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Volume 39, Number 14 | SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

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PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

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Herbicide carryover may not be in the past Some soils are more susceptible to herbicide carryover than others, and herbicides from some groups are more prone to cause problems

BY LISA GUENTHER

H

arry Brook hasn’t had a lot of calls on herbicide carryover recently, but he’s not sure it’s a problem of the past.

“Actually, when you really come right down to it, it could raise its ugly little head again because as we’re having problems with weed resistance, guys are moving back to some old chemistries to try and control problem weeds like wild oats,” says Brook, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

Wet weather in the last three or four years helped break down a lot of products, Brook says. And most modern herbicides are less persistent than older chemistries.

CARRYOVER ISSUES Kristin Phillips, Canola Council of Canada agronomist, says she sees carryover in canola crops more often than she’d like. “But guys that are keeping good records don’t have an issue with it.”

Phillips sees carryover issues with Group 2, 4, 5, and 14 herbicides.

“And also, we’re starting to hear and see some Group 27 carryover,” says Phillips.

She adds that herbicide

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carryover shows up more often in soils with low organic matter. Soil pH also affects some herbicides. An April 2013 issue of the Canola Council of Canada’s Canola Watch notes that some Group 5 herbicides, along with some Group 2 sulfonylureas, break down more slowly in alkali soils. But Group 2 IMIs disintegrate slowly in acidic soils.

Signs of herbicide carryover depend on the chemical group, Brook says. “If it’s really bad, you could get nothing coming up. And then you have to start digging around to check out the plants.

Did they germinate?”

Group 2 herbicides affect the growing point, Brook says. Often the growing point will be dead and white, but shoots will pop up at the bottom of the plant.

Anastasia Kubinec, oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, outlined herbicide carryover symptoms at CanolaLAB in Brandon, Manitoba. Group 2 carryover symptoms can also include yellowing, purpling, and cupping.

Group 4 carryover symptoms include twisting and stem swelling, while Group 9 carryover can cause wilting and yellowing.

Bleaching is a sign of Group 27 carryover.

PHOTOS: CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA

Damage from carryover of Group 4 herbicides can include abnormal stem growth. This photo was taken at the Canola Council of Canada’s CanoLAB in Brandon last winter.

Other carryover symptoms can include leaf sclerosis, stunted plants and bare patches, says Kristin Phillips. Cotyledon thickening is also sometimes seen.

“Typically you’ll see it earlier than later, especially if it is herbi-

cide carryover and not herbicide drift. You want to be looking for it at that cotyledon to three leaf stage,” she says.

Farmers and agronomists should also look for patterns, Brook says, such as problems in spots with low

organic matter. “So if you notice at the hilltops, the crop’s doing very poorly and you’re noticing stunting, that could be due to a carryover issue.”

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

In This Issue

Wheat & Chaff ..................

2

Features ............................

5

Crop Advisor’s Casebook

6

Columns ........................... 27 Machinery & Shop ............ 34 Cattleman’s Corner .......... 44

Six things to know about intercropping

LISA GUENTHER PAGE 24

New Holland introduces new hay and forage tools

FarmLife ............................ 51

SCOTT GARVEY PAGE 34

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Wheat & Chaff STAMPEDE

BY JERRY PALEN

LEEANN MINOGUE

I

n the last issue of Grainews I wrote about the July 13 hailstorm that swept over most of our land, doing a lot of damage. Since the article was published, we’ve heard from all kinds of friends and acquaintances, passing on condolences and kind wishes. All of the thoughtful comments have definitely made it easier for us to cope with the loss.

I should probably email Hallmark and suggest that they come out with a “Sorry you were hailed out” card. Maybe I could get royalties.

HARVEST AFTER HAIL

“Elmo just swears by this old pickup.”

CONTACT US

Write, Email or Fax SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) 1-800-665-0502

U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com If you have story ideas, call us. You can write the article and we’d pay you, or we can write it.

Phone Leeann Minogue at 306-861-2678 Fax to 204-944-5416 Email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com Write to Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1

HEARTS

Some of our canola was a complete writeoff. Brad sprayed it with Roundup, not long after the storm. He’s hoping it’ll dry down enough that he can smash it up with a harrow bar before winter.

As for the fields that were damaged, but not a complete writeoff, we’re trying to figure out exactly when to swath. The main stems of most of the canola plants were badly damaged by hailstones. The seeds in the pods on the oldgrowth area are starting to brown, but the newer parts of the plant are nowhere near ready to cut.

As a welcome break from spraying out what were once nice-looking canola crops, Brad has been out in the field seeding winter wheat on some land that was too wet to seed in the spring. Planting new seed brings a lot more optimism to the summer. We’re trying to stay optimistic, but now we need to start watching for grasshoppers coming in from the edge of the field to eat the sprouting winter wheat. What a year.

With the late harvest, like everyone else, we’re watching

the calendar, the long-range forecasts and the phases of the moon to try to forecast the first frost. Here’s hoping it doesn’t come too early for us or any Grainews readers.

IN THE GARDEN Try to imagine my husband’s delight when he found out that, even though a lot of our crop was lost, the zucchini plants in the garden came through the hailstorm just fine.

I’ve been serving stir-fried yellow and green zucchini as often as I think I can get away with it. Then zucchini chocolate chip cake. Muffins. Loaf.

Things hit a new peak the other night (or low point, depending on your point of view), when I made zucchini and feta cheese pancakes for supper.

Everyone knows the old jokes about how Prairie people have to lock their car doors when they go to the post office so nobody sneaks zucchini into their cars.

I don’t know if this has actually happened, but I do know that a few years ago, a woman who hadn’t been living out here very long called me up, very upset. “I had to buy zucchini,” she said.

“I just know everybody in the Co-op was looking and me and thinking ‘she doesn’t have any friends.’”

Another neighbour swears that, on the day of his grandmother’s funeral, when the mourners drove out to the family farm for coffee and squares, his mom sent him outside to sneak zucchini in to the back seats of all of their relative’s vehicles.

I love zucchini. It’s hardy.

Versatile. Even if you’re not a great gardener, you can usually grow zucchini. And it makes your garden look a lot more substantial for drivers going by on the road.

And here’s the best part: if an early frost threatens the canola and the wheat, I can still take out blankets to save the zucchini. Brad will be thrilled.

TILLAGE RADISH I have a new back up plan, for the day when my family really, really can’t stomach any more zucchini. Tillage radish.

Brad seeded tillage radish for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

We’re hoping that the tillage radish plants will suck up some of the excess moisture in some parts of our fields, so they’re easier to deal with next year.

About two weeks after Brad seeded, they’d popped up nicely, as you can see from the photo.

One day when I was cooking up some Swiss chard from the garden and thinking about how this new crop is called “radish,” I had an idea, and emailed Kevin Elmy for more information. Kevin is a Saskatchewan farmer and a Grainews contributor. He’s been growing tillage radish on his farm for a few years, and he wrote an article about it for Grainews last winter.

Kevin was quick to reply and tell me that I could definitely eat tillage radish. He wrote, “Roots can be treated like carrots or potatoes, leaves in salads. It is the hot part of hot and sour soup.” I foresee a whole new series of cooking experiments.

This is bound to be even more exciting than the zucchini feta cheese pancakes.

IN THIS ISSUE This is our soil management issue. Lisa Guenther has written the cover story about herbicide carryover. We also have stories about soil testing, managing soil residue, how to live with clubroot and wind erosion.

As we move from a drier cycle to a cycle with more moisture, lots of farmers are finding they have to learn new ways to manage the same soil they’ve been cropping for years. Hopefully, you’ll find something in this issue that will be helpful for your situation.

Leeann

Ask for hearts When you renew your subscription to Grainews, be sure to ask for six Please Be Careful, We Love You hearts. Then stick them onto equipment that you, your loved ones and your employees operate. That important message could save an arm, a leg or a life.

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Find, read and comment on blog posts easily and with a thumbs up!

Find us on Twitter: Leeann Minogue is @grainmuse Lisa Guenther is @LtoG Lee Hart is @hartattacks Scott Garvey is @machineryeditor

The tillage radish plants are popping up nicely.

Hailstones broke many of our main canola stems.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Wheat & Chaff FARM SAFETY

Read the signs to your farm workers

Cut. If you are working with or near sharp

objects (knife/rotating fan/blade) or objects that have components that pass close enough together to create a shearing action (augers running in tubes/paddle conveyors/lift arms) your body parts can be cut or severed.

T

his past May, a seasonal agricultural worker from Mexico was crushed to death by heavy farm machinery in Ontario. The Minister of Labour in Ontario confirmed that the worker appeared to have been adjusting the height of a potato hopper when an axel slipped, causing the hopper to crush the worker.

Farms can be dangerous places. According to Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting statistics, while 47 per cent of all agricultural fatalities in Canada involve farm owners and operators, the remaining 53 per cent of fatal injuries are made up of other individuals working, living, or visiting the farm, especially the children of operators and hired workers.

The body is an amazing organic machine, but it’s no match for the steel, chemical, electrical and biological hazards on your farm. Have you reviewed the warning signs that are affixed to your agricultural equipment, tools and products with your workers?

Do they understand what the pictures mean? You probably know all the warning signs by heart, but you’re workers might not. Alternately, they might see the signs so often that they have become “blind” or “numb” to the warnings. Either way, it’s a good idea to go through a little pictorial refresher, pointing out the warning signs and explaining to your workers what they need to do to stay safe. And remember that when it comes to safety, you have an obligation to communicate hazards to your workers. In the long run, taking the time to appreciate all the ways the fragile human body can be harmed will help keep everyone’s limbs, digits, and body parts, intact and out of harm’s way.

The following is a listing of some of the key warning signs in the workplace and a description of the types of injuries resulting from unsafe use or operation of equipment, tools or products. For more warning sign imagery, visit: http://www.aem.org/SRT/Safety/ PictorialDatabase/Home.asp. †

From the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association

grainews.ca /

C NOLA M.D. grainews.ca/DIAGNOSEIT

PHOTO CONTEST Entanglement. If an object rotates, your body can wrap around it.

Pinch. If a machine has close moving parts, it could pinch you.

Runover. If a machine has wheels, it can run you over.

Crush. If two pieces

Electrocute. If electrical

Burn. If an object is hot, it can burn you. Beware as you might not notice it is hot at first glance.

Chemical Exposure.

Dust/Fumes Inhalation.

of machinery run past each other they can crush you.

Rollover. If a machine, like a tractor is pushed to its limits, it can overturn onto an operator, causing serious injury or death.

WEATHER LORE

wires and terminals are not properly protected, you can be electrocuted.

If a dangerous chemical makes contact with your unprotected skin or other body part, it can burn you.

If you inhale unsafe biological or chemical particles, you can damage your lungs or even suffocate.

AGRONOMY TIPS FROM THE FIELD

Chicken wisdom

W

hen the rooster crows on going to bed You may arise with a watery head.

Normally, roosters don’t crow in the evening but when they do it could be a sign of increased irritability due to falling barometric pressure.

When the barometric pressure falls, the rooster’s body must give up dissolved gases, which it releases through body fluids. As they are being released these gases collect as tiny bubbles in body tissues. These bubbles affect nerve impulses and can tend to make Mr. Rooster a tad peevish. Lowering barometric pressure can affect people in similar ways. †

Shirley Byers’ book “Never Sell Your Hen on a Rainy Day” explores over 100 weather rhymes and sayings. It is available from McNally Robinson at: www.mcnallyrobinson.com.

Laird lentil developer honoured

PHOTO: STOBBE PHOTO

Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) and Food Day Canada marked the 10th anniversary of Food Day Canada Aug. 1 by presenting Alfred Slinkard with the Pulse Legacy Award for his contribution to the pulse industry. He developed the Laird lentil 35 years ago, and since then, the large green lentil market class continues to be adapted and improved while continuing to maintain large consumer demand around the world. Slinkard (left) received the award from SPG executive director Carl Potts.

Managing nutrients

Y

ou can think of the soil as being a “bank” of nutrients. And like the balance on your bank statement, you don’t want to neglect the balance of the nutrients in your fields.

Every year, crops withdraw nutrients from the soil. Each crop puts its own unique demands on the soil, whether it’s sulphur, nitrogen or any other mineral. So over the course of a rotation, nutrients decline overall, and they tend to decline unevenly.

That’s why there’s really no such thing as a good, one-size-fits-all fertility package to replenish the soil. Each field needs to be properly soilsampled to make sure you have a good handle on its fertility. Ideally, you should wait until after harvest, just before the field freezes, to do your sampling. This way, nutrients in the trash have time to break down and return back to the soil before the samples are taken.

Next, just like you might review your finances with an accountant, consider going over your test results with an agronomist. The agronomist will advise you on how to tailor next year’s fertilizer program to the exact needs of the incoming crop. (Plus, if you should have problems with the crop, a soil test will enable you to discount fertility as a cause of poor crop performance.)

With the field’s nutrients properly replenished, you will once again have a field you can bank on. †

This agronomy tip is brought to you by Justin Daymond, Agronomic Service Representative for Syngenta Canada Inc. Justin is a qualified CCA and CCSC agronomist. Justin’s hobbies include farming near Cypress River, Man.

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT

This issue’s winning photo came from Julie Scott.

Three-year old Halle lives on a farm with her parents, Julie Scott and Chet Von Bargen. Julie says, “Halle has been on horses since she was five months old and riding by herself since she was two. Between her grandpa Scott’s farm and her other grandparents’ ranch — Von Bargen Ranch, owned by Craig & Karen Von Bargen — Halle has always been a farm girl. She loves to bottle feed calves, ride horses, play with the donkeys and help with any chores.”

In this picture, Halle is leading her horse, Duke, to the yard. The photo was taken by Halle’s baba, Linda Dawson.

We’ll send Halle’s mom a cheque for $25. If you’d like to see your photo on this page and receive $25, send your best shot to leeann.minogue@ fbcpublishing.com. Please send only one or two photos at a time and include your name and address, the names of anyone in the photo, where the photo was taken and a bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that images are of high resolution (1 MB is preferred), and if the image includes a person, we need to be able to see their face clearly.

Leeann

You might be from the prairies if...

You have ever proposed Gordie Howe for sainthood.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Cover Stories spraying » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Herbicide carryover may not be in the past Manitoba farmers who think they may have an herbicide carryover issue can send samples to the crop diagnostic lab or bring samples to their local government (GO) offices.

Farmers in other provinces can also send samples to labs for residual testing. The Canola Council lists labs that conduct herbicide carryover tests at www.canolawatch. org/2013/01/31/agriculture-labs.

Labs can conduct soil bioassays in the fall or early spring to see if any products are carrying over, says Phillips. “But if you are seeing symptoms on the plant and you’re not sure, then you would send (the plant) to the lab for diagnostics.”

Phillips also suggests taking pictures of herbicide injury for records and to send to agronomists. Posting pictures to social media such as Twitter is becoming more common as well, but Phillips advises farmers to cross-reference information coming from Twitter users. “Sometimes people don’t necessarily give the right answer on Twitter. But at least it gets your brain thinking and you can Google it and go see and look at more symptoms.”

Farmers can also use the Canola Council’s Diagnostic Tool, at canoladiagnostictool.ca, to help diagnose crop issues.

Dealing with carryover The actions farmers can take to deal with damaged crops depends on the situation.

“Sometimes the crop will grow through it if it’s just a small bit of residual that’s carrying over.

You’ll see that uptake in the cotyledon and the plant will actually grow through it,” says Phillips.

If plants don’t grow through it and damage is extensive, reseeding may be an option. But the crop will likely need moisture to wash away the herbicide, she adds. And farmers may need to choose a different crop to reseed, she adds.

Farmers re-seeding after an early-season hail storm should also think about carryover potential and its effect on the re-seeded crop, says Brook. As well, farmers doing late fall herbicide applications to control late winter annual flushes should be aware of residual times, he adds.

Application rates and re-cropping information is displayed on product labels. Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Crop Protection Guide also includes a chart outlining re-cropping restrictions for residual herbicides.

Both Phillips and Brook say good record keeping is the key to preventing problems.

“Know what you’re using, when, and have a record of it so you can check back two or three years, or even just for next year,” says Brook.

Alberta farmers can reach Brook and other crop specialists toll-free at 310-FARM (3276). The Canola Council of Canada lists contact information for Phillips and other agronomists at canolawatch.org, under “Contact Us.” Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.

Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

1 6 6 6 D u b l i n Av e n u e , W i n n i p e g , MB R 3 H 0 H 1 w w w. g r a i n e w s . c a PUBLI SHER

Lynda Tityk Associate Publisher/ Editorial director

John Morriss

Edi tor

Leeann Minogue field Edi tor

Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor

Lee Hart Farml ife Edi tor

Sue Armstrong

Symptoms of Group 2 herbicide carryover can include severe chlorosis, purpling and cupping.

Scott Garvey Produ ction Dire ctor

Shawna Gibson Desi gner

Steven Cote MARKETING/ CIR CULATION Dire ctor

Lynda Tityk

Ci rc ulat ion manag er

Heather Anderson president

of Glacier Agricultural Information Group

Bob Willcox H e ad O f f i c e 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 Phone: (204) 944-5568 Fax: (204) 944-5562 Adv ert isi ng Sa l es

Cory Bourdeaud’hui Phone: (204) 954-1414 Fax: (204) 944-5562 Email: cory@fbcpublishing.com Adv ert isi ng Serv ices Co -ordi nat or

When there is Group 2 herbicide carryover, canola plant leaves may be chlorotic and small.

AppQuest

Using the Prairie Locator Here’s an app that will help you find directions to a land location and show you the satellite image

By Jay Peterson

H

ave you ever agreed to do some custom work for a neighbour or friend, but they didn’t have time to show you the exact field? The Prairie Locator app can help you with this problem if you’re in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba. With this app you can search multiple land locations to get the latitude, longitude, a satellite image and even directions from your current location.

This app is very simple to use and can be very useful in multiple ways.

The first thing to do is to search for a single section of land. All you need to do is use a dial in the top left corner of the app to select the legal land location for the section you would like to find. Press the “convert” button and the app takes you to the satellite image on the right-hand side, which you can zoom in or out. You can keep adding to the list of the sections and it will add them to the satellite image, highlighting each new section in purple with a purple pin in the centre.

You’ll notice a small bar in the centre of the bottom of the screen. One puts a blue pin into your current location on the map.

The other takes you to the maps app, and

Machinery EDITOR

creates directions from your current location to the land location you selected, including different routes. I find this beneficial if I am looking for an alternate route that may be less travelled to move large equipment over a long distance.

In the centre of the bar you see the map,

satellite and hybrid button. These buttons just switch you image between a true map look, the satellite image or the hybrid image.

I personally use the satellite image more than anything but the hybrid view can be helpful in finding roads that are not easily visible in the satellite view.

Another button in the bottom right corner takes you to the settings page. Here you can select your map zoom level or highlight sections. There is also an option to bring up the frequently asked questions to find out more about the app.

There are two versions of this app — the regular version and the upgrade professional version. The regular version costs $3.

The upgraded version is $25 but adds a few features. In the upgraded version you can search by quarter section, subdivision, latitude/longitude or just try to locate a nearby section. The professional version just gives you a little more accuracy on your searches.

This makes it that much easier to find quarter sections.

If you’re looking to find directions to sections, map out the majority of your land at once or find alternate routes to a field this is a great little app for you.

Price: $5 or $25 † Jay Peterson farms near Frontier, Sask.

At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-665-0502.

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You can expect your next issue in your mailbox about October 7, 2013

The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Grainews and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Grainews and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Grainews and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

5

Features SOIL MANAGMENT

Manage residue to enhance no-till Using vertical tillage tools with a no-till system can warm up the soil and unlock fertility in lower levels, increasing yield potential

N

o-till seeding has become a tried and true system of planting crops over a wide area of Canada and the U.S. No-till systems have evolved tremendously over the past 20 to 25 years and that evolution continues today. The next challenge will be to push beyond a yield plateau that many no-tillers have experienced in recent years.

When it comes to achieving higher yields, no-tillers have three major issues to tackle: cold and wet spring soils; high density in the lower portion of the topsoil; and large amounts of residual fertility locked in the no-till stover.

Cold wet soil slows machinery carrying capability, seeding emergence and vigour. higher density on the bottom part of the topsoil layer causes reduced nutrient uptake, reduced moisture carrying capacity and eventually reduced root growth and yield. Yields can be enhanced by having releasing the fertility in the previous crop’s residue for the growing crop.

All of these limitations can be alleviated with the proper use of true vertical tillage tools.

Let’s use the following analogy: topsoil is similar to a lake or body of water. Different creatures have different preferences as to where

they live in the water column.

For example, algae live near the surface where they feed on higherlevel nutrients and sunshine.

Bigger fish prefer to live lower in the lower water column, and bottom feeders obviously live on the bottom. Some creatures move up and down through the water column as they feed. Soil is similar. Certain microbes and bacteria live in the upper portions of the topsoil, certain fungi prefer the middle of the soil profile and others, the bottom.

MOVE SOIL VERTICALLY If you disturb the soil by totally inverting it, all of the creatures in the soil have to build and find new homes. It takes a while for their populations to recover. The beauty of vertical tillage is that because all the movement is vertical, the existing populations of creatures in the topsoil are not displaced or destroyed.

Large amounts of residue on the soil surface act like an insulating blanket keeping the topsoil cold. Reducing residue volume by processing with a vertical tillage machine accomplishes a number of things. It allows more sun and air into the upper portion of the soil surface for warming and reduces or pre-processes the amount of residue that the

seeding equipment needs to deal with. Vertical tillage residue processing also begins the nutrient release process from the stover. Opening the very top of the soil adds air that warms the seedbed. You are not inverting or stirring the seedbed, just adding air.

A second analogy is that true vertical tillage is much like a wood stove. When you add air to a wood stove, you increase the amount of heat and combustion. When you add air to the seedbed portion of topsoil, the soil warms and the warmth increases soil life activity.

You get a soil creature population “boom” or “bloom.”

There are many benefits to warming the top one and threequarters to two inches of topsoil: • Seeding can occur many days earlier because the soil can carry the planting equipment.

• Seeds are placed in an ideal warm environment with neither excessive or a depleted soil moisture.

• Seed germination, vigour and speed of emergence are improved.

• Populations of existing flora and fauna bloom to help in the nutrient uptake process.

MANAGE CROP RESIDUE Crop residue, especially corn, contains a large amount of nutrients. In a standard no-till system

Tundra

these nutrients are usually released late in the growing season, once higher temperature and rainfall cause decomposition. This usually happens too late to be used by the growing crop. If these nutrients are recycled more quickly using a vertical tillage tool pass, they will be available for the growing crop, giving the crop a boost, and potential yield gain.

Over time nearly all no-till soils stratify. The top two inches of topsoil — the layer that received direct fertilizer application and mechanical tillage soil movement — tends to become open and loose, and very high in nutrients.

The soil from two inches down to six or eight inches tends to get quite dense from lack of mechanical tillage, lack of direct fertilizer application and wheel traffic. This increased density reduces the soil’s ability to store water and exchange nutrients. Some no-till soils can become so dense that moisture and nutrient exchange can stall. A tell tale sign that this has occurred is two to three years of undigested residue visible on the soil surface.

REDUCE SOIL DENSITY There are a number of ways of helping alleviate this lower topsoil density issue. One is to pull a vertical shank that lifts the soil

profile and shatters it without stirring it. In-line rippers are an example of this. Some vertical tillage systems offer the option of putting shanks into their framework to offer upper topsoil warming and lower topsoil fracturing.

Just make sure that the shank is only moving soil vertically if you wish to keep the vertical tillage advantage.

Another option is to use vertical tillage tools that offer a jack hammer effect. Certain machines have rolling coulters that vibrate and shatter the lower topsoil density. Reducing density levels of the lower topsoil increases root growth and plant, water and nutrient uptake. It also increases the water holding capacity of topsoil, which can add to drought tolerance in certain years.

Adding all the positives of vertical tillage into a no-till system without displacing the gains that have been accomplished creates a synergy. Combining the benefits of vertical tillage — increased soil warming, increased residue breakdown and lower soil density —with the benefits of no-till’s improved soil structure, decreased soil erosion and soil conservation can lead to further yield increases. † Mark van Veen is a territory representative at Salford Farm Machinery. Phone him at 519-619-6171 or email mark.vanveen@ salfordmachine.com.

Tundra

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Why Rotate?

If you have wild oats in your field that are resistant to Group 1 and Group 2 chemistry, or want to prevent resistance, you need to use an herbicide with a different mode of action.

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?

Avadex creates a barrier of protection that kills wild oats before they cause harm. Control wild oats at the no-leaf stage, before they begin competing for soil moisture and nutrients.

Avadex® is a registered trademark of Gowan Company LLC. PMRA Reg. No. is 25112 Always read and follow label directions.

BY MARK VAN VEEN

6

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features CROP PRODUCTION

CROP ADVISOR’S CASEBOOK

BY CHARISSE GARLAND

K

elvin, who farms 4,500 acres of durum, wheat, peas, lentils and flax 10 miles southeast of Swift Current, Sask., called me in late May to provide current information on his fields after seeding for our records. He also mentioned that something strange was happening in one of his pea fields.

During a routine check of those fields, which were at the three- to four-node stage at the time, Kelvin had noticed some plant damage, especially on the leaves. “There are small notches on the outer edges of the leaves of the plants,” explained Kelvin.

“It appears to be damage from some type of pest.”

Kelvin was unable to find any pests in the field at this time that could be causing the bite marks, so he asked me to come by to help him out. After taking a walk through the field, I could see the damage was quite noticeable on the plants throughout the entire crop.

One other consideration to rule out before we started searching for pests was plant injury caused by environmental conditions; for example, leaves getting clipped or torn by wind, heavy rain or hail.

The notches, however, in the edges of the plants were perfectly rounded and the damage was not evenly dispersed

throughout the field, ruling out environmental causes — the damage would have been more uniform and broken stems would have been evident, which was not the case in this field. There had been reports of insect damage in surrounding areas, but what pest was wreaking havoc in Kelvin’s pea field?

I noticed that the location of the damage on the pea plants was typical of insect feeding and the field borders — typically an area where pest invaders would enter a field and feed first — were the worst-hit areas. I was able to find insects throughout the field, but from the size and shape of the bite marks, I was looking for one in particular.

As dusk fell, I found what I was looking for — whatever was feasting on Kelvin’s plants had come out in the cool of the evening to feed again.

What was eating plant leaves in Kelvin’s pea field? Send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 3K7; email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing. com or fax 204-944-5416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook. Best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a Grainews cap and a one-year subscription to the magazine. The best answer, along with the reasoning which solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution. †

CROP ADVISOR’S SOLUTION

A

local farmer from southeast of Swan River, Man., called me when he noticed that his emerging wheat field was turning yellow in patches. Guy farms a mix of canola, wheat and oats, and was very concerned that the wheat plants were dying off.

“This field is going downhill fast,” explained Guy. “It looks like it may have a disease, but I’m unsure. Could you come by and take a look at it?”

Guy had been regularly scouting his crops, and grew concerned when he first noticed some yellow patches in his wheat field. When I arrived

at Guy’s farm and began my inspection, I could see that many areas of the field had turned even darker in colour, with the lower leaves of the damaged plants noticeably browning and turning to orange.

There was little to go on in terms of the history on this piece of land. Guy only started renting it a year ago, and this was his second crop on the field.

The previous crop had been canola with a fertility package of 100-30-0-15, while this year, Guy’s fertility blend on the wheat field was 80-30-15-0.

The local area had received a regular amount of rain, so

ABIC 2

EVENING SCOUTS CAN REVEAL HIDDEN PROBLEMS

Charisse Garland

Casebook winner

C

had Bower is the Casebook winner for this issue.

Chad farms with his parents. They operate Bown Farms Ltd. at Ranfurly, Alta., a 3,500-acre cash crop farm along the Highway 16 corridor. The Bower’s grow mostly wheat and canola.

Thanks for entering, Chad.

We’ll send you a hat and renew your subscription to Grainews for one year. † Leeann Minogue

The small notches on the outer edge of the leaves of the pea plants appeared to have been damaged by some type of pest.

EVENING SCOUTS CAN REVEAL HIDDEN PROBLEMS it wasn’t likely the crop was under early leaf disease pressure, which you might expect from heavy moisture or a wheat-on-wheat rotation. In any case, I could see that while the lower leaves of many damaged plants were turning colour, newer leaves showed little to no signs of being affected.

I had my suspicions as to what could be causing Guy’s problems in this field, but needed further exploration to prove my hunch. I explained to Guy that the best way to pinpoint a possible cause would be to take both a tissue sample of the damaged plants and a soil sample for testing.

13

When we received the results of the tissue and soil tests, my suspicion was confirmed — the affected plants were deficient in potassium. With no application of potash in the previous year’s blend, this year’s blend hadn’t had enough time to dissolve and take effect yet.

Fortunately, the wheat crop was still in the early stages of development, and Guy was able to top dress some liquid potash with fairly satisfying results. We monitored the field for the remainder of the growing season, and were pleased to see the plants become relatively healthy as they grew larger. In the end,

Guy’s wheat field produced a respectable yield.

This case illustrates how important it is for growers to soil test their property, especially if they are renting new land. By having the proper tests conducted, growers will have more peace of mind by eliminating some of the risk associated with false assumptions, and can benefit from greater returns from their inputs. Guy, for one, has decided that from here on, he’ll be testing his soil on a regular basis. † Carl Giesbrecht is an area marketing representative for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Swan River, Man.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

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Features Crop production

Pesticides and groundwater Some pesticides will take longer to break down than others; the outcome will depend on both the pesticide and the environment

By Rebeca Kuropatwa

C

anada uses over 35 million kilograms of pesticide active ingredients per year,” says Dr. Annemieke Farenhorst, a soil science professor at the University of Manitoba. Farenhorst studies the persistence and transport of agrichemicals — including pesticides — in soil, water, and air.

Some active ingredients break down more quickly than others.

“

Pesticide break down How quickly a pesticide will break down depends on both the pesticide and the environment.

Exposed to sunlight and other microorganisms, some pesticide molecules break down in a few hours. But, Farenhorst says, “Other pesticide molecules are persistent in the environment.

Some have been known to persist for decades.”

These long-lasting pesticides can wind up in the air, water, soil and living organisms. “This distribution results in some pesticides being widely present in the environment,” Farenhorst says.

“This is one reason why it’s difficult deal with contamination.”

To stop contamination applicators need to keep the pesticide where it’s applied.

Pesticides can be most difficult to contain when they enter ground water, where they have an opportunity to travel to other locations.

Of course, even without traveling, pesticides are not wanted in ground water. “About one in four Canadians rely on groundwater for their drinking water,” said Farenhorst.

As well, in surface waters, Farenhorst says, “pesticides are retained onto suspended or bottom sediments. This can prolong their persistence, as once they’re retained by solids, it’s more difficult for microorganisms to break down the chemicals.

“Building up soil organic matter levels helps retain pesticides into the soil,” says Farenhorst.

There, they can be broken down, reducing the risk that they’ll reach ground water.

And of course, using fewer pesticides also lowers the risk of contamination.

“Avoiding pesticide overapplication and practices that lead to weed resistance will generally reduce the release of pesticides in and risks to the environment.”

While there are several actions famers can take, Farenhorst says, “Pesticide contamination can’t be solely controlled by

specific on-farm practices, even if a farmer is following all the recommended practices.

“For example,” she says, “spray drift and post-volatilization losses (the movement of pesticides into the air following application) from other farms will allow pesticide residues to enter the atmosphere. These pesticide residues can be transported short or long distances and then be re-deposited on other soils or surface waters.”

According to Dr. Jeanette G a u l t i e r, p e s t i c i d e s m i n o r use and regulatory specialist, Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI), leach-

ing of pesticides is not a major problem on Prairie soils, “due to our low average annual precipitation.”

The widespread adoption of conservation till and no-till by Prairie farmers is one of the best management practices to minimize the risk of spring surface runoff of pesticides from fields, said Gaultier. Crop residues act as a barrier to slow water and soluble compounds movement from fields.

“Crop residues also reduce soil loss by wind and water erosion, which may contain soil-bound herbicide residues,” said Gaultier.

“Producers in the Prairie pothole

region can also use two-to-five metre wide buffer strips around riparian and other sensitive areas to reduce soluble and soil-bound pesticide runoff.

Gaultier also notes the shift from to relatively non-residual pre- and post-emergent pesticides.

“Some of the more residual products are still used in specialty crops or to combat known populations of herbicide-tolerant weeds. However, producers in flood prone areas tend to avoid their use, as pesticide loss from their fields is also lost dollars from their pocket book.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features Soil management

Saturation. Denitrification. Ruts. Saturated soils need special attention to come back to normal production

By Rebeca Kuropatwa

E

xcess water can deplete soils. During years of excess water, plants will experience extra stress. In the years after land has been saturated, it’s important for farmers to re-evaluate their fertility programs.

Soil depletion “Soil testing is especially important since nitrogen levels may be depleted due to denitrification and the potential for salinity may increase,” says John Heard, crop nutrition specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI).

“Supplemental nitrogen fertilizer can offset a portion of the yield losses due to excess water.”

Excess water can reduce root respiration and other critical plant processes. It can also cause the production and accumulation of phytotoxic compounds, for example ethylene in plant roots and soil.

Ethylene is a root growth inhibitor with varying effects on different crops. Barley is especially sensitive to ethylene, barley roots will die at quite low concentrations. Several other crops will respond to a ethylene build-up with survival mechanisms, like producing secondary roots and upward growth of roots

in search of oxygen. Potatoes respond to ethylene by increasing the size of their tuber pores, to increase air exchange. Legumes are indirectly affected by ethylene —it inhibits the formation and function of nitrogen-fixing rhizobium.

“Saturated soil conditions change the soil’s redox potential, favouring loss of nitrogen and production of ions (toxic under certain soil conditions),” said Curtis Cavers, potato agronomist at the Canada-Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre (CMCDC).

This hinders healthy plant growth, causing significant yield loss.

“Crop tolerance and adaptation to water-logging is plant species dependent,” said Cavers. “Plant roots and shoots can adapt to short-term reductions in oxygen by lowering respiration rates and slowing growth of shoots. Under conditions of excess water, it’s the lack of oxygen that changes the soil and crop environment.

“Oxygen diffuses in water 10,000 times slower than it does in air, resulting in changes in nutrient availability and microbial activity, reduced plant respiration, and energy production and the accumulation of compounds in roots and soil that may become toxic to plants.

Prolonged exposure to excess

water creates symptoms similar to those experienced by crops under drought conditions.”

Mid-season excess According to Heard, mid-season excess moisture can be much more damaging than early-season moisture excess. “There are several factors that influence the magnitude of impact excess water stress has on growing crops, including soil type, plant species, plant growth stage, temperature, day length and duration of the stress,” says Heard.

The stress from excess water is greatest when there is rapid respiration. This usually occurs in July on soils with less drainable pore space, such as clay soils. On some soils, excessive May rainfall could result in crop yield increases.

“Like oxygen, carbon dioxide and ethylene gases diffuse more slowly through water than through air, accumulating around plant roots.”

“Reduction of nitrate to nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitrogen gas (N2) can result in nitrogen fertilizer losses of two to four pounds per acre per day when soil temperatures are greater than 5 C,” said Cavers.

“Different plant species are able to tolerate low oxygen levels depending on several mechanisms

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“Producing replacement roots, which grow in well-aerated surface soil, doesn’t guarantee plant survival, in that roots developed this way still need oxygen and tend to grow horizontal rather than vertical — so these plants are shallow-rooted and more susceptible to later-season drought.”

Plant growth in excess water Plant shoots slow overall growth to adapt to excess water stress. Although stem elongation still occurs, plants do not fill in.

“The senescence and abscission of older leaves takes place, often remobilizing mobile nutrients, such as nitrogen to younger tissue,” said Cavers.

“Most annual crops can tolerate three to seven days of water stress, while forage legumes tolerate nine to 14 days, and forage grasses can tolerate 10 to 49 days. However, it’s important to remember other factors influencing the tolerance period, such as soil type, plant species, soil temperature, etc.”

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

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Managing saturated fields

Crop tolerance to excess water stress depends on the plant species. “In cereal crops, oats are the most tolerant of excess water stress, followed by wheat, and then barley,” said Cavers.

“Barley plants are particularly vulnerable in the five- to eightleaf stage, as head formation is initiated at the fifth leaf stage and water-logging decreases pollen viability.”

“Plants at the seedling and early vegetative growth stages haven’t consumed as much soil water, so soils may waterlog sooner with less rainfall. In addition, due to the lower oxygen demands from plants at this growth stage, soil oxygen depletion is slower, soils are cooler, and root biomass is smaller.

“Larger plants at flowering stages have used up much more soil moisture so the soil can absorb more water before approaching waterlogging. These plants are photosynthesizing and respiring at their greatest rates and have the greatest need for water — which can’t be moved to the shoots under waterlogged conditions. Furthermore, soil oxygen depletion is at a rapid rate. Large root biomass and warm soil temperatures encourage microbial respiration.

“As a result, high water use crops may be more buffered against the negative impacts of late-season rainfall events than low water use crops. However, once the soil becomes saturated, high water use crops will be negatively impacted more quickly and at a larger magnitude that low water use crops.” †

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

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Features CROP NUTRITION

Sulphur as part of nutrition package Plants need sulphur to develop protein. Make sure your crops have enough

BY REBECA KUROPATWA

T

his is the third time in his career that Ontario provincial cereal specialist Peter Johnson, has conducted trials on sulphur. After earlier trials in the early 1990s and again in 2000, he began again in 2011.

“The first two trials, we got no response to sulphur, except the occasional little blip — but on average there was nothing there,” said Johnson.

This was likely because Ontario is in the wind shadow of much Chicago and Michigan industrial development, conveyed Johnson.

“That’s been referred to, in the past, as ‘acid rain.’ Farmers in Ontario really should refer to it as ‘foliar fertilizer.’

“Back in the late nineteenth century (1890-2000), if farmers wanted to grow wheat, they’d have to add some form of sulphur (as we were quite deficient). From the ’40s until now, we’ve had a sufficient amount from atmospheric deposition.

“Throughout the bulk of the twentieth century, we had enough sulphur without sulphur additions. That’s changed. We’ve brought in more and more environmental laws and efforts to improve air quality, and with that, we’ve seen our sulphur essentially cut by two thirds.”

phur than grains. Canola is very responsive to sulphur. “It’s a little harder to see in wheat,” Johnson says, “as it doesn’t have the same demand for sulphur.”

Typically, sulphur deficiency appears when the plant hits the rapid growth stage (stem elongation) when the greatest demand for sulphur and nitrogen occur.

“Sulphur and nitrogen deficiency look the same,” said Johnson. “It’s virtually impossible to tell the two apart. But, if you’ve already put on 90 or 100 pounds of nitrogen and you’re seeing nitrogen deficiency symptoms, it’s a pretty good chance it’s sulphur, not nitrogen, you’re lacking.

“Sulphur is a secondary nutrient while nitrogen is a macro-nutrient. Sulphur can’t photosynthesize

properly or make corossol properly without nitrogen. Once you apply sulphur, the plant picks it up, fixes the deficiency, and away you go.

Our soil bank account is significantly depleted “How quickly that happens depends on how fast the sulphur gets into the soil. Using liquid sulphur with moisture present at the soil surface, it can rebound in as little as 48 hours.”

HIGHER YIELDS Johnson says the sulphur situation in Western Canada is very similar to that of North Dakota and Montana. Farmers in all of these areas have been applying sulphur to many crops for many years.

However, our soil bank account is significantly depleted, compared to what it was 40 or even 100 years ago.

“As you push for higher yields, you have a higher demand for all nutrients, not just sulphur,” says Johnson.

Johnson recommended using sulphate as opposed to elemental sulphur (which is cheaper but needs to be broken down by bugs).

He also suggests applying sulphate in the spring as opposed to fall

when it may leach out before it can be used.

Doon Pauly, agronomy research scientist at Lethbridge, Alta. says that it is common practice for farmers in southwestern Alberta to seed winter wheat on canola stubble.

Jeff Schoenau, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan says, “Significant amounts of sulphur can be released from canola residue the following year and any unused sulphur likely carries over quite well. As such, sulphur deficiency is unlikely to be a major issue, just as it’s not generally for spring wheat in many locales, especially southern Saskatchewan in brown and dark brown soils where sulphates are often present in the sub-soil.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

A flushing weed control story worth telling. To everyone.

SULPHUR DEFICIENCY Agronomists have often suggested applying a pound of sulphur for every 10 pounds of nitrogen.

“I don’t believe that ratio applies in Ontario conditions, because it would only apply if I got zero sulphur out of the air,” says Johnson “The key is simply to make sure there’s enough sulphur and nitrogen, and give credit to the sulphur from the air.”

Plants need sulphur to develop protein. Johnson and his team have been evaluating the quality of the flour from sulphur-added wheat, and have found that, “when sulphur is deficient, it definitely impacts the quality of the flour and yield of the crop.”

Sulphur is an important part of a total nutrition package. Johnson says, “If you’re sulphur deficient and you add too much nitrogen, in the extreme case you’ll actually reduce rather than increase yield.”

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features BEE KILLS AND SEED TREATMENTS

Bee kills and seed treatments Bee deaths are getting a lot of attention. New research shows this mystery could be linked to seed treatments

BY ANGELA LOVELL

A

fter Ontario recorded 240 bee kills last year, involving 40 different beekeepers, it’s no surprise that the issue of bee deaths has been front and centre in the media or that there is confusion about the various research reports that have been unearthed.

Shrinking numbers of honey bees across Europe and North America has prompted an enormous amount of research into the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder and bee kills like the ones in Ontario. Published studies to date have implicated pesticides, GMO’s, fungi, pathogens, pests, climate change and even radiation emitted by cell phones.

But a number of scientists have conclusively linked the insecticide family neonicotinoids with bee kills.

This is not surprising, as neonicotinoids are toxic to all insects and bees are just one of the nontarget insects that are affected by them. What is surprising, however, is that neonicotinoids are generally used as a seed treatment for many crops such as corn, soybeans and canola. They’ve gained popularity partly because of the reduced environmental impact of using this technology.

“One of the main things about the technology of seed treatment, which has made it really take off over the last decade or so, is that much less insecticide product is being used on a per acre basis and exposure to non-target organisms was greatly reduced,” says Pierre Petelle, vice-president, chemistry at CropLife Canada. “It is one of the attractive parts about seed treatments. Producers can put that treatment on the seed, or purchase the seed already treated, and then put that seed under the ground, so in terms of non-target insects the exposure is much less than if you are spraying over the entire field.”

vegetation that the honey bees are foraging on.”

This discovery has led to a number of initiatives to try and reduce the potential risk of exposure for bees and other nontarget insects. Industry researchers working in association with CropLife Canada are tested a new talc replacement product across North America. “This new type of lubricant shows very promising results and is being tested in a wide area and with a

wide range of different planting equipment in collaboration with equipment manufacturers,” says Petelle. “If these trials continue as well as they have been going the idea would be to replace all of the talc and graphite used with this new product as early as next year.”

A set of Best Management Practices (BMP’s) for seed-applied insecticides have been drawn up which closely follow pollinator protection guidelines estab-

lished by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency last year. These include ways to minimize the risk of insecticide dust exposure during planting, which include making sure that farmers only use the recommended amount of lubricant and are aware of weather conditions, especially wind direction, and hive proximity.

“I think growers sometimes err on the side of caution and probably use more lubricant than they need to and that

over abundance is probably not helping, especially on non humid days,” says Baute. “When it’s not humid the seed is less likely to stick in the planter, so if they use exactly what their planter manufacturer recommends it should help reduce the production of contaminated dust.”

The biggest challenge the industry is working to address is communication between growers and bee keepers. “Growers may not even realise that there are bee

LUBRICANT DUST The issue is really about how the bees are being exposed to the insecticide, and the main culprit it seems is the lubricant dust emitted from air seeders. To help make sure that the seed flows smoothly through the air seeder, a lubricant is used — especially for corn and soybeans, but also for crops like canola, which is generally made of talc or graphite.

“What we have identified as a potential original cause of exposure is the vacuum planters which most of the growers are using,” says Tracey Baute, field crop entomologist at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Rural Affairs (OMAF and MRA).

“The talc or graphite lubricant is abrasive to the seed and takes off some of the coating, so some of the seed treatment gets into the talc and the insecticide-laden talc or graphite dust is exhausted into the air and makes contact with the

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

11

Features hives nearby,” says Baute. “And they clearly didn’t have the knowledge that bees can forage as far as they do.”

The industry has been very proactive in trying to encourage more dialogue on the issue, says Petelle. CropLife Canada has established an informal round table which brings together its member companies, the beekeeping community, grower groups, government and regulators and equipment manufacturers to share information and try to find solutions to bee health issues.

BEE RESEARCH Research from Purdue University is also suggesting that there could be insecticide residue in the soil, which could be finding its way into water sources like puddles or ponds and providing another route for exposure.

Other studies suggest that residues could also be present in nec-

tar and pollens at either lethal or sub-lethal doses.

“This is where it gets really tricky,” says Baute, who is involved in a year-long study in collaboration with the University of Guelph and OMAF and MRA into these kinds of potential exposure routes. “There could potentially be residues in the nectar and pollen from the vegetation along the perimeter of the fields but are those residues high enough to have an impact on these bees? There are still a lot of gaps in the knowledge.”

Petelle cites data from independent studies that are finding the amount of insecticide residue present in pollen and nectar from canola crops treated with seed treatments is infinitesimally low and is not a significant source of exposure for bees. According to data from Statistics Canada, in Alberta, where more than 2.5 million hectares of canola were planted last year (almost all of which was treated with neonicoti-

noids) bee numbers are increasing in parallel with seeded area.

“Canola is a highly attractive crop to bees and if there were issues around sublethal effects, they would appear in this crop,” says Petelle. “So we always point to that as a clear example that if the pollen and nectar were truly a significant source of exposure we would be seeing problems in canola.”

Petelle believes that many different factors affect hive health, not least of which are old enemies such as the Varroa mite, a parasite that attaches itself to bees. Some companies are investing heavily in bee health products and technology, he adds.

Bayer Crop Science, for example, has a dedicated bee health research facility in Germany and is opening a similar one in Raleigh, North Carolina, with full scale bee hives and testing facilities for new products to try and control mites and other hive health issues.

It does appear that issues with bee kills linked to the use of neoni-

cotinoid seed treatments are more prevalent in Eastern Canada where more corn and soybeans are grown.

Some Eastern farmers have been trying out European designed deflector kits, which they use to modify certain types of air seeders so exhausted air is pointed in a downward direction.

North American equipment manufacturers have concerns about the kits. “The use of deflectors on equipment disrupts the airflow through the planter and could create performance issues,” says Nick Tindall, director of government affairs for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. “We are also concerned that changing the direction of the exhaust downward may not be the best course of action to protect pollinator health.”

Tindall says equipment manufacturers are taking pollinator health seriously and have taken steps to mitigate any potential role that their products play in fugitive dust from treated seed.

Besides being involved in the testing of the talc replacement product they are also working to create a new ISO international standard for equipment manufacturers to follow to better control fugitive dust.

Baute would like a return to emphasis on Integrated Pest Management as a way to mitigate the risk of accidental insecticide exposure to bees and other nontarget insects. “With Integrated Pest Management you assess if you have a pest problem before using a seed treatment,” she says. “I think that’s where we want to move towards, so we are only using a seed treatment when we really need to.”

Honey bees are extremely valuable as crop pollinators for crops.

Small expenditures in strategies to preserve them seem like a pretty good investment. † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www. angelalovell.ca.

The neonicotinoids

A

It’s all tied up.

When it comes to yield supremacy, it’s six of one, half dozen of the other.

It’s been talked about, debated, and argued amongst growers across the prairies. When it’s all said and done, according to yield trials, Genuity® Roundup Ready® hybrids yield on par with the competition.* Like all contests this close, the debate rages on... for now.

new class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, or neonics for short, was initially developed in the 1970s.

Their chemical structure is derived from nicotine (also an insecticide which keeps tobacco plants safe from caterpillars) and they are relatively non-toxic to most vertebrates. Most are water-soluble and break down slowly in the environment, so they can be taken up by the plant and provide protection from insects as the plant grows and develops.

During the late 1990s this class of pesticides became widely used (primarily as imidacloprid, trade names include Gaucho, Provado, Merit).

Beginning in the early 2000s, two other neonics began to see wide use to treat corn and other field crop seeds. These compounds are clothianidin (trade name Poncho) and thiamethoxam (trade name Cruiser), the latter rapidly breaks down into clothianidin in living organisms Currently, virtually every corn seed that is planted in the Midwest (and Canada) is treated with one of these two compounds, as well as fungicides. Most soybean seed is also treated with neonics (usually thiamethoxam).

Clothianidin is one of the most toxic substances we know of for honey bees. The lethal oral dose to give a 50 per cent chance of death (the LD50) among an exposed group of adult honeybees is about three nanograms per bee. That’s three billionths of a gram, a tiny fraction of the weight of the bee (one tenth of a gram).

This description of neonicotinoids is adapted from “Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments and Honey Bee Health” by Greg Hunt and Christian Krupke of Purdue University. †

Angela Lovell

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features Soil management

Seven tips to getting more from soil tests Farmers can get more value out of soil test reports by digging deeper, according to an agronomic soils specialist

By Lisa Guenther

“

L

ook for some hidden values out of that soil report.

Don’t just look at the obvious,” said Mandy Huska, an agronomic sales specialist at Taurus Technology. Huska spoke to farmers at Cavalier Agrow’s plot tour in July.

Here are seven tips for sampling soil and interpreting test results.

1. Look for patterns Weeds can signal specific problems, or high production areas, in fields.

“So, for example, something like a sow thistle could be where you have excess magnesium in your field,” said Huska. Lamb’s quarters thrives in high organic soils and is a sign of high fertility.

Huska said there is also a correlation between nutrient deficiencies and disease, as well as insects and fertility problems.

“So a sucking insect like a leafhopper actually is attracted to areas of the field, or plants, that produce a sugar called asparagine. And actually that happens when you’re low on potassium,” she said.

Huska also suggests looking for high production areas using yield maps, and soil testing those areas.

Huska said she wasn’t necessarily suggesting farmers invest in variable rate technology. But farmers could sample from high production areas, based on yield maps, and also test areas with production problems.

2. Soil sampling depth Huska said the zero to 12 inch samples dilute some numbers. For soil under zero or minimum till, Huska recommended sampling at zero to six inches.

“If you can take two, that would be a zero to six (and a) six to 12 to look for your mobiles.”

Mobile nutrients such as sulphur, nitrogen and boron show up at six inches and lower. Sodium is another issue to watch for at depth.

“If you’ve got areas where the water table’s been really elevated, your sodium levels at depth could be higher and you could run into some problems later on,” said Huska.

PH levels and nutrients can also vary with depth. For example, the pH levels may be fine in the zero to six inch range, but either drop off or climb at depth.

Huska said some consulting firms are starting to sample at zero to three and three to six. She said if farmers have been using zero till for years and not working in trash, many of the nutrients will be in the first three inches.

“If you want to start getting a little more in tune with where nutrients are located, how much stratification is happening, maybe we have to look at flipping the soil or rotating it once every five or 10 years.”

3. Understand pH Les Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water states that, “soil pH is to a soil scientist as blood pressure is to a medical doctor.” A pH score lower than seven means soil is acidic, or

sour, while numbers higher than seven mean the soil is alkaline, or basic. A pH level of seven is neutral.

Chemical intervention isn’t usually tried for soils with a pH between six and eight, Henry writes.

Soils with very low pH levels may have aluminum tying up phosphate, Huska said. Henry notes that soil phosphorus availability drops sharply at pH levels below six. Acid soils also affect soil organisms.

Calcium binds phosphate in high pH soils, Huska said. Henry writes that alkaline soils also reduce micronutrient availability, including zinc, manganese, copper and iron.

Huska went through soil tests from the Cavalier area, in northwest Saskatchewan. Some fields had pH levels as low as 4.5. “You guys can grow blueberries there.

It’s really low,” she said.

Other fields in the area had pH levels of 7.5, which Huska said was “pretty decent.”

“Just having this huge variance here makes me say you need to soil test,” she said.

are low on boron. “I think for the most part you have to be at a certain level, fertility wise, to get a response (to boron).”

Huska cautions against applying micronutrients without soil and tissue testing, as they could cause unintended reactions.

Henry writes that some crops are more prone to certain micronutrient deficiencies. For example, alfalfa is sensitive to boron defi-

for optimum protein. Severely sulphur deficient canola causes cupping leaves and purpling, especially on the leaf’s underside, Henry writes.

“The only time I trust a sulphur recommendation… is when it’s low,” said Huska. “You can pick up sulphates of any kind that can throw your numbers off so always apply sulphur, especially to canola, regardless of what your soil test says.”

said it’s not always available when the plant needs it. Much might be available early in the growing season, but as plant growth ramps up, the plant might not have enough potassium within the root zone.

Magnesium can also influence potassium uptake,.

Henry writes that though fertilizer potassium isn’t needed on many Prairie farms, there are

T:12.9167

S:12.9167

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4. Understand CEC Cation exchange capacity (CEC) tells you whether you’ve got sand or clay. Sand and clay react differently to moisture and applied nutrients, Huska said.

“If you’ve got a sand, you want to control some of the nutrients that we have. You want to be able to hold on to nitrogen through the season,” she said. She suggested farmers with sandy loams consider products controlling nitrogen loss.

“There’s nothing really there to bind those nutrients,” she said.

Higher CEC scores mean heavier clays. Many Saskatchewan soils have CEC in the 25 plus range, Huska said.

5. Know your organic matter Huska said organic matter is the lifeblood of the soil. “It has the ability to hold or release nutrients all through the growing season.”

For every percentage of organic matter, a field could release between five and 13 lbs. of actual nitrogen in a year, Huska said.

“If you’re over-applying because you don’t know what your organic matter is, not only have you spent more money on nitrogen than you needed to, maybe you’ve got lodging issues. Maybe it’s not going to mature quick enough.

Maybe you’ve got an imbalance of something in your field as well,” she said.

Huska points out that if soils have a huge amount of available nitrogen, farmers may want to spend part of their fertilizer budget on other needed nutrients, such as potassium.

Organic matter can vary greatly within a field. For example, one quarter in the Cavalier area had organic matter ranging from 1.2 per cent to 4.9 per cent

6. Look at micronutrients Huska said 80 per cent of the tissues tests she’s seen this year

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ciencies. Wheat is sensitive to copper deficiencies, oats to manganese and beans to zinc. Soil types also affect micronutrient deficiencies.

7. Look at macronutrients Calcium promotes root growth and gives roots the ability to push into the lower levels of soils. Huska noted some fields in the Cavalier area had very low calcium levels.

“I’m not an advocate of liming because it’s very hard to find in this part of the world. But there are certain areas of our province that we need to start looking at adding calcium,” she said.

Plants need the right balance of nitrogen and sulphur

FS:6.0833”

H e n r y w r i t e s t h a t S a s k a t - deficient areas. Soil tests are a F:6.4583” soils are chewan’s grey wooded reliable indicator of potassium well known for their sulphur deficiency, and soils below 121 deficiency. But sulfur deficien- lb. per acre in the top six inches cies in other soils are much more require potassium fertilizer, he common than they used to be, so writes. Soil with 121 to 180 SBC13115.InVigorHe 8-21-2013 4:54lbs.

PM canola producers should always per acre will still probably CALMCL-DMX8127 Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, apply sulfur. require a low rate of seed-placed Marsha Walters Potassium helps with photosynpotassium. Sandy soils need less SPEC ORIGINALLY GENERATED: Marianne None 100% thesis, nutrient management and potassium than clays, as potas12.9167” x 8” SAFETY: None disease resistance. It also helps sium isn’t tied up as much in TRIM: 12.916 Helvetica Neue LT Std (65 Medium, 75 Bo prevent lodging, especially in high sandy soils, said Huska. organic matter soils.

“If you guys soil test and find “If we were going through some that you’ve got some low K levsort of a dry spell, your plants els — which I know you do, I’ve would be able to take in water seen your soil tests — here’s an much better if they have potassi- opportunity for you to go and um available to them,” said Huska. apply some on. Spread it on. It’s F a r m e r s m i g h t a s s u m e money in the bank.” † potassium is abundant in Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews. Contact Saskatchewan soils, but Huska her at Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

12.9167”

12.9167”

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

13

Features Crop nutrition

Soil testing with the PRS probe Western Ag Labs’ Plant Root Simulator Probe offers farmers a unique way to look at crop nutrient needs

by Angela Lovell

E

very soil testing lab has its own methodology for testing soil and making nutrient recommendations.

Since the 1990s, Western Ag Labs Ltd. of Saskatoon has been using its own unique tool — the Plant Root Simulator — to analyze soil and make recommendations for its clients.

different crops for yield potential and then tailor the economics specifically to the farmer.”

That means concentrating on maximum economic yield says Hammermeister, not just the maximum yield potential of a specific crop.

“The Forecaster may calculate that the optimum fertilizer budget may be $80 an acre to grow a 50 bushel per acre wheat crop, but

Two pairs of PRS probes are inserted into the soil under standard moisture and temperature conditions. This eliminates variables that could influence the analysis if the probes were used under field conditions.

Nutrients with a negative charge (anion) like nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur are adsorbed by an orange coloured probe.

Nutrients like ammonium, potas-

L156H

The PRS Forecaster

T:8”

Once the soil is analyzed, the data from the probes is run through Western Ag Labs’ computer model to calculate the level of nutrient supply required for certain crops. Crop specific factors that can influence yield potential are taken into account. These include rooting characteristics (which vary with crop type, soil physical and chemical properties) and expected growing conditions (such as moisture and heat).

The computer program determines the crop’s maximum yield potential, then produces yield response curves for nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur. These curves can help clients optimize their spending on nutrients.

“If the curve is very steep then that’s likely where he should put his fertilizer dollars first, because that is where those dollars give the biggest economic benefit,” says Hammermeister. “As you add more fertilizer you go from a steep curve area to a shoulder area and then the curve levels off. The curves show the diminishing returns for each dollar spent. The model allows the farmer to allocate his fertilizer cost on each curve were he needs it to be.”

S:8”

There are two steps to Western the farmer was hailed or flooded F:6.4584” Ag Labs’ process. First, soil samples out last year and he only has $50 are analyzed using patented soil an acre to spend on that part of probes developed at the University his budget,” says Hammermeister. of Saskatchewan. Then the sam- The technolocy can help farmples are analyzed using a computer SBC13115. ers decide where to spend limited gorHealth.2.4C.indd model. The computer model pro- Grainews dollars. “It could be that spending Insertion Date: September 9, 2013 llow, Black duces crop and nutrient recom$50 on wheat might give less ecoCrop Science mendations tailored to the clients’Bayernomic return to that farmer, based PAGE: 1 BCS13106 land, production goals and risk on what the Forecaster tells us, : 12.9167” x 8” tolerance Bleed: None level. than spending $50 on oats. So the m, 75 Bold, 55 Roman, 85 Heavy;farmers OpenType) are very comfort“Some model allows him to see how he able rolling the dice hard and other can best allocate that $50.” farmers, for whatever reason, ProductionpreContact Numbers: 403 261 says 7161 403 261 7152 fer to be more conservative,” PRS probes Edgar Hammermeister, field servPRS probes use specially charged, ices manager for Western Ag Labs.

“Some may have a specific budget ion exchange membranes that in mind. So our consultation allows adsorb nutrients directly from the us to see what the potential of the soil — mechanically similar to the land is, how it compares between way a plant root takes up nutrients.

ity for turning over nutrients, says Hammermeister, there will be a large amount of nutrients absorbed onto the probes. If the capacity is low, there will be less nutrient on the probes.

Out in the field

O-66-08/13-BCS13106-E

sium, calcium and magnesium, which have a positive charge (cation) are adsorbed by a second, purple coloured probe. Micronutrients like copper, zinc, manganese, iron and boron are measured using the orange PRS Probe.

“In warm, moist soil the microorganisms start chewing away at the organic matter and the chemistry becomes active and the nutrients will release and be dissolved in the soil water,” says Hammermeister.

“Anything that is dissolved in water will have either a positive or negative ionic charge. So the probes are measuring the soil activity. I usually describe it to farmers as the PRS probes generating a horsepower rating of your soil.”

If the soil has a high capac-

Brian Kennett is a pedigreed seed grower from southeast Saskatchewan who has been using Western Ag Labbs’ PRS technology on his barley and canola crops since 2001. He first approached Western Ag labs to learn why he was getting inconsistent barley yields. “One year it would be 80 bushels per acre and the next year it would be 50,” says Kennett.

Kennett applied Hammermeister’s recommendations on a couple of fields and the first year he achieved the 88 bushels per acre barley yield he’d targeted.

“He said that our soil was capable of far more than what we were farming it at,” says Kennett, who was a little skeptical at first. “But I think the benefit of the system is we go after the right nutrient or combination of nutrients and over the years our yield average has moved up significantly and is more consistent. We don’t always hit what we are shooting for, but we are consistently at the top end of the range of what is achieved in our area.”

Specific scenarios, such as how much moisture is expected, price expectations or equipment logistics can be factored in to come up with an individualized crop nutrition plan for each client.

“The farm plans are tailored to the farm regarding logistics, equipment capabilities, and most importantly, the customer’s risk tolerance,” says Hammermeister.

“Crops receiving balanced nutrition generate better yields and better quality.”

CropCaster

W

e s t e r n A g ’s CEO, Kevin D o w, h a s r e c e n t l y announced that Western Ag’s network of consulting agronomists is expanding.

These consultants will offer Western Ag’s “PRS CropCast” service — using Western Ag’s PRS CropCaster software to estimate farmers’ returns on investment, based on yield potential, nutrient supply, weather forecasts, inputs and crop prices.

Consultants will look at individual fields and overall farms, helping farmers optimize expenditures on inputs and use the most economical fertilizer blends. The cost is a flat fee of $4 per acre, with a $0.50 per acre early booking fee. †

Leeann Minogue

Backcasting The best laid plans can go awry during the growing season. To take reality into account, Western Ag Labs includes “backcasting” as part of its package. Western Ag Labs’ agronomists feed actual outcomes into the Forecaster after harvest, then run the computer functions in reverse to see how close the real outcome came to the forecast.

“We can enter how much fertilizer was actually applied and how much actual rain was received during the growing season. The impact of insect or disease issues and how they were managed are also considered in the process,” says Hammermeister.

The aim, he says, is for the recalculated yield based on the actuals to be within 90 per cent or more of harvested yield. “Farmers really appreciate this because they get to see how well the model worked and how well their management worked,” says Hammermeister.

Backcasting provided Kennett with solid evidence that it might be time to roll the dice a little harder. In 2010 his neighbours were getting 50 bu./ac. canola yields; he had yet to achieve this and he wasn’t sure why. The backcasting process showed that Kennett had underfertilized.

“When we did the backcasting we looked at what we did rather than what the field had called for and took into account growing conditions over the season and we came to within a bushel of what we could possibly have achieved based on the nutrients.”

Kennett still likes the fact that the PRS system suggests options with the best economic return first, but he is now looking more carefully at other options which tell him what he would need to do and spend to target a maximum yield.

“We are still taking a good economic approach but are saying if we hit this one right we are that much further ahead and we are willing to take that risk,” says Kennett. “We feel we are at a point where we can afford a little bit more of a gamble. As a result we have moved our yields up a little bit more.” † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES Weather Forecast for the period of July 21 to August 17, 2013

Southern Alberta

Peace River Region July 21 - 27 Sunshine dominates apart from a few showers or thunderstorms on a couple of occasions.

July 21 - 27 Sunshine dominates apart from a few showers or thunderstorms on a couple of occasions.

July 28 - August 3 Pleasant temperatures and mainly sunny skies aside from showers or thunderstorms here and there.

July 28 - August 3 Pleasant temperatures and mainly sunny skies aside from occasional showers or thunderstorms in some areas.

August 4 - 10 Warm and sunny but cooler days set off scattered showers or thundershowers. Frost threat at higher levels.

August 4 - 10 Warm and sunny but cooler days set off scattered showers or thundershowers.

August 11 - 17 Mainly sunny skies with seasonal temperatures. Scattered showers or heavier thunderstorms on a couple of hotter days.

August 11 - 17 Sunny with seasonal temperatures. Scattered showers or heavier thunderstorms on a couple of hotter days.

9 / 22 Grande Prairie 61.8 mms

Manitoba

July 21 - 27 Sunshine prevails with seasonal to warm temperatures. Sporadic thunderstorms are expected in a few areas.

July 21 - 27 Sunny. Pleasant temperatures.

Showers or heavier thunderstorms pass through on two or three days.

July 28 - August 3 Sunny with comfortable temperatures. Hotter days will set off heavier thunderstorms.

July 28 - August 3 Variable temperatures. Sunny days interchange with a few showers or thundershowers.

August 4 - 10 Pleasant temperatures but cooler outbreaks bring showers or thundershowers on a couple of days.

August 4 - 10 Changeable weather and temperatures this week. A few showers or thundershowers.

August 11 - 17 Sunny overall aside from scattered showers or heavier thunderstorms in places.

Seasonal to warm.

August 11 - 17 Sunny skies. Seasonal to warm.

A couple of hotter days set off showers and heavier thunderstorms.

Precipitation Forecast 9 / 23 Edmonton 67.0 mms

8 / 22 Jasper

50.6 mms

ABOVE NORMAL

7 / 22

51.3 mms

Banff

11 / 24 North Battleford 9 / 22 Red Deer 64.8 mms

10 / 23 Calgary

Forecasts should be 80% accurate, but expect variations by a day or two because of changeable speed of weather systems.

Saskatchewan

48.7 mms

11 / 27 Medicine Hat 19mms cms Lethbridge 30.6 42.9 mms 26 cms 11 / 26

11 / 23 The Pas

10 / 23 Prince Albert 58.6 mms

49.3 mms

11 / 24 Saskatoon 36.8 mms

Precipitation Outlook For August

57.5 mms

NEAR NORMAL

11 / 24 Yorkton

Much Above Normal Below Much above normal normal below normal normal

11 / 24 Dauphin

12 / 24 11 / 26 57.5 mms 63.3 mms Gimli 12 / 27 Regina 11 / 25 Moose Jaw 79.8 mms 40.0 mms Swift 34.8 mms 13 / 25 11 / 25 Portage 12 / 25 Current 11 / 27 Brandon 78.8 mms Winnipeg 38.2 mms Weyburn 69.3 mms 75.3 mms 47.4 mms 12 / 27 Estevan Melita 10 / 26 53.2 mms

81.2 mms

Temperatures are normals for August 1st averaged over 30 years.

Precipitation (water equivalent) normals for August in mms. ©2013 WeatherTec Services www.weathertec.mb.ca

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Attention: Grain producers

Reminder of upcoming variety reclassification Effective August 1, 2014, CDC Falcon will be moved from the Canada Western Red Winter class to the Canada Western General Purpose class.

Working together, we all play a part in maintaining Canada’s grain quality.

For more information, contact the Canadian Grain Commission: 1-800-853-6705 or 204-983-2770 TTY : 1-866-317-4289 www.grainscanada.gc.ca Follow us @Grain_Canada Stay informed. Check the variety designation lists on the Canadian Grain Commission’s web site.

Search Canada’s top agriculture publications with a simple click.

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Weather you’re looking for a comprehensive article on a specific crop, or an old-fashioned recipe, start your search at the AgCanada Network.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

15

Features FARM FAMILIES

Spring Creek Farm Foregoing video games for farm work has encouraged the children at Spring Creek Farm to take up careers in agriculture

BY REBECA KUROPATWA

S

pring Creek Farm, a 480acre mixed farm, five miles south of Cypress River in Man., has been in the Wood family for three generations.

Greg Wood and Lisa Clouston are very proud that all four of their grown children have an interest in agriculture. “We encouraged them to follow their dreams and passions, no matter what they were,” Clouston says.

Their eldest child, Kelsey, studied applied science in agribusiness at Olds, Alta., and started working with an agribusiness company in Beiseker, Alta., in April. “I look forward to a long and challenging career in agriculture,” said Kelsey.

“The industry is such an important part of my life.”

Andy, 20, works as part manager and butcher at the family’s meat shop, Cypress Meats. He is also a musician.

Taylor, 19, is studying agribusiness at Assiniboine Community College in Brandon, Man. Taylor has her own herd of beef cattle, and likes working with pastured pigs and pastured meat chickens.

Jessica, 18, is working toward a diploma in agriculture at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. She also has a small herd of beef cattle, and also involved with the pastured pork and pastured meat chicken operations.

ents. “The farm and meat shop are very intertwined, and so are we.”

The farm has about 50 head of cattle (South Devons), over 100 pastured pork (Tamworth, Berkshire, and a few Large Black), 50 sheep (Clun Forest X), heritage and conventional free range laying hens, a few alpacas for fleece and about 800 pastured meat chickens.

“We eat food that’s as fresh and of the same high quality as most royalty eat. We take great pride in that, and in the knowledge that our children have great skills, are hard working, are confident about their skills, and are healthy.”

“We’re focusing on the long term health of the soil, our family, the animals, and the local food economy,” said Clouston “We don’t worry about what other big farmers in the area are doing, as we have our own busy market and don’t feel a need to keep up with Jones.”

Clouston says, “It’s an amazing time to be alive and involved in agriculture. I’m excited for our kids and hope they raise their kids in ways that make them all healthy, happy, and strong.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

The Wood family is focusing on the long-term health of the soil, their family, their animals and the local food economy.

Get the N that delivers all seasoN loNG.

INCLUDING THE KIDS Clouston says “The way we were raised had a huge impact on the way we raised our kids. When we met, we realized how similar we were.

It was easy to decide to include the kids in farm life.

“We made very deliberate choices to expect them all to do chores with the animals and to participate in planting the gardens, making jam, freezing vegetables, and more.”

Wood’s mother, a gardener and cook, has taught the couple’s kids to bake pie, butcher chickens, and make jam.

“I value these skills deeply, especially in today’s world that lacks many of these skills,” said Clouston.

“We hope our kids will raise their kids in a healthy, value, and character laden way.”

When the family got into pastured pork, Wood and Clouston bought pigs for the children. The children became very handy at building fences.

“We made conscious decisions to support their growth and knowledge in these areas, and to withhold spending on things like video games,” said Clouston.

Wood and Clouston had to make a big adjustment last September, when their youngest daughters moved offfarm for two years to pursue their post-secondary education.

“We thought we’d planned for their leaving for the last two years... but it sure feels like a holiday when they’re home and helping with daily chores. Each of us is integral to the smooth functioning of the farm and the meat shop, including Greg’s par-

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16

/ grainews.ca

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features Crop disease

Cleaning for clubroot

Other means

Researchers agree that the most effective way to control the spread of clubroot is to sanitize machinery. This is effective, but time consuming

C

lubroot can spread from field to field on oilfield or construction equipment as well as on agricultural machinery.

Andrea Bullinger, Encana’s group lead for soil, vegetation and spill management told delegates at the 2013 International C l u b r o o t Wo r k s h o p i n Edmonton in June, it’s really important for Encana to address farmers’ needs when it comes to clubroot.

“If we can’t get access to land, we can’t get access to our resources.”

Once clubroot became an issue in Alberta, many landowners asked Encana about prevention measures. “Due to the nature of our developments, we could potentially spread the disease,” Bullinger says. “It was a really crucial concern for our neighbours.”

H o w e v e r, i n 2 0 0 8 , Encana estimated that the total costs of thoroughly cleaning the equipment required to drill one well was about $43,000, and would use 112,000 litres of water. “We did our best to build a practice that was reasonable, achievable and secure.”

Now, she says, Encana’s policy is that “washing should be a regular part of maintenance.” Their contractors have a regular wash cycle, and if vehicles or equipment show up on site dirty, they’re sent back.

They also follow provincial and municipal regulations and bylaws. †

By Leeann Minogue

W

hile there is no foolproof way to prevent clubroot from getting into your fields, sanitizing equipment is one way to prevent its spread.

Dr. Stephen Srelkov, plant pathologist at the University of Alberta told delegates at the 2013 International Clubroot Workshop in Edmonton that “the largest risk comes from the movement of equipment.”

Moving dust and water can also spread microscopic clubroot spores.

Besides moving to zero tillage, there isn’t a lot that farmers can do to prevent this type of spread.

Seeds and tubers can spread the disease, Stelkov says. “Farmers should avoid the planting of common untreated seed harvested from clubroot infested fields.”

Effective cleaning Since moving equipment accounts for the largest risk of the spread of clubroot, it makes sense for farmers to consider sanitizing equipment as they move from field to field. This is especially true if you believe clubroot is established in one field in your operation.

The Canola Council of Canada recommends a three-step process to equipment sanitization. (This information can be found online at www.clubroot.ca. Click on resourc-

Paul Muyres believes clubroot resistant seed is the future of successful canola crops. es, and scroll to the bottom to find the link to “Managing Clubroot: Equipment Sanitation Guide”).

Step 1: Rough cleaning This step should remove about 90 per cent of soil from the unit. Use a hand scraper, a wire brush or an air compressor to remove dirt. For a 40-foot cultivator, the Canola Council estimates this may take one to two hours.

Step 2: Fine cleaning Use a pressure washer at 2,000 to 3,000 p.s.i. everywhere dust, soil and crop debris could accumulate. Step

1 and Step 2 combined should remove 99 per cent of soil from the unit. The Canola Council estimates that this may take another one to two hours for a 40-foot cultivator.

Step 3: Disinfection The Canola Council recommends using a backpack sprayer to apply a one per cent bleach solution or a commercial surface disinfectant. You will need to ensure that the area remains wet with the solution for 15 to 20 minutes.

Applying disinfectant in early

photos: leeann minogue

morning or early evening will reduce evaporation, keeping the area wet for a longer time. This can take two hours or more for a 40-foot cultivator.

Barriers to sanitizing Once clubroot spreads to a field, it is very difficult to eradicate. It is easy to see how clubroot spores could move from field to field on equipment. However, there are practical reasons that all farmers haven’t adopted a strict on-farm equipment sanitation policy.

• Practical details: Once you’ve cleaned your machine, where can you safely put the infected dirt? It’s important to make sure that the infected dirt and the water you use to clean the machine don’t wind up in an area where they can infect a field or re-infect the machine later. If you decide to clean in-field,

Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers

Leeann Minogue

Bizarro

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308166_DLG_AZ_AT_CAN_Grainews_152,4x168,3_RZ.indd 1

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Features how will you get water and a pressure washer to the site?

• Disinfectant: Some disinfectants can be harmful to humans.

Bleach can corrode equipment, especially tires.

• Time: Thorough cleaning can take quite a bit of time. As shown in the above example, the Canola Council of Canada estimates that it would take four to six hours or more to effectively clean a 40-foot cultivator. Cleaning the last speck of dust out of a combine after finishing each field would be very time consuming. And don’t forget the quad used to check a field, the grain truck, and the half-ton truck.

• It’s not a guarantee: You could thoroughly clean your equipment, then drive through lumps of mud from your neighbour’s tractor on the road. If there are clubroot spores in that soil, you’ll have it on your tires even after all your efforts. There is nothing you can do to stop clubroot’s spread through dust or water.

It’s important to come up with a policy that makes sense for your farm, your location and your level of risk tolerance.

LIVING WITH CLUBROOT Alberta consultant Paul Muyres has been working with clubroot infected fields since 2007. At that time, Muyres says, “there was a lot of fear.”

When farmers found clubroot in their fields, “there was just no alternatives.”

Clubroot regulation

W

ith more severe infection in the west, differnet provinces are taking very different approaches to managing clubroot.

ALBERTA

Stephen Strelkov says that the biggest risk of spreading clubroot comes from moving machinery.

To help ease his clients’ minds, he developed a 16-item protocol list for cleaning equipment.

He cleaned his truck from field to field, including using disinfectant. “I went through tires because the bleach erodes the rubber.”

He found that this cleaning regime really ate into his time.

“In an eight-hour day of scouting fields, I had four more hours [of cleaning] attached to that.”

Now, Muyres finds that most of his clients who have found clubroot in one field assume that they have it in all of their fields. Now, he treats each clients’ fields as one operation. He still cleans all of his equipment between clients, but he

doesn’t clean from field to field.

“It’s clean in, clean out.”

These days, he says, his clients “aren’t going to lose their minds about the fact that they have clubroot. We have to simplify our lives when it comes to being out in the field.”

“Clubroot is where blackleg was when we first started growing canola,” Muyres said. “Think about where we’ve come.” Clubroot was found in Alberta in 2007, and “by 2010, we had resistant varieties.”

“Farmers just assume they have the disease in the world that I live in,” Muyres says. “They grow clubroot varieties. End of story.” †

Alberta counties are taking clubroot seriously. Aaron van Beers is an agriculture fieldman for Leduc County, south of Edmonton.

“Everybody’s got an obligation to prevent the spread,” van Beers told delegates to the International Clubroot Workshop in Edmonton in June. “Our policy is to inspect every field with canola every year.” Fieldmen inspect plants at the approach of every field, the spot where clubroot is most likely to first infect a field.

Once clubroot is found in a farmer’s field, farmers are only allowed to grow canola one year in four, and may plant only clubroot resistant canola varieties.

SASKATCHEWAN Clubroot was officially declared a pest under Saskatchewan’s Pest Control Act in 2009. This declaration gives power to control clubroot to rural municipalities.

Municipalities are encouraged to be consistent in their approach. As many places in the province have not yet been impacted by clubroot, several municipalities are not taking any action at this time.

MANITOBA Clubroot is not included in Manitoba’s Plant Pests and Diseases Act. For now, Holly Doerkson, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, says, cases of clubroot are “dealt with on an individual basis by MAFRI staff,” who recommend ways to limit the spread of the disease to surrounding fields.

The locations of infected fields are kept confidential. This is mainly because the farmers whose fields are tested for clubroot are those farmers who have volunteered to have their soil tested. Doerkson says, “We don’t want to pick on people that are in the Canola Disease Survey.” So far, she says, farmers whose fields have tested positive for clubroot tend to be “prepared and willing to work with MAFRI.” † Leeann Minogue

Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

Growing together for generations.

For 100 years, generations of farm families have contributed to the success of Richardson Pioneer. Five generations of the Mass family have delivered to their local Richardson Pioneer elevator in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.

“We have always delivered to Richardson Pioneer,” says Chris Mass, who has taken over the family farm from his father Don and now works alongside his 21-year-old son, Evan. Younger son Nicholas is eager to follow in his footsteps. “It’s all because of the people - the personal service and the relationships that we have developed over the years.”

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features PLANT DISEASE

Stopping the spread of clubroot Whether you’re trying to keep clubroot from infecting your soil in the first place, or stop it from moving from field to field, there are strategies to use

BY LEEANN MINOGUE

B

y the time you find a patch in your field that’s infected with clubroot, Clint Jurke, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada told delegates at the International Clubroot Workshop in Edmonton in June, “that disease has probably already been in the field for years.”

In fact, it’s likely already spread to the rest of your farming operation. At this point, Jurke said, “the cat’s already out of the bag.”

Jurke presented eight things that won’t stop the spread of clubroot.

EIGHT THINGS THAT WON’T STOP THE SPREAD 1. Fungicides Fungicides will reduce yield damage in infected plants, but won’t fix the root cause. However, “they stop infection. They’re not eradicating the clubroot from the soil.”

2. Seed treatments Clubroot spores can spread in dirt that comes attached to seed that’s imported from an infected area.

Seed treatments will keep this from happening.

However, if you already have

clubroot spores in your field, seed treatments won’t kill them. Jurke said, “Seed treatments will kill that pathogen that’s on the seed, but not the pathogen in the ground.”

3. Boron Researchers have been studying the effect of boron on clubroot. “Boron will reduce clubroot infestation,” Jurke said.

Unfortunately, “the concentration of boron that’s required is phytotoxic to the canola plants.” In this case, the prevention is worse than the cure.

4. Liming High pH soils have been shows to be associated with lower incidence of clubroot infection. However, Jurke said, “having high pH soils will not stop clubroot from arriving on your farm.”

Jurke says, “This might be a tool that we can use to kind of slow it down, but it’s not going to be the most cost effective.”

5. Other soil amendments Researchers are examining other soil amendments, such as calcium carbonate. So far, nothing has been found that isn’t cost prohibitive.

Jurke says, “In a cost-benefit analysis, these do not work.”

6. Bait crops Researchers have been testing the possibilities of using bait crops to convince the

crops to germinate, then destroying the spores. So far, Jurke said, “It hasn’t panned out.”

7. Tillage Not only will tillage not kill clubroot spores in your soil, adding more operations and traffic to your field could actually help the spread of the disease.

Additional tillage can also lead to soil erosion, which can help spread clubroot spores.

8. Crop rotation Crop rotation can slow the increase of clubroot spores in the soil, but it will not eliminate the spores or stop clubroot from arriving in your field.

So what can you do?

SLOWING THE SPREAD OF CLUBROOT 1. Crop rotation While good crop rotations won’t stop the spread of clubroot, growing canola on canola stubble will increase the amount of inoculum in your soil.

“Where a longer crop rotation actually works is in conjunction with resistant varieties,” Jurke says.

“A long rotation is not enough if you’re using susceptible or moderately susceptible varieties.”

2. Clubroot resistant varieties Resistant varieties can help farm-

ers with infected soil continue to grow canola. “Resistance is our saving grace,” Jurke said. However, he added, “It’s not bulletproof.”

If farmers put too much pressure on resistant genes, Jurke said, “you will eventually start selecting for the clubroot to overcome resistance. “ We d o h a v e t w o s o u rc e s of resistance,” Jurke said — one developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred and another developed by Monsanto.

Jurke suggests farmers maintain recommended crop rotations, and also rotate clubroot resistant seed between the two types.

3. Seeding date “The earlier you plant your canola,” Jurke said, “the better your chances.” As soil temperature increase, clubroot can spread faster.

4. Sanitation “Sanitation is our best weapon to really help control the spread of disease,” Jurke said. “But it is a big cost.”

Effectively cleaning and disinfecting farm machinery to the point where not a single clubroot spore could survive is time consuming.

“Sanitation has to be used in a strategic fashion,” Jurke said.

5. Early identification “if you can find clubroot when it first arrives in your field,” Jurke said,

PHOTOS: LEEANN MINOGUE

Clint Jurke spoke at a field day in Swift Current in the summer of 2012. These disposable white booties he’s wearing ensure that he doesn’t spread clubroot when he travels from field to field.

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Features

The history of clubroot R

you may be able to quarantine it in a small area.

6. Reduced tillage Reducing tillage “will reduce the amount of wind and water erosion,” Jurke said. Also, travelling over the field less will give spores fewer opportunities to move around the field.

7. Quarantine/isolation Clubroot spores are more likely to be near the field entry point.

“Ninety per cent of the time that is were you’ll find the pathogen first,” Jurke said.

If you find clubroot at the field entry point, you might consider grassing in that area, or moving the approach to the field to a new location. If you isolate that area, Jurke said, “you don’t have to treat the whole farm as being infested.”

8. Eradication Researchers are looking at fumigants as an option to totally eradicate clubroot spores from the soil. So far, Vapam is showing some good results.

However, while Vapam is effective in greenhouse studies and plot-sized areas, it is not yet costeffective on a field scale. “That is an option that we do need to explore a whole lot more,” Jurke said.

9. Brassica weed control Canola is not the only plant that clubroot will attack. The spores will also attack weeds in the Brassica family. These include wild mustard, stinkweed and shepard’s purse. A large population of Brassica weeds in your field, Jurke said, “could be propagating that disease.”

10. Planning In developing a clubroot strategy, remember that if you’re growing wheat in your field, the clubroot spores are still there. For example, if you’re moving harvest equipment from an infected field to a clean field, you should sanitize your equipment, Jurke said, “even when it’s not a canola year.”

11. Inputs Seed imported from an area infected with clubroot can bring the pathogen with it.

Cleaned, treated seed, Jurke said, “can reduce the pathogen to almost zero.”

This doesn’t just apply to canola.

Spores can also travel with bin run barley seed imported from an area infected with clubroot.

12. Management plan Coming up with a plan to prevent clubroot and identifying it early if it does reach your field can help prevent the spread of clubroot. †

Researchers have found reference to a disease that seemed to behave like clubroot in documents written by the Romans, about 2,000 years ago. “At least we think this is what they were talking about,” Dixon said.

Clubroot didn’t emerge as an important problem until the agricultural revolution. In the late nineteenth century, after a severe epidemic hit cabbage crops, Russian scientists set out to learn more about clubroot. One Russian scientist, Mikhail Voronin, managed to identify the importance of rotation, removal and burning to prevent the spread of clubroot.

Dr. Stephen Strelkov, plant pathologist at the University of Alberta, suspects that clubroot was

brought to Canada with infected fodder turnips. It was well established here by the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.

Holly Derksen, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, says there are reports of clubroot in Manitoba vegetable crops dating back to 1925.

By the 1970s, Dixon said, agricultural advisers were telling growers with clubroot problems: “You don’t grow brassicas for five years. End of story.”

But then, Dixon said, “Research really took off from the 1980s onwards.”

In canola, clubroot was first reported in Quebec, in 1997.

On the Prairies, clubroot was

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esearchers at the International Clubroot workshop in Edmonton in June told delegates that clubroot likely had its wild origins in sub-Saharan Africa.

Geoffrey Dixon, a professor at the University of Reading in the U.K. said, “It was not until man really started to use the Brassicas that it evolved.” The Brassica group of plants includes canola and related weeds, but also vegetable crops such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels spouts, turnips and radishes.

Clubroot evolved in Western Europe, Dixon said, “and from there it has spread to the rest of the world.”

It is not a new problem.

first found in canola in 2003, near Edmonton. That year, Dan Orchard, now an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, was working as an agronomist. A new graduate, Orchard had studies clubroot at university.

When one of his clients called Orchard out to his field to diagnose a disease, Orchard thought he recognized clubroot. But when he talked to experts, he was told “that isn’t clubroot. We don’t have clubroot.”

But Orchard persisted, and soon found a researcher who agreed with him. Then he took a plant pathologist to visit the infected field. It was like a horror movie for a pathologist,” Orchard said. “Every single plant we pulled out was infected.”

Clubroot was ultimately found in 12 Alberta canola fields that year.

Once it was first reported,

experts’ initial assessment of how fast the pathogen would spread turned out to be very wrong.

Previously, clubroot had been found in small, intensive horticulture crops. It can spread a lot more quickly in large field scale crops.

Clubroot was found in Saskatchewan in 2008.

By 2009, clubroot resistant canola seed was available for farmers in infected areas.

Infected canola plants were found in Manitoba in 2012 (the pathogen had been found in Manitoba soil earlier, but not detected in growing plants until last summer).

The pathogen continues to spread. With clubroot marked as a danger to Canada’s high value canola industry, money and research attention is being diverted to try to find more answers for farmers dealing with this disease. † Leeann Minogue

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features Soil management

Mining manure

University of Manitoba researchers are hoping to kill two birds with one kidney stone by mining manure

By Lisa Guenther

S

truvite is a naturally occurring mineral that forms kidney stones, says Dr. Don Flaten, soil scientist. The mineral, which can be made from hog manure, is also a phosphate source which is less water-soluble than commercial phosphate fertilizers.

Regular phosphorus fertilizers dissolve quickly, leaving high salt concentrations, which can kill seedlings if too much fertilizer is applied in the seedrow of sensitive crops such as canola.

Right now a farmer should apply no more than 20 pounds of phosphate per acre with canola seed. “And yet the crop usually needs more than that,” says Dr. Francis Zvomuya, research leader for the project.

Struvite releases phosphate much more slowly than fertilizers such as ammonium phosphate, says Zvomuya, and so less salt accumulates in the seed row. That might make struvite a useful inrow fertilizer for salt sensitive crops such as canola, corn and soybeans.

“There may be some potential to use this product in a very con-

venient fashion and still maintain our soil phospohurs concentrations. But the big question is, how does the product perform agronomically as a source of nutrients,” Flaten says.

Study results In a study supported by the Canola Council of Canada, Manitoba Pork Council, and Agrium, Zvomuya and his colleagues found that uptake for the commercial and struvite fertilizer was the same.

But biomass yield, or total

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dry matter, at the flowering stage was lower for the struvite fertilizer. Yield differences were likely due to alkaline soil and the low solubility of the struvite fertilizer, which might not release phosphate fast enough to meet crop demand.

Zvomuya says moderate phosphate levels in the soil may have affected results as well.

Researchers are now looking at how struvite performs in phosphate-deficient soils. They’re also using a canola-wheat rotation to mimic conditions on many Prairie farms, and examining how weather may affect phosphate toxicity, while applying several different treatments to plants in a greenhouse.

“Once we identify in the greenhouse what treatments are performing the best, then we take those out in the field to test them under field conditions,” says Zvomuya.

Researchers will also measure grain yield and quality, as well as other parameters, during field trials, Zvomuya says.

Recycling waste Dr. Nazim Cicek, a biosystems engineer at the University of Manitoba, devised the phosphate-extraction process. Cicek adapted the technology municipalities use for waste water to treat hog manure.

Cicek says the struvite extraction technology is not meant to replace traditional fertilizers, but instead solve an environmental problem while producing a highvalue, niche product. “It would help livestock farmers with their environmental pressures and hopefully help overall sustainability in terms of replacing fossil-fuel based fertilizer with a green fertilizer.”

Inorganic struvite can be cre-

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Features ated in the lab, but the cost is prohibitive for most crops. Cicek’s method is cheaper and produces organic struvite, which benefits soil structure and other soil properties, Zvomuya says.

Cicek and his colleagues ran a pilot on a hog farm in Manitoba.

Before extracting the struvite, settling tanks separated the solids from the liquids. Though most of the phosphorus is associated with the solids, which is typically used as fertilizer, 20 to 40 per cent of the phosphorus is left in the liquid.

The liquid is put into the struvite reactor, where it’s aerated. Aerating increases the pH levels and crystallizes the phosphorus, along with magnesium and ammonium.

“It’s just like having too much sugar in your tea. When you drop the temperature, some of that will come out. Or when you look at sugar in a jar of jam — when you

cool it down, some of the sugar crystallizes out,” Cicek says.

The crystallized phosphorus sinks to the bottom of the reactor, and comes out as a white or greyish powder, or struvite.

The amount of phosphate extracted depends on a number of factors, including how the pigs were fed, the age of the pigs, whether the manure was stored or digested, and how much water is used for flushing.

“We’re looking at kilograms out of tons of manure,” says Cicek.

Cicek and his colleagues are looking at setting up the struvite reactor on the university’s research farm to fine-tune the process. The university farm has swine, beef and dairy operations.

Beyond that, they’re considering installing it at a commercial dairy operation.

“They have some interest in bedding recovery and solid sepa-

ration of their manure, which allows you to access the liquid fraction where the struvite can be made. So dovetailing to that kind of activity in that sector might help this particular technology,” says Cicek.

set up on individual farms. But Cicek says selling struvite would not necessarily pay for the system installation and operation.

“On balance I’d suggest it is lower cost than alternative struvite extraction systems because it

“We’re looking at kilograms out of tons of manure.”

— Nazem Cicek

Liquid dairy manure lends itself to the process once it goes through an anaerobic digestion system, but Cicek would need to adapt the process to deal with higher calcium levels in dairy manure, which scavenges the phosphorus.

The extraction process could be

does not require you to dose in chemicals, which is a cost both of purchasing the chemical and storing. And adding it, so there’s labour issues involved in making sure that works,” says Cicek.

Cicek says they’ve looked at the economics of struvite extraction with the hog farm they ini-

tially worked with. The actual cost depends on several elements, including the farm’s size, the manure type, electricity cost, labour, and the struvite market. Scaling up and improving the technology would improve margins, but a market that paid a premium for struvite would have the biggest impact on the viability of the technology.

“We would like to test this particular pilot system on a number of platforms to see if it makes sense and go from there. I think it’s a little bit early to say that at the current energy and phosphorus prices this might be viable,” says Cicek.

“But with future trends, the way it looks I think we would have to be more careful about sourcing phosphorus and reusing and recovering it from a number of waste streams.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews.

Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

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Features FARM MANAGEMENT

On farm traceability On-farm traceability, and the paperwork that comes with it, is going to become more common, whether farmers want it or not, says an on-farm auditor

BY LISA GUENTHER

I

t’s going to be, in the long run, more about consumer confidence. And not necessarily in regards to safety of food, but in the sustainability of the food — where it’s coming from and that’s it’s being produced in a sound way,” says Jodi Holzman, auditor with Control Union Canada.

Holzman has audited about 100 farms in Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. All the farms are supplying canola to the European Union’s biofuel market.

“

CERTIFICATION SCHEMES Companies that want to export canola to the European Union have to prove that they are farming sustainably by meeting certification schemes such as those set out by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system.

Every part of the supply chain is scrutinized, and farmers selling canola to these companies have signed declarations stating they meet the requirements.

Holzman assesses all the farms that have signed up with the exporter and then selects farms

for on-site audits. She determines how many farms to audit by taking the square root of the total number of participating farms.

For example, if 100 farms are assessed, 10 are audited. Holzman tries to give farmers a week or two notice before the audit.

All the farms Holzman has audited have passed. Holzman says farmers need to comply with at least 60 per cent of the minor principles outlined in the certification standards, such as signage for fuel tanks and chemical inventories. But if they miss one major principle, they fail the audit.

Major principle violations

include practices such as farming on land that’s been cleared of trees or native grassland since 2008. Though clearing forest is now rare on the Prairies, Holzman says this principle “also applies to windrows and old farm yards. When it comes to trees, it’s not necessarily native.”

Leaving intact wetlands, peat bogs and any other habitats that have a high carbon stock are also major principles.

Farmers receive a pre-auditing checklist before Holzman arrives so they can get together documents and other information she needs. Holzman asks

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them about basic farming practices such as how much land they farm, soil testing, pesticide and fertilizer management, and tillage type.

“It’s very basic. How do you do things and how do you make the decisions to do them?”

If they have employees, she also checks to see that they’re complying with related provincial and federal legislation.

Farmers who have completed Environmental Farm Plans tend to score higher on the minor principles because they’ve already put certain practices in place, such as signage for chemicals and fuel.

At this time, the companies exporting biofuel are covering farmers’ certification costs.

BIOFUEL MARKETS IN NORTH AMERICA So far these audits are only required for companies selling biofuel into the European Union.

Canadian farmers can also sell into the U.S. biofuel markets.

In 2010, the Canola Council of Canada began working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to get canola on the approved biofuel list. The federal government then started leading the initiative so that other Canadian crops, such as wheat ethanol, would have market access as well.

Part of the approval process involved establishing a life cycle analysis number for canola.

Crude oil products such as gasoline and diesel form the baseline to measure renewable fuels against. Every point where energy is used, from seeding onwards, is examined.

“So it’s really an apples to apples comparison to determine what the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would be from using a biofuel, a renewable fuel, versus the baseline numbers for gasoline and diesel,” says Dennis Rogoza, sustainability advisor for the Canola Council of Canada.

Natural Resources Canada has developed a tool called GHGenius, which Alberta and British Columbia use to determine the life cycle analysis number, which can vary between ethanol plants.

“So there is established methodology. It’s adopted by regulators. It’s well-respected. It’s very thorough. It accounts for every point in the production cycle,” says Rogoza.

Right now the U.S. market is worth about $500 million.

Rogoza says that number is based on existing production capacity that uses Canadian canola.

The European market for Canadian biofuel is uncertain right now, Rogoza says, partly because commodity canola oil prices are high, and partly because of Europe’s financial turmoil.

Though the big canola markets are in the U.S., China, Mexico, and Japan, the canola industry wanted to “make sure that as other markets

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

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Features were available, that the door’s open to the Canadian canola industry to actually put product into the market,” says Rogoza.

Rogoza says there was hesitancy to move into the certification system because of complexity and perceived cost. “The reality is that many of these systems in Europe were basically designed for application in third-world countries. So when you look at the criteria inside of that, you sort of say, ‘Well, we do that, we do that, we do that,’ you know?

“It’s because we are modern and advanced agriculture. So on a large scale we’re going to be better than a third-world country by far. So there’s less to fear about this than people might have thought.”

MORE CERTIFICATION REQUIRED IN FUTURE Although the European Union is the only market that requires auditing and certification right now, Unilever intends to buy all its agricultural products from certified farms by 2020.

“So all the raw materials, feedstock materials, that Unilever gets from the Canadian supply chain will have to be certified by then. And their language is pretty stringent. They’re basically saying that if you’re not certified, you won’t be doing business with us,” says Rogoza.

Unilever has created its own certification scheme, but it will also accept products from supply chains certified by other schemes it has approved. The ISCC is working on getting their scheme approved

by Unilever, which would give certified Western Canadian farmers access to Unilever as well as the European Union.

Holzman thinks western Canadian farmers are close to being ready for more traceability requirements, but will likely need to focus on better documentation. “I’ve found most farmers have some basic documentation on seeding, seeding rate, fertilizer applications, and the chemical applications.”

But Holzman says there’s often no formalized procedure for record-keeping.

“It’s mostly in a little notebook. So the amount of records and documents being kept really varies from farm to farm. And I think if the industry was able to put out — whether it’s through the Canola Council or Ag Canada or whomever — kind of a standardized document that all farmers could easily access and start using, I think that would really help.”

Rogoza says it’s unclear how far away these changes are.

“Canola may be the first out of the gate on a large scale in this area. But there’s going to be a lot of things happening in due course. But when, how, what it looks like — that’s murky.”

But the bottom line is that farmers need to be aware that certification schemes are going to become more common.

“And the more that they can document what they’re doing, even if it’s in an Excel spreadsheet to start with… keeping those records and keeping those notes is going to help them down the road, even if it’s not for another five years,” says Holzman. † Lisa Guenther is a field editor for Grainews.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features CROP PRODUCTION

Six things to consider when intercropping Intercropping can boost profits and provide agronomic benefits.

But before jumping in feet first, farmers need to think through the process

BY LISA GUENTHER

I

ntercropping involves growing two or more cash crops in the same field.

Farmers may also grow a cover crop over green manure.

While some might assume intercropping is more suited to organic production, that’s not the case.

“Under these conventional systems, with the right crop combination, you would get overyielding,” says Dr. Martin Entz of the University of Manitoba.

Over-yielding occurs when the two crops yield more grain than a single crop would have yielded on the same land.

Entz and his colleagues have researched intercropping in both organic and conventional systems. Ten years ago PhD student Tony Szumigalski studied several crop combinations under organic and conventional systems.

On average, pesticide-free crops got a yield boost from intercropping 47 per cent of the time, while conventional crops over-yielded 75 per cent of the time. Canola-pea was the best performer during the three-year study. Pesticide-free canola-pea over-yielded 67 per cent of the time, while the conventional version over-yielded 100 per cent of the time.

Rosengren says a pea-canola mix is a good choice for first time intercroppers. They’re both easy to harvest and he’s consistently had positive results.

INTERCROPPING ON THE FARM Colin Rosengren, a Midale, Sask. farmer, started looking into alternative cropping systems in 2004.

Today half or more of Rosengren’s 5,000 acres are intercropped every year. Intercropping boosts Rosengren’s net returns by increasing yield, and, in many cases, lowering inputs such as fungicide.

Rosengren also sees less insect damage in some intercrops.

Rosengren grows specialty varie-

ties such as maple peas, which are sold into the racing pigeon market in the U.S. He says maple peas have poor standability, poor yield and are disease prone. But when they’re grown with canola, “they stand up perfectly fine, they don’t get diseased, and we find they yield the same as yellows. And we get paid more.”

Andy Kirschenman farms near Hilda, Alta. Kirschenman uses cover crops to establish green manures, and he is also grow-

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ing 600 acres of mustard-canola this year.

“I like the idea of a yellow mustard because it isn’t as susceptible to some of the insects as canola is.

If we can stay out of the field with some of the insecticides, I’d be happy,” says Kirschenman.

1. CROP CHOICES Farmers should pick two crops that will mature at roughly the same time, or can wait while the other crop matures.

Entz, Rosengren and Kirschenman all say pea-canola or pea-mustard are good choices for first time intercroppers.

“It’s very forgiving. Both crops are very easy to harvest. I mean the feeder house thrashes both of them out, so that’s a good one to start with. It also has shown consistent positive results,” says Rosengren of pea-canola.

Choosing a late-maturing pea and early-maturing canola will help the crops mature at roughly the same time, Rosengren says.

Flax and chickpeas are also

a winning combination on the Rosengren farm, cutting ascochyta and boosting flax yields.

Rosengren says he won’t grow chickpeas without putting flax with them.

In general, Entz and his colleagues haven’t seen a great yield response with wheat, which he says was initially disappointing. He says he thinks it may be because wheat is less plastic than some other crops, and yield is set early.

“One thing we did find is… you really reduce the diseases in the wheat when you intercrop it,” says Entz.

Rosengren has also tried peas and wheat, and flax and durum.

“Typically anything with cereals we’ve struggled to get much of a gain by intercropping.”

Kirschenman has tried wheatflax too, but finds the wheat is too competitive and the maturity gap too large for it to work well.

“What has worked well has been Clearfield canola with sweet clover underseeded to it,” says Kirschenman, who’s been growing this combination for four years.

Farmers in Kirschenman’s area include fallow fields in their rotations. The year after seeding, Kirschenman allows the sweet clover to grow into late June before terminating it. In areas with more moisture, he thinks producers could seed warm-season cereals into it, or swath-graze it.

2. SEEDING Farmers can seed each crop in its own row, known as strip intercropping, or mix the crops.

Entz says research out of India and the tropics shows strip intercropping often works better than mixed rows, but that’s not the case for every crop. For example, when lentils are seeded at a 45-degree angle to flax, they suppress weeds in flax, Entz says.

Kirschenman has seeded clover and canola in separate rows, which worked, but left him with 15-inch

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grainews .ca /

25

Features

With pea-canola mixes seeded in soil with low organic matter, Rosengren has seen the best results from applying about two-thirds the nitrogen of a typical canola crop. gaps in the next year’s clover. He now seeds it in mixed rows.

“You probably get more benefits of the intercrop early in the season that way because you do have that root interaction… It takes quite a while to grow across 7-1/2 inches, which was what our alternating rows were,” says Kirschenman.

Rosengren has had the best results seeding mixed rows rather than alternating rows for most intercrop combinations, including peas and canola. But when it comes to chickpeas and flax, Rosengren seeds two chickpea rows, then two flax rows, on 7-1/2 inch spacing. He seeds it against the wind, so the flax stops ascochyta spores from spreading.

Seeding rates are often set at two-thirds the regular rate, but that can vary. Both Rosengren and Kirschenman set their pea-oilseed crops at two-thirds the full rates.

Generally Rosengren is trying to bring up canola yields, but peas will out-compete canola, so he seeds the peas deeper to give the canola a head start on emergence.

Usually each crop yields about two-thirds of a full crop, giving him a yield bonus.

Seeding rates with chickpeas and flax are a little trickier to nail down because of the micorrhiza fungi on the flax roots. Rosengren thinks the micorrhiza connect the flax roots to the better-rooting chickpeas, allowing the flax roots to find more nutrients.

Last year Rosengren seeded 15 pounds of flax per acre. A typical full rate for his farm is 50 pounds. Normally he would apply 60 pounds of nitrogen with the flax, but he didn’t lay down any.

But the flax still yielded 90 per cent of an average monoculture flax crop, says Rosengren.

“We grow specialty flax that’s been $18 a bushel. So if we’re growing 20 bushel flax and 20

bushel chickpeas like last year, that’s amazing.”

Kirschenman seeds the clover and canola at the same time. He sets seeding depth at the correct depth for the smallest seeded crop.

Canola is seeded at the regular rate, and he sets the clover at three to four pounds per acre.

3. Fertility When it comes to fertilizing pea-canola, Rosengren takes the inoculant into account. On soil with low organic matter, the best results he’s seen come from applying about two-thirds the nitrogen of a typical canola crop.

Though there is no direct link between the rhizobia inoculant and canola, the rhizobia will break down nutrients in the soil, freeing up more nitrogen if there’s plenty of organic matter. So Rosengren applies less nitrogen to soil with high organic matter, as long as mineralization is likely.

Kirschenman uses a little less nitrogen, but a full phosphate rate, for pea-mustard. He lays down nearly a full nitrogen rate for canola-clover. “The benefits of the green manure are mostly coming in the years after, not in the year of establishment.”

4. Spraying Intercropping systems can control weeds, says Entz. But they’re really good at clamping a lid on disease.

“The problem with raising yields in monocrops is you raise these incredibly dense canopies that are very humid. Even in dry areas they stay humid longer during the day. So there is a lot more potential for disease infestation.

And so the question that we’ve been asking ourselves is how do you create a real high-yield situa-

Colin Rosengren’s farm assistants, at work in the corn-soybean crop near Midale, Sask.

tion, but not have so much disease pressure,” says Entz. He says creating diversity within the canopy is one answer.

In some cases, intercrops seem to deter pests. Entz cites research out of North Dakota showing flea beetle infestations were less severe in canola-pea intercrops than monocropped canola.

“Some of the benefits that we’re seeing, in some years may be due to disease. In other years, they may be due to insects that we didn’t observe. And in some years, maybe it’s a combination of all those things plus more photosynthetic capture,” says Entz.

Rosengren has found that although spraying Odyssey incrop doesn’t normally damage peas, the peas don’t always recover when they’re competing with canola. One year after he sprayed Odyssey, damaging the peas, “it cost us 10 bushels an acre in pea yield, but we gained seven in canola. So in the end it netted the same dollars.”

The flax-chickpeas intercrop sees far less ascochyta blight than monocropped chickpea, says Rosengren.

When other farmers are spraying their chickpeas for the fourth time, Rosengren says, “we’re starting to think about our first pass.”

Kirschenman can spray Odyssey, Pursuit or Solo in the canola-clover intercrop without damaging the clover. He also uses a Group 3, such as Edge, with the peamustard to control Group 2 and glyphosate-resistant kochia.

5. Harvest When it comes to harvesting lentils and flax, farmers should take care not to chip lentils during threshing. Entz says the lentil chips are the same size as flax

seeds, making it difficult to separate them.

“Those sorts of practical things are really important to keep in mind,” says Entz.

Kirschenman says the canolaclover intercrop is usually easy to harvest. An early frost might set the canola back, and there have been a couple times where the clover is as tall as the canola during harvest. But Kirschenman says the canola does dry out in the swath.

“It doesn’t take that long and then you’re able to harvest it just as you would straight canola,” he says.

B a s e d o n h i s n e i g h b o u r ’s experience, the peas-mustard should mature at the same time, Kirschenman says. He plans to use a rotary cleaner to separate the seed. “You’re able to through-put at least a 1,000 bushels an hour, but probably more.”

Rosengren straight-cuts both the flax-chickpea crop and the canola-pea crop. Swathing peacanola works, too. The crop is cut high enough that there is still stubble to anchor it against big winds. The swaths are heavier, too, so they’re less likely to tangle. Rosengren cautions a canolalentil swath blows around easily.

The lentils also lay at the swath bottom, which is a problem if it rains.

When it comes to harvesting the flax-chickpea crop, Rosengren sets his combine for chickpeas. He says it’s simple to harvest them, but there needs to be at least five bushels per acre of chickpeas for threshing.

Rosengren likes to separate the seeds from both crops right away, but he says if they’re dry, they can be stored for a while. He’s used rotary drums to separate the seeds, and says they worked well.

But he now uses a rotary cleaner

with shaking screens, as it’s a little more reliable and has more capacity.

6. Rotation Entz says farmers have asked whether growing a canola intercrop, such as pea-canola, means growing monocropped canola later in the rotation would increase disease risk. He says more research is needed before he can give a good answer, but he thinks farmers’ experiences are important.

“I don’t think the threat is serious enough to not consider intercropping. I think intercropping is intriguing and is worth a try. And I think as we gain more experience with it, hopefully we’ll get some pathologists starting to look at these cropping systems a bit more closely and provide those answers in the future,” says Entz.

Rosengren says he wouldn’t follow pea-canola with canola, but in his opinion disease has more to do with how intensely a crop is grown in an area than rotations in individual fields.

“This is not the opinion of most researchers I talk with but it has been my experience,” Rosengren writes.

Kirschenman says he isn’t concerned about disease pressure from short intercrop rotations.

“Short duration rotations are really not an issue for us because we’re trying to get into six and seven year rotations. So even if it is an issue, it’s not going to be an issue for us.”

Andy Kirschenman blogs about his on-farm trials and other production practices at andgronomy.blogspot.ca.

Research by Entz and his colleagues is available online at umanitoba.ca/ outreach/naturalagriculture/.

Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews.

Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

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26

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Features Soil management

Managing wind erosion The productive top layer of Prairie soils is relatively thin.

Once it’s lost, it can take years to recover

By Rebeca Kuropatwa

O

nce topsoil erodes, it is slow to recover.

Research indicates that “the estimated loss of a quarter inch would take over 10 years to replenish, assuming no further erosion occurs,” says Murray Lewis, land resource specialist with the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Saskatoon Research Centre.

Erosion is an ongoing issue that will always require management.

“As climatic conditions and farming systems change, it will be necessary to evaluate and re-evaluate erosion control management strategies,” says Lewis. The best proactive plan is regular erosion monitoring.

photo: david lobb

Crop and crop residue cover are the most effective ways to manage soil erosion.

Four risk factors Wind erosion has two distinct actions: soil detachment and movement.

“All wind erosion control practices are based on preventing detachment or reducing the carrying capacity of wind,” says Lewis.

“A number of wind erosion control practices can be adopted, depending on producers’ farming system and risk factors.”

One potential risk factor is climate.

“Climatic risks vary with each region,” says Lewis. “Areas such as Southern Alberta tend to have higher climatic risk factors throughout the winter, due to periods without snow cover, frequent high wind speeds, and the freeze/thaw action of Chinooks.

Other regions are more concerned about the spring or fall.”

A second risk is crop residue.

“Adequate crop residue and/ cover crops are the most effective way to control wind erosion,” says Lewis. “Crop residue builds soil organic matter, creates stable soil aggregates, conserves soil moisture, and protects the soil surface from erosive forces.

“The widespread adoption of chemical fallow, minimum tillage, and direct seeding has greatly reduced erosion risks across the prairies by conserving crop residue.”

A third possible risk concerns texture.

“Soil texture is one of the key wind erosion risk factors,” said Lewis. “Research indicates that

sandy soils (more than 70 to 75 per cent sand and less than 10 to 15 per cent clay) and clay soils (more than 40 per cent clay) tend to be more susceptible to wind erosion. In the case of sandy soils, they tend to form poor aggregates, easily broken down into erodible-sized particles.”

Different soils behave differently.

“Clay soils can be broken into small erodible fractions by tillage or freeze/thaw processes, while loam soils (a balance of sand, silt, and clay) tend to be the most resilient to erosion.” (Although tillage, dry soil conditions, and lack of crop residue can put loam soils at risk.)

A fourth risk factor is surface roughness.

“Significant surface roughness (large aggregates or ridges) can disturb wind flow and reduce its carrying capacity,” says Lewis. “Surface roughness is only a factor for land lacking adequate crop residue.”

Seven ways to control erosion Depending on the farming system, wind erosion control best management practices can include agronomic management, chemical fallow, reduced tillage, direct seeding, soil ridging, low disturbance tillage, cover crops, organic additions (such as manure or straw), shelterbelts and combinations of these.

1. Consider agronomic choices: “Erosion management starts with optimizing crop agronomy, such as seeding date, seeding rate, and

fertility, which improves root growth and biomass production,” said Lewis. “Extended and diverse crop rotations, such as rotations with forages, are also beneficial.

These practices increase the soil’s resilience to erosion by improving soil quality, soil biology, binding soil particles together and protecting the soil surface.”

If a winter crop is planted only for erosion control, Lewis still suggests following recommended agronomic practices, such as “seed early, seed heavy, seed shallow, and seed into standing stubble.”

2. Adopt minimum tillage: “The adoption of minimum tillage technologies has been one of the most significant advancements for prairie agriculture and land sustainability. Crop residue conservation builds soil quality and resilience to degradation. Other benefits of minimum tillage include soil moisture conservation, nutrient availability, and improved drainage.

Lewis says, “If tillage is required to manage soil moisture or compaction issues, vertical tillage implements tend to disturb the soil less than others.”

3. Use cover crops: “Cover crops are an excellent option for erosion control, however they need to be seeded early to be effective. Soil disturbance at harvest incorporates the seed and provides supplemental erosion control, however effectiveness is dependent on harvest date.”

4. Use organic amendments: Lewis says organic amendments,

such as straw and manure, can be effective and build soil quality.

5. Create ridges: Where there are soil ridges and residue, wind flow will be disturbed. In some cases, this can lower losses from erosion.

“Dryland producers can ridge soil to create surface roughness, spread straw, set up some type of wind barrier, or spread manure,” says Lewis.

6. Plant shelterbelts: Trees can reduce erosion. “Properly planned field shelterbelts provide many benefits to the agricultural community,” Lewis says. “The main benefit is wind reduction, reducing wind velocities for up to 20 times their height.”

7. Don’t burn: “Burning crop residues is generally a high risk practice with negative implications for soil erosion,” Lewis says. Burning exposes soil to erosive sources, while destroying a valuable soil-building resource. Rather then burning, Lewis says, “Excessive straw can be managed by practices such as chopping and spreading, bailing excess straw, and seed drill selection.

“Research seems to indicate that excess crop residues can be removed without impacting soil organic matter levels and erosion control.

Harvesting residue from land that is at significant risk to wind erosion is generally not recommended.”

In the long run, the costs of minimizing erosion may be worth the benefits, Lewis says. “Proactive soil management is relatively easy and cost effective. Reclamation can take years to achieve and comes at a significant economic cost.

David A Lobb is a Professor in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba (U of M).

“The most effective wind erosion control measure is maintaining crop and crop residue cover on the soil,” said Lobb. “This protects the soil from the erosive force of the wind. Shelterbelts can also provide some wind erosion control by reducing the erosive force of wind.”

Lobb’s research, teaching, and extension activities are in the areas of soil erosion, soil and water conservation, and sustainable agriculture.

“Although we can regularly see dust blowing in agricultural landscapes, the actual soil loss within fields is probably negligible,” said Lobb.

“The extreme events resulting from the massive 1930s dust storms are very rare and the soil losses observed during that time may never be reproduced.

“However, we still need to be concerned about wind erosion.

Even small amounts of it and soil loss may result in considerable crop damage by sand blasting, and may result in enough dust to create air quality problems.

“It is extremely important to monitor field conditions to accurately assess potential problems and to manage them effectively... assessing wind eroded sediment along ditches, treelines, and fencelines.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

27

Columns GUARDING WEALTH

Low interest rates won’t late forever Low interest rates are set to continue for another year or more.

Find out how farmers can make the most of the current environment

BY ANDREW ALLENTUCK

I

nterest rates are due to rise and, as the world waits for low single digit interest and borrowing rates to rise to historical norms, mischief stalks the land. Far from the canyons of Wall and Bay streets, farmers are at risk of having to pay more to borrow money and, as a result, earning less when costs are deducted from revenues. Yet the bad news conceals the good, for along with higher interest rates goes improvement of the economy.

The summer was a time of fear of rising interest rates. In the bond market, where interest rates are the pulse of the economy, traders and institutional investors running billions for insurance companies and pension funds ran for cover in mid-June.

Following remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on June 19 suggesting that interest rates might rise by fall, bond prices collapsed. Investors sold bonds, terrified that the very low interest rates they were receiving would soon be laughable and the bonds that paid them worth relatively little. They moved to cash or very short term bonds that revert to cash in a month or two, to await higher interest rates.

Dumping vast holdings of government bonds, high yield bonds and investment grade corporate bonds, traders and institutional investors sent yields, which move opposite to interest rates, soaring.

In the third week of June, the 10-year Government of Canada bond posted a yield of 2.55 per cent, up from 1.87 per cent at the end of March. The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond dropped so

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far that it yielded 2.75 per cent, up from 1.85 per cent at the end of March. For ordinary investors who buy and hold bonds to maturity, the rise in rates was good news. For the first time in almost five years, bond interest would match or exceed inflation.

MID-JULY CHANGE A month later, the rush to raise cash seemed premature.

Seeing what he had wrought, Mr. Bernanke promised in mid-July that there would be no change in interest rate policy until the end of 2013 or maybe 2014.

Price supports for bonds in the form of US$85 billion purchases every month would continue. In Canada, the new head of the central bank, Stephen Poloz, said the benchmark short term rate, one per cent, would remain in effect for another year.

Interest rates will go up — that is a certainty. But the triggers, which would be a rise of U.S. inflation to two per cent from the current 1.4 per cent rate and a decline of unemployment to seven per cent from 7.6 per cent at present remain elusive. GDP growth in Canada is 1.8 per cent and, in the U.S., 1.6 per cent, according to the economics department of Scotiabank.

The June bond yield spike, which influences all other credit markets, turns out to have been a bubble. Bill Gross, co-chair of PIMCO, the world’s largest bond portfolio managers, said on June 19 that he thought the chances slim that U.S. inflation and GDP growth would rise enough to justify the Fed’s withdrawal from markets. Events have proven him right.

MESSAGE FROM THE MARKETS For now, the message of markets is just this: hang tight, borrow cheaply while you can and lock in low mortgage and line of credit interest rates. If you want to buy a new combine, get a line of credit and fix the terms now, even if you plan to order in a couple of months.

It is better to be a borrower at today’s rates than a lender Higher interest rates mean that house mortgages would cost five to six per cent for five-year terms. That means people could afford less house. Companies like big utilities and telecoms as well as chartered banks would find their borrowing costs much higher and would therefore tend to report lower earnings, all other things being the same as before rates rose.

You might think that low interest rates are a blessing, for borrowing costs are mostly modest and, if you want a higher return, you can buy dividend-rich stocks from the very companies that make more profits because they can borrow cheaply. However, there is a dark side to the low inflation that makes low interest rates possible.

Low inflation means that it takes longer to pay off debt. Thus the real value of debt is higher

when inflation is low. It tends to act as a brake on the economy.

Very high interest rates that go with high inflation are also destabilizing. The sweet spot of inflation and interest is at 2.5 to three per cent inflation and four per cent short interest rates. But that is a long way off.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? What should farmers do in the present environment? The present structure of interest rates implies that it is a good deal to borrow long on a fixed term if the premium for the long loan compared to a short or floating rate is not too large.

There is a term premium, that is, a bonus paid to the lender by the borrower for the risk of carrying long-term debt. The normal 10-year premium is about four per cent, so that if a 90-day Treasury bill (the same thing as a 90-day bond) yields one per cent, the 10 year bond should pay five per cent. Today, the premium is artificially suppressed at less than two per cent. It won’t be this small forever. When rates normalize, so will the premium.

If you can get a 10-year loan for four per cent or less over a three-month loan, really a floating rate line of credit, then it’s a good deal. If the lender wants six per cent or more for the 10-year loan over the floating rate line of credit, stick with the short loan.

Interest rates on investment grade corporate bonds follow those on trend-setting government bonds. Numerous companies pay four per cent on their long term bonds, implying a two per cent term premium. It’s not

good enough, for though you will get the interest you sign up for, it will be relatively unattractive when rates rise in a few years.

If you want to invest and have a promise of a return of your investment, you have to buy actual bonds. When you invest in a fund that rolls over its bonds forever, you give up the fundamental guarantee of return of capital at a fixed date.

Dividend-paying common stock, on the other hand, has no promised return of capital, but you can make educated bets that, over time, solid companies like BCE Inc., which has a dividend of about five per cent, will raise payouts, that their prices will rise, and that the combination of higher dividends and higher stock prices will pace inflation. Common stock is not a proxy for a bond; indeed, they are different critters. The bond is an obligation and bond holders can sue for payment of interest and return of capital. On the other hand, a share of stock is a venture with the company and nothing is promised. Yet over time, stocks pay far more than bonds. Canada’s big six banks have rewarded their holders handsomely with rich and growing dividends and rising stock prices.

The market overreacted in June to the hint that interest rates would rise. Since then, monetary authorities around the world have said in unison, “not yet.”

One could add “not much.”

Bottom line — it is better to be a borrower at today’s rates than a lender. † Andrew Allentuck’s book, “Bonds for Canadians,” was published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons Canada.

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28

/ grainews.ca

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Columns CAN’T TAKE THE FARM FROM THE BOY

Seeding lessons Toban learned a lot of lessons during his first spring out in the field, making decisions on his own TOBAN DYCK

M

y dad told me not to seed double. He told me doing so would cause lodging in the wheat. It’s the section of the field closest to the road everyone on our lane takes to town, and there is a lot of lodging to be seen. It is a mistake I’m reminded of every time I make the drive, and it’s one of many lessons I learned over the seeding season.

Here’s a breakdown: I seeded the bulk of our acres this year. I made calls I had never made before.

Nothing that would make or break us, but things that would test my prowess as a famer.

It was a cold, wet spring in our area. In some areas, where the soil is lighter, we planted too deep. It’s noticeable now. And in the heavier soil, the soil that can often give us problems, our inch and a half-deep soybeans thrived.

All of you know this already, but I had to learn: Never back up with a hoe drill in the ground.

I did this. Heinous, I know. But I didn’t think it was as bad as it was.

It happened quickly, I realized what I had done, and thought the machine didn’t move enough for any real damage to occur.

Well, about 500 metres later, I noticed a plugged run. No big deal. This happened a lot this spring, given how mucky some parts were. I was quick at this by now. One minute later, another run plugged, then another, then another.

I had to unplug them all. Then I had to figure out where on the field did the entire drill quit seeding and go re-seed. As the beans peeked out of the ground, I expected to see a 30-foot by 500metre area of missed revenue.

But I re-seeded the right area.

Lesson learned.

30-feet wide; our sprayer 90.

This works, but it requires a keen eye. If I felt any doubt by the time I reached the end of the row and needed to find the next run, it wouldn’t happen.

A farmer needs to be confident on these decisions. Casually turn, let instinct be your guide, and you’ll find yourself near enough to where you want to be that you’ll see the line. Don’t do this, and you’ll have to stop the tractor, get out, and walk around nervously until your mind relaxes and your eyes start to see what they’re supposed to.

I think an earlier generation of farmers had a more accurate sense

of the relationship between implements and fence posts. I didn’t hit any, but I had to stop and back up a few times.

How does my father get so close and not hit them? Time will tell if this is a skill that will get passed down to me. I blame technology again. I love it, but it’s weak compared to a strong gut or instinct.

THE FLAT TIRE This goes back to seeding. The wind was reported to have toppled highway tractors on Highway 3 between Carman and Winkler, Manitoba. It was difficult to stand on the drill, never mind fill it with

Toban Dyck came home to the family farm in Manitoba after living for Toronto. He seeded his first crop this spring. a conveyor-belt drill fill. The wind was loud, but I heard a sound that was either the onset of tinnitus or a flat tire.

Sure enough, it was a flat tire.

No big deal, right? Well, funny thing: We’re in the throes of seeding. So we take off the tire in the field, propping up the drill frame with cribbing, take the tire to town to discover they’re closed for lunch. The shop’s entire staff go

MISSED ROWS AND SPRAYING Perhaps the more seasoned among you are fine with seeing where the GPS was a little off, and the spaces between rows were a little too large to be tram lines, or intentional sprayer guides.

Or, perhaps the more seasoned among you don’t make such mistakes.

Next year, I will not rely as much on my GPS as I did this year.

Magnetic storms seem to throw them off, and every once in a while they misbehave with no obvious explanation. These errors plague me, but thankfully the rows are closing up and the beans and wheat are doing their part to hide my blind allegiance to technology.

Spraying is tricky and requires confidence. We spray our beans twice, ourselves, and use a system we refer to as tram lines to do so.

They are not really tramlines. We increased the distance between the hoes on either side of centre hoe. Our drill is

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on lunch break at the same time.

This is small town life.

But it’s a small town life we enjoy a lot. Now that spraying is done and the weather is great, it’s rewarding to watch the plants I seeded grow. Harvest is going to be blast, and will come with its own lessons, I’m sure. † Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

29

Columns UNDERSTANDING MARKET BULLS AND BEARS

Living with market volatility Market volatility is alive and well. Learn how to live with it and keep your sanity

BY BRIAN WITTAL

W

hat has this summer taught us about market volatility? That it is alive and well and causing all kinds of market mayhem!

Adequate moisture and good growing conditions in the U.S. and Western Canada increased production estimates for all crops, which drove futures values lower daily.

Cool wet weather in parts of the U.S. and across the Canadian Prairies increased yield potential, but it has also brought pest and disease concerns and delayed maturity that makes frost a real concern.

Weather situations around the world have caused production concerns in certain areas.

China, for example, experienced the worst heat wave in 140 years in its eastern regions. This dramatically impacted production, and brought China to the market to secure inventories for the coming year.

In Europe most of the planted area has been hot and dry for some time and looks to stay that way, causing crop stress and potential yield losses.

Russia, Ukraine and the Former Soviet Union area experienced some dryness issues, but intermittent rains helped alleviate concerns in some areas.

At this time of year any weather news that promotes potential yield increases or decreases anywhere in the world creates market volatility and sends futures markets jumping up and down.

Will the markets go higher?

Will they stop going down? When should I sell?

These situations become very emotional for farmers watching markets run or crash based on current market conditions.

How do you avoid going through emotional marketing situations year after year?

You need to have a solid marketing plan in place that you are comfortable with. It should include marketing strategies that will help you avoid making emotional pricing decisions during times of volatile price movement.

A MARKETING PLAN 1. Know your costs of production. This is critical so you can

establish acceptable profit levels and price points for selling your grain.

2. Set a pricing strategy of selling increments of production, or use options or futures contracts to secure prices at various price levels in an up and or down market scenario.

3. Follow markets closely so you can make timely decisions based on good intelligence. This can be accomplished in many ways — from talking to local grain buyers and buying market newsletter subscriptions to hiring an ag marketing consultant.

4. Get an understanding of what the technical charts and fundamental market information are telling you. What way are the markets trending and why?

5. Decide if you are comfortable

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selling actual physical grain or if you are prepared to spend money putting a futures or options contract in place to protect a futures price to sell your grain against later.

6. Start by putting together a marketing plan where you sell increments of your crop utilizing a price averaging strategy along with an options contract to protect you.

Putting the plan in action before the growing season will keep you from getting caught up in an emotional roller coaster ride when markets are the most volatile.

PRICING RISKS There are a number of risks you need to consider when deciding how to price your grains.

These include moisture at seeding time, seeding dates and weather during the growing season.

You could end up with a good crop or a poor crop and you don’t want to be overcommitted with physical delivery contracts if the weather turns on you.

If the weather is starting out against you early in the year, the safest way to consider securing a price for your grains is on paper with put option contracts and or a futures hedge strategy.

How much can you afford to spend on futures or options contracts?

As the year progresses, if you decide to do any physical pricing, you may want to consider using call options to help protect you in case the weather catches you with a hail storm or a frost. A weather disaster could alter your production and leave you short of grain and unable to deliver against your contracts.

A MATTER OF BALANCE How much physical grain should you price?

How much can you afford to spend on futures or options contracts?

Or, should you sit back and do nothing?

Which of these choices will give you the best results with the least risk?

These are questions that only you can answer for your farm.

Do you have the cash flow early in the new year (pre-seeding) to put an option or futures contract in place if need be?

Do you have a brokerage account set up to do that?

Do you understand how futures and options work and how they can be used to protect your farms profitability?

These are questions that others can help you with. If you are looking for some help in this regard, give me a call or send me an email. † Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. www.procommarketingltd.com.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Columns OFF-FARM INVESTING

Learn to sell before you buy If you want to own stocks, before you buy you should learn how to sell properly ANDY SIRSKI

A

lot of investors feel that buying right is the most important part of owning stocks. From my experience, selling right is more important than buying right.

SELLING RIGHT One reason to learn to sell right is that you should get you out of a stock near the top of its price.

“But I might get whipsawed” is the most common complaint

when I mention selling near the top. Yes, that is true. But let’s face it, any stock that you or I own is not the only stock to own. If we sell out and the stock goes back up, we can buy it back or move on to another good stock.

I think the “might get whipsawed” argument held during the long-term bull market from 1982 until 2000. But lately, in the past few years, most stocks get rotated into and out of. Big money understands seasonality and ups and downs very well and will move into a stock slowly but get out quickly.

These past few years, selling when the daily price drops through the 10-day moving average would have worked

eight or nine times out of 10.

And maybe one whipsaw. That is pretty good odds.

The only stock that I own that would have whipsawed me is Disney. It has been so bullish since it got above $50 or so that the price has hugged the 10-day moving average. Stocks like CNR, CP, Pfizer and resource stocks kept going down after the price crossed the 10-day moving average going down, making selling a good move.

Another point I hear all the time is: Well, it will come back up. Yes good stocks often do. But not all of them do. Or they might stay down long enough to discourage us, tick us off, and provoke us into selling near the low. And I won’t

even mention the static we might get from our friends and business partners.

Selling right has one more big point that few talk about. As a farmer, you are mostly a price taker. You cannot control the weather. You cannot usually control the price you pay for inputs or the price you get for your grain.

As stock owners we cannot control the prices, but we can control when we buy and sell and the prices we pay. Usually if I sell as the daily price crosses the 10-day moving average going down, I would be selling high.

And usually, if I buy when the price has crossed the 20-day moving average going up, I would be buying low. These charts are free

on www.stockcharts.com. This is not rocket science. All we have to do is look at the charts and believe them.

And if we don’t totally believe the charts we can always sell some at the high and buy some at the low. It’s caller layering in (buy) and out (sell).

BOMBARDIER (BBD.B.TO) I’ve done a few things correctly with BBD.B. First I started buying at $4.06 shortly after the company negotiated a $2 billion line of credit at a good rate. That happened in late 2012 and the shares were well under $3 per share at the time. I started buying and layered in, so I have 10,000 shares at an average cost of $4.52.

I could have sold some or all of these each of the three times the shares dropped through the 10-day moving average and put in a bid to buy 15 or 20 cents below the selling price — I’d have another $4,000 or $5,000 in my account.

But the company has been promising to test fly its new plane and I didn’t think I could guess when that would be. So I did not sell shares and I did not sell calls on the shares.

I collect a 2.5 per cent dividend every year, which matches most interest rates, so I decided I would just wait them out.

THOMPSON CREEK MINES (TCM) I did several things correctly with this one. In the fall of 2012 the premium for selling puts for April 2013 was very generous, about $1.10 for the $4 strike price.

So I sold puts on 5,000 shares and collected $5,500 and then bought 7,000 shares at an average cost of around $3 per share.

Come spring, the shares were over $4.20. I sold them at $4.20 when the price crossed the 10-day moving average going down, and bought the puts back for $0.30. I made $11,000 or $12,000 in half a year with about $16,000 of my own cash. I did collect $5,500 from selling the puts.

Then I jumped the gun and bought 3,000 shares at $4.06 and sold calls twice to bring my cost down to around $3.35.

Recently, TCM released its Q2 report. Its new copper mine in B.C. is going to get going soon, the company has enough cash

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

31

Columns to pay its expenses until money starts coming in, the price of copper has moved up to over $3 a pound, and it looks like this could be a successful startup.

The price went from under $3, crossed the 20-day moving average going up and hit the 200-day moving average at around $3.35 which was around my cost of the other 3,000 shares, so I doubled up.

POTASH CORP (POT) This stock dropped like a rock a few weeks ago from $38 to $28 per share. I had 700 shares.

Many think this drop was an unexpected shock. However, the daily price did drop through the 10-day moving average at around $42. All I had to do was believe it. I had sold calls on the shares and thought that $38 was a good support price. It was — until the Russian potash cartel broke up. I sold and moved on.

SPREADS

9 at the close. I have no idea how much the price is going to go up or how quickly, but I am ready.

Gold and silver are in season and if there was ever a time of year to hold this stuff it is now.

I own some Franco Nevada (FNV) shares and I might sell them and buy Silver Wheaton (SLW) shares. But I also have a venturesome Exchange Traded Fund called NUGT which moves three times as fast as the price of gold. NUGT is not for everyone — in fact some brokers won’t even sell it to a customer. It takes watching. I did sell calls on most of them and bought them back the other day when the price of gold and NUGT crossed the 20-day moving average going up.

My other choice is to own some shares in IMG, AUQ, FVI and FR. I think all are good quality stocks and have potential if and as the price of gold and silver move up during the in season.

One thing for sure: I plan to sell

all of these things as soon as the price of gold and silver and these stocks drop through their 10-day moving average. I didn’t do that last fall when the daily price of gold dropped through the 10-day moving average at about $1,750 and now I have some catching up to do.

Gold and silver are in season DUST AND DOG These two creatures are for special conditions and might not be for every investor. DUST (Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bear 3X) goes up when the price of gold goes down and DOG (ProShares Short Dow30) goes up when the Dow index ($INDU) drops.

I likely will buy some DOG as

the DOW normally slides during the summer and I will save DUST for a time when the price of gold is heading for out of season. It also moves three times as fast as the price of gold, like NUGT. My other strategy will be to hold Disney shares. My cost is around $62 and I sold calls for January with a strike price of $67.50 and collected something over $3.50.

Since some stocks might tend to drop I likely will do bear call spreads on some and be more careful about doing bull put spreads on other stocks. I find that if I aim to make five to nine per cent per trade, I’ll usually be far enough away from the price of the day that the option will expire worthless and I’ll keep the money. If I aim for a higher return I often find the shares move enough to put the spread in danger.

INPUT CAPITAL (INP) I wrote about INP months ago. This is a canola streamer.

In June the company did a reverse takeover and now the shares trade on the Toronto exchange as INP. My starting price was $1 and the shares went public at $1.80 or so and are hanging around there. I plan to put them into my wife’s RRSP as a contribution-in-kind.

In the next issue I will discuss some high dividend paying stocks that might make up part of a portfolio. Hint: BMO has been paying a dividend since 1829.

I want to give you two quotes: Brooke Thackray: “If I’m wrong (about a stock) I’m not wrong for long.” His sidekick, Don Vialoux, says: “Keep your losses small and let your profits run.” † Andy Sirski is mostly retired. He gardens, plays with his granddaughters, travels a bit, and manages his investments. He also publishes a newsletter called StocksTalk where he tells what he does with his stocks, explains how he does spreads and which covered calls he writes. If you want to read it free send an email to sirski@mts. net and Andy will set you up for a month of good reading.

I have at least 10 spreads going, mostly for August expiry but a couple for September. They include Disney, Cat, Deere, Phillip Morris and Agrium. As prices stand on August 10 all of these will expire on August 17 and I will keep the money.

I’m using about $35,000 of buying power and my rough estimate shows I took in about $3,800 of cash by doing spreads for August and the couple for September.

The headline in the last issue of Grainews seemed to imply that doing spreads was my full time strategy. Actually it is not. I do spreads in my trading account because that is the only account we can do them in. I am paying about $34.95 for commissions and contract fees with BMO for each trade and when I do 20 a month that is around $700.

I’m looking into setting up an account with Interactive Brokers in the U.S. Interactive Brokers does not charge a brokerage fee when we do spreads. Their fee is $0.70 per contract (100 shares) so the 2,000 shares or 20 contracts would cost $14. The pair would cost $28 which is a lot less than $70 per pair.

I still have to iron out some details. In the meantime I do run a trading account at BMO and I make good money doing spreads.

Interactive Brokers does not hold sheltered accounts like an RRSP of TFSA.

GOLD AND SILVER As I write on August 10 the price of gold has jockeyed around from a low of $1,180 up and down and was just under $1,315 on August

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Columns SOILS AND CROPS

Faith, snuff and slough water After a wet year, the water in your slough may look clean. Test it first.

The results may surprise you DUNDURN MEASUREMENTS LES HENRY

T

his is an update to an article that appeared in the September 2006 issue of Grainews.

My Dad often talked about early bachelor settlers who lived on “faith, snuff and slough water.” In many cases on the Prairies it is a good thing they had strong faith and brought along lots of Copenhagen because the slough water often left much to be desired.

The same might be said for sloughs that are used as a water source for spraying.

If the water is full of algae or sediment or stinks like an outhouse we may shy away. But if it looks clean and clear we make think it is okay. Think again. Clean, clear water can often contain loads of dissolved minerals that can cause trouble with herbicide performance, especially glyphosate.

In June, 2006 I took photos and measured the salt content on my Dundurn farm. That was repeated in July, 2013 and I took a real lesson from the readings.

When I took the photos I also measured the dissolved minerals in the water. This data was obtained directly in the field by measuring the Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the water. Benchmark data for EC (measured in uS/cm — MicroSiemens per centimetre) is as follows: Saskatchewan River Water: EC = 350 uS/cm Sand point wells: EC = 500 to 1,000 uS/cm Farm wells on the Prairies, other than sand point: EC = 1,500 to 5,000 uS/cm Sea water: 35,000 ppm TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) (EC is a good first approximation of ppm TDS for sulphate waters , which we usually have, but above EC = 20,000 the relationship breaks down so I quote sea water in ppm TDS.)

SALINITY OF SLOUGH WATER ON NW 22-32-3W3 EAST SLOUGH

MIDDLE SLOUGH

WEST SLOUGH

Elevation MASL*

617

613

611

EC June 18, 2006

300

600

1,300

EC July 28, 2013

1,035

2,335

3,335

* MASL = Meters Above Sea Level Source: Les Henry

As you select sloughs for spray water, be careful. Be sure to get an EC or hardness test before relying on the water. I have been examining and measuring salt content of sloughs for 30 years and am not much good at guessing the salt content just by looking.

Agronomists should be offering this service.

If I can do it most anybody can.

The photos and data tell the story. The table puts it all together so the data can be compared easily.

JUICING UP THE GROUNDWATER Making the July, 2013 readings was a very serious lesson for me. I expected to document how much fresher the water was after the last few years of irrigation-type rainfall and heavy snow melt. All that fresh water should “freshen” the sloughs, right?

Wrong.

The large excess of rain and snow melt has really “juiced up” the groundwater flow systems. The approximate tripling of salt level in the water from 2006 to 2013 comes mainly from groundwater discharge. The west slough by the yard has a big bathtub salt ring. The high water has flooded that ring and those salts are also in the water.

TAKE HOME MESSAGES: 1. If you use sloughs for spray water do not expect the same slough to provide consistent water over time. Measure the EC in the field.

2. Mother Nature makes changes that can be cumulative over time — in decades — not just year to year.

3. Expect serious increases in soil salinity as we go back to the other side of the average moisture conditions.

By the way, changes in soil fertility and agronomy also have long memories and effects accumulate over time. I had a recent farm tour with Dennis Bulani in the hills north of Biggar and saw wheat crops that look like nothing I have seen before. It did not all happen over night.

Good management, and especially soil fertility is cumulative. But, that is a story for another day. † J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He recently finished a second printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for “Grainews” readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

33

Columns

PHOTOS: LES HENRY

East slough, June 18, 2006: EC = 300 uS/cm

East slough, July 28, 2013: EC = 1,035 uS/cm

Middle Slough, June 18, 2006: EC = 600 uS/cm

West Slough, June 18, 2006: EC = 1,300 uS/cm

Middle Slough, July 28, 2013: EC = 2,335 uS/cm

West Sough, July 28, 2013: EC = 3,335 uS/cm This water looks fresh, but it would really take the edge off weed control with glyphosate herbicides.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Machinery & Shop 2014 MODEL INTRODUCTIONS

New Holland introduces new hay and forage tools Grainews goes into the field with New Holland product reps to test run the company’s 2014 lineup of haying equipment

BY SCOTT GARVEY

I

t’s that time of year again when major farm equipment manufacturers pull the wraps off new machinery models poised to join next year’s lineup. This summer, New Holland was first off the mark, holding a media event in Houston, Texas, to showcase products in its “Dairy and Livestock segment,” which means new hay and forage equipment.

“Better, faster and smarter” was the catch phrase product reps used to describe the 2014 models on display in a Texas almond grove beside a field of Bermuda grass.

Company executives were so confident in the ability of their new models, they wanted members of the farm media to not only see them, but put them to work as well. That meant spending a day under the blazing, summer Texas sun (in air conditioned cabs) cutting, raking and baling hay.

At the event, New Holland executives also made it clear they not only want to build on the company’s reputation as a leader in hay and forage equipment, they want farmers to look to them as an infor-

mation source on how to put up quality hay as well.

“We’ve become much more sophisticated in making hay,” says Abe Hughes, II, NH North America’s vice-president of sales and marketing. “Often times, I think, people just roll the dice and bale.

There’s really a science to it. That’s what we’re trying to do here at New Holland, educate farmers, dealers and everyone else that there is a science to it.”

As a way to share their knowledge, NH updated its Haymaker’s Handbook in 2011, which now includes all the latest research the company has helped develop in association with Penn State University. The Handbook is a guide to producing top quality livestock feed.

Farmers can pick up a copy at their local NH dealer for about $15.

To give you a chance to see what we saw in Texas, the Machinery and Shop section of this issue is filled with a close look at NH’s updated lineup of haying equipment for 2014. Enjoy. †

PHOTO: SCOTT GARVEY

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

New Holland invited members of the farm media to see its new line of hay and forage products at an event in Houston, Texas.

2014 MODEL INTRODUCTIONS

NH eyes canola growers with new Speedrower and Duraswath header High speed road travel and a new Prairie Special option make this machine a cross-over, intended to appeal to both forage and oilseeds producers SCOTT GARVEY

“

T

his machine is littered with changes and updates from our previous H8000 Series,” says Seth Doman, marketing manager for hay and forage crop preparation products at New Holland. “We’re so excited to unveil this product.”

The Speedrower (which apparently gets its name from a blending of the words “speedy” and “windrower”) is capable of an impressive 24 m.p.h. (38 k.p.h.) on the road. That, according to Doman, makes it the fastest swather on the market. And it achieves that velocity without changing its primary direction of operation. So there is no need to reverse the operator’s station and look out over the rear hood.

For 2014 there will be three models in all, the 130, a 126 horsepower version that gets power from a four-cylinder diesel, and the larger 200 and 240 powered

by 190 and 226 horsepower, sixcylinder engines, respectively.

Steering on the Speedrower is hydraulically controlled and blended with the hydrostatic drive on the forward axle. The rear wheels are mounted on free-wheeling casters. In order to keep them stable at high road speeds, engineers added “anti-shimmy” shock absorbers and gave them independent rear axle air suspension.

The new steering system also supports NH’s integrated IntelliSteer auto guidance.

All three Speedrower models are available in two basic configurations. Hay and forage growers can select one designed to run Durabine disc or HS Series Haybine sickle cutting heads, which range from 12 to 19 feet depending on which type you choose.

PRAIRIE SPECIAL The other configuration, the Prairie Special, is intended to appeal to small-grains and oilseeds producers. It comes mated to a Duraswath draper header, which

» CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

PHOTO: SCOTT GARVEY

A new three-model line of windrowers joins the NH lineup for 2014. Each is available in a configuration suited for hay and forage growers or as a Prairie Special with a draper header designed specifically for canola.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

35

Machinery & Shop » CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Seth Doman points to one of two 40 G.P.M. drive pumps that come standard on the Prairie Special version of the Speedrower. models get one 80 G.P.M. hydraulic pump and the four-cylinder 130 version gets 29 G.P.M. capacity. “That’s more than enough to run the 13- through 19-foot disc heads,” explains Doman.

Hydraulic oil cooling capacity has also been bumped up by about 35 per cent.

To help thick, fluffy canola crops pass under the tractor body, the centre ground clearance has been increased. “We’ve improved our ground clearance from the previous series to 42-1/2 inches,” he adds.

Inside the cab, which gets a spring suspension to help smoothen out the ride, the operator has a 10-inch IntelliView IV touch-screen monitor that controls both the machine functions and auto guidance.

“We’re the only manufacturer that has one screen for tractor functions and also for steering function,” says Doman.

For a video look at the Speedrower, check out www. grainews.ca/videos. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Two different types of rear caster arms are available. The single-sided version (mounted on the Speedrower) increases under-body clearance for fluffy crops like canola.

westeel.com

is available in 25-, 30-, 35- and 40-foot working widths.

NH executives say they hoped to create a machine that attracted the attention of canola growers when they settled on the specifications for the Prairie Special equipped with the Duraswath header, but that header isn’t interchangeable between the Speedrower and a CX or CR combine. “It’s specific to the windrower line,” says Doman.

“There are a couple of reasons for that. One is specific to the draper belts, themselves, the other is the cutting system is designed specifically for cutting canola.”

The Duraswath header has a “draper seal” to prevent crop material from getting wedged under the belts and plugging them. In front of those drapers, buyers get another choice. “We offer two different kinds of cutting,” says Doman. The New Holland, which works well in all crops, and the Schumacher, which is very good in canola.”

The Duraswath header uses a flatter table and lower draper belt angle to improve visibility from the cab and allow for better crop feeding.

Prairie Special models get increased hydraulic drive capacity to run the Duraswath headers, relying on a pair of 40 G.P.M pumps.

One is dedicated to driving the knife in order to reduce instances of knife stalling, while the other pump runs the draper belts and reel.

On Speedrowers configured for hay producers, the six-cylinder

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Machinery & Shop 2014 MODEL INTRODUCTIONS

New 560 Roll-Belt round balers

New balers offer increased capacity and a variety of features to improve feed quality

BY SCOTT GARVEY

Along with the extra, rubbermounted, six millimetre tines mounted on sturdier components, the 560’s pickup has been re-engineered to accommodate the increased interest in baling biomass materials, like corn stover. The new open bottom design allows material that often gets caught, like cobs, to simply fall through and prevent plugging.

And the pickup width has increased. Not just to accomodate biomass crops, but to help hay and forage growers put up the best hay

A

PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY

New Holland debuted its all-new 560 Roll-Belt baler. It can be equipped to make both dry and high-moisture bales.

s he begins describing the updated engineering built into the 560 RollBelt baler, New Holland’s crop packing equipment marketing manager Curtis Hoffman bends low and points out improvements to the redesigned pickup.

“You’ll notice we’re running a five-bar premium pickup now,” he explains. “We’re the only company in the industry right now with a five-bar pickup.”

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possible. “It’s the widest pickup in the industry,” Hoffman adds.

“Wider is better because the crop mat is thinner when it comes in.”

Once the crop mat makes it past the pickup, it follows a new route over top of, rather than underneath, the all-new rotating mechanism that pushes it into the bale chamber, which now includes a new floor roller design. “The key difference for us is the weight of the bale is held on the floor roll, but the centre of gravity is behind the floor roll,” he says. “So I can shut the belts off, open the door up and the bale will roll right out.”

After the bale core is formed, sickle knives swing into place and slice the hay into seven-inch lengths as the bale builds.

“When it’s time to slice, after the core is made, the bale will roll against those sickle sections and cut itself,” says Hoffman. “Once the bale is at its maximum diameter, those knives will swing back out. You can leave a six or eight inch uncut section if you wrap with twine. (By cutting) you can actually pack more material into a bale, up to about 14 per cent more.”

And according to a university study, cut hay inside bales delivers better daily gains.

“It cuts down on the waste,” he continues. “(Normally) the cattle will pull mouthfuls of hay out of a feeder that are the width of a cow’s mouth and then some. (The extra) gets bitten off, falls beside the feeder and becomes bedding. It’s like slicing the apple into mini bites you can eat. We have a Penn State study showing there’s an average of 23 per cent more daily gain in yearling heifers by slicing up the crop.”

The connection points on the 560’s belts use a new, riveted splice, rather than the current pressed-in design that is common in balers across the industry.

“In the area where we splice, we have new alligator clips,” Hoffman says. “They’re riveted rather than a tooth-type lacing. The carcass on the belt is a lot tougher, too.

It has three nylon layers. They’re also stiffer so they don’t curl when they run up against another belt.

They run truer.”

560 balers equipped to make

BY DAN PIRARO

What’s better than sitting down with a coffee and the latest edition of Grainews? How about getting the latest breaking ag news on your smartphone with Grainews Mobile.

Part of the

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Grainews Mobile is sponsored by

The DuPont Oval Logo is a registered trademark of DuPont. ®, TM, SM Trademarks and service marks licensed to Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited. © 2013, PHL.

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Bizarro

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

37

Machinery & Shop

The pickup includes heavier components and a new design to minimize plugging when baling biomass crops like corn stover. high-moisture silage bales get completely different, endless belts.

“Those belts are stronger than a laced belt,” says Hoffman. “We offer a three-year, 15,000 bale warranty, we’re that confident about them.”

And if your tractor already has a built-in, ISOBUS-compatible monitor, there won’t be any need to add another one for the baler.

The 560 Roll-Belt balers are fully ISOBUS compatible. Simply plug the baler’s electrical connection into the tractor and its functions show up on the main monitor.

“With that ISOBUS-compatible monitor you save space in the tractor,” he adds. “It’s using the tractor’s display monitor not requiring a second one for that round baler.”

“I’m happy to say this (ISOBUS) is now functioning in the real world, giving you all kinds of information right there on your SideWinder monitor,” adds Abe Hughes, II, vice-president of North American sales and marketing. “The best combination now is to pair up that NH baler with an NH tractor. It will be a perfect integration. If you start to pair it with other colours, it doesn’t have the maximum information and efficiency.

“I think with some of the electronic innovations we’ve seen in row-crop farming, they’re eventually going to become much more sophisticated even in making hay, where you’re actually now mapping where your best hay is coming from, the kind of hay you want to develop, and the kind of inputs you want to put into the field.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

A bar fitted with sickles slices the hay into seven-inch lengths to improve bale density and reduce feeding waste.

New rivet connection: Belts on dry-feed balers are joined by a riveted connecting splice.

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Visit thanksabillion.ca for rebate details and other offers. For product details and a dealer near you, call 1-866-4BRANDT or visit www.brandt.ca

38

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Machinery & Shop 2014 MODEL INTRODUCTIONS

NH debuts new centre-pivot Discbine 314 and 316 Discbine models incorporate a host of design improvements over previous models

BY SCOTT GARVEY

“

PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY

The New 313 and 316 Discbines use a simplified driveline, powering the cutterbar from only one side, which is a major design change from the previous H7000 Series machines.

T

he Discbine 313 and Discbine 316 are our new models for 2014,” says Seth Doman, marketing manager for hay and forage crop preparation products. “We’ve simplified the driveline (compared to the previous H7000 Series models).”

That simplified driveline now looks considerably different from what was used on the previous H7000 Series models. The cutterbar is now driven only from the left side, unlike the earlier version which was powered from both sides. The new engineering reduces the number of driveline gearboxes, and it also means the 313 and 316 get a redesigned cutterbar as well.

According to Doman the new MowMax II cutterbar not only accommodates the simpler driveline, it incorporates a range of performance and design improvements too. Each MowMax II cutting module uses a larger disc driven by heavier gears, bearings and connecting shafts. And the machine can cut closer to the ground with less cutterbar tilt, minimizing scalping. Larger discs with a “tapered skirt” profile are also better at moving the crop into the conditioner and out the back.

“The entire cutter bar has been beefed up,” says Doman. “The modules, connecting shafts and gears have now almost doubled in size. That’s important because it’s now driven from one side. It’s

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also important because we’re talking about reliability.”

If the inevitable happens and you hit a rock with one of the cutter discs, a new feature will help protect the driveline and keep repair time and costs down. “We have something we’ve created called a ShockPro hub,” explains Doman. “It’s under the top cover (of the disc module). It has five splines, so when you hit something one of these spines is going to shear off instead of damaging the bearings and gears inside the disc module. The ShockPro hub costs about $50, instead of about $300 if you were to damage the module. It only takes about five minutes to change in the field.”

The company is so confident in new the MowMax II cutterbar’s durability, it gets an extended three-year warranty on top of the standard one-year base warranty on the overall machine.

According to New Holland, all the design changes combine to provide one other advantage: they reduce the power demand on the tractor, lowering fuel consumption when cutting.

At the back, the WideDry conditioning rollers have been stretched out to 125 inches (317.5 centimetres) from 102 inches on the H7000 Series machines. Windrow shields have also been lengthened by 14-1/2 inches to accommodate the wider rollers. Customers can choose among rubber or steel rollers or a flail-type conditioner. With the wider conditioners, farmers can spread the hay out in a wider windrow to hasten dry-down times.

“The faster we can get that crop down to that 10 to 12 per cent moisture level, the better the hay quality will be,” notes Doman.

“Laying it out will allow the sun to impact the crop that was just cut.”

Conditioning rollers also have a two-speed drive (750 or 640 RPMs), allowing farmers dealing with lighter crops to slow the rollers down to minimize the amount of material thrown around.

Farmers who buy a new Discbine also get a choice of six different knife options, ranging from one with a seven degree bevel, which minimizes the amount of dirt and debris pulled into the crop material, to one designed to deal better with rocky conditions.

New Holland also offers a biomass kit for the new Discbines to accommodate cutting typical tall and coarse biomass crops. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro Higher input costs and tighter margins require a complete grain management system to make your operation as profitable as possible. The complete line of Farm King grain handling equipment ensures you get top dollar for your crop.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

39

Machinery & Shop

New Holland has re-engineered its line of Discbines, introducing the 313 and 316 for 2014 with 13- and 16-foot cutterbars.

Seth Doman points to the ShockPro hub, which has splines designed to shear off and protect the knife module from damage if an obstruction is hit. The ShockPro hub can be replaced in about five minutes at a cost of $50.

40º seat swivel

Run in Comfort

The New CommandView™ III Cab The new 313 and 316 Discbines can be ordered with one of seven different knife blade designs.

By Dan Piraro

Bizarro

When you put in a 40-hour week by Wednesday, you are logging some serious time in the seat. Make that time as comfortable and productive as possible with the New CommandView™ III cab available on the new 7R and 8R/8RT Series Tractors. Never one to sacriƟce comfort for functionality, the new cab is quieter than its predecessor and features a seat with a 40-degree, right-hand swivel to give you an unrestricted view of your implement. Better still, the newly designed CommandARM™ puts machine controls and functions within a comfortable reach; and the 10-inch high-resolution display offering comes loaded with performanceboosting GreenStar™ software like AutoTrac™*, which can be easily activated with a subscription. There’s even an integrated refrigerator option. Visit your John Deere dealer today and take the new 7R and 8R/8RT Series Tractors for a test run.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Machinery & Shop Tire technology

Trelleborg introduces TM Blue IF tires Built to tough environmental standards, Tm Blue tires offer larger footprints and more traction because of their Increased Flexion design

By Scott Garvey

“

B

lue is the new green,” says Andrea Masella, marketing manager, agricultural and forestry tires, at Trelleborg, as he stands in front of a large blue tractor tire in the centre of his company’s display at Ag Connect Expo. “When we say green, we just think of forests.

But blue refers to the whole environment. When we say blue, it’s something good for the whole environment and for the end user, the farmer.”

The blue concept Of course, the company isn’t actually going to start producing tires that are coloured blue.

The display was meant, in part, to highlight the environmentally friendlier manufacturing process Trelleborg now uses in all its factories around the world. According to Masella, the new cleaner manufacturing process is driven in large part by tightening environmental regulations in Europe.

“This is the systematic approach to all our operations in order to constantly reduce their environmental impact in support of Trelleborg’s corporate responsibility,” said Marco D’Angelo, industrial director, Business Unit Agri and Forestry Tires, in a corporate brochure.

But Trelleborg’s TM Blue concept isn’t just about manufacturing procedures. The tires rolling off those cleaner assembly lines are meant to deliver environmental benefits in the broadest possible sense, even to soils in the farm fields they’re put to work in.

TM Blue tires have redesigned inter-lug terracing which gives them better self-cleaning features. That means the tire travels farther in wet soils before filling with soil and they clean themselves in a much shorter distance if they do, reducing the transfer of soil onto roads when leaving a wet field—another aspect of their environmentally friendly tag.

The company introduced two new sizes at the show in its largest TM1000 High Power line of IF (increased flexion) tires: 710/75R42 and 650/65R34. IF tires are designed to carry more load at the same air pressures or the same load at lower air pressures and have increasing sidewall flexing characteristics.

The TM Blue line of tires have footprints up to 10 per cent larger than competitors’ premium offerings, according to the company. And there is an eight per cent increase in traction to go along with that. “When we talk about performance, it has a wider footprint, which leads to lower c o m p a c t i o n , ” a d d s M a s e l l a .

“That leads to sustainable farm-

ing. Increased traction leads to reduced fuel consumption and lower exhaust emissions levels.”

Lower operating costs In this case being good to the environment has a payback.

“In the end, the farmer can save up to $3,400 (in operating costs),” Masella goes on.

But he acknowledges the retail price of TM Blue tires will be higher than most others. It’s in those reduced operating costs where farmers will make up for that. “We say these are the cheapest tires on the market,” he says. “Of course, when you buy it there is an extra, added value.

But what you spend you will save in the long run. I recommend these tires to people with big tractors that use their machines for many years and are looking for productivity.”

Because of the deflection of the casing and the shape of lugs on TM tires, they transfer less vibration to the tractor, according to Trelleborg’s marketing information, which leads to less stress on the operator over the course of the day and a more stable machine.

That’s another part of the blue concept,” says Masella. “It’s good for the environment, but it’s also good for our customer. That’s a win-win concept.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photo: scott garvey

Andrea Masella of Trelleborg says the company’s new TM Blue IF tractor tires provide benefits to the environment and the farmer who uses them.

Ag tire fact 1

M

odern ag tires have a lot of information imprinted on their sidewalls.

Trouble is, you often need to do a little decoding to figure it all out. Here’s what some of those numbers and letters mean.

Tire size data on modern radial tractor tires is actually a blend of both metric and Imperial information. For example, consider the size rating 800/70R38 on the tire in the image.

The “800” is the width of the tire from sidewall to sidewall in millimetres. To convert that to inches, divide it by 25.4. Next, “70” is the aspect ratio. It refers to the height of the sidewall, expressed as a percentage of the tread width. “R” indicates the tire is a radial. Radial tires have a more flexible sidewall with a stiffer tread face than bias-ply tires (also known as cross-ply), which have the opposite structure with stiff sidewalls and a softer tread face. And “38” is the rim diameter in good old Imperial inches.

Also on the sidewall you’ll find another important pair of data number and letter mark-

ings, but they’re in smaller script and are usually found close to the rim edge. The first three-number marking is a tire’s maximum load rating, which is expressed with an internationally-recognized Load Index number. For example, 173, which means the maximum tire load should not exceed 6,500 kilograms. Most ag tire manufacturers have charts on their websites that provide the exact weight amounts associated to load rating numbers.

The actual weight, in this case 6,500, may also be imprinted on the sidewall near the Load Index rating.

Following that three-digit number is the Speed Index (SI).

It indicates the maximum safe speed for the tire at the associated load rating. For speeds of up to 40 KPH, the SI code is expressed as a letter and a number. For example, an A5 rating means the tire is good for 25 KPH, and A8 indicates 40 KPH. For speed ratings above 40 KPH, a single letter is used. “B” indicates a 50 KPH rating. SI ratings are also used on automotive tires. † Scott Garvey

Ag tire fact 2

A

g tractor tires are broken down into different RCI (Rolling Circumference Index) groups. The rolling circumference refers to the distance travelled with one full revolution of the tire. All tires in each group have a similar rolling circumference and similar OD (overall diameter). The larger the RCI Group number, the larger the tire diameter and rolling circumference.

The top — and newest — RCI Group number currently is 50.

Tires in that group have a rolling circumference of 269 inches and an OD of 91 inches On an MFWD tractor, there is usually a difference of five RCI group numbers between the tires on the front axle and those on the rear, which is why these machines are called “five-step tractors.” However, some models can be different. So don’t go ahead and order replacement tires based solely on that rule of thumb. † Scott Garvey

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

41

Machinery & Shop TIRE TECHNOLOGY

Firestone introduces “next generation” radial tires Firestone’s IF and VF radials meet the needs of modern farm machines

BY SCOTT GARVEY

“

I

t’s (the ability to carry) load at the lowest possible pressure,” says Ken Allen, president of Firestone’s ag tire division, as he discusses the advantages of new IF (improved flexion) and VF (very high flexion) tire designs. “That’s the biggest consideration. Keeping in mind, at the same time, the genetics (of GM crops) and how we ensure the durability of the tire.”

Even with ever-increasing size and weight, and stiff stubbles left behind by new crops, farm machines need to put down a light footprint.

TIRE TECHNOLOGY The IF and VF technologies that have emerged in the ag tire marketplace are what tire companies see as the way forward in dealing with those modern challenges. Firestone management considers their new AD2 (Advanced Deflection) tire offerings in the IF and VF categories a “next generation” technology. IF tires can carry up to 20 per cent more weight with the same inflation pressure as a standard radial.

And the VFs take that advantage to 40 per cent.

Allen thinks tires based on Firestone’s AD2 technology can even compete with tracks when it comes to minimizing ground pressures. “We think our AD2, IF technology comes very close, is equal to or better in some cases than what a track does in terms of ground contact pressure,” he says.

“The interesting thing is, remember, gross pressure is not contact pressure. That might be the fallacy of tracks because you have to understand where your highest contact pressure is. With a track, it’s usually under one of the idlers or the boogie. So when we look at a dynamic contact pressure, we see, actually, an advantage with low-pressure tires.”

But in order to make today’s low-pressure tires work on large machines, there is a need for increased tire sizes. “The equation is we have this load, and we have this pull we’re going to put on it, and we’ve been typically trying to be in around a 10 to 14 p.s.i. range,” he continues. “That, itself, will drive what the tire has to be in terms of size.”

To keep pace with machine evolution, tire sizes are now growing faster than ever before. “Typically, over the past several decades about every 10 or 15 years we’ve increased the OD (overall diametre) of the drive tire, and we’re in a situation now where we’re going two RCI (Rolling Circumference Index) groups. We’ve only done one at a time in the past several decades. Group 48 was introduced in late 1999, 2000. Now we’re seeing group 49 and 50 introduced at the same time. We have to be able to provide not only the load capability, but something that can efficiently transfer that amount of horsepower to the ground.”

In January, Firestone had several new tires to introduce that management believes will go a long way toward meeting those challenges in all tire-size groups. Included in the announcements were new radial implement tires with IF and VF designations. They will be able to support implements at lower inflation pressures, provide larger con-

tact areas and use steel belts for increased stubble resistance.

“For implements, we’re bringing in a product that is steel belted to prevent stubble penetration,” explains Allen. “Our compounds are a little bit harder in that case for stubble resistance. For larger tires we have a product, like truck tires, that is steel bodied and steel belted for added durability. Stubble has been a problem for a long time. That corn is becoming like a tree, almost.”

For sprayers, the company introduced its All Traction RC tires.

Available in both IF and VF designations, these tires now incorporate wider, curved and deeper tread bars. The wider width better distributes the load while the curved design makes for a smoother ride at high speeds. And these tires are capable of a maximum of 70 kilometres per hour. The 20 per cent

increase in tread depth makes for longer wear life.

Finally, the company introduced its CFO (Cyclical Field Operations) combine tires. They are designed specifically to handle the high and changing load conditions typical of combines. But they won’t be available until the fall of 2013.

“If we take a look at the conventional radial tire, it has to have an increase in pressure to take a load bump for cyclical field operations,” says Allen. “Our new CFO tire can have that load bump at the standard pressure in an IF.” “When we look at technology of the future,” Allen says, “it’s trying to understand from an agronomy standpoint what exactly the soil wants to see or doesn’t want to see, in terms of pressure.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

PHOTO: SCOTT GARVEY

Firestone’s new IF (Increased Flexion) Cyclical Field Operations combine tires, which will be available this fall, offer the ability to handle changing load conditions at lower internal pressures. They’re engineered using the company’s new AD2 technology.

The Leader in Overlap Control SeedMaster now offers Auto Zone Command™ & FLIP™ (Full Last Implement Pass) as standard features on its on-board and tow-behind tanks.

Auto Zone Command prevents costly input overlap by instantly stopping product flow in up to 10 metering zones.

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FLIP received the coveted 2013 Gold Innovation Award at Canada’s Farm Progress Show

FLIP is SeedMaster’s patented mapping software that activates Auto Zone Command and halts product flow the first time openers pass through an overlap area. Product is then applied on the last pass, preventing double seed and fertilizer from being applied, and avoiding any seedbed disturbance.

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1

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1.20%

$6.38

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10 ZONES OF OVERLAP CONTROL

3200 sq. ft.

320 sq. ft.

$6.38 Cost Savings/Acre/Year x 5000 Acres Based on $104.60 /Acre Average Input Cost = $31,903 Input Savings/Year 4

5,000

7.30%

1.20%

$6.38

$31,903

5

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Machinery & Shop 2014 MODEL INTRODUCTIONS

T6 tractors get CVT transmission option New Holland adds two new CVT-equipped models to its T6 tractor line

BY SCOTT GARVEY

N

PHOTO: NEW HOLLAND

The T6 line grows by two models for 2014 with the addition of CVTequipped 110 and 131 horsepower models. Engine output goes north by up to 33 horsepower when under load, boosting ratings to a maximum of 143 and 163.

ew Holland is stretching its T6 tractor line for 2014 with the addition of two new, four-cylinder models, the T6.140 and T6.160 offering 110 and 131 engine horsepower. The Engine Power Management system controlling the Interim Tier 4 emissions-compliant diesels gives a 33 horsepower rise under load, providing maximum 143 and 163 horsepower ratings respectively.

Owners will need to pour diesel exhaust fluid into the bluecapped tank on the tractor’s side, but the company claims efficient engine design coupled with an SCR emissions system will lower fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent.

The star feature on these two new models, though, is the company’s Auto Command, CVT transmission, which has been available on the larger T7 tractor line for a while. “We’ve had the Auto Command transmission for

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about four or five years now in our T7 tractors,” says Luke Zerby, a product training specialist. “It’s perfectly seamless with that variation in speed in 1/10 mile-perhour increments.”

However, the design of the Auto Command transmission that gets dropped into the T6s is a little different than what bolts into the larger T7s. A company press release describes it as a “further refined version of the CVTs found in T7 Series tractors.” It gives T6 tractors a range of speeds from 0.02 m.p.h. to 31 m.p.h.

“How the Auto Command works, what makes it a little different and so successful, is it has three basic components in there, a synchronized gearbox, a compound planetary gear and a hydrostatic unit,” continues Zerby. “With the combination of those things working together, we have the best-in-class mechanical efficiency. We can really get all that horsepower delivered to the ground and we also have that infinite range capability with the

PHOTO: SCOTT GARVEY

Product training specialist Luke Zerby described the features of the Auto Command transmission to members of the media at an event in Texas in August.

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

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43

Machinery & Shop

The new T6 tractors get Horizon cabs that include the same SideWinder control arm and IntelliView monitors common to the brand’s larger model lines.

T6 tractor hoods tilt up to 90 degrees to allow maximum access to engine components. hydrostatic unit working together along with that.”

The Auto Command uses Active Start-Stop technology. That means the transmission will hold the tractor in place when stationary and allow for easier starts on a grade when pulling something heavy.

The 31 m.p.h. version reaches maximum speed at only 1,750 r.p.m. to keep engine revs down while roading. “We also have 11.6 m.p.h. in reverse,” adds Zerby.

New Holland sees the CVT’s ability to fine tune ground speed without changing engine r.p.m. as a key element in putting up highquality hay bales, making these T6 tractors an integral part of the company’s dairy and livestock equipment group.

“There’s two things needed to make high-quality hay and make consistant bales, day in and day out,” explains Zerby. “Consistant PTO speeds and a consistant amount of crop going into that baler. With the Auto Command, we have the ability to change our ground speed on the fly to make that consistant bale.”

“There’s nothing new about CVT transmissions, per se,” adds Abe Hughes II, New Holland’s vice-president of sales and marketing for North America. “It’s something that’s been around for a long time. But what we’re trying to do at New Holland is bring them down and make them available in nearly every one of our mainline products.

I think it’s important to understand that it allows you to save fuel, because you’re not using too much (engine r.p.m.) where you don’t need it.”

To make the operator more comfortable, these tractors get the brand’s upgraded Horizon cab, which boasts interior sound levels as low as 69 dBA. Controls are grouped on the adjustable SideWinder II armrest, the same one larger tractors get. The SideWinder includes an IntelliView III or optional 10-inch IntelliView IV monitor.

Hydraulic capacity on the T6 line is 33 GPM, enough, the company claims, to take advantage of the CVT’s ability to work at low throttle settings and still provide adequate fluid flow to implements. †

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LANDOLL CORPORATION 1600 W. 8th Street / Beloit, KS 67420 / (785) 738-6613 www.landoll.com/icon FEMA Landoll reserves the right to change models, designs, and/or specifications without notice or obligation.

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Land-143C.indd 1

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner HERD MANAGEMENT

Beef producer promotes value of hybrid vigour Part 3 of 3

WHAT IS HYBRID VIGOUR?

BY ANGELA LOVELL

D

on Guilford, who farms near Clearwater in southwest Manitoba, says there is no doubt in his mind that to make ranching sustainable in the future, producers need to plan their herd to meet a specific market.

“You need to capture every opportunity,” says Guilford. “You have to think about what breeds you want to produce, assess your financial and land resources, target a market and design the herd to produce for that market.”

Guilford says many producers miss a huge opportunity by not introducing hybrid vigour into their breeding program. “I think that crossbred vigour is important because with a properly managed program and for no added cost, on a 300-head cow herd there’s nearly $50,000 added value from increased production related to hybrid vigour as opposed to a straight bred cow herd,” says Guilford, who was one of the speakers at the 2012 Manitoba Rancher’s Forum.

But the crossbreeding program needs to be properly planned. “Quite a few operations have a cow herd that is every colour under the sun,” he says. “And if they are doing that they are probably compromising about 50 per cent of that $50,000.”

Hybrid vigour is the boost to production achieved by crossing different breeds. It’s expressed as the percentage amount by which the crossbred progeny is better than the average of the two parent breeds. Direct hybrid vigour is the extra performance in calf weight achieved in the first cross of two purebreds.

Maternal hybrid vigour is the extra performance from breeding a crossbred cow (known as a F1 female) with another purebred breed.

Guilford’s own research in producing F1 females showed him a Hereford heifer crossed with an Angus bull adds 15 to 18 per cent higher weaning rates in the firstcross calf. If that F1 female is then bred to a totally different breed such as Charolais or Simmental, it boosts weaning rates by around 22 to 23 per cent.

“If a first cross adds 15 per cent to the weaning weight of a 500-lb. calf, at $1.50/lb. that’s $112.50,” says Guilford. “On 300 calves that’s $33,750 a year. A three-way cross adds 22 per cent, which is $49,500 on 300 calves.”

The degree of hybrid vigour depends on the specific traits and genetic diversity of the breeds being crossed. It is a system that can allow a producer to almost custom design calves by changing the sire breed to meet certain markets. The pro-

gram can be used to produce calves with either more marbling or a leaner, heavier carcass, for example.

A FEW CHALLENGES There are some challenges with the system, however, one of which is finding a supply of replacement F1 females that are a first cross and have not been interbred with multiple breeds.

Keeping the different groups separate to maintain the integrity of the crosses requires additional management.

Guilford says the main problem with a hybrid vigour system is that it’s hard to achieve alone.

He believes producers need to work together to develop a system that benefits everyone involved.

In order to get hybrids, producers need to start with straight-bred cattle, although they don’t need to be purebred, says Guilford. If needed, those straight-bred cattle can later be sold as replacement animals to someone else with a crossbreeding program. Each person along the chain has to specialize for the system to work well.

“You can’t be everything and you have to decide ‘am I going to be the guy that raises terminal cross steers and heifers for the finishing market?’” says Guilford. “Or am I going to raise F1 females to supply to the

PHOTO: DON GUILFORD

Don Guilford has a two part breeding program — with the main focus on producing purebred breeding stock, but a second component that producers crossbred F1 females well suited for commercial producers. cow-calf guys? Or am I going to be a straight-bred breeder to supply the F1 females to the guy to breed them to Charolais bulls?

“When I was raising hybrid heifers people would say ‘why would you sell those great heifers.’ And I said, ‘I can’t be everything; I am the seedstock producer.’”

NEED TO FIND VALUE Probably the hardest part of making the system work is building in value for everyone along the chain. “If I am the primary guy who is using straight-bred Herefords crossed with Angus bulls to get that F1 female, I need to be compensated for raising those straight bred cattle to provide the F1’s,” says Guilford.

“If someone else takes those F1

cows and breeds them with a Charolais, he is the guy getting the $50,000 added advantage.”

Guilford’s own collaboration with another producer in a hybrid vigour program didn’t pan out at that time because of low cattle prices and market volatility. It was difficult to pencil out adequate compensation for both operations.

But, although primarily a purebred operator, he continues to build his program slowly over the years, using two important management tools.

After taking holistic management courses more than 20 years ago, he has gradually switched his grazing program to a planned rotational system that has extended the grazing

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

BETTER BUNKS AND PASTURES

Don’t put away calf creep feeders just yet Studies show even a basic creep feed can add 30 to 60 pounds to calf weaning weights PETER VITTI

A

cool spring coupled with good rains throughout the summer grazing season has kept most pastures across Western Canada lush and many cows milking so well, their calves haven’t been eating much creep feed. But as most pastures rapidly mature by September, autumn-creep can help increase pre-wean weight gains on calves.

At a time when leaves turn colour, the most promising calves are growing at a rapid rate.

Unfortunately, they cannot meet their total energy and protein requirements simply by nursing their mothers. Cow milk production, which supplies less than 50 per cent of the calves’ requirement for energy and protein, is slowing. Moreover, calves cannot supplement lower milk consumption with forage nutrients, because mature grasses are lying down significant amounts of low-digestible forage fibre. That translates into lower amounts of energy and decreased protein content.

No Creep (1)

Creep (2)

Calculations

A

Weaned calf weight (lb)

558.5

600

Input

B

Expected Creep feed used

0

270

6 x 45

C

Expected Creep weight gain (lb)

0

41.5

270/ 6.50

D

Predicted calf price at weaning ($/lb)

1.50

1.50

Input

E

Predicted calf value ($)

837.75

900.00

558.50 x 1.50 600 x 1.50

F

Value of Expected gain ($)

0

62.25

900 – 837.75

G

Creep feed cost per lb ($)

0

0.147

325/2204

H

Total cost of creep feed ($)

0

39.69

270 x 0.147

I

Return per head due to creep feed ($)

0

22.56

62.25 – 39.69

ADDED GAINS A practical feed option to fill this nutritional shortfall is for calves to consume a complementary amount of creep feed in the next couple of months ahead of weaning. Most university creep feed studies have demonstrated that preweaned calves on a modest plane of mature pasture nutrition, nominal cow milk intake, and supplemental creep feed can potentially maintain a daily body weight gain of about 1.8 to 2.5 lb./head/day. As much as 30 to 60 lbs. of this gain can be traced back to creep feeding.

Commercial creep feeds are balanced for 12 to 18 per cent protein and dietary energy of 65 to 75 per cent TDN (total digestible nutri-

ents). Their formulations often contains high-energy grains (such as corn and/or barley), added modest-energy feed byproducts (such as wheat- middlings and/or corn distillers’ grains), and concentrated feed proteins such as soybean or canola meal. A mineral-vitamin pack as well as a growth promotant such as monensin sodium is also added to the final mix.

Most producers know creep feed intake by even hungry calves can remain relatively low (zero to two lb./head/day) when pasture conditions are still lush and cows are milking. Creep feed consumption begins to change once these pastures start to mature — less grass and less milk. Creep feed intakes rise rapidly (six to eight lb./head/

day) and then levels off. Creep feeding calves grazing higherquality pastures have a lower feed efficiency of nine to 11 lbs. per lb. of gain compared to a creep feed efficiency of five to seven lbs. of feed per lb. of gain when calves are out on mature fall pastures.

The sight of healthy spring calves milling around half-full feeders in midsummer and still gaining acceptable weights, can lead some producers to save on feed costs and forgo creep feeding until next years’ calf crop. However, they may be quitting too soon.

PENCIL IT OUT The following table illustrates the financial proposition of an

autumn creep feeding program for calves weaned prior to the arrival of the first snowflakes.

In this example, let’s say we are raising a group of spring calves and nursing cows (producing less than 10 lbs. of milk, daily) and both cows and calves are grazing medium-quality pastures. The parameters of this creep feeding program: (1) 45-day program (Sept 1- Oct. 14), (2) creep ration @ $325/mt (3) creep feed consumption @ 6.0 lb./head/day, (4) feed efficiency = 6.50, (5) calves weaned at 600 lbs. and sold @ $1.50/lb. and (6) No weight-market discount. (Optional).

In this example, there was a nearly $23 positive return per head due to autumn creep feeding. Individual financial results will vary due to the actual cost of purchased creep feed, and final calf prices, and other non-financial factors.

And of course, the success of any autumn creep-feeding program really depends upon the health status, actual bodyweight and growth potential of spring calves. Creep diets don’t even have to be fancy to lead to greater revenue and profits from calves. † Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

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Keepers & Culls Interesting talk by Allan Savory LEE HART

I

f you have 22 minutes and want to help save the planet, go online and listen to a TED talk earlier this year by long-time grazing specialist Allan Savory. Savory, best known for developing the Savory Grazing System under holistic resource management principles, gives a simple, straightforward explanation of what he sees as a “disaster” facing the world, and an effective solution using livestock in planned grazing systems. It is a very compelling talk.

Savory’s approach is somewhat controversial. Some, or perhaps many, believe in it as an economical and sustainable system for managing pasture and farmland. Others such as columnist Hyland Armstrong in a two-part report earlier this year questioned whether the Savory Grazing System produces the results it claims.

Those columns did draw interest from readers. Some people felt Armstrong was out to lunch, and others said they had similar suspicions or doubts. I come right down the middle — I know the grazing and farm management system has supporters and detractors, but I’m not knowledgeable enough to know if there is a right or wrong answer.

ALMA (The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency) brought Allan Savory to Calgary this summer for a morning lecture. I wasn’t able to attend because I was out

of town, but I did follow up and found a link to Savory’s TED Talks presentation on the NewStream by Meristem website. NewStream is an electronic newsletter produced by the Alberta Farm Animal Care program by Meristem Information Resources. There is lots of good information there about a wide range of animal care issues, but in the August 22 e-newsletter you will find the link to Savory’s presentation. Go to www.meristem. com/newstream and when the NewStream page opens click on the Farm Animal Care button and it will lead you there.

You can also Google “Ted Talks Allan Savory” and find the link to the presentation there. Whether you buy in to the whole Savory Grazing System idea or not, I found it a very interesting presentation as Savory explains what he sees as a global problem of “desertification” and how proper livestock management can reverse a devastating trend. It certainly makes you think.

NEW HIDE SPRAY FROM ELANCO Elanco must have been listening to JBS Canada officials in August talk about the importance of clean cattle and reducing the risk of bacteria being introduced to the meat packing plant. Elanco has introduced a pre-harvest body wash for cattle that kills many common bacteria before they are processed.

Elanco Food Solutions Canada has received Health Canada registration for Finalyse for pre-harvest

use on Canadian beef. Already used in the U.S., Finalyse is the first pre-harvest hide wash for live animals in Canada. It is a foodsafety intervention applied as a solution in the holding area before cattle enter a harvest facility.

“Finalyse gives producers another tool in their food-safety tool box,” Patrick Mies, senior technical consultant at Elanco said in a release. “Because cattle can carry some traces of bacteria, research shows Finalyse can substantially reduce the amount on their hides, decreasing the risk of exposure to the packing facility.”

Finalyse is a mixture of bacteriophages that specifically targets E. coli O157:H7. Bacteriophages are naturally occurring organisms found in soil, water, and human and animal intestinal tracts.

SECRET TO LONG MARRIAGE Below is a short story about the secret to a long marriage, and the story was sent to me by Linda Johnston (nee Hummel) who I went to school with 55 years ago… and I don’t think I have seen her since. We connected on Facebook and by email so we keep in touch from time to time.

She is a one-time farm girl (now retired) who is often sending along recipes and she also has a good sense of humour. I don’t know if this story is true, but since I married an Italian I just thought it was funny.

Italian Secret to a Long Marriage: At St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Aberdeen Scotland, they have weekly husbands’ Marriage Seminars. At the session last week, the priest asked Giuseppe, an Italian immigrant who had lived in Aberdeen for many years,

and was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary, to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years.

Giuseppe replied to the assembled husbands, “Wella, I’va tried to treat her nicea, spenda da money on her, but besta of all is, I tooka her to Italy for the 25th anniversary!”

The priest responded, ‘Giuseppe, you are an amazing inspiration to all the husbands here! Please tell us what you are planning for your wife for your 50th anniversary?’ Giuseppe proudly replied, “I gonna go pick her up.”

DUPONT’S NEW SILAGE MANUAL DuPont Pioneer dairy, livestock and nutrition specialists have consolidated production and management information about silage into one manual now available to growers, students, university extension and anyone interested in learning more about forages.

The Pioneer Silage Zone Resource Manual serves as a source of relevant silage-production

information covering many topics including: planting, growing, harvesting, storing and feeding. “The goals of the manual include helping customers meet the feed needs of their livestock operations and answering growers’ questions,” Robert Larmer, DuPont Pioneer livestock information manager said in a release. “Whether it is alfalfa haylage or corn silage or high-moisture corn, this wellrounded resource helps growers get the most out of their forage.”

The Silage Zone Resource Manual, formerly known as the Pioneer Forage Manual, is described as a go-to resource for university staff members as well as producers. Backed by the expertise of 11 dairy and livestock specialists, local agronomists and an experienced nutritional sciences team, this manual provides is a timely resource for anyone interested in learning more about silage production and management. For more information on The Silage Zone Resource Manual or to order a copy, contact your local Pioneer sales rep or visit this website to order online www.pioneer.com/ silagezonemanuals. †

CONTACT US

Write, E-mail or Fax Contact Cattleman’s Corner with comments, ideas or suggestions for and on stories by mail, e-mail, phone or fax.

Phone Lee Hart at 403-592-1964 Fax to 403-288-3162 Email lee@fbcpublishing.com Write to CATTLEMAN’S CORNER, PO Box 71141 Silver Springs RPO, Calgary, Alta. T3B 5K2

FENCING TIPS

Handy homemade wire unroller

BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

W

hen building barbed-wire fence, a person needs an easy way to unroll the wire. Many methods have been used such as putting the roll on a stationary bar and taking the end to pull out along the fenceline. People often put a bar or pole across the end of a pickup, putting the roll on the bar/pole, attaching the end of the wire to the fencepost, and driving along to unroll the wire.

A simpler and easier method was devised by 69-year-old Idaho rancher Lynn Thomas last year when he needed to build several miles of fence with limited crew and waning strength. He says necessity was the mother of his invention.

He looked at a home-made unroller that a neighbour had given him. This was a device attached to the rear bumper of a pickup. It was a U-shaped piece of metal a little bigger than a roll of barbed wire, with a metal rod in the middle to hold the roll of wire. The idea behind this creation was to park the pickup and

pull the wire out from it, or drive the pickup along the fenceline to unroll the wire, with the end of the wire fixed to a post.

The problem with this method was that Thomas’ ranch terrain (steep sagebrush-covered mountainsides) did not lend itself to either of these applications. Wire unrolled in this manner tends to catch on sagebrush, creating a jerk, and then the spool of wire unrolls too fast — with backlash and entanglements.

Thomas created his own version by taking one of the round, flat metal plates from the neighbour’s device as a starting point.

“A person could make a similar plate out of a piece of 3/8-inch metal, cutting it in a round circle about the diameter of a roll of barbed wire, putting a hole in the center that a bar will fit through,” he says.

Thomas put a tire rim around the outside of the metal plate; the roll of barbed wire sits on the flat metal plate with the tire rim around. “Make sure the rim does not stick up beyond the plate. It must be flush so the wire won’t catch on the rim,” he says.

The rim Thomas used was from a

13-inch tire off a small car. A propersize rim could be easily found at a wrecking yard. “It works best to leave the tire on the rim, to give it more stability,” he explains.

“The main reason this works so well is that the friction between the metal plate and the unrolling wire (the roll sitting on the plate with a bar through the center), creates a little bit of drag that acts like a brake. The wire won’t go spinning off it, out of control.”

This past year, he used this method to unroll the wire for about four miles of five-strand barbed wire fence — more than 20 rolls of wire. “In all the unrolling, the wire pulling over the tire and rim did not leave any cuts in the tire rubber and very little abrasion.”

He suggests placing the unroller at the spot you want to start, making sure it’s flat, even if you have to put some rocks under the lower edge. Every stretch of fence should be unrolled either on flat ground or heading downhill; it doesn’t work to pull the wire uphill.

The roll of wire is set on the flat plate, with a metal bar or small rod put down through it into the ground. You can pound the rod into

PHOTO: HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

“The basic components of the wire unroller — a tire, a steel plate, and a steel rod down the centre. the ground a few inches to hold it in place. At first Thomas tied the bar back with a wire to another rod pounded into the ground — about four feet behind it — to help hold it in place, but soon found that it stayed in place very well without having to be tied back.

This device stays in place even when pulling some long runs — even the whole roll (1/4 mile) if you make sure the final end of the wire doesn’t come off the spool. Even in uneven, brushy terrain, two people can readily pull the wire — with one

person starting down the hill with the end of the wire, and the second person taking hold about 75 or 100 feet back of the front person to give some added pull.

“With this device, unrolling this much wire, I never had any problems. We’ve never had anything that worked as well as this — and we’ve built more than 20 miles of fence over the past 45 years on this ranch,” says Thomas. † Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner ANIMAL HEALTH

An ideal year to watch for lungworm infection ROY LEWIS ANIMAL HEALTH

E

very year in later summer and early fall we see a few outbreaks of lungworm in cattle on pasture. This is especially true if the year has been wet and the life cycle of the lungworm can be completed. This year could be the perfect storm in parts of Western Canada.

The life cycle of the lungworm (dictyocaulus viviparous) starts with the animals picking up infective larvae off grass. The ingested larvae migrate through the intestine into the bloodstream and end up in the lungs as adults. They cause damage to the air sacs in the lungs and the adults live in the bronchial tubes.

The adult worms produce a tremendous number of eggs, which are coughed up by the beef animal and swallowed again. The eggs pass into the intestinal tract, and change to larvae by the time they are passed out onto pasture in the manure. The entire cycle takes about one month.

Finding these larvae in manure is one of the ways veterinarians can diagnose the condition in an animal. It takes a different test than looking for the intestinal worm eggs.

MANURE TEST The Baerman technique is done on a handful of fresh manure and takes a few hours to run. With manure samples that arrive in the

PHOTO: ROY LEWIS

These spaghetti-like shapes are adult lungworms in the lung of an infected animal. morning, we can give producers an answer the same day. Most clinics are set up to run this test in-house.

Finding even one larval lungworm is significant and necessitates deworming. It is probably best to test several manure samples.

Other than checking manure samples, cattle can be checked clinically or autopsies can be done if any have died. Clinically we may see cattle doing poorly in spite of good grass conditions.

There is often a number with very prominent coughing. Some may have varying degrees of diarrhea.

With herd involvement there is always great variation with some doing very poorly, others just a bit rough-haired, and still others looking almost normal. Generally the younger cattle (calves and yearlings) are most susceptible as any previous exposure to the pest yields some immunity.

If we listen to the lungs there is often evidence of emphysema caused by the lungworm larvae damaging the air sacs. We may even get a secondary bacterial or viral pneumonia due to the stress lungs are under. In severely affected cattle, even with successful treatment, the damage is done resulting in a poor-doing animal with reduced lung capacity.

Through autopsy an experienced vet will notice changes to the lungs and actual adult lungworms can be found in the bronchial tubes and trachea. It is very easy to see how lung capacity has been diminished.

TREATMENT OPTIONS The lungworm can survive in our Canadian winters but most of the exposure comes from carrier cattle shedding the larvae on

the pastures. Generally there is a buildup of the pest by midsummer in affected areas. Treatment with the endectocides such as Dectomax or Ivomec are somewhat effective and can be used as part of the routine treatment in the fall on asymptomatic carrier animals.

If a clinical diagnosis is made in the summer we sometimes have the dilemma of how to treat if cattle cannot be easily rounded up.

The drug fenbendazole (Safeguard) is very effective against lungworms.

It comes as either a drench, crumble or concentrated feed additive.

The product can either be mixed in grain and fed in feeders as a onetime treatment or fed in reduced amounts over three to six days.

For example, feeding one-third the required amount in grain for three days in a row. This ensures most of the cattle will get it.

A technique found successful is scripting the concentrate into the trace minerals. This requires a veterinary prescription as it is not an approved method for administration. Most cattle, young or old, consume minerals at their leisure.

This product if put out just before maximum exposure to lungworm (that appears to be around July first in northern Alberta) goes a long way to reducing the incidence.

The Safeguard is mixed in with many assumptions. We assume adult cattle will eat 30 to 60 grams of mineral per day and that all cattle will eat minerals at least every five to seven days. Some cattle get over treated but at least there is a very good likelihood most cattle will get treated and reduce contamination for the rest or subsequent animals that may

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 44

BEEF PRODUCER PROMOTES VALUE OF HYBIRD VIGOUR

Join us for the first annual Canfax Cattle Market Forum, a power-packed day of dynamic speakers and discussions – dedicated to presenting information and perspectives on a variety of important factors affecting the Canadian Cattle markets.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 – Registration, Guest Speaker and Reception 7:00pm – 10:00pm Wednesday, November 27, 2013 – Registration and Plenary Session 7:00am – 5:00pm, includes breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch Location: Deerfoot Inn and Casino, 1000, 11500 – 35 Street SE, Calgary, AB (Deerfoot Trail south and Barlow Trail) For more information and to register online for the Forum visit www.canfax.ca or call 403-686-8407.

season to nine months on 70 native grass paddocks. His program further maximizes the nutrients that stay on the landscape by winter bale-grazing cattle on pasture for the other three months of the year.

Trying to maintain his 225head of purebred Hereford and 70-head of purebred Black Angus initially proved difficult with the grazing system because he had to separate the herd into smaller groups to run with the bulls. That interrupted the rotational grazing cycle.

Instead he adapted his 60-day breeding program in a way that allows him to maintain the purebred herds and simultaneously produce hybrids, which he now backgrounds and sells in the fall.

“We do still raise F1 females but our focus here is still to raise purebred Herefords and purebred Black Angus,” says Guilford. “But what’s happened is our grass-management program has kind of led us back into this F1 female market. We run our Hereford bulls with our Hereford cows for 21 days and the same with the Angus cows on the Angus bulls and then we flip them,” he says. “The only purebred bulls we sell are conceived in the first 21 days. All

get reintroduced. On average 80 to 90 per cent of the cattle get enough medication to clear the lungworms.

When treating clinical cases, the symptoms such as coughing or respiratory problems will actually increase for a few days. This is because all dead worms need to be coughed up and swallowed.

Killing all adult worms may cause a reaction but the animal must be dewormed so treatment is necessary. Any pneumonia complications may need to be treated with antibiotics at this time.

PEST WILL PERSIST Pastures that have had previous lungworm problems are the ones we really concentrate on. Over a few years treatment possibly can be phased out, but always be on the lookout for the clinical signs reappearing.

Bison are very susceptible to lungworms and the same Safeguard can be used but under a veterinary prescription. The endectocides if given are used at the same rate as cattle. Horses can get cattle lungworms as well, but all you will see is clinical evidence as they are a dead-end host so no larvae will be shed in the manure.

As an indicator, any time cattle are coughing have them checked because summer lungworms on pasture are a real possibility and often get overlooked. Bring several manure samples into your veterinarian if you suspect the pest and follow their recommendations for treatment. † Roy Lewis is a Westock, Alberta-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

females born on the second and third cycle are black baldy. So they become the F1 females we sell to other producers.”

PROPER PROGRAM HAS VALUE Guilford is convinced a good breeding program will bring more money at auction, where it’s not uncommon for calves to be sold in small groups or even in ones and twos as buyers select for certain traits. In a multicoloured diverse herd these traits may not be obvious.

Guilford has sold almost 70 head of cattle in just two lots because he was able to breed in the uniformity buyers are seeking.

“One year when I was living in Alberta we sold our calves in Lethbridge and our first draft in the ring was 46 head because they were all genetically the same and all coloured the same,” he says. “That tells buyers there’s a proper breeding program in place. The next draft was 23 head, so I basically sold my calves in two lots. Buyers continually will pay four to five cents per pound more for big groups of calves that are genetically the same — and for the most part all that is required of the producer is proper management. Hybrid vigour in many respects is the only thing that is free in cattle production.” † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer based in Manitou, Manitoba.

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

Cattleman’s Corner

Think inside the truck

You ship your market integrity with every load of cattle People who golf quickly learn the term “mulligan.” It’s a chance to take a shot over with no penalty because you flubbed it badly.

There are no mulligans in cattle shipping. No chance to do it over if you make a poor decision.

Every load of cattle that goes out the chute carries with it your personal and industry market integrity. It might as well have your name on the side, “I (your name here) made the decisions on what was loaded, how they were treated and what you’ll get as my customer.”

Today’s cattle producers have the tools and knowledge to handle this. But in the rush of a busy work time it’s a good idea to make sure everyone on the processing and loading team knows what is expected. Remember especially new people who may not be familiar with things.

A CHECKLIST A simple rule is if you don’t want to walk them down the main street of Vancouver or Toronto, or if you don’t want to eat them yourself, don’t send them. Here’s a reminder of the big issues.

Physically fit. Check animals for any signs of physical issues that would make animals unable to handle travel. Things like cancer eye, or an inability to walk properly. If they can’t handle it don’t send them.

Drug withdrawal. Simple. Make sure withdrawal times are met and check before sorting. Feed records may be separate from animal health so check them all so there are no surprises down the road.

Broken needles. Check records and identify any animal with suspect broken needles. Simplest solution is to slaughter for your own use. If you do ship them, make sure the next owner or the processing plant is informed and that this contact information is recorded.

Support your buyer. If you ship recently vaccinated heifers or backgrounded calves to the next feedlot, let the new manager know what treatments. Something may happen to require an emergency slaughter. Note the date you did that for your own protection.

Keep current records. Make sure the withdrawal check with date is on record. Set an example of

due diligence for your family and staff and your customer.

Trucking sense. Use accepted transport standards like checking for possible slippery floors and proper animal densities.

THE GOLDEN RULE Remember the Golden Rule of shipping. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

You would find it an inconvenience or an annoyance to receive cattle with incomplete or incorrect records. So make sure you support buyers with the information to make good decisions.

THE VBP STANDARD Shipping is just one Standard Operating Procedure under the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program.

Producers who are interested in continually improving their production standards are welcome to take a VBP workshop or review online.

VBP outlines industry-sanctioned practices for food safety. Provincial contacts for VBP across Canada are available at www.verifiedbeef.org.

Trucking cattle can have high visibility with the public, and may be the only livestock they get to see.

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REV-XS Grain News QSHere.indd 1

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

The Dairy Corner NUTRITION MANAGEMENT

Tips to avoid premature culling of good cows

BY PETER VITTI

GLUCOSE DEFICIENT

any dairy producers have experienced this situation at some point. A particular cow comes into early lactation with a lot of potential for good milk production. She may have come into the barn in a little thin, but starts literarily pouring out milk. Within a couple of weeks, she starts to falter in milk production and health, but after given some intravenous therapy seems to snap out of it.

Months later, the producer is forced to dry her up before she completes an entire lactation cycle.

There is a good chance that she is a victim of metabolic disease. It is a trap many promising dairy cows can avoid with sound changes to their feeding programs, even before they calve and began milking.

Early-lactation dairy cows are more susceptible than modestproducing and later-lactation herdmates to metabolic diseases such as ketosis and related conditions from a week to months after calving.

Not all energy requirements for their high milk production can be secured solely from the dairy diet.

These cows are drawn into a period of severe “negative energy balance” for about six weeks after calving.

In itself, the roads to most ketosis affecting severely energyshort dairy cows relates back to a complex chemical imbalance that occurs when dairy cows cannot get enough of a basic energy block called glucose. It is the simplest sugar in cattle metabolism but it essentially drives all maintenance and production activities requiring energy in the dairy cow.

When feed carbohydrates are in short supply, the dairy cow will burn her own body fats in which non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) are formed. They can be reconfigured into glucose.

In less demanding times, NEFAs are commonly used to support liver functions and to provide fatty acid chains for milkfat production. However, when the intake of carbohydrate-derived energy is so limited, the cow may suffer from rapid body fat mobilization and weight loss.

Too many NEFAs are produced for glucose transformation and a good portion of these NEFAs end up as poisonous ketone bodies. It is these circulating ketone bodies that lead to a toxicity associated with both clinical and sub-clinical ketosis in early lactating dairy cows.

M

Research shows that the natural incidence of overall ketosis in a well-managed dairy herd is less than two per cent, while problematic herds exhibit about six per cent actual clinical ketosis, and upwards to 60 per cent hidden or subclinical ketosis.

It is most prevalent at the start of lactation and traditionally has been observed in obese animals (BCS > 4.5), but also can be present in animals of modest body condition as well (BCS of 3.5).

These cows tend to demonstrate a strong correlation between rapid loss of weight after calving and the presentation of ketosis often triggered in the post-partum period by poor dry matter intake, inadequate dietary energy, poor feed digestibility, digestive upsets (sub-clinical acidosis) or a hormonal imbalance affecting energy metabolism in the cow. Some studies on ketosis suggest that a general energy deficit/rapid fat mobilization may occur in dairy cows even prior to calving.

NEED TRANSITION DIET In an attempt to prevent ketosis, producers should implement a proper transition diet (three weeks before cows calve and three weeks

post-partum) in order to promote good dry matter intake and a body condition score of three to 3.5 in susceptible dairy cows.

Early lactation rations should be formulated to maintain good rumen function (re: effective forage fibre) and yet carry enough available dietary energy to support the demands of increasing milk production. The goal is to build up dry matter intake in early lactation cows to about 3.5 to four per cent of their bodyweight at about nine to 10 weeks after calving.

Built on a DMI foundation of 11 to 13 kg, the transitional energy and protein levels are denser than faraway dry cow diets, but do not quite match the early lactation diets. A typical close-up ration should contain about 0.70 Mcal Nel/kg, 14 to15 per cent protein, and balanced for the recommended levels of macro-minerals (watch out for potassium that causes milk fever) and trace minerals plus vitamins (particularly selenium and vitamin E).

The actual ration should contain no more than 2.5 to 3.5 kg/ head/d of grain such as barley or corn. It might also have at least 2.5 kg to four kg of long-stem grassytype hay. Some producers may also incorporate three to five kg (DM basis) of the early lactation TMR diet. It also cannot be overemphasized that any feedstuff fed to these cows should be highly palatable, digestible and free of moulds and mycotoxins. Clean water should also be always available.

PROPER BUNK MANAGEMENT Tying it together is good bunk management for all good feeding programs set up for both the close-up- and early-lactation dairy cows. This means each cow should have enough bunk space and adequate time to eat. A properly mixed ration should be put in front of the cows, pushed up frequently and old feed removed.

It is a matter of implementing any practice that will get dairy cows, before and after calving, to eat that extra kilo of feed to achieve her essential energy requirements.

The importance of energy in all aspects of dairy nutrition, especially for early-lactation cows cannot be overstated.

We tend to forget that energy is the single largest requirement for high milk producing dairy cows. Failure of providing enough dietary energy often leads to metabolic disease such as ketosis in post-partum cows, and although treatable, some of the most afflicted cows seem to disappear from the herd. On the other hand, prevention with good transition diets and assurance of good energy status in the dairy herd throughout the year underlies healthy cows and their production of consistent, large volumes and profitable milk. † Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg.

To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

tHe straigHt storY on cattle since waY back.

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Every issue features new information from a wide range of topics, including: nutrition, research, vet advice, holistic ranching, markets, sales and events as well as feature interviews with regional producers.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

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Cattleman’s Corner THE MARKETS

Lower feed grain prices improve cattle outlook JERRY KLASSEN MARKET UPDATE

T

he North American cattle industry is poised for positive economics over the coming year with stronger feeder cattle prices and a rebuilding of feedlot equity, as the two-year reign of historically high corn and barley prices comes to an end.

The U.S. and Canada will replenish coarse grain stocks during the 2013-14 crop year allowing cattle market to function on regular supply and demand fundamentals. This fall could be the first significant period of heifer retention thereby reducing feeder cattle availability. The function of the feeder cattle market is to encourage herd expansion given the lower inventory numbers.

From the feedlot sector, lower feeder cattle placements will reduce beef production during the winter and spring 2014. Fed cattle prices in the deferred months appear to be incorporating a risk premium due to the uncertainty in beef production.

While retail beef prices continue to trend higher, rising consumer incomes bode well for a year-overyear increase in consumer spending resulting in stronger beef demand.

Packing margins are projected to remain in positive territory thereby allowing more breathing room for fed cattle prices and further enhancing the feeder market.

quality steers averaging 926 pounds sold for $152/cwt in mid August. At the same time, similar cattle were quoted at $137/cwt in the Calgary region. The Canadian feeder market has been lagging the U.S. but will come in line once the yearling run in Western Canada gets into full swing and Alberta feedlots realize the lower feed grain price structure. I’m expecting calves under 500 pounds to reach over $200/cwt by calendar year end.

HIGHER HEIFER RETENTION The U.S. cow slaughter during the first half of 2013 was marginally higher than last year. However, the function of the feeder market is to encourage heifer retention and reduce the cow slaughter. In addition to lower feed grain prices, feeder cattle values will be supported by lower heifer availability for feedlot

placements. The U.S. feeder cattle pool could be down by one million head from last year due to lower calf crop and heifer retention.

Feedlot margins have struggled in red ink for most of 2013, but have moved into positive territory in late summer. Alberta packers were buying cattle in the range of $119/ cwt to $120/cwt in mid-August and breakeven on many closeouts is about $118/cwt. Looking forward, I’m expecting a slow climb in the fed market into the final quarter of 2013 and first quarter of 2014 due to lower beef production and steady consumer demand.

U.S. cattle on feed inventory has been running three to four per cent below year-ago levels which will result in a sharp yearover-year decline in beef production during the fourth quarter.

Remember that summer placements during the past two years

were abnormally high due to the U.S. droughts and limited forage production. This year, the market is experiencing a regular normal placement pattern in line with the seasonal tendency. Year-todate U.S. beef production is running only 0.8 per cent below last year; Canadian year-to-date beef production is about nine per cent behind last year. The lower placements will cause cumulative beef production to further lag 2012 in the latter half of the year.

SHARP INCREASE IN FEEDER PRICES Lower feed grain prices will cause a sharp year-over-year increase in feeder cattle prices this fall. The feeder market will be further enhanced by stronger deferred live cattle futures, which have potential to incorporate a

risk premium due to the uncertainty in beef production.

Feeder cattle availability will be down from last year due to increased heifer retention and lower calf crops. The fed market is poised to slowly trend higher due to lower beef production in the final quarter of 2013 and first quarter of 2014. Consumer demand is expected to remain stable in the third quarter but jump in the fourth quarter as consumption increases.

Fed cattle prices will be capped in the first quarter of 2013 as consumer spending slows and limits the upside in wholesale beef prices. † Gerald Klassen analyes cattle and hog markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in Southern Alberta. For comments or speaking engagements, he can be reached at gklassen7@hotmail.com or call 204 899 8268.

www.farm-king.com

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BARLEY DOWN $50 With feed input costs being the largest factor influencing feeder cattle prices and feedlot margins, as of mid-August, feed barley in southern Alberta was trading in the $230/mt to $235/mt range — down over $50 from the highs in spring. Canadian barley production is expected to exceed 9.0 million metric tonnes (mt), up from 8.1 million mt in 2012. U.S. corn production could exceed 14 billion bushels, up from the droughtstricken crop of 10.8 billion bushels last year. U.S. corn is being offered into the Lethbridge area at $235 for fall delivery and this will keep a lid on the Canadian feed grain prices. Looking forward, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lethbridge barley under $200 delivered to the feedlot during September and October.

Canadian yearling prices during the fall are expected to trade $20/ cwt higher than last year due to the weaker feed grain complex.

The USDA has reported record high prices for 800-pound feeder cattle at certain auction markets in the Midwest as feedlots factor in the lower costs per pound gain.

For example, in Nebraska, top-

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner RANCHER’S DIARY

TLC helps save a sick cow HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

JULY 22

S

potty Dottie is coming along nicely in training.

We got her used to going with another horse; I rode with young Heather and Dottie in the little pasture above the corral. We started riding both horses daily on the low range. I’ve also been getting her ready for shoeing, smoothing her feet with the rasp, placing a shoe on her foot and tapping on it with a hammer.

Andrea turned hay Sunday afternoon, and Lynn got it baled and hauled. On Monday Dani rode with Andrea and me (Dani on

Ed, Andrea on Sprout and me on Breezy) four hours to check troughs on the middle range — the longest ride this year for eightyear-old Dani. We worked on some springs that were no longer running into the troughs.

That evening when Andrea drove past our cows on her way to Em’s graduation from drivers’ education class, she noticed Freddy lying by herself, very sick. She’d lost a lot of weight — relapsed from whatever was wrong with her earlier. Lynn and I brought the cow and calf to the corral and took Freddy’s temperature. It was 105 F. We gave her LA-200 and an injection of Banamine to reduce the fever. She’s not eating much, and not chewing her cud. The next day her temperature was still high (104 F) so we gave her more Banamine. By the third day her temp was almost down to normal,

but she still wasn’t eating much, or chewing her cud.

The next day her temp was higher, so we switched antibiotics, giving her Baytril daily for four days. Her temperature is normal now, but she’s not eating. Yesterday we gave her baking soda and water by stomach tube, in hopes to normalize the pH in her rumen. She’s very weak and dehydrated. Today I soaked two pounds of alfalfa pellets and some beet pulp, ran the mush through the blender, and we gave her several gallons of water and “mush” this morning by stomach tube, and again before dark.

This afternoon Bob Minor got called to to do the weed washing at a huge fire that started near Challis (60 miles away). All vehicles coming and going from the fire must be power-washed to prevent spread of weed seeds. Andrea went to help him.

PHOTO: HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

Lynn uses a stomach tube to get food into a cow that was doing poorly.

AUGUST 2 Andrea has been at the fire camp for 11 days, working from 6 a.m. until dark. We’ve been taking care of her younger kids, with Emily’s help.

We continued to keep Freddy alive with feedings by stomach tube, morning and night, but with her rumen not working, nothing much was going through. The third day of “instant meals,” we also gave her a gallon of mineral oil and a quart of castor oil, in an attempt to get her gut working again. Within 36 hours her rumen was “empty” and she was passing manure again! She was still terribly weak, but started eating and drinking, and chewing her cud.

She dried up her milk a couple weeks earlier, when she first got sick, but we kept her calf with her for company. They are happy being together, and less stressed than if we’d separated them. But as soon as she started eating again, Freddy came back to milk production and her calf started nursing again. She’s so thin we considered separating them, but decided the psychological benefits of keeping them together outweigh the physical drain on the cow. We moved them to the pen by the calving barn, where there’s some green grass.

We don’t have enough hay this year, so we bought 55 tons from a ranch 100 miles away. The son and grandson hauled it in two trips. It’s grass/alfalfa and reasonable price ($185 per ton, delivered) considering the high price of hay this year.

AUGUST 18 A couple weeks ago Alfonzo and John Miller moved their cattle from the middle range to the high range. The grass is really dry; usually it’s still green on the high range when the cows go there, but not this year. Our creek is low. We had to shut off water on the upper place. Michael and Carolyn can’t use the ditch that goes through their corral so they are piping water into a tank for their horses.

The fire near Challis is finally under control. The fire camp disbanded yesterday and Andrea came home. The skin on the inside of her knees is gone. She always wears shorts, working outside in hot weather, because her grafted skin has no sweat glands; she overheats if her legs are covered. She managed OK until a new supervisor at the fire camp insisted she wear long pants. The combination of heat and abrasion against her delicate skin rubbed the grafted skin off. We’re hoping she doesn’t develop infection.

Some people don’t understand the impairments and limitations of a burn survivor. † Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

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Home Quarter Farm Life SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Connected to the community Friends will share the joys and sorrows of the season with you ELAINE FROESE

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any young folks are eager to climb on the bright-yellow school bus, and see the friends they missed over the summer. Farmers are focused on getting a late crop off, praying for an open fall (autumn) and no frost until late October.

Once the busy season has ended, more jobs on the farm will appear as they always do, but what attention are you giving to your friends in your community?

These are the loved ones beyond your family who will listen to your heart’s cry, and share your joys and sorrows of the season. Unfortunately, many farmers are neglecting to take care of the friendships they nurtured in their younger years. Friendships need time and energy to thrive and grow, just like your crops do.

In the next three months, what is your rallying cry to create deeper friendships beyond

the farm gate? Without friends and an emotional support group you risk becoming isolated, and mentally distraught. As a farm family coach I have asked several farm men who they go to beyond their spouses, and they typically say “no one.” This puts a lot of pressure on the spouse to meet needs that are some-

perspective on what is happening in our lives and our farms.

They can act as sounding boards to bounce ideas off. Watching our friends’ lives unfold, gives us new approaches and perspectives for families, marriages, parenting and farm activities.

Good friends can give both positive feedback and con-

Community relationships can reassure that we are not alone, and that people care about us times better met by a community of people.

Don’t miss out on the fun of fellowship with folks. Laughter is great medicine. Friends can share their stories and help you realize that you are not alone in the challenges that 2013 farm storms have brought your way.

Friends are great for fun, relaxation, renewal and leisure activities. They provide an excuse for a much-needed break from farm labour. Friends can provide fresh insights and give us an outside

structive criticism (gently with kindness) when we can’t see it ourselves. Community relationships can reassure that we are not alone, and that people care about us. They can help hold us up emotionally and in practical ways when the storms of life hit. In community the celebrations are sweeter, and the tragedies are more bearable.

Some daughter-in-laws (DILs) take some heat from the farm family when they seek to socialize more often than the in-laws feel is necessary. This tension is really

about different core values around connection and friendships beyond the family unit. This fall on October 15 we are starting a sevenweek series of telecoaching where you can call in confidentially, and find ways to deal with farming’s in-law factors. I’ll be sharing tools for conflict resolution and role clarity as it relates to mothers-inlaw, daughters-in-law, fathers-inlaw and sons-in-law. It’s part of our research for my next book which I am writing with Dr. Megan McKenzie. Go to www.elainefroese. com/contact to send me a message that you would like to be part of the coaching teleseminars.

If you need counselling, consider calling your province’s farm stress line to have a professional listener help you to get clarity about what the next steps are for better emotional health. In Manitoba at www. ruralsupport.ca there are many ways to connect and chat. Call their line at 1-866-367-3276 for counselling or stress relief.

In Alberta call 1-877-303-2642 the Alberta Mental Health Help Line.

In Saskatchewan call 1-800667-4442, the farm stress line.

In British Columbia call 1-800-784-2433, the crisis intervention line.

In any situation… call God. He is always online.

Perhaps you don’t need a counsellor, you just need a good hairdresser… you’ll talk and you’ll leave looking good!

Do it.

1. Take the first step to invite folks over.

2. Start a potluck group and hang out on a regular basis with other families.

3. Call your best friend from high school, and share stories.

4. Go to your neighbours.

5. Join an activity group like a book club, bowling, dance or golf, Bible study.

6. Volunteer with a new community group. September is the time they are looking for commitment.

7. Let go of your farm job list, start making friendship more of a priority… or do stuff together like canning or fencing.

8. http://therecoveringfarmer. blogspot.ca is Gerry Friesen’s encouragement to farmers. Check it out. † Elaine Froese, CAFA, CHICoach writes from the farm in Boissevain, Man. She wishes everyone a safe and productive harvest. Call 1-866-848-8311 for coaching or speaking events. Go to www.elainefroese.com/ contact to share insights and feedback.

Watch for “Farming’s In-law Factor” telecoaching coming in October 2013.

Farm kids reap the benefits of their work Looking after 100 specialty small animals keeps them busy

BY CHRISTALEE FROESE

O

n a farm near Odessa, Saskatchewan, the peacocks are waiting for their babies to hatch, the miniature donkeys are nibbling on hay, the chickens are drinking water, the pot-bellied pig is grunting in his pen, the rabbit is nursing her bunnies, and Dolly, the miniature horse, is waiting at the hitching post as her seven-year-old owner finishes up chores.

Brooke will get to Dolly soon, but first there are dogs to be fed, llamas to be watered and guinea hens to be checked. Brooke and her 10-year-old brother Jordan are in charge. With about 100 specialty small animals, it means that these farm kids have little time to spare.

The rewards for the hard work are twofold: the money from selling an animal, and the fun when it comes time to host friends at their pet-filled farm.

“We haven’t butchered anything,” said Shawn Muhr, Brooke and Jordan’s dad. “We sell the animals and the kids get all of the money.”

The income from the sale of geese, rabbits, donkeys, horses, mules and hens has resulted in a quad for Jordan and several new wardrobes for Brooke. With bunnies sometimes selling for around $40 each and geese going for about $60, the profits for a youngster can be substantial.

“We find doing it this way shows the kids more respect for their money,” said Shawn. “When they buy something for themselves, they really take care of it because they know how much work it has taken to get it.”

“We find doing it this way shows the kids more respect for their money.”

— Shawn Muhr

Both Shawn and his wife Tara have always had a love of animals.

Shawn remembers enjoying birds as a kid. This led to pet peacocks and pheasants as well as an incubator located in the family home. As a kid, Tara could often be found with the baby calves on her farm and it was always her dream to own a donkey.

“My dad wouldn’t let me get one for the farm, so I knew if I ever got my own farm, that’s one of the first things I’d have.”

Tara’s dream came true 12 years ago when she married her husband and they bought a farm together.

It wasn’t long before she had her first miniature donkey, Angel. This 11-year-old grey miniature donkey is now one of a herd of 35 tiny horses, donkeys and mules, and each has a name and is a part of

The Muhr family (l to r) Tara, Brooke, Shawn and Jordan. the family. The kids part with four or five a year when they know they are going to good homes.

Tara leaves all of the animal duties to the kids, but she does like to spend time with her donkey and horse herd.

“I just love coming out here and walking amongst them, feeding them treats, playing with them and just hanging out,” said Tara.

Shawn, a full-time farm chemical area manager, makes hay for the animals, but leaves all of the chores to his children. His real passion is taxidermy, so he spends every spare moment of his time in his on-farm shop.

He has mounted everything from caribou to grizzly bears, wolverines and elk. With nine freezers on site, Shawn has enough work to keep him busy for years.

PHOTO: CHRISTALEE FROESE

“The best part is when people come to get their finished animals. They’re always happy because they can’t wait to see that trophy.”

With all these animals there is always something interesting to do for this busy farm family of four. And they wouldn’t have it any other way. † Christalee Froese writes from Montmartre, Saskatchewan.

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Home Quarter Farm Life

Alpacas provide on-farm business opportunity Animals are low maintenance, friendly and produce useful fibre

BY EDNA MANNING

W

hen Dennis and Karen Pashovitz moved from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2001 to farm full time in the Perdue area, one of Karen’s goals was for her to be able to generate some on-farm income.

They decided that raising alpacas would fit their situation well, and started with two females, one of which was bred.

“What I liked about alpacas is that you shear them once a year and you get beautiful products from the luxuriant fibre they produce. The fibre is unique and so many useful and beautiful items can be made from it. Plus, I enjoy attending craft sales, telling people about the alpacas and showcasing the products,” she says.

The animals are low maintenance, friendly, and easy to handle and train. They are hardy, and generally disease resistant, and being calm and not easily agitated makes them easy to transport. They require only about two pounds of hay per day, and Karen feeds her animals year round with hay and an alpaca mineral mix.

Alpacas usually give birth to a single offspring called a cria, generally during the day so there’s no need to set the alarm clock to check for nighttime arrivals. They require shearing every spring. “We also trim their toes and give them their shots at the same time,” said Karen. Their animals produce between three to six pounds of fibre every year, and it’s non-allergenic, warmer than sheep wool and good at wicking moisture away from the skin.

At shearing time Karen separates the coarse fibre from the animals’ legs, bellies and necks from the fine

fibre of the sides and back areas.

Felts are made from the more coarse fibre, while the finest, softest fleece is used for yarns, and the medium fibre is used for socks. Karen has an assortment of hand-knitted items made from the finest yarns.

The fibre is shipped to several different mills across the country — Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick, and once the fibre is returned, Karen hauls out her dye pots.

“The dyeing is super fun. You never know what kind of colours you’re going to get and there are no two batches of yarn that turn out exactly the same. Each one is unique.”

Karen has several knitters who create the handmade items and says the alpaca socks are the most popular, being excellent for hunters, skiers, or anybody with cold feet. The handmade teddy bears and rugs she has are brought in

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from Peru. She sells her products out of her on-farm store called Prairie Fire Alpacas — The Little Country Alpaca Gift Shop, a beautiful cedar structure that was brought in and renovated. It’s perfect for her two-day open house she holds every September. This will be the third year she’s held the event which is promoted by Alpaca Canada. “Visitors can drive to any of the participating alpaca farms on this weekend, see and feed the animals and check out the products. We have a concession set up so people can stop for a burger and some refreshments or spread out a blanket on the lawn and enjoy the afternoon.”

The couple’s herd has grown to about 40 alpaca, and Karen was thrilled when one of her male alpacas, called Tornado, won the Supreme Champion at a show in

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Karen Pashovitz in her gift shop.

Red Deer in 2010. “We’ve since sold Tornado, and he’s been an eighttime Supreme Champion and won at every show he went to,” says Karen. One of her future goals is to continue breeding show animals.

Although she was a city girl, Karen says she’s adapted well to living on the farm. Besides raising alpacas, the couple farms over 4,500 acres of wheat, canola and lentils, and she feels the farm is a great place to raise their two children, Tasjia and Jessy.

For more information, contact Dennis and Karen Pashovitz at 306-237-4442; email dkpashovitz@ yourlink.ca. Their open house is on Saturday and Sunday, September 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pashovitz farm near Perdue, Sask. † Edna Manning writes from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

grainews.ca /

53

Home Quarter Farm Life FROM THE FARM

Breakfast ideas for the new school year DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

B

udget-friendly foods that pack nutrition have been my focus for years now. There are many foods that are consumed out of habit that really do not help to stretch the grocery budget.

Then there is the nasty problem of weaning children on to cheaper foods that are actually more nutritious while being economical. One of these habit foods is cold, boxed cereal.

Many years ago when boxed cereals jumped from around $3 a box to $6 a box I stopped buying it. The biggest dilemma then was how to get the children to eat other alternatives that they weren’t really used to. That is when I learned an important lesson about parenting.

The more involved the children were the better they accepted new meals.

Weekday breakfasts during the school year are always hectic. Our children helped with chores before school and had to be on the bus for about 7:30 a.m. Even when we switched to home-schooling for the younger ones, the older children chose to finish high school in town. So, morning foods had to be handy, filling and not time consuming to prepare.

The children and I would sit down with the calendar and they each took turns picking a breakfast for the school days. It is fun now to listen to them complain about how awful their siblings’ choices were but the rule was that since everyone had a day to have their favourites they ate without complaint on the others. This worked remarkably well.

Cold cereal replacements included Baked Amish Oatmeal, Peanut Butter Oat Bran, Cream of Wheat cooked with milk and served with homemade canned peaches with a sprinkle of brown sugar, Red River Cereal and Oatmeal. I read the labels on the instant oatmeal and decided that health-wise I was no further ahead on added sugars than on cold, boxed varieties so we just added things like homemade applesauce or frozen berries to cooked quick oats. Eggs are by far our favourite breakfast food so they were allowed to choose eggs every second day with the “new” cereal choices to fill in the rest.

BAKED AMISH OATMEAL 1/2 c. butter (melted) 2 large eggs 1/4 c. honey 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. nutmeg OR cinnamon 2 c. milk 3 c. oatmeal Beat together all ingredients with mixing spoon; pour into greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 275 F oven for 30 minutes or until done. Serve with milk. For morning convenience this recipe can be made ahead and frozen in serving sizes. It thaws quickly.

Along with their new favourite hot cereals we also learned about

freezing homemade pancakes and waffles for quick toaster foods. I came across a very economical variety online for freezer waffles at http://onceamonthmom.com/ better-than-the-freezer-aisle-copycat-eggo-waffles/. The author estimates her cost at half of the storebought ones.

FREEZER WAFFLES 2 large eggs 2 c. flour 1-3/4 c. milk 1/2 c. melted butter 1 tbsp. sugar 4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips, blueberries or strawberries Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with a whisk until well beaten and fluffy. Using the

whisk, mix in flour, milk, butter, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth. Add in chocolate chips, blueberries or strawberries. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Makes 12.

Another idea that worked very well was overnight foods. These are ones that can be mixed up the night before and baked the next morning. These ideas would also serve very well to be used on Sunday mornings when everyone is trying to hurry to church.

OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST 1 pkg. (8 ounces) cream cheese or soft goat cheese (chevre), softened 1/2 c. sour cream 18 slices bread 1/2 c. jam

1 tsp. vanilla 6 eggs 1/4 c. cream 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon In a bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream. Spread about three tablespoons on each slice of bread. Combine preserves and vanilla; spread over cream cheese mixture on nine slices.

Top with remaining bread, cream cheese side down, to make a sandwich. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, and cinnamon; pour over bread.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F for 45-50 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Yield: 9 servings.

Our family has also found that instead of traditional syrup we enjoy homemade Pancake Sauce.

PANCAKE SAUCE 2 c. milk 1 egg, beaten 1/2 c. sugar 1 tbsp. cornstarch 1 tsp. vanilla Combine milk, egg and sugar.

Heat till a skin on the milk. Whisk in cornstarch and vanilla till thick.

Makes a great topper.

With these new ideas for making mornings economical and nutritious the new school year should be off to a grand start. We were pleasantly surprised at how much more satisfying these foods were and how fast the children became accustomed to not having boxes of cereal. The best part was that we saved on our grocery budget at the same time which is always a blessing when raising a family. † Debbie Chikousky farms at Narcisse, Man.

Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture Competition

Join the young Canadians who are speaking up for agriculture.

Are you passionate about agriculture? Do you enjoy sharing your views with others?

Join the upcoming Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition.

As part of this unique competition, contestants prepare a five-to seven-minute speech on one of five agriculture-related topics and present it in public.

Cash prizes are available for two age groups: Junior (11 to 15) and Senior (16 to 24).

The 29th annual Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition takes place on Saturday, November 2, 2013 at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, Ontario.

For competition rules, a list of speaking topics and accommodation assistance please visit www.cysa-joca.ca.

The application deadline is Sept. 30, 2013.

Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture.

It’s your time to shine.

54

/ grainews.ca

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Home Quarter Farm Life SINGING GARDENER

Make some zucchini or almond milk Plus, who remembers ‘The Happy Gang?’

TED MESEYTON

O

ut in the backyard I, Ted, am not looking for a four-leaf clover, a rabbit’s foot, or a horseshoe. I’m in the garden where opportunity not only knocks, but also grows. Speaking of knocking, I recall a radio program during my younger years that delivered its own style of knocking.

By the way! Have you ever made zucchini milk or almond milk?

I’ll tell you how! Although I’m a singer, I neither sing in the bathtub nor in the shower. Sufficient to say I’ve been known to practise my yodelling trills while singing: “O It Must Be the Tomatoes,” my song for men’s prostate health, wellness and awareness. This is more than enough to fill my Singing Gardener page.

A TOUCH OF RADIO NOSTALGIA As mentioned in a previous column I was once upon a time a disc jockey. Does anybody within my family of Grainews readers recall a CBC radio program called “The Happy Gang?” It aired for over 20 years every weekday Monday through Friday during the noon hour.

“The Happy Gang” went off the airwaves in 1959 and by that time had produced nearly 4,900 programs, averaging about 200 broadcasts a year and they were all done live. Bert Pearl was “The Happy Gang’s” founder and its longest-serving MC and host. He was known as “that slap-happy chappy, ‘The Happy Gang’s’ own pappy.” He planned programs in detail to avoid any unexpected surprises.

Each broadcast opened with the sound of audible knocking, followed by the question, “Who’s there?” The response was: “It’s The Happy Gang!” That signature double knock was made by Blain Mathé, who would get close to the mike and rap twice on the back of his violin. Bert Pearl then

invited the gang to “C’mon in,” and the program began with the entire group singing their theme song, which Pearl had written.

There were cheerfully blended skits and comedy routines. The show always featured plenty of songs, many of which became familiar to listeners. During the Second World War, they performed the iconic “There’ll Always Be an England” every day.

Kay Stokes was the organist and I’ve sometimes wondered if she’s related to any of the founders of Stokes Seeds at Thorold, Ontario.

Of special note was the presence of the Happy Gang at the official launching of CBC’s 50,000watt radio station CBK in Watrous, Sask. On that particular occasion the Gang actually did its broadcast in the evening rather than at its regular noon hour slot. Among songs aired for this special commemoration was a tune they called “The Barrel Polka” (note the word “beer” is missing). That’s because it was forbidden to say or sing “beer” on air at that time. The Gang closed that special broadcast by singing a tribute song titled: “Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.”

I, Ted, listened a lot here in Manitoba during an earlier time to CBK at 540 on the AM dial.

Between programs there was a 20-seconds station break when the announcer would say something such as: This is CBK Saskatchewan with transmitter at Watrous and studios in Winnipeg. Later, CBK studios were opened in Regina.

Most “Happy Gang” broadcasts were performed before live studio audiences in Toronto but the group also toured Canada in 1947 and then again in 1951. During the show’s heyday, some two million listeners tuned in to “The Happy Gang” daily. Here’s something almost unheard of way back then. “The Happy Gang” was also carried for a time on the Mutual Network in the United States.

MAKING ZUCCHINI MILK Although it’s called milk, it’s actually more of a purée. Peeling zucchini isn’t necessary unless you don’t want a yellow or greentinged concoction using the entire courgette. Cut zucchini

Ted tells how to make zucchini milk and almond milk. There’s a whole lot more too, so join the Singing Gardener on his page of words. into small chunks and remove large seeds but leave the centre pulp. Liquefy zucchini pieces in a blender or food processor. Freeze in empty juice cartons or glass jars without overfilling. If you’re among the folks with allergies to dairy products, zucchini milk is an excellent alternative especially in recipes.

If you’re short on freezer space large-size, mature zucchinis will store for months. Wipe the outer skin clean with a cloth dipped in a mild dishwater solution. Place zucchini without touching each other on paper in a cool, dry spot.

Turn them weekly for air circulation. You can then make zucchini milk as needed. I’ve kept zucchini in good condition for many months this way. Garden folk hate to see anything wasted and are very clever at using zucchini in multiple ways from breads, cakes and muffins to casseroles, soups and stir-fries.

Here’s one example. To make a zucchini sauce, add three cups of peeled, chopped zucchini into a saucepan. Stir in 1/2 cup of apple juice or apple sauce (or a combo of both). Cook until tender and mash. This sauce may also be used in cookies, quick breads and pancake recipes. The sky’s the limit!

Has any Grainews reader successfully made yogurt using zucchini milk? If so, let’s hear about it. Any extra zucchinis on hand are well loved by chickens and make a good source of free-range food for egg-laying cacklers.

ALMOND MILK

Poppa Irv Wegleitner picks Evans cherries with assistance of his fouryear-old granddaughter Zoey Chodachek from La Salle, Man. Now retired from Manitoba Hydro, Irv devotes his time to daily family life, prayer, gardening, cooking, travelling and as Fourth Degree Faithful Navigator with Knights of Columbus Assembly 2140.

… and fresh raw almonds can be purchased but both are pricey. If you choose to make your own, try the following. Start with a small batch the first time. A general rule of thumb is to use three to four cups of water for each cup of almonds. This can be adjusted to suit how thick or thin you want it.

You’ll also need a kitchen blender, a nut milk bag or jelly bag and a touch of pure vanilla added at the end. Soak almonds in water for at least six hours or longer as this step results in better extraction.

Place almonds and water in the blender. Let the machine do its thing until a nice milky-looking liquid is observed.

Place the nut bag or jelly bag in a deep container securing the top with clothespins. Pour in the liquid and let it gradually seep through. Or, to hurry things along you can squeeze the bag time and again until all liquid is removed.

Think of it as though you are milking a cow. This isn’t fast food. It takes time. Once you’ve extracted all the almond milk, keep refrigerated and use it up within a couple or three days.

EVANS SOUR CHERRY TREE … was developed in the 1950s and introduced out of Edmonton to Prairie fruit growers. It’s known for hardiness and abundance of good-quality fruit. The outer skin is a sparkling deep red with brightyellow interior flesh. Although a bit tart, Evans fruit is excellent stewed and makes wonderful cherry juice. Some concentrated juice from cooked beets can be added to produce a deeper cherry juice colour. If sweetness is desired, add powdered stevia leaf available at health food stores. A glassful of cherry juice daily may help ease arthritic joint pain and related discomfort.

“We had about five deer in the yard waiting for the corn to get big so I fixed that by putting Mig welding wire around the garden about three feet high. I tied the wire to conduit pipe posts used by electricians. Or use small stick posts about one inch square and three to four feet long placed 50 feet apart. The deer come up to it and when the wire touches them they jump back as they can’t see the wire. I’ve done this for five years now and so far no deer in the garden. They used to use piano wire for the fence but you can buy a small roll of Mig welding wire at Peavy Mart, Princess Auto and all welding stores. It is very fine, making it hard to see. Pull the wire as tight as you can. George McKenzie, Brownvale, Alta.”

More recently, George wrote the following: “I had a problem with ravens coming in my big drive shed and crapping on my equipment. I spent hours trying to clean up the mess as it is hard on the paint. Then I thought if I put a radio in the shed they would think someone is in there. Well that was the answer; no more birds even after three months.

Now it is four months and not a bird in the shed and when the neighbours come over they think there are some people in the shed.

NO! Just a radio. Cheers. — George McKenzie.”

FROM CARSTAIRS, ALTA. Irene Rowntree writes: Hi Ted — You did an article in an April Grainews edition on how to keep deer out of a garden. Right now we are desperate. I cannot believe I sent my edition to my friend without copying it. To our horror the moose or deer ate most of the peas and corn a couple of nights ago. It is time to deal with them.

Perhaps you can tell me how to retrieve it. Thanks Ted, keep up the good articles and I will not give away something that I feel will be beneficial.

Ted’s reply: The deer control method Irene refers to appeared in the Grainews, April 15, 2013 issue.

Here’s the information again and already sent to Irene.

This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man. A hearty laugh, restful sleep and gardener’s nook are the very best things in the doctor’s book. In case you’re wondering, a gardener’s nook is an out-of-the-way corner or secluded spot for homegrown vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers. Thanks for reading Grainews and remember to keep your subscription current. So much more to tell in future articles. My email address is singinggardener@mts.net.

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