sue that,” stated Friesen. “It is too early to tell what structure the company with take but we are considering the options.”

The organization is well aware of the requirement to have experienced people in management roles in any form the company takes, whether it is for a better return to shareholders on their investment or to grain producers for the product they market through the new structure.

“We might look at some form where there is equity for ownership, as a return for grain handled,” said Friesen.

He admits being puzzled at the rejection from the CWB but says FNA must move on with its plan to establish a fertilizer business and have a grain company that can work alongside it.

Friesen did not offer a time line for the company to be a participant in the grain industry saying only, “It was aware of the requirements of good management with experience in the industry and would consider the options as they became available.”

Read more on page 2...

Cattle prices have rebounded after a decade at are setting records at auction marts this fall.

Photo by Les Kletke

By Les Kletke Tom Goertzen has no beef with cattle prices; in fact, he said they make for tough choices.

“I consider selling out and then I think about buying a few more cows,” the southeastern Manitoba farmer said. “It is a tough call.” After more than a decade of reduced beef prices, the market is hitting record highs as he brings his calves to market.

Goertzen has a 300-

commerical cow operation and the calves coming off pasture are bringing record prices, which he said, would allow him to play catch up to recent tough years.

“We have not done much for improvements in the past couple of years and now there will be some money to upgrade some equipment, but I don’t know that I want to invest a lot of money in this industry, prices will go down again when the cow herd is built up.”

He knows the cycles of the beef industry and sees that the last down cycle was longer than most, “Almost twice as long with BSE, the drop in the Canadian dollar and a few other things.”

Those factors all contributed shrinking cowherds across the continent. Cowherd numbers are down in the US as well and that has fuelled the market for feeder cattle along with the demand for cows.

Continued on page 3

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The Agri Post

October 31, 2014

CWB Stays the Course

Flexibility is Fundamental to Cattle Operation

By Les Kletke

By Les Klekte

Amid stories of an offer to purchase the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) and complete the move to privatization the organization announced that plans for its expansion of a terminal in Manitoba are proceeding on schedule.

The preliminary surveys have been completed and construction has begun on an elevator at St. Adolphe. The terminal will have access to both Canadian National (CN) and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) rail lines and feature a 134-car loop with a loading rate of 1,600 metric tonnes per hour.

Farmers who have been busy with harvest have paid little attention to the construction but some wonder why the CWB, which is on the road to privatization and thought to be for sale, is building its own facilities. The St. Adolphe facility is the latest in the list of acquisitions and construction of terminals in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Bob Friesen of FNA said that his organization’s offer to purchase the CWB was rejected October 24.

“We thought it would be a good fit and allow us entry to the international grain markets quickly and to hit the ground running, but our offer was refused,” said Friesen.

CWB president and CEO Ian White said the organization is continuing to build its business and physical holdings.

“CWB’s rapidly growing network of grain-handling facilities continues to attract considerable interest by farmers, potential investors and the public,” said White. “As we continue to build a strong and integrated position in the grain handling supply chain, we create a stronger value proposition for farmers that choose CWB as their marketing partner - a partnership that includes an opportunity for an ongoing farmer ownership stake in CWB through our Farmer Equity Plan.”

Friesen acknowledged that the equity plan was an innovative approach but wondered where it was heading.

Tom Manson farms at St. Adolphe and said he finds the strategy of construction confusing.

“As farmers we hear that the CWB is for sale and that a group is putting together a bid to buy it, at the same time they are adding to their assets by building elevators,” said Manson. “That seems at odds.”

Manson welcomes the entry of more players in the grain trade saying that competition for farmer’s grain is good for farmers.

“The industry has changed and I understand the rationalization we went through. We don’t need an elevator every couple of miles,” he noted. “We need an industry that has efficiencies to get the product to market and gives some of that return to farmers.” He welcomed the effort by a farmer owned group to purchase the CWB. “It liked the idea of having another option for marketing my grain, and I liked the idea of farmer ownership and the transparency it would bring,” he said. “A grain company’s motivation is not always to give the farmer the best return; it is to get the most profit for their shareholder.”

Holgar Schoenbach readily admits that it would be tempting to sell his cowherd at these prices; he has sold some cows and noted the return has been better than for the calves he is taking to market. He plans to test the market further and if the returns are good he will, market more cows and bring down the average age of his cowherd in preparation for a long haul in the business.

“I try to stay flexible with my cow numbers,” he said.

“So that I can take advantage of good times in the business and weather the storms.” The middle of the road approach has allowed him to weather the low market returns of the past few years, and he is refusing to jump in with both feet at this time.

“I have a friend that bought cows a few years ago and is now selling all of them,” he said. “He works off the farm and can do that, I am here for

the long haul.”

He has also invested time and effort into establishing the cowherd he wants to work with and would be hesitant to see them go down the road and try to replace them in a few years. He began with Limousin cattle and over the past 15 years has moved to Red Angus genetics on the commercial herd.

“They are double polled and it is great to work with no horned animals,” he said. “It is easier for the animals and easier when we are handling them. I would hate to see that go.”

His cows are outside year around and he feeds then hay that he processes himself. The cows calf in April and May with the heifers going to market in late fall and the steers in February March.

“I won’t hit the highs in the market right now, but I am hopeful the prices will hold till I market animals in February,” he said. “I believe they will.” He is not overconfident in the market and said that he stays with the flexibility to adjust his cow numbers.

“I wish that I had more cows at this time, but I didn’t want to have to big a herd in the bad times, now I will sell some of my older cows and replace the older cows. Some of the herd is 8 and 9 years old,” he said. Schoenbach said the return from marketing his cows allows him to sell some of those cows now and take advantage of the current high prices.

The cows are bred and ready to calf in April, “And we hope the prices hold for that crop to come to market,” he speculated.

Either way his strategy is to avoid the boom and bust cycle that has characterized the cattle industry for many years.

The Agri Post

October 31, 2014

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Confident in Decision

By Les Kletke Alfred Schoenbach acknowledges that decisions regarding his cowherd are not entirely based on business, “They are here to control the

Beef

pasture.” That being said, the 60 cows are more than a hobby or four legged lawn mowers.

“The heifer calves will go to market in about 4 weeks,” said Schoenberg. “The steers a bit later.” The male calves

continued...

Continued from page 1 “The cows are bred and the pasture was good, they are going into winter in good shape,” he said. “I have enough feed for this year and a little extra.” He likes to have a larger supply of feed on hand explaining that the long winter last year drew down his reserve stocks.

It was a matter or rebuilding the reserves and putting up feed for this year.

“I will do some thinking about it through the winter,” he said. “These prices should hold for another year so, we will be in business for 2015 but if cow prices are high and I have a good calf crop going to market next fall it might be time to give someone else a chance.”

He noted that he did consider adding a few cows to his herd however; current prices had him shy away.

“I don’t know how many calves I will get that I can sell into these prices, if they only hold for a year that cow is a bad investment, if they hold for three years that cow is a good investment. For this time I will stay with what I have and try to get a live calf from every cow to market next fall.”

He maintained his regular program of bringing some heifers into the herd to replace aging cows, “Actually I did add a few and didn’t sell the old cows, I will try to get one more calf from them,” added Goertzen.

are not castrated while on pasture to avoid health issues with flies so, castration is done when the calves come off pasture and then have a few weeks to gain condition before going to market.

Schoenbach said the summer was good for pasture and for the animals. “We had good rain in June so the grass was good,” he said. “Then it dried up and we were able to put the hay up in good condition. We could have used more rain in August to establish the grass but things are in good condition.”

He has bred his cowherd to Red Angus bulls. His herd began with Hereford genetics and transformed to Limousin genetics, however he now uses Red Angus bulls.

The cows over winter outside and use the natural bush as a protection from the elements. They are fed hay with some grain supplement when the weather requires. He does not produce any of his own grain.

“We might give them a pound or two a day when the weather is really cold,” he said. “Hopefully this winter is not as tough as the last one.”

Beef producers are seeing strong prices at the auction marts and some are liquidating herds while others are expanding to cash in on expected strong prices for the next two years.

Photo by Les Kletke

He is confident the market will hold strong prices for the time that he will market his heifers and through the fall run.

“It will take time to rebuild the cow herd,” he said. “We should see these prices for a while.” He hopes to take advantage of the prices and market some of his cows as well.

“I have some older cows and they are going to go to market at these prices,” said Schoenbach. “We might reduce our cow numbers a bit but it is mostly getting rid of some of the older cows and bringing down the age of the herd.”

He knows the market will re-

build but he hopes not too quickly. “It takes 2 or 3 years to increase the herd numbers, but I hope these prices hold for a while, I am going to sell

some of my cows to keep the herd numbers down and the prices up,” he added with a chuckle.

Conference Looks at International Year of FFamily amily FFarming arming Beginning Sunday, November 16 to Tuesday November 18 at the Keystone Center in Brandon, the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference will tackle many of the issues that farming families face today with seriousness and laughter.

Since 2014 has been declared by the United Nations as International Year of Family Farming, the volunteer committee and organizers will be incorporating this theme into the program. The committee also chose to focus on the strength of women behind the family farm, giving ‘Diva’ their own spin showing that farmwomen are strong, competent and capable.

For more information, email mbfarmwomensconf@gmail.com or call Carol Dalgarno, conference chair at 204-849-2193.

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The Agri Post

October 31, 2014

Learning Sometimes Means Having to Wait There is a reason that I treat deadlines as though there were deceased large cats, it is because things change and while I could have penned these words earlier in the month, or in a week I waited because things change.

Yes, the editor would have liked my copy sooner but if I had written it before talking to Bob Friesen from the FNA and his explanation of the attempted purchase of the CWB, I would have made a mistake. I would have rambled on at length about here we go down the same old road with farmers making an attempt to revive or resuscitate the Wheat Board.

I had even researched the quote from Jorge (George) Santayana a Spanish born philosopher who said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” or “The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.” I was planning to use some variation of that and make the point of farmers being in next year country and paying little attention to what happened last year or the year before that, because you have to be an internal optimist while farming.

All that would have been wrong if I had done my work earlier, or on time, as my editor would say. No, I waited and word or rejection of the offer to purchase the CWB came late on October 24, and I was engaged in the conversation with Bob when he was not even sure it was ready to see the light of day.

Our conversation revealed the offer had been rejected but more importantly, it revealed what this generation of farmers have learned from the past journeys into the world of international grain marketing.

This is not about reviving my father’s CWB or any philosophical move by a group of farmers based in Saskatchewan who believe that unionization will solve the world’s ills.

This was about a business decision and knowing that the international market place is not for the meek and it is best to leave your good intentions at the door. The market place is a hard place where only the fittest survive and the folks at FNA intend to hire the people with experience that will make the right business decisions. I applaud them for that.

If I had done this editorial in the time my boss wanted I would have taken a polite jab at them and their short memories, instead now I have gained respect for them and their efforts. I still have some questions about, if they really have a commitment for 50 million bucks, because promises come a lot easier than cheques and it is my experiences the two are not related. Promises and cheques can appear in the same place but it is not a requirement that the latter follows the former.

So, I applaud the intent, but again the international grain market is no place for intent, it is a place for the strong. I wish them well.

Fuzzy All Over Dear Editor: W.C. Fields’ line, “Never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump,” has never been better executed than by the Conservative government and their farmer-disenfranchisement policies.

Their first move upon election in 2006 was to tear up the farmer-railcar agreement. This agreement would have given farmers a place at the grain transportation table and while it wouldn’t have solved all the marketing problems from last year, it would have at least given farmers a look behind the curtain.

This move was followed by taking away the community pasture network that farmers have relied on for decades, destroying the PFRA and the tree nursery, vaporizing the support that farmers had through the margin based

Agristability program and weakening the Canadian Grain Commission.

In parallel was the defunding and destruction of the grain varietal development and research capacity—and this at a time when the world’s population has never been higher and the climate has increasing variability.

Decimation of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) was next—farmers were disenfranchised and not allowed to vote on the matter according to the existing law, taxpayers were billed an unnecessary $349 million in 2011 and the $16 billion world leading exporter was reduced from a business to a political maneuver with a few hundred million in assets.

Predictably, the destruction of orderly marketing through the real CWB cost farmers $4 billion in lost income for the 2013 crop

Peer-Reviewed Poppycock

Penners Points

by Rolf Penner

One of the favourite and most annoying, tactics of glorolfpenner@agripost.ca bal warming alarmists is to frame all debate in terms of peer review. If a tree falls in the forest, the old joke goes, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? To some, the answer is only if they read it in a peer-reviewed study. In fact, if you care to look, many of these studies are skeptical of the theory of man-made global warming.

Remember the famous claim by Al Gore that Arctic sea ice would disappear by 2014 that he made it in 2007 while accepting a Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign on climate change.

It was based on work done at the time by Dr. Wieslav Maslowsi of the Danish Climate Centre, but we found out this year that the prediction was a complete bust. NASA satellite records indicate that Arctic ice levels are the highest they’ve been since 2006; not only is there more ice, it’s thicker as well.

Even if peer review is more important to you than real-world data, a 2008 Arctic study by Hakan Grudd from Stockholm University, published in Climate Dynamics, showed that the Arctic has been cooling for the last 1,500 years. A 2007 NASA study co-authored by Ignatius Rigor found that, “Unusual winds,” not global warming, were responsible for blowing older, thicker ice to warmer southern waters. Further, a 2007 study spearheaded by Rune Graversen, also from Stockholm University, published in Nature, found natural causes for the then-rapid Arctic warming. Graversen’s paper specifically and notably rules out global warming. This is just the tip of the proverbial peer-reviewed iceberg about the Arctic climate.

What about the widely circulated claim made in a paper by John Cook that. “97.1% of scientists agree that climate change is real, man-made and dangerous.” Well a peer-reviewed paper on that peer-reviewed paper, undertaken by leading climatologist Dr. David Legates and three of his colleagues showed that the actual number of scientists was more like 0.3% or 41 out of 11,944 published papers on climate. When interviewed about his findings, Dr. Legates said, “It is astonishing that any journal could have published a paper claiming a 97% climate consensus when on the authors’ own analysis the true consensus was well below 1%.” Indeed.

On the blog ‘notrickzone.com’, you can find a list of 30 peer-reviewed papers that completely cancel each other out on things that are supposedly caused by climate change.

According to these contradictory studies, the Amazon dry season is both browner and greener, Africa is getting more and less rain, the rotation of the earth is slowing down and speeding up and the incidence of malaria is increasing and decreasing. A pair of studies even claims that Stone Age hunters caused both previous warming and cooling spells. On its face, this kind of list falsifies the theory of anthropogenic warming. Yet alarmists keep on marching in the same apocalyptic direction.

For those with the intestinal fortitude, the blog ‘populartechnology.net’ has a list of over 1,350 peer-reviewed papers that support the skeptical view of global warming. With 43 separate categories, a good explanation of the methodology used for creating the list and a detailed section in which the author rebuts criticisms of his catalogue, the blog is a virtual cornucopia of scientific analysis.

Two recent peer-reviewed studies show that climate is affected far less by CO² than earlier thought. Lewis and Curry had their paper published in the September, 2014 edition of Climate Dynamics. Shortly after, Dr. Hermann Harde published a paper in the Open Journal of Atmospheric and Climate Change, which shows that the climate’s sensitivity to a doubling of CO² levels is around 7 times less than what the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been claiming.

The big question, of course, is not whether a paper has been peer-reviewed, but a more important one, “Is it true?” All peer review means is that someone else with some credentials has had a quick look. You can find peer-reviewed studies on that as well. Skeptics have all sorts of peer-reviewed papers backing up their positions. No one who says otherwise really has looked at all the evidence. (money that ended up in grain company pockets, lost sales and demurrage charges) and the government now refuses to publish any financial reports for the Ritz-run CWB since 2012.

With financial cover-ups and fast tracking the giveaway of farmer-paid CWB assets, it looks like the government is trying to bury a dead skunk as fast as they can.

Somewhere W.C Fields is feeling warm and fuzzy all over again.

Yours truly, Stewart Wells Swift Current, SK

Beef Mark ets Expand Markets Canadian beef and livestock producers can now benefit from expanded export opportunities in two international markets.

Qatar has approved all beef imports from Canada, enabling Canadian beef producers to benefit from greater export opportunities in the Gulf region. Effective immediately, Canadian beef producers and exporters can expand their sales into this market, benefiting Qatari consumers who will have access to Canada’s safe, high-quality beef.

Industry estimates that the potential for the Qatari market for Canadian beef and veal could reach $2 million annually.

In addition, Canadian livestock producers can now benefit from restored market access for live cattle to Honduras following border restrictions in 2003 due to BSE. This marks another positive development building on the recent entry into force of the Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement.

Canada and Honduras have a healthy and growing commercial relationship with 10 percent growth in merchandise trade between the two countries since 2007. In 2013, Canada’s exports of goods to Honduras totalled $578 million, $88 million of which was agricultural goods, not including seafood.

The Agri Post

Canada Wins Three Times on Same Issue at WTO The World Trade Organization finally released its ruling on the U.S. Country of Origin Labelling (M-COOL) challenge put forward by Canada and Mexico that certain meat product labels in the United States reveal the origins of the product.

The WTO compliance panel ruled while M-COOL does treat Mexican and Canadian livestock less favourable than U.S. livestock, it also concluded the amended M-COOL measure does contribute to providing U.S. consumers with information on origin, countering the Canada and Mexico’s assertion M-COOL did not serve that intended purpose.

However, the WTO requested that the U.S. come into compliance on the livestock issue.

What is clear and simple is that those who favour M-COOL in the U.S. are also the same people favouring protectionism, the legislation is designed to keep cattle, and hogs coming from Canadian and Mexican livestock producers, said the ruling. I say the WTO backed off to give both sides something to grab hold of.

In Canada and Mexico’s case, the WTO panel said yes the M-COOL law treats their livestock lesser than how it treats the same livestock from American producers. According to WTO rules that is wrong. Treating meat products coming in differently than domestic meat products goes against the rules.

In the case of the U.S. and the law itself, the WTO panel said it does give U.S. consumers information they can use, where the other side claims it doesn’t give them useful information.

To show that many in the U.S. support Canada, the North American Meat Association and the American Meat Institute say the WTO decision upholding Canada’s and Mexico’s challenge to the U.S. COOL rule comes as no surprise. The USDA’s mandatory COOL rule is not only onerous and burdensome on livestock producers and meat packers and processors; it does not bring the U.S. into compliance with its WTO obligations.

By being out of compliance, the U.S. is subject to retaliation from Canada and Mexico that could cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars.

“While the U.S. has the option to appeal the ruling, we encourage USTR and USDA to instead work together with the industry and Congress to amend the COOL statute so that it complies with our international obligations and brings stability to the market.

Such a change would help restore strong relationships with some of our largest and most important trading partners,” the two groups said.

The National Pork Producers Council expressed concern that Canada and Mexico could retaliate by placing tariffs on U.S. pork.

“The United States must avoid retaliation from Canada and Mexico,” said NPPC President Howard Hill, a veterinarian and pork producer from Cambridge, Iowa. “Retaliatory tariffs on pork would be financially devastating to U.S. pork producers.”

Well, Mr. Ritz and Mr. Fast what are you waiting for?

Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and Gerry Ritz, Agricultural Minister, both said, “The WTO compliance panel’s report re-affirms Canada’s long-standing view the revised M-COOL measure is blatantly protectionist and fails to comply with the WTO’s original ruling against it. The WTO’s clear and consistent findings in support of Canada’s position effectively supply a clear message to the U.S. End this protectionist policy that creates economic harm on both sides of our border, and comply with your international trade obligations.”

Ritz said Canada would be watching this situation closely to ensure U.S. compliance in accordance with the WTO’s clear ruling.

“We will continue to fully assert our rights to achieve a fair resolution to our concern, including seeking authorization to implement retaliatory measures on U.S. agricultural and non-agricultural products if and as necessary,” said the minister.

Royal Manitoba Winter Fair Continues To Support Local Food Banks The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair took place months ago but Westman communities are continuing to reap the benefits. Over 1,000 pounds of high quality pork has been donated to a number of food banks in surrounding communities for the fourth consecutive year.

During the 2014 Winter Fair, eleven pigs were acquired from the Sprucewoods Colony in Brookdale, for the purpose of the pig scramble held during the event. Following the Fair, the animals were raised until they reached slaughter weight. This is a significant amount of work and the community made sure that the hard work resulted in maximum benefits by further donating the feed and services.

Five Manitoba Co-Ops joined providing the feed, namely Co-Op Feeds, NeepawaGladstone Co-op, Heritage Co-op, Valleyview Co-op and Boundary Co-op. As well, abattoirs were willing to donate their services. Prairie Rose Meats Ltd, Renard’s Meat Services, Jarvis Meats Ltd and D.A.L. Meats all donated their services and made certain the meat was received by local food banks.

Ron Kristjansson, General Manager of the Provincial Exhibition, said, “We are proud to be able to provide high quality meat to Westman food banks. The need for food donations is year-round and we are happy to be able to provide some relief to food banks at a time of year when donations can typically be low.”

The Livestock Committee is also thrilled with the results and looks forward to these projects in the future. The next event for the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba is the Manitoba Livestock Expo to be held November 6th – 8th, 2014. The next Royal Manitoba Winter Fair takes place March 30 – April 4, 2015 at the Keystone Centre.

October 31, 2014

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Does CETA Offer Any Real Value?

On September 26, the federal government announced that negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with the European Union (CETA) have been finalized. A normal procedure for such a substantial change in a democratic society allows for a broad discussion, with debate and hearings, about impacts on various groups of people and economic sectors before governments commit society to a new set of rules. In contrast, the CETA negotiations have been kept completely secret.

The democratic deficit from the Conservative government’s roller coaster ride of signing trade agreements is further aggravated when the terms of the agreeBy Jan Slomp ments are considered. These agreements, including CETA, lock in negative outcomes for Canadians far into the future.

Agriculture Minister Ritz is boasting about the possibility of new sales of beef and pork into Europe. What is certain, however, is that Canada has never fully utilized our existing tariff-free quotas for hormone-free beef exports into Europe, that Europe will not change its position on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and that its borders will not open for meat that is produced with feed additives that for health reasons are banned in Europe.

In an exchange that gains little real new access for its farmers, Canada has committed to increased imports of European cheese, which is produced with heavily subsidized European milk. Consequently, Canada’s domestic milk production and processing sectors will see a substantial reduction in their valuable cheese market.

The seed-related Intellectual Property Rights provisions in CETA are very concerning, as Canada has committed to making it possible for corporations to ask courts to seize farm assets and freeze farmers’ bank accounts for alleged infringement of patent rights or Plant Breeders’ Rights - even before the case is heard in court.

CETA offers new powers to corporations through Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms. If laws and government regulations result in reduced profits, ISDS empowers corporations to sue governments and be compensated.

Local governments, schools, hospitals and prisons that have adopted policies to buy food locally as a way to support community values are no longer allowed to do so.

Procurement provisions in CETA force government institutions to accept competitive offers from European businesses for any contracts above fairly low thresholds.

There is, at best, no gain for Canadian farmers in CETA. From a societal prospective, the so-called “trade” agreement gives corporations a rope to tie the hands of our elected representatives and a sword to slash laws and regulations that get in the way of their profits.

Jan Slomp is the President of the National Farmers Union and farms near Rimbey, Alberta.

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October 31, 2014

The Agri Post

WTO Condemns US Country of Origin Labelling for Third Time The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) welcomed the decision of the World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance panel on US country of origin labelling as it applies to imported livestock.

“The Compliance Panel charged with assessing the WTO conformity of the US response to the AB condemnation of the US COOL in 2012 has found convincingly against the US. Specifically, the May 23, 2013 revised final COOL rule failed to bring the US into conformity with its WTO obligations,” said CPC Past Chair Jurgen Preugschas.

The Compliance Panel’s condemnation went further than the previous decisions in that in addition to breaching Article 2.1 of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), the United States COOL Measure was in breach of Article III:4, which is one of the most basic principles of the WTO Agreement. The finding was made conditional of affirmative findings on Canada’s claims under

Article XXIII:(b) of GATT 1994.

“We are very pleased with this win, but it is the third time. It is time for the United States to respect its WTO obligations,” said CPC Chair Jean-Guy Vincent.

“After the WTO Appellate Body confirmed the illegal discrimination in COOL, in 2012, the US did nothing to eliminate the discrimination against imported Canadian born hogs and beef cattle.

Indeed, the revised final rule made the discrimination worse.”

Since its implementation in 2008, COOL has had a direct impact of at least $2.5 billion on Canadian hog exports to the US. This does not include price suppression effects on hogs sold in Canada.

Vincent noted the discrimination in COOL adversely affects the US hog market for all participants by contributing to reduced efficiency and even plant closures.

“US pork producers have lobbied actively to eliminate the discrimination and for the United States to come into compliance with its

WTO obligations. CPC will be working with our American counterparts and other US stakeholders to help find a timely and effective legislated end to this irritant and its serious discrimination,” said Vincent.

“The Compliance Panel’s decision makes crystal clear the need for change. There is no reason why it should not expedite favourable negotiations and a long overdue return to normalcy.”

While the panel decision could be referred to the WTO Appellate Body for review, CPC has urged Ministers to press Washington for immediate implementation.

“Justice delayed is justice denied, and stalling and totally inadequate responses have already delayed enough.

Further appeals which only delay the inevitable, negate the WTO requirement to conduct disputes in good faith,” noted Vincent. “The COOL legislation must be changed. Only by doing this will the US avoid forcing Canada to pursue its rights to retaliate against more than $2.5 billion worth of US exports to Canada.”

The Agri Post

October 31, 2014

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October 31, 2014

The Agri Post

Colour Technology Used for Higher Profits

By Les Kletke No one would dispute the application of colour sorting equipment in the grain industry, but until now, the equipment has been too expensive to use on all but the most high value crops.

Don Campbell of Intel Seeds is confident that a new generation of equipment that is lower priced and higher volume will make the technology viable for most crops including cereal grains. Campbell and his partners have found equipment available in China that allows the technology to be used on wheat to reduce the fusarium content and remove wild oats for oats.

He is so convinced of the technology that his firm has obtained the Canadian distribution rights for ABMT equipment.

“We looked at several other firms and their equipment in the past couple of years,” said Campbell, “and we are comfortable that this is affordable enough to provide the technology in more uses.”

Intel Seeds opened a facility at Oakville in early November and is already booking grain cleaning for farmers.

“It is not about cleaning seed but about upgrading the crop to bring up the value and get a better return from the market,” he said. While the price of the equipment has come down it is still too costly for individual farms and has to be driven by high volume usage. The Oakville facility is completely automated and they expect to run 24-7 during peak times.

“The capacity will depend on the problem it is solving and the charges will be based on that,” he said. “It could clean up to 1,200 bushels an hour if the problem is not too severe.” The plant is also equipped with traditional mechanical equipment such as a gravity table.

“The beauty of this is that it will work for a situation like wild oats in oats which was almost impossible to clean out, but using colour it is the ideal selection system,” he said on how grains will be brought up to milling standards.

“It can also be used to upgrade beans by removing green soybeans or dark faba beans from a sample,” added Campbell. “There is real potential for faba beans as new varieties come on line that are more suitable to human consumption.”

The company has a pilot mill that will show farmers the possibility and provide them with the exact charges for their sample, “So they can see if it is worthwhile,” Campbell affirmed.

The company is also set up to buy the screenings from the producer or have it returned.

Don Campbell says new generation of equipment is making colour technology for seed sorting more affordable.

Beef Producers pleased with WTO’s COOL ruling Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) is pleased with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Compliance Panel ruling in favour of Canada in the ongoing mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) dispute with the United States.

Although there are more hurdles to clear, MBP President Heinz Reimer said the ruling is an important step towards removing the costly and discriminatory trade barrier.

“We recognize that the U.S. government still has the option to appeal the ruling and further drag out this situation but we join our various partners in this fight in asking the U.S. to respect the WTO Panel’s findings. COOL has had a detrimental impact on the economies of both Canada and the United States and it’s time to get this resolved for the benefit of the beef industry,” Reimer said.

Reimer said MBP also joins the Canadian Cattleman’s Association in calling on the U.S. government to immediately repeal the red meat requirements of the COOL legislation or revise the legislation in such a way that it eliminates the need for U.S. cattle buyers to segregate imported cattle from U.S.-born livestock.

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Fire Destroys Combine

Dustin Wiens’ combine was fully engulfed by fire and destroyed within two minutes just short of completing his 2014 Harvest. “From the time I noticed it in my side mirror, to fully engulfed flames where I took that picture was probably about two minutes,” said Dustin Wiens.

By Harry Siemens Farm fires, whether on or off farm equipment, in and around grain bins or farm buildings comprised of dust mixed with oil, straw, chaff or from faulty wires and fuel lines can happen quickly.

It took only two minutes from completing his combining of soybeans until flames engulfed the combine Dustin Wiens was driving on October 11, with only one hour left to finish his 2014 harvest.

“It was exciting realizing that I was nearing the finish line of the 2014 harvest, about an hour to go when suddenly some error codes showed up on my monitor in the cab,” said Wiens who

farms 3,700 acres with his father, Richard near La Salle. “Looking at it and thinking that doesn’t make any sense, as different error messages, kept appearing, air cooler fault, rear ladder fault, finally I looked in the side mirror. I saw about five foot flames shooting out of my engine bay and quickly radioed my dad Richard waiting with the grain cart about half mile away.”

Next, he turned the New Holland, CR 9090 self-propelled combine into the wind, grabbed the fire extinguisher, hopped off the combine to see if there was anything he could do to extinguish the fire. By the time he and a few seconds later his father arriving, the

fire was raining down around them, and all they could do was watch it burn.

A neighbour, who saw the smoke showed up with a 1,000-gallon water trailer and a pump helping to keep the fire down until the fire brigade arrived dousing the remaining burning tires.

“We will be looking for a new combine but have all winter and next summer until the next harvest, I guess,” he said. “We really liked this combine, the first newer combine we bought in some time.”

Once they know what the insurance pays out for their loss, they have all winter to decide and browse whether to buy a used one or a new one.

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The Winners and Losers with CETA

By Dan Guetre The final text for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was seen favourably by both the beef and pork sectors. For a few products such as beef, pork, sweetcorn on the EU side and dairy in Canada, the preferential access is limited to quotas. Over 90% of EU, agriculture and food products will be exported to Canada duty-free. Poultry and eggs will not be

liberalized on either side.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) cheered the recent conclusion and text declaration of the free trade agreement signed between Canada and the European Union (EU). CCA President Dave Solverson called the CETA an outstanding agreement for Canadian beef producers.

Once ratified, CETA will produce duty free access for 64,950 tonnes valued at $600 million annually with the lion’s share of the quota reserved for Canada alone.

Of this, 50,000 tonnes, consisting of 35,000 tonnes of fresh/chilled beef and 15,000 tonnes of frozen beef, are reserved for Canada. In addition, Canada will see the 20 per cent duty on the existing 14,950 tonne Hilton quota shared with the U.S. reduced immediately to zero. Canada will also continue to have access to the existing shared duty free quota for high quality grainfed beef.

“The CCA would like to see the same unanimous endorsement from all the

provinces and territories that the agreement-in-principle received last fall,” Solverson said. “The CCA urges the Federal and Provincial governments to move quickly to implement the agreement as soon as possible.”

Combined with the new access, there is a potential to reach more than 100,000 tonnes per year of duty free access for Canadian beef.

Additionally, all live cattle, genetics and most beef offal and processed beef products will benefit from immediate

unlimited duty free access.

Not everyone in the agricultural sector is happy though. The National Farmers Union (NFU) has analyzed leaked texts that they believe show CETA will have huge negative consequences for Canadian farmers, our economy and our sovereignty. Now that the full agreement is available for all to see, it will become clear that the facts do not support the government’s spin according to the NFU. “While the government claims CETA gives farmers access to European Union (EU) markets, CETA changes nothing regarding Europe’s commitment to avoiding food made from genetically modified crops, beef raised with hormones and pork raised with growth promoters,” said Ann Slater, NFU Vice President of Policy. “Yet, CETA takes away the equivalent of all of Nova Scotia’s milk production from Canadian dairy producers by allowing increased tariff-free imports of cheese from the heavily subsidized EU. CETA gives Europe a significant part of our market, and Canadian farmers get empty promises in return.”

“The Intellectual Property Rights measures in CETA are deeply concerning,” said Terry Boehm, Chair of the NFU Seed and Trade Committee. “CETA commits Canada to give seed companies the ability to ask the courts to seize the assets and equipment of farmers for alleged infringement on patent rights or plant breeders’ rights even before the case is heard. CETA, combined with Bill C-18, the agriculture omnibus bill, would drastically undermine farmers’ control over seed, reducing both their incomes and their autonomy.”

“From the beginning, the EU’s top priority with CETA has been access to local procurement. Canada’s negotiators have sacrificed this valuable public policy instrument by agreeing to give European companies the right to compete for all local contracts above fairly low thresholds. Procurement, including buy local food policies, allows all levels of government, schools, hospitals and prisons to use their buying power to support the values and interests of their own communities. With CETA, this tool is severely weakened,” said Slater.

“CETA is not a trade deal, it is in effect, a re-write of Canada’s economic constitution, being done behind closed doors for the benefit of corporations,” said Jan

Slomp, NFU President. “We reject CETA’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism that would allow companies to sue governments that pass laws they don’t like. Yet our Prime Minister is prepared to give the multinational corporations a rope to tie the hands of our elected representatives and a sword to slash the laws that get in the way of profits.”

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) also recognizes the downside as EU fine cheese imports will substantially increase with 32,000 tonnes of EU cheese permitted into Canada. The CFA has always urged for a balanced trade deal; one that strengthens and supports all of the commodities that make up Canada’s diverse agricultural sector.

“We insist the government work with the Canadian dairy industry to fully mitigate any potential damage the agreement may cause the Canadian dairy sector, allowing it to maintain its strength as an important contributor to the Canadian economy and rural communities,” stressed CFA President, Ron Bonnett.

This aside, Bonnett sees a tremendous opportunity as the Canada-EU agreement will provide increased access to the largest consumer market in the world.

Canadian Pork producers welcomed the conclusion of the CETA negotiations and urges Canada and the EU to work toward an aggressive timetable to bring the agreement info force.

This agreement will secure free access for processed pork products on the day this new agreement takes effect and Canada will acquire a quota volume equivalent to 80 thousand tonnes of pork cuts.

Canada’s pork industry exports two-thirds of its production. The diversification in export marketing opportunities is crucial to maintaining this important industry.

Current exports of pork cuts to the EU are virtually non-existent because of tariff and non-tariff barriers to entry into the EU market, which CETA will now address. CETA will provide the Canadian pork sector meaningful access to the EU market and an estimated economic return far greater than the projected export value when factoring in the additional economic development stimulated by the increased feed grain production, meat processing and distribution activities generated by these new sales of Canadian pork.

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Rockitt Finds a Home

October 31, 2014

“Good Horse” Given New Life

Soybeans Shorter this Year

By Les Kletke

By Les Kletke

“He’s a good horse and we use him around the cattle,” said Cliff Grawberger of Rockitt a horse that he purchased at a rescue operation near Sprague.

Tanja Parisien was featured in the August issue of the AgriPost just having sold the horse to Grawberger when the story ran. “He’s well trained and has gained a bit of weight since he’s been here,” chuckles Grawberger. “I guess we spoil our horses. Rockitt joined two other horses in the Grawberger corral, one of which had an injured tendon.

“I tried to save him and used Rockitt more this summer,” said Grawberger. “We use the horses for checking the fence lines and cattle.” The ride around the fence lines is sometimes a pleasure ride but often comes with a purpose.

Predator’s like wolves present a real challenge to Grawberger’s calf crop and he now uses mules as a protection measure. “We have not lost a calf since we started using mules,” he said. “They will fight to the death with a wolf but we have not had that happen. They are just effective in protecting the cowherd.

Grawberger has a commercial cow farm and has reduced his numbers somewhat responding to stronger markets. “Both my wife and I work off the farm,” he said.

“So we took advantage of the market and sold some cows, mostly the older animals that had been in the herd awhile.”

Grawberger who drives a pulp truck said that sometimes it is relaxing to go out for a ride after a day in the truck. “We’ve always had horses around and I am used to working with them so we keep them around,” he said.

“When I was over at Tanja’s and saw this horse I thought he would be a good fit, he has been.”

Parisien continues to purchase horse that are headed to the meat market or no longer wanted by their owners.

She brings them back to health and sells them to recover the costs of the animal. Her most recent venture of saving 40 laying hens has resulted in a farm fresh egg business that covers the costs of having the hens around the yard.

Tanja Parisien, with Rockitt, a horse she saved at her rescue center and sent to a new home where he is working with cattle.

Photo by Les Kletke

“I wish I would have known about them sooner, I could have saved more of them,” she said. “But, on short notice I only had room for 40.”

She recently purchased three colts at the auction market that were intended for the leather industry.

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Soybeans continue to put a lock in their place in Manitoba crop rotation.

“They came through the challenges of this year with the late spring and then drying up pretty well,” said Roger Johnson who farms near Portage. “Not a bumper crop but, a crop.”

He said that over the last 10 years he has increased his soybean acreage as he has gotten more familiar with the crop and he expects they are here to stay.

“Genetics keep improving and they work in our growing season but this year they are short and the bottom pods are very close to the ground,” said Johnson.

The challenge to harvesting meant slowing down the combine speed and that was difficult when rain clouds loomed.

“We had to make the effort to slow down,” said Johnson.

“That is not easy at harvest when you want to get more done every day. The beans were there we just had to cut close to the ground.” His average yield was about 30 bushels an acre and he said that is not bad considering some of the year’s challenges.

“Things dried up in August and that affected the beans but not as much as other crops,” he added. “We were much more disappointed in our canola yields and the beans seemed to come through that better than the other crops.”

He said that his cereal crops were good and while the yields of winter and spring wheat were not up to the same standard as last year they were above long term averages and the quality is good.

“We got the wheat off in good condition and we hope that will prove beneficial at marketing time for right now; we have been busy with the late harvest and getting ready for next spring,” said Johnson. He did not plant any winter wheat this year and has not yet decided where those acres will be allocated next spring.

“We have had it in the rotation for a while and like that it spreads the work load but it was dry this year and we did not feel comfortable putting seed into dry ground,” he said. “We will see what happens next spring; there might still be wheat acres.”

He is sure that he will be growing soybeans but is cautious on how much because many factors will influence the portion of his farm that goes into the crop.

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The Agri Post

October 31, 2014

A Christmas Gift that Supports Multi-Generational Farm Relationships

By Les Kletke If it sounds like it is real that is because it is, Elaine Froese knows firsthand the challenges of being the daughter-in-law and coming from the outside to a family farm.

Froese who farms with her husband, son and daughter-in-law at Boissevain recalls the challenges she went through and wants to make it easier for the next generation.

Froese co-authored Farming’s In-law Factor with Dr. Megan McKenzie who holds a degree in conflict resolution from the University of Dublin.

“The book is not just about nuclear families,” said Froese. “It deals with a lot of situations outside of the immediate family and the intergenerational issue; it also looks at how sister-in-laws interact.”

The book has been extremely well reviewed and has had the already busy Froese embark on even more speaking engagements to address the family situation on farms and will be at the University of Manitoba on November 3.

“There has been a great deal of interest from young people,” she said. “They are aware of the situations they are heading into and in many cases understand that there will be some challenges with the intergenerational transfers and this can make a difference.”

Froese a long time, farm-family coach believes the younger generation is more in tune with some of the difficulties that arise with farm families but is still a long way from addressing all the issues.

“Things have gotten better with addressing the issues but there is still along way to go in talking about the unmentionables and the things that so many people think are understood and don’t explain them to new people entering the operation,” said Froese.

When asked who should read Farming’s in-law Factor she explained, “There are some points for everyone. There are things that many families face and some things that they may not have thought of. It makes a great Christmas gift for just about anyone in a farming situation.”

The book also includes a lengthy bibliography. “We made an effort to include that not only to document the work but also to help people who want more information on any topic, the book can be a reference book for families or professionals in the industry,” said Froese.

While it does include an extensive bibliography, its chapters act almost like a workbook and guide the reader through difficult situations with a step-by-step approach.

Proactive Weaning Programs Save Money

By Peter Vitti Many calves are truck weaned as a low cost and management option however it is a wasteful practice. It often costs the seller and/or the buyer, a lot of money. Fortunately, better weaning alternatives are available compared to the abrupt removal of calves from their mothers. These better weaning methods are proactive and more effective in reducing weaning stress in sold calves as well as in everybody’s pocketbook.

It’s no secret that the immunity/health status of truckweaned calves’ is likely to be compromised as contrasted to calves put through programs weeks ahead of weaning.

Available research data has proven that many calves never recover from truck-weaning and tend to suffer from poor performance, higher incidence of chronic and long-term health problems and higher rates of feedlot death loss.

Observed from an economic

stand-point, truck-weaned cattle also suffer from a higher shrinkage rate by the time they get to their new feedlot home. In today’s market - a 600 lb truck-weaned calf which loses an extra 6% of its bodyweight or 36 lb @ $2.65 (subject to change) is worth about $96 less than a more relaxed pen-mate.

Much of this stress in truckweaned calves is due to the breaking of the instinctive maternal bond between mother and calf. The University of Saskatchewan demonstrated that when cow-calf pairs of a herd were split in half and each group of cows were given the other group’s calves following weaning; both cows and calves kept searching for their own partner. Before separation, many of these calves were spending little nursing on their dams (at 6 months of age, calves receive from 0 – 15% of their nutrient requirements from mother’s milk), but after separation, it proved that the dam

still provides comfort to her calf.

Consequently, slowly breaking this maternal bond between mother and calf during weaning can be employed in the following ways that not only reduces stress, but also get calves familiar to a new environment and new diets: - Complete separation – Put cow-calf pairs in the same pen for a few days to a week. Once the calves get used to the feedbunks and waterers, move the cows, out.

- Fence-line weaning – Separate cows and calves by a fence, which prevents them from touching one another, but allows visual contact to reduce stress on both sides of the fence.

- Two – step weaning – A method developed by the University of Saskatchewan that outfits each nursing calf with a nose anti-nursing device about 7 – 10 days, before these calves and cows are separated.

- Early weaning – This is a method that can employ each one of the above methods in one fashion or another, where calves are weaned at 4 – 5 months of age (and as early as 6 weeks of age).

After one of these weaning options are chosen, it’s just as important to formulate a wellbalanced and palatable diet that will be fed for the next few weeks to post-weaned calves.

Their good nutrition can come in the form of good quality grass hay, fed free-choice and often complimented with a hand-fed 14% beef cube or pellet made from medium energy ingredients.

Corn or barley silage should be avoided due to their intakecompromising water as well as enriched energy content. Some producers have successfully fore-gone all dry-lot feeding until later in the season and utilized cereal stubble fields supplemented with proteincontaining beef blocks to help feed post-weaned calves in the short-term.

It’s also a good idea to set up a pre-weaning program as well, about three weeks before the calves are weaned. Soon-to-be weaned calves are also dewormed, dehorned and males are castrated. They might even be fed a creep ration to help them get used to a bunk or selffeeder. It is also important to clean out pens that will house weaned calves and bed them with dry straw. Waterers should be in working order.

Such attention to detail when weaning calves helps. Success of weaning beef calves will depend upon how successful producers are in reducing stress when a calf is taken away from its mother. It may never be completely eliminated still using the above proactive weaning programs at pre- and postweaning calf nutrition goes a long way in minimizing it to sell healthy, good growing and profitable calves.

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October 31, 2014

Dream for European Comes True in Manitoba

By Harry Siemens His dream was always to farm, so in October of 2001 Jeroen Van Boeckel, a grain and hog farmer at Stephenfield got his chance to come to Canada at the age of 28, buy his first 700sow farrow to finish farm and live his dream together with his family. In Europe, he served customers for a genetics company.

“I was the youngest hog farmer at that time, and I still think I am today,” laughs Van Boeckel who shut down the original hog farm built in 1970, buying a 700 sow to wean farm near Fannystelle, in 2004, and added a finishing barn at the same location in 2008. Last fall he bought a second hog farm, a 1,200 sow, farrow to finish operation southeast of Winkler, from the bank.

Even during the difficult times over the last five years, he has increased production from 700 sows to 2,000 sows, a bigger debt load and has no regrets. He also owns some land that he rents out in order to focus on the hogs.

“I had a 700 sow farrow to finish where I live here at Stephenfield,” said Van Boeckel. “It was old and needed a new manure storage to comply with the environmental regulations.

But by the time I’d be done building that manure storage, I’d still have 700 sows in a really old barn.”

He could pay the same for a similar barn south of Winkler, double the sows with a 900day manure storage capacity and decided it was a much better route to take. “I had a herd sitting here at home I had to move before winter because I couldn’t store my manure, so I had to build a new lagoon or buy another barn.”

For $350,000, he bought the 1,200 sow, farrow to finish operation and adjacent land base.

“Usually when you build new and invest in that, you want to add production so you can pay back the investment,” he said. “We have to keep growing to keep our businesses viable in the long term to afford these things the regulations tell us to do.”

He now runs the farm with eight employees and Sheila, his wife also looks after the family, 2 and half year-old twin girls.

While admitting more luck than wisdom, in buying the 1,200-sow farrow to finish farm last fall, timing is everything even though the market last fall was not as promising as it is currently. In addition, the possibility of a PED virus breakout and high feed prices were a concern.

Van Boeckel also spent $50,000 to get the barn operating and because it did not stand empty for very long, he had no problems keeping the valid permits in place. Van Boeckel also expressed his concern about the Manitoba government’s policy over expansion because operating income will need to increase to cover additional infrastructure changes required to improve animal welfare.

Jeroen with Kiersten & Khloé, their 2 1/2 year old twins and his wife Sheila.

Jeroen Van Boeckel who farms with his wife and eight employees on two hog farms, one near Winkler and the other at Stephenfield, insists the Manitoba government should relax current regulations that ban hog expansion.

The Greyland farm at Fannystelle, is a 700-sow farrow to finish and the Rhineland Farm is a 1,200-sow farrow to finish southeast of Winkler.

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The RES-Q-Tube in Winkler Will Save Lives in Grain Accidents

By Harry Siemens The Winkler Fire and Rescue Team demonstrated their newest rescue tool, called the RES-Q Tube at a recent open house.

Fire Chief Richard Paetzold explained the new tool is there to help save farmers or anyone else for that matter in case they fall into a facility holding grain and the grain covers them.

“The rescue tube comes in four pieces that rescue personnel put together to make a tube around an individual should the grain cover and trap a person,” said Paetzold. “That can happen in any number of ways whether in the back of a truck and off-loading while on top, or in a grain bin, if off-loading from the bottom and not knowing while letting the grain out the shear pressure sucks a person underneath.”

He said it takes a lot of force to get somebody out from under the grain; about 200 pounds of pressure to actually pull somebody out should they be up to their waist.

“This tool gets put around them and we then auger the grain out from inside of it to free up the pressure the grain exerts on the body and then we are able to pull him out more freely,” said the Fire Chief.

“Without it you can only scoop the grain or beans with the hand that surround the trapped person. Anyone who has played with sand or anything like that knows it always wants to go back to where it came from.”

Paetzold further added that this creates a proper dam around the individual and allows the rescuers to scoop or auger the grain out from around the trapped person inside the tube and free the person up.

Fortunately, incidences like this are rare but on August 17, 2010, such an incident occurred on the Froese Ent. farm near Winkler. Randy Froese and a hired man were attempting to empty a 6,500-bushel grain bin holding wet beans from the previous fall’s harvest. A two-foot crust of beans had formed along the inside edge making it even more difficult to remove. “So we went into the bin attempting to take it out from the top,” said Froese.

“And it didn’t work, so we started taking it from the

Photo courtesy of Winkler Fire and Rescue Department Above: A rescue demonstration of the new RES-Q-Tube at the recent Winkler Fire and Rescue Open House uses a truck and grain from the Froese Ent. farm near Winkler.

Below: RES-Q-Tube will be used by Winkler Fire and Rescue team to help with the extrication of a person buried under the grain in a truck and similar situations.

Photo by Harry Siemens

bottom and the beans came crashing down all at the same time.”

The beans totally covered Randy, fortunately the hired man, was in only up to his waist. He climbed out on top of the beans, found Randy and started digging him out by hand. The other two people outside, heard the crash and scooted down the ladder and frantically lent their helping hands.

“Those two guys had to climb up the bin from the outside and back down into the bin, to help dig me out by hand, and they did.”

Froese said he was able to climb back up the ladder to get back outside.

“There are many different

ways of going about it and sometimes you need to step back and consider what the safest ways of fixing a problem are,” he said.

“In this situation we should have really used a harness or something and not put ourselves into this situation where everything above could fall on us below. We should have worked from the top down.”

He thinks it is great the Winkler Fire and Rescue Department has a tool they can use and practice with in case of future emergencies. “Now the fire and rescue will have better training and a tool to assist should this ever happen again,” he added.

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Improving Competitiveness of Canadian Flaxseed New federal government funding of $3 million to the Flax Council of Canada is geared towards improving the genetic performance and agronomics of flax, an important oilseed crop for Canadian producers and processors.

This funding will support the continued research and development of new flax varieties using the Rapid Development Trait System, a regulated non-genetically modified conversion system that can produce new traits in flax. In addition, agronomic best management practices will be developed to help farmers achieve higher yields of flax.

Canada is the largest single producer of flax in the world.

“Feed application and export markets continue to expand and investments toward advanced agronomic research projects are vital in keeping pace with the growing demand for flax-

seed,” said Don Kerr, President, Flax Council of Canada.

Under this project, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada researchers will collaborate with industry on a number of activities to help the sector. These activities will include research into disease management, seed quality and genetic resistance to heat and drought, contributing to increased competitiveness for flax producers.

Avoid Feeding Too Much Fat to Early Lactation Dairy Cows Recently, there have been a few supply-management incentives for dairy producers to increase milk and milk fat yield in their milk cows.

Because nutrients that supply energy largely drive dairy performance, many people are increasing dietary energy density by adding different types of edible fats to early lactation diets. Dairy producers should be aware of the dire consequences of feeding too much fat to dairy cows and thus insure that maximum feeding limits are always followed.

Adding safe amounts of edible fat to total mixed rations (TMRs) of early lactation cows has been common advice given by dairy nutritionists for years. It is effective in eliciting positive milk and milk fat persistency and often slows down rapid weight loss in dairy cattle during the first 100 days of milk production.

That’s because dietary fats contain more than 2 ¼ times the calories of those found in carbohydrates (barley or corn starch). Common fat sources to feed dairy cows include oilseeds such as full fat soybeans and whole sunflower seeds (20 – 40 % fat) and 100% fat sources, namely pork tallow and canola oil. A third group of dietary fats are commercially manufactured ‘bypass’ fats.

The overall rule for adding these fat supplements to an early lactation dairy ration is take into account all the natural sources of fat already present and add fats; not to exceed 6% total fat of the entire dairy diet. One can follow this rule by breaking the dairy diet down into 3 sections: - 50 lbs. of forages mixed with defatted proteins (soybean or canola meal) and grains contains 3% natural fat – 1.5 lb, - Supplement vegetable oil or tallow (100%) – 0.75 lb, - Supplement inert rumen-protected fat (99%) – 0.75 lb (Total = 3.0 lb. or 6% total fat).

The chemical structures of unadulterated fats found in forages, grains, and pork tallow and canola oil are very similar. Long chains of fatty acids are linked to a triglyceride molecule existing as free fatty acid chains. The fatty acid chains are of two types, either saturated or unsaturated.

Saturated fatty acid chains pass through the cow’s rumen, largely untouched and are digested in the lower gut. Pork tallow contains about 50% saturated and 50% unsaturated fatty acids while canola oil is almost completely made up of unsaturated fatty acids.

Unsaturated fatty acids of canola oil are relatively toxic to rumen microbes, particularly foragefibre digesting species. Fortunately, most rumen microbes have the ability to detoxify and reduce the toxic effects of unsaturated fats through a process known as ‘bio-hydrogenation’ (hydrogen is added to the unsaturated fats and turns them into rumen-protected saturated fats). However, excessive amounts of unsaturated fats and oil added to a dairy diet (over 1 lb. or 450 g/head/d) often overwhelm this process and as a result interfere with rumen fermentation.

To compliment added saturated and unsaturated from natural feedstuffs in early lactation diets, commercial rumen bypass fats are designed to be chemically inert in the rumen, to be digested and absorbed as energy source in the cow’s lower gut.

Regardless as to whatever kind of fat supplement is finally chosen and in what proportion is added to the dairy diet, it is important to avoid overfeeding fat in one capacity or another to lactation dairy cows. It is also important that these dairy diets still be balanced with available carbohydrates such as sugar, starch and effective forage fibre (20 – 22% eNDF) in the diet as well as protein, minerals and vitamins in order to support health and normal activities of the resident microbes in the rumen.

Consequently, there are problems that might be experienced when feeding excessive amounts of fat to lactation dairy cows: 1. Inconsistent and/or low dry matter intake – Some research indicates that overfeeding fat to dairy cows may quickly satisfy their natural appetite for feed. Other explanations might involve digestive upsets in the rumen (unsaturated fat toxicity).

2. Milk fat depression (MFD) – As mentioned, unsaturated fats are toxic to fibre-digesting rumen bacteria and causes reduction in acetate/butyrate production that contributes to milk fat production. It is also believed that too much tallow or vegetable oil can coat forage fibre particles in the rumen.

3. High milk urea nitrogen (MUN) – It is conceivable that supplying too much bypass fat to the lower gut, while literarily starving the rumen microbes of available starch energy could cause incomplete protein digestion and thus large amounts of urea to be released in the rumen. High MUN levels often lead to lower conception rates.

Such quantifiable adversity might not occur if dairy diets are well-balanced with just the right amount of added fats coming from different edible sources. Adding any fat should also compliment the rest of the diet, particularly for early lactation cows. Such success contributes to the profitability of the dairy barn.

Government Supports Canadian Hemp Industry Provencher MP Ted Falk said the Federal Government is committing to a repayable contribution of up to $4.6 million to Hemp Oil Canada based in Ste. Agathe to help build a brand new world-class hemp processing facility with the latest in conveyance, processing and quality assurance equipment.

Founded in 1998, Hemp Oil Canada was one of the first Canadian companies involved in processing hemp following 60 years of prohibition.

This new facility will implement the latest processing technology to further enhance food safety and quality standards and significantly increase the

company’s capacity for delivering high quality hemp products to buyers around the world. This strategic investment will boost the competitiveness of the hemp sector and create opportunities for Canadian producers for years to come.

“The expanding hemp industry represents a great opportunity for Canadian farmers. Our Government is proud to support this growing industry so that farmers can continue to expand their markets and develop more products,” said Falk.

“As a pioneer of the Canadian hemp food industry, we are thrilled to have gained the

MP Ted Falk with Shaun Crew, CEO of Hemp Oil Canada. Hemp Oil Canada is receiving a $4.6 million repayable contribution from the AgriInnovation Program.

approval of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for this important expansion of our processing unit to service worldwide market demand for our 100% Canadian made, food safe products that will be produced in a state of the art facility here in rural Manitoba,” explained Shaun Crew, President and CEO, Hemp Oil Canada Inc. In 2012, Canada exported over $21 million worth of hemp products to international markets. In the last three years, the cultivation of hemp has been on the rise. In 2012, the total retail value of hemp products in North America alone exceeded $500 million. This includes food and body products, clothing, auto parts, building materials and other products.

The Agri Post

Gordon, Ironsides and Fares James Gordon appeared in Manitou in 1882 to operate a lumber business after some years in the lumber business in Winnipeg. In 1883, he formed a partnership with Robert Ironsides who had moved to Manitou as the agent for John Elliot and Sons, a farm machinery manufacturer. Gordon and Ironsides dealt in lumber, grain and cattle. They apparently supplied cattle to the military during the Northwest Rebellion and to CPR construction gangs. Gordon moved to Pilot Mound some time in 1885 dissolving the partnership with Ironsides.

However both men continued to deal in livestock.

Ironside began shipping cattle to Eastern Canada in 1887.

In 1890, Ironside shipped live cattle to Scotland.

By 1890, Canada had a substantial and growing trade in live cattle to Great Britain. The live animal trade to Britain had begun in a small way in 1874 in a response to the increasing prosperity of Britain and the emergence of steam ships offering a relatively speedy and reliable way across the Atlantic. British housewives were used to fresh beef and in any event the technology for freezing or chilling beef was very rudimentary and unreliable. So shipping live animals to Britain and slaughtering them there was the answer. A trial shipment of live cattle from Winnipeg to Glasgow was made in 1886 with 700 Western ranch cattle shipped to Britain in 1887.

Total shipments from Canada to Britain in 1887 totaled some 63,000 animals. By 1906, exports reached 163,000 head with Western cattle making up about half of the total. Some cattle, particularly the cattle from Western Canadian ranches, were slaughtered at port as they were too difficult to handle. Other cattle were shipped inland for either slaughter or for further fattening before slaughter.

Ironside realized that it was best to ship cattle that were in prime condition and so Ironside began to finish cattle in Manitoba before shipment. He contracted with Manitou area farmers for stall finishing over the winter. Apparently this worked for him as it was still being carried out as late as 1907.

Gordon and Ironsides reformed their partnership in 1890 and shipped more cattle to Great Britain, gathering the animals from western Saskatchewan and Alberta. The partners made trips through the West in the summer buying cattle for delivery in the fall off the range when they were in the best condition.

One of the partners would attend fall roundups to select cattle for their contracts plus arrange for shipment east. One of the partners often would accompany the cattle to Eastern ports and supervise the loading of the cattle on steam ships sailing to Britain.

This attention to detail resulted in the business growing rapidly. In 1896, the partnership exported some 9,600 live animals to Britain, in 1894 -19,335 animals, 1895 - 33,907 animals and in 1896 - 27,057 animals. By 1896, the partnership was the largest exporter of live animals from Canada. To even out the flow of finished cattle into the market, Gordon and Ironsides established winter feeding camps east of Calgary and at the forks of the Red Deer and Saskatchewan Rivers.

They also established the Two Bar Ranch in the Wintering Hills area of what was to become Alberta. The winter feeding camps at these ranches supplied a stream of finished cattle at times other than the fall round up.

By 1897 the business was successful enough that Gordon and Ironside took another partner, William Fares to form Gordon, Ironsides and Fares (GIF). Fares was a cattle buyer at Emerson. Fares took responsibility for the partnerships cattle buying activities and the partnerships ranches, Gordon looked after the partnerships meat packing business and Ironside handled the export business.

GIF purchased a number of large ranches in Alberta after 1900, the Bar U being the best known. GIF leased additional land in the area of the Bar U plus a huge tract of land in the Brooks area. The Bar U ran 20,000 head plus the largest herd of Percheron horses in the world in the years 1910 to 1920.

GIF was also involved with a ranch that ran cattle on the Blood Reserve in Southern Alberta. GIF also established another ranch at the Forks of the Red Deer and Saskatchewan, the SC Ranch. In 1909, GIF purchased the remnants of the great ranches in Southwestern Saskatchewan; the 76, the Turkey

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MCC Meat Canning at Winkler Set

By Elmer Heinrichs

Track and the T Bar Down. GIF acquired more lease land in Southwest Saskatchewan to increase graze. GIF even owned a ranch in Mexico for a period of time.

GIF built a slaughter house in Winnipeg in 1898. By 1906, the slaughter house was processing 1000 hogs and 500 cattle per day. GIF went on to build a slaughter house in Moose Jaw along with cold storage plants for meat distribution at Kenora, Sault Saint Marie, Fort William / Port Arthur and Regina.

GIF flourished in the period 1900 to 1914. However in 1914 the live cattle trade to Britain collapsed in the face of chilled beef from other countries. Technology had advanced to the point where economical refrigerator ships able to safely transport beef now existed. GIF also refused to participate in the Union Stockyards project which appears to have been a mistake. GIF’s existing slaughter house was adjacent to the CPR yards in Winnipeg and participation in the Stockyards project would have resulted in GIF having to build a new slaughter house in St. Boniface. As well the Stockyards project threatened GIF’s dominant position in meat marketing. However it went ahead without GIF and other companies began to take market share away from GIF. Management was in disarray at this time as well. Robert Ironsides had passed away in 1910 and James Gordon was in poor health.

The market conditions brought on by World War One resulted further distress to the company. By 1918, GIF was in poor financial shape and brought in a new partner, the Harris Abattoir Company of Toronto. However this move was not successful as by 1921 Harris had announced it had written off its investment of $1,100,000 in GIF. GIF’s bondholders moved in and operated the plant in Winnipeg while abandoning the Moose Jaw operation. By 1925, GIF had built a plant next door to the Union Stockyards abandoning the original plant. In 1927 this plant became part of Canada Packers. GIF was wrapped up completely sometime in the 1930s, ending a pioneering livestock and meat packer of Manitoba which was also one of the largest ranchers in the West. GIF was an early Canadian example of vertical integration, owning ranches, cattle, slaughter houses and a meat distribution system as well as purchasing hogs and cattle across the West and shipping animals abroad.

In 1919 James Gordon passed away. The settlement of his estate showed his shares in GIF had no value. Furthermore Gordon had given personal guarantees on some $5 Million in bank loans taken out by GIF. Gordon’s passing precipitated the sale of GIF’s ranch assets which were still had value. The Bar U went to George Lane and most of the Saskatchewan ranches went to Pat Burns. Fares took the Sand Lake Ranch running horses on it until 1926. But even with the money from the share of the ranches, the Gordon estate had liabilities outweighing assets by over $4 Million.

James Gordon, in his final hours, was said to have been thinking he was once again a young man back in the cattle days of the Old Northwest. Perhaps just as well.

The Mennonite Central Committee mobile meat canner will be setting up at Winkler Meats in November and will run 24 hours a day from Wednesday to Saturday, November 19 - 22 until about 22,000 cans of pork are processed.

Each year since 1946, MCC has sent out a mobile meat canner, with a four men-canning crew, which MCC workers and volunteers use to preserve hundreds of thousands of cans of meat. A gift to meat canning helps provide nutritious food for people in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.

The canner will make 34 stops in Canada and the U.S. during the 2014-15 canning campaign including the event at Winkler Meats with a 65-hour non-stop operation of processing approximately 200 sows.

For the 13th year, volunteers from across the province, youth, seniors and other groups will converge on Winkler for hands-on canning.

Volunteers work in six-hour shifts deboning, cutting and packing the pork into cans, cooking, washing and labelling each of the cans at Winkler Meats.

John Martens, canning Coordinator, is already hard at work preparing for this year’s canning, and his wife Sara Martens is manning the phone line for group and individual volunteer registrations.

“The work is hard, but the collective mood is spirited. I think something like this gives people a sense of satisfaction,” said Martens.

The plan this year is to can 19,000 kilograms of pork, the equivalent of 22,000 cans. “We usually need somewhere between 300 and 400 people to come and fill all the shifts,” explained Martens. “We have about eleven shifts of 30 people each.”

Gord Letkeman, at the MCC material resource centre at Plum Coulee, supports John and Sara’s efforts by accepting cash donations for the canning. A donation of $300 will buy one sow; $150 will buy half a sow. Cash donations also accepted and tax receipts will be issued for all donations over $10. Live sow donations can also be made by calling John at 204-346-2861.

The meat in tins are labelled ‘Food for Relief, an MCC project, Winkler, Manitoba’ and will be stored at the MCC warehouse in Plum Coulee, to supply protein for meals as the need arises.

In the Bins

By Elmer Heinrichs Five combines, two grain carts and three trucks working on the CHUM project harvest in the Plum Coulee-Altona area took off 150 acres of soybeans in two hours and 20 minutes on October 9 reported Isaac Froese, Chairman of the CHUM project committee.

It was CHUM’s only field this year. All the soybeans from the crop, over 4,000 bushels, a yield of about 28 bushels an acre was delivered and sold to Patterson Grain at Morris, with a return of $8.80 a bushel, or about $37,400 in total less expenses, will be donated to the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB). The federal government through CIDA supplements the proceeds with additional funds.

The neighbouring Common Ground project at Rosenfeld also harvested on October 9 with six combines cleared 300 acres of soybeans yielding about 40 bushels an acre. Coordinator Kevin Nickel said most of the inputs to grow the crop were donated and the crop was sold to Seed-Ex in Letellier for $9 bushel.

Twenty farmers brought nine combines to a 150-acre wheat field near Rivers, land that they seeded and cared for on their own time to harvest and haul grain that will all be donated to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The project filled seven grain trucks.

They also invited students from area schools to ride along and learn about how wheat is harvested.

“It’s pretty cool!” exclaimed eight-year-old Andrew Hamm, who rode along with veteran farmer Abe Krahn in his combine.

“Even when we say we don’t have a good year... our years are still so much better than many people who try to survive on an acre or two of land, as we have seen in other countries,” said Krahn, who has been a part of the project for 14 years.

Krahn said he hopes students who joined the farmers will not only remember a fun combine ride, but also remember the importance of giving back. The latter point has stuck with Hamm who said, “[It’s important] because people are poor in some countries and they need food.”

In total, the crops from about 5,000 acres of Manitoba farmland will be donated to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank this year.

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October 31, 2014

By Joan Airey Two country brothers from Coulter in southwestern Manitoba found themselves fighting for the same cause in World War II. Because Jack Bennett was over in Bishopthorpe, England helping, his uncle and aunts run their hotel for a few weeks he ended up being drafted into the British army on October 17, 1940. His brother William Henry was also called to action joining the Canadian army.

“My training consisted of three months at Rhyl Kinmill Park Camp in North Wales. I trained as a MT and

The Agri Post

Technical Engineer as an operator and driver. There was very little training on firing guns, etc. I was one of four who passed as a driver mechanic. On February 24, 1941, I married Jennie Gair, who I met in 1939 when I arrived in England,” said Bennett.

Right after they married Jack Bennett a soldier in the 5th Searchlight Company of the Royal Army left to serve in the Singapore area. On February 15, 1942 the outfit, he was serving with capitulated to the overwhelming Japanese forces.

“When we buried a prisoner, we wrote his name and where he was buried on a piece of paper. These were stored in a quinine bottle by the cross. When the bottle was full of names we buried it by the cross hoping someday the war would be over and our comrades’ graves would be marked.”

“When Jack was taken prisoner of war I didn’t know for six months if he was alive. The only correspondence allowed was a postcard. I was only allowed 16 words on the postcards I sent Jack and I had to be careful what I wrote or they would destroy his mail. When the war was over, piles of undelivered mail were found in the POW camps,” recalled Jennie Bennett.

Jack Bennett was one of thousands of men who built the bridge over the River Kwai, which is now a grim relic that inspired a celebrated novel and motion picture.

Seeking a strategic railway link between Thailand and Burma in World War II, the Japanese forced Allied prisoners of war, Asian soldiers and workers to lay more than 250 miles of track through malaria-infested jungle.

Thousands died of malnutrition, disease and in Allied

bombings that destroyed part of the bridge.

“We carved a cross which we erected in the middle of the graveyard.

When we buried a prisoner, we wrote his name and where he was buried on a piece of paper.

These were stored in a quinine bottle by the cross. When the bottle was full of names we buried it by the cross hoping someday the war would be over and our comrades’ graves would be marked. Prisoners who died were buried in a rice sack made of rice straw. Now the graves are marked and the Thai people care for the graveyard,” explained Bennett.

Today the railway line carries tourists from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi near the bridge across the River Kwai, where neat rows of gravestones mark the graves of about half of the 16,500 prisoners of war that died building the bridge of death. Over 100,000 Asian soldiers and workers also lost their lives while working on the bridge.

“Treatment in the POW camps was inhuman; we were given one scoop of rice to eat three times a day. On very rare occasions, we shared half a pig amongst six hundred men or we were fed marrow or cucumbers. If you had ten cents you could sometimes buy a duck egg,” said Bennett.

Prisoners’ clothing was a loincloth and wooden thongs. Suffering from malnutrition, these men toiled long hours building the bridge across the River Kwai.

Even prisoners who were ill with malaria were expected to work by catching twenty flies a day or they would get their face slapped. Bennett was one of those prisoners who eventually contracted and suffered from malaria.

“Prisoners caught stealing food were put into ‘hot boxes’ made of bamboo. They couldn’t sit up, stand-up or lay down properly and a hole was dug in one end for a toilet. Others were sent to the guardroom to be kicked until they fell down and then kicked until they got up again. Prisoners were forced to salute all Japanese soldiers. Anyone trying to escape was shot immediately,” explained Bennett bluntly.

Then in August 1945, two American soldiers and a Thai soldier freed the final prisoner of war campsite. The POWs next traveled by truck to Bangkok, flew to Rangoon and from there they sailed on the Cynthia to Southampton, England. Bennett returned home weighing only 89 pounds. For his courage and heroism, he received the Kings Medal, War Medal 1939-45, Pacific Medal, Burma Bar and the Star Medal 1939-45.

Jack and Jennie Bennett eventually returned to Canada in 1946 and continued farming in the Coulter area.

Jack Bennett was my Dad. He never missed observing Remembrance Day and he took time to sell poppies in memory of his comrades who lost their lives to give us freedom until he passed away.

I am reminded weekly, that when I sit at my computer to write, 69 years ago my Dad secretly borrowed a pencil from an officer in order to keep track of what life was like in his journal as a prisoner struggling for survival in a POW camp while helping build the bridge across the River Kwai. If he was caught writing, he would have been severely punished.

Remember. Wear your poppies with pride.

The Agri Post

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The Agri Post