INSIDE: INTERAG LEAPS INTO TOMORROW
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BAYER CROPSCIENCE · Supporting Canadian Farm Families · Summer 2013 · $5
• BAYER CROPSCIENCE •
CELEBRATING
150 YEARS OF INNOVATION & INSPIRATION
TECHNOLOGY
BUSINESS
PRODUCTION
FARM LIFE
A look at Bayer milestones over the past 150 years
Kletke Seed Farm: success means community collaboration
Improvements in inputs top wish list for better cropping
Young ag leaders tackle food security at Youth Ag-Summit
T:8.125” S:7.875”
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Through relentless innovation, we help Canadian farmers feed a hungry planet.
Always read and follow label directions. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.
C-51-08/13-BCS13200-E
Publisher Bayer CropScience editor Sherry Butt AssociAte editor Dave Wreford
VoLuME 27 / ISSuE 3 / SuMMER 2013
C OV E R S T O RY
contributors Jennifer Barber, Larry Gompf, Joy Gregory, Gerald Pilger, Dave Wreford and Genesis Studio. design/Production Farm Business Communications
contAct FArm Forum At: Bayer CropScience Suite 200 160 Quarry Park Blvd SE Calgary, AB, T2C 3G3 T. 1 888-283-6847 F. 1 888-570-9378 E. farmforum@bayercropscience.com www.bayercropscience.ca Contents of this publication are copyrighted and may be reproduced only with written permission of the publisher, Bayer CropScience. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40743517 Registered in Canada Copyright 2013
PHoTo: BAYER CRoPSCIENCE
Farm Forum is published seasonally by Bayer CropScience.
Bayer: 150 Years of Innovation
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our special section celebrating the many contributions Bayer has made to agriculture, science and beyond PRODUCTION
BUSINESS
FA R M L I F E
Website www.farmforum.ca Return undeliverable copies to: Bayer CropScience Suite 200 160 Quarry Park Blvd SE Calgary, AB, T2C 3G3
Farmers talk success through innovation
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InterAg leaps into tomorrow
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Young ag leaders tackle food security
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Editor's Note: discover 150 years of science at Bayer – plus our survey winner
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Kletke Seed Farm: a model of successful community collaboration
ONLINE
on the cover A collage featuring highlights from Bayer CropScience's 150 years of innovation. See special section starting on page 5.
Contributing to the Happiness of Farmers As a child, Hiroyuki Hadano knew he wanted to support farmers www.farmforum.ca/ farmerhappiness
Bayer's Oldest Sales Rep At 73 years old, Paddy Franklin has no intention of retiring www.farmforum.ca/ oldestsalesrep
Bayer's “Sponge Bob” David Lin is convinced that science can be fun and really interesting www.farmforum.ca/ bayerspongebob
FARMFoRuM.CA / SuMMER 2013
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S H O R T TA K E S
Survey says…
Here are some other highlights from the survey: • 82% of respondents are reading all or most of an average issue • 89% spend half an hour or more with an issue • 76% report that their copy of Farm Forum is read by one other person while 24% report that it is read by two or more additional readers • 83% pick up useful ideas from articles in Farm Forum • 33% use information in Farm Forum to help make a purchase decision • 99% of readers said that Farm Forum is “very” or “somewhat” useful When it come to topics it’s hard to meet everyone’s needs, but overall it’s clear that most survey respondents value production and technology stories above all else. This information will help us develop great content for future issues.
And congratulations…
The survey prize of an iPad or $500 worth of Bayer CropScience products was won by Andre Poulin from Greenbelt Farms near Wainwright, AB. He stopped spraying long enough to pick up his new iPad.
Thanks for reading Farm Forum, we welcome feedback anytime: farmforum@bayer.com 4
FARM FORUM / SUMMER 2013
editor's note
Thanks To everyone who took the time to fill out our Farm Forum reader survey. We value your feedback and opinions as it helps our editorial team source and write stories about topics that you want to read about and hopefully find useful in running your farm operation. results from the survey show that Farm Forum readership remains strong. one important increase is the percentage of readers who said that the information in Farm Forum is “very useful” — up from 23% in our last reader survey four years ago to 29%.
Discover 150 years of science at Bayer “Mom, you mean people who got cancer at the beginning of this century often died of the disease? They couldn’t just take a few pills to cure it?” “That’s right. Not only were some cancers incurable, but many more types of cancer existed back then. Most have long since been consigned to the trash barrel of history. Scientists figured out their causes and eradicated them.” If this imaginary conversation between a mom and her teenaged kid in, let’s say, the year 2080 sounds too far out to be believable, don’t rush to judgment. Look back 75 years and you see many inventions that give us our high standard of living and extended life expectancy today were little more than wild dreams. And in the past 150 years almost all features of modern civilization went from speculations in someone’s inquisitive mind, to laboratory, to drawing board, to prototype, to commercial introduction, to an accepted part of everyday life. For much of this progress we can thank the chemical industry. Of course, there’s nothing new about chemicals. Every substance above, on, and below the earth’s surface is composed of chemicals in one form or another. But humanity’s understanding of chemicals and chemistry down to the molecular and atomic level is quite new. And it’s this understanding that generates the synthetic chemicals we cannot now imagine living without. Think of the list. From vaccines, therapeutic drugs, disinfectants, fertilizers and crop protectants all the way down to artificial hips, artificial fabrics and the countless different types of plastic we now take for granted. And that’s just the beginning. Further, if we look ahead, it’s clearly not even the beginning. The science of chemistry is still in its infancy. What we’ve seen to date is barely a foretaste of what’s to come. This special issue of Farm Forum recognizes the 150th birthday of Bayer and its heritage firms. Unfortunately, space is sufficient for only the briefest glimpse into the history of this fascinating company’s huge contribution to the science of chemistry and thus to the broader economic progress and health of the entire human race. And not all the articles that follow look back. You’ll also find some crystal ball thoughts on what might be coming down the pipeline next. The possibilities are thought-provoking to say the least. Specifics are hard to predict. But not generalities. Our future depends on chemicals and their supporting scientific wizardry. Depend on it.
T E C H N O L O GY
Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
PHOTO: BAYER CROPSCIENCE, PETER GINTER
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Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
This company moves with the times Take two Aspirin … and call Bayer a 150-year-old success story » From humble roots in the textile trade to a global
enterprise that employs 110,500 people, including 20,800 in its CropScience division, the story of Bayer spans 150 years of steady commitment to the idea that scientific discoveries build the foundation for a better life. Convinced that synthetic dyestuffs would revolutionize an industry already benefiting from mechanical advances in the production of fabrics and yarns, German businessman Friedrich Bayer and his friend, Johann Friedrich Weskott, a dyer, collaborated on the quest to make cost-effective dyes from coal tar, an industrial byproduct. On August 1, 1863, they founded Friedr. Bayer et. Comp. in Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany. By the time Friedrich
BY JOY GREGORY
Bayer died in 1880 at the age of 54, he and his sons and stepsons were developing an international business in synthetic dyes, while also eyeing a future in health and agriculture. In 1881, the year Bayer launched its joint stock corporation, the company employed more than 300 people. Its first pharmaceutical products, Phenacetin (for fever) and Sulfonal (a sleep aid), were on the market by 1888. Bayer relocated its headquarters to the German city of Leverkusen in 1912. By then, the company had released Aspirin, the wonder drug of the 20th and 21st centuries, and was a powerhouse in the dyestuffs trade. Exports were critical and companies like Bayer linked their growth to markets in the U.S., Russia, Great Britain, France, China and British India.
Wartime stresses and strains
Friedrich Bayer, left and Johann Friedrich Weskott.
A view of Bayer’s global headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany.
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Bayer’s export strengths became liabilities during the first and second world wars. In 1925, following the First World War, Bayer formed part of the German chemical industry conglomerate, IG Farben. Seized by the Allies in 1945 and liquidated in 1951, IG Farben was once the largest chemical company in the world. Bayer incorporated a second time in 1951. Over the next two decades, its industrial research bore significant fruit, with the release of polyurethane foams, new drugs to fight TB, synthetic textiles, revolutionary materials for coatings, improved photographic technology, synthetic rubber and stronger, more stable plastics.
PHOTOS: BAYER CROPSCIENCE THIS PAGE: PETER GINTER
Research genetics analytical expert Mieke Stevens in the laboratory in Ghent, Belgium.
A shift to health and agriculture By the time Bayer celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1988, the company was focusing on specific core activities related to life sciences. Agfa (the division behind the photographic technology) was sold in 1999. Six years later, Bayer spun off significant parts of its traditional chemicals business, but expanded its life science capacity. Bayer bought Aventis CropScience in 2001. Since Aventis itself was formed through the mergers of other ag-related companies, that purchase brought Hoechst, a long-time Bayer competitor, into the company fold. Another major move was the 2006 Bayer merger with Schering, which had collaborated with Bayer in 1976 to launch a new antibiotic in the U.S.
By then, Bayer and its subsidiaries were already operating in the U.S., United Kingdom, Russia, France, Canada and Belgium. Today, Bayer has operations in nearly every country in the world, including an agrochemical unit in the Philippines.
Biotech looms large Bayer’s investment in agricultural research increased over time, with the company’s biotechnology innovation activities centred in Ghent, Belgium at one of the world’s largest and most modern research and plant breeding facilities. Bayer, still actively engaged in the pursuit of scientific discovery, also continues to conduct agriculture research in Canada and the U.S. FF
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Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
Modern materials define our lives Think of a world without paint, plastics or perfume. These products transform the way we live and play, and make the world a brighter, safer, cleaner place BY JOY GREGORY
» From the front lines of synthetic dyestuff research to
the discovery and production of construction pigments, synthetic fibres, high-performance plastics and shatterproof materials, Bayer scientists have literally changed how we experience the world in which we live. Thanks to Bayer, that world is safer, more fun — and better looking! Bayer MaterialScience is widely regarded as one of North America’s leading producers of polymers and high performance plastics. That commanding presence in the plastics industry links back to Bayer’s original quest to make cost-effective dyestuffs for the textile trade. Incorporated in 1863, Bayer’s success with dyestuffs transformed the textile industry, and prompted the company’s push to find new ways to apply chemical research. By the end of the 1920s, that quest made Bayer an early world leader in the creation of inorganic pigments. Made from iron oxide sludge, these pigments were used to colour construction materials, including limestone, paving and roofing tiles and concrete. Insoluble in water and resistant to light and weather, these pigments literally transformed the gray cities of Europe. Before the next decade ended, Bayer was generating dyes for the leather tanning industry and perfecting polyurethanes/plastics. Less than two decades later, Bayer was also marketing polyurethane foams and its revolutionary product, Makrolon, came on the market in 1953. Used to produce polycarbonate sheet products, Makrolon is found in basketball backboards, play-set domes, windscreens and protective covers. With more than 200 times the impact strength of glass and 30 times that of acrylic, the product is perfect for applications where personal safety is a concern. For example, Makrolon is used to make NASCAR windshields and commercial products for a variety of markets, including
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sports and recreation, architecture, industry, security, transportation and signage. The application of new colour technology also found a place in Bayer’s synthetic fibre research. Dralon, launched in 1954, received world-wide renown as one of the artificial silk fabrics that democratized high fashion by surpassing natural fibres in value, availability, quality and versatility. Over time, Bayer’s synthetic fibre sector developed specialty fabric line for sports and leisure wear and a host of products that included fishing line as well as nets, zippers, nautical ropes, floor covers, brushes and wires for orchards and vineyards. By the 1960s, the company’s early focus on dyestuffs had put it on the cusp of a virtual revolution in colour. The
PHOTO: BAYER MATERIALSCIENCE AG
Bayer MaterialScience equipped its Optical Disc Lab in Shanghai and Leverkusen with a complete, ultramodern STREAMLINE II production line for writable DVD media (DVD-R). This enables the technicians to exactly simulate the production conditions that the disc material Makrolon will need to withstand in practical use.
scientific perfection of reactive dyes and pigments that chemically bonded to other materials, including plastics, coatings, textiles and paints, allowed colour technology to revolutionize entire industries.
Consumers call the shots But the Bayer revolution goes way beyond colour. Silicones — coatings that could be used in scratch-proof and chemical-resistant paints and lacquers — and the advent of synthetic rubber were also made possible by Bayer research. The company played important roles in other consumer-driven industries, including those linked to the development of colour photographic technology, fragrances, flavours and aromas. See it, smell it, taste it, touch it — the power of human innovation turned ideas and blackboard equations into some of the prettiest, safest and best tasting components surrounding the world around us. FF
Bayer makes a dirty process clean Sulfuric acid is a staple of the chemical industry toolbox. It’s the hugely important starting point of countless industrial processes. Its production is also an environmental headache, or was until Bayer devised a way to clean up a previously dirty process. A standard chemical building block, sulfuric acid is used to produce everything from fertilizer to lead-acid batteries and a variety of cleaning agents. It’s also a fundamental component of chemical synthesis with primary uses that include mineral processing, oil refining and wastewater processing. All sulfuric acid production begins with sulfur dioxide, a compound that’s oxidized to yield sulfur trioxide, then mixed with water to make sulfuric acid. The oxidation occurs in contact with a catalyst and the traditional process allows 2% to 3% of the sulfur dioxide to escape into the air. The gas is an acrid pollutant that can lead to environmental damage, and health issues in sensitive individuals. Bayer opened the world’s first “doublecontact” sulfuric acid plant in 1964, ten years before the German government introduced comprehensive clean air legislation. This innovative process puts sulfur dioxide in contact with the catalyst twice, allowing 99.6% of sulfur dioxide to be converted to sulfuric acid. Today Bayer uses this technology to generate its own large-scale sulfuric acid needs. The company also markets its technology to other manufacturers, allowing them to take advantage of this environmentally-responsible innovation in new, existing and expanding sulfuric acid plants.
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Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
Powered by chemistry Built on a foundation of synthetic dyestuffs, Bayer went on to build a better world and make a name for itself across the whole wide wonderful world of chemistry BY JOY GREGORY » From seed to harvest, Bayer CropScience prides
The formation of Bayer
itself on providing Canadian farmers with the best crop protection products and superior seed, including two of the world’s most important commercial crops, canola and soybeans. But agriculture is only one facet of the Bayer story. Indeed, Bayer’s very public connection to global food production and security underscores the company’s fundamental connection to chemistry, a branch of physical science that studies the composition, properties and behaviour of atoms, life’s tiniest constituents, and what happens when those atoms interact with each other. “The history of the chemical industry is an integral part of history as a whole,” writes Erik Verg, co-author of Milestones, a 600-plus page book about Bayer’s first 125 years. While seed technology advances like InVigor and LibertyLink belong to the last 25 years of the now 150-year company story, Bayer’s foundational link to chemistry begins with its very first innovation: the revolutionary development of textile dyes made from coal tar, a by-product of the coke and gas production that fuelled the Machine Age, starting in the 1800s.
Powered by rising demand for iron and steel and by steam engines fueled with coal, the Machine Age also set the stage for the unprecedented growth of the world’s first urban work force. The creation of stable and affordable synthetic dyes ended the textile industry’s dependence on more costly natural dyes, with new colourful yarns and fabrics spawning the world’s first consumer market for factory-made goods. The synthetic dye business stretches back to 1832 when German scientists began to investigate commercial uses for the by-products of hard-coal tar. England joined the quest a few years later, initially focusing its chemical research on synthetic fertilizers. By the time German scientist August Willem Hofmann was talked into opening a lab in England, his research was targeting the production of synthetic quinine for use in malaria treatment. Hoffman’s British assistant, William Henry Perkin, studied the failed results of that work and discovered a mauve dyeing compound that yielded an attractive violet shade on silk. Building on Friedrich Bayer’s successful business in natural dyes, Friedr. Bayer & Co. was established on August 1, 1863 to manufacture synthetic dyestuffs. By
BAYER: Milestones by the decade
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1863
1873
1888
1899
1910
1924
1937
Company established
Sets up first worker relief fund
Releases Phenacetin, its first pharmaceutical product
Bayer releases Aspirin
Synthetic rubber hailed as a technological breakthrough
Bayer releases first ag products
Polyurethanes set stage for a new class of plastics
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1870, fellow German firms Hoechst and BASF were also in the European dye business.
Beyond textiles In addition to revolutionizing the fabric and yarn colour choices available to a growing consumer population, Bayer and its earliest competitors proved chemistry’s commercial potential and laid the groundwork for cooperative research between universities and industry. By 1888, Bayer’s commitment to chemical research yielded its first pharmaceutical product. Phenacetin, one of the world’s first anti-febrile (fever) medications, was released just in time for an influenza epidemic that began in 1889. Bayer’s pharmaceutical line soon included sleep-inducing drugs and, by 1894, a product effective against diarrhea. In 1897 Bayer released its first agricultural product, a bacterial inoculant called Alinit. When an Americanbased company (ultimately purchased by Bayer in 1978) released a vaccine against a cattle plague the same year, the path forward was clear. With scientists around the world successfully applying the principles of chemistry to the global quest for improved human and animal health, agricultural crop production and consumer goods, companies like Bayer were well positioned for the future.
The social connection And that future wasn’t confined to what chemists discovered in laboratories. The world’s increased focus on manufacturing prompted a massive demographic shift, provoking significant social change. Bayer, already on the front lines of the increased demand for an urban workforce, soon found itself playing a lead role in the development of social programs for factory workers and their families. In addition to pioneering some of the world’s first work-
place safety programs, including in-house safety supervisors, medical teams and fire departments, Bayer also initiated some of the first sick leave and worker relief fund programs. Its first relief fund was established on the heels of a major financial collapse of the Berlin Stock Exchange in 1873. Indeed, by the time the German government passed social security legislation in the 1880s, Bayer had already set an internal standard of care. Before the turn of the century, the company also took steps to recruit a permanent labour force via recruiting premiums, seniority bonuses and construction of worker homes and retail cooperatives. In the absence of legislation, the company also launched its first environmental initiatives. By 1901, Bayer was looking at waste water issues and, by 1913, air quality research. That’s the same year Bayer clinched its position as Germany’s third largest chemical company with 10,600 employees and 8,000 patents at home and abroad. The company’s foray into commercial coatings, plastics and polyurethane foam, alongside its steady development and acquisition of human and animal health and agricultural crop production products, revolutionized key global industries as the 20th century progressed. Behind the scenes, Bayer’s smart and steady growth also transformed key aspects of industrial trade, including packaging and shipping — it was the first company to mass market pharmaceuticals in a single-dose tablet (Aspirin) — and the need to establish a formal shipping office with global capacity had become evident within 25 years of Bayer’s incorporation. All these impressive accomplishments aside, some things at Bayer never changed. More specifically, Bayer remains focused on the future and is as determined as ever to use science to solve problems facing the human race. FF
1940
1952
1967
1975
1984
1990
Develops first TB drug
Neoteben released to tackle TB
Plastics capture the automobile market
Adalat heralds a new era in cardiovascular medicine
Biotechnology focuses on new era of genetic engineering
and beyond… a host of new innovations addressing today s problems
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Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
Aspirin opened many doors Therapeutic breakthroughs define Bayer’s history. Expect many more as company scientists turn medical dreams into everyday reality BY JOY GREGORY » Aspirin may be the first product
that comes to mind when you see the trademark Bayer cross logo. But health care professionals the world over can tell you that Bayer’s contribution to medical science transcends the popular single-dose analgesic (pain killer). From tuberculosis (TB) to diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS) and malaria, Bayer’s extraordinary success has deep roots in the discovery and production of the pharmaceuticals, medical hardware, lab technology and genetic analysis that define contemporary health care. Bayer’s connection to the medical world stretches back to 1888 and the release of Phenacetin, one of the world’s first synthetic anti-fever drugs. Widely replaced by Aspirin in 1899, Phenacetin proved the potential of synthetic pharmaceuticals. Within 30 years, the development of a new drug called Resochin put Bayer on the front lines of malaria treatment. Resochin, which is still widely used today, energized ongoing molecular research into health care applications.
A new class of pharmaceuticals By 1935, the company was also marketing sulfonamides, synthetic antimicrobial agents that control external streptococci bacteria. It also introduced Prontosil, the first chemotherapeutic agent against cocci inside the body. Carmen Dunkel in the laboratory for malaria research.
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This new class of pharmaceuticals prevented dangerous wound infections and fatalities from streptococci-based infections including pneumonia, blood poisoning and meningitis. By curing previously fatal maladies, sulfonamides and Resochin heralded a revolution in medical treatment. By the beginning of the current century, Bayer pharmaceuticals were being used to treat hypertension, TB,
respiratory infections, MS, diabetes, hemophilia and kidney and liver cancer. The company also produces hormonal contraceptives while Aspirin, the Bayer stalwart, continues to be used as an analgesic and to treat and prevent myocardial infarction (heart attack).
From drugs to diagnostics Bayer’s international role in medical hardware and lab technology owes
much to the company’s development of the advanced plastic materials that are essential to the design and manufacture of a variety of medical devices. With high elasticity and resilience, excellent abrasion resistance and high tensile and tear strength, these medical-grade polyurethanes are used in thin-walled flexible tubing, catheters, connectors, films and fabric coatings, component housings and soft-touch grips. The company’s medical-grade polycarbonate is well suited to a host of applications that include surgical and renal care, and the manufacture of automated external defibrillator devices that help lay people diagnose and treat life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. Another of Bayer’s special business units focuses on diagnostic imaging with computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound positron emission tomography (PET). In fact, clinical trials are studying the use of a Bayer PET tracer to identify one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in living patients. It could be a major breakthrough in a field where, currently, the examination of a deceased person’s brain is the only way to get a confirmed diagnosis of this terrible disease. Bayer’s long connection to leading medical research increasingly involves the use of genetic analysis to develop treatments based on the individual genetic codes of a body’s cells. This kind of personalized medicine, using genome-based studies and biomarkers, is at the forefront of Alzheimer’s, HIV and cancer research, ensuring that the trademark Bayer cross will be an emblem of health care far into the future. FF
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Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
Beyond the field and under glass Bayer’s research responds to increased demand for high-quality fruit and vegetables BY JOY GREGORY
Âť Grain and oilseed farmers are front-line beneficiaries of scientific discoveries that help field crops tolerate stress and risk factors like drought, frost, pests, diseases, nutrient deficiencies and herbicides. Fruit and vegetable growers are as much, if not more, exposed to these production hazards. With global population predicted to reach nine billion by 2050, experts with Bayer CropScience are also stepping up their efforts to help the horticultural side of food production do an even better job of feeding the world.
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The Canadian horticultural industry is involved in the production and packing of more than 120 fruit and vegetable crops. These include field, fruit and greenhouse products, the latter focusing on cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and lettuce. Bayer research shows fruit and vegetables are grown on about 240 million hectares of land worldwide. These crops account for about half the value created by global agricultural production, but take up just 19% of the world’s cultivated land. With fruit and vegetable production on the rise, and the value of fresh and processed produce increasing, technology that protects yield, quality, nutritional value and shelf life is increasingly important. Nunhems, a Bayer CropScience subsidiary headquartered in the Netherlands, is a global leader in horticultural genetics and services. There, scientists are working on traits related to fruit quality, disease resistance and yield in several crops. Bayer’s use of molecular biology, which allows scientists to simultaneously search for, and track, a number of traits, saves
time, money and greenhouse space. Thanks to biotechnology and targeted selection, experts with Nunhems, for example, know whether peppers will taste milder or stronger long before they take shape on the plant. In Monheim, Germany, Bayer CropScience’s global headquarters, other research targets fungal diseases in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Bayer is currently working toward regulatory approval of a new product to combat powdery mildew and the potentiallydevastating fungus botrytis. To date, that product has been successful in tests on more than 70 crops including grapes, peaches, apples, tomatoes, oilseed rape and even cut flowers. Other horticultural-related Bayer research involves multidisciplinarian teams working to improve the taste and shelf life of fruits and vegetables. And the identification of genetic markers, the same leading-edge biotech that speeds up genetic improvements in crops like rice, cotton and oilseed rape, is also used in Bayer’s tomato research. FF
Performance you can taste! Global vegetable production has increased by about 60% over the past two decades, while fruit production doubled over the same period. The two categories now account for about 50% of global agricultural production. It’s an impressive tally for crops that comprise just 19% of the world’s cultivated land — and Bayer’s high-performance fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and seed treatments are on the front lines of making it all possible. Bayer released its first agricultural product, a seed treatment for wheat, in 1924. Today, the company is a world leader in protection agents not only for field crops but also for horticultural crops. Working hard to help fruit and vegetable growers generate a reliable supply of nutritious produce makes Bayer a key player in global efforts to improve human health through better diets. Fruit and vegetable crops produced with Bayer’s help range from apples and asparagus to blueberries and broccoli, peaches, peppers, strawberries, tomatoes and sunflowers.
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Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
Science helps farmers feed the world Blazing new trails in the never-ending search for improved crop production and protection technology BY JOY GREGORY
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» Canada is the world’s fifth largest exporter of agricultural and agri-food products. The passion to produce combined with the entrepreneurial spirit of Canadian farmers continues to push what is possible, fuelling the need for breakthrough technology. According to information published by the Ontario Farm Animal Council, today’s Canadian farmer feeds 120 people, up from just 10 a century ago. Farmers worldwide are producing 300 per cent more food than they did in 1950, and they’re doing it on relatively less land and with fewer resources. Factor in grower, regulator and consumer demand for a broader range of foods produced in more efficient and environmentally sustainable ways, and it’s obvious that contemporary agriculture is up to the challenge. From by-products to food products Bayer’s discovery and production of synthetic dyes made the textile industry an early adopter of technological innovations generated by the conjunction of the Machine Age and a mushrooming chemical industry. But research into what could be synthesized by chemical processes wasn’t confined to dyestuffs, and Bayer’s first crop production and protection products found ready markets when released in the 1920s. By then, the Machine Age was transforming agriculture. Defined as the latter part of the Industrial Revolution, the Machine Age began in the late 1800s and peaked during the period of the first two world wars. »
PHOTOS: BAYER CROPSCIENCE, RIGHT: MICHAEL RENNERTZ
Field trials are conducted next to the Bayer Agricultural Centre in Monheim, Germany.
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Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
Historical advertisment for Uspulun, a seed treatment product.
Introduction of the tractor, followed by the combine harvester, allowed farmers to seed and harvest crops on a previously unimaginable scale. This prompted a move from subsistence production to commercial production. Running alongside the demographic shift toward an urban workforce, farmers saw crop protection products as essential to meeting increased demand for food by people living in growing urban centres. Rail and shipping industries, developed to carry manufactured goods to distant markets, also opened new markets for agricultural production, allowing the market forces of global supply and demand to move raw agricultural products to hungry buyers. The first synthetic ammonium nitrate fertilizer hit the European market in 1913 and helped farmers boost production. Dramatic food shortages during the First World War (1914-18) underscored the need to grow even more food as well as protect food supplies from pests and microorganisms. Bayer introduced its first fungicide seed dressing, Uspulun, in 1915. While mercury-based products like Uspulun are no longer available, their initial release proved the value of scientific research into crop protection products. Bayer’s first agricultural laboratory, which included a farm and greenhouses, was finished in 1924. Then able to test new products under field conditions, the company soon developed seed treatments that could be applied months before sowing. By the early 1950s, Bayer’s respected position in the agrochemicals business included a widening selection of crop protection agents including a range of insecticides. The company’s Agricultural Chemical Centre in Germany opened in the 1980s. It facilitated comprehensive agro-chemical research on pest and weed control, as well as plant disease studies. Today, that centre complements research Bayer conducts in many countries including Canada, the U.S. and Japan.
Effective and safe As new crop protection products hit the market, and as production research advanced with better fertilizers and
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plant breeding, concerns about agrochemical safety also gained traction. This prompted research leading to massive reductions in the amount of chemicals needed for effective crop production. Until the 1940s, for example, farmers used the insecticide lead arsenate at 2 to 5 kg per treated hectare. And one to 2 kg per hectare of DDT was required to get results with that insecticide. Today, effective but environmentally persistent insecticides like DDT are no longer used, and environmentally safer products can be applied at rates as low as 100 to 300 g per hectare. The systemic fungicide Bayleton, credited with saving entire harvests from disease, could be applied at 125 to 250 g per hectare — one tenth the previous quantities. Pre- and post-emergent herbicides also give farmers more control over when to apply low-level crop protection agents. And modern cereal seed treatment products are mercury-free. Bayer also helped trigger a fundamental shift towards agricultural research to solve specific problems, such
Bayer delivers information and products farmers depend on to boost bottom line
Bayer CropScience offers seed, such as InVigor canola, with enhanced agronomic features. Released 16 years ago, InVigor helps Canadian farmers boost yield potential and control input costs.
as control of individual pests or fungi. This facilitated the move to integrated agricultural approaches in which soil fertility, crop rotations, cultivation practices and crop protection choices are coordinated to improve yields as well as enhance environmental protection and sustainable production. These advances happened in conjunction with public and private research into selective breeding for better crop varieties, with the Canadian invention of canola being an outstanding example of that success. Biotechnology, including the development of crop varieties resistant to specific herbicides followed, with Bayer’s contribution evident in products such as LibertyLink soybeans and InVigor hybrid canola. Bayer’s crop production, crop protection and biotech seed developments also occurred alongside significant mechanical advances such as direct seeding systems, high-efficiency sprayers and GPS autosteering technology that currently set the pace of modern farming. After 150 years of innovation rooted deeply in science and technology, the breakthroughs Bayer hopes to bring Canadian agriculture will help keep this country among the world's best producing nations helping to feed a hungry planet. FF
PHOTOS: BAYER CROPSCIENCE
PHOTO: GENESIS STUDIO
From herbicides to insecticides to fungicides and seed treatments, Bayer CropScience is the go-to source for safe and effective crop protection agents that improve productivity for every major crop grown in Canada. Backed by solid research and development, and supported by grower programs that include rebates, agronomic advice and the latest return-on-investment calculators, Bayer delivers the products and information farmers depend on to improve yields without compromising economic and environmental sustainability. But Bayer’s bounty doesn’t stop at crop protection. The company also offers seed with enhanced agronomic features. An outstanding example is InVigor canola. Released 16 years ago, it helps Canadian farmers boost yield potential and control input costs. The InVigor Demonstration Strip Trial (DST) program gives growers a dependable source of information about InVigor hybrid production in different growing regions and soil zones across western Canada. Ontario farmers who rotate to the LibertyLink soybean system also get yield advantages and reduced production costs thanks to non-selective weed control that includes effective resistance management.
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Bayer: 150 Years Science for a better life
Herbicideresistant weeds bring a new challenge It’s an old story. Vanquish one crop pest and another pops up. Here’s how Bayer suggests handling the latest unwelcome arrivals
Kochia scoparia at the stage of leaf development
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PHOTO: BAYER CROPSCIENCE, PROF. GERHARDS, UNIVERSITÄT HOHENHEIM
BY JOY GREGORY
» It’s tough to tell the difference between hard-to-kill weeds and those with herbicide resistance. Both are bad news. Ditto for diseases and insects resistant to previously-proven controls. What’s not open for debate is the fact that resistance represents a real economic threat to wheat, canola, corn, soybeans and many other crops. What’s also clear? Good old-fashioned agronomics — including proper crop rotations to prevent diseases and insects from developing into problem populations — is the best way to keep resistance issues at bay.
PHOTOS: TOP: BAYER CROPSCIENCE, BOTTOM, FILE
Weed control tips With weed resistance on the rise and concerns about glysophate-resistant kochia, especially, trending up in western Canada, weed control is poised to get more complicated. Conservation tillers are very worried, as are growers who’ve applied the same herbicide to the same fields year after year. Bayer recently launched www.MixItUp.ca as part of ongoing efforts to help producers tackle the issue of weed resistance. The crux of Bayer’s message is simple: resistance is a growing problem, and individual fields are the best place to strike back. Proven agronomic strategies discussed on the Mix It Up site include: 1. Seed into clean fields. On land under conservation tillage, it’s essential to remove all weeds before seeding. If you cultivate, till early enough and deep enough to get rid of all annual weeds. If that can’t happen or isn’t successful, apply a non-selective herbicide before crop emergence.
2. Scout your fields. Know your weeds and practice zero tolerance. Do not let weeds set seed and reproduce. 3. Diversify your management strategies. Use certified seed, rotate your crops properly, deal with weeds before you plant, rotate herbicides and use the most effective herbicide(s) for the most difficult weeds in a field. Also, keep seeding and harvest machinery clean — especially when moving it from fields with known resistance problems. 4. Monitor problem areas. Weeds are all about the competition. If problem areas exist on the edges of fields or in places where crop germination was compromised (like knolls or wet spots), the seeds those weedy spots produce put the whole field at risk. (In wheat, kochia densities of 21 plants per square metre have led to yield losses of about 33%.) Bayer is serious about working with farmers and scientists to solve the resistance problem. Meanwhile the company’s Mix It Up strategy is all about helping farmers tackle the “routines” of farming, without letting potentially bad habits get in the way of good production practices and high yields. Check out MixItUp.ca for information on how resistance occurs, what you can do to be part of a sustainable solution, and how Bayer is pursuing alternative control technologies for herbicide-resistant weeds. FF
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BUSINESS
Kletke Seed Farm Success! It can be measured in many ways. The dictionary describes success as a “favourable outcome; accomplishment of what was aimed at; attainment of wealth or fame or position.” But these everyday definitions just don’t cut it in describing the achievements of Herb and Helen Kletke of Teulon, MB.
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A model of successful community collaboration BY LARRY GOMPF If success is measured by customer satisfaction, repeat business, rewarding partnerships, customers who seek advice, younger farmers mentored, innovative business growth, adaptation of new technology, risk taking, eager interest in new ideas, looking ahead to the future and much more, then you could say the Kletkes have been extremely successful. But measuring success doesn’t stop there and it was with a great deal of pride that the Kletkes received, in the past year, two very prestigious awards that clearly confirm their giant contributions to agriculture over the years:
“They’re good customers for us and we in turn do what we can to be good to them. They are honest, down-to-earth, solid people.” — Kevin Chorney
INTERAG REP
Robertson Associate Award: In July of 2012 Herb and Helen were both awarded plaques by the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA) for their long-term commitment and excellent service as seed growers and certified seed promoters. The Robertson Associate Award recognizes long-term contributions to the seed business and is seldom awarded to more than one member in a partnership. Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame: On July 10, 2013, Helen and Herb were inducted into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame, in recognition of lifelong dedication to agriculture. Their commitment to farming and to their community made them worthy recipients of these awards. Herb and
Helen happily accepted this recognition of their success as a farming partnership. But how did they get there? They were married in 1956 and began farming in 1959. In 1960 they became CSGA members and then growers of select seed. Over time, they expanded the farm from 480 acres to today’s 2,700 acres. For decades the Kletkes have been growing, processing and retailing seed on their farm. Son Glenn joined the operation and has been an integral part of the growth of the seed treating and coating business. The farm runs multiple lines of equipment to process traditional crops as well as much of the local and regional forage seed production. Their technologically advanced seed-coating plant treats »
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a good portion of western Canadian canola seed. A recent venture into forage seed coating serves local, national and international markets. Kletke Seed Farm produces a wide variety of crops including wheat, oats, barley, canola, soybeans and hemp. To manage both the farm and its multiple processing operations, the business has five part-time and 12 full-time employees. Over the years the Kletkes established relationships and partnerships with numerous outside businesses that helped them move ahead with their many successful enterprises. Partnerships like the one they’ve enjoyed over the last 25 years with InterAg have proved invaluable. InterAg (www.interag.ca) is the retail distribution arm of Bayer CropScience, serving independent retailers in western Canada. New technology offered by InterAg, and readily accepted by the Kletkes, helped them move to new levels of production, productivity and profitability. Neals Johnson, Manitoba sales manager for Bayer, says, “We’ve
“We’ve been proud to have Herb and Helen as customers for such a long time. Their expertise, their leadership, initiative and willingness to give back to the community have impressed me over the years.” — Neals Johnson
manitoba sales manager, bayer cropscience
been proud to have Herb and Helen as customers for such a long time. Their expertise, their leadership, initiative and willingness to give back to the community have impressed me over the years. Also, they’ve been so openminded when it comes to learning; always thinking and looking for ways to improve their operations. They’ve been great partners with Bayer CropScience.” Kevin Chorney, InterAg rep for the area, enjoys doing business with the Kletkes. “They’re good customers for us and we in turn do what we can to be good to them. They are honest, down-to-earth, solid people.”
A wide variety of crops — from wheat to hemp — are grown on the Kletkes’ farm.
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Their influence extends far beyond business. Helen and Herb are also solid community citizens. Both have dedicated many years and hours of time outside the farm operation. They’ve served on church, municipal and other boards to help make their community a better place for all its residents. Both agree that their volunteer activities have been as rewarding as their business achievements. The more you put into a project, they find, the more you get out. And, as is so readily apparent with Herb and Helen Kletke and Kletke Seed Farm, nothing succeeds like success! FF
PRODUCTION
Don’t stop now! Farm Forum asked four leading farmers to name the technical innovation that’s made the biggest contribution to their success. We also asked what they most want to see coming down the development pipeline in the future. Their responses indicate no shortage of challenges ahead for the machinery, crop protection and plant genetics industries. You’ve come a long way, they tell suppliers, but you’re not there yet
By gerald pilger
T
here is a perception that bigger and better equipment tops the wish lists of the best farmers. For sure that’s important. But when these western Canadian crop producers were asked what innovation they thought would be most valuable for their cropping enterprise, surprisingly, all were looking for improvements in seed and crop inputs. Success of grain and oilseed growers really depends on what goes in the ground! In detail, here’s what each had to say:
Barry Mason
Delia, aB
Barry Mason grows cereals, canola and peas on his farm near Delia, AB. He lists many innovations that have helped him manage farming risk and prosper, including GMO cropping systems, sclerotinia-resistant canola varieties, new subsoil tillage equipment, and a batch of new fertilizer products. But the innovations he believes have improved his operation the most and, at the same time, helped him reduce cropping risk, have been in seeding equipment. “Precision seeding has really improved crop stands, especially canola,” says Mason. Because of his enthusiastic adoption of precision seeding, he was one of seven growers, worldwide, who were asked by a major equipment manufacturer to field-test a new seeding system this year. Mason was so impressed with the prototype he tested that he has already ordered a second unit for next spring. “This drill is quite an improvement over existing precision seeding systems,” he says. “It has precise seed placement. It is very accurate. It has automatic section control, which reduces overlap, reduces waste on corners, reduces input costs and opens up new avenues for angle seeding. And it incorporates a mapping system which enables variable-rate seeding.” Mason also feels the new drill is more employee-friendly; which is very important as farms grow larger and farmers have to rely more heavily
on inexperienced labour to operate seeding equipment. In spite of Mason’s excitement over prospects for this new drill, he feels the future innovation most needed by western Canadian farmers is a new post-emerge wild oat herbicide for wheat and barley that is not a Group 1 or 2. He says wild oat resistance to Group 1 and 2 chemistries is becoming a real problem. He’d also like to see new chemistry to control wild oats, including strains resistant to Group 1 and 2 herbicides. »
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Hubert Preun
SELKIRK, MB
Courtney Solnenko YORKTON, SK
u Courtney Solnenko and his brother farm their own 13,000 acres and, custom farm another 1,500 acres north east of Yorkton. Solnenko feels the most valuable innovation they have adopted in the past few years has been variable-rate fertilization. “Variable-rate lets us maximize the value of our fertilizer dollar,” he says. “By applying only the required nutrients to each part of a field, we have reduced lodging problems and promoted even crop maturity. A uniform crop makes application of herbicides, pesticides, and desiccants easier and more effective.” Solnenko is convinced variable rates have improved productivity. “We have seen wheat yields increase by about seven bushels per acre,” he says, adding that he suspects protein levels are also about half a point higher. Besides increasing crop margins, he believes the adoption of variable rate fertilization has reduced cropping risk. “Before we went to variable-rate we had lots
u “Innovative farmers never stand still,” says Hubert Preun, of Selkirk, MB. “They’re always looking for the next step that will make their farm better.” Case in point: a few years ago Preun says he never dreamed that he would ever be able to grow grain corn on the 6,500 acres he crops with his brother north of Winnipeg; yet today, they are setting up a million-dollar dryer system so they can grow the crop successfully. Preun credits improvements in cropping systems and genetics as the most valuable changes introduced on his farm. “Innovations like Liberty Link canola and superior varieties of beans and corn have given us many more cropping options.” While he doesn’t discount the value of progress in the mechanical and electronic fields, Preun sees these tools more as a means of managing and reducing risk and production cost. “The introduction of GPS and field mapping has made cropping so much more accurate,” he says. “Before GPS, we would overlap a lot and were never sure of rates. Now we know every dollar we invest in crop inputs will be well spent.” Looking to the future, he hopes seed
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companies develop crops and varieties better able to withstand disease, insects, and environmental stress. He’d like to see seed companies breed more traits into crops so they can survive extreme conditions like heat, flooding and drought. “In Manitoba’s Red River Valley we are seeing much hotter summers with rain events fewer and farther between. And when rain comes it tends to be much heavier and harder. “Soybeans and corn handle these conditions better than canola,” he says. “If the weather trends we are experiencing now continue, we may not be able to grow canola in the future. We need alternatives to the crops we currently grow. We need more corn and soybean varieties adapted to this region. “We are very much dependant on glyphosate and need more alternatives to Roundup Ready crops,” adds Preun. “We also need crops with better disease and insect resistance bred into them so we do not have to rely on chemical control in-crop. It would be wonderful, and companies like Bayer would do themselves, and farmers, a real service, if they could breed more desirable traits into varieties.”
of crop lodging,” he explains. “Lodging reduces yield, reduced grain quality, and really increases harvesting time. All that costs money. We can now manage our lodging problems by variable rate application of fertilizer.” Now that Solnenko is able to maximize yields through precise fertilizer application, what he would really like is higher-yielding wheat varieties. “The innovation I most want from Bayer would be hybrid wheat. It would be great if they’d do for wheat what they did for canola. We need varieties that produce yields like they can get in parts of Europe.” Solnenko does have a warning for growers intent on maximizing yields. “It seems everyone is pushing crop nutrients with promises of higher yields ‘if you use our product.’ But does your crop really need those micros and additives?” Not every new crop input, he points out, is worth its price. “While it is great to stay on the leading edge of technology and try new products, use tissue tests to make sure a crop needs additional nutrients before applying them.”
Darcy Sarafinchan
u Adding ESN (environmentally smart
nitrogen) fertilizer to his crop nutrition program has been the most important change Darcy Sarafinchan has made on his 2,500-acre farm near Vegreville, AB. “I made the switch to adding controlled-release ESN fertilizer in 2006,” he says. “At that time I was using a single-shoot seeding system. By adding ESN to my program, I was able to put down all the required N without any crop injury.” Even though Sarafinchan switched to a double-shoot seeding system this year, he will continue to use ESN because he says there are other advantages to the Agrium product. “A lot of conventional N is used up early in the season for vegetative crop growth,” he says. “ESN gives us a shot of N later, when the plant is heading and filling. And there is less risk of ESN leaching out in a wet spring.” Sarafinchan also believes ESN results in higher yields. “It fits well in our farming system,” he concludes. While ESN reduces the risk of crop injury, disease control is the innovation Sarafinchan feels has reduced his cropping risk the most. “Fungicide applications have yielded a big payback on our farm,” he says. “We have used them to control sclerotinia in canola nearly every year since the ’80s. One year we had the
VEGREVILLE, AB
fungicide applied by air and there was an area of one field where the plane could not spray. The difference was night and day. “For the past six or seven years, we have applied fungicides to our cereals as well, and there is definitely value in spraying. We get a good return from treating cereals – the healthier you keep the plant, the better it will yield. Proline, Prosaro, and other fungicides are now an essential part of our cropping program.” As for what innovation Sarafinchan would like to see coming down the pipeline, improved canola seed treatment and disease resistance are high on the list, and an area where he hopes new research and development will be done. He would like to see broader disease control for clubroot, blackleg and sclerotinia. “I would really like to be able to buy a good, high yielding canola variety which has the genetics and a seed treatment that controls a broad spectrum of diseases and insects. “Each year farmers get only one chance to grow a crop, so you have to do the very best job you can,” says Sarafinchan. “That means starting with the best seeds and then promoting and protecting that crop with a complete fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide and fungicide program.” FF
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BUSINESS
Int
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nterAg leaps into
phOtO: gEnESiS StUdiO
Tomorrow
Doug Laird is owner of Sturgeon Valley Fertilizers in St. Albert, AB, one of the founding InterAg retail operations.
A quarter-century ago, a new concept in retail delivery of crop inputs was born on the prairies. Called InterAg, the new business model offered a unique structure to the Canadian retail landscape By Jennifer BarBer
A
s a distribution channel for bayer Cropscience Canada, interag provided independent dealers access to bayer’s full product range available to larger companies. it also gave independent retailers the added benefit of one-on-one support from dedicated interag representatives. “in Canada we have two clearly identified routes to growers,” says Kamel beliazi, president and CEo of bayer Cropscience Canada. “one is through distributor companies, which are also — for the most part — integrated with a very strong grain business. and the other is through the independents, who are mostly focused on crop input supply only. the interag model works in Canada because it allows bayer Cropscience to build a unique value proposition for one of the two routes to market.” When interag was launched, “independent” meant “small” and, generally, a single storefront. these retailers had a limited local customer base, but sound knowledge of what growers in their area needed. today, independent, single-site location operations account for only a third of all interag retailers, while some multiple-site operations have up to 15 separate locations. in addition, as farms have become larger, so have retailers in an effort to accommodate the need for bigger orders. »
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— Kamel Beliazi PRESIDENT & CEO Of BayER CROPSCIENCE INC.
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“When we started InterAg we had 12 products to stock on retailers’ shelves, and now we have well over 100,” says Lionel Lamont, director of InterAg. “We started out wanting to build both brand recognition and demand — we didn’t want our retailers asking for a grassy weed product; we wanted them to ask for Puma. Today there are a lot more products to learn about, and many more solutions to offer.” InterAg reps are the foundation of the relationship with retailers. Today, nine InterAg representatives serve all 150 dealers across the prairies. They act as intermediaries between Bayer and retailers, custom managing each retail account based on its individual needs. With InterAg reps responsible for many retail locations in their territory, understanding the needs specific to each location has been key to providing superior levels of support. Beliazi says that the reps’ ability to continuously monitor the effectiveness of the relationship with their retailers, and propose relevant adaptations, has worked well. “The independents have very strong
roots in their communities and have developed personal relationships with their grower-customer base, sometimes over many generations,” says Beliazi. “Beyond the numbers, the sustainability of that business can only be envisioned through that solid relationship between the InterAg rep, the retailer and the grower.”
Business-Building, one relationship at a time “The relationship part of our business is so important because our independent customers generally own part or all of their company, so have a lot of skin in the game,” says Rick Kawa, an InterAg rep based in Lethbridge, AB. “They’re a big part of the community; they’re employing friends and neighbours; and they’re supporting the local area and its various projects.” Kawa adds that InterAg retailers are very entrepreneurial. “Our retailers tend to be first in bringing innovation to the market,” he says. “They will explain the benefits of new technology to a grower and highlight what it will do for that grower’s bottom line.
pORtRAit phOtOS: SUppliEd, bOttOM phOtO: gEnESiS StUdiO
“The InterAg model works in Canada because it allows Bayer CropScience to build a unique value proposition for one of the two routes to market”
“When we started InterAg we had twelve products and now we have well over a hundred… Today there are a lot more products to learn about, and many more solutions to offer” — Lionel Lamont director, interag
“A good case in point is the recent surge in fungicide use in Saskatchewan and Alberta,” he explains. “Independent retailers helped show their growers the benefits of canola and cereal fungicides, and now that market has exploded.” InterAg dealers work closely with Bayer CropScience’s territory sales managers (TSMs) to offer a complete package of services to growers. “Almost half of my daily business is with Rick’s InterAg dealers,” says Garett Cowan, a TSM also based in Lethbridge. “If dealers want a product, they see Rick. If they need technical advice, they see me. I also have the direct link back to growers — if a grower needs something specific, I can find out quickly from Rick where he can get it in time to meet the grower’s needs.” Dave Edgar, one of the owners of CropFirst Agro in Grenfell, SK, says the growth of InVigor canola demonstrated the value of a good working relationship with his rep. “In the beginning it was really hard to get InVigor,” he says. “But our InterAg rep managed to get his hands on 400 bags and met the needs of our customers. The products proved themselves, and today we’ve seen
tremendous growth in our InVigor seed sales.” Bayer’s TSMs also work closely with retailers to develop trial plots. That process helps build relationships as they work together with local growers to plant test strips, scout fields and take plots through harvest. Edgar says Bayer support makes it possible to conduct trials successfully and show growers that the products work on their land under their growing conditions. “Our InterAg rep understands our business,” says Brad Hansen, crop input manager with Weyburn Inland Terminal in Saskatchewan. “In many ways they are a logistics company. They make sure we have enough on the shelf when it needs to be there, they help us react quickly when there is a demand for a particular product and, if conditions change, they help us manage our inventory.” He recalls 2011, when heavy, persistent rain meant that only 25 per cent of planned canola acreage was seeded in his area. He was left with excess inventory that had no chance of making it into the ground. His rep helped moved the inventory around
Sturgeon Valley Fertilizers’ facility just north of St. Albert, AB. The company has a second location in Legal, AB.
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InterAg keeps pace with growers’ continually changing needs through innovative products and excellent on-the-ground service.
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to be positioned as a supplier partner of choice. The innovation pipeline, with InVigor seed and crop protection products, means the company has a portfolio that can help it grow strategically, and continue to look for new services and technical support as required — always with farmer-customers’ needs firmly in mind. “These farm customers choose to work with an independent because they share an entrepreneurial spirit — they like to work with an independent, innovationfocused retailer,” says Lamont. “They also like to back businesses that support local communities; a big part of what InterAg dealers do. “Retailers are partners in our business,” he adds. “And if we integrate well into their businesses and communities, then that’s the ultimate compliment.” FF
pOtOS: FROM tOp: bAyER cROpSciEncE MAtthiAS SAndMAnn, FilE, bAyER cROpSciEncE, gEnESiS StUdiO
where it could be used — understanding that all involved were partners in each other’s success. “Our relationship with our InterAg rep is excellent; he’ll bend over backwards to help us,” says Doug Laird, owner of Sturgeon Valley Fertilizers in St. Albert, AB, one of the founding InterAg retail operations. “Over half the canola seed we sell comes from Bayer. Our rep always tries his best to supply our needs, even when it is challenging to do so. Our business has seen significant growth in the past several years and InterAg has been a big part of that.” Today InterAg makes up about 35 per cent of Bayer CropScience Canada’s business, and the company continues to closely monitor the evolution of retailers and the changing needs of growers, to make sure InterAg continues
FA R M L I F E
Global youth meet in Canada to tackle food security issue 120 young ag leaders look to change the world JOY GREGORY FEET SOLIDLY PLANTED on Canadian soil and eyes firmly on the future of the global community, 120 young people from 24 countries around the world will meet in Calgary from August 19 to 25. “They’ll tackle issues related to international food security,” says Tammy Oswick-Kearney, CEO, 4-H Youth Ag-Summit. Organized as part of 4-H Canada’s 100th anniversary celebrations and sponsored by Bayer CropScience in honour of the company’s own 150th anniversary, the summit will address a critically important topic: Feeding a Hungry Planet. It’s a highly-anticipated event. “We received more than 500 applications, including 146 from Canadians aged 18 to 25,” says Oswick-Kearney. “I’m really excited about the diversity of ideas
generated by the applications because these are the ag leaders of tomorrow.” Farm Forum caught up to five of the 60 Canadian delegates. Here’s a first-hand look at what inspired them to seek a spot at the summit.
JAYDEN BUCHANAN 18, CRYSTAL CITY, MB
A recent high school grad and longtime 4-H club member, Buchanan heads to the University of Manitoba this fall. He’s especially excited about studying plant and animal science and ag business — knowledge he plans to bring home to the family operation. Buchanan thinks farmers are up to the challenges that come with feeding a global population of nine billion by 2050. His essay application looks at socioeconomic changes to the family farm in Canada and targets food waste as a global problem that needs a global solution. “If everyone just pitched in to help reduce this waste, it would make life a lot easier on the one billion people who are underfed and undernourished.”
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MIRA VAN BURCK 19, STAR CITY, SK
A student of international development at an Ontario university, van Burck admits she was drawn to that field of study precisely because of her interest in food security. A high school trip to El Salvador, coupled with her own seed farm experience, convinced van Burck that self-sufficient domestic food production is essential for developing countries. Van Burck says it’s sometimes frustrating to study alongside urban Canadians who “do not understand where their food comes from.” When others insist that “sustainable” food production negates the need for crop inputs or genetic adaptation, van Burck speaks up. She believes the Youth Ag-Summit will help her speak up more often.
DEBRA MURPHY 24, ALTARIO, AB
A grain and cattle farmer with a B.Sc. (Ag), Murphy is one of 16 recipients of the 2013 Cattlemen’s Young Leaders mentorship program. Her new job with a web-based agricultural media outlet will see her divide her time between the farm, which she runs with her mom and one brother, and her job in Saskatoon. Why add the Youth Ag-Summit to any already-busy life? “Because people I know started sending me tweets about applying to the summit,” says Murphy, who admits a growing interest in the political side of the business. Murphy’s summit application focuses on the value of agronomic technology and issues related to climate change, rural population loss and opportunities for positive change in Canada and abroad. She looks forward to meeting others interested in a “sustainable network of energetic individuals that monitor and encourage communication between national and international groups, and inspire others to join the food security movement.”
DALLIS AIKEN 18, CANWOOD, SK
With her first year in agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan complete, Aiken is home for a summer internship with Cargill and to help out on the family’s mixed farm north of Saskatoon. A veteran 4-H-er, she’s excited about the summit and the “chance to see different perspectives from people around the world,” she says. “I think of farming as my life and I’m going to the summit with an open mind. I can’t wait to learn how agriculture works in other parts of the world.” Aiken’s essay application highlights food insecurity and hunger as global issues that demand a unified approach. She examines developing-world examples of food insecurity, and also draws attention to a problem area in downtown Saskatoon called “The Food Desert,” where the only food readily available to its low-income residents is sold at convenience stores and gas stations.
BRUCE SARGENT
22, BOWMANVILLE, ON
Sargent, who launched his own ag-marketing firm before graduating from the University of Guelph with a marketing management degree in 2013, submitted his application as a video. Styled as a rant, the video features Sargent’s perspective on the role schools, farmers and consumers play in food security. While he might not end up back on the family dairy farm, Sargent says he will find his professional niche in agriculture. He’s excited about expanding his own understanding of the global ag community and is already convinced that youth ag enthusiasts need more events like the summit. “Individual farmers already produce 300 times more than they did 50 years ago,” he says. “It’s important to communicate about food production and food security.” Related Links: Youth Ag-Summit information: www.farmforum.ca/youthagsummit Bruce Sargent's winning Youth Ag-Summit entry: www.farmforum.ca/brucesargentvideoentry
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HELP
YOURSELF
to a helping
OF CHANGE
4-H Canada and Bayer CropScience believe the agricultural leaders of tomorrow can help find sustainable solutions for the world’s growing need for safe, nutritious food. That’s why we’re gathering 120 bright minds, ages 18-25, from around the world to share their perspectives at the 4-H Youth Ag-Summit in Calgary. From August 19th-25th, 2013, these delegates will be tasked with identifying actionable agriculturally sustainable solutions to feed a growing world.
A T B LE E H T
Let’s talk change. To find out what topics are on the table and join the growing conversation, please visit facebook.com/youthagsummit.
S:7.625”
Through relentless innovation, we help Canadian farmers feed a hungry planet.
S:8.125”
Always read and follow label directions. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.
C-51-08/13-BCS13200-E
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