Country guide east

eastern edition

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February 2, 2016 $3.50

Selling

The farm

Graham Sorgard and Warren Kaeding seal the deal, pg. 16 CROPS GUIDE No panic yet on fertilizer 20 questions for your N program Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240

Out-thinking the swede midge

Spotlight on Crop AdvAnCeS Crop Advances is an annual report that summarizes applied research projects involving the OMAFRA Field Crop team, in partnership with commodity groups, industry and the OSCIA.

Go to the Research & Resources page at www.ontariosoilcrop.org

Getting the best out of your corn nitrogen applications

By Lilian Schaer

Recent research has shown that modern corn hybrids use more nitrogen post-tassel than hybrid varieties going back to the 1990s, rising from 29 to 37 per cent.

That’s a shift in nitrogen efficiency that needs to be managed at the farm level with respect to application timing to make sure nitrogen is being used as effectively and as sustainably as possible.

New technology like the Y Drop™ from 360YieldCentre™, for example, will let growers apply late-season nitrogen even up to tassel.

The Ottawa-Carleton Soil and Crop Improvement Association (O-CSCIA) is now leading a three year research project to evaluate the Y Drop™ and the yield response to comparable nitrogen rates applied at various timings: starter at planting, side dress, and a late application at the 10 to 14 corn leaf stage that is a top up of pre- or post-plant nitrogen application.

“There are many complex and variable responses when nitrogen is used in cropping systems and although those responses may vary from year to year, we would like to find if there are optimal ways to integrate new technology into crop production,” explains Sean Cochrane, O-CSCIA President.

“The project stemmed from a natural curiosity and drive for efficiency with the new Y-Drop application equipment and as we are getting more yield from our genetic potential, we need to answer the questions about how the genetic changes will affect our Nitrogen application timing, use and rate,” he added.

How is the research being conducted?

Ten farms in Dundas, Ottawa-Carleton and Lanark are participating in the project, with each planting a series of six trial strips on a field scale with three replications of varying rates and application timing: • Grower Current N program and rate

• Grower Current Plus Late Y Drop application • Grower Reduced N rate (lower then current N rate but late applied with Y Drop) • Grower Current Late Plus high N all early/ normal application time • Grower Current Plus high N some early and some through Y Drop • No additional N after planting zero strip A VERIS soil sensor is being used at each location to help identify management zones according to electrical conductivity of the soil. This, along with other features, will help with developing prescriptive nitrogen application rates for each assessed field so crops can be produced as economically as possible and with less nitrogen going into the environment. Yield maps at harvest will also be generated.

“We’re using multiple layers and ground truthing techniques to show what optimal nitrogen rates would be, which will all be mapped electronically for analysis,” Cochrane says.

What has the project found?

With the project only just getting underway this past spring, Cochrane says it’s too early for any results yet. A lot of data will

ONTARIO SOIL AND CROP IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

“In order to optimize nitrogen use, we are looking at various rates and timings of application to limit loss to the environment and to maximize yield after cost.”

— Sean Cochrane, CCA-ON, Dekalb Agronomist

be collected for review and analysis over the three-year life span of the project, and summary reports will be posted on the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) website at www. ontariosoilcrop.org as they become available.

Who is funding this project?

Funding is provided through a Tier Two grant supported by OSCIA and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), but Cochrane says the work wouldn’t be possible without the commitment of the growers involved, the work contributed by OMAFRA staff Scott Banks, Nicole Rabe and Ian McDonald, and the volunteer hours dedicated by directors of the local soil and crop associations. Inkind contributions are being made by Paul Sullivan of PT Sullivan Agro, Paul Hermans (Dupont Pioneer- Veris® assessments), Jordan Wallace (GPS Ontario – UAV photos of projects). OSCIA is assisting with communications of research results.

Mission: Facilitate responsible economic management of soil, water, air and crops through development and communication of innovative farming practices

www.ontariosoilcrop.org

Contents

february 2, 2016

BUSINESS 8

going european A generation ago, David Rolfe left England for Manitoba to escape overregulation. Now he’s not so sure.

12 is a family trust right for you?

Where they fit and are well designed, trusts can be great choice.

14 estate planning: part 2

Can your will be set aside because of something you said?

It’s happening to more farms.

20 what if the party’s over?

Anne Lazurko reports on the strategies that may keep more farmers from repeating the tragedy of the 1980s.

24 your data, their sale

You farm better by analyzing field data. Now, ag supplies are studying you with the same intensity, looking to boost profits.

26 is your idea marketable?

This BioEnterprise model could help you go commercial.

34 make room

China has a tractor it would like to sell you. How about a Zoomlion?

36 use financial ratios to diagnose operational issues

Balance sheet and calculator yield quick insight into your farm.

38 terminal story

With an incredible 5,000 registered buyers, Ontario’s Food Terminal rivals the Port of Vancouver in the East.

42 Guide HR — thrive: becoming the best you can be

Use this scientific research to improve your leadership skills.

PG. 16 Selling the Farm Follow from the inside as this sale of a modern, sophisticated and diverse farm goes through its ups and downs, finally ending not only in the handing over of keys, but the building of a lasting relationship.

44 last of the first-born tradition

There’s less and less room for a sense of entitlement on farms.

46

g uide life — preparing her to farm

Fifteen expert ideas for getting a woman’s farm career off to a productive and successful start.

EVERY ISSUE 6 MACHINERY GUIDE

The first truly robotic tractor takes to the field in Holland.

CROPS GUIDE 27 no fertilizer panic — for now

Nutrient supplies are adequate for 2016, but today may be the right time to get your share locked in.

28 20 questions for your n program

Before heading to the field, ask yourself these tough questions.

49 GUIDE HEALTH

32 PEST PATROL

50 HANSON ACRES A big decision looms for Trina. Maybe the biggest ever?

33 out-thinking the swede midge

Medical drugs get recalled too. Here’s how to keep safe.

Low soil potassium scores may be hurting your weed control.

Is the only good recommendation to stop growing canola?

Our commitment to your privacy 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 Avenue, 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 1-800-665-1362.

february 2, 2016

country-guide.ca 3

desk EDITORIAL STAFF Editor: Tom Button 12827 Klondyke Line, Ridgetown, ON N0P 2C0 (519) 674-1449 Fax (519) 674-5229 Email: tom.button@fbcpublishing.com Associate Editors: Maggie Van Camp (905) 986-5342 Fax (905) 986-9991 Email: mvancamp@fbcpublishing.com Gord Gilmour (204) 453-7624 Cell: (204) 294-9195 Fax (204) 942-8463 Email: gord.gilmour@fbcpublishing.com Production Editor: Ralph Pearce (226) 448-4351 Email: ralph.pearce@fbcpublishing.com ADVERTISING SALES Sales Director: Cory Bourdeaud’hui (204) 954-1414 Fax: (204) 944-5562 Email: cory@fbcpublishing.com Lillie Ann Morris (905) 838-2826 Email: lamorris@xplornet.com Kevin Yaworsky (250) 869-5326 Email: kyaworsky@farmmedia.com

Tom Button is editor of Country Guide magazine

Is this the last generation?

The above title caught my eye as I was thumbing through some 2011 back issues of Country Guide.

Hmm, I wondered, have the last five years changed what I think about whether young people can successfully take over enough of our family farms to actually comprise a “generation?” Or will they even want to?

In 2011, after all, most of us still had stars in our eyes, even though we tried not to. World population was growing, ethanol use was growing, China’s middle class was growing, so although of course there will always be volatile markets because of weather, it seemed certain that commodity prices had ratcheted up and would never sink close to unprofitable levels for years to come.

Of course, too, in 2011 we hadn’t comprehended exactly how high land prices would climb, and how difficult it would be for farms to continue expanding so the next generation would have an adequate operational base to start their career.

Nor had we foreseen the fact that the extra zeroes on the balance sheet can introduce all sorts of caution into anyone’s thinking.

When I speak to ag students today, I always tell them that the No. 1 thing that keeps their parents awake at night is whether their children have the skills and the aptitudes to take over the farm, not only so they can build their own careers, 4 country-guide.ca

but also so they won’t fritter away everyone else’s nest egg at the same time.

Perhaps I exaggerate, but only a bit.

Today’s youth know that no one looked at their parents and judged them so toughly. And you can’t blame them if it seems unfair. But neither can you entirely blame the parents for saying, “times have changed.”

Even so, in all my thinking about agriculture, and after all the seminars I’ve attended and all the experts I’ve listened to, it still boils down to the same thing.

External economic factors do play a role in determining whether a young person gets started on the farm. But internal factors play a much larger one.

As you have read in past issues of Country Guide, and as you will read in future issues, where there is a passion for farming, and where this passion is coupled with a strong sense of values, our young people are finding a way.

It turns out there isn’t the same kind of ladder that there used to be, where everybody starts off on the same rung, but there are also more opportunities, and more kinds of opportunities than ever before.

I’m convinced that the family farm has a future because of the evidence of my eyes. Obviously we need to do more to remove some of their obstacles, but we also have to trust our young hopefuls with the chance to prove themselves. Am I getting it right? Let me know at tom.button@ fbcpublishing.com.

Head Office: 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Advertising Services Co-ordinator: Arlene Bomback (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Email: ads@fbcpublishing.com Designer: Jenelle Jensen Publisher: Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com Associate Publisher: John Morriss Email: john.morriss@fbcpublishing.com Editorial Director: Laura Rance Email: laura@fbcpublishing.com Production Director: Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com Circulation Manager: Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com President: Bob Willcox Glacier FarmMedia Email: bwillcox@farmmedia.com Contents of this publication are copyrighted and may be reproduced only with the permission of the editor. Country Guide, incorporating the Nor’West Farmer and Farm & Home, is published by Farm Business Communications. Head office: Winnipeg, Manitoba. Printed by Transcontinental LGMC. Country Guide is published 13 times per year by Farm Business Communications. Subscription rates in Canada — Farmer $43 for one year, $64 for 2 years, $91 for 3 years. (Prices include GST) U.S. subscription rate — $35 (U.S. funds). Subscription rate outside Canada and U.S. — $50 per year. Single copies: $3.50.

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Call toll-free 1-800-665-1362 or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5766 Country Guide is printed with linseed oil-based inks PRINTED IN CANADA Vol. 135 No. 2 Internet address: www.agcanada.com

ISSN 1915-8491 The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Country Guide and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists, Country Guide and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Country Guide 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.

February 2, 2016

Machinery The first true robot

By Scott Garvey, CG Machinery Editor

The Greenbot autonomous tractor hits the market farmer, scheduled for delivery right after the show ended, after which it would go straight to work on the farm.

For power, the Greenbot relies on a 100-horsepower, 3.4-litre Perkins diesel engine, with the drive flowing through a hydrostatic transmission to a four-wheel drive system. Four-wheel steering makes the little tractor very manoeuvrable. A category I, three-point on the front and category II hitch on the rear along with a PTO allow it to handle a variety of equipment. Mouthaan adds there is also some flexibility in how the tractor can be configured, allowing it to be tailored to specific needs.

The Greenbot doesn’t even have a standard operator’s station, although it can be driven by radio control, just like a kid’s RC toy.

General field duties get programmed into its onboard computer, allowing it to follow a field map or figure out its own way to complete a job.

“We have three ways to implement it,” says Mouthaan. “We have teach and play back, so you can do it with radio controls. You can put a (GPS) map inside that you make on your computer. You can also go to the field and let the machine go around one time and then say, OK, optimize itself.”

If the tractor encounters an unexpected obstacle,

Photo: Scott Garvey

omplete automation may well be the dominant focus of ag machinery design in the coming decades. We’ve already seen various levels of robotics introduced into conventional equipment, and a few limited-use autonomous machines have appeared. But no company has yet been willing to offer fully autonomous, market-ready tractors for general field duties — until now.

In November, the Dutch Power Company, based in the Netherlands, introduced its Greenbot fully autonomous tractor at the Agritechnica machinery expo in Hanover, Germany.

Dutch Power has supplied components for a variety of automated agricultural systems offered by other companies in the past, but the Greenbot is a fully in-house design.

“We’ve developed it in two years,” says Peter Mouthaan, company CEO. “One year of developing and building, and then testing one year. Now this is the production version.”

The Greenbot hits the market with a 120,000 to 150,000 Euro price tag (i.e. about C$170,000 to C$213,000).

The model on display at Agritechnica was a fully optioned version and was already sold to a Dutch

An onboard computer can receive instructions from a GPS map or the tractor can be driven around a field boundary and told to plan its own job route.

6 country-guide.ca

February 2, 2016

its built-in safety system immediately stops it. Then a text message is sent to its owner alerting them to the problem.

The company’s description of the process claims safety was a “major consideration” during development. And the result, they say, is an automated tractor that operates even more safely than anything under the control of an experienced driver.

Although the tractor’s small 100-horse­ power engine and 3,150 kilogram total weight makes it a relative lightweight, its autonomous function means it doesn’t need to stop for lunch breaks or shut down at night. Working 24 hours a day, even with a relatively small implement, the tractor could cover a lot of ground. It comes with a standard 85-litre fuel tank, but an additional tank can be installed to keep the little tractor busy for extended hours without stopping.

“It’s doing 80 per cent of your standardized work when you go to a field,” says Mouthaan, noting farmers who

Hydraulic SCV valves, three-point hitches and a PTO are all available on the Greenbot. have tried it eventually warm up to the idea of a driverless tractor.

“At first they’re a little bit scared,” he admits. But then they see it working and they say, ‘Ah, it can do this for me. It can do that for me. It will make this easier.’”

Many visitors to the company’s dis-

play at Agritechnica apparently saw the Greenbot’s potential too.

“They’ve asked us to build a 200-horse­ power model,” Mouthaan says. “But we’ll start with this one.”

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business

Going European Canada’s farmers are getting more and more regulated.

Do we have to become just like Europe?

n the mid-1970s, when David Rolfe made the decision to sell up in rural England and set up shop in rural Manitoba as one of Canada’s newest immigrant farmers, burdensome regulations were certainly part of the equation.

It would have been one thing if they had been sensible regulations well-grounded in reasonable desires, which is how most of the regulations actually started. But over time they had morphed into something more intrusive, forcing farmers to seek outside approval for virtually every facet of the dayto-day operation of their farms.

Whether it was erecting a small outbuilding or simply putting up a bit of fence, everything needed to be approved by the local government council, Rolfe said. The writing was on the wall, he felt. It was time to move.

Upon arrival in rural western Manitoba, Rolfe seemed in an ideal operating environment, with plenty of elbow room, few busybody non-farming neighbours, and municipal governments largely run by and for farmers.

Happy with his choice, Rolfe settled into a near40-year career that included a stint in farm leadership as the head of that province’s general farm organization, the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP).

Today, he doubts a British farmer making the same move today would find as big a difference, or be as happy with the move.

“We’re not quite in the same situation yet, but we’re certainly quite a ways down that road,” Rolfe says.

8 country-guide.ca

Photo: Allan Dawson

By Gord Gilmour, CG Associate Editor

David Rolfe

Piece by piece Rolfe isn’t the only observer who has noticed that times have changed. Barry Senft is the CEO of the Grain Farmers of Ontario, and is also a familiar face to western Canadian farmers where he was well known in the grain industry as a member of the Sask Wheat Pool management team, later chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission, and then executive director of the Canadian International Grains Institute before taking his current post in Ontario.

From this unique vantage point, he’s seen a rise in recent years in the challenges and scrutiny agriculture faces, driven in no small part by the increasingly urban nature of Canada. With just two per cent or so of the population involved in primary agriculture, urban voters are increasingly in the driver’s seat.

In Ontario, that’s translated into legislation like its 2008 “cosmetic pesticide” ban that many fear will

February 2, 2016

prove the thin edge of the wedge and result in onfarm bans and onerous regulations. More recently, growers in that province have been fighting a move to severely curtail use of neonicotinoid seed treatments due to fears the crop protectants are hurting bee populations.

“During that debate we began to hear some concerning things — things like the provincial environment minister, when being criticized for not taking this ban further, saying ‘You don’t eat the elephant all in one bite,’” Senft says.

With other agricultural issues on the horizon, the sector decided it was time to take action, forming Farm Action Now, a self-described task force aimed at giving agriculture a unified voice in the discussion to ensure better balance. The key, Senft says, is to make sure policy makers understand that the proportion of the population farming may be small, but they punch above their weight when it comes to generating important economic activity that benefits everyone.

“It’s a dollars and cents issue,” Senft says. “Any provincial economy is sensitive enough right now that I don’t think anyone is eager to make changes that would harm themselves.”

In many ways, Ontario is the leader in this move towards agriculture speaking more loudly in this debate, and if you pause to think about it, it’s obvious why. Approximately 13.6 million people call the province home, and it also has a robust agriculture industry, making it a place where farmers and non-farmers are likely to come into contact. It’s also a place where farmers don’t enjoy much political clout, making the need to participate in the discussion more acute.

Now, others are starting to pay attention and transplant the approach elsewhere. Adele Buettner is CEO of Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, an industry group including farmer organizations, government, input companies and food processors. It’s modeled after a similar organization of the same name in Ontario, with a similar mandate.

“It’s a group that’s made up of farm organizations and those involved in food processing in Saskatchewan, from gate to plate,” Buettner says. “It’s the first organization of its type in Saskatchewan. Our interest is in having a conversation with consumers.”

To the uninitiated, Saskatchewan might seem like a strange place for the agriculture industry to feel marginalized in policy discussions. After all, it’s still widely seen as the breadbasket of the country, and agriculture generates an enormous proportion of its economy. But even here in the heartland the demographics have been remorseless.

Back in the mid-1970s when European farmers like Rolfe were starting to look across the pond for greener fields, Saskatchewan had a pretty even split

Photo: grain farmers of Ontario

business

Barry Senft

“ Those who feared it was the thin edge of the wedge were right,” says Barry Senft.

“It started in one province, now it’s in three.”

Continued on page 10

February 2, 2016

country-guide.ca 9

business Continued from page 9 — 55 per cent of its population was urban and 45 per cent rural, according to StatsCan. By the 2011 census, that balance had become unbalanced, with 70 per cent of the province’s populaiton living in the cities and only 30 per cent in the rural areas — and that raw data doesn’t account for the fact that most rural residents aren’t involved in agriculture anymore.

It’s a challenging picture, but one Buettner insists isn’t impossible. She points out that last spring the organization was promoting farm and barn tours and got hundreds of respondents who came and saw the day-to-day activities of agricultural operations.

“That’s what we really want to do — show people the face of modern agriculture,” Buettner says.

Others, however, are a bit more skeptical of these sorts of efforts. Michael Gertler is a rural sociologist based at the University of Saskatchewan, and he says one problem with these efforts is they typically don’t show the true picture of what happens. He says instead they tend to paint a sanitized picture that’s really more about public relations than honest dialogue.

“What they present is what I call the Disney-fied version of agriculture,” Gertler says. “It’s a type of agriculture where every animal is a happy animal and cruelty or environmental degradation never happen.”

Another problem Gertler sees with current efforts to engage the public is that few appear to be genuinely driven by farmers. Many are instead efforts on the part of the overall agriculture industry and are co-opted by others rather than addressing the issues from a farmer standpoint.

“This leads to a situation where you have farmers basically squandering an enormous amount of goodwill they’ve built up over generations, and they’re doing it in someone else’s interest,” Gertler says.

Says Gertler: “I think farmers really need to stop and think about this and realize that when it comes to, say, some of these large agricultural companies, their interests and the interests of these companies are not necessarily the same.”

There’s also going to be the issue of defining what’s a farm, and determining how farms are to be regulated in modern times. These days you have, for example, extremely large-scale livestock operations that are run by hired managers and staffed by hired hands, while being owned either by corporate interests or shareholders.

“Does it really make sense to regulate something like that in the same way you would regulate the old family farm of yore, where most of the labour came from within the family unit?” Gertler asks. “Over the years, agriculture has been exempted from a lot of things because of this, and now we have very large companies that want this sweetheart deal to continue under the guise that they’re farms.”

10 country-guide.ca

Senft says he’s heard this argument before, but doesn’t think it fully understands how intertwined the interests of the various players in the agriculture sector are. It’s a reality, he says, that is part of the cosmetic pesticide ban.

“I think we’ve seen that those who feared it was the thin edge of the wedge were right,” Senft says.

“It started with one province, now it’s in three, and we’re beginning to see a lot more talk about regulating agricultural pesticides.”

Science or politics?

Rolfe says he doesn’t know what the future holds, but his time at the helm of KAP does give him some idea what the correct path might be.

The industry can’t afford to just ignore nonfarmer concerns or come to be seen as obstructionist, because urban voters do have more clout. But neither can it afford to become a convenient scapegoat.

“Probably the most important word is going to be ‘science,’” Rolfe says. “The key there is to make sure the science is sound and that we’re making the right decisions, based on the right information.”

Rolfe also says the examples of places where agriculture took on issues proactively — commodity quality assurance programs, for example — have shown another potential road forward.

They’ve allowed producers to address consumer concerns in a practical way, rather than having terms dictated to them.

“While they do add to more paperwork at the farm level, they provide assurance to the consumer — and the producer — that food is produced to a certain standard of safety,” Rolfe says.

Sociologist Gertler said he generally agrees these are both potential solutions, but cautions that for it to work, the industry must take a hard look in the mirror and ask if there really are places where farmers could improve.

“We talk about self-referential bubbles, well I sometimes say agriculture is stuck in a self-reverential bubble,” Gertler says. “They need to honestly look at the situation, and realize that, in some cases, there really might be a better way.”

Gertler goes on to add this must also be a twoway street, where the rest of society better understands what we’re asking of farmers. For example, he says Europe is often held up as a regulatory nightmare, but at least farmers there are somewhat compensated for their trouble.

“There they talk about multi-functionality and they pay farmers for those environmental services,” Gertler says. “If we’re going to be making similar demands, well, we’re probably going to need to pay farmers for those services.” CG

February 2, 2016

THE ONTARIO AGROLOGIST A conversation with Barry Fraser, P.Ag. Sr. (Dist.). In this article Barry reflects back on a successful career made possible in part through his Agrology accreditation, the honour of being acknowledged as a Distinguished Agrologist, and how his professional status has prepared him for his latest leadership role with Rotary International.

You joined the Ontario Institute of Agrologists in 1969. How important was the P.Ag. designation during over 45 years of practice in enhancing your career, your business, your network and your connectedness?

Tell me how your work in Rotary has been a good fit with your P.Ag. Rotary members commit to thinking

You have been recognized within Rotary International and will now be a District Governor.

and acting based on the truth and

A year ago I was nominated and

being fair to all concerned in a wide

honoured to be selected as a

Through my entire career I felt the value

range of business and professional

District Governor Nominee for Rotary

of P.Ag. as my OIA network assisted in

fields. What is common is the

International. In a year and a half I

connecting me in the agriculture and

commitment to act with integrity and

will be one of 535 District Governors

rural sectors. I have always valued my

high ethical standards no matter the

around the world with its over 1.2 million

status as a P.Ag. and its associated

professional licensure/accreditation. I

members. My Rotary Zone of influence

responsibility of keeping my professional

won’t go into detail on all the Objects

now runs from Nebraska to Maryland

development up-to-date. I am

of Rotary but to highlight “Service

and into Northern Ontario. I have been

pleased with what I have been able

Above Self”. How connected is this

rewarded personally and professionally

to contribute including serving as OIA

statement to dedication of a P.Ag.

because of the people and the

President and my efforts to enhance

to professional practice, ethics,

networks with whom I have chosen

recognition of the designation in the

environmental stewardship and ag

to associate. Most certainly if I did

province. It was quite clearly an honour

sustainability? Well, very close! A

not have my professional experience

to have been named a Distinguished

second Object of Rotary is especially

there is no doubt in my mind I would

Agrologist. When first becoming a

connected to my P.Ag. – to have

not have ended up where I am. I

certified consulting Agrologist, my OIA

high ethical standards in business and

have had a chance to meet and

network, then my Canadian Association

professions. You can take the ethics

associate with very impressive people

of Farm Advisors certification and my

and leadership of being a Rotary

in the agriculture and rural sectors and

national perspective gained through

member and apply it to being a P.Ag.

this has led to additional leadership

membership with the Agricultural Institute

You are, and should be, a function of

opportunities, such as my current role

of Canada, has been about maintaining

who you associate with. The people

serving as President of the Ontario

credibility for myself in the profession.

I want to work with are the ones who

Agricultural Hall of Fame Association

I guess I have never stopped building

share the ideals of both OIA and

and a Trustee member on the Ontario

my connectedness. Having the P.Ag.

Rotary; ideals that are complementary.

4-H Foundation.

status after my name equated with

The networking opportunities for young

credibility during my career with the

people through mentoring remain

Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and

as vital today as they did way back

What is your advice to young people joining the agriculture and environmental sector?

Rural Affairs and has been vital in my

when I began my career. I have had

Don’t neglect the value of learning

years in agricultural consulting. Through

the opportunity many times to bring in

from others through networks. Don’t

my whole career and now into semi-

persons successful in the agricultural

forget the cross connects between

retirement I have found a connection

field to share their expertise to those

community service, leadership and

with my professional designation and

in Rotary who may not have had the

professional Codes of Conduct and

increasingly now with the values of

opportunity to be enlightened on such

Ethics. For me, these goals are based

Rotary.

related topics.

in Service Above Self.

www.oia.on.ca

business

Is a family trust right for you?

A trust might be an efficient tool for protecting your farm business or for managing family issues at succession, but they aren’t for everyone

By Angela Lovell amily trusts are commonly used as a convenient way to own shares in a company and as a succession tool for commercial businesses, but they can also be incorporated into a family farm structure… depending on the circumstances.

“A farm corporation may have at its disposal favourable tax rules that may allow it to achieve the same objectives without the need for a family trust,” says Edith Frison, a tax specialist with MNP LLP. “Family trusts are not for everybody. They require specific actions and documentation to set up, and there is annual administration required to remain compliant with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) if you have a family trust.

“However,” says Frison, “if they work for you, they typically work very well.”

There are many reasons for establishing a family trust. One is where parents want to fund their children’s university education or they wish to provide money for other reasons, such as a house purchase. A family trust allows them to allocate income to their children in a taxefficient manner to fund their expenditures.

How will the kids turn out?

Another reason for a family trust is succession planning. “Succession planning is where we see family trusts used in farming most often,” says Frison. “The parents may not want to make the children shareholders in the farm business when they are 18 or 20 years old because they don’t know what their children will do in the future.

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“Making them beneficiaries in a discretionary family trust means they don’t actually own any shares. When it comes time to distribute the assets or to pass the family farm on to the next generation, it can be passed to any of the beneficiaries who are beneficiaries of the family trust,” says Frison. “It buys parents time to see what path their children will follow; and whether they should receive the shares of the farm business. The trust also provides parents with the option to keep the shares of the business themselves if they decide their children are not the right fit for their succession plan.”

Every parent hopes their adult children will never encounter unfortunate events or hardships that could negatively impact their lives. In today’s society, however, things such as divorce or substance abuse problems are all too common.

If a child is an owner in a family business, these kinds of problems could put the value of any assets they own — including shares in the family business — at risk and subject to their creditors or even the creditors of their spouses.

A family trust is typically an alternative to direct, family member share ownership.

A beneficiary of a discretionary family trust cannot transfer trust property to someone else because he or she doesn’t own it.

“We’ve seen incidents where, at the time of death, a shareholder’s assets are distributed in accordance with a will that creates unforeseen circumstances,” says Frison.

Frison gives the following example: “A son is a shareholder in the farm and his will has his shares of the family farm left to his wife upon his death. His mother and father (the other shareholders of the corporation) unfortunately, don’t get along with his wife and they never anticipated that she would be a part of the family corporation. Now, after the son’s untimely death, his mother and father are in a business with his widow. She could potentially be part of the decision-making process for the family corporation and/or could be entitled to information regarding the business that the family is not interested in sharing. A discretionary family trust provides a way to have individuals involved in the corporation without jeopardizing family harmony.”

February 2, 2016

business

What is a family trust?

A tax-planning aid

A trust is not a legal entity like a corporation, but rather a relationship between the trustees who control the property and the beneficiaries who enjoy all benefits derived from the trust property.

A family trust requires the following individuals: • Settlor, whose only role is to create and set up the terms of the trust.

• Trustees, whose role is to administer the property in the trust.

• Beneficiaries, whose role is to receive trust property at the trustees’ discretion.

Family trusts can be cumbersome to set up and administer and have strict rules governing how they are established and operated. The settlor must provide an object of value that becomes the property of the trust and physically passes it to the trustees, expressing the intention that it be held for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

The most common relationship MNP sees when creating a family trust is that the settlor of the trust is a grandparent, the trustees are their children, who control the family trust, and the beneficiaries are their grandchildren, who receive income and capital from the trust.

A family trust acts as a conduit to flow income to its beneficiaries. For example, the family farm business pays dividends to the family trust and the trustees allocate those dividends to one or more of the beneficiaries at their discretion. Allocations to the beneficiaries are flexible and can change from year to year depending on their needs. The beneficiary must eventually receive the actual value of dividends or capital gains allocated to them.

The life of a family trust is 21 years, and upon the 21st anniversary a decision should be made to distribute the remaining capital of the trust (shares of the company) to the beneficiaries, or adverse tax consequences could occur. Because of this time frame, family trusts are typically set up when children are in their late teens and approaching the age when they will require funds for university or other needs.

Because a family trust is a separate taxpayer under the Income Tax Act, it is required to file a tax return by March and it must maintain minutes, which usually involve an annual fee from the accountant and/or lawyer to prepare, file and maintain these legal documents.

Any taxable income remaining in a family trust is subject to income tax at the highest marginal income tax rate. If the trust allocates its income to the beneficiaries, it pays no tax. The beneficiaries would be responsible to report the income received.

Protecting assets with a family trust Family trusts can also protect assets. Any business can be exposed to risks associated with its day-to-day activities, no matter how well it’s insured. As the farm business matures it may build up excess cash that’s not required at the time and consequently, this cash can be exposed to the risks of the business.

“A family trust can assist in protecting the excess cash by transferring it to a new holding company (corporate beneficiary) on a tax-deferred basis. This cash is then held away from the business operations and is protected from business risks,” says Frison. “If the operating company requires some of this cash in the future, it can be lent by the corporate beneficiary (or holding company) back to the operating company and secured with a General Security Agreement, as would any other loan.”

Flexible but not for everyone Family trusts are flexible and can name multiple beneficiaries.

But once legally documented in a trust indenture, a trust cannot add or remove beneficiaries.

“Discretionary family trusts are very flexible tools, but they aren’t for everyone,” says Frison. “It’s essential to get the advice of your professional advisers to decide if a family trust is the best option for you.” CG

“ If they work for you, they typically work very well,” says Edith Frison, MNP tax specialist. The question, however, is whether a family trust is the best choice for your farm.

February 2, 2016

country-guide.ca 13

Legal

Estate planning: Part 2 Does your will protect your wishes?

By Nadia Campion, Lenczner Slaght n an age when contracts are often the size of phone books and legal battles are fought over the fine print, people often question whether the old-fashioned handshake or verbal agreement still exist. The answer is yes. In fact, not only do oral contracts still exist, but they have the power to displace written contracts, including your last will and testament.

In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that an oral contract between a testator and beneficiaries can supersede the terms of a will where the oral contract can be proved. The case arose from a dispute between siblings over the assets of their late father, which consisted of farming land, equipment and other property.

The farming operation had been in the family for five generations. The son worked full time alongside his father for 24 years. The daughter worked off the farm and was not involved in its operation.

The parents each had wills that left the estate assets to the two children in equal proportions. The children were also named as co-executors.

Following the father’s death, the son alleged he had an oral contract with his parents that if he stayed on the farm and worked with them, he would receive the farmland and its assets after his parents stopped farming. The oral agreement was made in 1977, when he was 19 years old.

There were no living witnesses to the alleged oral agreement, other than the son. The agreement was never discussed with the daughter. However, various witnesses indicated that the parents intended to transfer the farm assets to the son and certain steps were taken in furtherance of the alleged agreement, including transferring the milk quota.

In October 2001, the father was admitted to hospital with terminal cancer. He passed away at the end of November 2001. No changes were made to his will prior to his death.

The son subsequently commenced a lawsuit seeking a declaration that he was entitled to the farmland and business notwithstanding that the wills directed the estate assets to be divided equally between him and his sister. The case went to trial.

The trial judge dismissed the case because the son could not prove the existence of the oral contract.

As a result, the estate assets were to be distributed equally to the son and daughter, in accordance with the wills. The son was also ordered to pay his sister $275,000 for her legal costs.

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The son appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal and succeeded in overturning the decision.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge failed to appreciate the nature of the relationship between the father and the son in their operation of the farm and that this led the trial judge to disregard evidence supporting the existence of an oral contract.

The Court of Appeal ordered a new trial. The case settled before the new trial.

This decision is significant. It emphasizes the importance of having an up-to-date estate plan that reflects the current wishes and desires of the testator to prevent disputes among beneficiaries. As evidenced by the $275,000 cost award, estate disputes can be very costly and, often, the estate’s assets are insufficient to support such costs.

Estate litigation also has the effect of tearing families apart, something that many testators never envision or imagine will happen. However, unwritten promises and contracts are the kind of thing that one should expect will be dredged up following the death of a parent, particularly when one or more of the beneficiaries are unhappy with the terms of the parent’s will.

In light of this, here are four tips to keep in mind: (1) if promises have been made to beneficiaries, or oral contracts have been entered into by the testator, it is best to capture these promises or agreements in the will; (2) make sure all beneficiaries know about oral agreements that might contradict the will; (3) wills should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are consistent with what the beneficiaries have been told and the testator desires; and (4) if there has been a change in personal circumstances — such as the birth of a child or grandchild, a divorce or marriage or the death of a beneficiary — the will should be updated.

Clarity is the key to successful estate planning, and the avoidance of future disputes should play a central theme in the preparation of one’s will.

Otherwise, as stated by a 19th century journalist, Ambrose Bierce, “Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” CG Nadia Campion is a business litigator at Lenczner Slaght in Toronto. Campion’s clients include small- to medium-size businesses, individuals and associations across a range of sectors in civil litigation such as commercial disputes as well as wills, trusts and estates litigation. She can be reached at ncampion@ litigate.com or 416-865-2974.

February 2, 2016

The Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) Inc. is a national, non-profit professional umbrella organization dedicated to assisting farm families and businesses by increasing the skills of farm advisors and consultants.

www.cafanet.com

Challenges and solutions for keeping your family farm

By BoB Beach

T

he objective of farm estate planning is to keep the farm in the family, be fair to all family members and pay as little tax as possible. There is an effective method to do this that is becoming popular with farmers across Canada. It allows parents to roll the farm over to the children in a relatively and comparatively inexpensive manner. It is called the Pre-Funding Estate Planning Method.

The average family farm lasts three generations regardless of mom and dad’s intentions.

If financial and legal provisions are not made for the transfer of the farm, it will be lost.

This may be dramatic but the message is clear: farm transfer is an issue that cannot be put off. If you intend to keep the farm in the family the main challenges are: 1. Maintaining retirement security; 2. Passing the farm to a child who wishes to farm; and 3. Being fair to the non-farming children.

The key word is “FAIRNESS.” Keep in mind this is the inevitable and

not referring to an untimely death or something unforeseen happening. You must realize that at some point you will be replaced and distribution of assets must be discussed.

An interesting statistic: the average farmer will invest 100,000 hours into his business and yet spend less than 10 hours planning what will happen after his death.

The fact is, CASH is the solution to estate problems. Estate planning problems arise as a result of a lack of cash. The question is then, how can an insurance company help?

The answer is simple: insurance companies are the only companies that can provide taxfree cash for: 1. Replacement of lost equity; 2. Payment of legal and accountant fees; and 3. Most important, cash for non-farming heirs.

In days gone by many insurance programs were inadequate and inappropriate. Today, we are able to offer programs that you cannot outlive. You can prepay them (when you have a good year) or even miss a year (when you have a bad year), but you know they will last no matter how long you live.

Insurance is creating opportunities for young farmers to remain on the farm without being buried by the debt incurred when they try to buy out the family farm assets.

Insurance today can: • Help provide a secure, comfortable retirement for the parents; • Lessen the burden of interest payments and tax; • Replace equity lost to interest rates; and • Offer peace of mind from implementing an attractive plan.

From an estate planning perspective, the tax-free mortality gain of life insurance is the most attractive feature for a farmer.

A large pool of tax-free dollars will be available when death occurs. There is virtually no other guaranteed way to provide taxfree cash precisely when it is needed most.

Bob Beach, B.Ed., LUAC, CAFA, is a Farm Estate and Retirement Planner at Bob Beach Insurance Inc. in Calgary.

He can be reached at (403) 242-9990 or at bobbeach@shaw.ca.

Save the dateS! CAFA is improving the quality of farm advice.

• February 25, 2016: Focus on Farm Women, Guelph, Ont. • May 18, 2016: Farm Succession Update – 3-Circle Model In-Depth, Ajax, Ont. & via webinar • June 2, 2016: Farm Management Update, Woodstock, Ont. & via webinar • Fall 2016: Farm Tax Update

More information available at www.cafanet.com/Conferences

Toll free: 1-877-474-2871 Email: info@cafanet.com PO Box 270 • Seven Sisters Falls, MB • R0E 1Y0

Follow us on Twitter @CAFANET

business

Selling the farm nce you decide it’s time to retire from farming, there’s a pile of planning, strategy and communication to fork your way through. Here’s how one couple from Saskatchewan proactively approached the sale of their seed farm, and how they captured value beyond piecemeal selling of their hard assets.

Warren and Carla Kaeding and Roger and Phyllis Kaeding had been growing seed at Churchbridge near the Manitoba border since 1983 after their Here­ford herd was dispersed. At one point, they cropped 6,500 acres with about 70 per cent in pedigreed seed production and the rest in commercial grains, predominately canola.

By most measures, they were very successful, with yearly gross sales of $2.5 to $3 million seed and $650,000 to $700,000 in commercial grain. In additon, they also retailed a fair amount of seed from other growers, and did some custom seed treating. As well, they packaged and exported specialty pea, triticale and other annual forage products into Eastern Canada and the U.S., and they have shipped seed to Kazakhstan, France and Argentina on a small scale.

Warren started talking about quitting after seven years of slogging through some tough times, including the disastrous 2004 with three major hail storms followed by an early August frost, the low seed margins of 2007 to 2009, the incredibly wet fall of 2010 and having to seed by airplane in the spring of 2011.

Moreover, land values started increasing exponentially and realtors began approaching their landlords with the idea that now was the time to sell. The Kaedings owned 2,500 acres and rented the remaining 4,000 acres from up to eight landlords. “They all gave me first option to purchase, which I really appreciated,” says Warren. “However, we had just climbed out of long-term debt, I had just turned 50 and was not anxious to borrow another $5 million and be in debt until I was 75, especially when neither son was interested in farming.”

Although both their sons loved working on the farm, they didn’t want anything to do with farm management. Michael is a mechanical engineer, and Matthew an aerospace engineer graduating from Carlton University in Ottawa. “I had been mentioning to Dad that I wasn’t having that much fun any 16 country-guide.ca

Inside the sale of a modern, diversified and complex family farm more, and with the boys not interested I was questioning my future,” says Warren. “Then when the landlords came wondering if we were going to buy them out, I half-heartedly threw out the idea to him that maybe I should sell too. He didn’t even hesitate, saying very seriously, maybe I should.

“I guess I just needed his endorsement that it wasn’t going to hurt his feelings if we sold his maternal home and farm.”

So they did: the land sale was completed in the winter of 2011 and they had their equipment auction in the spring. The following March they officially sold their seed retail operation to Graham Sorgard and his family, who now operate the business as Sorgard Seeds.

Although the Kaedings don’t grow seed now, they still manage new and unique varieties using select seed growers and local retailers such as Sorgard Seeds.

The Sorgard family (Graham’s father Charles and mother Eileen) farmed in Iron Springs, Alta., producing bison, beef, alfalfa seed, and grain and also had irrigation and a gravel pit-and-delivery business.

Various members of the family have also been in the poultry business in Saskatchewan. A year or two since buying the Kaeding farm, Graham and Emily Sogard also bought a very large, modern egg laying facility close by.

The rollercoaster ride In retrospect, it was a time when great change was sweeping through the Prairies: wheat prices soared, consolidation of farms revved up, funds were investing in farmland, and land prices rose. In the background, there was political upheaval when a few years later the CWB lost its 88-year monopoly, and the last great wheat co-operative would be sold.

The tale of how the Kaedings farm sold reflects this tumultuous time. Many parties were interested and deals fell through. Along the way, concessions were made and new strategies developed.

Originally the Kaedings sat down with each of their major landlords and discussed a strategy for moving the sale forward. They agreed that since they were going to February 2, 2016

Photography: Sandy Black

By Maggie Van Camp, CG Associate Editor

business

New owner Graham Sorgard’s respect for the work that the Kaedings had done helped create an impetus to make the complex sale come together. be selling everything as a package (rental and owned land), they would trust their judgment in picking a realtor and the buyer. The landlords would have final say on any offer made on their package with an eye on how it would affect the final sale.

The Kaedings diligently looked through realtor options, and interviewed three different companies, asking each for their best offer. “We settled on Lane Realty as they had the best comprehensive package to offer, including a very attractive commission with the auction service,” says Warren. “I had also had a business relationship with the realtor before in the seed business and trusted that she would be a good fit for marketing our seed operation since she understood the business.”

When they first listed their farm, two young Dutch guys made an offer on the land and equipment, but not February 2, 2016

the seed plant. The Kaedings figured out how to separate the seed plant and associated enterprise and were planning to list it on its own in the auction. They had also arranged to provide a sale agreement on some of the essential large pieces of equipment and were going to provide a one-year mentorship.

The entire deal was contingent on an uncle selling a piece of farmland in Eastern Europe to finance the boys’ purchase here. A day or two before their deal was to close, their uncle’s land deal unraveled and he was unable to finance their new operation. “We were a little choked since we believed they had been vetted and were virtually a lock in making the purchase,” says Warren. “We had gone ahead and started construction of a new house in town.”

Continued on page 18 country-guide.ca 17

business Continued from page 17

A one-year mentorship agreement with an optional second year kept Warren involved, and helped strengthen the relationship with new owner Graham.

Earlier an offer had been made by a South African couple but the conditions they were asking for were not acceptable. (They had requested that payment for the operation be spread over a number of years since they could not extract their savings from South Africa all at one time.)

Impatiently, Warren spent the summer attempting to dry out the overly wet land, pooling water and trying to improve some small areas they had newly broken. Numerous offers came primarily for only the land with significant discounts for the yard and buildings and no value on the seed business.

The chances of selling the operation as a seed business began to look slim.

“As time moved on, we were getting impatient with not receiving any substantive offer,” says Warren. “Carla and I had made our minds up that we were going to sell, so we started entertaining some of the more serious offers even though we had to offer some concessions.”

Big changes were happening with the Sorgard family too. In 2009, they had purchased a farm in

18 country-guide.ca

the Davidson area via a land auction. Within a couple of years, a Hutterite colony came into the area and wanted to buy that farm and surrounding farms to form a new colony.

So the Sorgards began looking around the province for other value-added opportunities, including the Kaedings’ seed farm. However, there already was an offer pending on it so they looked at a dairy farm around Kamsack.

Amazingly, as they were on their way to secure the dairy deal, they got a call from the Kaedings’ realtor indicating the initial offer had fallen through. If they were interested, she said, they were next on the list.

As the last few days of the Kaedings’ listing wound down, they had a reasonable offer, it fell apart, and then the Sorgards’ offer came along at the eleventh hour. It was perfect, says Warren. “A young family wanted to be ambitious, aggressive, wanted to keep our staff, was going to fill our century-old farm house with kids, valued our seed business and they wanted to keep the farm dog permanently and me for awhile.”

The deal The Kaedings retained all of the shares of Wagon Wheel Seed Corp (WWSC) but sold all of the assets out of the Corporation. Initially they had a value established on the Good Will portion of Wagon Wheel, but in the end opted to not sell WWSC. This way there were fewer legal issues involved in wrapping up the corporation, and it simplified some tax implications.

Second, the Kaedings decided there might still be some opportunities to utilize the WWSC name. For example, WWSC still has the marketing rights to three seed varieties and has numerous growers producing and retailing for them.

WWSC provides some income and potentially has a reasonable future income expectation. “We had worked 30 years to build name recognition for WWSC, so we weren’t sure if we wanted to see it go to a new entity,” says Kaeding. “As well, we didn’t want Graham to be saddled with the expectations we had created for our customers.”

A unique part of the deal was that the Sorgards had a one-year mentorship agreement with an option for another half year to follow if the buyer felt it necessary. Warren wanted it written into the contract that he would see the buyer through a complete year of seed planning, planting, managing, processing and marketing, including their first seed plant and operation audit.

Kaeding also took Graham to various seed industry meetings, introducing him to some key players.

Both felt it would be beneficial if Warren helped for the April-to-October period of the second year so they exercised the option on the second year. Also, Graham offered all of the staff the option to stay on if they wanted, and the three main employees kept their jobs.

The unexpected added bonus is their friendship.

“We still have an excellent relationship and he feels comfortable asking me about strategy, procedures, issues whenever they come up,” says Kaeding.

February 2, 2016

business The valuation Setting values was probably the toughest part of the deal, says Warren.

Since they weren’t going to be selling the name, how could they arrive at a value for the other non-tangible assets?

As well, since the new owner might not want to carry on the business exactly the way the Kaedings had done, there was a lot of optional value in what they had to offer.

In the end the Kaedings settled on a value for “Good Will” including customer lists, office and work force, and they also negotaited a rate for part of a mentorship agreement that included a value per hour and time expectations, and that also identified the rates for a second year if the Sorgards needed him.

After the sale Once they had the sale proceeds, the Kaedings interviewed six potential investment counsellors. One was an acquaintance, two currently invested their RRSPs and cash investments, and three had been recommended by contacts in the industry.

In the end, the Kaedings went with someone from the industry who understood their risk levels and how to help plan their future and succession. This was also someone who would personalize their service, and someone they were confident they would be comfortable with for many years.

Of course, they had deferred taxes to deal with on the sale, but they try to keep it in perspective. “As a farmer, you usually do not pay much tax when in the middle of your farming career; you can usually find those tax write-offs,” says Carla Kaeding. “When you sell, you will have a hefty tax bill… but average it over the 30-plus years of farming and the tax bill is still not that bad,” “You know you did something right when the tax man wants his share,” she says.

They also try to keep it real as far as inheritance. “As long as you’ve given your kids the opportunity to get an education that will secure them a decent job, you have fulfilled your commitment,” says Carla. “I do not believe that you should not enjoy your retirement in hopes of leaving something for the kids when you die.”

Besides, most times the money will come to them long after they really need it. Maybe a better option is providing an education fund for the grandchildren, February 2, 2016

For family-focused Warren and Carla, the hard part was actually deciding the time had come to move on a special family holiday or giving them sizeable incremental payments at age 25 and 35 so you get to see them enjoy it.

“In your retirement you just need to save enough to pay for your life expenses so the kids do not need to be responsible for you,” says Carla.

The emotional side The most difficult aspect of selling the farm was likely making the initial decision, says Warren. For the first couple of years after the sale, he spent too much time worried they could have gotten more for the land if they had waited a year or two. “You can worry a lot about whether it is the right time, right value, right buyer,” he says.

However, in the end it all turned out for the best. They got a great deal on the lot for their new house. The contractor happened to have a lull in his production cycle so it was completed in less than five months.

2012 was another challenging farm production year and Warren got to spend a lot of time with his ailing father. When his dad died, he was also able to spend a lot of time to help Mom adjust to her single life.

Then they enjoyed a long summer vacation cruise through Europe, which they had always wanted to do but never could because of the summer workload.

Their local MLA then announced he was retiring a year after they sold the farm, so

Warren is pursuing his teenage dream of being a politician.

On the downside, Warren misses the contact he had with their very diverse customer base and the network of seed growers, and he misses knowing about the latest seed varieties and the latest agronomic developments.

However, he doesn’t miss the late nights seeding, spraying and harvesting.

“I used to like the rush of the season, but it was taking longer to recover.”

He found he couldn’t sit at home for more than one nice, sunny, summer day.

“I couldn’t sit on the deck enjoying a beer and reading the newspaper if it was Monday to Saturday,” he says. “Sunday I was good at relaxing but was going stircrazy sitting around on a weekday.”

Warren admits to concern over what the industry would think. “I was (am) a strong proponent of agriculture, and was not sure how seriously I’d be taken now after ‘bailing out’ on my fellow farmers,” he says. “… I’m not convinced that it still doesn’t bother a few of what I considered close associates in farming.”

The surprise was that, after the sale was complete, the Kaedings have had numerous farmers their age or younger get in touch for advice on how to wrap up their operations, and it feels good, they admit, to help by sharing what they’ve learned. CG country-guide.ca 19

business

What if the party’s over?

Maybe these strategies will keep more of us from repeating the tragic ’80s

hat is a grain farmer to do? Encouraged by both record-high crop prices and production over the past few years, you bought more land and upgraded your combine. With record-low interest rates, these were shrewd business decisions that pencilled out. They made sense, right?

Except now crop prices are flat, and those responsible for input costs and land pricing seem not to have noticed. Or not yet anyway.

Your cash flow is suffering as a result. And you’re left wondering, what is a farmer to do?

It’s a scenario all too familiar to those who lived the glory days of farming in the ’70s, only to try and survive bankruptcy in the ’80s. And there are murmurs in the industry — some alarm that we may see the devastation of that time on farms today.

To get a handle on those fears, let’s start with some big-picture facts.

The national scene Record-setting crop prices and production have translated into record-high income on the farm.

According to the 2015 Canadian Agricultural Outlook from AAFC, net cash income (farm receipts minus expenses) on Canadian farms reached $14 billion and $13 billion for 2014 and 2015 respectively. That’s 21 per cent higher than the average from 2009 to 2013.

And it’s no secret that those records translated into land prices. In 2012 both Ontario and Saskatchewan saw land value increases of a whopping 30 per cent.

Across the country those increases fell to 22 and 14 per cent in 2014 and 2015, respectively, according to the FCC numbers.

Now, forecasts suggest land prices will tread water.

“Land prices are softening because, in some provinces, land values are over their potential earning given lower commodity prices,” says Craig Klemmer, senior agricultural economist with FCC. 20 country-guide.ca

FCC’s 2015 report, Farmland Values Explained, examines the price to earnings (PE) ratio of land, price being the farmland value/acre and earnings being crop receipts/acre. In the ’70s these PE ratios exceeded the long-term average and were unsustainable when faced with high interest rates and a rapid decline in farm receipts.

FCC found the 2014 PE on most farms was higher overall but still consistent with cash receipts, except in Ontario and Quebec where population growth and urban pressures on land values saw their PE ratios increase by 60 and 50 per cent respectively.

However, what’s most interesting to note is that the same report suggests we shouldn’t be using cash receipts to value land at all. Land values and purchases should be based on net cash income.

“The ability to pay for land is perhaps more connected to net cash income than cash receipts,” the report reads. “The former measure reveals true profitability associated with land. Yet crop receipts are a more important driver of farmland values from a statistical standpoint. It is important to emphasize the importance of the last point: the purchase of land should be based on profitability and debt repayment capacity. Yet, revenues appear to drive the value of farmland at the aggregate level.”

With farmland now making up 64 per cent of the asset value of farms in Canada, it would seem important that farmers should be aware of the distinction, because at that level farmland becomes a much higher concentration of risk on the balance sheet. Can you, indeed, pay for it?

Given the usual cycles in agriculture, Klemmer sees the current slowing in appreciation of asset values of land as “appropriate for the market before we get ourselves into a bad situation… land value increases of about five per cent are a normal value increase. They could go to zero or a small (negative) decline due to the impacts of ability to pay via crop prices.”

“Some correction was needed,” he says.

February 2, 2016

Photos: FCC

By Anne Lazurko, CG Contributing Editor

business

But is it the ’80s all over?

Only two per cent of farmland turns over ownership in a given year, Klemmer says, so, after a couple of years of unsustainable prices relative to income, only two to four per cent of land has actually turned over, and entire farms are not likely leveraged at that high price. Instead high-cost land is supported by the rest of the farm.

That, says Klemmer, is a substantial difference from the buying patterns of the ’70s.

As well, commodity prices are down, but not as sharply as U.S. corn prices and nowhere near how they tanked back in the ’80s. This gradual decline gives producers time to adjust. The low Canadian dollar is also softening some of the commodity price impact, providing a 30 per cent buffer, although Klemmer admits this is only relative to U.S. products as other currencies around the world, such as Australia, are suffering as well.

There are also other indicators supportive of Canadian agriculture that weren’t there 40 years ago. For one thing, debt-to-asset ratios have been declining the past few years, putting farmers in a better position than 10 years ago, Klemmer says. Farmers made strategic investments in their operations with land and equipment. As well, even with high land values, the amount of debt relative to asset appreciation is lower.

It should be pointed out that a good deal of this improving ratio might simply be a reflection of inflation on land bought at a lower price, and not an indication of good management, but none the less it makes for a better ratio.

And we are certainly not in the interest rate nightmare of the ’80s. Interest rates are expected to remain low at least until mid-2017. Klemmer believes that when they do go up, both short- and long-term rates will rise incrementally. And while input costs continue to escalate, especially those sourced out of the U.S., lower fuel and fertilizer costs will offset some of that.

FCC and Ottawa both insist agriculture is in a good position moving forward, and that while the agriculture economy might soften, future population growth and a growing global middle class demanding higher-quality food will ensure markets for our products into the future.

The view from the grains and oilseeds sector Land values, according to FCC’s Farmland Values Explained, are affected by interest rates, crop receipts and momentum effect. We’ve already looked at the first two, but what about that momentum effect? If farmers are susceptible to it, could industry and analysts be as well? We’re all looking at the same numbers, but assessing these numbers relative to an entire industry might result in quite different conclusions than when applied to your farm. Or mine.

Record-high net farm incomes, record-high farm net worth at $2.1 million per farm, total debt-toasset ratios declining over the past few years, and February 2, 2016

Klemmer sees the chill in today’s farmland prices as “appropriate for the market before we get ourselves into a bad situation.” It isn’t a time to panic, but a time for caution farm family income reaching another record — the AAFC outlook is pretty darn rosy. So why are we glancing over our shoulders at the ’80s?

Perhaps it’s debt. Not once does the outlook mention total farm debt. But according to FCC numbers it rose 68 per cent since 2005 to a record $84 billion.

So, let’s say you’re the farmer who just bought more land and upgraded your combine. Now you have to pay for it. Farm receipts in the grains and oilseeds sector declined by five per cent in 2014 and another four per cent in 2015, while expenses remained relatively the same. And net operating income per Canadian grain farm decreased an average of 10 per cent since 2013.

On huge farms that represents some pretty huge numbers. Like you, many of those farms took out loans to buy more land and equipment, and now have those payments to make. That declining net operating income basically represents cash available to pay off creditors.

Continued on page 22 country-guide.ca 21

business

“ More farmers are watching their financials,” says Stockbrugger, “and if the farmers don’t know them, the bankers do.

The industry is more on top of it than it was in the ’80s”

Continued from page 21 Your farm is also paying a smaller percentage of your household needs. While total family income per grain farm has increased from $145,000 in 2013 to $151,000 in 2015, the income coming to the family as a portion of the net operating income is actually decreasing slightly, meaning the increase comes from off-farm wages, investment income and farm salaries.

This isn’t to point to anything necessarily dire.

It’s an observation that overall numbers only tell part of the story, and farmers need to crunch the numbers in their own sector and on their own farm so they understand why cash flow might be tightening up, making it harder to pay the bills or get ahead.

So what is a farmer to do?

For 15 years Lance Stockbrugger worked as a chartered accountant and adviser in the agricultural sector and he continues to work as a soughtafter speaker on ag financial issues, with his most popular talks on buying versus renting land and equipment leasing or buying. He also farms 4,000 acres near Englefeld, Sask.

Stockbrugger agrees we’re unlikely to see the bankruptcy rush of the ’80s. “People are going broke but not in the same numbers as before,” he says. “More farmers are watching their financials more closely, and if the farmers don’t know them, the bankers do. The industry is more on top of it than it was in the ’80s.”

But while producers aren’t necessarily going bankrupt, “there are a lot of auction sales where it sounds like they’re getting out or restructuring. And 22 country-guide.ca

what we’ve heard is, they have no choice. They are selling equipment to refinance. In the ’80s they just kept pushing, thinking it would get better and then went bankrupt. Today they are reacting sooner.”

Perhaps farmers could have survived the heady crop and land prices of the ’70s if 20 per cent interest rates hadn’t killed them in the ’80s. But an extremely low interest rate can create financial trouble too, and Stockbrugger calls out “easy money” as a culprit on some farms.

“One thing people have to stop using as a reason for buying is that ‘money is cheap’ right now,” Stockbrugger says. “Yes, it is, but we still have to acquire debt in moderation. If something is truly needed and will improve your operation, then yes, but if we’re only buying something because money is cheap, that doesn’t make sense… It’s easy money, but it has to be paid back. In the short term it might be easy, but is the farm gaining ground? Are we getting ahead or simply chasing the money?”

Too many farmers are making decisions today based on 2012 numbers, Stockbrugger says. In 2012 margins were huge. But those margins are not happening and are not forecast to happen. In fact, 2019 things are predicted to be even tighter than today.

“Any reasonable person in business would look at that and say, ‘we can’t make decisions based on 2012 numbers.’”

Land prices will remain high as long as interest rates are low, Stockbrugger predicts, but he wonders if farmers are prepared if 10 years from now rates go to even seven per cent. It’s hard to know, given that money left over to service debt is decreasing.

For some it might be too late. “People who have doubled their acreage in a year based on assumptions that may not be true? They will be in February 2, 2016

business ity and cash flow. So maybe pick on equipment.

Move short-term debt to medium term. Hold off on purchases and leasing.

5. D on’t use short-term money for a long-term asset. Use your operating loan to finance your inputs, and finance long-term assets over the long term.

6. Act early: if you know you’ll need to expand your operating loan, ask in January, so there’s no crisis in June.

7. Change your management style. It got you into trouble and needs to change. And get help from the outside to learn to manage differently.

8. A nd if you’ve managed to hang on to farm another day: PLAN, so near death doesn’t happen again.

Along with every other farm adviser and accountant, if there’s one word Lance Stockbrugger has to say about managing your farm both for profitability and to avoid disaster, it’s just four letters long: plan.

Reports from AAFC and FCC are likely true.

The agriculture industry will take this bump as it always does, by digging in and waiting it out. But it is the individual farmer who will bear the brunt of his or her decisions relative to expensive land and equipment purchased at low interest rates but who now face softening commodity prices.

Craig Klemmer, Lance Stockbrugger and the people at Ag Canada will likely agree that, stats or no stats, farm level financial management skills and planning have never been more important.

Add to that a certain level-headedness that is hard to regain after a period of record-breaking profits.

Perhaps looking back at history isn’t such a bad thing. Not to make us afraid, but to remind us. CG

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trouble,” he says. “If it’s been a slow and gradual increase, they will likely be OK. A well-planned, diversified and structured farm will ride it out.”

It mostly comes down to managing ratios: debt serviceability measures your working capital and ability to repay debts; debt to equity measures how you are financing your operation; and current ratio compares the current assets to current liabilities to determine the cash available to service the next 12 months’ debt that needs to be repaid.

“In some instances the equity ratio is backwards,” Stockbrugger says. “The bank owns more of their farm than they do. Finance companies get to the point where they’ve got more riding on your farm than you do. It’s created by competition within the financing industry. But it spirals. A few bad years, depressed prices and you have to figure out how to get out of the spiral.”

And, what if you’re caught in the spiral? What if you can’t pay for that land and upgraded combine?

It’s all about the cash flow. Your ability to pay the bills is the first thing a banker will want to know. Some of the hard things Stockbrugger says to consider include: 1. An Auction. Sell some long-term assets. It’s a tough one, but a piece of land or redundant assets like that spare semi or extra tractor might have to go on the block. Enough said.

2. New combine every two years? Maybe run the old one a little longer.

3. Give back some rented land: some of that marginal land you never make any money on, or that quarter you just never seem to have time for.

4. Cut costs. Farmers are price takers, so the only control is over costs. There’s not much room with inputs because you risk losing productiv-

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business

Your data, their sale

You farm better by studying the stacks of data you collect about your crops. Ag suppliers sell better by studying the stacks of data they collect about YOU

By Amy Petherick, CG Contributing Editor sing customer knowledge to outperform the competition has been a critical survival strategy for small-town businesses as they struggle to fend off competition from mega-retailers.

Now, those mega-retailers are showing they can get to know their customers too.

They can even get to know them better than the small shops.

Don’t believe it? Then just think about your last time on the ’net. When you went to amazon.ca to buy a specific book, you got offered great deals on all sorts of other merchandise too.

And somehow, even when you only go online to do a routine Google search, the ads that keep appearing are always about new trucks or airfares to the southern U.S. The ads are no accident. Corporate retailers have figured out how to mine the huge amount of data they’re getting from the Internet in order to produce scientifically proven marketing programs that put their pitches in front of the people who are most likely to open their wallets for their specific products.

Now, agricultural retailers are also getting more sophisticated at individualizing their customer interactions too. The digital age has created a whole new world of opportunities for them to collect more information from farmers than ever before.

Yet in agriculture, the “hands-on” approach is still vitally important, even among suppliers that are critically dependent on data analysis.

By itself, Krystal Kolodziejak’s job title at Farm Credit Canada says a mouthful. Kolodziejak is manager of market insights, and she explains that FCC basically has two separate divisions dedicated to scrutinizing customer information. The job of the first is to build and maintain a customer experience index that compiles feedback that comes directly from clients 24 country-guide.ca

and computes it into one number that represents how well they were served.

“It’s our way of monitoring throughout the relationship with a customer whether or not we are delivering value to them when we are working with them,” Kolodziejak says. “Based on how that score can fluctuate throughout the year, we will provide coaching to the team of that sales area.”

The other division, the one that Kolodziejak manages and that includes FCC’s Vision Panel, is dedicated to monitoring the impacts of changes generated either within FCC or from the industry at large, and then directing the company’s response to those changes.

Both divisions depend primarily on survey results, which are still physically mailed in many cases, as well as direct interviews of producers either as individuals or via small groups.

The only thing that has really changed for Kolodziejak’s work in more recent years is the ability to collect most of the information she needs online.

“Our FCC Vision Panel is made up of over 5,000 people across Canada, including primary producers, agribusiness, students, and people who serve ag clients,” Kolodziejak says. “We’ll go to the Vision Panel about a specific business decision or when we want to get the pulse of the industry, and we can use that information to get a better understanding of what our customers are facing.”

Kolodziejak says sometimes a survey fails to tell the whole story, so when she needs to dig deeper into a particular issue, that’s when they form focus groups at five or six locations across the country where a selection of growers will meet together personally.

Barry Nelson tells me this is pretty reflective of what they do at John Deere too.

In fact, John Deere is responsible for generating even more numbers than a credit

supplier such as FCC. Diagnostic software can pull a lot of information out of the modern tractor, and many producers are using features which transmit information automatically.

“The customer is able to take all this data, crop yield, moisture, population, and now can wirelessly transfer this to a cloud — we call it the Operations Centre — and can use that to analyze all this data so that they’re making wiser decisions,” Nelson says.

It’s a real learning curve for farmers, who need to determine how to read and apply all of this new information.

Yet it’s a learning curve for retailers too, not least because they have to bring in new kinds of employees, such as software technicians, and because they have to figure out how to develop and market new kinds of services, such as consulting services that help farmers make use of their data.

It has also made Deere look at whether the value of participating in the new data-based farm equipment world makes it worth rethinking some of its most cherished paradigms, such as whether Deere should open its doors to research projects and components that originate from other workplaces.

“In the old days, everything we put on the tractor was ‘John Deere,’” Nelson says. “In this new arena, in order to take care of our customers, we need to open up our platform, John Deere Operations Centre for example, so a software developer knows what it takes to work within the John Deere Operations System.”

The big difference Even so, there’s a big difference between showing other developers how the system works versus showing them the data the system collects.

Nelson says at no time does the data uploaded from farmers become property of John Deere. Privacy protections won’t even allow John Deere to use the data by anonymizing the farm it came from.

Unless customers opt to give them access, Nelson says, John Deere can’t touch their information.

So, how does John Deere get customer information for its marketing department and for making strategic business decisions?

As old-school as it seems, when it comes to customer insight, John Deere still relies on the feedback in its customer satisfaction surveys.

Deere’s secondary avenue, like FCC’s, is to host focus meetings.

February 2, 2016

business “Before some products are even developed, we have customer focus meetings all the time,” Nelson says. “We even have our own research group that takes a look at all of that, because we have to try and figure out 10, 20, 30 years from now, where is agriculture headed and what are the needs in the future?”

But that isn’t to say the data farmers share can’t be significant. “Right now farmers can opt in to allow us look at machinery issues,” Nelson offers as an example. “Say we’ve got 1,000 combines working out there and if we’re able to get the machinery information, maybe we find out 400 had this bearing fail in a certain time period.” That level of insight helps the company reassess specific shipments or parts suppliers and that’s the sort of customer knowledge that leads to build better machines moving forward.

The question, though, is whether Deere can generate similar kinds of analytics, not just on its machines, but on its farm customers too.

So far, that seems to be a step too far.

Ag-chem companies, for instance, can crunch their sales numbers and figure out who their most valuable customers are, so they make sure they fight harder to retain their business by, for instance, sending agronomists to the farm, supplying extra technical support or perhaps offering great seats at an NHL playoff game.

They can also analyze their data to look for opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell.

But beyond that, the science hasn’t gone all that far.

Think ‘group’ It’s a point that Peter Gredig, a farmer and ag technology expert based near London, Ont., believes is very important for farmers to understand. One person’s information alone is not especially useful to anyone. But volume changes everything.

“A lot of the data that’s collected, socalled big data, they don’t care who it is,” Gredig says. “Marketers, advertisers, and manufacturers want to be able to aggregate it. And with that, comes power.”

Consider a phone app he helped to develop years ago called the Aphid Advisor. After scouting a soybean field for aphids, you input your observations and the app will tell you whether or not a spray application is warranted.

“If you check off ‘I’m OK to share,’ it generates a data point so that researchers know where, when and what the environmental conditions were on a map of February 2, 2016

Ontario,” Gredig says. “In real time they would be able to see where that pest is manifesting and, I mean, how would we do that otherwise?”

Where information sharing leads to greater good for everyone, Gredig says he has few concerns about giving access to his own information.

Understanding the intentions of anyone who asks for your data is the critical thing in his mind and not something anyone’s being very diligent in explaining up front.

“I’ve loaded apps or other pieces of software and the terms and conditions are in there, and I don’t think the lawyer who wrote them has read them,” Gredig admits. “If you’re going to hand off data to somebody else, at that moment, questions have to be asked; how are you using it, what access to copies will I get, and how will I be kept informed about it?”

Company marketers tap your purchase data to customize their sales pitches. But that’s just a start Gredig says if you don’t like the answers you get, you don’t have to give your consent. But if there are benefits to be gained in exchange, think carefully.

And if your concern is someone else’s ability to profit by having it, well, chances are good they won’t because it doesn’t seem like anyone in the industry has figured out how to really profit from all this data yet.

“The ability to collect is well beyond our ability to assess,” Gredig assures me.

Basically, agribusiness right now is in the same spot crop producers were during the release of yield monitors in the late 1990s. “The idea was, we would just stare at these maps and all would be revealed,” Gredig recalls. “I have the feeling that agribusiness is going to end up staring at stuff and wondering how to get some value out of it.”

The limitations Kolodziejak says the limitations of data management create a real hurdle for analyzing customer information. So much decision-making depends on the emergence of patterns, but it’s extremely difficult not only to see from the data when

a few isolated events actually become a pattern, but also whether the pattern will eventually be influential.

Even if you could do that much, Kolodziejak says, you’d still be trying to sort out the complications that can arise from external factors, such as weather events, that have a big impact on the outlook of farming customers.

For instance, if a particular region got too much rain during fall harvest last fall, could that mean that their survey responses are artificially low? It’s her job to decipher when data like this is being skewed, or the company could respond to a business issue that isn’t really an issue at all.

Then there’s an additional complication.

Farmers who have good experiences in customer service outside of agriculture expect such services to be provided within the industry too. Sometimes, negative feedback isn’t because of bad customer service from an FCC transaction, Kolodziejak explains. “It is because they have the experience of buying a condo on an iPad, and those experiences are shaping their expectations of working with us.”

If customers continue to expect improved customer service, at accelerating rates, technology is going to have to take more of the manual labour out of her job going forward. “Excel is a great tool for so many things but if you have to go through and manually enter all of that information, the likelihood of you doing that is less,” she says.

New technology needs to be developed to collect information easily, as well as analyze it. “You see other examples of technology that are good cases,” Kolodziejak says. Her personal favourite is the Nest Smart thermostat. “So many of us have programmable thermostats, we might have taken the effort to do that initial setup but it’s cumbersome, and all of a sudden you go away for a week and you don’t change that program. The Nest will learn, based on motion sensors, if you’re even at home, will adjust the temperature based on that, and then it gives you a report that allows you to see the trends and patterns yourself to make decisions.

She wonders what an equivalent to this technology to help collect data in agriculture might look like and what more it could show her from the data she’s collecting.

It’s a huge opportunity, Kolodziejak believes, and it is definitely attracting application developers, tech companies, and venture capital to agriculture. CG country-guide.ca 25

business

Is your idea marketable?

The BioEnterprise model could help you get your project off the ground

By Helen Lammers-Helps armers are known for being natural innovators, and for finding ways of doing things faster, better or easier. What farmer hasn’t thought at least once: “This is a great idea — I bet I could sell it.”

But the reality is that there is a long and difficult road between “the great idea” and a “successful commercial venture.”

Doug Knox, vice-president at BioEnterprise, a not-for-profit company in Guelph, Ont. helps entrepreneurs navigate that difficult path from concept to the revenue-generating phase BioEnterprise, funded under the Growing Forward 2 program, focuses on products or processes that have a direct connection to food, agriculture or the nontimber forestry industry. Each year Knox consults with 150 to 200 entrepreneurs who are at various stages of the process.

Of these, Knox says they do a significant amount of work for 50 to 75 companies.

Knox categorizes the entrepreneurs who approach him into one of three categories. About 15 per cent are at the idea stage. “They want to know how to get started.” About 10 per cent are already in business, but are adding a new product to their lineup. These companies are looking for a mentor or technical assistance.

The other 60 per cent, however, are entrepreneurs at the prototype stage. “They want to know how to get into a commercial path,” says Knox. “Most are at a critical stage and have exhausted all of their own resources.”

For a nominal fee of $500 per month for a six-month period, Knox and his team of associates will provide advisory services. If the business isn’t incorporated, the first step is to get that done (all businesses must be incorporated before BioEnterprise will work with them.)

Once that is in place, Knox and his associates can begin assessing the viability of the idea. This includes checking for scientific or intellectual property patents, trademarks or similar designations.

Knox’s team will also do a market and 26 country-guide.ca

competitive analysis to determine the size of the potential market and to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the competition so they can evaluate threats and opportunities.

Armed with this information, the team helps entrepreneurs create their value propositions, i.e. one-sentence statements that sum up why someone should buy their product.

The assessment process will also evaluate whether the innovator would be better off to find a strategic partner to whom they can license the concept to rather than commercializing it themselves.

Knox and his associates will figure out how much capital will be needed to get the product to market and they will look for funding from government grants or loans at the provincial or federal levels. There are additional charges for writing funding proposals or setting up businesses to be “investment ready.”

Regulatory issues are usually the biggest obstacles, says Knox. “The level of regulation is increasing, for example, implements must now meet ISO standards,” he says. Food products may need various certifications, such as kosher or gluten free.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” says Knox.

“We have to find the pieces to put together.”

Knox cautions it can take substantially longer than people realize for a product to become a commercial success.

“Farmers are conservative by nature.

They won’t buy until they see an on-theground farmer who is championing the product. That’s how the word gets out and it can be a slow process.”

Innovators need to be patient investors, he cautions, as it can take five or more years to see a product take off, he adds.

That observation rings true for Jake Kraayenbrink. He has developed an Automatic Air Inflation-Deflation system that reduces compaction caused by heavy manure tankers. It was in 2009 that the Drayton, Ont. farmer began working on

his idea for a system that could quickly deflate manure tanker tires to increase the tire footprint by up to 60 per cent and reduce compaction. The system also quickly reinflates the tires for road travel.

With sales through his company AgriBrink (www.agribrink.com), Kraayenbrink admits it has taken longer than he thought it would for sales to take off.

He sees a parallel in the dairy industry where it took a long time for robotic milkers to gain acceptance. “Farmers have been burned before with things that didn’t work well, so they are cautious,” he explains.

BioEnterprise has helped Kraayenbrink by connecting him with a patent lawyer and helping him prepare pricing and marketing materials. Kraayenbrink says he’s still learning and that he’s been grateful for the support of BioEnterprise.

“It’s helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of.”

Kraayenbrink has been working on ISO compatibility for the controller, but it’s an expensive process, he adds, and he admits he has also been disappointed by the lack of funding available. “There’s not as much funding available as I’d hoped,” he says. “Our business is too small, and there’s not enough job creation to qualify for a lot of funding.”

Kraayenbrink says that in addition to reducing compaction, the equipment also reduces tire wear and tear and fuel consumption. Despite the many positive benefits of the equipment which is eligible for funding under Ontario’s GLASI program, business has been slower than he hoped.

Kraayenbrink has participated in many farm shows and had a video made for his website. He has also advertised through farm newspapers and radio.

This past year, he hit the road, personally visiting several dairy farms to showcase about the equipment.

Kraayenbrink anticipates that things will take off soon, based on sales of 11 units this past year.

“That’s the best advertising,” he says. CG February 2, 2016

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Weed Management Guide CORN | SOYBEANS | Cereals I put this weed management guide together for Country Guide because I have noticed a change in some of the weed species commonly found in corn, soybean and cereal fields. There has also been a tremendous amount of research conducted by the University of Guelph (specifically, Dr. Peter Sikkema, University of Guelph – Ridgetown Campus) that sheds light on how to manage certain “problem weeds.” The presence of problem weeds, herbicide-resistant weeds (specifically glyphosate) and the entry of new herbicide-tolerant crop technologies makes it more challenging to select products for your farm operation. It was clear to me that it was time to change the way that we present weed management information to you. This insert provides an opportunity to construct weed control rating charts that better reflect the types of weed management challenges found in field crops throughout the season. Is it perfect? Probably not, but that is the goal, to make it a perfect resource for you. I would value any constructive suggestions that you have.

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The right decision Maximum economic production has never been more essential, or more achievable.

The job starts with choosing the right experts, like Mike Cowbrough by tom button Opportunity doesn’t mean what it used to mean. Probably, that’s a good thing. In a less volatile environment, opportunity used to bubble up within a marketplace driven by production fundamentals. How many acres have been planted? How dry is Illinois? How big is the cattle herd?

Such created a comprehensible price range. Today’s market by contrast is tossed about by global economic policy, by the shakiest speculation about weather, and by the unfathomable impulses of investors. But opportunity is also made by farmers taking much more control of their pricing with faster, more sophisticated marketing tools. Which is a good thing, because the one thing we can be sure of is that if a farm is going to thrive, it must create and exploit its share of wins.

Waiting for opportunity won’t cut it, especially if your eyes are on long-term competitiveness. But as we also know, the shrewdest business model is nothing without bushels in the field, produced cost-effectively and within a manageable level of risk. That’s why we are again pleased to bring you OMAFRA weed expert Mike Cowbrough’s ratings to help you select the optimum herbicide treatments for your farm. As you know, Mike’s expertise is practical and his recommendations are farm-based. In today’s world, they’re an opportunity.

Tom Button, Editor, Country Guide tom.button@fbcpublishing.com

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Table 2...................8

Weed control ratings for pre-emergent herbicide treatments in corn

Table 3.................10 Emerged annual grass and broadleaf weed control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in corn

Table 4................. 12 Emerged perennial weed and volunteer crop control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in corn

Weed Management Guide 2016

07

Table 1. Weed control ratings for pre-plant burndown treatments in corn

Canola, volunteer (RR)

Carrot, wild

Chickweed

Clover, red

Dandelion

Fleabane, Canada

9 9 9

Broadleaf plantain

7 9 9

Burdock (2nd year)

7 8 9

Burcucumber

9 9 9

Buckwheat, wild

Witchgrass

9 9 9

Atriplex, spreading

Sandbur

9 9 9

Alfalfa, volunteer

Quackgrass

9 9 9

Azuki bean, volunteer

Foxtails

Bluegrass, annual

Tolerant hybrids

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Weed species typically found at time of burndown

<5 6 8

6 9 9

0 0 0

7 8 9

9 9 9

7 8 9

7 9 9

9R 9R 9R

Glyphosate: Emerged weed control ratings at 4 weeks after application Glyphosate (1X rate) Glyphosate (2X rate) Glyphosate (3X rate)

9 9 9

All All All

9 9 9

8

7 8

Tank-mix partners with glyphosate (1X rate): Weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application – in other words “If I add a herbicide to glyphosate, will it improve 2,4-D ester 700 Aatrex 480 Banvel II, Hawkeye or Oracle + 2,4-D Banvel II, Hawkeye or Oracle + Aatrex 480 Battalion Co-pack (Elim EP + Dual II Magnum + Banvel II) Broadstrike RC Callisto + Aatrex 480 Converge XT Co-pack (Converge Flexx + Converge 480) Eragon + Merge Engarde Co-pack (Elim EP + Callisto) Focus Co-pack (Pyroxasulfone 85 + Aim EC) Integrity Lumax EZ Marksman Prowl H2O

9,4 9,5 9,4,4 9,4,5 9,2,15,4 9,2 9,27,5 9,27,5 9,14 9,2,27 9,15,14 9,15,14 9,15,5,27 9,4,5 9,6

All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All

8

8

<5

<5

<5 8

<5 9

9 8 9 <5

9

7

9 6

8 5

8 9 9 9

<5

9

8 6 6 6 <5 6

9 9 9 <5 8

6 8

9 8 9 8 9

8 9 9

<5 9 9 9 9 9 9 8

6

8

7 6 6

8

5

9 8 9 9 9

71

9

71

9

6

9 <5 8 8 8 8 9 9 9

<5 <5 <5 <5 6 6 5

9 9 9 8

<5

9 9

<5 <5

5

9 9 9 8 9 9

8

7

8

9

8

9 9 9 9R 8 <5 9

9 7

7

9 9 9 9

7 9

7

9 8 9 <5

9 9

<5 <5

NC 8

8 9

Herbicides and Co-packs that contain glyphosate: Emerged weed control ratings at 4 weeks after application Enlist Duo (Low Rate) Enlist Duo (High Rate)

4,9 4,9

All All

NI NI

9 9

NI 9

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

NC 9

NI NI

NC 81

8 8

Table 2. Weed control ratings for pre-emergent herbicide treatments in corn (Weeds are not emerged at the time of application)

Buckwheat, wild

Bur-cucumber

Chickweed

Cocklebur

Beggarsticks, nodding

Atriplex, spreading

Wild oats

Broadleaf weeds

Witchgrass

Sandbur

Proso millet

Foxtails

Fall panicum

Crabgrass

Barnyard grass

Crop tolerance

Tolerant hybrids

Field corn

Seed corn

Sweet corn

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Grassy weeds (Annual)

9 8 9 9 9 8 8 <5 NI NI <5 9 9 9 NI 9 9

5 NI 5 NI NI NI 5 NC NI NI NI NI NI 5 NI NI 5

9 9 9 9 8 9 9 NC NI NI NI 9 9 9 9 NI 9

<5 6 6 NI 7R 7 7 0 <5 <5 NC 8 7 6 NI NI <5

Pre-emergence Herbicides and Co-packs: Weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application (Weed species not emerged at time of application) Aatrex 480 Banvel II, Hawkeye or Oracle Banvel II, Hawkeye or Oracle + Aatrex 480 Battalion Co-pack (Elim EP + Dual II Magnum + Banvel II) Broadstrike RC Callisto + Aatrex 480 Converge XT Co-pack (Converge Flexx + Converge 480) Dual II Magnum Engarde Co-pack (Elim EP + Callisto) Focus Co-pack (Pyroxasulfone 85 + Aim EC) Frontier Max Integrity Lumax EZ Marksman Prowl H2O Princep Nine-T, Simadex or Simazine Primextra II Magnum

08

5 4 4,5 2,15,4 2 27,5 27,5 15 2,27 15,14 15 15,14 15,5,27 4,5 6 5 15,5

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All

E G G G E E E E E E E E E G G E E

<5 NC <5 9 NC NC 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 <5 8 9 9

<5 NC <5 8 NC 7 8 82 8 8 82 8 9 <5 72 9 82

<5 NC <5 9 NC NC 91 8 9 8 8 8 81 <5 8 81 8

<5 NC <5 8 NC NC 9 9 8 9 9 9 8 <5 8 8 9

<5 NC <5 7 NC NC 81 <5 NI NI <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5

<5 NC <5 8 NC NC 7 6 8 6 6 NI NI <5 6 NI 7

<5 NC <5 9 NC NC 9 9 NI 9 9 9 9 <5 8 9 9

9 NC NI NI NC NI 9 NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

<5 8 9 NI NI 9 8 NI NI NI NI 8 9 9 NI NI <5

NI NI NI NI 9 NI NI <5 NI NI <5 NI NI NI NI NI NI

Weed Management Guide 2016

CORN | SOYBEANS | Cereals

Lettuce, prickly

Lamb’s-quarters

Mustards

Pigweed

Pineappleweed

Ragweed, common

Ragweed, giant

Three-seeded mercury

Violet (pre flower)

Vetch

Waterhemp

81 81

Horsetail, field

9 9 9

Horsenettle

Flower-of-an-hour

(Annual, biennial or perennial listed in alphabetical order)

<5 <5 NI

9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9

5 6 9

9R 9R 9R

9R 9R 9R

8 9 9

7 8 9

<5 6 8

9 9 9

8 9 8

8

7

9 9 9 9 9R 9 9

9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9R 9 9

61,2

61,2 9

NI NI

NI NI

8 8

NI NI

9 8 9 9 9 9

9

9 9

9 9

9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9

NI NI

7 9R 9 9 9 8R 9 9 8 8 7 8 9 9

9 <5 7 7 7 7R 5 6 7 5

9 9 7 9

6

91

6

91

5 5 7

9

9 9

9 9

NI NI

6 6

Three-seeded mercury

8

Ragweed, giant

control of the target weeds”

91 <5 91

8

92

61,2

92

61,2 91

6 9 8 <5 9 9

9 9 9

91 91

<5 9 9 9 9R 8 <5 0 NI NC NC 9 8 9 <5 NI <5

NI NI NI NI 8 NI NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

9 8 9 9 NI 9 9 NI NI NI NI 9 9 9 NI NI 9

9 9 9 8 8 9 9 <5 9 <5 <5 8 9 9 NI 9 9

Weed Management Guide 2016

9R 9 9 9 9R 9 9 <5 9 8 <5 9 9 9 8 9R 9R

NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NC NI NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI

9 6 9 8 9 9 9 <5 9 9 <5 9 9 9 NI 9 9

9 9 9 8 7R 9 9 81 9 9 81 9 9 9 NI 9 9

8R 9 9 9 9R 9 9 81 9 9 81 9 9 9 8 9R 9

7R 9 9 9 8R 9 9 <5 8 7 <5 8 8 9 <5 9R 7R

<5 7 7 7 7R 5 6 NC 5 NC NC 5 5 7 NC <5 <5

9 <5 9 NI 8 NI 9 NC NI NI NC NI NI 9 NI NI 9

<5 8 8 8 9 9 9 NC 9 6 NC 9 9 8 NI 7 <5

Waterhemp

Corn Velvetleaf

Ragweed, common

Pigweeds

Nightshade

Mustards

Lettuce, prickly

Lamb’s-quarters

Lady’s thumb

Jimsonweed

Flower-of-an-hour

Fleabane, Canada

(Annual, winter annual)

< 5R 6 6 NI < 5R 9 9 6 NI 9 6 NI 9 6 7 NI 9

Table 1

1 Top growth burnoff only, regrowth will occur.

2 The addition of Merge at 0.4 l/ac. is required

to achieve this level of control.

3 Two applications will be required to achieve this

level of control throughout the season.

R Populations of this weed exist in Ontario that are resistant

to this treatment and will not be adequately controlled.

NI = “No information” available.

NC = The weed is “not controlled” by this herbicide treatment.

Table 2

1 The highest labelled rate is required to

achive this level of control.

2 The addition of Callisto or Callisto + Aatrex

will improve control of this species.

R Populations of this weed exist in Ontario that are resistant

to this treatment and will not be adequately controlled.

NI = “No information” available.

NC = The weed is “not controlled” by this herbicide treatment.

Tolerant Hyrbid Abbreviations

All = This treatment can be applied to any corn hybrid.

RR = This treatment can only be applied to “Roundup Ready” corn hybrids.

LL = This treatment can only be applied to “Liberty Link” corn hybrids.

EN = This treatment can only be applied to “Enlist” corn hybrids.

09

Table 3. Emerged annual grass and broadleaf weed control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in corn atriplex, spreading

beggarsticks, nodding

biennial wormwood

buckwheat, wild

bur-cucumber

NC NC <5 9 NC <5 NC 9 NC NC 9 9 NC 91 9 91 7 91 NC 91 <5 NC 9 NC NC NC 9 81 NC 9

7 NI <5 NI 6 7 <5 6 <5 5 7 NI 7 NI NI NI <5 8 <5 9 7 7 NI 7 6 NI <5 NI NI NI

NI NI NI NI NI NI 9 NI NI NI NI NI NI <5 NI <5 NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

NI NI 9 NI 9 9 7 9 NI NI NI NI 9 NC NI NC NI NI NI NI 9 NI NI 9 9 NI NI NI NI NI

<5 <5 9 NC 9 9 7 9 9 8 8 9 9 <5 9 <5 8 9 9 9 9 <5 9 9 NI NI 9 NI 8 NC

NI NI 5 NI <5 6 NI <5 NI <5 5 NI <5 NC NI NI NI NI 6 NI 6 NI 5 8 7 6-7 5 NI NI NI

9 9 NI 9 NC NI NI NI 9 NI 9 9 5 9 9 9 83 9 9 NI NI

9 9

7/8 8

8 8

9 9

7/8 8

8 8

9 9

chickweed

witchgrass

wild oats

sandbur

proso millet

foxtails

fall panicum

crabgrass

Barnyard grass

Crop tolerance

Tolerant hybrids

Field corn

Seed corn

Sweet corn

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Grassy weeds (Annual)

Post-Emergent Treatments for “All” Field Corn Hyrbids – Emerged weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application 2,4-D 2,4-DB Aatrex 480 + Crop Oil Accent Banvel II, Hawkeye or Oracle Banvel II, Hawkeye or Oracle + Aatrex 480 Basagran Forté Battalion Co-pack Buctril M, Badge, Mextrol or Logic M Callisto + Aatrex 480 Converge XT co-pack Destra co-pack (Destra 75DF/Ultim + Callisto) Distinct Dual II Magnum Engarde Co-pack Frontier Max Impact or Armezon + Aatrex 480 Integrity Laddok Lumax EZ Marksman MCPA Option + Aatrex 480 Pardner, Bromotril, Brotex or Koril + Aatrex 480 Peak Permit Primextra II Magnum Prowl H2O Tropottox Plus, Clovitox Plus or Topside Ultim

4 4 5 2 4 4,5 5 2,15,4 4 27,5 27,5 2,27 19,4 15 2.27 15 27,5 15,14 6,5 15,5,27 4,5 4 2 6,5 2 2 15,5 6,5 4 2

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All

F F E E G G G G P E E G G E E E E E E E G P G E E G E E G G

NC NC <5 9 NC <5 NC 9 NC NC 9 9 NC 91 9 91 7 91 NC 91 <5 NC 9 NC NC NC 9 81 NC 9

NC NC NC 72 NC NC NC 8 NC 82 9 8 NC 81 8 81 72 81 NC 81 NC NC 72 NC NC NC 83 81 NC 72

NC NC NC 9 NC NC NC 9 NC NC 9 9 NC 81 9 81 7 81 NC 81 NC NC 9 NC NC NC 8 81 NC 9

NC NC <5 9R NC <5 NC 9 NC NC 9 9 NC 91 9 91 7 91 NC 91 <5 NC 9R NC NC NC 9 81 NC 9R

NC NC <5 9 NC <5 NC 9 NC NC 8 9 NC <5 9 <5 7 <5 NC <5 <5 NC 9 NC NC NC <5 <5 NC 9

NC NC NI 8 NC NI NC 9 NC NC 7 8 NC 61 8 61 NI NI NC NI NI NC 9 NC NC NC 7 81 NC 9

NC NC 9 9 NC NI NC 9 NC NI 9 9 NC NI 9 NI NI NI NI NI NI NC 9 NI NC NI NI NI NI 9

<5 <5 9 NI 9 9 NI 9

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Roundup Ready” Corn Hybrids – Weed control ratings at 4 weeks after application Glyphosate 1X rate Glyphosate 2X rate

9 9

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

RR RR

E E

9 9

9 9

9 9

9 9

9 9

9 9

9 9

Post-Emergent Herbicides and co-packs containing glyphosate for “Roundup Ready” Corn Hybrids – Weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application Callisto GT Galaxy 2 co-pack (Ultim + Polaris) Halex GT + Aatrex 480

27,9 2,9 15,27,9,5

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes

RR RR RR

E E E

NC NI 9

82 82 9

NC 8 9

NC 8 9

NC NI <5

NC NI 5

NI 9 9

NC 8 9

5 NI 5

NI NI NI

NI NI NI

8 8 9

<5 NI <5

9 NI 9

Post-Emergent tank-mix partners with glyphosate (1X rate) for “Roundup Ready and Enlist” Corn Hybrids – Weed control ratings at 8 weeks Aatrex 480 Callisto + Aatrex 480 Engarde Co-pack Destra co-pack (Destra 75DF/Ultim + Callisto) Impact or Armezon + Aatrex 480 Lumax EZ Marksman Permit Primextra II Magnum Vios G3

9,5 9,27,5 9,2,27 9,2,27 9,27,5 27,9 9,4,5 2,9 9,15,5 2,27,9

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

RR, EN RR, EN RR, EN RR, EN RR, EN RR, EN RR, EN RR, EN RR, EN RR, EN

E E E G E E G G E E

<5 NC 9 9 7 9 <5 NC 9 9

NC 82 8 8 72 8 NC NC 83 8

NC NC 9 9 7 8 NC NC 8 9

<5 NC 9 9 7 9 <5 NC 9 9

<5 NC 9 9 7 <5 <5 NC <5 7

NI NC 8 8 NI NI NI NC 7 8

9 NI 9 9 NI NI NI NI NI 9

<5 NC 9 9 7 9 <5 NC 9 9

<5 5 NI NI <5 9 7 NI <5 NI

NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

9 NI NI NI NI NI 9 NI NI NI

9 8 9 9 8 9 9 NI 9 9

5 <5 NI NI NI NI 6 6-7 5 6

9 9 NI NI NI 9 9 8 9 8

NI

NI

8

NI

NI

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Liberty Link and Enlist” Corn Hybrids – Weed control ratings at 4 weeks after application Liberty 200SN

10

Yes

LL, EN

E

9

9

9

9

9

NI

8

9

NI

Post-Emergent tank-mix partners with Liberty for “Liberty Link and Enlist” Corn Hybrids – Weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application Aatrex 480 Callisto + Aatrex 480 Engarde Co-pack Impact or Armezon + Aatrex 480 Marksman Primextra II Magnum Vios G3

9,5 9,27,5 9,2.27 9,27,5 9,4,5 9,15,5 2,27,10

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

LL, EN LL, EN LL, EN LL, EN LL, EN LL, EN LL, EN

E E E E G E E

<5 NC 9 7 <5 9 9

NC 82 8 72 NC 83 8

NC NC 9 7 NC 8 9

<5 NC 9 7 <5 9 9

<5 NC 9 7 <5 <5 7

NI NC 8 NI NI 7 8

9 NI 9 NI NI NI 9

<5 NC 9 7 <5 9 9

<5 5 NI <5 7 <5 NI

NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

9 NI NI NI 9 NI NI

9 8 9 8 9 9 9

5 <5 NI NI 6 5 6

9 9 NI NI 9 9 8

NI NI

9 9

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

NI 94

NI 9

NI NI

9 9

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Enlist” Corn Hybrids – Weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application Enlist Duo (Low Rate) Enlist Duo (High Rate)

10

4,9 4,9

Yes Yes

EN EN

E E

NI 9

NI 9

NI 9

8 9

NI 9

Weed Management Guide 2016

CORN | SOYBEANS | Cereals

cocklebur

chamomile, scentless

fleabane, Canada

flower-of-an-hour

jimsonweed

lady’s thumb

lamb’s-quarters

lettuce, prickly

mustards

nightshade

pigweeds

ragweed, common

ragweed, giant

three-seeded mercury

velvetleaf

violet, field

waterhemp

Broadleaf weeds (Annual, winter annual)

8 8 6 NC 9 9 9 9 9 8 7 5 8 0 5 NC 7 8 5 7 9 7 6 7 9 83R <5 NI 8 NC

<5 NI <5 NI <5 <5 NI NI NI <5 NI NI <5 NI NI NI NI NI NI NI <5 <5 NI 7 NI NI NI NI NI NI

8 NI <5 NI 9 9 5 9 6 8 6 NI 8 0 NI NC 6 9 NI 7 9 6 <5 8 7R 83R <5 NI NI NI

NI NI 7 NI 9 9 8 9 NI NI NI NI <5 NC NI NI NI NI 6 NI 9 NI 7 8 7 8 NI NI NI NI

NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI 83 9 NI NI NI

<5 NC 9 NI 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 <5 9 <5 9 8 9 9 9 NC 9 9 9 83 9 6 NC 5

9 7 9R NI 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 <5 9 <5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9R 9 9R 83 9R 9 7 5

8 8 7 NC 8 9 <5 8 8 NI NI NI 9 NC NI NI NI NI NI NI 9 8 7 9 8 NI NI NI NI NC

9 8 9R NC 6 9 9 6 9 9 9 9 6 <5 9 <5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9R 8 9 8 9 9R 8 7

7 7 9 NC 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 9 9 81 9 81 9 9 9 9 9 NI 9 9 NI NI 9 8 7 <5

9 9 9R 9R 9 9 7 9 8 9 9 9 9 81 9 81 9 9 9R 9 9 7 9R 8R 9R 8R 9 8R 9 9R

8 8 9R NC 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 8 9 <5 8 <5 9 8 9 8 9 9 9R 9 9R 8R 7R <5 9 NC

9 NI 7 NC 8 9 6 8 7 6 7 7 7 NC NI NC 5 5 NI 5 9 8 7 7 7R 8R <5 NC NI NC

9 NI 9 NI 7 9 NI 7 NI <5 NI NI 9 NC NI NC NI NI NI NI 9 NI 9 9 8 NI 9 NI NI NI

8 8 <5 NC 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 NC 9 NC 7 9 9 9 9 7 <5 9 9 8 <5 6 9 5

5 NI 6 NI <5 NI <5 <5 NI NI NI NI NI NC NI NC NI 8 NI NI NI NI 6 NI 6 NI NI NI NI NI

NI NI NC NI 8 9 <5 8 NI 9 9 NI 8 61 NI 61 NI NI NI 9 9 NI NC 5 <5 NI 9 7 NI NI

9 9

9 9

9R 9R

9 9

9 9

7/8 8

9 9

9 9

9 9

9 9

9 9

9R 9R

7R 8R

8 9

9 9

7/8 8

9 9

5 NI 8

NI NI NI

NI NI 6

NI NI NI

NI NI NI

9 8 9

9 7 9

NI NI NI

9 NI 9

9 7 9

9 8R 9

8 7R 9

NI NI 6

NI NI NI

9 7 9

NI NI NI

NI NI 9

after application 6 8 5 7 7 8R 9

NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

<5 6 NI 7 <5 8R 9

7 NI NI NI NI 8 9

NI NI NI NI NI 8 NI

9 9 9 9 9 8 9

9R 9 9 9 9 8 9

7 NI NI NI NI NI 9

9R 9 9 9 9 8 9

9 9 9 9 9 NI 9

9R 9 9 9 9 8R 9

9R 9 8 8 9 8R 9

7 6 NI 5 5 8R 9

9 <5 NI NI NI NI 9

<5 9 9 9 7 8 9

6 NI NI NI NI NI NI

NC 9 NI 9 NI NI 9

<5 8

NI NI

<5 6

NI 8

9 8

9 9

9R 9

NI NI

9 9

9 9

9 9

7R 9

<5 8

9

<5 8

NI

9 9

9

NI

7

NI

NI

8/9

9

8

9

9

9

9

6

NI

8

NI

NI

2 Large crabgrass only.

6 8 5 7 9 <5 8

NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

<5 6 NI <5 9 <5 6

7 NI NI NI 9 NI 8

NI NI NI NI NI 9 8

9 9 9 9 9 9 9

9R 9 9 9 9 9R 9

7 NI NI NI 9 NI NI

9R 9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9 9 9

9R 9 9 9 9 9 9

9R 9 8 9 9 7R 9

7 6 NI 5 9 <5 8

9 <5 NI NI 9 9

<5 9 9 7 9 <5 8

6 NI NI NI NI NI

NC 9 NI NI 9 9 9

4 Top growth control only.

8 9

NI NI

8 9

NI NI

NI NI

NI 9

9 9

NI NI

9 9

NI 9

9 9

9 9

9 9

NI NI

NI 9

NI NI

NI NI

Corn Table 3

1 Weeds with more than two leaves emerged at

time of application will not be controlled.

3 Weeds cannot be emerged at time of application

to achieve this level of control.

Weed Management Guide 2016

R Populations of this weed exist in Ontario that are resistant

to this treatment and will not be adequately controlled.

NI = “No information” available.

NC = The weed is “not controlled” by this herbicide treatment.

Tolerant Hyrbid Abbreviations

All = This treatment can be applied to any corn hybrid.

RR = This treatment can only be applied to “Roundup Ready” corn hybrids.

LL = This treatment can only be applied to “Liberty Link” corn hybrids.

EN = This treatment can only be applied to “Enlist” corn hybrids.

11

Table 4. Emerged perennial weed and volunteer crop control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in corn

redtop

sow-thistle, perennial

Swamp smartweed

thistle, Canada

vetch, tufted

wire-stem muhly

quackgrass

nutsedge, yellow

milkweed

horsetail, field

horse-nettle

dandelion

carrot, wild

bindweed, field

Crop tolerance

Tolerant hybrids

Field corn

Seed corn

Sweet corn

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Perennial weeds (Listed in alphabetical order)

NC NC NC

NC NC NC

NC NC NC

NC NC NC

NC NC NC

NC NC NC

NC NC NC 8 NC NC NI NC NC NC NI NC NI NC NC NC NC 9 NC NC NI NC 9

NI NI 8 NC 8 6-9 7 NI NI <5 NI 8 NI 6 6-9 9 NI NC 7 8 NI NI NC

NI NI <5 NC 6 NI NI NI NI NI NI 5 NI NI NI <5 NI NC <5 6 NI NI NC

7-9 7-9 <5 NC 8 7-9 NI NI <5 <5 NI 9 NI NI 7-9 8 7-9 NC 7 5-9 NI 8 NC

8 NI NI NC 9 NI 9 <5 5 9 NI 9 NI NI NI 8 7 NC NI 7 NI NI NC

NC NC NC <5 NC NC NI NC NC NC NI NC NI NC NC NC NC 9 NC NC NI NC 6

5 NI

8 9

5 7

8 9

8

<5

7

7-8

NI

NC 83

NI NI

NC 83

9 9

NI NI

Pre-Emergent Treatments for “All” Corn Hyrbrids – Control ratings for unemerged weeds at 4-6 weeks after application Dual II Magnum Frontier Max Integrity

15 15 15,14

Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes

All All All

E E E

NC NC <5

NC NC 6

NC NC 7

NC NC NC

NC NC 5

NC NC NC

8 8 8

NC NC NC

Post-Emergent Treatments for “All” Corn Hyrbrids – Control ratings for emerged weeds at 4-6 weeks after application 2,4-D 2,4-DB Aatrex 480 + Crop Oil Accent Banvel II, Hawkeye or Oracle Basagran Forté Battalion Co-pack Broadstrike RC Buctril M, Badge, Mextrol or Logic M Callisto + Aatrex 480 Converge XT Co-pack Distinct Engarde Co-pack Impact or Armezon + Aatrex 480 Laddok Marksman MCPA Option + Aatrex 480 Pardner, Bromotril, Brotex or Koril + Aatrex 480 Peak Permit Tropottox Plus, Clovitox Plus or Topside Ultim

4 4 5 2 4 6 2,15,4 2 4 27,5 27,5 19,4 2.27 27,5 6,5 4,5 4 2,5 6,5 2 2 4 2

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All

F F E E G E G E P E E G E E E G P G E E G G G

7 7 7 NC 8 <5 NI NI 7 <5 NI 8 NI NI 7 8 7 NC 7 6 6-7 8 NC

<5 <5 <5 NC <5 <5 NI NI <5 6 NI 7 NI <5 5 <5 <5 NC 6 9 NI NI NC

<5 <5 <5 NC 6 <5 NI NI <5 6 NI 6 NI NI <5 6 <5 NC <5 5 NI <5 NC

NI NI NI NI 81 <5 NI NI NI NI NI 81 NI NI NI 81 NI NI NI 81 NI NI 82

<5 <5 <5 5-9 <5 <5 NI 7-8 7 <5 NI <5 NI <5 <5 <5 7 5-9 <5 <5 6 <5 6-9

<5 <5 <5 6 6 <5 NI NI 6 <5 NI 6 NI NI <5 6 6 6 <5 6 7 6 6

NC NC NC <5 NC 7 NI NI NC <5 NI NC 7 NC 7 NC NC <5 NC NC 9 <5 <5

NC NC NC 9 NC NC 7 NC NC NC NI NC 7 NC NC NC NC 9 NC NC NI NC 9

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Roundup Ready” Corn Hyrbrids – Control ratings for emerged weeds at 4 weeks after application Glyphosate 1X rate Glyphosate 2X rate

9 9

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

RR RR

E E

7 8

<5 7-9

6 8-9

8 9

<5 6

9 9

6 8

9 9

9 9

7-8 8-9

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Liberty Link” Corn Hybrids – Weed control ratings for emerged weeds at 4 weeks after application Liberty 200SN

10

Yes

LL

E

6

NI

<5

NI

6

NI

6

6-7

NI

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Enlist” Corn Hybrids – Weed control ratings for emerged weeds at 4 weeks after application Enlist Duo (Low Rate) Enlist Duo (High Rate)

12

4,9 4,9

Yes Yes

EN EN

E E

NC 83

NC <5

NC 8

NI NI

8 8

NI 93

NI 83

NC 9

NI 9

Weed Management Guide 2016

CORN | SOYBEANS | Cereals

alfalfa, volunteer

adzuki beans, volunteer

canola, volunteer

canola (LL), volunteer

canola (RR), volunteer

clover (red), volunteer

cereals, volunteer

Volunteer crops

NC NC NC

NC NC NI

NC NC 9

NC NC 9

NC NC 9

NC NC 9

<5 <5 <5

6 0 <5 <5 8 0 9 0 <5 <5 <5 8 NI <5 <5 8 <5 <5 <5 7-8 <5 <5 <5

NI NI 8-9 NI 8-9 <5 8-9 NI NI 8-9 NI 6-9 8-9 NI NI 9 NI NI 8-9 6-9 0 NI NI

9 NI <5 9 8 NI 9 8 8 9 9 8 9 9 NI 8 8 9 9 9 NI NI 9

9 NI <5 9 8 NI 9 8 8 9 9 8 9 9 NI 8 8 9 9 9 NI NI 9

9 NI <5 9 8 NI 9 8 8 9 9 8 9 9 NI 8 8 9 9 9 NI NI 9

<5 <5 <5 <5 9 <5 9 8 0 9 NI 9 9 9 <5 9 0 <5 <5 8 NI 0 <5

NC NC <5 8 <5 NC 8 NC NC <5 <5 <5 8 <5 <5 <5 NC 8 <5 NC NC NC 8

6 7

9 9

9 9

9 9

NC NC

6 7

9 9

NI

NI

9

NC

9

7

8

NI NI

NI NI

9 9

9 9

9 9

<5 <5

9 9

Corn Table 4

1A tank mix with Ultim (nicosulfuron/rimsulfuron)

is required to achieve this level of control.

2A tank mix with Distinct, Marksman or dicamba

is required to achieve this level of control.

3 Two applications will be required to achieve this

level of control throughout the season.

R Populations of this weed exist in Ontario that are resistant

to this treatment and will not be adequately controlled.

NI = “No information” available.

NC = The weed is “not controlled” by this herbicide treatment.

Tolerant Hyrbid Abbreviations

All = This treatment can be applied to any corn hybrid.

RR = This treatment can only be applied to “Roundup Ready” corn hybrids.

LL = This treatment can only be applied to “Liberty Link” corn hybrids.

EN = This treatment can only be applied to “Enlist” corn hybrids.

Weed Management Guide 2016

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1489 Engarde Brand Ad_CountryGuideWeedGuide.indd 1

1/12/16 10:57 AM

soybeans Table 1..................16 Weed control ratings for pre-plant burndown treatments in soybeans

Table 2.................16

Weed control ratings for pre-emergent herbicide treatments in soybeans

Table 3.................18 Emerged annual grass and broadleaf weed control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in soybeans

Table 4.................18 Emerged perennial weed and volunteer crop control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in soybeans

Weed Management Guide 2016

15

Table 1. Weed control ratings for pre-plant burndown treatments in soybeans Fleabane, Canada

Flower-of-an-hour

<5 6 8

6 9 9

0 0 0

7 8 9

9 9 9

7 8 9

7 9 9

9R 9R 9R

9 9 9

6

9

8 9

9 9 9 9

<5 7

Tank-mix partners with glyphosate (1X rate): Weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application

<5 8 8

<5 <5 <5

9 9

9 <5 9

<5

9

<5 0 <5 0

9 8 9 8 9 5 9 9 7 7

0 0

9 9

8 7 8 9 9

71

9

NI NI

71

9

9

9

71

9

9

9

9 8 9

NI NI

NI NI

8 8

9 9

NI NI

NI NI

NC 81

9 8 8

9 9 9

9

7 9

NC 9

9 9 8 8 5 5 6

9

Herbicides and Co-packs that contain glyphosate: Emerged weed control ratings at 4 weeks after application Enlist Duo (Low Rate) Enlist Duo (High Rate)

9

8

5 4 6

8

7

9

5 <5 <5

9 9

6 6 6

8

9

9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

7 8

Horsenettle

Dandelion

Herbicides and Co-packs that contain glyphosate: Weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application

Clover, red

EN EN

7 8

Chickweed

4,9 4,9

7 9 9

Carrot, wild

0 0 0 0 <5 <5 0 0 <5 0 0 0 <5 0

2,4-D ester 700 Blackhawk Co-pack (2,4-D Ester 700 + Aim EC) Boundary LQD Broadstrike RC Classic or Chaperone Conquest LQ Co-pack (Pursuit + Sencor 480F) Eragon + Merge Fierce (84 g/ac.)

FirstRate Focus Integrity Lorox L (High rate) Optill Prowl H2O Perfecta co-pack (Valtera + Tricor) Pursuit, Phantom or Nu-Image Sencor or Tricor (High rate) Step Up Co-pack (Chaperone + Valtera) Valtera (High rate)

7 8 9

Canola, volunteer (RR)

All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All

2,9 9,14 9,2 9,2,14

8

broadleaf plantain

9,4 2,14 9,15,5 9,2 2 9,2,5 9,14 9,15,14 9,2 9,15,14 9,15,14 9,5 9,2,14 9,6 14,5 9,2 9,5 9,2,14 9,14

Assignment Co-pack (Pursuit + RU Weathermax) Flexstar GT + Turbocharge Guardian Co-pack (Polaris + Classic) Guardian Plus II co-pack (Polaris + Guardian Plus WDG)

9 9 9

burdock (2nd year)

8

All All All

burcucumber

<5 <5 <5 <5

9 9 9

atriplex, spreading

Glyphosate (1X rate) Glyphosate (2X rate) Glyphosate (3X rate)

alfalfa, volunteer

quackgrass

All All All All

Glyphosate: Emerged weed control ratings at 4 weeks after application

azuki bean, volunteer

foxtails

9 9 9

bluegrass, annual

9 9 9

Tolerant varieties

0 0 0

Mode of action

Herbicide Treatment

corn, volunteer (RR)

Weed species typically found at time of burndown

81 81

9

8 8 9R 8R <5 9 8R

7 7

8

<5 <5

NC 8

9 <5 9 <5 <5 9 5 5 8 9

NI NI

NI NI

Table 2. Weed control ratings for pre-emergent herbicide treatments in soybeans (weeds are not emerged at the time of application) Flower-of-an-hour

Fleabane, Canada

Cocklebur

Chickweed

Chamomile, scentless

Bur-cucumber

Buckwheat, wild

Beggarsticks, nodding

Atriplex, spreading

Wild oats

Broadleaf weeds (Annual, winter annual)

Witchgrass

Sandbur

Proso millet

Foxtails

Fall panicum

Crabgrass

Barnyard grass

Crop tolerance

Tolerant varieties

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Grassy weeds (Annual)

Pre-emergence Herbicides and Co-packs: weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application (Weed species not emerged at time of application) Assignment Co-pack Authority Boundary LQD Broadstrike RC Canopy Pro Co-pack (Classic + Tricor 75 DF) Classic or Chaperone Command 360 ME Conquest LQ Co-pack (Pursuit + Sencor 480F) Dual II Magnum Fierce FirstRate Focus Co-pack (Pyroxasulfone 85 + Aim EC) Freestyle Co-pack (Classic + DuPont Imazethapyr) Frontier Max Lorox L Optill Perfecta co-pack (Valtera + Tricor) Prowl H2O Pursuit, Phantom or Nu-Image Sencor or Tricor (Low rate) Sencor or Tricor (High rate) Step Up co-pack (Chaperone + Valtera) Treflan, Bonanza or Rival Triactor Co-pack (Nu-Image + Chaperone + Valtera) Valtera 16

2,9 14 15,5 2 2,5 2 27 2,5 15 15,14 2 15,14 2,2 15 5 2,14 14,5 6 2 5 5 2,14 3 2,2,14 14

All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All All ALL All All All All All All All All

G E E E G G G G E G E E G E G E G G G G G G G G G

7

7

7

9R

7

72

7

NC

NI

8

9 NC 6 NC 8 9 9 9 NC 9 7 9 5 7 7 8 7 7 7 <5 9 7 <5

9 NC 6 NC 9 7 9 9 NC 9 7 9 5 7 6 8 7 6 6 <5 9 7 <5

8 NC 6 NC 8 7 8 NI NC 8 7 8 5 7 6 8 7 7 7 <5 8 7 <5

9 NC 6 <5 91 9R 9 9 NC 9 9R 9 5 9R 5 8 9R 5 5 5 9 9R <5

<5 NC 6 NC NI 7 <5 NI NC NI 7 <5 5 7 <5 <5 7 <5 <5 NI 6 7 NI

<5 NC <5 NC 6 72 <5 6 NC 6 72 <5 <5 72 NI 8 72 NI NI NI 6 72 <5

9 NC 6 NC 8 8 9 NI NC 9 7 9 5 7 8 8 7 8 8 <5 9 8 <5

NC NC 82 NC NI 82 NC NI NC NC 82 NC NC NC 82 NC NC 82 82 NI 8 NI NI

NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

NI 9 NI NI 9 NI <5 NI 9 NI 8 <5 9 8 NI NI 8 NI 7 9 NI NI NI

8 9 NI 9 8 NI 8 9 <5 NI NI NI 8 <5 8 8 9 NI 8 7 7 7 <5 9 7

NI

NI

9

7R

<5

9

NI NI NI NI NI NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI 7 8 NI NI NI

NI NI 82 NI NI 82 NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI 82 82 NI NI NI NI

NI 8 NI NI NI 9 NC 9 9 NI 9 NI 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

NI 7R 7R NI 6 8 0 <5 9R <5 7R NC 5 7R 9 NI 7R 7 7 7R <5 8 <5

6 9R 8R 8R <5 <5 0 <5 9R NC 8R NC <5 9 NI <5 <5 6 91 8R <5 8R <5

NI 8 NI NI NI NI NC NI NI NI 9 NI 9 9 NI NI 9 NI 9 NI NI NI NI

Weed Management Guide 2016

CORN | SOYBEANS | Cereals Three-seeded mercury

8

6 7

9 9 8 8

9R 9 7 8

61,2 61,2

8 9 4

61,2

NI 8 9 NI 8 9 <5 7 NI <5 9 <5 9 9 9 NI 9 9 9 9 <5 9 7

9

9

9 9 9 9 9 9 8

9 9

9 9

Mustards

9

NI NI

9R 6 6 9 9 9 9 9R 9R 7 7

7 9R 7R 9R

Lettuce, prickly

Lady's thumb

8 8

4

8 9

Lamb's-quarters

61,2 61,2

7 9R 6R 9R

9R 9 7 9R 9R 6R 8 9R <5 9 9R <5 9R <5 9 9R 9 8 9R 9R 9R 9 8 9 9

NI

9

NI NI NI NI NI NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

8 9 9 NI <5 9 <5 9 NI NI NI <5 9 9 9 NI 9 9 9 9 <5 9 8

Weed Management Guide 2016

9

9R 9 <5 9R 9

9

9 9R 9R 8 8 9 9

81,2

6 61,2

<5 9 <5 9

7 92 82 8

9 9 <5 <5 <5 5 61,2 61,2 <5 61,2

9 9 7R

8

6R 7 8R

6 <5 < 5R <5 <5

8 9 8

6 6 7

92 92

61,2

9 9 9 9 9

8 8R 9R <5 <5

7 6R 6 <5 <5

81,2

61,2

9

81,2 81,2

61,2 61,2

9 9

NI NI

9 9

9 9

6 6

91 91

Ragweed, common

61,2 61,2

4 7

7 7 6R 8R 5R 8R 8 7 9R

Pigweeds

8

<5

Nightshade

61,2

9 9 9

9R 9 8 7R <5 NC <5 9R 81 9 <5 9 9R 81 9 9R 9 NI 9R <5 <5 9 <5 9 9

9R 9 8 9R 9R 7R <5 9R 81 9 9R 9 9R 81 9R 9R 9 8R 9R 9R 9R 9 8 9 9

8R 4 <5 8R 8R 5R 8 8R <5 7 9R <5 8R <5 8 8R 8 <5 8R 8R 8R 8R <5 8 7

NI NI

6

6

9

<5 7R 8R NI <5 6 NC <5 9R NC 8R NC 6 7 7 NC 6 7 7 8R <5 6 <5

NI 8 7 NI NI 5 NC NI 9 NI NI NC 7 6 9 NI 6 8 9 7 NI 5 9

<5 9 8 <5 9 9 NC 7 9 NI 9 NC 6 9 7 NI 9 7 7 8 <5 9 7

Waterhemp

9R

4 6 8

Velvetleaf

8

6

7 8 9

Three-seeded mercury

9 9 9

Ragweed, giant

9 9 9

Waterhemp

Ragweed, giant 6

9 9

<5 9 5 <5

9 9 9

Vetch

Ragweed, common

8 9 9

<5 <5 NI

Violet (pre flower)

Pineappleweed

9R 9R 9R

Mustards

9R 9R 9R

Lamb's-quarters

<5 6 9

Lettuce, prickly

9 9 9

Horsetail, field

Pigweed

(Annual, biennial or perennial – listed in alphabetical order)

< 5R 9 6 < 5R < 5R < 5R NI < 5R 6 9 < 5R 9 < 5R 6 NC < 5R 9 7 < 5R < 5R < 5R 81,2 8 8 8

Soybeans table 1

1 Top growth burnoff only, regrowth will occur.

2 The addition of Merge at 0.4 l/ac. is required

to achieve this level of control.

table 2

1 The highest labelled rate is required to

achieve this level of control.

2 This level of control is achieved when the weed

is emerged at the time of application.

Tolerant Varieties

All = This treatment can be applied to any soybean variety.

RR = This treatment can only be applied to “Roundup Ready” soybean varieties.

LL = This treatment can only be applied to “Liberty Link” soybean varieties.

EN = This treatment can only be applied to “Enlist” soybean varieties.

R Populations of this weed exist in Ontario that are resistant

to this treatment and will not be adequately controlled.

NI = “No information” available.

NC = The weed is “not controlled” by this herbicide treatment.

17

Table 3. Emerged annual grass and broadleaf weed control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in soybeans Beggarsticks, nodding

Biennial wormwood

Buckwheat, wild

Bur-cucumber

Chamomile, scentless

Chickweed

Cocklebur

Fleabane, Canada

Atriplex, spreading

Witchgrass

Broadleaf weeds (Annual, winter annual)

Wild oats

Sandbur

Proso millet

Foxtails

Fall panicum

Crabgrass

Barnyard grass

Crop tolerance

Tolerant varieties

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Grassy weeds (Annual)

NC NC NC NC NC 9 <5 9 9 8 <5 9 7

NC NC NC NC NC 7 7 7 7 NI NI 8 NI

NC NC NC NC NC 7 7 4 7 NI 8 8 8

NC NC NC NC NC NI NI <5 NI <5 NI NI NI

NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5 NI NI <5 <5 <5 NI

NC NC NC NC NC NI NI NI NI NI NI 9 9

NC NC NC NC NC 9 6 8R 9R 5 7 9 8R

NC NC NC NC NC 5 <5 8R 9R <5 <5 5 <5

Post-Emergent Treatments for “All” Soybean Varieties – Weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Assure II or Yuma GL Excel Super Poast Ultra Select or Arrow Venture L Basagran Forté Blazer Classic or Chaperone FirstRate Pinnacle SG Reflex Cleansweep Co-pack (Pursuit + Basagran Forté) Pursuit or Panthom or Nu-Image

1 1 1 1 1 5 14 2 2 2 14 2,5 2

All All All All All All All All All All All All All

E E E E E G F G G G F/G G G

9 9 9 9 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC 8 8

8 8 8 8 8 NC NC NC NC NC NC 8 8

9 9 9 9 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC 6 6

9 9 9 9 8 NC NC NC NC NC NC 9R 9R

9 9 9 9 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC 7 7

9 8 7 7 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC NI 7

9 9 9 9 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC 8 8

9 9 9 9 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC 9 9

NC NC NC NC NC <5 NI NI NI 6 NI 5 NI

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Roundup Ready” Soybean Varieties – Weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Assignment Co-pack (RU Weathermax + Pursuit) Flexstar Glyphosate 1X rate Glyphosate 2X rate Guardian Co-pack (Polaris + Classic)

9,2 9,14 9 9 9,2

RR RR RR RR RR

G G E E G

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

7/8 7/8 7/8 8 7/8

8 8 8 8 8

9 9 9 9 9

8 7/8 7/8 8 8

8 8 8 8 8

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9R 9R 9R 9R 9R

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Liberty Link and Enlist” Soybean Varieties – Weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Liberty 200SN

10

LL, EN

E

9

9

9

9

9

NI

8

9

NI

NI

NI

8

NI

8

NI

9

7

NI 94

NI 9

NI NI

9 9

8 9

NI NI

8 9

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Enlist” Soybean Varieties – Weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Enlist Duo (Low Rate) Enlist Duo (High Rate)

4,9 4,9

EN EN

E E

NI 9

NI 9

NI 9

8 9

NI 9

NI NI

9 9

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

Table 4. Emerged perennial weed and volunteer crop control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in soybeans

Sow-thistle, perennial

Thistle, Canada

Vetch

Wire-stem muhly

Alfalfa, volunteer

Adzuki beans, volunteer

Canola, volunteer

Canola (LL), volunteer

Redtop

Quackgrass

Nutsedge, yellow

Milkweed

Horsetail, field

Horse-nettle

Dandelion

Carrot, wild

Bindweed, field

Crop tolerance

Tolerant varieties

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Perennial weeds (Listed in alphabetical order)

NC NC NC NC NC 6-9 6-9 5-9 5-9 4-7 5-8 6-9 4-7

NC NC NC NC NC 7-9 6-9 7-9 7-9 4-8 5-9 7-9 5-9

NC NC NC NC NC <5 5 5 5 <5 5 <5 <5

7 5 6 6 8 NC NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5

NC NC NC NC NC 0 6 <5 <5 0 6 0 0

NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5 4-8 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5

NC NC NC NC NC NI NI 9 8 <5 8 9 9

NC NC NC NC NC NI NI 9 8 <5 8 9 9

Post-Emergent Treatments for “All” Soybean Varieties – Weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Assure II or Yuma GL Excel Super Poast Ultra Select or Arrow Venture L Basagran Forté Blazer Classic or Chaperone FirstRate Pinnacle SG Reflex Cleansweep Co-pack (Pursuit + Basagran Forté) Pursuit or Panthom or Nu-Image

1 1 1 1 1 5 14 2 2 2 14 2,5 2

All All All All All All All All All All All All All

E E E E E G F G G G F/G G G

NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5

NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5 6-9 2-7 <5 <5 2-6 2-7

NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5 6 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5

NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5 <5 6 <5 <5 <5 <5

NC NC NC NC NC <5 6 <5 <5 <5 6 <5 <5

NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5 9 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5

NC NC NC NC NC 7 <5 9 <5 <5 <5 7 7

9 <5 6 7 8 NC NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5

6 <5 6 7 7 NC NC NC NC NC NC NI NI

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Roundup Ready” Soybean Varieties – Weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Assignment Co-pack (RU Weathermax + Pursuit) Flexstar Glyphosate 1X rate Glyphosate 2X rate Glyphosate 2.78X rate Guardian Co-pack (Polaris + Classic)

9,2 9,14 9 9 9 9,2

RR RR RR RR RR RR

G G E E E G

7 7 7 8 8 7

<5 <5 <5 7-9 7-9 <5

7 7 6 8-9 9 9

8 8 8 9 9 8

<5 6 <5 6 6 <5

9 9 9 9 9 9

6 6 6 8 8 9

9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9 9

7-8 7-8 7-8 8-9 8-9 7-8

8 8 8 9 9 8

5 5 5 7 8 5

8 8 8 9 9 8

6 6 6 7 8 6

9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9 9

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Liberty Link and Enlist” Soybean Varieties – Weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Liberty 200SN

10

LL, EN

E

6

NI

<5

NI

6

NI

6

6-7

NI

8

7

7

NI

NI

NI

9

NC

NC 83

NC 83

9 9

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

9 9

9 9

Post-Emergent Treatments for “Enlist” Soybean Varieties – Weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Enlist Duo (Low Rate) Enlist Duo (High Rate)

18

4,9 4,9

EN EN

E E

NC 83

NC <5

NC 8

NI NI

8 8

NI 93

NI 83

NC 9

NI 9

Weed Management Guide 2016

Flower-of-an-hour

Lady's thumb

Lamb's-quarters

Lettuce, prickly

Mustards

Nightshade

Pigweeds

Ragweed, common

Ragweed, giant

Three-seeded mercury

Velvetleaf

Violet, field

Waterhemp

CORN | SOYBEANS | Cereals

NC NC NC NC NC 8 6 7 8 8 7 8 7

NC NC NC NC NC 9 8 8 NI 8 8 9 9

NC NC NC NC NC 8 6 <5 <5 9R 6 8 8R

NC NC NC NC NC <5 <5 6 6 <5 6 <5 <5

NC NC NC NC NC 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 9

NC NC NC NC NC 7 8 <5 <5 <5 8 9R 9R

NC NC NC NC NC 7 9 9R <5 9R 9 9R 9R

NC NC NC NC NC 7 9 8R 9R 5 9 9R 9R

NC NC NC NC NC 6 7 8R 9R <5 7 7R 8R

NC NC NC NC NC 5 6 7 7 5 7 6 5

NC NC NC NC NC 9 7 8 9 8 6 9 9

NC NC NC NC NC <5 6 5 8 <5 7 5 5

NC NC NC NC NC <5 9 <5 <5 <5 9 <5 <5

9 9 9 9 9

8 8 7/8 8 8

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

9R 8 9R 9R 9R

7R 7R 7R 8R 7R

8 8 8 9 8

9 9 9 9 9

7/8 7/8 7/8 8 7/8

9 9 9 9 9

NI

8/9

9

NI

9

9

9

9

6

NI

8

NI

NI

NI NI

NI 9

9 9

NI NI

9 9

NI 9

9 9

9 9

9 9

NI NI

NI 9

NI NI

NI NI

Canola (RR), volunteer

Clover (red), volunteer

Corn, volunteer

Corn (LL), volunteer

Corn (LL/RR), volunteer

Corn (RR), volunteer

Corn (Enlist), volunteer

Cereals, volunteer

Volunteer crops (Listed in alphabetical order)

NC NC NC NC NC NI NI 9 8 <5 8 9 9

NC NC NC NC NC <5 6 <5 <5 <5 6 <5 <5

8-9 7-9 6-8 7-9 7-9 NC <5 <5 <5 NC <5 <5 <5

8-9 7-9 6-8 7-9 7-9 NC <5 <5 <5 NC <5 <5 <5

8-9 7-9 6-8 7-9 7-9 NC <5 <5 <5 NC <5 <5 <5

8-9 7-9 6-8 7-9 7-9 NC <5 <5 <5 NC <5 <5 <5

0 0 4-9 6-9 0 NC <5 <5 <5 NC <5 <5 <5

9 9 9 9 9 NC NC <5 <5 NC <5 <5 <5

9 8 NC NC NC 8

6 6 6 7 8 6

9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9 9

<5 <5 NC NC NC <5

<5 <5 NC NC NC <5

<5 <5 NC NC NC <5

9 9 9 9 9 9

9

7

9

NC

NC

NC

NC

8

9 9

<5 <5

9 9

NC NC

NC NC

NC NC

NC NC

9 9

Weed Management Guide 2016

Soybeans table 3 & 4

R = Populations of this weed exist in Ontario that are resistant

to this treatment and will not be adequately controlled.

NI = “No information” available.

NC = The weed is “not controlled” by this herbicide treatment.

Tolerant Varieties

All = This treatment can be applied to any soybean variety.

RR = This treatment can only be applied to “Roundup Ready” soybean varieties.

LL = This treatment can only be applied to “Liberty Link” soybean varieties.

EN = This treatment can only be applied to “Enlist” soybean varieties.

19

GROUP

14

Get the safest broadleaf control for soybeans.

With a unique Group 14 mode of action, Authority is tough on weeds and gentle on your crop for higher yields and cleaner fields. That’s why Authority’s active ingredient, sulfentrazone, is the number one pre-emergent residual broadleaf weed control in US soybean crops.* SOYBEANS

|

FMCcrop.ca

*Source 2014 Doane Data.

For complete information on Authority and all FMC products please contact your local FMC sales representative or visit FMCcrop.ca. Distributed by UAP in Ontario (1-800-265-5444) and Quebec/Maritimes (1-800-361-9369) or visit UAP.ca. FMC and Authority are trademarks of FMC Corporation. © 2015 FMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

cereals Table 1..................22 Weed control ratings for pre-plant burndown treatments in cereals

Table 2.................22 Emerged annual grass and broadleaf weed control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in cereals

Weed Management Guide 2016

21

Table 1. Weed control ratings for pre-plant burndown treatments in cereals

Carrot, wild

Chickweed

Clover, red

Dandelion

Fleabane, Canada

Flower-of-an-hour

Henbit

Horsenettle

9 9 9

Canola, volunteer (RR)

Buckwheat, wild

7 9 9

Broadleaf plantain

Atriplex, spreading

7 8 9

Burdock (2nd year)

Alfalfa, volunteer

8 NI NI

Burcucumber

Azuki bean, volunteer

Witchgrass

Sandbur

Quackgrass

Foxtails

Bluegrass, annual

Tolerant hybrids

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Weed species typically found at time of burndown (Annual, biennial or perennial – listed in alphabetical order)

<5 6 8

6 9 9

0 0 0

7 8 9

9 9 9

7 8 9

7 9 9

9R 9R 9R

9 9 9

9 9 9

81 81 NI

Glyphosate: Emerged weed control ratings at 4 weeks after application Glyphosate (1X rate) Glyphosate (2X rate) Glyphosate (3X rate)

9 9 9

All All All

9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9

7 8

Tank-mix partners with glyphosate (1X rate): Weed control ratings at 8 weeks after application – in other words “If I add a herbicide to glyphosate, will it improve 2,4-D Ester 700 Eragon + Merge

9,4 9,14

All All

8 6

<5

6 71

9

8 9

9 9

<5 5

9 9

<5 <5

8 7

7 7

8 9

<5 <5

NC 8

8 9

<5 8

Herbicides and Co-packs that contain glyphosate: Emerged weed control ratings at 4 weeks after application Enlist Duo (Low Rate) Enlist Duo (High Rate)

4,9 4,9

All All

NI NI

9 9

NI 9

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

NC 9

NI NI

NC 81

8 8

9 9

NI NI

NI NI

NI NI

Table 2. Emerged annual grass and broadleaf weed control ratings for post-emergent herbicides in cereals

Fowl meadow grass

Wild oats

Atriplex, spreading

Biennial wormwood

Buckwheat, wild

Bur-cucumber

Carrot, wild

Chamomile, scentless

Chickweed

Cocklebur

Dandelion

NC 8 <5

NC NI NI

NC 7 NI

9 NI NI

NI NI NI

9 NI 7

NI NI NI

5 NI NI

NI NI NI

NI 8 9

NI NI

NI NI <5

7 NI 7

NC NC NC NC 9 NC 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC NC

NC NC NC NC 8 NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC

NC NC NC NC 9 NC 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC 9 NC NC NC NC NC NC NC

NI 9 NI NI NC 6 NC 9 <5 NI 9 9 3 9 9 NI 9 NI NI NI NI NC NI 9 9 NI 9 NI 6

NI NI NI NI NC 9 NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI 9

<5 <5 <5 6 NC 9 NC 9 9 9 8 9 8 8 8 2 2 2 2 8 8 NC 9 9 9 9 7 7 9

NI NI NI NI NC <5 NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI 7

<5 <5 <5 <5 NC <5 NC 7 <5 <5 <5 5 7 7 7 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 NI NC 7 7 7 <5 <5 <5 8

<5 <5 NI NI NC <5 NC 8 NI NI 6 NI NI <5 <5 <5 <5 NI NI NI 8 NC 8 8 8 5 NI NI NI

<5 <5 <5 <5 NC 9 NC 7 <5 NI <5 7 <5 <5 5 5 5 NI NI NI 8 NC 7 7 7 5 8 NI <5

4 4 NI NI NC 8 NC 6 5 8 5 8 8 8 8 4 4 4 NI NI 8 8 NC 6 6 6 8 9 NI

8 8 8 8 NC 9 NC 7 9 NI NI NI 5 8 7 7 7 7 NI 8 9 NC NI 8 7 NI 9 NI 9

<5 <5 <5 <5 NC NI NC 5 <5 NI 6 8 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 NI 8 NC NI NI 5 NI 5 NI 5

cleavers

Foxtails

Bluegrass, annual

Centgrass, loose silky

Cereal crop tolerance

Red clover underseeded

Grassy weeds (Annual)

Alfalfa underseeded

Wheat

Rye

Oats

Barley

Herbicide Treatment

Mode of action

Crop Uses

Pre-Emergent Treatments – Emerged weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application Eragon + Merge Focus Valtera

14 14,15 14

Yes

Yes Yes Yes1

E G G

NC NI NI

NC 7 NI

Post-Emergent Treatments – Emerged weed control ratings at 4-6 weeks after application 2,4-D Amine 2,4-D Ester 2,4-DB (Embutox, Caliber, Cobutox) 2,4-DB + MCPA Achieve Liquid or Bison Banvel II, Hawkeye or Oracle Bengal or Vigil Boost M Co-pack Buctril M, Badge, Mextrol or Logic M Dyvel Estaprop XT, Dichlorprop DC or Turboprop Infinity Lontrel Lontrel + 2,4-D Lontrel + MCPA MCPA Amine MCPA Ester MCPA Sodium Mecoprop or Compitox Pardner, Bromotril, Brotex or Koril Pixxaro co-pack Puma Advance Refine SG Refine SG + 2,4-D Refine M Co-pack Target, Tracker XP or Sword Trophy Co-pack Tropotox Plus, Clovitox Plus or TopSide Peak + Pardner 22

4 4 4 4,4 1 4 1 2,4 4,5 4 4 27,5 4 4,4 4,4 4 4 4 4 5 4,4,4 1 2 2,4 2,4 4 4,4 4 2,4

Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Yes1 Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

G G G G G P G G E P G E G G G G G G G E E G E G G P G G E

NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC

NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC

Weed Management Guide 2016

Horsetail, field

Lettuce, prickly

Lamb's-quarters

Mustards

Pigweed

Pineappleweed

Ragweed, common

Ragweed, giant

Three-seeded mercury

Violet (pre flower)

Vetch

Waterhemp

CORN | SOYBEANS | Cereals

<5 <5 NI

9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9

5 6 9

9R 9R 9R

9R 9R 9R

8 9 9

7 8 9

<5 6 8

9 9 9

Cereals Table 1

1 Top growth burnoff only, regrowth will occur.

2 The addition of Merge at 0.4 l/ac. is required

to achieve this level of control.

Table 2: Cereals

1 Only labelled for use on spring-planted varieties.

2 Top growth control only.

control of the target weeds” 8

9

61,2 8 8

NI NI

9 9

9 9

9 9

NI NI

7 8

9 7

9

6 92

91 61,2

NI NI

9 9

9 9

NI NI

6 6

91 91

NI NI

R Populations of this weed exist in Ontario that are resistant

to this treatment and will not be adequately controlled.

NI = “No information” available.

NC = The weed is “not controlled” by this herbicide treatment.

Fleabane, Canada

Flower-of-an-hour

Ground ivy

Henbit

Hemp nettle

Horsetail

Lady's thumb

Lamb's-quarters

Lettuce, prickly

Mustards

Nightshade

Pigweeds

Ragweed, common

Ragweed, giant

Speedwell species

Shepherd's purse

Sow-thistle

Stinkweed

Thistle, Canada

Three-seeded mercury

Velvetleaf

Vetch

Violet, field

Waterhemp

Broadleaf weeds (All life cycles listed in alphabetical order)

9 NI <5

NI NI NI

NI NI NI

NI NI NI

NI NI NI

6 NI NI

9 NI 7

9 7 9

9 NI NI

9 NI 8

NI NI 9

9 NI 9

9 NI 7

9 NI <5

NI NI NI

9 NI NI

82 NI NI

9 8 NI

NI NI NI

NI NI NI

NI NI 7

62 NI NI

9 NI NI

NI 8 8

8 9 NI NI NC 9 NC 6 6 NI 9 9 9 9 9 7 8 NI NI NI 8 NC NI NI 6 NI 8 NI 7

NI NI NI NI NC NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

7 7 NI NI NC NI NC 8 9 NI 7 NI NI 7 8 8 9 NI NI NI NI NC 6 8 8 9 NI NI NI

<5 <5 NI NI NC <5 NC <5 <5 <5 <5 NI NI NI NI <5 <5 NI NI NI NI NC <5 <5 <5 <5 NI NI NI

<5 <5 <5 <5 NC 7 NC 9 7 9 7 9 NI <5 7 8 8 8 <5 <5 8 NC 9 9 9 8 8 8 9

9 9 NI NI NC NI NC 9 9 NI 9 6 8 9 9 9 9 NI NI NI NI NC NI NI 9 NI 9 NI 9

<5 <5 <5 <5 NC 9 NC 9 9 9 8 9 <5 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 7 NC 9 9 9 9 7 <5 9

9 9 7 9 NC 9 NC 9 9 9 9 9 <5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 NC 9R 9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 NI NI NC 6 NC 9 8 9 9 8 NI 9 9 9 9 NI NI NI 9 NC 8 9 9 9 8 NI 8

9 9 7 9 NC 6 NC 9 9 9 9 9 <5 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 NC 8 9 9 9 9 9 9

7 7 7 7 NC 9 NC 7 9 NI NI 9 <5 7 NI NI NI NI NI 9 NI NC NI 7 NI NI NI NI NI

9 9 9 9 NC 9 NC 9 8 9 9 9 <5 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 NC 9R 9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 8 8 NC 9 NC 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 9 NC 7R 9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 NI NI NC 8 NC 7 7 NI 9 8 9 9 9 8 8 NI NI NI 9 NC NI NI 7 9 9 NI 5

6 8 NI NI NC 5 NC 9 5 8 9 <5 NI NI NI 9 9 NI <5 NI NI NC 9 9 9 9 NI NI 8

9 9 8 8 NC 6 NC 9 9 9 9 9 NI 9 9 9 9 9 NI 8 9 NC 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

5 5 5 5 NC 8 NC 8 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 7 7 NI NI 6 7 NC 8 8 8 8 8 9 8

9 9 6 6 NC 6 NC 9 9 9 9 9 NI 9 9 9 9 9 7 8 9 NC 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

8 8 NI NI NC 7 NC 7 5 8 8 <5 9 9 9 8 8 NI 7 5 7 NC 7 7 7 8 8 9 5

8 9 NI NI NC 7 NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI 8 8 NI 7 <5 NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI 8

8 8 8 8 NC 9 NC 8 9 NI NI 9 NI 8 8 8 8 8 NI 9 NI NC 8 9 9 NI NI 9 9

8 8 <5 <5 NC 8 NC 6 5 8 7 5 9 9 9 7 7 NI NI NI 8 NC NI 6 6 8 9 NI NI

5 5 NI NI NC <5 NC 8 NI 7 9 NI NI NI NI 8 8 NI NI NI NI NC 8 8 8 NI NI NI 6

NI NI NI NI NC 8 NC NI 8 NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NI NC NI NI NI NI NI NI NI

Weed Management Guide 2016

23

Stop settling for good.

Start this season with the best.

Use Converge XT and see how great your crop can be.

Get the best out of your field by using Converge® XT herbicide. It offers the broadest spectrum of weed control, a wide application window and the ability to recharge through residual technology that’s re-activated by rain.

Converge XT is also the most consistent solution for crop-safe grassy and broadleaf weed control.* Learn more at cropscience.bayer.ca/convergeXT

cropscience.bayer.ca or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer representative.

Always read and follow label directions. Converge® is a registered trademark of Bayer Global. Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada. *Based on five trials at three different Ontario locations in 2011. Trials were conducted comparing weed control with pre-emerge herbicides in corn. Trials were funded in part by the Grain Farmers of Ontario.

The assistance of OMAFRA through the OMAFRA/University of Guelph Partnership is also acknowledged.

More than the best products.

Great rewards.

Ask your retail about our program.

By Ralph Pearce ⁄⁄ CG Production Editor

No fertilizer panic – for now Supplies for 2016 seem healthy, but there’s no time like today to lock in your needs

Globally, phosphate rock and potash reserves are stable for the foreseeable future, as are supplies of nitrogenbased fertilizers.

ix years ago, the International Plant Nutrient Institute calculated a timeline for the world’s known reserves of key nutrients. It suggested we’ve got lots of breathing room, including 55 years for N-based fertilizers, 235 years for potash, 696 for phosphate, and a virtually inexhaustible supply of sulphur.

Of course, as we use up some of the easiest to access supplies, there could be price increases, warned Dr. Paul Fixen, the institute’s research director.

But thanks to wise stewardship and the kinds of agronomic gains we’ve gotten used to, Fixen said, we shouldn’t be losing any sleep.

Six years later, however, the global agricultural landscape has changed. Commodity prices have soared — and fallen almost as fast. World production of grains and oilseeds has exploded, with enormous expansion still possible in Brazil, Africa and other regions.

Should we be concerned about whether we’ll have the nutrients to grow those crops?

Today’s answer from the insitute is balanced.

Should we be concerned? Maybe.

Should we panic? No. That’s according to Dr. Tom Bruulsema, Guelphbased phosphorus program director for the institute.

World reserves remain high, Bruulsema says, and any issue with nitrogen availability is limited to the cost of fuel (natural gas) extraction.

Even so, says Bruulsema, there’s no reason why

we shouldn’t be planning for the future today.

“While the commercial fertilizers we use today are made from finite natural resources, reserves and resources for the future are considerable,” says Bruulsema. He adds that phosphate rock reserves still span several hundred years globally and that potash reserves, including the large portion found in Canada, are stable for the foreseeable future. “Nitrogen fertilizer is made from the nitrogen in the air — which is abundant — but the finite resource currently used in its production is natural gas. Reserve-to-use ratios for natural gas are probably smaller than those of phosphate and potash, but the development of shale gas over the past 10 years shows how quickly estimates of reserves and supplies of materials can change.”

Bruulsema believes a multi-pronged focus can keep up with global crop production.

The 4R Stewardship concept (the right source, rate, time and place for nutrient application) will improve economic, environmental and social sustainability, he believes, and it will also help keep agriculture in line with restrictions on greenhouse gases.

“Accounting for the impacts of a nutrient source needs to consider both its negatives and what it’s contributing in terms of productivity,” says Bruulsema.

“Currently about half the global human diet is furnished by Haber-Bosch nitrogen, so while there is the opportunity to improve use-efficiency of N fertilizer, its use is highly justified.”

Continued on page 28

February 2, 2016

country-guide.ca 27

By Ralph Pearce ⁄⁄ CG Production Editor Continued from page 27

Down on the farm The focus on world reserves and supply of fertilizers comes at roughly the same time as our renewed focus on soil health and overall sustainability. Innovators and early adopters are providing valuable insight into practices that promote improved soil health with everything from the use of cover crop blends to any secondary reductions in fertilizer and inputs that come as a result.

Bruulsema believes more can be done. Farmers, farm organizations, and industry, together with the research community, all have a role to play not only in outreach and education, but also in a collaborative approach in establishing specific targets and practices.

To help achieve that goal, the Ontario Agri Business Association (OABA) is developing a strategy informed by consultation among its members. Also, the Ontario Certified Crop Advisors Association is going ahead with a 4R Nutrient Management Specialty, adapting a similar initiative developed for the U.S. with its focus on major sustainability issues including water quality, air quality, greenhouse gases and resource depletion.

“The right time to start is now — putting it off will not put us ahead,” says Bruulsema. “While we might wish for higher commodity prices to help fund the larger investments, there is plenty that can be done with smaller investments of time and resources. Paying attention to the 4Rs can often increase the profitability of nutrient use, and improving soil should be obvious — it benefits the producer.”

From Bruulsema’s perspective, the world’s supply of fertilizer isn’t as urgent an issue as the environmental impacts from nutrient losses, particularly water quality in relation to nitrogen and phosphorus and greenhouse gas emissions.

“Food security is also urgent,” Bruulsema says. “The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that there are 780 million people in the world who are undernourished.” CG

The world’s supply of fertilizer is an issue, but not as urgent as is addressing the environmental impacts from nutrient losses.

28 country-guide.ca

20 questions for your N program Start the discussion now, before heading to the field this spring n the past 12 months, there have been plenty of discussions, presentations and stories in the farm media about fertilizer use. The topics have covered its many forms, its costs and volatility, sources and reserves, even perspectives on preparing to manage your fields with less.

In the middle of the winter meeting season last year, Dale Cowan, senior agronomist and sales manager with AGRIS and Wanstead Co-operatives with locations throughout southwestern Ontario, began posting questions on Twitter concerning the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers. Cowan has been challenging farmers for years to justify their use of everything from variable-rate technology to soil health issues to fertility programs.

That’s why he began posting questions about methods of application, timing, sources of nutrients, measuring the effects of N-based fertilizers and the different forms of N that can be applied. (See his full list in sidebar.)

Cowan says the idea came from Dr. Howard Brown of Growmark, in Bloomington, Illinois. Fall-applied anhydrous ammonia is common in the U.S. Corn Belt, yet among farmers and industry stakeholders, there have been increasing concerns about elevated nitrate levels in groundwater, including midsummer pollution events in 2014 and 2015. This has led to a better understanding of what’s actually happening with nitrogen applications and other fertilizers and inputs.

“From this came the N Watch program for tracking nitrogen behaviour all season long,” says Cowan. “That turned into the acronym M.O.M.: Minimize the size of the environmental foot print, Optimize harvested yield, Maximize nutrient utilization.”

This in turn builds on the 4R Nutrient Stewardship construct (the Right source of fertilizer, the Right rate at the Right time and in the Right place).

For agriculture, says Cowan, the choice is simple. If you aren’t going to adopt the 4R’s, you have to go for the 4D’s: Defend, Deny, Delay and Duck.

But agriculture also has some learning to do, Cowan says. Most farmers know there’s a nitrogen cycle, but terms such as amminization, ammonification, mineralization, immobilization and volatilization can still make many peoples’ eyes glaze over. (The exception is leaching, which is well understood by most farmers.)

Cowan’s 20 Questions are in part a step-wise evaluation for farmers to assess how their decisions on rates, timing, sources and placement of different N sources affect yield and environmental outcomes, without having to draw the N-cycle schematic.

“The big concern is over large, single, pre-plant applications that are at high risk of environmental loss, which results in lower yields February 2, 2016

crop nutrition

Nitrogen’s 20 Questions

The big concern with nitrogen fertilizers begins with large, single, pre-plant applications that risk environmental loss. and overall disappointments,” Cowan says. “Splitting of N applications doesn’t necessarily mean more N, unless the yield potential is there. It may mean an extra application cost, but experience suggests it has paid for itself with more yield, especially in 2015.”

That’s not to say that a corn crop doesn’t need N up front, because obviously it does. But it’s also worth the effort to determine how much pre-plant fertilizer, starter side-dress or early side-dress applications are being made. And the 20 questions help with that process.

Getting precise about fertility On today’s farms, when it’s time for a particular task to be performed, nothing else matters. If it’s planting season, Cowan says, the “need for speed” is paramount, and nothing can be allowed to get in the way, even as an option.

“But in my mind, if the 20 questions cause a farmer to stop and examine what they’re doing, tear it down and then reassemble the system, that’s good,” says Cowan. “If it goes back together as it was, then at least they know the consequences of their program decisions.”

Where he sees the most value with the 20 questions is for farmers who are expanding their geography and beginning

1. How do you determine your total N requirements for corn?

2. How many times do you apply N? 3. Do you allocate N credits from previous crops, such as forage legumes, red clover, soybeans, sweet corn or cover crops?

4. Do you allow for an N credit from your starter fertilizer program?

5. Do you allow for an N credit from fall-applied MAP (mono-ammonium phosphate) or manure?

6. Do you apply N to corn stalks in the fall to break them down? (If so, is it effective, or a waste of N?) 7. Have you modified N rates based on a nitrate soil test, plant tissue, stalk test or NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) from drone imagery?

8. How many pounds of actual N do you apply pre-plant?

9. What is the rate of N in your corn starter? Does it change based on side-dress or pre-plant N rates?

10. What is your typical side-dress rate of N? Do you vary by soil type or organic matter content?

11. With approximately 40 per cent of N taken up after full-tassel stage, have you considered late-season in-crop application of N? 12. Do you use manure as an N source? Do you have a manure test? When do you apply, and what’s the method of application?

13. What sources of N products do you use: UAN (urea ammonium-nitrate), urea, ammonium sulphate, NH3 (ammonia), Smart N? Do you use more than one?

14. Have you used products to prevent or limit your environmental losses?

15. Have you used any of these products to protect N: SmartN, Agrotain Ultra, Agrotain Plus, Nserve or eNtrench?

16. Have you taken a nitrate soil test in the fall, after harvest?

17. Have you taken harvest samples to a lab and tested for N content per bushel by hybrid?

18. Have you calculated your N use efficiency (i.e.

N removed over total N available across the field)?

19. Are you doing variable-rate N applications using your captured, multiple-year site-specific data?

20. Have you heard of N Watch and INCrop Nitrogen management systems?

Continued on page 30 February 2, 2016

country-guide.ca 29

Splitting nitrogen applications doesn’t necessarily mean more nitrogen, unless the yield potential is there.

“ M.O.M. — Minimize the environmental foot print, Optimize harvested yield, Maximize — Dale Cowan, AGRIS nutrient utilization.” and Wanstead Co-operatives

Continued from page 29 to run into different soil textures and productivity capacity soils on rented land. This is where one size does not fit all, and it may be worth the extra time to plan for different N strategies.

Measuring the impact is also part of this approach: the use of systems such as N Watch or INCrop are similar to soil testing. Yes, there are costs involved — N Watch is a sentinel system that requires about $300 worth of nitrate soil tests and delivers the results as part of a web-based system. It tracks behaviour as opposed to making N recommendations. But the more information you have, the better-informed decisions you can make.

INCrop applications vary from $10 to $14 per acre and may or may not come with an additional cost, depending on a farmer’s current N application methods.

“As with most systems, it’s simply a decision to do it,” says Cowan, adding that making such a decision is similar to taking what can be a difficult first step into variable rate technology. Yet there are components of production that become more apparent with each step. “For instance, yield is constrained by soil moisture prior to the reproductive stages, so moisture drives yield potential, and yield potential 30 country-guide.ca

drives N demand. We need to have a system where N application is flexible to make adjustments late in a season, and a system to evaluate yield potential.”

Cowan also notes there are some rapid test systems coming to the market, where testing can be done in the field. Reports are variable in terms of their relative accuracy and consistency, but there are definite savings in both time and the expense of sending a sample to the lab.

“With N Watch, if sites are strategically placed in various management systems and soil textures, we can track those with regular timed nitrate tests that include ammonium and nitrate at two depths,” says Cowan.

“So there’s the ability to understand conversion rates and movement, and to be able to make adjustments to application strategies later in-season. And we’d also have an environmental report card demonstrating due diligence in managing N supply.”

There is also research being done with weather records and models and stand evaluations. But N use really comes down to application, timing and whether you use protected N sources. In high-yield environments, Cowan says farmers should plan for fluidity, both in budget rates and timing. In fact, “Nitrogen Management as a System” should be a separate line item in the annual budget.

In recent years, there have been springtime concerns about fertilize supply. It’s been a result of larger farms, tighter planting and application windows, and poor short-term memory.

Instead, Cowan sees an opportunity. He points to the potential for farmers to enter into supply chain agreements with dealers and retailers. The level of sophistication in supply and supply management is increasing, and deciding early on how N is to be applied and at what rates would make a farmer an attractive partner is such an agreement.

“The days of bottomless warehouses and endless supply available at the last minute are slowly slipping away — if they’re not gone already,” says Cowan. “We encourage our farmers to get crop plans done early with their crop specialists, run through the 20 questions, get a fertility plan done early, then spend the time at the critical moment executing a well thought-out plan.”

Also, Cowan suggests farmers have a look at the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative (GLASI), currently being promoted on the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) website. He emphasizes that it’s a good exercise for farmers to go through. In this 22-page self-assessment, farmers can see more of the impact of their farming practices, with additional evaluation of a certified crop adviser (CCA). Together, this will help establish a benchmark of aggregated data concerning general soil and pollinator health status and nutrient use as well as conservation practices in Ontario.

And, as Cowan points out, combining the information from GLASI with answers to the 20 questions on N use, it’s surprising what farmers can learn about their farms and their management practices.

To learn more, go to: http://ontariosoilcrop.com/ oscia-programs/glasi/farmland-health-check-up/. CG February 2, 2016

Understand the trends, see the opportunities

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2015-11-20 11:31 AM

CropsGuide # PestPatrol

with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

ave a question you want answered?

H Hashtag #PestPatrol on twitter.com to @cowbrough or email Mike at mike.cowbrough@ontario.ca.

Do potassium levels affect my weed management?

Figure 1: The difference in light reaching the soil surface between rows of soybeans in plots with adequate potassium (blue line) compared to plots showing potash deficiency symptoms (red line).

Figure 2: Weed escapes in a soybean plot void of potash deficiency symptoms (late August 2014).

potash to move deeper into the root zone for plant uptake the following year, particularly since some of our trial treatments would be in a no-till system.

What was observed during the growing season as we collected data was that plots that fell in a region with very low-testing potassium (50 ppm) showed deficiency symptoms, even after potash was broadcast in the spring, whereas plots that fell in a region with better levels of potassium (80 ppm), showed little to no symptoms. The significance of this is that when we evaluated canopy closure by quantifying the amount of light that reached the soil, there was noticeably more light reaching the soil surface in the plots showing potash deficiency (Figure 1). When we evaluated weed control and seed production prior to soybean harvest, there were more weeds and weed seeds in the plots that expressed potassium deficiency symptoms (Figure 2).

This serves as a nice reminder that if soil fertility issues aren’t addressed adequately, your investment in other management, like weed control, will never be maximized. CG

1.

3.

2.

4.

All images courtesy of Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

oils that test “low” in potassium negatively affect weed control in soybeans.

When soils test low for potassium, soybean plants will express deficiency symptoms that reduce canopy closure and allow more weeds to germinate and compete with the soybean crop for other resources.

In the spring of 2014, Dr. François Tardif and I began a long-term study of cropping systems that aims to quantify the contributions of “cultural practices” (e.g. fertility, cover crops, tillage, plant populations and rotation) on weed control. When we collected soil tests for each replication of the trial, we were surprised to find a range of potassium levels between replications that could be characterized as low (ranging from 50-90 ppm).

To address this limitation, potash was broadcast on the site to correct this deficiency and build the soil potassium level. Unfortunately, we only had the opportunity to apply potash in the spring. The significance of this is that fall applications of potash would have provided a greater opportunity for the

Figure 3: Weed escapes in a soybean plot showing potash deficiency symptoms (late August 2014).

Figure 4: Potash deficiency symptoms in soybean.

32 country-guide.ca

February 2, 2016

CropsGuide

By Ralph Pearce, CG Production Editor

Out-thinking the swede midge What happens when the best recommendation is to stop growing the crop? o near-north canola growers have to stop growing the crop? This is the challenge facing canola growers in the Ontario’s Temiskaming district as they battle increasing pressure from swede midge.

The pest, which wasn’t a huge issue in Ontario until 2011, is now causing large-scale yield loss in parts of Ontario’s near north.

Terry Phillips, an agronomist with Co-op Regionale de Nipissing-Sudbury, in the Temiskaming area, acknowledges the difficulty in telling growers not to grow a staple like canola.

Phillips points to a neighbouring grower who yielded 0.9 tonnes per acre in 2013, but then got only 0.25 tonnes in 2014 even though he planted into a field that hadn’t seen canola for several years.

“Swede midge migrated west in his case, and found him,” Phillips says.

“They’re not supposed to be that mobile a pest, but they seem to find canola.”

Agronomists and researchers are still trying to determine what brings swede midge to fields with such intensity.

“It seems about the third week of June you start to get these spikes of population of swede midge coming out of the soil from the pupae, and we thought it was a temperature and moisture relationship and now we think it’s moisture.”

Phillips notes that on his own farm in 2014, a summer student did midge counts from pheromone traps twice each week.

The numbers were always single digit.

Then, following a light shower on the weekend, a Monday count turned up more than 1,000 in the trap.

“I remember because it was a Tuesday morning, I sprayed it at 5:00 in the morning because I had to go to Guelph that day, and that was the last pass I did and the headlands were starting to bolt, so I wanted to get out ahead of the bees in the morning,” says Phillips.

“I had 21 acres as a test plot — I thought we were on top of it, sprayed it four times and I had a third of a tonne of canola.”

February 2, 2016

In the end, he spent $450 per acre on swede midge control but earned only $150 for his efforts.

Confounding the battle is the swede midge’s ability to adapt and overcome whatever farmers throw at it.

In most years, swede midge goes through four generations, with several plant species that can host the insect.

They can also overwinter for more than one year, and contrary to the common belief that they’re poor fliers, the pest can fly up to one kilometre.

More questions than answers Stresses such as extreme wet weather or a cold spring can push the crop into extra trouble.

Current research by Dr. Rebecca Hallett of the University of Guelph and Brian Hall from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) indicates a two-stage insecticide application may be the best approach — one at the two-leaf stage and a second just prior to bolting.

times in a season, a grower is one step closer to selecting for resistance.

One possible plan, says Phillips, is to install traps in fields that have been affected in the past, and then to leave those traps in place for up to four years to track pest movement.

But all of these measures take time and scarce resources, first in determining a course or courses of action, and then implementing them and charting their efficacy.

The other challenge to overcoming this particular pest is the lack of alternative crops for the Temiskaming-West Nipissing-Cochrane triangle.

Phillips plants soybeans, and he’s also working with business interests in Saskatchewan, trying to determine the viability of fababeans grown in Ontario and shipped to the Middle East.

But there are certain logistics and climate-related hurdles for the northern region, especially with corn and soybeans.

Since there aren’t the processing/ crush facilities that are commonplace in the south, most of what’s grown in the region is fed to local livestock.

“ I had 21 acres as a test plot — I thought we were on top of it, sprayed it four times and I had a third of a tonne of canola.”

— Terry Phillips, agronomist and chair,

Ontario Canola Growers Association

“It’s trying to keep up to the economics,” says Phillips, noting there were some growers in the north who sprayed as many as six times in 2014.

“They use their own equipment so they weren’t paying application costs, but you’re still spending money and flirting at the end with the whole issue of ‘bee-kills.’”

And by applying any chemical spray — whether it’s Matador (cyhalothrinlambda), Coragen (chlorantraniliprole) or something else — as many as six

Trucking costs, especially with the current commodity price situation, means the area has limited competitive stretch.

Later in the season, the day-length is another barrier to a quick-fix solution. At the start of summer, Phillips and other growers can count on a few more minutes of daylight.

But by season’s end, the days are starting to get shorter at a faster rate, which would decrease yield in corn and soybeans. CG country-guide.ca 33

business

China’s Zoomlion brand had a large display at Agritechnica in Germany in November. The company is hoping to expand into new world markets.

Photo: Scott Garvey

make room

Is there really enough market for two more full-line farm equipment manufacturers?

By Scott Garvey, CG Machinery Editor n a second floor conference room at the Hanover fairgrounds in Germany during the Agritechnica machinery expo in November, a panel of experts got together to present their individual views on the present and future of the agricultural machinery market around the globe.

Despite the fact world demand for new machinery has slowed significantly, optimism was relatively high. In fact, it was high enough for one expert to suggest there is — or at least will be — room for as many as two more global, full-line farm machinery brands in the world market.

Really?

As the world’s ag journalists listened, the windows of our conference room opened with an impressive view of the 30 or so giant exhibit halls in which more than a couple of up-and-coming manufacturers were exhibiting their equipment, some of them making no secret of the fact they intend to occupy one of those new, full-line, global-brand opportunities of the future.

But competition for those spots will be intense.

In today’s market, it isn’t only the major brands that are delving into unfamiliar markets. Small- and medium-size manufacturers are also trying to grow their businesses in foreign markets, according to the managing director of the VDMA (the German Engineering Federation), Bernd Scherer, who participated in that expert panel discussion.

34 country-guide.ca

“If I look at the situation from the German manufacturers’ point of view, the small- and mediumsize manufacturers are very active in many of these markets,” Scherer said. “There, I think the world has changed considerably; 15 or 20 years ago I don’t think any small- or medium-size company would have dared to approach any of the emerging markets and invest in them because the risks are considerable.

Now look at how many small- and medium-size companies have invested in markets like Africa and China, because they expect returns.”

But if those ambitious small- and medium-size companies now dare to battle it out in foreign lands, another trend was also becoming obvious at Agritechnica; some of the manufacturers that are hoping to take on the world are brands few westerners have ever heard of.

Among them are Chinese companies looking to move west into markets in Europe as they, too, chase “global manufacturer” status.

Being a major player in all the world’s markets, however, means catering to a host of very different demands in markets where needs vary considerably.

“You can imagine that a farmer in a newly industrialized country, in Africa, in Asia, in China, has completely different requirements for a tractor than, for instance, a customer in Western Europe,” said Roger Stirnimann, a professor at the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences in Zollikofen, February 2, 2016

business Switzerland, during the conference. “The customers in these emerging countries ask for simple, robust and reliable technology. Of course they also demand an appropriate price.”

“Maintenance is supposed to be simple so that everything can be done in the field,” Stirnimann continued. “This is also true for repairs. Everything should be quite simple. It shouldn’t require expensive tools. And last, but not least, (machines) shouldn’t be sensitive to different fuel qualities that might not be on the same level we are used to.”

To move into markets in the emerging countries, western tractor brands have built simple, lower-horsepower models that more closely resemble those that were in use on Canadian farms in the middle of the last century. For Asian manufacturers that want to be global brands, however, the challenge has been the opposite. It’s been to create sophisticated, higher-horsepower models that appeal to European and North American farmers. That means adding cutting-edge technology and advanced operator comfort features, not yet something their home markets demand.

All of this presents a much greater challenge than — for lack of a better term — dumbing down a machine.

At least two brands from China were making noises at the show about global expansion. One of them, Zoomlion, had clearly spent a bundle buying floor space to introduce new tractor models that are moving up into the mid-horsepower category. Zoomlion now offers models that surpass the 200-horsepower mark, well above the typical sizes that dominate Asian home markets, so clearly this brand is putting its R&D money where its mouth is.

To conquer the world, the logical first step for companies based in emerging nations whose machines offer limited horsepower is to move into Western Europe, where 200-horsepower machines still appeal to a relatively broad range of farmers. Eastern Europe and North America must then wait until the horsepower limits of their tractors grow along with their presence on the world stage.

But being taken seriously in the West means these Chinese firms are facing an additional challenge. Walk through exhibits from some manufacturers based there, and gaps in their plan for world domination start to become obvious. The inscrutable East seems to find the West equally difficult to understand. Mastering February 2, 2016

the subtle nuances of appealing to western consumers appears to be an art many haven’t yet come to terms with.

The displays of some Chinese exhibitors at Agritechnica seemed to have a lot in common with something you might expect to see at a street market vendor.

Bright-yellow walls (a colour associated with social status, good luck and the earth in the Five Elements Theory within Chinese culture) often looked out of place, especially since they were plastered with poorly translated, English language slogans. They weren’t exactly stopping passersby in their tracks.

Even in some of the better turned-out Chinese exhibits, language translations were often poorly done. The language skills of many people inside the displays were even worse.

The overall marketing strategies of some Chinese manufacturers seem to miss the mark, too. Consider the Zoomlion brand name, for example. I suspect that name — or a literal translation of it — is culturally significant in China. The question is, will most western farmers just consider it silly? Farmers are likely going to be reluctant to write a six-figure

cheque for a machine that doesn’t command their respect.

I can remember interviewing a Saskatchewan farmer several years ago, because he operated a farm fleet made up exclusively of ’70s-era, Soviet-built tractors. The brand did develop a small and loyal following here, but for the most part it failed to make major market inroads.

Many potential buyers just wouldn’t take these tractors seriously. That particular farmer did, and he was willing to sacrifice the sophistication common to traditional North American brands in order to reap the low operating cost these tractors offered. But his comments during our conversation seemed to sum things up.

“They have to have good lights,” he said with a smile. “Why?” I asked, a little confused. “Because you only want to drive them at night when no one can see you,” he replied.

Learning to understand the subtleties of western markets is one major hurdle that up-and-coming brands from Asia and all emerging countries will have to clear before they can truly set themselves on a path to global status. Either that or they’ll need to build tractors with good lights. CG

What’s in a name?

In Europe, most tractor manufacturers have used model names for decades, just as North Americans have used model names for their cars.

Now, we can expect to see more names for tractors and other farm equipment on this side of the Atlantic too.

It’s because global companies are moving toward increased standardization of their equipment across all western markets. For example, Case IH has just added to its practice of naming tractors with the introduction of the new Optum line.

The name Optum is one of those made-up words companies are increasingly turning to instead of monikers that actually mean something, like Ford’s “Mustang” or Chrysler’s “Ram.” These days marketing bosses at Case IH aren’t alone in opting for mean-nothing names. It’s a trend European brands are embracing as more and more of their machines head off to foreign markets.

“The machines that were built during the beginning of our company history had relatively normal names,” said Gunter Leigers, a retired engineer at Claas, as he guided a group of journalists through the company’s factory in Harsewinkel, Germany in November.

“Names had a realistic meaning,” he continued. “Now, over three-quarters of our machinery is sold outside Germany. So, that gives you a problem with naming your equipment. If the translation of a name is not well done, people would either be laughing at you or not taking your equipment seriously. So that is why, more and more, we’re using artificial names, like Arion, Xerion and Lexion.

“One of the reasons is the problem of translating names. Chevrolet, for instance, built a small car named Nova. It might be a good name of a star in the sky, but in Spanish it can mean ‘it doesn’t work.’ Now, would you drive a car (with a name) that clearly says this car doesn’t work at all? That’s the reason we’ve decided in favour of artificial names and acronyms. But it’s always a problem finding a proper name for new machinery.”

country-guide.ca 35

ame-management

Use financial ratios to diagnose operational issues

By Larry Martin, PhD, Agri-Food Management Excellence

- Cost of Goods Sold (CoGs)

operating efficiency — i.e. operating earnings/revenue, should be around 35 per cent.

These ratios are attained by many of the cash crop and livestock farms in CTEAM. Expect higher gross margins, but also higher operating cost ratios for horticulture. Operating ratios will be lower for feedlots Cost Ratio because of their proportion of 35% purchased inputs.

(TR-COGs)/TR

he profit and loss statement provides three financial ratios that can help identify operational issues and set priorities in your operations plan.

The ratios and their benchmarks are: Revenue/ Earnings

Operating Ratio

Total revenue (Sales) (TR)

Cost Category

Gross Marg.

(GM)

65% (GM/TR)

- Other Operating Costs (OC)

15-20% (GM–OC)/TR

Contribution Marg. (CM)

45-50% (CM/TR)

- Operating Overhds. (OH)

10-15% (CM-OH/TR)

EBITDA

35% (EBITDA/TR)

The first and third columns define revenue/earnings and cost categories deducted from them on a standardized operating statement. The second and fourth are the resulting operating and cost ratios and their benchmarks. Cost of goods sold should be 35 per cent of revenue for cash crop and some livestock farms. CoGs is essentially seed, chemicals and fertilizer for crops, and feed, vet and medicine for livestock. Deducting CoGs from Revenue gives Gross Margin, 65 per cent of sales (by definition).

Next, subtract Other Operating Costs (OC) from Gross Margin. OC includes hired labour, custom work, and machinery operating costs (fuel, lube, repairs and maintenance). For crop and most livestock farms, these should be 15 to 20 per cent of total revenue. The resulting contribution margin, by definition, is 45 to 50 per cent of sales.

Finally, subtracting off Operating Overheads gives Earnings before Interest, Taxes and Depreciation/Amortization. Overheads are normally in the 10 to 15 per cent range. They include hydro, management salaries, insurance, rents, legal and accounting expenses, property taxes. So, by definition, total

36 country-guide.ca

Using the ratios to diagnose and evaluate your operating statement

Your ratios and the standards provide a lot of information about your operational effectiveness. To illustrate, three example farms’ ratios are below: (it’s best to use three to five years of data to get an accurate picture of what’s happening).

Farm 1

Farm 2

Farm 3

Gross margin %

71

57

69

Contribution %

40

39

52

Operating efficiency %

26

26

26

I start with operating efficiency: it signals the overall health of the business because it’s how much is left of each dollar of sales after paying all costs except depreciation, interest and taxes. OE is 26 per cent for all three, above average but below the benchmark.

Yet each of the three show very different characteristics.

Farm 1 exceeds the 65 per cent benchmark for gross margin and is under 15 per cent for operating overheads. Farm 1’s problem is that its other operating costs are 31 per cent of revenue while 15 to 20 per cent is expected. High OCs may indicate excess labour that needs to be used more effectively. Alternatively, machinery operating costs may be high because of age of equipment and/or too

much for the farm. Another possibility is small equipment is being purchased that is not employed well or should be included in capital costs and depreciated.

Often the best approach is to examine the largest individual costs in this category and focus on reducing them or find ways to employ them more effectively.

Farm 2 has good cost control since other operating and overhead costs are 18 per cent and 13 per cent of revenue, well within the target ranges, but CoGs is 43 per cent. This likely means Farm 2 has problems with some combination of product selling prices, low yields or ineffective control of direct production costs.

Farm 3 has CoGs and OC of 31 per cent and 13 per cent, but overheads are 26 per cent of revenue. This problem often stems from high rental prices for land or from an operation that is overpaying for management labour.

Summary The examples illustrate the variety of situations that can exist: different farms have different factors affecting their performance. Financial results in this standardized format show whether poor performance is simply a result of bad markets or management factors that can be corrected. They also illustrate that identifying the problem is the first step in setting priorities to make improvements in operations. Farm 1 is going to focus on labour and machinery costs. Farm 2 will prioritize production and marketing.

Farm 3 will likely try to do something about rental rates or management costs.

Of course, effort has to be maintained on aspects that are doing well, but this approach can be helpful in prioritizing management efforts.

Larry Martin is a principal of Agri-Food Management Excellence and is one of the instructors in AME’s Canadian Total Excellence in Agriculture Management program. www.agrifoodtraining.com.

February 2, 2016

CANADIAN FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION

www.canadianfga.ca • Ph: 506-260-0872

Dr. Bruce Coulman (third from left) received the CFGA Leadership Award from (l-r) CFGA chair Doug Wray, Claude Lesperance of CNH and Doug Warrener of CNH.

A successful conference in Saskatoon The Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association held its sixth annual conference, November 17-19 in Saskatoon, with 124 participants attending from across Canada and the United States.

What better way to kick off a conference than with an optional tour?

Pre-conference delegates had the opportunity to explore the University of Saskatchewan’s Rayner Dairy Research and Teaching Facility, the Canadian Light Source Inc’s Synchrotron and New Holland’s Manufacturing Facility.

The conference proceedings, which are now available on the CFGA website, www.canadianfga.ca, touched on topics ranging from energy-dense forages and forage fertility to sustainable beef and conservation tillage systems to support soil health development.

The Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association is online with a newly refreshed website and online resource.

Connect with CFGA on Twitter @CFGA_ACPF and on Facebook!

Each year the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association recognizes an individual who exemplifies and enhances

the goals of the CFGA, and whose leadership has national or international significance for the promotion or advancement of forage and grasslands management. This year, the CFGA Leadership Award was awarded to Dr. Bruce Coulman, a leader in Western Canadian forage development.

Dr. Coulman is a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, where he has served as head of the Plant Sciences Department for eight years. His research has focused on perennial forage grasses, cereal forages and grass seed production, and he has been involved in the development and registration of over 20 forage cultivars through his work at the U of S and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Planning is already underway for the 2016 CFGA conference, which will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, November 15-17, 2016 — mark it in your calendar! We look forward to seeing you there!

business With 82 first-come, first-served truck bays and 5,000 registered buyers, the terminal buzzes with farm activity.

Terminal story ucked between a Shoppers Drug Mart and an overgrown hedge, the entrance to the Ontario Food Terminal is nearly impossible to find after you turn off the bustling Queensway in southwest Toronto — unless you know where you’re going.

Yet every day, about 2,500 people in cars, halftons, cube vans and tractor-trailers do know exactly where they’re going, and they steer here to sell and buy vast quantities of fresh produce.

They also know how vital the sprawling 40-acre terminal is to their livelihoods.

Like its hidden entrance, the food terminal, as it is always called, is almost unknown outside the fresh fruit and vegetable business, despite its 60-plus year history. As Canada’s largest wholesale produce distribution centre, it has a huge influence on those inside the business, helping set produce prices, providing a “one-stop-shop” for large and small buyers and sellers, and even sometimes something of a second home.

38 country-guide.ca

By Lois Harris

Should other farmers care? To answer that, read on.

“My life is here,” says Bill Boots, who hauls flowers, beans, squash, Brussels sprouts and several other vegetables from his 530-acre farm southwest of Brantford to the terminal from Sunday to Friday for seven months of the year. His day starts at 10:30 p.m. (that’s right: 10:30 p.m.) when he leaves home with a full trailer load, arriving at midnight to catch his early customers from northern Ontario.

“These guys want to get on the road by 2 a.m., so we have to be here,” Boots says.

Boots stays at the terminal until 11:30 a.m. selling his produce to dozens of wholesale buyers, and then heads back home to load up and start the cycle again at 10:30 p.m. when most of us will be thinking about bed.

It’s a hard life, but a rewarding one for the 400 farmers who pay to have stalls at the farmers’ market area of the terminal.

“I’ve done better in sales every year I’ve been coming here,” Boots says.

February 2, 2016

Photography: anne de haas

Handling over a million tons of produce a year, the Ontario Food Terminal is like agriculture’s Port of Vancouver in the east, and just as complex

business

Ontario growers sell their produce and horticultural products on a daily basis by paying $44 at the entrance gate or they can apply for a stall either on an annual or semi-annual basis. The annual rent per square foot of space is $3.31. There are also warehousing facilities that currently accommodate 21 tenants, and cold storage for $12 per pallet per week.

“Any grower in Ontario who wants to bring product down to the terminal will never be denied,” says Victor Debono, the terminal’s interim board chair.

The Ontario Food Terminal board was set up in 1954 by the provincial government, which mandated it to build, equip and operate a wholesale fruit and produce market. Today, the split between local and imported produce going through the terminal is about 40 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively, with high-end buyers leaning more and more to local.

There is also evidence of new construction all around. With 40 employees and $1.7 million in net revenue, nearly $9 million has been spent over the last year and a half on upgrades that provide cover for buyers to keep out of the cold, rain and snow. Renovations also include an overhead walkway connecting the north and south buildings so that office staff can move around the premises without having to thread through the controlled chaos of the market and warehouse.

After this phase of construction, there will be 82 bays that buyers can use to load and unload their trucks.

Almost everyone talks about how the activity at the terminal only seems chaotic. It is, in reality, organized. The whole place — both the warehouse and the farmers market — vibrates with the energy of business getting done.

February 2, 2016

On a Monday morning, forklifts driven by tenant employees whiz along the clean cement hallways, darting in and out of storages and warehouses like oversized mechanized grocery carts, bringing pallets of fresh squash, apples and eggplants to waiting trucks backed up to bays in the “buyers court.”

Buyers are sent to the terminal from grocery store chains and independents, restaurants, and even smaller farmers markets.

“The bays are all first come, first served,” says general manager Bruce Nicholas, who has been on the job since 1975. He says the farmers’ market was moved to the south side of the premises, where it can be organized in a more orderly fashion.

Most of the growers who come to the terminal have been doing so for decades. For some, their children are carrying on the tradition. For others, it’s the end of the line.

“You meet some inspirational people here from humble beginnings — there are some real success stories, both farmers and buyers,” says Doug Overholt, who has 150 acres of fruit trees in St. Catharines.

Overholt’s family has been in the business since the early 1800s and he has been bringing a truckload of 20 skids six days a week since the 1970s.

But he’ll be the last of a family tradition.

“I’m the last kick at the can,” he says. “Part of a dying breed.”

Other growers are in the process of handing the business to the next generation.

For Rosario Riga and his three sons, 300 acres of chard, kale and other greens go through the food terminal from their farm just north of Toronto.

Continued on page 40 country-guide.ca 39

business

The crops may be small-acreage, but the farms are big business.

Continued from page 39 Rosario Riga farms 300 acres of “greens” near Newmarket. He has three sons who now run the operation, which specializes in parsley, cilantro, dandelions, herbs, collards, Swiss chard, black and red kale, as well as the more traditional celery, onions and carrots. Riga sells to Sobey’s and Loblaws as well as many smaller outlets.

One of those smaller outlets is Michael-Angelo’s, an independent family grocer that has two markets in Mississauga and Markham and will soon open another in Aurora.

“The service is excellent here,” says Frank Berardi, Michael-Angelo’s head produce buyer. “The terminal gives the smaller guys like us the opportunity to buy from a lot of growers all at one time.”

Berardi has been a buyer for 21 years, and his focus is on local.

“Ninety-five per cent of our produce comes from the food terminal,” Berardi says. “And from June to the beginning of November, about 80 per cent of what I buy is locally grown.”

Berardi likes working at the terminal because the farmers know what he’s looking for and he’s built solid relationships with them over the years. He says while he’s buying and talking to growers on a Monday, he can plan for what will be available on Thursday — the terminal’s biggest day for transactions.

40 country-guide.ca

“People here are all friendly and easy to get along with,” Berardi says.

There are 5,000 registered buyers who spend their days negotiating and purchasing tons of produce on behalf of their grocery stores, supermarkets, restaurants, farmers markets and more. More than a million tons of produce goes through the terminal every year.

Growers appreciate the one-stop shopping aspect of the terminal just as much as the buyers.

“The customers come to you, instead of having to truck all over Toronto,” says Sam Daraiche of Kingsville.

“It cuts down on the traffic, and it’s safe and clean.”

Daraiche has 10 acres of greenhouse vegetables under glass in Kingsville, three and a half hours east near Windsor-Detroit. He started out as a broker in the business that his father launched after emigrating from Lebanon in 1962, and Daraiche says he grew up in the market. He says the terminal is like an auction every day, and, like his father, he believes that “when the customer says ‘take it to the truck’ — you have the right price.”

Daraiche’s nephew Eddie owns Zakaria Produce of London, and he caters to high-end markets with niche products.

“Longo’s (an Ontario supermarket chain) loves my baby eggplants,” he says. Most farmers grow bigger eggplants, because they get a larger yield per plant — he doesn’t because his customer likes the smaller ones. He also grows okra and cucumbers, among other vegetables.

February 2, 2016

business

For Streef Produce, with 2,500 acres of potatoes plus a wholesale business, the $220,000 rent pays off Zakaria’s approach to business is to carefully listen to his customers’ demands while talking to them at the terminal. He does his own marketing and sells his own produce because he likes to keep more of the price he charges. He’s planning to add chili peppers to his product offerings next year because of a customer request.

Inside the warehouse, Peter Streef rents two units for about $220,000 per year. Streef Produce is a unique combination of grower, wholesaler and importer.

Besides having its own 2,500 acres of potatoes, beans and many other vegetables, the company imports from all over the world, including asparagus from Peru and mangoes from Brazil.

But the main focus is on Ontario produce.

Depending on the season, Streef ships produce from 20 to 50 local growers to the terminal. With partners in Winnipeg and Calgary, the company can distribute right across the country.

“Smaller independent businesses would not survive without the food terminal,” Streef says. He February 2, 2016

believes that the robust multicultural markets that are the pride of Toronto would not be possible without the OFT. Tony Fallico sells produce out of the terminal for Ontario’s third-largest importer, F.G Lister and Company. He says the terminal gives him a vehicle to develop relationships with his customers.

“Face-to-face discussions help a lot,” he says.

“It’s better than negotiating by phone.”

His company uses the limited space it has in the terminal warehouse to show customers what they have on offer. Negotiations take place at the terminal, and produce is shipped from the company’s larger warehouses.

“At Montreal, where there is no central site — customers have to go to three different warehouses to get what they want,” Fallico says, and he notes Toronto is one of only six such terminals of its kind in North America — the others are in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Los Angeles.

Yet the terminal’s operations are marked by an odd mix of technology, with 100 security cameras monitoring every corner of the premises, but a manual inventory system that relies completely on paper.

“We’ve never lost a pallet,” says general manager Bruce Nicholas. “It works and we’re not changing it.” CG country-guide.ca 41

HR

Thrive Becoming the best you can be

By Pierrette Desrosiers, psychologist and coach

hat does the word “thrive” mean to you? On one level, it seems self-evident — to thrive is to prosper, to succeed, or to make steady progress.

But what criteria do you use to measure whether or not you’re thriving? How do you judge your prosperity, success or progress?

If you ask anyone what it means to thrive in business, or if you ask them what success and prosperity look like, you will usually find that their answers focus at least in part on money, power, and prestige.

For many entrepreneurs, the measure of thriving is too often reduced to the acquisition of money and power. It can be measured in numbers: more land, trophies, profits, or employees. It can even be measured by shinier pickups and bigger machinery.

But this limited view of thriving comes with a price. Of course, good numbers are an important part of a thriving business — but that definition seems clearly insufficient. Maybe it could even be the reason you don’t feel like you’re thriving.

As Arianna Huffington, author of Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, said in a Forbes interview, “Over time our society’s notion of success has been reduced to money and power… This idea of success can work — or appear to work — (only) in short term.”

So what’s a better definition?

Let’s start by recognizing that not being sick doesn’t mean you’re healthy. Making money or acquiring land doesn’t mean you’ve created a thriving business. Then, let’s look at other metrics: • D o your business practices contribute to your employees’ well-being?

• Does your work environment encourage more collaboration than competition?

• Are your business practices ethical?

• Do your business decisions cause more good than harm to the environment?

• Are your employees as happy to show up in the morning as they are to leave at the end of the day?

• Do you talk with your employees, and are they happy to talk to you?

• Are you more respected than feared?

• Do your goals centre around a bigger purpose than making you or your associates rich?

As I’ve met my clients and heard their stories, I’ve come to realize alongside them that a thriving business is about connection, mission and purpose. It is also 42 country-guide.ca

about compassion and forgiveness. These concepts, which don’t appear in management courses at university, are critical for developing a healthy business.

Then, once we develop a thriving business, what about a thriving life? Can we have one without the other? Usually not.

In almost 20 years, I have seen hundreds of family farms that, with the help of marketing experts, have developed successful businesses without ever consciously trying to cultivate the ideal of “thriving.”

After years of trying to replicate in their personal lives the success they’ve found in their businesses, they’re now asking how they can thrive in life.

Here again, we find that a thriving life is about more than not being sick. It is more than not having cancer or suffering from depression or addiction.

So what does it mean to thrive in life?

Thriving is knowing that you contribute positively to your family, your business, and your community. It is knowing that, at the end of the day, you will have added something to another’s life.

It is being clear about your values and acting accordingly.

It is accepting life when you can’t change it and acting with courage when you fear the situation.

It is having someone with whom you can honestly speak about your fears, your joys and your hopes.

It involves wisdom, bringing purpose and compassion into your life.

It is about forgiveness.

It is about personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance.

In short, we could say it is to feel you are becoming the best you can become, a little more every day.

So why should you care about a thriving business and a thriving life? Numerous studies show a high correlation between the psychological health of employees and the company’s bottom line.

As a leader, you participate in others’ lives. A true leader will also help others develop or maintain a thriving life. Entrepreneurs are a little like parents. People look at you, and whether you like it or not, you wield monumental influence. CG Pierrette Desrosiers, MPS, CRHA is a work psychologist, professional speaker, coach and author who specializes in the agricultural industry.

She comes from a family of farmers and she and her husband have farmed for more than 25 years.

Find her at www.pierrettedesroiers.com, or contact her at pierrete@pierrettedesrosiers.com. february 2, 2016

IFAO CONFERENCE 2016

February 23 and 24, 2016

Lamplighter Inn, London

Here’s a conference with a difference. More opportunities for direct contact with speakers in breakout sessions and opportunities to share with Ontario’s most progressive farmers at a banquet followed by a host bar and networking session. This is a conference that sends you home with more than general concepts and novel ideas. You will have the opportunity to ask “how will this work within my operation” and start the process of fleshing out how these new concepts could be implemented on your farm.

Dr. Joel Gruver – The Right Cover Crop To Fit Your System

Joel will help you determine the right cover crop fit for YOUR farm recognizing that cover crops work best when they match your soil types, tillage systems, crop rotations, livestock enterprises and scale of operation using research results and the experiences of farmers in Ontario and similar climate zones. He will discuss the impact of cover crops on nutrient availability and soil moisture dynamics.

Dr. Elaine Ingham – The Soil Food Web

Dr. Ingham is an international leader in soil microbiology and has been researching the life in our soil for over 25 years. Her research data is the basis of her commitment to communicate how life on earth is sustained by a complex underground ecological system – the soil food web. She will demonstrate how micro-organisms maintain the structure and fertility of the soil and guide us through research that proves that symbiotic relationships between plants and microorganisms are not the exception but the rule.

Jamie Scott – Cover Crop Benefits Outweigh the Investment

Jamie will share his evolution from single to multi-species cover crops, how they work in his farming system and his research into the ability of cover crops to increase water retention and infiltration. He is convinced that planting cover crops provides benefits that far outweigh the investment — including net returns of $600 to $700 per acre. He uses cover crops on all 2,000 acres of the family farm and aerially sprays cover crops on another 60,000 acres across Indiana.

Sarah Singla – Moving from Sustainable to Regenerative

Sarah Singla is an inspirational voice and innovator on the power of covered soil, no till, companion crops and a diverse rotation to grow more with less. Managing her family farm in the south of France (no-till since 1980) in an area that receives less than 30 mm annual rainfall, Sarah has taken her grandfather’s dedication to rebuilding the soil several steps further using cover crops and 12 crop varieties to build life into her soil and improve productivity.

Loran Steinlage – Corn on Corn – Strip Till – And Equipment Innovations The Hour of Innovation – Four Presentations on Farm Driven Innovative Solutions

Major Conference Sponsors

For more details or to register go website at www.ifao.com

business

Last of the first-born tradition

By Angela Lovell

f you’re the first-born male, it used to mean you had won the lottery. You got to inherit the biggest share, you got to take over as boss, and you got to sit at the head of the family table. But today that kind of European hierarchy is quickly fading on the family farm.

Except… how do you decide who should be in charge, or how to split the estate when you can’t simply apply the old first-born formula the way all our previous generations did?

“Just because you have a son or daughter who has grown up on the farm, doesn’t mean that he or she is the best suited to run it,” says family farm coach and succession planner, Elaine Froese. “You need to separate the fact that they are your children and say, from a business perspective, are they the ones who have the skill set that your farm team needs?”

It’s also understandable that you feel you should try to accommodate as many family members as possible. We aren’t good at saying “no” to our children.

And who wants to risk the bad relations?

But that doesn’t mean you’re being kind. Instead, you may simply be sailing toward an even bigger wreck in future.

“I have seen situations where people say, ‘My kids want to farm, so I’ve got to make room for them.’ But if they don’t want to farm together and one is dragging the other along, you are just pushing that problem out 10 years, and there’s eventually going to be a blow-up,” says Len Davies, founder of Davies Legacy Planning Group, who has guided many farm families through succession. “When you look at succession planning, you’ve got three circles — the family, the business, and the ownership. If your kids aren’t capable of running the farm and you’re saying, they’re going to be successors because they want to be, then all you’re going to do is mess up the management circle, which then will mess up the family circle, and mess up the ownership part.”

Almost as bad is the situation where an unwilling child inherits by default, for example due to the sudden death of the parent who was running the farm operation, or from legacy pressure. “I’ve seen 44 country-guide.ca

There’s less and less room for entitlement on today’s family farm

instances where someone is forced to come back to the farm when that’s not what they really wanted,” says Froese. “The reverse of that is legacy pressure; the pressure that some young people feel to continue the family farm when that’s not really their passion.”

� F rom entitlement to gratitude

Froese says she’d like to see entitlement to the family farm replaced by gratitude. “The top three stumbling blocks to a successful farm business transition are lack of appreciation, unwillingness to give up power and control, and lack of forgiveness,” she says. “From a conflict resolution standpoint, a collaborative model of resolving conflict and making collaborative decisions is a win-win for everybody, and is much more effective than a hierarchy.”

Froese emphasizes the importance of clear communication and what she calls the Three Cs — clarity of expectations, certainties of timelines, and commitment to act.

“Clarity of expectations means the family has to sit down and be clear about what their vision is for the farm business and for the family, and how each person wants to show up in both of those systems,” says Froese. “Then speak to each other about what your ideal life looks like and why.”

Certainty of agreements and timelines is also a must. “I know young men who are passionate about having a successful farm business but they’re not getting good leadership from the founder,” she says. “They want them to complete things. They want to know what their vision is and the timeline.

They want to be compensated partially now, because they’re 35 with two young kids. They can’t wait another 10 years and they don’t want everything to be resolved when there’s a death. Wills are great for the dying but they’re not great for the living. They’re not appropriate as a farm business plan because the succession plan is for now; it’s for the living.”

Commitment to act means actually having to start giving things up to meet the current needs of the February 2, 2016

business successor, not just future needs. “The successor needs certainty now and equity now so he or she can leverage for their future earnings. If the parents keep all their equity they can’t get any advantage from growth,” says Froese. “There’s typically a huge fear of failure in the next generation and so that’s why the reins are tight for as long as possible, which I think is crazy. When you have a younger farmer who’s been there for 10 years and has done amazing things, why would it be any different if you changed or transitioned some ownership to them?”

Froese believes many farm men aren’t paying attention to their own self-care and emotional well-being, and if they are trying to live their lives vicariously through the successor, that’s a mistake.

“Live the life you were intended to live at the chapter of life that you’re at,” she says. “Respect your age and respect that your roles are going to shift. Be happy at the stage that you’re at, and be a leader to your team because I would like to see founders become wise elders. There’s always going to be a role for them.”

Davies uses a method known as the Koble Index to help families better understand what makes each other tick. The Koble Index is a computer-based system that assesses each person based on responses to a number of questions across four Action Modes — instincts that humans use to creatively problem solve. Then it rates the person according to his or her unique operating style.

“It tells you how each person will look at a task or an idea, so one person might be the Fact Finder, who likes to do research, while another is the Follow Through, i.e. the person who runs the office perhaps and gets things done. You might have the Quick Start, who is the idea guy, and the Implementer who figures out how to make things work, and suddenly you have a nice team. I tried this with my kids and our family business and it’s a powerful tool.

“Now I look at my kids as assets,” Davies says. “The problem with a lot of parents is if their kids aren’t just like them, and most of the time they’re not, they look at them as a liability rather than an asset which can work for you.”

� Equal versus fair

� B irth order

Davies says he finds it odd that farmers have wrapped their heads around the difference between fair versus equal when it comes to the value of the farm, but they’re having a much harder time applying that same concept to skills.

“If the farm’s worth $2 million and they’ve got four kids, they can’t divide that and give each kid $500,000; they’ve bought into that concept,” he says. “They’re prepared to tell somebody, I’m sorry you’re not getting a quarter of this farm and this is the reason why. But they’re not prepared to say no, you can’t come in because you just don’t have a role here. They want to bring the brother in and that’s OK if the place can support two families, and it’s OK if they realize each other’s strengths and are willing to work with it.

If they don’t realize that, it’s a recipe for disaster.”

Parents also have to be prepared for another child to turn up out of the blue looking for their share of the business, says Froese.

“Parents need to think about reallocating some of their resources to a personal business wealth bubble outside of the farm so they can allocate wealth to non-farming or non-business heirs from a different place and leave the farm alone.”

Birth order does have real-world impact, but it shouldn’t be confused with birthright, Froese says. Birthright has no place on the family farm, she says, because engaged family members — and sometimes even outsiders — who are doing purposeful, meaningful work that’s aligned to their values and the way they are wired, always have a place.

Although it shouldn’t be the deciding factor in who is the best farm leader, birth order does have an influence, says Froese.

“There are psychological differences or different needs or ways of showing up in the world based on birth order,” she says. “For example, people might say, ‘I can tell you’re the oldest child because you’re so responsible and a take-charge kind of person.’

That is typical, and does come with birth order. I do a map on every family I work with, called a genogram. It’s important for me to know how old people are and line them up in descending order because that gives me some clues as to why they might be feeling they’re not getting their independence or ownership and control, based on their ages.” CG

does play a role

� U nderstanding what makes everyone tick

Davies and Froese use many different tools to help farm families identify the strengths, weaknesses and differences in character of everyone involved in the farm succession, and where they best fit into the farm team.

“First of all you look at what the vision is for the farm and — if all parties are in growth mode — are they willing to make collaborative decisions?” says Froese, who uses a tool she calls the ultimate decision maker, which identifies who is making what kinds of decisions on the farm.

“It’s very telling because the best managers are compassionate mentors, and they train and lead to be replaced in the future,” Froese says. “Most farm men don’t ever want to retire but their role is going to shift, and then it becomes the dance of letting go and figuring out which pieces they still want to have a role in, and when the ultimate decision-making goes from the founder to the successor. It’s more valuable when both have a collaborative decision-making role and they make decisions together based on their unique skill sets and perspectives.”

February 2, 2016

Resources to help you choose the right successor: Susan Forward — Emotional Blackmail: When the people in your life use fear, obligation, and guilt to manipulate you,

Harper Collins, 1997.

Dr. Kevin Leman — The Birth Order Book: Why you are the way you are (Revell, 2009).

Elaine Froese — Farming’s In-Law Factor… how to have more harmony and less conflict on family farms.

Stephen Poulter — The Father Factor: How your father’s legacy impacts your career (Prometheus Books, 2006).

Jeanne Safer — Cain’s Legacy: Liberating siblings from a lifetime of rage, shame, secrecy, and regret (Basic Books, 2012).

The Koble Index — http://www.kolbe.com/why-kolbe/kolbewisdom/kolbe-indexes/.

country-guide.ca 45

life

Preparing her to farm Fifteen expert ideas for a better start to a woman’s career on the farm

By Helen Lammers-Helps

s more women join the ranks of primary producers, they still find out there are some challenges working in an industry where they are in the minority. How can young women best prepare for a career as a farmer? How can their families help them.

Country Guide asked a variety of experts from backgrounds as varied as the barn and boardroom for their advice on how to get a great start.

These days, with agriculture getting so much more complex, “producer” and “manager” perspectives are both essential for anyone planning a future in the industry.

Amanda Hammell, a senior financing specialist with RBC Royal Bank who also operates a dairy farm with her husband near Dobbinton, Ont., says that when it comes to approving an application for financing, the applicant’s education is an important consideration.

Formal education pays, but Hammell also puts value on farm experience and knowledge of the industry, so she encourages young people to make use of the many opportunities available to gain industry knowledge, all the way from Twitter to attending producer meetings.

Brenda Schoepp, a farmer and mentor from Red Deer, Alta., advises young people to get some training in human resources for today’s increasingly complex farms.

Schoepp also encourages young women to spend time away working off the farm, travelling. When they return to the farm, these young women are more confident and their value will be recognized, she explains.

Marg Rempel who has been farming near Steinbach, Man. for more than 40 years, first with her husband, then on her own for 12 years after his death, and now for the past three years with her son, agrees that cultivating self-confidence is critical for young female farmers who will find themselves outnumbered on boards and at industry meetings.

On a more philosophical note, she advises young women to get clear about their objectives. “Knowing the difference between wants and needs will help you understand where true satisfaction and serenity lie,” she explains.

Developing a core team of advisers is also essential. This team could include a banker, lawyer, accountant, and crop specialist. “These should be 46 country-guide.ca

people you like and trust and feel comfortable asking questions,” says Hammell. Rempel agrees. “Find a core ‘support group’ where opinions can be shared openly and honestly… the folks who will listen when you’ve had a terrible day or horrible harvest weather and the folks who will challenge you to be ever conscious of your role as an environmental steward.”

Also look for the learning opportunities in everything you do. Ask questions, our experts advise. It’s one of the best ways to keep on the path to success.

“Learn all you can. Ask farmers, professors, crop consultants and family members you respect for their wisdom,” says Rempel. “The old adage about ‘two ears, one mouth’ bears heeding,” she says. “Listen lots, speak carefully.”

Sandi Brock who has a flock of 450 breeding ewes near Staffa, Ont., agrees. “Don’t be too proud to ask questions,” she recommends.

Also keep your eye open for mentors, Brock says.

When she first started farming after university, Brock worked in a broiler breeder operation and says she learned a lot from two men who were highly respected in the industry. She says she asked a lot of questions and they liked helping her.

“I was keen and enthusiastic and it didn’t matter to them that I was a woman,” she says. She also gave the men feedback on how their ideas worked out.

Mentors can come in different forms and in different ways, continues Brock. “Latch on to the ones who are in the right place at the right time.”

When Brock later decided to get into sheep farming, another producer became her mentor. She helped him with his chores and in return she learned how to care for the sheep. When he got out of the business, she bought his sheep and set up her barn like his, she says.

But also be alert for role models. Having women as role models is proven to help young women succeed in male-dominated professions. According to Dr. Christine Logel, a professor at the University of Waterloo, studies in social psychology consistently show that when girls have examples of women who have succeeded in a male-dominated field, it helps them handle the stress that comes with constantly having to prove themselves.

Also, remember all the kinds of help that parents can provide.

Hammell thinks helping their children develop financial literacy is one of the most important things parents can do. If a son or daughter is taking over the farm, February 2, 2016

life

Devote some time to travelling and to working off farm, Brenda Schoepp advises. It will boost your self-confidence and resiliency

they should understand the financial statements, she says. They need to understand the farm’s potential revenue and expenses, and where these numbers come from.

If you’re a young woman looking to start a farm, a related idea is to do the books yourself rather than hiring a bookkeeper because it helps you develop a better, and more detailed understanding of how money flows into and out of the operation. “Otherwise you may have dug a hole before you realize it,” Hammell says. “You have to be able to evaluate every decision. It’s easy to want the new tractor, but will it make you money?”

Focus on succession planning as well as financial planning. Attend meetings with accountants, lawyers and others when farm succession is being discussed.

Hammell says she sees far too many instances where a son or daughter is planning to take over the farm but isn’t at the succession planning and purchasing decision meetings. They need to make attendance a priority, she says.

Schoepp agrees that financial literacy is crucial. Both men and women need to have a full understanding of the finances and a strong business plan.

While Hammell says all applicants at her bank are evaluated with the same standards regardless of gender, age, or race, Schoepp thinks there may be situations where women face some lingering discrimination when it comes to accessing capital.

Also consider building a separate enterprise of her own.

This can be a great way to develop financial literacy, Schoepp says, and she suggests young people purchase a house while at university or start an agribusiness of their own, separate from the farm, to gain money management skills.

Schoepp also suggests parents have a contingency fund for each child so that they can travel before taking over the family farm. By travelling, people learn new ways of doing things, gain independence, responsibility and resiliency.

And also… don’t forget that your attitudes toward work are crucial.

Brock credits her parents with instilling in her a work ethic that she considers to be her most valuable asset.

Growing up on a dairy farm with only girls in the family and no hired help, Brock says she and her sisters did everything. She learned skills such as how to fix things that are still useful today on her own farm.

“The best training was to get in there and do it,” Brock says.

While Brock doesn’t think she works her own teenaged children as hard as she worked herself growing up, she says her children have gained excellent critical thinking skills on the farm. She and her husband, Mark, who runs the cash crop side of the farm, regularly discuss all aspects of their farm and their industries with the children “We talk about the good, the bad and the ugly,” Brock says. “If my children do decide they want to farm, there won’t be any surprises.” CG

- 2015 Delegate, Jamie Y., Regina, SK

y! . da ed to it er lim st s gi g i Re atin Se

This is a great opportunity to learn from great, powerful women in Ag and other industries. Sometimes it can be easy to forget all the possible connections we can make, so getting into a room with 570+ women really helps!

LISTEN, LEARN, NETWORK & GROW Open your mind to the endless possibilites. Prepare to be inspired. Aquire the life skills you need to reach your goals. This conference could be life-changing.

Register today! Visit advancingwomenconference.ca or phone 403-686-8407.

HYATT REGENCY CALGARY, MARCH 28 & 29, 2016 February 2, 2016

country-guide.ca 47

Advancing Women Conference WEST 2016 / Country Guide National / 7” x 3.357”

w e at h e r COOLER THAN NORMAL

NEAR NORMAL

MILDER THAN NORMAL

**

MILDER-THAN-NORMAL TEMPERATURES NEAR- TO BELOW -AVERAGE PRECIPITATION

al n o w si ca / sno c O in ra

ONTARIO

M Sca ild sno ttered w/r ain

Mild Scattered snow / rain

ild ed M tter now a s Sc in / ra

Sto at ti rmy mes

EOVRES B A IT ATU AIN A BPER / R TO M W R- L TE SNO A NERMAAGE NO VER A

February 21 to March 19, 2016

Feb. 21-27: Brisk winds with generally mild temperatures. Often bright and settled but look for occasional snow or rain in the south on one or two occasions, chance heavy snow central and north.

Feb. 28-Mar. 5: Highs climb well above zero in the south with freezing at night.

Windy at times. Sunshine interchanges with some rain or snow. Occasional thawing in the north with intermittent, heavier snow.

Mar. 6-12: Melt/freeze cycle prevails in the south with several pleasant days although a weather system threatens with heavier snow or rain later in the week. Windy.

Some thawing and snow in the north.

Mar. 13-19: Seasonable to mild under considerable sunshine but rain and some snow fall on a couple of days in the south. Gusty winds. Variable central and north with heavier snow and some rain.

QUEBEC Feb. 21-27: Look for minor thawing by day with nighttime freezing in the south.

Fair with scattered snow or rain and a chance of heavier snow. Seasonable in the north with intermittent snow. Blustery.

Feb. 28-Mar. 5: Melting occurs on several days as temperatures lean toward the mild side in the south. Windy at times.

Bright, sunny days alternate with periodic snow or rain. Milder in the north with heavier snow.

Mar. 6-12: Highs climb well above zero 48 country-guide.ca

with thawing but frosty nights. Sunshine on a few days will be replaced by periods of snow or rain in the south. Seasonable in the north with frequent snow, some rain.

Mar. 13-19: Seasonable to mild under considerable sunshine this week but expect a couple of days of rain or snow in the south. Changeable, blustery in central and northern areas with occasional snow or rain.

ATLANTIC PROVINCES Feb. 21-27: Gusty winds combine with colder air to bring snow to windward coasts, otherwise fair with scattered snow, coastal rain. A disturbance threatens with heavy precipitation.

Feb. 28-Mar. 5: Temperatures vary. Fair skies interchange with wet snow except rain on the coasts. Windy. Seasonable temperatures but a few brighter days bring thawing to many areas. Cold and snowy far north.

Mar. 6-12: Fair overall but a weather system brings unsettled conditions on a couple of days with strong winds and occasional snow or rain, chance of heavy in places. Fluctuating temperatures with some melting.

Mar. 13-19: Fair with a few milder days and thawing but colder outbreaks bring heavier snow inland and rain to the coasts on two or three days. Windy at times. Cold, blustery with periodic heavy snow in Labrador.

February 21 to March 19, 2016 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS With the help of El Niño plus longer days and more frequent southerly winds, milder-than-usual temperatures are expected to dominate most of Canada in this late-winter period. As a result, temperatures from British Columbia to the Atlantic Provinces are likely to run above seasonable values well into mid-March.

Lighter-than-usual snow and rain amounts should accompany the mild conditions.

The only exception to the mild weather may be in Quebec and Atlantic Canada where occasional cold outbreaks could keep readings at more seasonable values from time to time. A couple of heavier precipitation events are likely to be associated with these colder sessions.

Editor’s note:

Where’s my weather page?

Look in every second issue for your month-long Country Guide weather forecast during the winter months when we’re publishing every two weeks.

Prepared by meteorologist Larry Romaniuk of Weatherite Services. Forecasts should be 80 per cent accurate for your area; expect variations by a day or two due to changeable speed of weather systems.

February 2, 2016

h e a lt h

The world of recalls for drugs

By Marie Berry

hile you often hear about automobile and food recalls, you may be less aware of drug recalls. However, they do happen. Health Canada is responsible not only for authorizing which drugs can be sold in Canada, but also to do the reverse, that is, to recall drugs from the Canadian market.

To understand drug recalls, you need to be aware of how sales of a drug are allowed in the first place, which begins when a drug manufacturer applies to Health Canada for authorization to sell its drug here.

Canadians are often surprised that it isn’t researchers or health professionals who start the process, but rather drug manufacturers. Included in the submission is information about the drug such as its intended use, safety, effectiveness, adverse reactions, and contraindications. Research studies that support the drug’s use are also provided, as well as samples of its label and the suggested product monograph.

Scientists at Health Canada review the material, although there are no timelines set out for this process. Rather, the quality and quantity of the submitted material play a role, as does the workload of staff at Health Canada. However, if the drug is for what is considered a critical illness like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease or AIDS, times may be faster just because there are few treatments for these types of diseases.

Finally, a notice of compliance is issued and the drug can be sold in Canada. But a certificate doesn’t necessarily mean that the drug will in fact be sold.

If you check out Health Canada’s database you will see a listing for notices of compliance (i.e. those drugs approved for sale) and a listing called the drug product database, that is, the drugs that are actually being sold in Canada.

Thus, a drug may be approved but still not be available on our market. The drug manufacturer may sell it in other countries, but decide, perhaps for financial reasons, against selling it in Canada.

Licensed natural health products like vitamins, minerals, herbs, and traditional medicines, also undergo a process to be sold in Canada, but their approval focuses on safety and labelling.

Drug recalls occur when a drug is defective or potentially harmful. For example, the drug may be mislabelled, poorly packaged, subtherapeutic, more potent than labelled, or contaminated. Every drug manufacturer is required to have quality control and safety procedures, and to also have recall mechanisms

in place. Ideally problems are prevented, but when a problem does occur the manufacturer is obligated to contact everyone to whom it has sold the drug.

Health Canada must be notified within 24 hours of a manufacturer making a recall decision. If a licensed natural health product is involved, the manufacturer has three days to contact Health Canada.

So if you take a prescription drug, how do you as a patient find out about the recall? For a recall that involves a batch or lot of a drug, memos are faxed to all Canadian wholesalers and pharmacies which then check their stock on hand. A response to the fax is required, and the drug manufacturer will ensure they receive one. It is the pharmacy’s obligation to contact you, although if your prescription was for 20 capsules three months ago, your pharmacist will know you have completed your prescription and not contact you. For recalls that involve a newly discovered adverse effect or contraindication, the recall information is disseminated more widely and you may even hear about it in the news.

Sometimes a drug is removed completely from the market, for example the pain reliever rofecoxib or Viox, which was associated with serious cardiovascular problems. Not only did the drug manufacturer contact all their customers, but pharmacists also contacted all their clients with the aim that ALL tablets be returned.

Sometimes, however, there may be new information that is important enough to be communicated to prescribers and pharmacists, but not serious enough to warrant a recall, for example, the use of atypical antipsychotics like risperidone for behaviour problems in elderly dementia patients. Risperidone is indicated for psychosis, but it can be prescribed “off label” for other reasons with the prescriber deciding its appropriate use. However, new research has linked the use of these drugs in elderly patients to an increased incidence of cardiovascular deaths. A warning, not a recall, was issued by both Health Canada and drug manufacturers, with prescribers and pharmacists checking their patient profiles for any patients who might be at increased risk.

Health Canada’s recalls and warnings are available on its website, and you can even subscribe to the service. If you take a recalled medication, you certainly want to know about it!

Marie Berry is a lawyer/pharmacist interested in health and education.

You see ads for drugs for sexual performance almost everywhere and you may wonder if this is a new problem that men and now women have, or if it’s merely marketing. It’s probably a combination of both, and next month we’ll look at these drugs as well as at some disease and medication factors that can complicate your sex life.

February 2, 2016

country-guide.ca 49

acres

By Leeann Minogue

Time to check that forecast Will Trina make the eight-hour drive to the farm? rina Hanson was taking a break in her Calgary office, checking the weather on her phone. “Great,” she thought.

“Minus 30 and drifting snow for Friday.”

It was only Tuesday, but Trina was already dreading the eight-hour drive home to the farm for the weekend. She’d been making the trip from Alberta to southeast Saskatchewan fairly regularly for the last year and a half, since she’d started dating Ryan, an organic farmer who lived near her family’s farm. It was harder for Ryan to get away, he worked most weekends at a local ag dealership, and when he did have time off he wasn’t wild about staying in her city condo. So Trina did most of the driving and usually headed east on the No. 1 when she had a three-day weekend.

In the summer she liked the drive. Even in the winter she usually didn’t mind. But nobody wanted to be stuck on the highway in a Prairie blizzard.

Trina looked up when her co-worker and friend, Sarah, came in from down the hall.

“Checking the weather for another weekend trek to the homestead?” Sarah asked. Trina blushed, caught.

“I was planning to, Trina sighed. “But the forecast looks nasty.”

“Stay here,” Sarah said. “My boyfriend’s having a party on Friday. And we can finally go skiing on Saturday.”

“I don’t know,” Trina said. “Isn’t it going to be kind of cold for skiing?”

Trina was getting used to finding new ways to say “no” to her Calgary friends so she could spend time with Ryan. She didn’t really have time to enjoy herself in either place.

Something was going to have to change.

“I know,” Sarah said. “You want to spend time with Ryan. Maybe you should marry him already.

You’re not making the most of single life, anyway.”

50 country-guide.ca

Ryan hadn’t asked her to marry him, or even move in, but Trina had been giving it a lot of thought. She loved being in Saskatchewan. She went to her nephew’s hockey games (if what the under-five team was doing could be called “hockey”) and it was fun watching her little niece learn how to talk. She liked her sister-in-law, and spending time with her parents and brother. This arrangement was great for weekends and holidays, but could it work full time?

First, she’d need a job. Ryan’s family farm wasn’t big enough to support Ryan full time. And even if she wasn’t on the payroll, she wasn’t sure Ryan’s father would need or want her around the farm every day.

Trina was still a part of her own family farm, if “part” could be defined as having a small share in the corporation and collecting some annual dividends. But she was pretty sure her brother Jeff wasn’t interested in sharing the day-to-day decision-making.

So even if there was some way the Hansons could give her a job, wouldn’t she be just another farm hand, reporting to her brother? Trina wasn’t sure that would be a long-term plan for a happy family.

There were other possibilities. Jobs in Weyburn, or one of the local ag businesses. She knew some people who worked from home. But… Trina looked past Sarah and out her office window. She didn’t work in downtown Calgary, but she could see the skyline from her office. Skiing wasn’t her thing, but she did like all the restaurants and concerts, even though she couldn’t enjoy them much with her schedule.

“I get it,” Sarah said, watching Trina’s eyes. “You don’t want to give up city life. But you’ve got the worst of both worlds now! You’re missing everything here, but you don’t spend enough time with Ryan to live there either.”

Ryan lived in an old house in his parents’ farmyard. Trina didn’t want to move back in with her parents, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to move in with Ryan. february 2, 2016

“Now you’re upset,” Sarah said. “I didn’t mean to start anything. This is about your organic father-in-law again.

I’ll get back to work before you’re mad at me.”

Sarah had heard Trina’s side of this problem a thousand times, but Trina still didn’t think her friend understood this insurmountable problem. Ryan’s parents hoped he would find someone else. Ryan’s father especially. He couldn’t stop himself from making comments about the amount of insecticide Trina’s brother used on his farm (“just enough to kill harmful insects,” Trina thought to herself), or worse, he asked about how Trina could sleep at night when she had a job with a chemical company.

“Don’t take it personally,” Sarah had advised. Trina knew this was good advice, but it was hard to follow. She wondered what would happen if she and Ryan had kids.

Now she understood why people said it was hard for parents from different religions to raise children.

Organic or not, if she stayed with Ryan, they could raise their children on a farm, and give them the sort of childhood that she’d had. She didn’t know the first thing about bringing up children in the city. “How do you know what school they’d go to?” she wondered. “Would there even be a bus?

What if you didn’t know all of their friends’ parents? Would the kids trick-or-treat at strangers’ houses on Halloween?”

She had a good salary. Her kids would have lots of opportunities if she stayed with her career. But it would be hard for them to ever get back to a farm. She would be the first generation in her family to leave the farm for good since… she didn’t even know when. Maybe forever.

Sure, she had a job with an agricultural company. But that wouldn’t mean much to her future children. They wouldn’t have any tie to the Hanson farm, or to any land anywhere at all.

Then her computer beeped with incoming emails, so Trina took a slurp of coffee and turned back to her desk.

The third email on the monitor was from her boss.

“Trina,” it read, “there’s a job opportunity coming up in our research office down in Raleigh-Durham. I think you would be a good fit, and they said they’d be happy to talk to you about it if you could get there for Friday afternoon.”

This was a curve she wasn’t expecting. Since she had the weather app still open on her phone she checked. Average temperatures of 13° in February? She kept reading.

“While you’re down there stay an extra day,” Trina’s boss wrote. “Check out the sights. See if you like the place.”

Trina already knew some of her co-workers in North Carolina, and two of her university friends worked for other companies in the Research Triangle. She would probably get a raise. No more eight-hour drives. No more blizzards.

She would miss her niece and nephew. And the rest of her family. Then she looked down at the small photo of Ryan she kept on the side of her desk.

Trina turned back to her computer screen and picked up her mouse. She clicked her way to a travel website to book a flight that would get her to Raleigh-Durham in time for the Friday meeting. CG Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews, a playwright and part of a family grain farm in southeastern Saskatchewan. february 2, 2016

Little Katie, in the CBC television series “Heartland,” rides the school bus to her first day at kindergarten. She comes home to announce she has a boyfriend whose name is Abraham.

She asks her mother Lou if she can wear a pretty dress to school the next day because “Abraham and I are getting married.” When she arrives home the second day, she tells Lou, “Abraham and I got married at recess but we got divorced at lunch.”

The institution of marriage is battered about but, judging from racks of valentines in stores, romance flourishes. Cards, flowers and chocolate dominate, but how did Valentine’s Day begin? Was there a person named Valentine?

There is no reliable history of the original Valentine. One legend says he was a Roman Catholic priest who lived in the third century. The Roman Emperor, Claudius the Second, forbade his soldiers to marry. He reasoned that soldiers free of wives and girlfriends would be fearless. Single men would be better soldiers.

Claudius decreed that no marriages were to be celebrated and all engagements broken off immediately.

Father Valentine understood human relations. He knew that people wanted to marry. Valentine disobeyed the emperor’s edict and secretly performed marriages. When the authorities discovered what he was doing they imprisoned him. Father Valentine, a kind and wise person, had many friends. They begged the emperor to free him and sent letters and flowers to him in jail. The legend says he was buried in the Church of St. Praxedes, Rome, on the 14th of February, 270 AD. Another legend is that Valentine was an early Christian. At that time freedom and liberties were severely restricted. Being a Christian was against the law. The story is that Valentine was arrested and thrown into jail. He and the jail keeper’s daughter Julia fell in love. Valentine was said to have miraculous power which disturbed the Roman authorities. They ordered him beheaded. The morning of his execution he is reported to have sent Julia a farewell message signed, “From your Valentine.”

Which legend is true? Does it really matter? Valentine’s is a time to focus on love, commitment and faithfulness.

I have had the privilege of presiding at many weddings. I sometimes wonder how couples I married over the years are doing. A few years ago I was rushing to catch a plane when an attractive woman bounded across the terminal, threw her arms around me and knocked my hat off as she hugged me. In a loud, shrill voice she exclaimed for all to hear, “YOU MARRIED ME.” The moment when the bride and groom exchange vows and are blessed is deeply intimate. When the ceremony is over and the newly married couple walk through their family and friends they are filled with hope and great expectation We need hope and expectation to be successful in marriage. We need hope and expectation to have a meaningful life whether we are married or not.

Pastor Bill arranged to preside at a wedding at the close of the Sunday morning service. After the final blessing, he planned to call the couple forward to be married in a brief ceremony before the congregation. As he was completing the blessing, his mind went blank. He could not think of the names of those who were to be married. Embarrassed, he said, “Will those wanting to get married please come to the front?” Nine single ladies, three widows, four widowers and six single men stepped forward.

Suggested Scripture: Ephesians 5:25-33, 1 John 4:7-21 Rod Andrews is a retired Anglican bishop. He lives in Saskatoon. country-guide.ca 51

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