Grainews

Volume 42, Number 7 | MARCH 8, 2016

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DIGITAL PICTURES: THEY’RE WORTH A THOUSAND STEPS Ground truthing is important, but aerial imagery can tell stories you can’t see with the eye

By Lee Hart

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photo: photos courtesy pat reeg

Y

ou can’t beat an eye in the sky when it comes to telling you what’s happening on the ground with your crop, says a longtime Iowa crop management specialist.

Different types of aerial imagery that show visual differences during the growing season can be an extremely valuable tool for pointing to shortfalls or successes concerning everything from nutrient management, to misapplications with equipment, to weed and pest control problems, says Pat Reeg, operations manager with the On-Farm Network of the Iowa Soybean Association.

Reeg, who recently gave a presentation to a Tactical Farming Conference in Calgary says aerial imagery taken from a plane, helicopter or newer technology such as drones can tell a very clear and visual story about treatments that work or don’t work, or simply just raise a flag about some difference in the crop that needs to be checked out on the ground.

The Iowa association, which conducts a wide range of on-farm, field-scale research projects every year, relies on aerial imagery to provide a report card on different treatments applied in test strips as well as to show what is happening

This is what is known as an NDVI image (normalized difference vegetation index) of an on-farm, field-scale soybean trial.

This trial, with different treatment strips across the field, was looking at using a pre-seeding herbicide, such as a granular which was incorporated, compared to a glyphosate treatment. In some areas where the pre-seeding product was ineffective they went back in with an in-crop herbicide treatment which in some areas damaged the crop. The mostly green area is a relatively healthy crop with the strips indicating different treatments. The red areas show problems in the field. The headlands may indicate a different crop or different type of vegetation, or higher compaction. The larger red patches on the upper left hand side show areas that have likely been flooded out or have a disease problem. The yellow areas indicate crop that has been damaged by in-crop herbicide. There is a powerline or pipeline right away cutting diagonally across the upper right hand side of the photo.

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Wheat & Chaff STAMPEDE

BY JERRY PALEN Leeann Minogue

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“Take two of these and call yourself in the morning.”

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h the irony.

I thought I’d do a little research before I wrote about Internet access in rural Canada.

So I turned to the Internet, typed in some likely search terms and… waited. Then I waited some more.

I live on a farm in southeast Saskatchewan. Although oil activity has fallen off drastically in the past year, there’s still plenty of business out here. Oil battery sites, some drilling and of course, farming. But even living near all of these businesses doesn’t guarantee reliable high-speed Internet on our farm.

We don’t have Internet access through wired-in cables like most city people. We use a small dish on our roof to pick up signals from a tower five miles away. Some days it works great and we have “pretty good” Internet access. When that’s not working, we can use the data connections on our phone to access the Internet. But if I have a big file to download, like a map update for our Garmin, I sometimes resort to making the 100-km round trip drive to the library in Weyburn, or I’ll wait until I’m visiting my parents in Saskatoon (sort of like dragging laundry home when I was in university).

We are getting by. For now.

But we certainly don’t have the reliable Internet service that would let us do things other Canadians are doing. Cutting off our TV subscription and watching TV online or using our Internet connection to replace our landline phone are not options for us.

This morning, a chemical company rep phoned my husband. She offered him a deal. If he would watch their 20-minute video online to learn about their new herbicide, they’d send him a gift and enter him in a draw.

“I don’t think I can this morning,” he said. Our connection was having a slow day. “I’ve been calling farmers from across Canada,” she said. “And you won’t believe how many are saying the exact same thing!”

The options If I lived in Estevan or Weyburn, SaskTel (Saskatchewan’s Crown Corporation phone provider) would offer me their “Ultra highspeed Internet,” with download speeds of up to 25 megabites per second. This would be plenty fast. I could download Garmin maps and more commodity marketing information than we could read. If he was allowed, our son would be able to play online video games with his friends from school.

If I lived in Regina or Saskatoon, I could subscribe to SaskTel’s infiNET, with the “blazing speed,” as they call it, of 260 Mbps. The highest-end plan would cost $140 per month, but even $80 per month would give me 50 Mbps.

The problem with farming is that, more often than not, you wind up living on a farm. Out here, a couple of companies offer access to Internet signals from nearby towers. The highest-end commercial package advertised by our provider costs about the same as infiNET’s blazing speed, $140/month. But instead of infiNET’s 260 Mbps, the advertised top speed out here is two Mbps.

That’s right. Two. Less than one per cent of the top urban speed, for the same price.

There is one more option. One company will put a satellite dish on my roof, then send the signal directly from my roof to a satellite — no tower necessary. This company will sell me a package with download speeds of five or even 10 Mbps. Unfortunately, they reserve these top download speeds for customers watching videos through online services like Netflix or YouTube. If you want to download other files, like the draft pages of Grainews our production guy, Steve, in Winnipeg, sends me, this company limits the top download speed during daytime hours to 300 kilobytes per second (that’s 0.3 Mbps).

It’s disheartening to see this sad selection of options at a time when the Internet is becoming a standard part of the landscape.

The frontpage of the federal CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) website says this: “It is now possible to use the Internet to watch TV and make phone calls.

You can even call 9-1-1.” Well, it might be possible for some.

Oh, the whining I know some of you are mumbling things like, “She should find something important to complain about,” or, “Is she really that desperate to watch Netflix?”

In self-defence, I give you four reasons why this is an important rural issue: 1. We’re trying to do business. I’m sure nobody would disagree that the Internet is critical to farm businesses. Never mind watching TV — grain marketing information, weather forecasts, banking information and crop insurance program administration is all online.

2. Give us the news. Many people are getting their news from the Internet these days.

Everyone loves a video. Our own machinery editor, Scott Garvey, makes all kinds of great videos for our E-quip website (online at grainews.ca/video). Don’t tell Scott, but I often can’t watch them. It’s just too frustrating for me to wait for the videos to download.

3. We want to keep up with the Jones. While I was a teenager, large-dish satellite TV was a new thing, and I was thrilled to watch MTV, right there in our living room in the middle of the Prairies! These days, kids are watching videos on YouTube. Now they want to use the Internet to play video games online. For isolated rural kids that don’t have friends within winter walking distance, this can be a nice way to socialize. If your connection can’t keep up, your kid can’t play. I don’t think it will be much fun explaining that on a blizzardy Sunday afternoon, when my kid’s old enough for this sort of thing. (I know. “Kids should be outside doing farm things.” But I’m leaving this reason on my list anyway.)

4. The world is getting ahead of us. As web developers gain access to faster and faster Internet speeds, they’ll use them. They’ll build more exciting web pages with more videos and faster-moving graphics.

Why not? But will we even be able to look at those pages with our farm-style connections?

Remember when we first had dial-up Internet access? Now you need speeds higher than that to access many of the websites where you do business. Just when we caught up and got access to two Mbps Internet with satellites and towers, the rest of the world has moved to something more than 10 times faster.

What can I do?

I wish I knew. The CRTC has been doing a survey on Internet availability, but that finished at the end of February. They are also holding a public consultation in Quebec in April. It’s clear that the CRTC is aware of the problem, but whether it has the power, funds or desire to fix the problem for people like you and me is another question.

You could try getting in touch with a provincial or federal politician, and explaining the situation to them. Let’s hope this is more productive for you than it was for me.

I’m sure columns just like this were written in the past when other utilities were still new. There were probably sentences like, “How will I keep my son at home on the farm when the bright lights of electricity are shining in town?” Or, “How can a farmer get the latest wheat prices if we can’t afford to install a telephone?” Eventually, even the most remote farms got access to power and phones.

There’s no reason to believe history won’t repeat itself and make this column completely irrelevant in 10 years. But getting from here to there will likely involve some lobbying, some frustration and drinking several cups of coffee while we wait for files to download. † Leeann

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

Wheat & Chaff Farm safety

Farm safety week 2016

M

arch 13 to 19 is Canadian Agricultural Safety Week. Here at Grainews we understand the importance of farm safety. We run articles from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association in each issue, and do our best to make sure that none of our articles promote unsafe practices.

Because we want our readers to be safe year round, in this issue of Grainews, in honour of Ag Safety Week, we have a special section on farm safety on Pages 22 to 25.

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association has teamed up with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture for a new three-year campaign: “Be an AgSafe Family.” This year, the focus is “Keeping Kids Safe.”

Is your family AgSafe? Tweet about it with the hashtag #AgSafeFamily.

You’ll find all kinds of safety materials online at www.agsafteyweek.ca. †

By Gord Coulthart

By Gord Coulthart

The Barnders

The Barnders

You don’t mean me do you?

Oh! I forgot to tell you. Dad says the tractor was fixed this morning.

Leeann Minogue

By Gord Coulthart

The Barnders

Would you like to use my front-end loader Dad to get more in?

Agronomy tips… from the field

Photo contest

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT

Tips for treating seed on-farm

I

’ve found that a lot of growers don’t want to treat seed on-farm because there’s still this perception that it’s a messy, time-consuming process.

In reality, seed treating equipment has become far more sophisticated and automated, while the seed treatments themselves often feature all-in-one pre-mix formulations that are far more convenient to use.

Equipment aside, it’s all about attention to the finer details that will give you good results when treating on farm.

If you’re going to be treating throughout the day, make sure you’re checking the flowability of that seed treatment form morning to afternoon. During the early spring, you’ll typically have cooler mornings where the seed treatment flow rate is slower and needs more pressure to push through the applicator.

Once temperatures warm up in the afternoon and the viscosity of your product thins out, you’ll need to make sure that you’re not over-applying. Generally, if you can see uniform coverage of that treatment on the seed, you’re on the right track.

Treating on farm also gives you the flexibility to adapt and change crops if you get poor weather or there’s a shift in markets. Having your seed treated commercially can be quick and convenient, but it commits you to a crop for the season. † Shad Milligan, seedcare specialist with Syngenta Canada.

You might be from the Prairies if...

By Carson Demmans and Jason

Crissy Robson sent us this photo of her eight-month old son, “learning from his Papa.”

“Papa,” she explained is Victor Weins, a crop-sharing landlord in central Saskatchewan.

We’re always pleased to see new readers getting an early start. Crissy, we’re sending you a cheque for $25. Thanks for sharing this!

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

Leeann

Canada Day is your favourite holiday only because it has never snowed on it..

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Cover Stories Precision ag

A PICTURE IS WORTH A 1,000 STEPS IN A FIELD

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across a field — and actually the whole state, says Reeg. It is not necessarily brand new technology — some of it was developed by Kodak during WWII — but it isn’t likely technology that most individual farmers would own themselves.

They are tools that can be used by an applied research association, or a crop consulting service as crops and field trails are evaluated during the growing season.

In this new era of drones (also described as UAV’s — unmanned aerial vehicles) he says they can be useful in capturing images over a field or even a single farm, but for large areas, images collected from a manned aircraft is far more efficient.

Reeg says the most common imagery tools for evaluating crops include: • an RGB image which shows natural red, green and blue band colors — it is useful for identifying chlorophyll and plant pigment colors — i.e. those are weeds, that’s the crop, or this is where fertilizer worked or it didn’t; another is NIR (near infrared) images, which shows changes that aren’t visible by the naked eye but will show differences in plant cell structure; • there is also LiDAR (light detection and ranging) images which can identify variations in plant height; thermal imagery can be used to look at differences in plant temperature and water transpiration; • color infrared imagery, a combination of NIR and red and green is used to quantify biomass variation and plant health characteristics in a field; • and of course NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) image or vegetation image which shows the density of green on an area of land.

To collect most of these images, the Soybean Association uses what’s known as a four-band (or four sensor) camera, which can produce an RGB (red, green, blue) image, a near infrared image, an NDVI image, and then by overlapping these bands other types of images as well.

“From these various forms of imagery you can tell a great deal about what is happening in a crop,” says Reeg. “If you are looking at on-farm test strips, you know where you applied treatments — is there a difference between that and untreated area? The imagery can show variations over a field, which relate to areas of different soil type, different nutrient levels or both. It is easy to identify areas of proper or misapplication of crop inputs,” and the list goes on. Another key piece of information is to know when the photo or image was taken — what point of the growing season.

He says aerial imagery is a valuable tool in reading one of the most important sensors on the farm — the plants themselves. “One of the most complex and best sensors we can utilize are the growing plant sensors in our fields,” he says. “A typical 80-acre field of soybeans has 12 million plant sensors. The potential to remote sense these plants and identify problems before visible to the human eye is just one of the many opportunities that remote sensing can potentially offer.”

In his presentation he showed an image of a field that have received liquid manure application. Some parts of the field had an obvious different pattern of colours indicating the application had

been quite uneven. In another NDVI image, showing field scale test trips, the headlands of the test strip showed up as red compared to the rest of the field, which was mostly green with patches of yellow. The red was an indicator of problem areas — different vegetation or flooded parts of the field. The green was good healthy crop, while yellow indicated crop that had been damaged.

Another image showed a soybean field had been treated with a fungicide and a large area on the perimeter of the field showed up as grey, indicating an area where disease pressure had been so great the treatment was ineffective. And still another image showed a field after it had been treated with a crop protection product applied by an aerial applicator.

That imagine showed the target area for treatment, but also the unintended areas affected by spray drift.

Reeg says the remote sensing tools might be an indicator of whether a treatment worked or didn’t work, or it may just point to an area of the field where something is different.

“So it may just tell you that you need to be out on the ground and it shows you where you need have a look,” he says.

“To properly evaluate imagery you need to know your fields, need to know your soils, need to know cropping history, fertilizer history, and other treatment history — knowing your land, knowing the cropping history, combined with the aerial imagery can give you a pretty good idea of what is going on.”

He says it is also of value to access or develop a library or find a history of aerial imagery. In Iowa for example they are fortunate to have some imagery dating back more than 80 years and a series of aerial imaginary covering most decades until the present time. That history of air photos not only will identify chronic productivity issues of a field, but also shows where changes or improvements have been made.

And historical aerial photography can also just be interesting. Reeg says for example he can look at an aerial photo of his own family farm taken in the 1930s and what appears to be a hatch pattern in a field is really stooks of wheat waiting to be picked up and taken to a threshing machine.

Reeg says aerial imagery, both in high and low resolution, is an important compliment to really understanding other data collected on the farm such as yield monitor information. The area or spatial resolution of images, referred to as pixel size, can range from one centimetre pixels to more than 30 meters depending on the digital camera and end-use needs.

“A yield monitor and GPS can provide spatial information on final yield, but additional information is needed to explain the yield variability,” says Reeg. “As harvest equipment continues to increase in size for row crops such as soybeans and corn, for example, so does the spatial resolution of the yield data making it difficult to detect row to row variability. Remote sensing can fill in the gaps that yield mapping is unable to provide. These precision agriculture technologies complement each other providing farmers and advisors data for informed decisions and improved crop management.”

For more information on field trials and aerial imagery check out on-line reference sources such as the Guide to On-Farm Replicated Strip Trials, check out the Iowa Soybean Association On-Farm network at www.isafarmnet.com. † Lee Hart is a field editor with Grainews based in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@ fbcpublishing.com.

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Lynda Tityk Editorial director

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Editor

Leeann Minogue field Editor

Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor

Lee Hart Farmlife Editor

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Scott Garvey Production Director

Shawna Gibson Designer

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Lynda Tityk

Circulation manager

Heather Anderson president Glacier farmmedia photos: photos courtesy pat reeg

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

This is another version or band showing the near-infrared image captured by the camera in the same photo of the same soybean field. This image tells researchers there is some different vegetation (probably different variety) of soybeans in the headlands — not worse but a different variety with different plant structure. It is also clearer that the darker areas on the upper left hand side of the photo are areas of crop that have been flooded out. And the darker strips, such as those just above the homestead site indicate a problem with the planter. This image really helps researchers understand the biomass and variations in chlorophyll production in the field.

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This is a natural RGB (red, green, blue) image taken of the same field, with the same camera. It confirms to researchers that a different variety was planted on the headlands. They can also observe different shades of green — able to see the soil in some areas — which indicates a difference in vegetation, lower production areas. And there are a three lighter patches along the path of the right of way, (upper right side of image) suggesting it is a powerline. The patches are power poles, which the farmer had to work around.

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

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

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

Features

5

Ask the expert

Should I buy or lease that combine?

Angela Lovell asks the experts if buying or leasing is best for new equipment purchases

By Angela Lovell

S

hould I lease or buy my next combine?

Ask most people why they want to lease equipment and they’ll say “for tax purposes.” But that’s not the best reason for leasing, say the experts.

“If you’re leasing a combine for $10,000 a year, you get an annual write-off of the full $10,000 a year over the life of the lease. If you buy a $100,000 combine, you can only deduct interest paid, plus 30 per cent of the cost annually (15 per cent in the year of purchase), on a declining balance,” says Matt Bolley, a business advisor with MNP. “On a $100,000 combine purchase, the first year you’d deduct $15,000 of depreciation, and in subsequent years, you’d deduct 30 per cent of the remaining balance. Either way, you will eventually fully deduct the value of that combine, but it will take longer if you buy than if you lease.”

Both leasing and purchasing can have a fit on your farm but it depends on the financing or lease options available, the type of equipment, how it’s used, and your financial position.

owning it, but if the dollar goes the other way leasing takes away the risk of the equipment’s value going down, adds Stockbrugger.

No one is suggesting that everyone lease their sprayer and buy their combine. Farmers should analyze each transaction on a case-by-case basis, considering the farm’s tax and financial situation.

It still sometimes comes down to personal preference, says Dan East of Farm Credit Canada. “A lot of farmers like to own the equipment they’re using,” he says. “But it’s important to go through the payment scenarios of loan versus lease, and figure out the cost per acre for that machine and make sure the option you choose is the best fit for your farm.”

Avoid the Traps

but the value of that used equipment has risen to $45,000. The farmer sells it, expecting to pay tax on the additional $20,000 as capital gains. “But that’s not a capital gain, that is considered recaptured lease payments and that $20,000 will be added back in as straight income,” says Stockbrugger.

There are some traps with leasing that people can fall into if they’re not careful. One is pre-paid leases. Most farmers are on a cash accounting basis, and are used to writing off expenses in the year they pay them, but if they prepay a five-year lease they can’t write that full amount off in the first year. “They can Too good to be true? only write off the first two years and the rest gets amortized Read the fine print carefully and over the life of the lease,” says don’t be dazzled by offers, whether Stockbrugger. they’re buy or lease, that look too Recaptured lease payments can good to be true, adds East. “Just also result in unexpected, taxable like any other contract it’s imporincome. As an example, a farmer tant to understand the details, and buys out a piece of equipment at the responsibilities involved in the T:8.125” the end of the lease for $25,000, lease or sale,” he says.

Zero interest, for example, can be misleading. In some cases the dealer might have too much inventory they wants to offload so they might offer zero per cent financing at no cost to the customer. “Other times that cost might be built in so the customer is getting zero per cent financing on the rate, but the interest is built into the price, so that $400,000 combine is actually costing $420,000,” says East.

“It never hurts to get a trusted partner, like your accountant or lending institution to review the deal with you.” † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

Read the fine print carefully “A lease is just another way to finance 100 per cent of an asset,” says Saskatchewan chartered accountant, Lance Stockbrugger.

“If you buy, typically you have to put a 25 per cent cash down payment. If you don’t have the cash, or aren’t trading in an asset, leasing can help your cash flow because it’s a lower cash outlay, lower upfront cash requirement than buying the asset would be.”

Expect it.

Equity or turnover

Tank mix Pardner® herbicide with your pre-season application of glyphosate for control of all volunteer canola.

Leasing may be a good option for farmers who replace their equipment often. “If your sprayer, which gets a lot of use, is wearing out quickly, if you lease it you know every two or three years you’re getting a new one that will be reliable,” says Stockbrugger.

“If, on the other hand, you have equipment you don’t use as much, like a four-wheel drive tractor, you could build some equity by buying it, because that equipment will be worth a premium because it doesn’t have many hours on it.”

With a weak Canadian dollar, good quality used equipment is at a premium today, which is possibly another good reason for

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You didn’t plant it, but you can certainly expect it. Volunteer canola is virtually indistinguishable from your intended canola crop and can introduce disease, carry unwanted herbicide tolerance, steal nutrients and otherwise limit the yield potential of your new crop.

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Features

Crop Advisor’s casebook

Wheat infested by red and green bugs

By Olivia Denomie

J

ohn is a producer who farms 2,000 acres of canola, wheat, barley and oats near Nut Mountain, Sask. In late July, he called to say his wheat field was inundated with insects.

“I was scouting for wheat midge when I noticed the heads of my wheat crop were entirely infested with little red and green bugs,” John explained. The farmer didn’t think it was a midge infestation because these insects are wingless, and he asked for my help to identify the bugs.

I knew that insect infestations can become devastating quite quickly, so I drove out to John’s farm right away. When I arrived at the problem wheat field and began inspecting the crop, I didn’t see any bugs at first. However, I began to observe areas within the field with affected plants containing dozens of tiny red and green bugs that were consuming the entire wheat heads.

The insect damage was very patchy, so much so that one plant could be entirely infested and one next to it bug-free. I was able to determine that hardest hit areas were the headlands and the field edges.

John thought it could be aphids that were consuming his crop but he was puzzled. “I thought aphids were always green but these bugs are mainly red,” he said. “I also didn’t think aphids would attack wheat because I thought they only affected pea crops.”

It was imperative that I identify the type of pest in John’s wheat field as quickly as possible so I could make a proper control recommendation. I collected some insect samples to take back to the office, and while doing so I noticed that all of the bugs had banded, black legs and something resembling a tiny black tailpipe on the posterior segments. I also took some photos of the damaged plants and performed insect counts, which would help determine economic thresholds once the pest was properly identified.

Do you know what pest was plaguing John’s wheat field? If you do, send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 3K7; email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com or fax 204-944-5416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook.

The best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a Grainews cap and a one-year subscription to the magazine. The answer, along with the reasoning that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. †

John thought aphids were always green, but these bugs were mainly red.

Olivia Denomie is a sales agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Wadena, Sask.

CASEBOOK WINNER This issue’s Casebook winner is Brad Body from Luseland, Sask.

Thanks for entering, Brad! We are renewing your Grainews subscription for a year and sending you a Grainews cap.

Be like Brad. Enter this contest to win a subscription and hat. Email leeann.minogue@pubclishing.com or fax 204-944-5416 with your answer to the case of the insect infestation.

Leeann Minogue

Olivia Denomie is a sales agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Wadena, Sask.

The heads of John’s wheat crop were entirely infested with little red and green bugs.

Crop advisor’s solution

Cutworms the cause of patchy canola

By Samantha Sentes

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ne day in June I got a call from Brad, who grows canola, wheat, oats, barley and peas near Ituna, Sask. He had a problem with his canola crop that he was hoping I could help him with. The canola in one of Brad’s fields was coming in a little patchy but plants in one 30-acre area were faring particularly badly.

When I arrived at Brad’s farm to inspect the field, I was could see the majority of the canola was coming up in fine in rows but in the 30-acre problem area it was only growing in low spots. The few plants that were coming up there, however, looked healthy enough.

At first I thought the dry spring might have prevented the canola from germinating, but that was ruled out when we

dug up a row in the problem area to find empty seed shells. Flea beetle also wasn’t the issue — we didn’t see much damage that could be attributed to this particular pest in the plants that were still there.

The tip-off was the stubble. The canola on that part of the field with wheat stubble was doing fine while the plants in the problem area were on canola stubble, so obviously there was a connection.

A canola-on-canola rotation generally isn’t recommended, for a variety of reasons — pests being a big one. I asked Brad if there had been any pest problems in the area besides flea beetle, which we had already ruled out.

“Some producers did have trouble with cutworms, but mostly on pea stubble,” he said.

I had seen cutworm damage before in a canola-on-canola rotation, and was aware

that by not alternating crops, it increases the risk of having the same pest year after year. I also knew that cutworms generally like warmer, drier areas within the soil.

If there were cutworms present in Brad’s field, it could explain why there was canola left only in the low spots — the hungry insects had likely already eaten everything on the higher ground.

We started digging in the rows by the plants that were still living in the problem area, and immediately found cutworms.

There were at least four or five in each row. As suspected, the cutworms had consumed all of the canola in the higher, drier areas.

Naturally, Brad wanted to know what he could do to solve the infestation. I informed him that one of the first management choices he should make was to follow more diverse crop rotation and have at least two

or three years in between canola on his fields. If a farmer has such a short rotation (i.e. canola-on-canola), they must be very diligent in scouting for pests — especially cutworms — since the probability of insect or disease problems greatly increases.

Unfortunately, Brad lost virtually all the canola on the 30 acres. Thankfully though, he was able to utilize the land and the fertilizer put down on it that year by re-seeding to barley for cattle feed (it was getting too late in the year to re-seed canola). Brad decided not to use an insecticide and instead chose to watch the barley carefully to make sure the cutworms were not eating it as well. Most of the cutworms we had found in the field were already very large and nearing the end of their life cycle, which reduced the risk. † Samantha Sentes is a sales agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

Features

7

Crop protection

Early season weed control is key Spring spraying can be challenging. Look for the right weather and moisture conditions

By Melanie Epp

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arly season weed control is a top priority for canola growers. Weeds that emerge before the crop are much more competitive than those coming up with the crop, and herbicide can’t undo the damage done by weeds left uncontrolled before emergence.

Clark Brenzil, provincial weed specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, says research shows crops are susceptible to competition from weeds the moment they emerge until they begin to elongate.

Further research conducted at the University of Saskatchewan shows that herbicide application timing is critical and can be beneficial to yield. Basically, earlier is always better.

Steve Shirtliffe, plant science professor at the University of Saskatchewan, agrees. “When plants start growing it’s a race to capture the most nutrients,” he says. “If you don’t control your weeds before it can be bad. Most herbicides work best when the weed is small.”

also equipped with GPS to allow producers to start with the high areas and move to the low areas once the tank has been emptied some.”

Field conditions aren’t the only hindrance. Adverse weather conditions can mess with herbicide timing. According to Brenzil, the best weather conditions for good herbicide efficacy are the same conditions that are good for crop growth. The best conditions are bright and sunny with warm temperatures between 20 C and 25 C and nighttime lows of 10 C or better. To minimize off-target movement, Brenzil also recommends spraying when there’s a light breeze and relatively unstable air conditions.

“The problem with stable air the volatility of the herbicide and conditions is that they will likely it continues to volatize under the result in a temperature inversion physical inversion barrier, buildwhere warm air is trapped near ing up concentration to injurious the ground by cooler air above, levels throughout the evening.” creating a physical boundWhen the sun comes up the ary between the two layers,” following day, he continues, the explains Brenzil. air begins to destabilize the conApplications made during an centrated layer and creates a shift inversion may become suspended of several hundred meters before above that barrier and then travel dissipating. The direction of this a distance before being inter- movement is difficult to predict cepted by another object, like a and may change several times. tree. The situation could be much Nicole Kimmel encourages worse if applying a volatile herbi- growers to use a pre-seed hercide on days where there is little bicide treatment when needed. to no wind.

Of course, she recognizes that “The sun heats up the soil’s sur- Mother Nature sometimes has face and an inversion is created her own agenda, which may not after spraying is long done,” says allow growers to get into the T:8.125” Brenzil. “The warm soil enhances field. She recommends that grow-

ers avoid spraying when foliage is still wet from rain or dew.

“A leaf retains only a limited volume of water, and therefore a limited amount of herbicide,” she says. “Rain or wet foliage can cause spray to simply runoff.

If the foliage is wet or if water can be shaken from it, spraying should be delayed until conditions are drier.”

Narrow windows of herbicide application can cause producers to push outside of ideal spray conditions. Missing a window of opportunity with herbicides can often result in greater yield losses since the weeds will have a chance to cause damage and will be tougher to control later, says Kimmel. † Melanie Epp is a freelance farm writer.

It’s a race to capture the most nutrients Not all weeds emerge early. If this happens, Brenzil recommends a second application. “For crops that prefer warmer soils for germination the application of two burn-off treatments may be the preferred approach to weed control prior to seeding,” he says.

Problematic spring weeds include winter annuals like shepherd’s purse, narrow-leaved hawk’s beard and stinkweed. According to Nicole Kimmel, a provincial weed specialist in Alberta, winter annuals can remove a lot of spring soil temperature as they begin to grow very early. Large, fast-growing weeds are also a problem.

“Not only do they maximize space, but they also easily dominate water and nutrient resources,” says Kimmel, who mentions that lamb’s quarters, kochia and Canada thistle can be particularly problematic. Some weeds, though, aren’t as bad as one might think.

“Green foxtail, for example, isn’t the end of the world,” says Shirtliffe.

Before spraying it’s always a good practice to scout fields to see which species are present, especially since a lot of crops are more competitive than weeds.

LIGHT ’EM UP

Managing herbicide resistance is everyone’s fight.

Spray Responsibly.

Spring spraying Most growers know that spring spraying can be challenging, especially if the soil is saturated.

Kimmel reminds growers that it’s important to keep in mind that big, new sprayers carry a lot of weight, especially when the tank is full. “Ideally, you don’t want to go into a low spot with a full tank,” she says. “Luckily new sprayers are

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/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Features

Grain marketing

New online trading platform Ag Exchange Group wants to match up farmers with grain buyers more efficiently

By Lilian Schaer

HOW AG EXCHANGE WORKS

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evelopers of a new online grain trading system are hoping the technology will simplify the buying and selling of grains, and help expand export markets in the process.

A desire to help growers focus their time more effectively and do a better job of bringing buyers and sellers together led Ag Exchange Group Inc. of Saskatoon to build their new marketing platform.

“Grain marketing in general continues to be a challenge for growers, and the interaction B:8.125” between buyers and growers T:8.125” is antiquated,” explains CEO S:8.125”

Lyle Ehrmantraut, who presented the system at the Agri Innovation Forum in Winnipeg in November. “Growers have told us that they can spend up to 70 to 80 per cent of their time on the phone trying to market their grain, and buyers have limited knowledge of onfarm grain inventories.”

The AgEx system is GIS-based.

Once a grower signs up for the service (membership costs $1,500 per year), the company will map all of their land, including locations for their grain and chemical storage units, and document grain inventory on the farm. Not only is AgEx a marketing tool, it will also serve as an on-farm inventory management system.

Buyers who become members can search the database for the exact specifications of the quality and quantity of grain they are looking for. When they find a match, they can easily upload a contract with their terms and conditions. That contract is then sent electronically to the grower for review and, hopefully, acceptance.

“For growers, the biggest benefit is exposure to new buyers and having the opportunity to sell their grain at the best possible price,” says Ehrmantraut. “For buyers, we’re reducing their acquisition risk and giving them a clear understanding of what is available, in what quantities and at what grade.”

The current process of the actual buying and selling of grain isn’t changing, he adds, but they’re making it easier and more efficient for buyers and sellers to find each other.

Growers who don’t have the particular product a buyer is looking for won’t show up in the buyer’s search results, for example, and won’t be contacted about commodities that they do not have available.

Buyers meeting sellers Ehrmantraut is happy with the response they’ve received from the industry so far, and says AgEx is the only grain marketing platform that also works directly with major grain buyers which will help Canadian growers to ultimately take advantage of more export market opportunities.

His long-term vision is to get growers a better price and help streamline the grain industry through the three Ms: manage (understand what is in stock), market (market to as many new buyers as possible), and move (get grain to market).

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We have to share information with buyers

“We grow the best crops and we’re not out there like we should be. We have to make Canada a more viable market, so we have to share information with buyers to help reduce their risk when pursuing international opportunities,” he says, adding that they only deal with buyers recognized by the Canadian Grain Commission so there is no risk to farmers.

To date, a few hundred growers have already joined, and the system is expected to represent five to six million acres in 2016, as well as more than 120 buyer locations in Western Canada.

An added bonus is a free safety program AgEx is offering. If registered growers give permission, the company will share information from their database with first responders in an emergency so that people and properties can be found more readily.

For more information visit www. agexchangegroup.com. † Lilian Shaer is a professional farm and food writers based in Guelph, Ontario. Follow her blog at foodandfarmingcanada.com.

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/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Columns Off-farm income

Off to a bad start by January’s end The start of the new year was not an auspicious beginning for stock prices ANDY SIRSKI

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s you likely heard, by the end of January 2016, stock markets around the world had been knocked down, beaten up, scarred, or call it what you will when stocks drop 10, 15, 20 per cent or more. The media has all kinds of reasons for the sudden meltdown such as China isn’t growing, the drop in the price of oil, stocks were too expensive and on and on.

So why did stocks fall so much?

Partly because we have not had

a serious correction for months and others were sold off so profits and months. While the indexes would be taxed in April 2017 — stayed up or kept rising, that quite a delay.

Plus strategies changed. Last rise was really caused by fewer and fewer stocks. The main four year it was buy on dips; in early were a group of four stocks called 2016 the strategy became sell on the FANG stocks: Facebook, rallies. Funds that hold millions Amazon, Netflex and Google of those winning stocks cannot just sell out in one day. So they (now Alphabet).

As most years come to an end, spread the selling over days and investors often sell off their los- days and that can stretch into ers so the losses offset taxable weeks and months. capital gain. This tax loss selling This is not new. A few years happened again near the end of ago I studied over 100 charts one 2015. Then come the new year. weekend around January 19 and Investors who held the FANG not one stock’s chart was going up.

This year, even many so called stocks decided to take profits, again a very logical move. But good stocks that trade big volumes per day have been beaten that sell off took in more than the B:8.125” FANG stocks. Winning stocks like up. This market takes no prisonT:8.125” Boeing, Disney, railroad stocks ers, so to speak.

S:8.125”

about $61. Shares went to $62 and change. I collected about $650 of cash from selling calls on these shares, and had some capital gain on the exercised shares.

When the daily price dropped through the 10 dma at $62 I did not sell but I finally did sell out at around $59. I did not lose much on that deal, or maybe actually made a few bucks.

Then I had 1,000 shares in Concordia (CXR.TO). I did not own them until shares seemed to hit a bottom of $38 or so. I bought some at $43 and some at $48 and sold calls twice to pick up around $2 per share so my paper cost was around $45 to $46. Shares dropped through the 10 dma at about $52 and I did not sell.

Then shares dropped to around $42.50. I sold all my shares in Concordia, Couche Tarde and Barrick Gold. The next day the Dow dropped over 500 points and then recovered to lose 250.

Gold jumped and Barrick was up 50 cents.

Do I regret selling out and going to mostly cash? I am famous for selling out at bottoms. Now, as in August, I am mostly in cash and it feels good.

Were we warned?

I think the market warned us of the downturn, if we were watching or listening.

For example, many stocks had their daily price drop through the 10-day moving average. I have written about that selling rule before and it usually gets us out near the top if we are prepared to listen to its signals.

I don’t always follow my own rule, but I have to tell you ignoring that rule has cost me a lot of profits. Why don’t I follow the rule? Well for one thing I always think that my stocks won’t drop as much as they do.

Take Couche Tarde (ATD/B.TO).

I had 1,000 shares at a price of

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Last summer when the market fell in August I heard of a survey of past times when the market fell but it was not true bear market like we has in 2008.

The study showed that markets usually took six to eight weeks to recover.

From the end of January, that would take us to early March. But as always, I would expect individual stocks to start moving up and often the stocks that held up the best during downturns could be the first to recover.

Bombardier stock is the brunt of many jokes. And no one can really say this is going to be a success story. However, at $1.10 per share this really is a call option on the C Series airplane that has drained the company’s resources. The management has been changed. This project has cost billions and has taken many dollars from investors and governments.

These shares have whacked many investors along the way and hence the jokes being poked at the company. I made a lot of money with Bombardier in the past and sold out at around $20.

No guarantees, but this might be a good one again when the market smartens up and the company starts selling its new airplanes. I will be watching. † Andy Sirksi is mostly retired. He travels with his wife, plays with his grandchildren, runs a small tax business and manages his family’s investments. Andy also publishes an electronic newsletter called StocksTalk. You can read it free by sending an email to Andy at sirski@mymts.net.

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

11

Columns Soils and crops

Nitrate in the environment Agriculture is a big part of nitrogen movement. Let’s measure what we’re doing les henry

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his column has dealt with “nitrate down the well” a few times in the past. To make a long story short: • Nitrate-contaminated farm wells have been known since 1945 when the first case of infant “blue-baby” was related to a contaminated farm well in Iowa.

• A 1948 survey of 2,000 Saskatchewan farm wells found 18 per cent had nitrate above the safe drinking water limit. Small farms with livestock and shallow wells were the usual culprits • Small towns with sandy soils, hand dug wells and outhouses also had nitratecontaminated wells. Bounty (in Saskatchewan, near Milden where I was raised) was one such example.

Bounty is now a ghost town.

• This old fossil sees red when some Janey/Johny come-lately does a survey of farm wells, finds some contaminated with nitrate and puts the cause to all the nitrogen fertilizer we pour on, or intensive livestock.

For a more complete treatise on nitrate in our agriculture, use Google to search for “Fertilizers and Groundwater Nitrate,” and you should be taken to www. wsask.ca (the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency website) where you can download a PDF. This booklet was prepared by Les Henry and Bill Meneley, sponsored by the then Western Canada Fertilizer Association.

Nitrate in tile drains The first documented nitrate in tile drains was at the famous Rothamsted Research, U.K. In 1870 they installed drain gauges in fields that were clean cultivated and not cropped. Those drains were monitored for about 40 years continuously with no change in management (continuous fallow).

At the start, the soil lost about 45 pounds of N per acre per year as nitrate washed away. By the end of the experiment in 1915 the soil was worn down but still lost 25 lbs. N/acre as nitrate.

Fast forward 100 years to the major corn and soybean states of the U.S. mid-west. About 50 million acres of prime land in that area

has surface or tile drains; much of it drains to the Mississippi River and eventually the Gulf of Mexico.

A lot of U.S. soil/fertilizer/cropping research of the past two decades has been documenting the significant loss of nitrate and the impacts down the line. Not a pretty picture. The research also includes ways and means to minimize the loss to ag and the impact to the environment. Grass and alfalfa crops reduce the drain volume and the N lost but when an alfalfa crop is broken it can release a lot of nitrogn. The 4Rs of nutrient stewardship (right source, right rate, right time and right place) come into play but rate is the big one. Porking on too much nitrogen is bad news.

In areas with warmer winters the ground does not freeze as much and winter rains can be a big part of the loss of N to drains.

Mineralized N is an important source of loss.

The lesson for Western Canada Our situation is very much different than the corn and soybean areas of the American Midwest. But as we start tile draining it is important to monitor what is happening with nutrient loss. It is better that we do it ourselves rather than wait until someone else does.

Monitoring is not given the attention it deserves. How can we

know the impact of a farm management practice on our environment if we do not measure it? Too much of current research is of the short-term “quick fix” variety.

And, we can get on with a simple test to measure the N that will be mineralized during the growing season and use the results in deciding N fertilizer rates. Some work is now in progress and I hope there is a practical test soon. † J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He recently finished a second printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for “Grainews” readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, Sask., S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book.

It is better that we do it ourselves Nitrate rare in native systems An early research project we did (1970) was deep soil sampling (about 20 feet) of various situations to measure nitrate. In the native prairie at the University of Saskatchewan Kernen farm, nitrate was a rare beast. Any time a nitrate molecule was so bold as to pop out of the soil organic matter (mineralize) a grass root was laying in wait to gobble it up and put it back into organic form.

We must accept that much of the nitrate now moving around in our soil and water came from something that mankind has done.

We in agriculture are a part of that.

When the prairie sod was broken much nitrate was released but early crops eagerly soaked it up.

Before the white man came to the Canadian Prairies the only nitrate would be at buffalo kill sites and perhaps a few places where our first peoples lingered too long.

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/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Columns Can’t take the farm from the boy

Settling in on the Manitoba farm By year three, Toban and his wife are well on their way to feeling like real farmers Toban Dyck

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f you’re 32, and are thinking about moving to the farm, this column will change your life. Well, no, perhaps not, but it will give you some meat to chew on.

Or, if you’re a farmer and a parent of someone who’s in his or her 30s, this column may offer you hope.

I’m plagued by the nagging thought that I should know more.

I should know more about farming by now. What do you think? Some of you have been loyal readers. You must have some idea of what’s lacking in my farming knowledge. Or, is this something all farmers face?

Does this thought/worry resemble that familiar place in any discipline when you realize how much you don’t know? The thought has forced me inward, reflecting on the things that have happened and changed since August 2012, when we moved to the farm. In short, a lot has changed.

The first year

The second year Year two still had the euphoria of year one, but with an introductory taste of reality. I did more fieldwork than the year before, and was trusted to troubleshoot, discern, and choose things related to the farm.

“I don’t know. What do you think? became a question I had to answer. I began chatting with the farmers close to us about what factors they identify when deciding on things like seeding dates, seeding depths, or crop choices. I was searching for context. Farming seems more like muscle memory without it.

Transition planning conversations began at the end of year two.

These were hard at first. I had trouble understanding the minutia of what went into one. I still do, though I can appreciate the complexities a little more now. This would be an ideal place to reveal our airtight plan, but, a) such a plan doesn’t exist for anybody; and b) I’ve become okay with that.

If you’ve just moved to the farm, you’ll probably be reading a few ag publications. If not, you should be. You’ll find profiles of young go-getters who did something interesting to streamline their transition plans, or something to diversify and grow their farms. Let them inspire you.

Don’t let them intimidate you.

I rode the fence on year two.

My city life was behind me, and

the rural life was starting to take hold. I was ambivalent, bifurcated, torn. You’ll deal with this, as well.

I was starting to get a glimpse of what exactly I would be leaving behind if we stuck with our lives on the farm.

The third year Year three: the scales started to tip. I don’t write about the same things I wrote about in 2012. My interests have changed. In some ways I’m not the same person.

I’m sure we can all say that of our selves three years ago, but this seems different, and there are a couple reasons for that: 1: I know a thing or two now about farming, and I know a thing or two about what it’s like to be a farmer, living in the country and doing country things. So, the change is more evolutionary than circumstantial — a blending of past and present, if you will.

2: It feels different because I’ve

passed my two-year career change deadline. Farming feels real, permanent.

I did more on the farm during the last growing season than ever before. I was in it. I acquired more land, and may be acquiring even more before this year is over. I now spend waking moments pondering things like bin storage, commodity prices, and crop trends, and if you’d put me back in our Palmerston, Toronto apartment, I would not lead the same life we lead when we lived there. It’s all different now.

I’m no longer on the fence with teetering allegiances to the city and the country. Parts of that sentence scare me. What did I leave behind?

Is it gone for good? The questions are interesting, kind of, but the past matters less than the future, and that’s looking pretty good.

Into the future If you’re reading this, and about to make the move, year three is a

HOT.

photo: chris wunrau

Year one: by the time we arrived on the farm, at first living in my parents’ basement — we were waiting for our mobile home to arrive and we needed to do some work prepping the yard — the wheat harvest was already done.

The farm had seeded early, as there was little snow and warmer than average temperatures in spring.

I had buckets of energy at the time, and was brimming with confidence, having just left a fairly involved job in Toronto.

Changing cultivator shovels was one of the first things I did on the farm. It was good, honest work. I was having the time of my life. I was learning the mechanics of farming.

If you’re moving back after being off the farm for as long as I was, this was a necessary first step.

I got this whole farming thing, I thought. My online paper was doing well, and I had this column and a few other writing gigs keeping me busy, our trailer arrived,

our yard was seeded with grass — life was great. This new life was happening. Social media was hungry for my/our pictures of cultivating, driving truck, you name it, and I met that need, enjoying the celebrity. The first year was the perfect farming honeymoon.

It had a gloss to it, our first year did (August to August). Perhaps our second, as well, but for sure our first. We were leaders, doing something radical — moving from the big city to small-town Manitoba determined to show the world we could make this transition a lossless one. We were on the leading edge of a trend. I knew it. My confidence as a beginning farmer hinged on it. Yours will, too. That’s okay. Own it.

My neighbour, Chris Unrau, took this from his drone. I’m harvesting my very first crop (soybeans) on the land I rented.

47251-01 DAS MB Coop Early bird 13_167X9_GN_a1.indd 1

COLD.

good one. The best one, so far.

Life on the farm is great, with plans in place for it go get better.

My wife’s 10 chickens are healthy, and laying a steady supply of eggs for us, our friends, and our families. My seed is bought for the spring, and the warm weather can’t come soon enough.

Year four will be about soil science, specialty crop options, getting involved in the agriculture community, and dealing with all the things that pop up in a growing season. It’s full immersion now. No more wrestling with 2012.

The farm life is infectious and incredible. I’ve said this to you before. I’m saying it again now, and will again in a column months from now, at which time by the sounds of things our chickens will share the yard with a few goats, some ducks, a couple of pigs, and perhaps a donkey. Yikes. † Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

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.

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

13

Columns Hart Attacks

Facts about bees, birds are next Something is afoot in the bee community, but is agriculture really to blame?

W

e’ve heard a lot about honeybees in the last couple of years, particularly concerns that some crop protection products are a leading cause for the decline in bee numbers.

The finger has most recently been pointed at a chemical compound known as the neonicotinoid class of pesticide, which in the past decade or so has been used in seed treatments of common field crops such as canola, corn and soybean.

The critics suggest the pesticide is intended to systemically spread from the seed coating through the plant to provide protection against a number of pests, but in the process is killing pollinating bees through contaminated pollen and nectar. Manufacturers of the products as well as some scientists say there isn’t sufficient chemical in pollen or nectar to harm bees.

In the meantime the issue raises

SMALL.

an emotional debate about what harm agricultural technology may be causing the environment. Dr. Ieuan Evans, a long-time Alberta based plant pathologist and a horticulture specialists in his own right, has his views on the situation.

In a recent article in an AgriTrend Agrology newsletter, Strategic News, Dr. Evans who doesn’t have to be coaxed too hard to share his opinions, sets out what he considers are some truths about honeybees. Don’t get this wrong. Evans says the agriculture industry needs to have a good working relationship with beekeepers and of course be responsible with the proper use of all crop protection products.

He’s just saying the whole issue needs to be kept in perspective.

As Dr. Evans says...

The public “believes that the honeybee is a ‘canary in the coal mine’ indicator that conventional agriculture threatening their very food source. I call baloney. Here are the facts.”

EARLY.

Point No .1 “Firstly, honeybees can technically be classified as invasive species since the honeybee, Aphis melifera, is not native to the Americas. The honeybee is native to Europe, Asia and Africa and in these continents, it exists in 20 or more strains, all of which are compatible breeding wise. Honeybees are now distributed worldwide, present on every continent except Antarctica. Worldwide, there are some 20,000 bee species including bumble bees.”

Point No. 2 “Secondly, most of our major prairie crops do not require honeybees for pollination. Beekeepers and various and sundry individuals frequently tout the extreme value of bees to our food supply as pollinators of important and essential crops. However, until the Europeans settled the Americas, honeybees

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Dr. Ieuan Evans says producers must continue to use good bee-safe management tools and beekeepers need to control the pest infestations in their hives and to collaborate with responsible farmers. were unknown on this continent and the indigenous crops such as corn, beans, potatoes, tomatoes and squash managed very well.

“All of the major crops currently grown on the Prairies corn, soybean, pea, bean, forage grass, flax, barley, oat, wheat, rye, lentil and chickpea are either self- or wind-pollinated. Only sunflowers, canola, fava beans and buckwheat benefit from bees in addition to normal wind pollination.

Alfalfa requires leaf cutter bees for pollination. Most trees are wind pollinated. Besides honeybees, there are hundreds of other species of native bee species and pollinating flies that visit crop flowers for both pollen and nectar.

Horticultural crops such as potatoes, cabbages, asparagus, tomatoes, all root crops such as carrots, beets, parsnips do not require bees for crop production, except for production of true seed. Fruit crops, such as citrus, blueberries, cherries, almonds, plums, apples and members of the cucumber family do benefit significantly from bee pollination.”

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“Thirdly, in general producers have good relationships with the beekeepers that place beehives on their lands. While we are fully aware that insecticides will kill bees, farmers growing agricultural or horticultural crops are generally cognizant of the beehives in or near their cropland. Bee kills are avoided when farmers are informed. Communication is key in reducing bee deaths due to pesticide application.

“The furor over Colony Collapse Disorder has largely been blamed on pesticides; bees bringing the chemical home to the brood. When colonies die out or show very poor vigour or honey production, the easiest target to blame is not these natural causes but pesticides, in particular insecticides.

“However, more likely it is due to a combination of bee diseases such as foulbrood and chalkbrood, pests such as Varroa and Acarina mites and hive beetles.

Honeybees have been “domesticated” for thousands of years in the “Old World” as prime producers of honey. Domestication has resulted in honeybees accumulating numerous fungal, bacterial, viral diseases, and insect and mite pests that now infest beehive colonies in North America. These pests and diseases certainly came from related honeybees species and likely other wild bee species. Unfortunately, these destructive pests and diseases can weaken even kill honeybees, particularly if the bees are subject to additional stress such as movement of hives or inclement weather condition such as wind, rain and cold.

“On top of that, Varroa mites have developed resistance to the miticides and the bacteria responsible for foulbrood have developed resistance to the main antibiotic used, making control difficult. The present concern over bee deaths due to corn or soybean seed treated with neonicotinoids has always seemed very farfetched to me.

“How can the insecticide dust from planted treated seeds arise and infest flowers in and around cropland? The dilution on the insecticide factor alone would be huge. And a recent report from Health Canada states that seed coated with imidacloprid, an insecticide known as a neonicotinoid, does not pose a risk to bee health.

“Now I enjoy the odd teaspoon of honey and the sound of honeybees pollinating my Mayday trees, and of course, we must endeavour to do our best to foster the honey industry, but at the same time we, as famers should not be blamed for honey industry problems.

“Producers must continue to use good bee-safe management tools and beekeepers need to control the pest infestations in their hives and to collaborate with responsible farmers in order to successfully maintain and profit from their industry. Honey producers together with their bees can then help optimize specific crop production where and when honeybees are needed.” † Lee Hart is a field editor with Grainews based in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com

14

/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Columns Tip of the issue

Get more from your soybeans

S

oybean growers should be aware of some agronomy recommendations.

Soybeans require a bacteria, Bradyrhizobium japonicum, to create nitrogen-fixing nodules on its roots. The bacteria that forms nodules on soybean roots is not found naturally in soils in Western Canada, so inoculation is necessary. If the plant has poor nodulation, it must rely on nitrogen present in the soil or applied to the soil.

Any field that does not have a history of soybeans or fields that have a four-year rotation should double inoculate to ensure adequate nodulation. Until there is a history of at least five years of soybeans on the field,

growers should continue to double inoculate. Long-time soybean growers may want to reduce rates of inoculant, but first, consider soil conditions that can impact the bacteria. Anaerobic soil conditions from saturated soils and drought conditions may increase the mortality rate of residual bacteria. If these conditions are common in a field then a normal rate or ideally a double rate of inoculant should be used.

Soil temperatures should be at least 10 C when planting and for the following 48 hours when the seed is imbibing water. The ideal seeding depth is 0.75 inches to 1-1/2 inches.

Seeding rate depends on type of seeding implement being used and the condition of the seed; if seed quality is poor

then a higher seeding rate may be needed to compensate for seed mortality. If a grower is using a planter, a lower seeding rate can be used. If an air drill or air seeder is being used, a higher seeding rate is required. The goal is to have a final plant stand between 150,000 to 160,000 plants per acre.

Once harvested, additional drying may be needed to bring the moisture percentage down for proper storage.

Harvesting soybeans at 13 to 14 per cent moisture eliminates drying costs, reduces shattering and cracking, minimizes harvest loss and maximizes profits.

Select the right variety with the right agronomic and maturity package for the field to be planted. This can greatly increase yield potential and minimize losses without any extra work. With new varieties coming out every year, soybean acres will continue to expand in Western Canada. † Michael Weir is DuPont Pioneer’s area agronomist for eastern Manitoba.

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MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

15

Columns Understanding market bulls and bears

Talking about the farm transition Bring in the experts when it’s time to talk about passing on the family farm Brian wittal

D

uring the winter months, I spent a lot of time at conferences and meetings, often talking with farmers over lunches and breaks.

One such conversation was around farm transition. I spoke with a couple in the process of taking over the family farm.

The issue was two other siblings who worked off the farm.

These two siblings weren’t interested in farming, but their parents had always told them they would get a share of the farm. The couple weren’t sure if the siblings would chose to keep any land they inherited, or if they would sell it for cash.

The couple isn’t currently able to buy it; losing the land could jeopardize their small farm operation.

Mom and Dad incorporated the farm 10 years ago, but they hadn’t really done anything more than that. The couple needed more information.

This brought me back to last year’s Alberta Canola Producer’s Commission’s Leading Edge Farm Management series. I was part of this speaker series. Other speakers were experts on farm management, tax planning and farm transitioning: Dr. Dany Klinefelter, Dean Gallimore, Merle Good and Joel Bokenfohr.

ing siblings) to discuss the realities of a farm transition can also help. An outsider can outline everyone’s expectations and help develop a solution everyone can live with.

Fair or equal?

I remember Merle Good saying that siblings may want their fair share, but “fair” does not mean they will get an equal share of the assets or land. Often, they need to see it as getting their “fair share” based on their involvement and input to the farm over the past number of years. If they have been working elsewhere for 10 years while their farming sibling has been work-

ing on the farm, they should take into account who has been building the equity in the farm during that time. Off-farm siblings should not expect to get an equal percentage of the overall farm and assets compared to the sibling who has been working on the farm. And that’s where the fighting begins. It takes a long time for everyone to come to the reality of the situation and to be fair minded about what is best to allow the family and the farm to remain intact.

I have talked to too many farm families that tried to do a transition the good old fashioned way — on their own. By the time they were done, the farm was either broke or sold to

pay taxes and fees, and to give a little piece of the pie to everyone who wanted a piece. If someone in the family wanted to farm, they couldn’t afford to after the transition process.

Too many families have been torn apart over a farm transition. That can be avoided with some pre-planning done well in advance. With a little help, farmers can ensure that the proper steps are taken to transfer a viable farming operation over to the next generation and still give everyone else involved their “fair share” and maintain family harmony for the future.

Depending on the complexity of the situation — factors like the number of interested parties

involved in the transition, the size of the operation, who owns what assets — the process can take a while. Bringing in outside experts may not be cheap, but from what I remember from the afterhours discussions I had with the other speakers on the tour last year, the head aches and tax savings from properly setting up the transition from the beginning will far outweigh the cost and time you spent to do it. And it’s hard to put a price on keeping your farm viable and your family united. † Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. (www.procommarketingltd.com).

WE’VE SOLVED

Families have been torn apart I remember listening to their presentations intently. The thing that really got me was the level of complexity in today’s world of taxation. Farmers must start planning something like a farm transition several years in advance so everything is in place to make it happen as efficiently and cost effectively as possible, so you can keep the farm as a viable functioning business even with outside siblings involved.

It was a good that we did three similar meetings so that I had the opportunity to hear them talk three times on the same subjects. I needed three times to get my head wrapped around all of the details involved in a farm transition or a farm financial health checkup. I can see why many do not want to tackle these issues, so they put it off — not the best strategy.

All I could suggest to this couple was that, before they make any decisions, they talk to their accountant and lawyer and/or someone like Dean Gallimore who specializes in farm transition strategies. Bringing in someone like Merle Good to sit down with everyone involved (includ-

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/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Columns Agronomy management

Mustard fertilizer management In Part 2 of a 4-part series on mustard agronomy, Ross McKenzie talks fertilizer Ross McKenzie

I

n the last issue of Grainews, I discussed agronomic management of growing mustard. In this issue we’ll

discuss nitrogen requirements; in the next issue, we’ll discuss the other nutrients mustard needs to achieve optimum production.

Mustard grown on cereal stubble almost always needs nitrogen fertilizer, frequently needs phosphate fertilizer and occasionally needs sulphur fertilizer. Soil testing to 24 inches is important to

develop a sound fertilizer management program.

Nitrogen (N) All mustard types are very sensitive to insufficient nitrogen (N) and are very responsive to N fertilization when plant available soil N levels are low. On continuously cropped T:10.25”land, mustard

responds well to the addition of N fertilizer, and yield gains in the range of 30 to 70 per cent are common. Our field research in Alberta concluded that N fertilizer application was the most influential agronomic factor controlling the yield and quality of mustard. Adequate N promotes vigorous plant growth, large leaf area with a deep green colour,

branching, flowering and pod development.

Mustard takes up N from the time the roots begin to function until all uptake of nutrients and water ends with maturity. Under normal growth conditions, the amount of N taken up is greatest during the early stages of growth, and then, N is translocated within the plant from leaves and stem to

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MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

17

Columns pods and seeds during flowering and maturity.

The primary soil N source taken up by mustard roots is nitrate-N (NO3-). To achieve optimum yield, an adequate supply of plant-available N is required. Soil N comes from mineralization of soil organic matter. The amount and rate of mineralization of soil organic matter is affected by soil temperature, moisture, pH, aeration, amount of soil organic matter.

Nitrogen in older leaves is redistributed to younger leaves to maintain growth. As a result, when N is deficient, the older leaves first show a characteristic lighter green to yellow colour; then, they will wither and drop by flowering.

The amount of nitrogen fertilizer required depends on four factors: 1. The level of soil nitratenitrogen (NO3-N) at the time of planting; 2. The mineralization potential of the soil during the growing season; 3. Stored soil moisture at planting; and, 4. Expected precipitation during the growing season.

The lower the soil N level, the greater the need for nitrogen fertilizer. As stored soil moisture increases and/or growing season precipitation increases, the need for additional nitrogen fertilizer increases. The optimum N fertilizer rate is a function of soil N, stored soil moisture (SSM) in spring and expected growing season precipitation (GSP). Therefore, soil testing for nitrate-N to 24 inches and determining the amount of stored soil moisture before seeding are critical to aid in determining optimum fertilizer N rates.

Our Alberta research was used to develop general fertilizer recommendation tables for the brown and dark brown soil zones based on three soil moisture conditions.

RECOMMENDED NITROGEN RATES: Based on soil test N (NO3-N) levels in the 0- to 24-ich depth

SOIL ZONE BROWN SOIL NITROGEN LEVEL

LOW

MEDIUM

IRRIGATION

LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

Pounds of N per acre

0

60

75

90

70

85

100

170

10

50

65

80

60

75

90

160

20

40

55

70

50

65

80

150

30

30

45

60

40

55

70

140

40

20

35

50

30

35

60

130

50

10

25

40

20

25

50

120

60

0

15

30

10

15

40

110

70

0

5

20

0

5

30

100

80

0

0

10

0

0

20

90

100

0

0

0

0

0

10

80

110

0

0

0

0

0

0

70

120

0

0

0

0

0

0

60

130

0

0

0

0

0

0

50

140

0

0

0

0

0

0

40

150

0

0

0

0

0

0

30

Source: Alberta Agriculture Adgex 143/20-1

GENTLE ON CROPS.

TOUGH ON WEEDS.

Ross H. McKenzie, PhD, P. Ag., is a former agronomy research scientist. He conducted soil, crop and irrigation research with Alberta Agriculture for 38 years. He has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Lethbridge since 1993.

HIGH

(0-24")

Application timing and placement Ideally, N fertilizer should be applied at the time of seeding, using a direct seeding system.

Mustard is extremely sensitive to seed-placed N fertilizer, so it is best to place all N in a side-band or midrow band at the time of seeding.

Side-banded N should have at least 1-1/2 inch of separation between the seed row and fertilizer band.

One option is to band N prior to seeding. The disadvantage of spring banding N fertilizer is that the seedbed is disturbed and valuable seed bed soil moisture can be lost. Therefore, it is generally a better option to band N fertilizer in very late fall.

For farmers who want to place N fertilizer with the seed using a single shoot, direct seeding system, an option is to use coated, slow release urea such as ESN (Environmentally Smart Nitrogen). Polymer coated urea will release the coated urea fertilizer slowly over a period of up to 60 days. Recent Alberta Agriculture research suggests that rates of up to 40 lbs. N/ac. can be safely seedplaced with a 10 per cent seedbed utilization.

In the next issue of Grainews I’ll continue on this theme with recommendations for phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and micronutrients. †

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18

/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Columns Reporter’s Notebook

Four tips for talking to journalists Here’s what you need to know before talking to reporters about your farm situation

By Lisa Guenther

A

s a reporter, a big part of my job is getting farmers to talk to me.

In this column, I’m going to tell you why you might want to think twice about being interviewed. Or, if you decide to talk to a journalist, what you need to know.

Before tapping out this column, I spoke to Tom Button, editor at Country Guide, about the idea. He said he’s always been amazed at how forthcoming farmers are when they’re talking about their situations. That’s been my experience too, and I don’t want to abuse that trust.

But there are risks to stepping into the spotlight. Here are four

things you need to know about the media.

1. A reporter is not there to be your friend Beware any reporter who claims to be acting in your interest. We serve our readers first, not our interview subjects.

Deep down T:10.25” even the kindest

reporter is a wolf trying to sniff out a story.

This might seem a little heartless, but bad things happen when reporters forget who they serve.

For example, in 2014 Rolling Stone published a dramatic account of a campus rape that didn’t hold up to scrutiny. Part of the problem was that the reporter and editors didn’t want to harm the alleged victim by

carefully verifying her account. It backfired badly.

Even a good news story on your farm isn’t going to be entirely your story. It’s going to be the story the reporter thinks her readers want.

If the story is on a controversial or complex topic, the reporter will be nosing out other sources, who may disagree with you. If you’re discussing an agronomic problem on your

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MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

19

Columns farm, your agronomic practices may be laid bare for everyone to see and judge.

Before you agree to an interview, find out who the reporter works for. Don’t be afraid to ask him what type of story he’s working on before you spill the beans.

2. We can’t keep a secret Don’t say anything to us that you don’t want published. That applies whether you’re doing an interview or speaking at a farm show. It includes jokes and offhand comments. It also includes questionable farming practices, such as using a chemical off-label.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve had farmers ask me not to publish a comment after they’ve said it. Don’t do that. If it’s not related to the story, we aren’t likely to include it, but there are no guarantees.

If you absolutely have to tell a journalist something as background information, but you don’t want to see it in print, ask about

the reporter’s policy first. Same rule applies if you’re okay with the comment being published, but you don’t want your name attached to it. It’s better to discuss it first then argue about it after you’ve let the cat out of the bag.

4. A story lives online forever Once upon a time, a story was likely forgotten by most people as soon as it hit the recycle bin.

Not the case today. Even many “print” stories are published online once the print magazine is out. They’re forever available with a quick Internet search.

The same goes for photos. And you also need to know that if a freelance photographer takes your photo, they can sell those photos under some circumstances.

I asked Lorne McClinton about this. McClinton is a photographer and the Canadian editor at John Deere’s Furrow and Homestead magazines.

McClinton told me it depends on some extent to the photographer’s contract with the publication and what country we’re talking about.

But in Canada, subjects do have some control over how their photos are used. For example, if McClinton takes a picture of a

3. We make mistakes There. I’ve said it. We misspell names, misunderstand what you’ve said, and even occasionally misquote you. We don’t like doing it, and we try not to do it, but we’re only human.

It’s worth noting how the reporter records the interview. Are they recording audio, taking notes, doing both, or doing neither?

Most publications print corrections once they’re alerted. If it’s a web story, the original story can be corrected. It’s not a perfect solution, though. If people have already read the incorrect story, they might not see the correction.

If you can’t live with even a slim possibility of these mistakes, you may want to skip the interview.

man leaning on a rail fence for a cowboy profile, he can’t use that same photo for a news story on rural domestic violence, unless the man signed a release. Nor can McClinton sell that photo to a company running an ad campaign without a release.

You should also know that if you’re in public, a photographer can shoot your photo and sell it to illustrate a related news story. The caption can’t misrepresent what the person is doing, or take them out of context, McClinton says.

Tom Button of Country Guide told me how he works with freelance photographers. He echoed McClinton’s caveat that photographers cannot sell the photos for commercial purposes without the subjects’ permission. Photographers also sign over copyright to any photos published in Country Guide.

But, Button told me, if a freelance photographer wants to sell out-takes to other news media, they can. This rarely comes up because the people we profile aren’t usually big newsmakers.

But it is a possibility with Iain Stables. He and his wife were on the cover of Country Guide last March. This February, police laid several charges against him related to theft of farm machinery.

I wrote that Country Guide story.

I feel a little sad looking back at it, given the allegations that loomed in his future. I feel particularly awful for Iain’s wife, who hasn’t been charged with anything.

But once a story or photo is in the wild, there’s no recapturing it.

I hope I haven’t scared away all of you from future interviews.

There are many good reasons to talk to media, which I’m sure you’ve heard if you’ve ever had a journalist trying to talk you into an interview.

If you have questions about the media, feel free to shoot me an email. I’ll answer as best I can, and may even turn it into another column. † Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.

Guenther@fbcpublishing.com or on Twitter @LtoG.

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/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Columns Farm financial planner

Moving to corporate structures Bumper crops and bulging silos can make a move to corporate structure essential

By Andrew Allentuck

I

n central Manitoba, a couple we’ll call Nick, 38, and Mary, 37, farm 1,500 acres.

They inherited Nick’s family farm eight years ago after his parents died. The farm began with the parents’ two sections.

When the parents passed away, the home quarter and associ-

ated buildings went to Nick with the neighbouring quarter section going to his sister as her legacy. The sister, not very eager to maintain the property, sold her quarter section to Nick when he started farming. The farm, now a dozen years in operation, has been profitable most years.

Nick and Mary have a 10-year old child.

The farm as presently set up consists of the original 320 acres of the parents’ land and another 1,180 acres they later purchased. They have done well with bumper crops and good prices for their grain. However, they want to reduce taxes. Their strategy has been to pre-pay farming expenses to reduce taxable income T:10.25” and to defer sell-

ing grain until prices are up and their cash position is down.

They have prepaid as much as two years of expenses and they hold two years of inventory.

Tax management has produced personal issues, for the couple has a problem generating enough money to cover living costs. They approached Don Forbes and Erik Forbes

of Don Forbes Associates Inc. in Carberry, Manitoba to help them restructure their farm as a corporation. The goal: get cash flow up and taxes down.

The problem is structural, Erik Forbes explains. “Incorporation brings complexity and the costs of professional fees for corporate accounting and legal costs,” he says “Ultimately, incorpora-

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21

Columns tion provides the flexibility to expand and grow personal net worth over the long term.”

The larger problem, which incorporation solves, is the question of how long revenue can be deferred and expenses prepaid.

The issue, Erik Forbes notes, is earnings management. Farmers can elect to use cash accounting or accrual when filing tax returns. They could potentially defer for many years as long as their reporting is consistent with CRA rules.

The concept of incorporation is to contain the business of the farm under the umbrella of a separate legal entity apart from the personal affairs of the owner.

Money held within the corporation and not taken as income can be reinvested in the business, that is, the farm.

After paying salaries and other expenses, the first $450,000 per year of net profit remaining in the company is taxed at an 11 per cent rate rather than the personal rate which, with combined Manitoba and federal tax, can be as much as 46.4 per cent in Manitoba using 2015 rates. The cash flow freed up in the farming corporation, which would otherwise be used to pay a higher tax bill, is retained on the corporation’s books as retained earnings and will become taxable when paid out as dividends sometime in the future. The retained earnings are available to increase the working capital of the farm business, Don Forbes explains.

Moving to a corporation In Nick and Mary’s case, incorporation allows them to sell grain inventory up to the small business net profit level of $450,000 that they would otherwise defer to another tax year. Any tax-paid equity in farm machinery and / or grain inventory when transferred to the corporation could be liberated as tax-paid principal when it is rolled over into a corporate shareholder loan. That raises cash flow. The shareholder loan reflected in Nick and Mary’s tax-paid equity invested in the corporation can be redeemed in future without tax, Erik Forbes notes.

Moreover, when one incorporates, it is possible to raise the depreciated value of machinery to current market value. That move increases the room for capital cost allowance.

The corporate form of organization allows the business to pay salaries, which allow more structured Registered Retirement Savings Plan contributions, Don Forbes notes.

Both Nick and Mary will be eligible for the qualified farmland capital gains tax exemption when the book value of the personally owned farmland is sold or transferred. However, farmland held within the corporation will not be eligible, so all of their

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personal land holdings should be kept in their personal names.

In Nick and Mary’s case, farmland with a market value of $2.6 million and a book value of $1.2 million has a nominal capital gain of $1.4 million. Using the $2 million farm land capital gains tax credit based on $1 million per person and allowing $200,000 for the personal residence plus one acre, all capital gains tax liability can be offset.

So a potential sale or transfer of the farmland would be tax-free, Don Forbes says. In addition, the residue of $800,000 can be used in future to offset the capital value of the land.

For 2016, the new corporation should realize $450,000 net profits. Some income can be deferred to 2017 to stay under the $450,000 threshold.

The extra cash in 2016 can be used to pay off machinery and thus save interest expense, to increase salaries of Nick and

Mary to as much as $90,000 each, to top up their child’s RESP, their TFSAs and RRSPs, and, if there is still money left, to pay bonuses for further RRSP contributions of as much as $18,000 for Nick and $14,000 for Mary. If there is

Incorporation provides the flexibility still cash leftover, it can be put into a joint non-registered account. The value of this type of account is that the underlying investment in the account can flow to the survivor without tax if one dies. Once the survivor dies, all of the deferred gains become taxable.

Once RRSP space is used up,

the next use of cash should be enhancement of the couple’s TaxFree Savings Accounts. Nick and Mary each have $27,700 in their respective TFSAs. Topping each up to the 2016 maximum of $46,500 this year and taking advantage of the additional $5,500 space for each partner in each successive year with potential indexation will provide a total balance of $583,400 by the time Nick is 65 assuming three per cent annual growth after inflation.

Nick and Mary have a Registered Education Savings Plan for their child with a present balance of $35,000. If they continue to add $2,500 a year and receive the Canada Education Savings Grant of the lesser of $500 or 20 per cent of contributions for eight years including this year, the plan will have $71,814 if it grows at three per cent after inflation. That would cover four years of study at any university in Manitoba

for books, tuition and even some room and board. A summer job could provide any additional money, Erik Forbes notes.

Achieving a three per cent after inflation return may seem modest, but it is actually a challenge in today’s low growth, low inflation economy.

The odds of getting three per cent average growth improve if management fees are reduced. A 2.6 per cent mutual fund fee for one year adds up to 26 per cent in 10 years and 52 per cent in 20 years. Rather than use high fee mutual funds, Nick and Mary could use exchange traded funds with average fees of as low as 1/10 of one per cent. Even paying a one per cent advisory fee would leave them ahead. After all, giving up in fees what the couple has struggled to save with a corporate organization would be a waste. † Andrew Allentuck is author of “When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Future After Work” (Penguin, 2011).

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Farm Safety

Don’t be afraid to be safe Farming is our legacy. But changing practices to farm safely is our future

By Shanyn Silinski

F

arm Safety week comes every March. If you’ve been reading Grainews regularly, you’ll know that I’ve been writing safety articles for this special feature for the past few years. Farming is part of my family. It has been for generations. We have some pieces of our history and our traditions we hold dear. Others must change with time, with technology and with choice.

Much has been said for keeping families in farming, and I couldn’t agree more. I would love to see more families farming, engaging in agriculture. Both urban and rural.

Agriculture is an industry, one that is a foundation for Western Canada and one that has a proud history. It also is a business. A family tradition, a legacy.

We love it, and sometimes we hate it.

What agriculture never has been, and can never be is stagnant. We always move forward. We always move laterally. We are always learning and growing. That means sometimes we have to let go of our sacred cows, our fears and our blinders.

Sacred cows? Yes. Those notions that keep us doing things that are unsafe on our farms because, “It’s the way we do things.” We have to recognize that if we are going to have future generations in agriculture we have to leave unsafe practices to memory.

Past practice My husband’s grandmother was there when her dad fell into the threshing machine. She lost so much at such a young age. She married a farmer who embraced, pursued and engaged in progressive ideas, technology and refused to be stuck in a mindset that didn’t allow for growth.

We lose fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, children, friends and animals to farming accidents all too often. And the defense of our lifestyle, our culture, becomes an excuse to avoid change.

“We can’t be doing ‘safety’ because that would stop us from farming as a family.”

Nonsense. If any other industry was willing to sacrifice its future to outdated and unsafe practices would we accept their defense of, “It’s the way we do things,” I think not.

Our fears? Yes. Our fears of change, of growing our industry into something bigger, broader and deeper. If we are going to attract new people and new ideas we

have to be safe. We have to value the life and health of our families and workers as much as we do a new tractor or an old tradition. We need to let go of the fear of being open with our safety practices. We need to let go of our fear of the unknown and become the advocates for our industry. Who better than those in ag to guide us in the future? But we have to be seen and heard as progressive advocates. We have to let go of the fears that our industry will suffer if we are openly passionate about farming and farming safely.

The blinders Farm safety is an issue where farming wears some deadly blinders.

These blinders block our view of not only how people see farmers but how they view us as an industry. An industry with booming technology developments, daily engagement with those who eat (ie: everyone) and a place that is always looking to hire good people. We are literally and figuratively a growth industry.

Blinders are varied but they are anything that keeps us from seeing our industry with a fresh perspective. One that allows for strong traditions but also doesn’t fear engaging in the hard conversations and the tough decisions. The blinders of economy are the ones that have agriculture refusing to see how consumers drive change in our industry, and keep us blind to our influence in changing direction.

If you do only one thing this Farm Safety Week do this: embrace your family and decide how to keep them safe.

This year’s theme is Keeping Kids Safe.

So many great resources are available online and from different companies and ag departments. Use them. Many are free, but even if they weren’t it is an investment in your farm and family to embrace farm safety 24/7/365/. † Shanyn Silinski is a writer, published author, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom and agvocate. She loves working in agriculture, currently in primary production, and sharing about agriculture on social media. Find her on Twitter @ MysticShanyn or on Facebook at Photos by Shanyn.

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Farm Safety

23

Safety plans specific to your farm Don’t ignore your danger zones. Make your farm safety match reality on your farm

By Shanyn Silinski

F

Take that first step

arming today is much different than it was in the past.

The vast array of knowledge and access to information can be overwhelming. The temptation to use a template and do the “bare minimum” for a farm safety plan is great. There is also a temptation to skim the safety-related materials provided with chemicals, equipment and machinery.

There are resources available, a dizzying array actually, from cropping advisors to grain marketers to chemical reps and equipment dealers. Farmers who are actively engaged in producing thorough safety plans for their farming operations should take advantage of relevant resources when they are available to them.

One example is to take advantage of annual training for seeding, spraying and harvest equipment.

Make sure your staff attend these training sessions and you get all the materials available for follow up after the training. Dealers have an investment in your business and its success; use that to your advantage in gaining access to materials for training and safety.

Be sure to have specific training for your specific equipment, machinery and farming systems.

A good first step is a Farm Health & Safety Checklist (downloadable from safemanitoba. com) as well as completing SAFE Farm Procedure and Critical Job Inventories for each task, and each operation on the farm.

While it seems overwhelming, and perhaps unnecessary, it is critical to examine individual job to assess safety, the safety of the equipment and machinery and make sure everyone understands the steps needed to complete tasks safely.

When doing these tasks it is important to assess the most important tasks on your farm each season, then assess the most

to least dangerous. By replicating the steps to complete each job, and examining your own farm operation for safety, you may see hidden dangers you have become accustomed to over time.

Dr. Temple Grandin often talks about the “new normal” that can appear in unsafe situations. This happens when something isn’t good (safe) gradually becomes a norm because behaviour adapts

to it rather than changing it.

Perhaps it is a finicky auger, a sticky PTO, or a sparky outlet in the farm shop. With a thorough assessment of the farming operation these “new normal” situations can be both identified and corrected.

When creating a farm safety plan it is important to understand the important thing about the farm safety plan is

that it is for your farm. Not a made up farm or template farm.

Customize it for your operation and make it work for your staff, and in compliance with your provincial regulations. † Shanyn Silinski is a writer, published author, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom and agvocate. She loves working in agriculture, currently in primary production, and sharing about agriculture on social media. Find her on Twitter @MysticShanyn or on Facebook at Photos by Shanyn.

Customize it for your operation Input companies can also be great resources for safety mate® rials, including updated MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for chemicals and inputs you are

For the past 20 years, dedicated volunteers and generous sponsor organizations have been getting together currently using. They also can Grade 5 Student Group aid in safely disposing of old to support the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® program. Since 2002, Canadian Agricultural Safety inputs. Often your sales rep will Association (CASA) has helped to reach more than 100,000 children and participants through Safety Day be accommodating and willing

to provide access to safety trainevents across Canada. They’re doing their part to realize our common mission: providing education and ing materials, or even bring that training to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities. It’s easy training right to your staff.

During 2014, 411 Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® The 2014 Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® program was to get involved. Contact us to find out how you, your organization or your community can join the effort to There are many safety steps farmprograms were held in communities across the U.S., Canada, made possible by the monetary and in-kind donations of more ers can take to keep workers safe. make that vision a reality at 1-888-257-3529 or www.progressiveag.org.

Some of them are easily overlooked American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These Safety Days than 92 corporations, foundations, organizations and individuals. because of the owners and managtaught approximately 105,000 children and adults how to stay The total value of their 2014 cash and in-kind contributions ers intense familiarity with their exceeded $2.75 million. farming operations. Completingsafer and healthier on farms, ranches and at home.

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Farm Safety

Don’t skip the standard operating procedure Not everyone is comfortable developing standard operating procedures. Get over it

By Shanyn Silinski

W

inter can be a great time for planning, and safety planning should be included. Many producers have done environmental farm plans and have done safety plans. The next piece of the complex farm safety puzzle is one that is often is in the “assumed” cateagory. The dreaded SOP (standard operating procedure). Why dreaded? Because of the variable nature of farming producers may rightfully feel uncomfortable with the SOP. It is exactly because of the variable nature of farming that producers should have SOP’s for certain operations. These reinforce the training and farm safety plan as well as provide additional information to specific situations.

Across Canada farming operations are as varied as the farmers and mangers who take care of them. From large scale

to micro each has specific safety challenges that should be addressed in a farm safety plan. The special nature of an SOP is individual to each farm operation, and should always be in compliance with local and regional laws and regulations.

Here are some examples of areas that should have an SOP in place.

Farm conditions Farming in different areas of Canada poses different operational and safety challenges in many areas from seeding and harvesting on steeply sloped fields, to loading and unloading in those same fields. Maintenance and repair is different in areas with geographical challenges such as steep hills, wetlands, or dry areas.

By creating an SOP, farm owners and managers can impart safety and operational knowledge to staff even when

they are not present in field. An SOP for handling equipment in steeply sloped fields can provide direction that helps prevent things like rollovers, spillage and other equipment damage not to mention preserving human safety.

or provided with a field data app can be valuable to farm team members so they can understand the safe working areas of a field and areas to stay away from.

Local Conditions

The importance of working safely in-field with other team members is critical. Larger scale farms often have multiple workers and varied types of equipment working in the same field at the same time. SOP’s can provide guidance for situations that may arise during field operations. Situations such as swathing in wet areas, equipment getting stuck, how to pull equipment out, working during low visibility or at night can be covered in a situational SOP. SOPs can be field or area specific situational or task specific. Each SOP should be a part of the overall farm safety and health plan which fits the individual farm operation’s needs. SOPs can be flexible and should take into account the variable nature of farming. There is no need to fear the SOP, instead view it as a communication tool for infield staff. †

Not all farming operations are found on back roads or in remote areas. Many are now located near urban developments, busy highways and protected areas. These changes to the farming landscape require changes in farming operations. Are there noise bylaws? What bridges, overpasses and crossings are suitable for slower moving farm equipment?

What size of buffer zones need to be provided for protected and residential areas? Municipalities can often provide this information and it is valuable for farm managers and owners to provide it for their infield staff.

Hazards In-field hazards such as well heads, high voltage lines, access roads for utilities, rocks or wetlands should be mapped and included in an infield SOP. How far should the operators stay away from these hazards, are they seasonal or only present during certain conditions?

Are they permanent? Maps with an SOP,

Operational Hazards

Shanyn Silinski is a writer, published author, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom and agvocate. She loves working in agriculture, currently in primary production, and sharing about agriculture on social media. Find her on Twitter @MysticShanyn or on Facebook at Photos by Shanyn.

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Farm Safety

25

Just how deadly is not knowing?

Make sure you know the emergency operation procedures for all of your machinery

By Shanyn Salinksi

S

afety plans. Safety orientation. Training. Tail gate talks. SOPs (standard operating procedures). It is all so important in being a safe farm. A safe business. But how deadly is it really not knowing?

In a word: very.

Any number of things can go wrong, and quickly, in a farming operation. Especially “in season” when people can be tired, stressed and feeling pressured to get the job done. This is a time when knowing your equipment, and knowing your farm team knows it is so critical.

Farm machinery, equipment in the shop, service truck or on the yard all have specific controls and actions. Some can stop quickly and others have multi step shut downs. Some are easy to figure out (a large red button for example) and others are complex with levers, gauges and diagrams.

From a safety standpoint there are two operation sequences everyone should be familiar with: regular safe operations and emergency operations. Not just emergency shut down but operation.

If a tractor has rolled forward, if the hydraulics have weakened and a bucket or grapple has dropped or closed, or even

Everyone should have a basic knowledge opened your operator needs to know what to do. If you are working alone and have called for help from someone in the area they also should know what to do.

For most industries cross training is an important component of safety. The more team members know about the safe operations of the whole working area the safer everyone is. On family farms everyone should have a basic knowledge of the ways to help the primary operator if something fails.

An Internet search reveals that a number of farm fatalities each year are due to equipment failure. Sometimes help is close by but unable to do what needs to be done to preserve a life. Simply because they don’t know what to do. Or they can’t understand the instructions.

Making the plan Your safety plan may not include training every farm team member on every piece of equipment, but it should include orienting them to the basic operations and the hazards of those pieces of equipment. In the yard and in the field. Understanding what can go wrong, and having a procedure that outlines what to do empowers people and makes their work area safer.

Practice. Drill. Just like you would do for weather and other emergencies. Invest the time to train everyone who works in the yard and field on the basics. PTO on, off. Grapples open and close.

Bucket tilt up or down. Loader

up or down. Reverse and forward.

Slow and low. Teach them, and provide tip sheets in each cab, for what to touch and what to leave alone. Simple easy to follow steps to perform basic operations.

Learn and use hand signals. Be sure that equipment that is running has two operators — one in the cab at the controls and one on the ground. Never leave equipment in gear. If a piece of equipment is running and the operator is not present do not move it until everyone has been visually confirmed as being safe and away. Always assume the danger is real and take the correct safety precautions.

We should avoid putting ourselves in dangerous positions when working. The reality is

that part of the reason farming is do dangerous is people assume because an unsafe practice didn’t hurt them in the past, it won’t hurt them now or in the future.

Those are odds you just don’t want to bet against. Eventually that careless or less-than-careful habit will catch up to you. Or the people you work with.

Proper training in shut down for equipment and machinery should be a must for everyone who is present during farming operations.

Just as yard, field and shop safety applies to all present. It is empowering to know what to do in an emergency. Practicing it makes that knowledge applied and useful.

Lastly, never assume. Never assume that your friend, worker,

spouse, neighbor, child or parent knows what to do. Never assume they are able to get into a cab or go to a control and perform the necessary function to assist you.

Never assume you will be able to tell them what to do in the moment.

The more you adopt a safety attitude and practice safety on your farm operation the safer you will be. Safety first puts your business and family first. It is an investment in both, and could literally be a life saver. † Shanyn Silinski is a writer, published author, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom and agvocate. She loves working in agriculture, currently in primary production, and sharing about agriculture on social media. Find her on Twitter @MysticShanyn or on Facebook at Photos by Shanyn.

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Precision Ag

CTF delivers improved crop emergence Consistently higher yields are yet to come, but CTF improves overall efficiency

S

teve Larocque is using his precision farming system to get to the root of improved crop emergence, which in the last few seasons appears to be getting about 80 to 90 per cent of the seeds coming out the ground.

The word root is used both literally and figuratively for the central Alberta farmer and crop consultant who for the past few years has been pioneering, in Canada, a system called Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF).

By limiting all field operations to specific and permanent tramlines across the field, Larocque relies on guidance equipment to precisely place this year’s seed immediately adjacent to the standing stubble of the previous year’s crop — right next to the old roots.

“Placing the seed adjacent to the old seed row appears to be an excellent environment for the seed,” says Larocque, who farms about 620 acres at Morin, about an hour northeast of Calgary. “It is a good seed bed, usually good moisture, the seed can also make use of any residual nutrients from the previous crop, and it is protected. I am seeing probably 80 to 90 per cent seed emergence. And I am doing it with a 27-year-old Concorde drill so it’s not about having the latest seeding equipment in the field.”

With Controlled Traffic Farming Larocque is actually trying to focus all crop inputs on the 17 per cent of his field that really matters — the seed row furrow.

With the more precise RTK (Real Time Kinematic) guidance system and permanent tramlines he can be very precise on where all crop inputs are placed.

“I can place seed right next to last year’s seed row, and I can place fertilizer with the seed or just beside the seedrow,” says Larocque. “When it comes to spraying I can adjust nozzle spacing to treat areas between seed rows with herbicide, if that’s what I want, and I can apply a fungicide directly on the crop. So the whole system gives me a lot of control and increased efficiency when applying inputs.”

Lacrocque, who also owns Beyond Agronomy, a crop consulting service has introduced CTF to his farm over the past six years. “I know I don’t have the largest farm in the country, but in providing consulting services to my clients I like to have first hand experience of how different treatments work,” he says. “So I am always testing inputs, or new production practices on my own crops, which helps with the recommendations I can give others.”

The CTF System Larocque first heard of CTF in Australia as part of his travels under a Nuffield Scholarship. While there are only a handful of farmers in Western Canada trying out CTF today, it is actually a cropping system used by about 20 per cent of Australian producers. Last year Larocque was in France explaining controlled traffic farming in a talk to French producers.

The concept behind CTF is to limit field traffic only to designated tramlines and ultimately improve overall crop production efficiency and eventually improved yields. The wheel widths of all field equipment is modified to same width so all operations — seeding, spraying, swathing, combining — all use the same tramlines.

By limiting field traffic, soil compaction is reduced and eventually reversed, and overall cropping efficiency is improved. In Larocque’s case he adjusted all equipment to run on 10' 3" centres.

Studies show that with conventional tillage and random field traffic about 82 per cent of the field is affected by traffic. Under a straight no-till system that is

reduced to about 46 per cent, and with notill plus CTF the actual machinery footprint in a field is reduced to 14 per cent.

Larocque is part of Controlled Traffic Farming Alberta (CTFA), a farmer-led initiative evaluating controlled traffic farming. In 2015 eight Alberta farmers were involved in the association, managing all or part of their farms under the CTF system. All are conducting proper research trials on their farms to evaluate CTF compared to their conventional farming practices. The University of Alberta is also involved in soil quality analysis. Larocque says several other farmers across Western Canada are also doing their own private evaluation of controlled traffic farming.

While improved yield is one of the eventual goals, it isn’t necessarily the first benefit to emerge, says Larocque.

“But if you look back 25 years ago to when direct seeding and zero till was first being tried out, there was a learning curve and in many cases it took time to get the system in place before all benefits, such as increased yield was realized,” he says.

1

photos: steve larocque

By Lee Hart

The benefits of CTF While Peter Gamache, project leader of CTFA, says overall the initiative hasn’t produced any significant yield increases for farmers yet — some minor increases but not statistically significant — he says many are seeing improved efficiencies.

And that is where Larocque says he is seeing differences on his farm. With RTK guidance and tramlines, he can be more efficient with seed placement and other input applications — put the products where you want them and eliminate overlap.

There is also improved field operations efficiency. “The permanent tramlines also allow you to be out doing field operations at times when others can’t be on their fields,” says Larocque. He can travel for seeding and combining operations, for example, at times when the ground in another field might be too soft and wet.

Travelling on the tramline surface has also increased fuel-use efficiency by 10 per cent.

While yields may not be increasing yet, Larocque and other producers are seeing improved moisture infiltration after just a few seasons of CTF. Depending on soil type, Larocque says there has been a dramatic improvement in the time it takes water to infiltrate into the soil — an indication of reduced soil bulk density, reduced compaction.

“On our farm the system has also increased harvest efficiency,” says Larocque. By being able to seed beside the standing stubble of the previous crop, he is able to leave taller stubble. “We don’t have to worry about dealing with tall stubble with our drill,” he says. On average he can leave cereal and canola stubble at 14 inches in height. He says if he left a six-inch stubble he could combine about 40 tonnes per hour, compared to a 14- to 16-inch stubble that increases to about 60 tonnes per hour. By putting much less straw through the combine, he estimates he has increased harvest efficiency by about $4,800 per hour — more acres harvested in a day.

“For us the whole system just gives us much more control and improved efficiency,” he says. “It does take time to get set up and it takes some getting use to, but it doesn’t have to involve a lot of expense and after a couple seasons you find it actually makes the whole cropping operation go much faster.” † Lee Hart is a field editor with Grainews based in Calgary.

Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

2

3

1. These field peas were seeded using the CTF system tucked in close to the standing stubble of the previous crop. The pea crop is able to use any residual nutrients from the previous crop and the standing cereal stubble provides protection and may help to support the pea crop as it matures.

2. These young canola plants, seeded with the CTF system, seem to be thriving as they emerge next to the stubble of the previous year’s cereal crop. They can make use of any residual nutrients in the old seed row, as they grow and then access this years nutrients which were side banded next to the seed row.

3. This robust stand of faba beans isn’t exactly where Steve Larocque wanted it but it appears to be doing well. Larocque seeds his crop with a Concorde drill set at 12 inch row spacing with two-inch openers.

He would have liked to have the faba beans seeded closer to the standing stubble, but will adjust the drill next time.

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

Precision Ag

27

Watching the plants all season The new way to scout: photos of your crop’s progress through the growing season

By Leeann Minogue

I

’m working on a new project,” Franck Groeneweg says. “I’ve been working with aerial imagery. There’s a lot of drone excitement out there, but to get it done, I am using regular a fixed wing plane on my farm.” Groeneweg is flying his plane over farmland and using attached cameras to take aerial pictures of every square inch of his land every seven to 10 days during the growing season.

Groeneweg works with AirScout. com, a U.S.-based company, to turn his photos into two types of maps. The first maps are ADVI (Advanced Difference Vegetation Index) maps. ADVI is AirScout’s proprietary technology that shows how much biomass is in each area of the field. ADVI is comparable to NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), but, AirScout says, with greater resolution and better colour stratification.

The second maps give Groeneweg a thermal precision picture of the field. That one, Groeneweg says, “acts a little like people and fever.” When you can see where the temperatures of the field vary, he says, “you can see areas of problems before they would appear to the naked eye.”

Groeneweg flies his own farm every week or 10 days during the growing season. He takes the photos, then sends the information to AirScout, a U.S. based company.

AirScout processes the data and sends it back to his computer and to an app on his phone.

“Then I do the ground-proofing,” he says. “I might see a place on the picture that looks like a bad spot, so I’ll go and check that out.” This allows Groeneweg to be more effective when he’s scouting fields on his own or with an agronomist. In the past he might stop and look at a random spot in the field. Now he can pinpoint an area where the crop may be significantly better or worse than the rest of the field, and have a chance to see what’s going on in that spot relative to the rest of the field and before it is even obvious.

“

decisions about spraying fungicide. The images helped him assess how much biomass is in the area, and decide whether the crop was worth spraying or not.

Where he did decide to spray, Groeneweg was able to use less chemical. He designed his own variable rate prescription fungicide maps using the AirScout website, then downloaded the maps straight to his sprayer. Groeneweg was making his own spraying prescriptions before 2015, he says, but it was a lot more complicated. “There were so many steps to get it done that few people were able to do it. It was time consuming, and you maybe had to be a bit of a geek.”

With new technology, Groeneweg says, making your

own sprayer variable rate prescriptions is much easier. “Anybody with sectional controls on their sprayer would have the capability to make their own maps,” Groeneweg says. “Although they might not all know it.” Farmers new to this type of technology might need some assistance the first one or two times they make their own prescriptions, but these tools make it relatively easy.

Because he takes photos over the entire growing season rather than just once a year, or instead of just looking at the yield map from the combine at the end of the year, Groeneweg says, “It’s a story over the whole season, a bit like the family album of a crop year.”

One of the benefits of these

photos is the ability to develop more accurate yield estimates during the summer. Using the app and scouting, Groeneweg inputs his own best yield estimates at a few points in the field. The program will use these estimates to calculate an estimated yield for the entire field. “This has the potential to make me a better marketer,” he says. “I like to be about two-thirds sold by harvest time. If you’re wrong in your yield estimates, you could be 40 or even 90 per cent sold before the crop comes in.” Groeneweg believes this gave him more accurate yield estimates than he would have otherwise had in 2015.

Groeneweg also finds value in having the photos of areas that,

for one reason or another, weren’t combined, like areas with salinity or saturated areas. Farmers using only their combine’s yield monitors won’t have any information about those areas. “It’s a report card over the whole field.”

Try this at home If you’re interested in trying this on your farm, Groeneweg is offering services for $5 per acre. This would include seven sets of images — one pre-seeding, one-pre-harvest, and five other times during the growing season. To learn more, contact Franck Groeneweg at Franck@greenatlantic.com or visit AirScout.com. † Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

FARMCOMMAND

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Benefits in the field This technology is still relatively new to Groeneweg — 2015 was his first year. He doesn’t yet have an example of using these satellite images to find a specific insect or disease problem in his fields.

However, he has used it to make By jonny hawkins

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/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Precision Ag

Grid sampling best for prediction Cavalier Agrow agronomist says grid soil sampling trumps satellite imagery

By Lisa Guenther

F

armers who want to move into precision farming should focus less on satellite imagery and more on what’s happening under the soil’s surface, according to an agronomist.

Bennie Dunhin is the agronomy manager at Cavalier Agrow, an ag retailer based in north-western Saskatchewan.

Dunhin, who originally hails from South Africa, holds an MSc. in plant pathology and is “obsessed” with plant nutrition.

He’s also a fan of precision farming, but said farmers have a long list of complaints with satellite imagery. Part of the answer, he told farmers during a farm forum in Glaslyn, Sask, is grid soil sampling.

“I’m surprised that not a lot of people are looking into soil samples. I think everybody thinks that soil samples are labour intensive, cost too much,” said Dunhin during a coffee break interview.

But by sampling the soil, agronomists can better predict what will happen in that spot, he added.

Cavalier Agrow has finished two years of intensive soil sampling as part of a precision ag program they’ve dubbed iFARM. When a farmer brings a new field into the program, Dunhin

and his team sample five acre blocks using a customized soil-sampling truck.

In years two through four, they sample 40-acre blocks to check nitrogen levels, he said. They’ll resample five-acre blocks in the fifth year. Soil sample data is used to create maps and nutrient prescriptions.

Soil sampling is the most expensive part of the program, Dunhin said. But they get a break on lab fees, he added.

“If we had to pay normal lab fees, there’s no way that we could do this program. No way. Nobody can pay that.”

Since unrolling the program in 2014, Cavalier Agrow has sampled about 120 fields belong to 42 farmers.

“We’ve punched over 47,000 holes in the ground.”

Fields are located everywhere from Meadow Lake to Unity, and as far east as Spiritwood and Medstead. Dunhin said they never enrol all of a farmer’s land in the first year.

“They need to see the differences and the value of the program.”

The deficiencies Dunhin told farmers it’s too early in the program to see any differences in nutrients such as potassium and phosphate. But they’ve seen some trends in sampled soils. For example, well over

90 per cent of the sampled soils were deficient in copper and boron.

“It’s unreal the deficiencies we had.

When I show this slide to industry people that don’t live in this part of the world, they cannot believe that we have that kind of deficiency in our soils,” Dunhin told farmers.

Nearly half of sampled soils had zinc deficiencies. Just over half had pH levels lower than six. About 40 per cent had potassium deficiencies. Dunhin also noted some soils had salt issues, magnesium deficiencies, or organic matter topping 10 per cent.

Typically zinc levels can vary through the field, Dunhin said. But he noted fields with a history of hog manure application don’t have any zinc deficiencies. Farmers need to be aware of how and where to apply hog manure, he cautioned.

“But if you have zinc problems, hog manure is a pretty good thing to do.”

Nutrient deficiencies favour certain weeds, Dunhin told farmers. For example, sow thistle prefers soils with low calcium, low potassium, high magnesium, high moisture, and low microbial activity. Soil maps can tell farmers where to scout for certain weeds. Dunhin also hopes to train agronomists to make nutrient recommendations to help manage weeds.

“If we can more effectively control weeds just by changing the nutrition on the field, that’s a win-win for everybody.”

Dunhin also showed farmers how yield maps can be correlated with soil sampling maps. For example, if high iron levels are correlated to lower yields in a specific field, that probably means iron levels are too high in the field.

If there’s a strong correlation between higher calcium levels and higher yield, this points to calciumdeficient soils, he said. Dunhin cautioned these examples are field-specific and don’t apply to all soils.

Dunhin hopes to add correlation services to the iFARM platform.

When it comes to precision farming, variable rate prescription maps and a nutrition plan aren’t enough, said Dunhin. In the near future, Cavalier Agrow also plans to offer everything from variable rate seeding maps to yield map analysis to farm business planning services, he said.

“This is intelligent farming. And this is how we need to think about the future and go forward with what we want to do on the farm.” † Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@ fbcpublishing.com or on Twitter @LtoG.

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Precision Ag

Making precision ag work for you Software and technologies are evolving fast. Find the combination that works for you

By Lilian Schaer

T

he software and technologies of precision agriculture have changed immensely since early yield monitors were first introduced.

More and more tools are now available to cash crop growers to form data sets that help break fields into zones that allow for targeting of inputs and crop varieties specifically to those zones, says Doug Aspinall, a recently retired senior soil scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs who now works with Woodrill Farms in the Guelph area.

Aspinall teamed up with grower

Ryan Marshall, who farms near Milton just west of Toronto, at the Southwest Agricultural Conference to highlight some of those tools and data sets and how Marshall is putting them into practice in his operation.

Elevation data can be sourced from LIDAR (light detection and ranging) or RTK GPS (Global Positioning Sytems). LIDAR is a remote sensing method used to examine the surface of the earth, usually from airplanes or helicopters. Although some LIDAR data is publicly available in some provinces, it’s not generally widespread, Aspinall said, and it is expensive.

RTK stands for Real Time Kinematic. The RTK technique can

deliver more precise positioning than what is available in a standard GPS, and can let you see every depression in your field. Sourcespecific multicast (SSM) software will generate digital maps.

There’s a lot of gravy there Yield mapping software is available to allow you to produce yield maps using multi-year yield data, for example, and can indicate which areas of a field traditionally

yield high and which ones always yield below average.

“The relationship of yield and topography gives us a curvature and yield index,” explained Aspinall. “In bowl-shaped or concave areas we see above average yields and in convex areas like knolls, we see low yields, which says to me we can use elevation maps to divvy up a field.”

Electrical conductivity and electromagnetic soil sensing technology can provide insight into soil conditions, but according to Aspinall, although this has a lot of promise, more work is needed to ensure it is providing information of value to growers.

Google Earth imagery of fields and detailed soil map informa-

tion, as well as a grower’s historical knowledge of the land can also play important roles in zone development.

Marshall’s field trial Conventional soil maps alone aren’t precise enough for precision agriculture, said Marshall, who has been working to source better information for his farm.

“We’re trying to make better decisions on variety placement, and the power of yield and topography is precision ag, that’s what we need to make precision ag work,” he believes.

The goal of his field trial was to look at the effectiveness of using combinations of soybean hybrids and populations to optimize yield variations linked to differences in soil and topography.

Marshall used a Google Map image from 2009 of a 38 acre tiled field north west of Toronto to segment the field into knolls (convex areas) and depressions (concave), and then uploaded the data to the planting tractor computer.

Depressions or concave areas were planted first with PS2082 NR2 variety at 125,000 and 150,000 plants per acre (ppa), followed by the knolls or convex areas, where Marshall planted 28-60RY at 150,000 and 175,000 ppa. The varieties were chosen for their rooting and canopy development in relation to the disease and drought risks on the landscape being planted.

Disease risk from white mould and drought stress did affect yield, he reported, but overall there wasn’t a lot of variability in the results.

“Matching the convex and concave blips to blips in yield — there’s a lot of gravy there if we can make that work,” he said.

“This makes us look differently at our fields; we can good and bad land in the same field.” † Lilian Shaer is a professional farm and food writers based in Guelph, Ontario. Follow her blog at foodandfarmingcanada.com.

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MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

Precision Ag

31

Manage your fields like a business Changing your thinking about your cropping plans can make you more money

By Lilian Schaer

F

armers can make more money from their cash crops if they’re more selective about the land that they farm. This means focusing inputs and capital only on the most profitable areas of a field, limiting expenditures on under-performing areas — and perhaps taking some land out of agricultural production entirely.

That was advice for growers attending the Southwest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown, Ontario, earlier this winter from Dr. David Muth Jr. with AgSolver Inc out of Ames, Iowa, a farmer and expert in sustainable land management through precision business planning.

“The reality is that we understand there is variability in our fields, but we do not currently manage our fields like a business,” he stated. “We try to maximize revenue on every acre of every field when not every acre can actually perform to that level.”

According to Muth, three to 15 per cent of acres are consistently not profitable, and a number of acres will switch back and forth been profitability and loss depending on the growing season. Given the vast amount of information modern equipment is capable of collecting, AgSolver’s zone management system looks at possibilities beyond just agronomics to make growers more money and ensure limited farm capital is used most effectively.

“The places on our fields where our inputs don’t get into commodities we can sell is where our business performance is poor,” he stated, citing an example from his own farming business where a field was split into 10 metre grid cells based on years of precision data, and each cell was evaluated for profitability.

Examining your fields Muth stopped working every grid cell, for example, that lost an average of $250 an acre or more annually, and converted grid cells that lost between $200 and $250 an acre annually into alternative management, such as forage or conservation. This approach created three types of land zones on his farm: 1. Revenue zones: These zones represent the 75 to 95 per cent of almost every field.

In these areas, it makes sense to focus working capital towards maximizing revenue.

2. No-cost zones: No-cost zones are the areas where return potential is limited due to geography or topography.

3. Expense-limited zones: In these areas, something other than agronomy might provide a better return.

Maximize revenue on every acre AgSolver’s trademarked system lets growers create a precision business plan for each field that concentrates on maximizing revenue over expenditure, instead of focusing on the farm’s overall yield.

The process starts with gathering intelligence for each field, including defining boundaries, uploading machine data and setting a crop budget. This is followed by looking at the business performance of each of those fields. AgSolver provides a profit map that lists all fields ranked by return.

A return ratio analysis takes the profit map and identifies two things either on a whole enterprise level or a field scale: the percentage of land where a negative return is expected and the amount of working capital committed to that negative return.

Some of the issues causing that negative return can be fixed with crop protection, tile drainage or

better soil fertility, but others can’t, which means an alternative use like land conservation, growing forage or potential energy markets might be a more profitable solution than growing cash crops, Muth suggested.

Those kinds of decisions can also have beneficial environmental impacts, he added, as it is often the most unprofitable areas that see high nitrate losses, and reducing the environmental footprint can potentially help avoid increased legislation in the future.

“We look at this as a license to operate,” he stated. † Lilian Shaer is a professional farm and food writers based in Guelph, Ontario. Follow her blog at foodandfarmingcanada.com.

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Precision Ag

More precision ag from Deere Premium Activation available for Gen 4 CommandCenter Premium Activation feature is available for the Gen 4 CommandCenter on 6R through 9R tractors.

By Scott Garvey

I

ere john de photo:

n December John Deere introduced a new precision ag option, making its Premium Activation feature available for the Generation 4 CommandCenter on 6R through 9R Series Tractors. Premium Activation includes the three most commonly used applications from the GreenStar 3 2630 display: AutoTrac, Documentation and Section Control.

The 4600 CommandCenter integrated display can be used not only to manage those precision ag features but to control machine functions as well. So, a single monitor is all that is required for many field jobs. And because it works like a standard tablet, it’s more intuitive to use, according to Deere.

The AutoTrac machine guidance feature included in Precision Activation for the CommandCenter also includes a few new software updates, which offer more flexibility to customers by making it easier for them to deal with sloughs or other obstacles in their fields.

“This latest update to our precision ag solutions capitalizes on the positive feedback we’ve received on the redesign of the CommandCenter,” says Jarred Karnei, tactical marketing manager at John Deere, in a press release. “The 4600 CommandCenter gives customers the ability to capture more accurate data while making it easier to manage, document and transfer that data.”

With Deere’s Wireless Data Transfer offering, the CommandCenter can move files wirelessly via JDLink, eliminating the need to transfer data onto USB drives. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.

Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

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MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

Precision Ag

Deere adds more wireless data transfer options

By Scott Garvey

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photo: john deere

I

f you run older John Deere equipment that isn’t JDLink compatible or have a mixed fleet, transferring files wirelessly to and from all your machines is now easier. Deere just introduced Mobile Data Transfer, which is a USB to WiFi device that allows you to use your smartphone to transfer agronomic files wirelessly.

“Mobile Data Transfer is the simple solution for customers who run older or mixed-fleet equipment and want immediate access of information stored in their displays,” said Jeff Nolting of John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group in a press release. “It eliminates the manual transfer of data. It’s a USB to WiFi device that plugs into the display and transfers data using your smartphone via the Mobile Data Transfer app. Your phone sends the data to the operations centre to give farm managers and trusted advisors immediate access.”

Deere has also introduced the MyJobs app for smartphones. It allows farm managers to plan jobs through the brand’s cloud-based operations centre and send the details of them to each employee’s smartphone in real time. †

Mobile Data Transfer is USB-to-WiFi device that plugs into a machine display and transfers data using a smart phone.

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Precision Ag

NH expands PLM Connect

MyNewHolland.com goes mobile

PLM adds two-way wireless data transfer to its PLM Connect

By Scott Garvey

A

t a media briefing at New Holland’s North American headquarters in Pennsylvania last July, marketing managers updated journalists on the brand’s then-pending expansion of its PLM Connect telematics offering. The official public introduction was made at the U.S. Farm Progress Show in August.

At the company’s test facility, Jordan Milewski, brand marketing manger, gave members of the media a practical demonstration of what PLM Connect was now capable of with the addition of two-way communication and real-time data transfer. As a Speedrower operated on the facility’s nearby test track, Milewski’s computer screen showed a “virtual dashboard” of its engine monitoring screen, complete with RPM readouts and data from other essential systems. We could all see the Speedrower movements change as the operator responded to email commands Milewski sent to him.

The two-way communication ability

of PLM Connect now not only allows for commands to be sent to a machine operator, it also includes wireless transfer of data from the machine — such as yield information — back to a farm office via the cloud.

“In the past, a constraint of using PLM technology has been the cumbersome process of transporting the data from the field back to the farm or crop consultant and back to the field using USB drives,” said Dan Valen, New Holland’s Cash Crop Segment marketing manager. “The new cloud-based transfer system will allow producers to access data more efficiently.”

PLM Connect has what the industry calls an “open architecture”, meaning the telematics system is designed to work with a mixed-brand fleet. New Holland is also providing a 24/7 customer support help line farmers can call if they run into trouble with the system.

New Holland staff went out of their way to emphasize that farmers will own their data and no one will be able to access it without consent. But if farmers do want to share some of it with other people, such as an

agronomist, the system can be configured to allow limited access by authorized persons.

What services each farmer can take advantage of with their own PLM Connect system will depend on what level of service they’ve opted to purchase.

“It will be a subscription-based service,” said Milewski. “There are two levels, the Essential and the Professional.”

On Milewski’s computer, PLM Connect also provided a map during the demonstration to show the location of all machines sync’d to that fleet, demonstrating how a large farm could keep track of all its machines in real time. And with the realtime virtual dashboard, a farm manager or owner can see how efficiently each machine is being run — or if it’s running at all — providing another management tool.

“This real-time information, it’s the power of this (PLM Connect),” he said.

“We all have smart phones today. How would we do without them? Not so well.

This is that kind of technology in the hands of the farmer.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

With NH’s PLM Connect telematics a machine’s monitor screen can be viewed on a “virtual dashboard” remotely in real time by a farm manager connected to the system.

I

n 2014 New Holland launched a website called MyNewHolland.com. It is open to anyone to use.

Anyone visiting it can engage in ag-related discussions, enter contests or access some services.

But for New Holland equipment owners, it can be personalized to help maintain and operate their machines.

Owners of New Holland equipment can access other content to help them get the most from their machines. By registering their equipment, they can download material specific to their machines, such as operator manuals and training courses.

In October, New Holland enhanced access to the site by offering a mobile app, which can be downloaded from Google Play or iTunes.

“Our customers can now take their passion for farming and access very useful, informative, and personalized content related to their New Holland equipment while they operate from the field.” says Chun Woytera, New Holland director of marketing and communications, in a press release. “The My New Holland community can now stay connected from their mobile devices.” †

photo: new holland

photo: new holland

Scott Garvey

NH launched an app allowing users of MyNewHolland.com to stay connected from remote locations.

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Machinery & Shop

35

Manitoba Ag Days

New mower conditioners from MacDon

photo: scott garvey

photo: macdon

MacDon’s two-model R1 Series pull-types offer a wide range of features for farmers

Top: MacDon displayed one of its new R1 Series machines at Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon in January. Left: MacDon’s R1 Series mower conditioners are available in 13- and 16-foot working widths.

By Scott Garvey

I

n August MacDon announced it was introducing a twomodel line of pull-type mower conditioners called the R1 Series. The model on display at Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon this past January provided farmers with one of their first opportunities to get a close look at one.

The R1s are available in 13and 16-foot working widths.

One of the features the company was highlighting at the show was the dealer-installed Road Friendly Transport narrowfold option. Taking up only nine feet (2.75 metres) on the road, the R1s will be one of the easiest machines to move from field to field.

The header linkage design provides “a fast-acting up and back motion with a wide range of travel,” according to the company press release. The company also claims the 129 inch (3.28 metre) conditioning rollers are the widest available in a comparable machine at the moment. And buyers have four choices when it comes to conditioning systems. They can opt for steel or polyurethane rolls, a finger conditioner or nothing at all.

The disc-style cutter bar uses shear-pins for protection. And when a shear pin breaks from hitting a solid object, each disc assembly lifts up and away from an obstruction in order to help limit damage. The R1s use larger and sturdier gears to minimize stress along the redesigned cutter bar driveline.

For a video look at the R1 Series machines, go online to Grainews.ca and click on the e-QuipTV videos link. †

photo: scott garvey

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

These machines are available with steel or polyurethane conditioning rollers, which the company claims are the widest available in the industry.

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/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Machinery & Shop

New combines

AGCO updates its Gleaners

AGCO just introduced its updated S9 Series Gleaner combines.

By Scott Garvey

S

tarting this year, the Gleaner combines rolling out of AGCO’s Hesston, Kansas, assembly plant will feature a broad range of upgrades that make them both more comfortable to drive and more efficient than their S8 predecessors. Since the brand introduced the S7 Tritura models back in 2010, S Series Gleaners have seen several updates. Now, the latest S9 versions get one of the longest lists of enhancements we’ve seen so far, many, the company claims, are the direct result of customer requests.

No surprise then that the S9s have a new, bigger cab, a trend that seems to have swept across almost all ombine brands in the past year. The “Vision” cab gets 15 per cent more floor space and a 22 per cent larger windshield. Overall, glass area gets pushed to 66 square feet and uses a solar protectant laminate to shade the interior. To compliment those improvements, cab posts have been moved to allow better sight lines out to the header ends.

The operator also gets to rest his or her right arm on a completely redesigned control console. Control buttons for primary functions have been rearranged in order to fall more readily at hand, some of them added directly onto the new multi-function hydro control lever.

The position of the new Tyton monitor is adjustable. In a press release, AGCO says the Tyton is “available first on Gleaner combines,” suggesting it will soon sweep through the brand’s other machines that wear MF red or Challenger yellow. The Tyton’s capabilities seem suspiciously similar to the VarioTerminal, which has been the standard on AGCO’s high-end Fendt tractor line for some time.

The Tyton is a colour, touch screen terminal that has four individual quadrants for multi-function monitoring of four different systems. And it’s fully compatible with AGCO’s updated Fuse precision farming package, which includes an optional factory installed FieldStar Live or AgLeader Live yield mapping system.

There is also a larger buddy seat, with a back that folds down to provide a workspace and laptop storage.

Feeding capacity Gleaner’s hallmark “natural-flow feeding” arrangement gets tweaked on the S9 machines. To improve feeding capacity in conditions that force the combines to swallow a thick crop mat, such as heavy canola or green-stem soybeans, the feeder house floor has been lowered and the feeder house runners and torque tube raised. That creates more clearance under the feed shaft and reduces stress on it. One more element that improves visibility from the Vision cab is the feeder house gets lengthened, which pushes the header farther forward.

With increasing header widths and the longer feeder house, geometry on the header lift cylinders had to be redesigned to cope with the increased load. Along with that a proportioning valve has been added to the header-lift hydraulic system, so the operator can fine tune raise-andlower speed and sensitivity via the Tyton terminal.

In fact, much of the hydraulic system gets updated. New electronic controls replace older lines and linkages on the hydrostatic drive. According to the company, the list of other driveline improvements is a long one.

Behind the cab, a 390-bushel grain hopper is now standard. The three S9 models will be available for 2016, but they remain Class 6, 7 and 8 capacity models. AGCO hasn’t yet pushed the Gleaners to Class 9, insisting instead that the compact Gleaners offer superior features and cleaning capability that lets them rival some higher-class machines offered by other brands.

The S9 Series will make its first public debut at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, in February. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

The new “Vision” cab grows floor space by 15 per cent over the previous S8 Series cabs.

Stretched feeder houses now push the header farther forward and incorporate some improvements to increase crop mat capacity.

photos: agco

The S9 Series gets a host of improvements from cab to driveline

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/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Machinery & Shop

Agritechnica

Introducing the pellet harvester Krone wins award at Agritechnica for its innovative new forage technology

O

ne of the machines on display at Agritechnica 2015 that impressed show judges enough to win a Gold Innovation Award was German manufacturer Krone’s Premos 5000 pellet harvester. Until now harvesting forages meant either baling or ensiling it. The Premos 5000 offers a third option, creating pellets right in the field.

“We can handle it like corn,” said Kai Lüpping, one the technical staff behind the Premos 5000’s development as he stood beside the machine on display at Agritechnica.

“It’s not one big bale.”

Krone says the Premos name comes from the Latin word “premise,” which means to press, and that is basically what this machine does. Windrow material is picked up in the typical manner, then a conveyor feeds it through a pair of 80 centimetre diameter rollers that compress and force it through 16 millimetre extrusion moulds.

The company claims that by eliminating pretreatment, such as chopping, horsepower demands are halved when compared to stationary pelleting machines. The Premos 5000 will still need a tractor with about 400 horsepower.

The 29,000 psi compression forces generated during the pelleting process create temperatures of about 80 C. When combined with 12 to 16 per cent moisture content in the material, durable pellets are formed that can be handled by conventional grain handling equipment. If windrow material is too dry, that’s no problem, the Premos 5000 has an “integral intelligent wetting system.” Producers could also pretreat the material with molasses to increase moisture content and improve feed quality.

Pellets that aren’t properly formed are dropped back into the material flow along with

other uncompressed fines and go through the forming rollers again.

“The pellets that are not good — broken or something — fall back through to the straw and go through again,” Lüpping explained.

The nine cubic metre hopper holds up to five tonnes of pellets.

The Premos can fill that hopper in about one hour making it three to five times more efficient than other stationary pelletizers currently on the market, says a press release from Krone.

Pelletizing forage in the field offers some advantages over conventional baling or ensiling.

Because the pellets are dense, they contain three to four times more material than a standard bale occupying the same space, so transportation is more efficient. And the high temperatures created during the pelleting process kill any pathogens that may exist in the forage, reducing the risk of feed-related illnesses in livestock.

And if pellets are used for bedding, they can reduce manure volumes. That’s because the pellets are very absorbent. Just 250 grams of them can absorb up to one litre of liquid, according to the company.

Krone also sees a use for the Premos 5000 in creating biofuels.

The company says their research has shown that 2-1/2 kilograms of straw pellets can substitute for one kilogram of heating oil.

The Premos development project began three years ago.

“This year there are two models,” said Lüpping. “Next year we’ll build some more.”

The Premos can also be used outside the normal growing season by pelletizing shredded bales.

The Premos 5000 should be market ready for 2017, with a retail price around 250,000 Euros, that’s roughly C$372,500. †

1

photos: krone

By Scott Garvey

2

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

3

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photo: scott garvey

Those who use Headsight header control systems can’t imagine harvesting without them. The patented design positions the head to get more of the grain while reducing operator fatigue with precise automatic adjustments.

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1. Krone’s Premos 5000 is the first pelleting machine designed to to work in the field. 2. The Premos 5000 uses a conveyor to unload the 5 tonne pellet hopper. Any typical grain handling equipment can be used to transfer the pellets, according to the company. 3. Two rollers force material through 16 mm shaping moulds. The heat of compression when combined with a 12 to 16 per cent moisture content creates firm pellets.

4. A sign painted on the side of the Premos 5000 prototype on display at Agritechnica claims it has already produced 530 tonnes of pellets. 5. The pelletizing process creates temperatures of 80 C, which helps to destroy any feed-borne pathogens, making the feed safer for animals to consume.

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Cattleman’s Corner MARKET FORCES

Are you ready to build a Cadillac?

Genetics and proper production practices are all part of producing a premium product Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two-part series on increasing the value of beef. Part one appeared in the Feb. 23, 2016 issue of Grainews.

BY SEAN MCGRATH

T

STARTS WITH GENETICS For the most part, the genetic potential that forms an upper limit for any animal is decided by cowcalf producers on the farm. The matings you create this summer determine the eating quality of beef for the next year. While fertility is the trump card for most of us, it is important that some attention is paid to relative carcass merit.

There are some basic carcass traits worth paying at least some attention to. These include carcass weight, yield (REA and fat) and marbling. Most of the major breeds have EPDs or expected progeny differences available for some or all of these traits.

The EPDs show the differences between bulls within the breed for each of these characteristics, and they are expressed in the unit of the trait.

For example: if two bulls from a breed had a carcass weight EPD of 20 and 50 pounds respectively, we would expect the carcasses of calves from the second bull to be 30 pounds heavier when used across the same group of cows.

Rib-eye area is expressed in square inches, fat in inches or millimetres depending on breed and marbling is usually presented in marbling score units. Larger numbers represent larger rib-eye muscle area, heavier fat cover, and increased marbling respectively.

For breeds reporting yield grade, a smaller number represents more yield, for those reporting lean yield, a higher number indicates more lean yield. A sample of current breed average EPD for several major breeds is shown in the accompanying table.

If you are working with a breed that doesn’t have carcass EPD, the next best option is to use ultrasound information. Carcass ultrasound provides information on rib-eye area, fat thickness and intramuscular fat or marbling.

Ultrasound on yearling bulls is reasonably correlated to the performance of their offspring. In

photo: file

he luxury eating experience involves the carcass of the animal. The creation of this luxury starts early on in the animal’s life. While it is easy to argue the cook can spoil the whole process in the last five minutes, there is still a responsibility to provide the best product we can, at least for the parts under our control. I am pretty comfortable in this assumption as most cow-calf producers I know willingly take the highest price possible. Very few (if any) of us would tell a buyer that our cattle are only fit for burger and take the corresponding price reduction.

By this logic, accepting premium price, we are accepting our share of premium responsibility.

So, how do we take care of our end of the bargain and how do we try to equip the animal to succeed going forward?

What happens in the breeding program and overall herd management has a huge impact on a good quality cut of meat that is hopefully tender and favourable. What happens after that is beyond rancher control.

BREED AVERAGE EPD (SPRING 2016) Breed

Carcass Weight

Rib Eye Area

Fat Thickness

Marbling

Angus

22

0.33

0.014

0.39

Charolais

17.2

0.41

0.35

0.11

0.31

0.004

0.09

-0.07

-0.23

-0.24 YG

Hereford Gelbvieh

22

0.39

Lean Yield/YG 0.75 LY

Limousin

24

-0.28

-0.06

-0.26

-0.28 YG

Red Angus

16

0.07

-0.017

0.28

-0.03 YG

Simmental

31.2

0.62

-0.059

-0.07

Units

Pounds

Square Inches

Inches (CH in mm)

Marbling Score Units

other words the differences we see between ultrasound results in yearling bulls will be reflected in their calves. It is important to look at the age of the animal in question, but rank or within group indexes for the scan traits can provide good information on potential sires.

Also a variety of DNA tests may provide useful information on carcass merit. These range from leptin which controls overall fat levels and finishing, to specific tests for genes related to tenderness. Many of these tests work well across multiple breeds, although some may be breed specific. Testing a bull allows you to spread the cost against his offspring, which is usually cheaper than testing individual cows.

BOOST YIELD, KEEP MARBLING For most mainstream marketing programs the goal is to boost yield and maintain or increase marbling. Yield is a function of rib-eye muscle size and exterior fat cover.

As the muscle size increases, yield will increase. As fat increases, yield will decrease fairly rapidly.

Marbling is the fat that is spread within the meat. It creates juiciness and provides an insurance policy against overcooking. The most difficult part is finding cattle that maintain or increase marbling fat while maintaining or reducing backfat or fat cover. Marbling is a major component when people

talk about “grid marketing” with premiums paid for feeder cattle that grade higher up the scale of marbling.

There can be significant premiums available if cattle are either fed through or marketed into the right program with knowledge of their genetic makeup, including selling cattle into extremely lean programs.

KEEP THEM HEALTHY There is a lot of research that shows marbling or carcass quality is the result of a lifetime of effort. In other words, cattle can have reduced carcass quality due to stresses early in life. Solid vaccination programs and adequate nutrition at each stage of production helps to ensure that each calf reaches it full potential. This does not mean we have to maximize gain at every stage of life; it does mean we need to ensure the basic requirements of the animal are met.

Incidence of respiratory disease can also reduce carcass quality.

Investing in a solid vaccination program is a good way to ensure cattle reach their end product potential. It may also be worthwhile to consider boosting vaccinations a couple of weeks prior to weaning, one of the most stressful events in a calf’s life. When marketing calves at weaning, this can be a great value added program to get the most out of the market.

Each injection has the potential to create a lesion or tough spot in the meat, so further to a good vaccination program, it is very important to inject the neck and use subcutaneous (under the skin) products whenever possible. The neck muscles are a lower value cut of meat and sub-Q products will have less impact on meat quality than intramuscular injections.

A good vaccination protocol also reduces the need for added stress of treatment with antibiotics and may produce cattle that qualify for a premium in “natural markets.” As well, for organic producers it is worth checking out a vaccination program as many vaccines fall under organic guidelines (antibiotics do not).

HORN OF THE ISSUE Horns are also an important factor in carcass quality. It is understood that many producers use horned cattle and that in some environments, horns are an important asset for cattle trying to protect themselves. In a feedlot setting, horns are a serious problem as horned cattle take advantage of their horns and can bruise other cattle, damaging their meat. Cattle that are not dehorned face a discount in the marketplace. Current products such as meloxicam can do a lot to ease the pain of dehorning and castration and can actually pay through

Yield Grade Units (CH in % Lean) increased gains, but also in ensuring carcass quality.

Cow herd nutrition and immunity relates to the health and nutrition comments previous, but it deserves special mention as there is growing evidence that nutrition in utero and immediately upon birth greatly affects the lifetime of the calf and the resulting carcass quality.

It seems logical, but healthy cows in good condition, produce calves that are more likely to have premium carcasses. There is obvious economic benefit to all involved, as a healthy cow herd is more trouble free, has lower replacement rates, results in more pounds of live calves for sale and produces a more valuable end product.

Most cow-calf producers are doing a very good job with the cattle they raise. As programs such as BIXS gain traction, it is becoming more possible to see how cattle from your program grade and yield, even without owning them to the rail. Examining these results and putting a bit of focus on the carcass merit of your cow herd and bull battery as well as looking at various management practices, can be valuable tools in value adding for your own operation and the industry as a whole. † Sean McGrath is a rancher and consultant from Vermilion, Alta. He can be reached at sean@ranchingsystems.com or (780)8539673. For additional information visit www. ranchingsystems.com.

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

41

Cattleman’s Corner Anyone can start farming

Use e-tools for marketing livestock But be prepared for the details that go with the convenience Debbie Chikousky

BE PREPARED AND BE HONEST This is also the reason that people must have clear, flattering, but truthful pictures of the livestock they are trying to sell readily available to email potential buyers. Again, people are more than willing to not wait and head to the next seller instead of waiting for you to go outside and take pictures.

Take the time to learn how to accept email money transfers. We had never done this before and are completely sold on this now. Our doelings went to Saskatchewan and deep into Ontario. The money was immediately in our bank account and secure. Email transfers definitely reduced the stress involved with dealing with thousands of dollars for both sides. The customer really didn’t want to get a certified cheque or travel with lots of cash so it was their suggestion and it worked very well.

Animals that need to be tagged before leaving the farm should have this done before the advertisements are placed. Many buyers want to come, look, buy, and take home, all in the same day. They come with their trailers because two trips is a waste of their time.

Sales can be lost if the tags aren’t in or worse yet, not even available to be done. Sheep tags, for example, can take a week to get to the farm when ordered. Buyers don’t want to have to come back.

photo: debbie chikousky

T

here is a certain feeling of accomplishment when a fellow livestock producer purchases your stock. We were blessed this year to have sold heifers, doelings, and rams into other herds.

The Internet has definitely increased the speed at which a breeder can get their advertisements noticed. The response to our animals was impressive. We advertised a group of yearling heifers from our grass-based herd at 10 p.m. on Kijiji and by 7 a.m. our phone was ringing off the hook and my inbox was full of emails. The other species took a bit more time.

The speed at which these online advertisements drew attention taught us to be prepared before we posted them. You need to be able to track which customer came first and we also need to be knowledgeable about your herd.

People want to know details. They need to know genetic history, birthing dates, and vaccination history before they are willing to come and look.

We genuinely appreciated this in people because we are all busy. We are running a farm, and they are coming from a distance.

Having all this information readily available for whoever happens to answer the phone is imperative. When a customer has to wait for a call back they often just go down the line to the next advertiser on Kijiji.

A good photo of market-ready livestock is important. This picture shows a healthy group of ewe lambs, with adults in the background as an indicator of lamb growth, and also suggests a flock that is easy to handle — good temperament. And buyers called.

This also brings about the question of “Are you able to deliver?”

If the seller being responsible for supplying transportation, it can be helpful if the tagging is forgotten because then the delivery date can be arranged around the tagging. If the purchaser is to provide transportation then the seller has to be prepared at the time of viewing for the potential of the animals leaving.

TRANSPORTATION DETAILS Assisting a potential buyer in procuring transportation is also an option. This is an area we are still learning. The lack of our own knowledge of livestock transporters is the reason that we still have our polled purebred Jersey bull calf at home instead of living in British Columbia.

The doelings on the other hand went to a very capable person.

They arranged all the shipping, paid for it, and all we had to do was deliver the animals to the truck on time. This is where the adventure began for us.

January in Manitoba can be a bit iffy when it comes to weather. We prepared the animals by making sure they were vaccinated and up to date on vitamins. The trucking company was extremely helpful and had suggestions such as bringing hay from our farm for them to travel with. The animals had a layover in Thunder Bay so they would also get food and water then.

They needed us to send a shipping manifesto, a sample of a shipping manifest can be found at http://www.ontariobeef.com/ services/shipping-manifest.aspx, with them and the new owners had arranged insurance from the time they left our farm. We were covered. We had plenty of bedding in our truck and arrived at the transfer area early. Then the semi froze up on Highway 1 and plans changed a bit. Thankfully, we could arrange to meet and cross-dock while the driver waited for the mechanic.

Pre-trip preparation of these animals and bringing them feed they were used to definitely helped them

make the trip. Even though the trips took three days instead of 20 hours they weathered it well and all survived. We will do this again!

The trip to Saskatchewan wasn’t as exciting for our goats. They left early in the fall on a nice sunny day and arrived safely the same night. Again all survived and the trip went well. It is imperative to make sure the purchaser has insurance as soon as the money changes hands.

SHIPPING BY AIR The other option when shipping livestock across Canada is

to ship by plane. We purchased one buck and had it shipped by air many years ago from Nova Scotia. We have never experienced this from the seller’s point of view. It is costly.

To ship a 60-pound buckling required purchasing a large dog crate ($65), flight and insurance was more than $300 and then the incidental cost of a trip to the airport and the cost of the animal. The travel time was much reduced. He was put on the plane in the morning and was in Winnipeg in the evening. The hardest part was purchasing the animal with

only photographs and pedigrees as a guide.

Although the Internet very quickly expands the area that an advertisement is shown it does also limit your audience. There is still a place for newspaper advertising. Potential customers in rural areas can have limited Internet availability. A lot of people still have to go to the library to read their emails for example.

And personally, reading the classifieds over a cup of tea is still a favourite pastime. † Debbie Chikousky farms with her family at Narcisse, Man. Visitors are always welcome.

Contact Debbie at debbie@chikouskyfarms.com.

42

/ grainews.ca MARCH 8, 2016

Cattleman’s Corner REPORT FROM DOWN UNDER

Grazing challenges in a dry environment

photos: kim nielsen

Dung scores and gut fill are important indicators of how cattle are doing

These Hereford steers on another nearby pasture have plenty of forage, however, the quality over the hot, dry summer is declining.

BY KIM NIELSEN

W

hen I arrived back in Australia in late October last year, Helen had organized the purchase of some steers and they were happily grazing on our farm and had adjusted well to the electric fence, skim grazing over the new seeding I had seeded earlier in May. October is springtime and the growth was pretty phenomenal despite a very dry winter with much belowaverage rains for this part of Victoria in the southeast corner of Australia.

This was soon to end as El Nino manifested itself with a vengeance, basically shutting off the taps as summer arrived with just teasing rains ever since. Now in early March, with autumn around the corner, cooler days and less evaporation is slowly taking over. This change has already awakened the pasture and a tinge of green is noticed, albeit it’s colour rather than an abundance of new feed. We have had less than two inches of rain over the last five months and what was green and lush became yellow, dry feed very quickly.

We grazed some heifers a year ago and

while it was my first grazing season in Australia I thought some of our grazing principles from 4 Clover Ranch at Rocky Moutain House, Alberta could work here as well. It couldn’t be further from the truth as it is just so different. On 4 Clover Ranch we race against time to get the cattle through the paddocks in June and July while the forage grows like gangbusters with plans to also stockpile forage for late fall.

Here in Australia the spring growth is perhaps equally fast but then everything comes to an abrupt stop as summer arrives with the dryness and high 30s, low 40s temperatures set in. Summer grazing is really almost like winter grazing in Alberta; you’re dealing with feed that is declining in nutritional value due to the heat and lack of rain. You contemplate the choices available to get through without compromising the performance of the cattle until better feed becomes available.

After skim grazing some new seeding for a couple of months, we began grazing through a very nice stand of phalaris that we had seeded back in 2014. Phalaris is a very popular forage related to reed canary

grass. Its low alkaloid varieties are common in Alberta. A new Holdfast phalaris GT (grazing tolerant) has been developed down here that is better suited for grazing with a higher palatability.

Dung scores We moved the cattle weekly using single lines of poly wire and step-in posts. At first the pasture utilization was decent but we quickly noticed the manure changing from the consistency of pudding to biscuit-like texture, indicating an increase in the feed fibre and reduced rumen function. This is par for the course. Nothing unusual, we just needed to find ways to cope.

We were happy with “dry feed blocks” used last year and placed these in the pasture as a free choice supplement. The idea was that the 30 per cent protein and mineral/ vitamin blocks would enhance the rumen flora to help digest the dry feed. It worked well and we could see an immediate change in the manure or better dung score. It allowed for better utilization of the standing feed without compromising weight gains.

As we pushed for the last little bit of

cleanup of the pasture before moving the livestock, we switched to looking at the cattle’s gut fill. As a visual indicator, a triangle area on the left side of the animal will appear sunken between the hip bone and the ribs, if insufficient feed intake or if there is a mismatch between the rumen flora and the feed available. We used a trigger point of about 10 per cent of the animals exhibiting the triangle to tell us its time to move them on.

So looking at dung scores and gut fill has become our objective when we check the cattle. But we also wish to have enough animal impact on the material that’s ungrazed to trample it in, making good contact with the soil for decomposition.

Grazing in a dry environment has its challenges. We are enjoying it as much as we enjoy grazing on 4-Clover Ranch up in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta; just need to accept some calibration requirments to our grazing method between two distinctly different farms. † Kim Juul Nielsen provides an Australian perspective from time to time. He grows grass during the Australian summer at Alcheringa Pastoral in the South West of the state of Victoria, Australia and during the Canadian summer up on 4-Clover Ranch, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. He can be reached at kim.juul56@yahoo.com

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Helen, with Tess and steers in the background on a pasture of Holdfast phalaris GT (grazing tolerance), a variety of reed canary grass more suitable for grazing.

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

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Cattleman’s Corner MARKET COMMENT

COOL may have been ahead of its time

It probably created some economic losses, but more labelling is where food is trending

by Jerry Klassen

P

roducers have been asking and I believe it is worth making a few comments about the outlook for markets and domestic prices at auctions and packing plants now that country-of-origin labelling (COOL) is no longer a requirement in the U.S. COOL was done away with in late December 2015 after the U.S. Congress attached a COOL repeal of order to a massive spending bill later signed by President Barack Obama.

While I haven’t notice any drastic changes in market behaviour, some points should be reviewed.

For feeder cattle, the effects of COOL so far have been hard to measure. In 2014 when cattle prices rallied sharply, feeder cattle exports to the U.S. were 441,695 head, up 40 per cent from 2013. During 2015, feeder cattle exports to the U.S. were 287,803 head, a year-over-year decrease of 35 per cent. It appears enough U.S. feedlots had adapted to segregating Canadian feeder cattle when prices were at historical highs to limit the effect on the market for Canadian cow-calf producers. The feeder cattle market is a pure competitive market and there are many factors influencing the price.

For slaughter cattle, it was also difficult to measure the effects of COOL if you only look at export volumes to the U.S.

We’ve seen packing plant closures in the U.S., which was partially attributed to COOL. These closures have bearing on live cattle prices in different regions of Canada and the U.S. Secondly, the closures also influenced overall trade flows of frozen fresh and chilled cuts. Keep in mind U.S. beef production was at a historical low in 2014 and first half of 2015. COOL may have caused average basis levels to deteriorate by $2 to $4; however, we’ve seen the fed cattle market swing by $20 to $50 over the past two years.

I always tell producers not to worry about pennies when there are $100 bills flying over your head. There are larger fundamental issues influencing the market and if managed correctly, can make you more profitable.

WHO BENEFITS FROM COOL The main question is who benefits from labelling? Is it the consumer, or is it individual producers or some main producer or lobby group on either side of the border?

Take for example A&W’s commitment to use beef raised without added steroids or hormones. Certain feedlots in Canada are satisfying this demand and if the overall goal is to increase beef consumption, then this may exclude some producers from this market share but may benefit others. A&W is clearly trying to differentiate itself from

other fast food chains but the marketing perception in regards to all other beef may be somewhat misleading.

In my own view, COOL may have been a bit ahead of its time. The industry does not like to be legislated into production or labelling practices. The preference is that consumers chose and the production will react and change accordingly. The trend in food labelling is more labelling, not less. Although COOL may have caused an economic disadvantage for Canadian producers, I believe longer term, consumer groups will have more power than the industry lobby.

Recently, the “right to know movement” has consumer groups proposing labeling to identify products made from GMO crops. I wouldn’t be surprised if this eventually extends into beef or other meat products. We all know about “organic beef” which is in a world of its own but another way producers are looking for an added benefit through various labelling and production methods.

COOL can also be part of the overall food safety dialogue. Food safety is a main factor driving traceability policy, which includes age verification, premise ID and movement. These are the three pillars of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency in which Canada is far ahead of the U.S. This progress was key to resuming exports to certain destinations after the previous BSE case.

Our beef industry is always one bacte-

rium away from shutting foreign borders as new strains are a constant risk. In previous issues, I’ve also discussed beef as a functional food or food-ceuticals; beef working together with the medical community for a specific health benefit.

This will also require in depth labelling and promotional advertising. I strongly believe this is the part of the future of beef production.

Under COOL, Canadian exports of feeder cattle and slaughter cattle varied quite significantly given the overall market conditions over the past few years.

In theory, there was a disadvantage for Canadian producers, but it was very difficult to measure when cattle and beef prices are at historical highs. The trend in food labelling is more labelling, not less.

Food safety is a main factor driving traceability policy; consumer groups are becoming more powerful proposing more labeling on food products. Beef producers will respond accordingly to satisfy consumer demands and this can sometimes benefit individuals or the corporate group of producers. † Jerry Klassen is manager of the Canadian office for Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Products Ltd. He is also president and founder of Resilient Capital —a specialist in commodity futures trading and commodity market analysis. Aside from owning farmland in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, he’s a University of Alberta graduate who grew up on a mixed farm feedlot operation in southern Alberta, which keeps him close to the grassroots of grain and cattle production. He can be reached at 204 504 8339.

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Cattleman’s Corner FEED MANAGEMENT

A small dose of ergot is harmful Research may lead to new feeding regulations

BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

These black kernels are ergot in barley, but the disease found in most cereals, can also infect wheatgrass, brome, wild rye and other wild grasses. ergot fungus that grows mainly on rye produces a condition called ryegrass staggers in cattle. Another type of ergot infects barley and creates another class of toxins.

Alberta Agriculture Beef and Forage Specialist Barry Yaremcio says the ergot and alkaloids produced by the fungi vary around the world. There are also some major differences in North America.

“A lot of research is being done right now in Saskatchewan on ergot, looking at how it develops, and how long it takes for that ergot body to start putting the alkaloids into the seed,” says Yaremico. “Feeding trials are being done at the University of Saskatchewan to determine the level that you’d start to see reduced performance in the animals when the alkaloids are

present, due to ergot contamination of feeds.

“They have been testing for about two years at the vet school at Saskatoon, looking at the different alkaloids in these ergots.

They are finding that the strains we have in Western Canada are two to four times more virulent and harmful than what is seen in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida, for instance.”

NEW REGULATIONS NEEDED Yaremcio says the old rules of thumb for feed safety levels (one kernel in 1,000, or about 10 ergot bodies per litre of grain) aren’t really valid.

Due to the high toxicity of the fungi, tolerances for ergot are tight, and should be more like one ergot body per 10,000 kernels. The Animal Nutrition Association of Canada has hired Brian Doig, who recently retired from Saskatchewan Agriculture, on contract to work on this ergot problem and co-ordinate information.

“The association is hoping to get the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to readjust the recommendations and actually put forth new limits and regula-

By jonny hawkins

Country Chuckles

“I’m getting into real estate.”

photo: file beef cattle research council

E

rgot is a fungus that can grow on certain grasses and grain plants, often under certain growing season moisture conditions, but other crop fertility issues can be at play as well. Ergot becomes a problem mainly after a wet season, rarely during dry conditions. The fungus replaces the seed head with a dark brown/ black mass and produces toxic alkaloids. One or more of the kernels in the seed head are replaced with this dark, hard “ergot body.”

There are various types of alkaloids in ergot that affect cattle in different ways. One response effects on the nervous system, resulting in muscle spasms in the hind legs, lack of co-ordination, loss of balance, and sometimes a temporary paralysis. Perhaps more commonly the toxic alkaloids impair blood circulation to the extremities (due to constricting of blood vessels), which can result in loss of ears, tail or feet. Mild cases of ergot poisoning may simply show up as poor production (lower weight gain, drop in milk production, inability to handle hot or cold weather, reproductive problems, or abortion). The alkaloids tend to restrict blood flow and milk flow.

Ergot is most common in grains, but can also infect wheatgrass, brome, wild rye and a number of other wild grasses. An

tions, rather than just guidelines for feed,” says Yaremcio. “Many people know that if they have ergot in the feed they will have health problems in cattle such as tails and hooves sloughing off.

“Unfortunately these are some of the last symptoms to show up, just before these animals die.

We’ve now found that if you’ve got a high level of alkaloids from ergot in a pellet or grain feed, one of the first symptoms you’ll see — two or three days after the feed is supplied to the animals — is that they will back off the feed.

They may reduce their intake of that feed by 60 to 70 per cent.

This is your warning sign.”

Yaremcio says if animals aren’t taken off that particular feed they will eventually show disease symptoms normally associate with stress, such as at weaning and shipping. “You’ll see things like IBR, shipping fever, pneumonia, and other respiratory problems,” says Yaremcio. “These tend to show up in cattle that have been affected by ergot.” Several ranchers in Western Canada have lost cows, due to ergot contamination in pellets. † Heather Smith Thomas is a long-time columnist who ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

By jonny hawkins

Country Chuckles

“Do you have any duck tape?”

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

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Home Quarter Farm Life SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Does anyone care about the farm?

Some questions for farm families to help create a successful legacy Elaine Froese

I

’ve just read David Specht’s book The Farm Whisperer… secrets to preserving families and perpetuating farms. It’s a great, quick read of inspiring questions for farm families wanting to transition management and ownership to create a successful legacy.

Specht and I met on the Internet…

I Googled him, then picked up the phone, then we exchanged books.

Don’t worry, we are both happily married. We both are passionate about families and farms having a great future.

Specht has created an app called “Inspired Questions for Farmers” and the one question that caught my attention was this one: Does anyone care about the farm as much as I do?

What is your answer?

Dad, founder with aching back, more wrinkles, and a deep sense of responsibility to make sure all the high-priority tasks are completed on a timely basis. Dad, are you asking great questions to the successor whom you are intentionally grooming? Did you seek out his or her perspective on what their priorities for the day where? What does “lack of caring” actually look like to you? Is it the sloppy job done of cleaning out the bin, the barn, or the shop? Is it leaving early to go home to read bedtime stories to toddlers? Is it choosing to spend time with friends hitting a few targets after your team has already logged a 100-hour work week?

Don’t stew about the “lack of care scenarios” in your head Dad. We cannot read you mind. You have to tell us what is frustrating you!

Mom, because you care about the farm you are willing to do night checks during calving, bathe calves in warm water, and bottle feed newborn livestock. You use your nurturing skills for your children and your farm animals. You show care in many ways, but you too are noticing that your energy levels are decreased significantly by 8 p.m.

You would really like to delegate some of your jobs to the next generation, but have a hard time asking for what you need. You don’t want to appear weak or needy.

Today, I am giving you permission to say these words: “I think that we all should talk about what the farm priorities are for the next three months.”

“I need to have some help with my jobs, and share the load, as I am losing energy these days.”

“I sometimes feel that no one else on this farm team cares about the farm as much as I do.”

“I want us to sit down and discuss openly our needs, feelings and wants for the future vision of this amazing farm operation. I also want more time for fun and family.”

Successor, do you care about the farm as much as your parents?

Do you communicate to your parents with compassion when they seem to be losing some of their resilience, especially during stressful times? When you suggest changes in roles or behaviour in

order to make things easier or to try a new project for growth are you met with collaborative communication and good decisionmaking? What does really caring for the well-being and success of the farm look like to you in practical terms?

Spouse, you have a voice, too.

Are you able to voice your observations as the one with “fresh eyes” from your family-of-origin experiences? Do you feel respected for your role in providing off-farm income to the farm’s cash flow and to your family’s needs? Does caring for the farm for you come in the form of contributing labour to the farm when you can, but ultimately saving your energy and efforts for the off-farm job and child care?

Everyone. Have a meeting with your flip chart and talk about what “caring for the farm means to you, and in practical terms, how is that acted out?

Financial care: accounts are kept up to date, bills are paid, books are entered currently, and the financial analysis is shared with the farm team. Contingency plans are in place, and the team of advisers for tax, investments, and debt servicing are all on board with the farm’s business plan, succession plan, and estate plan.

Operational care: The equipment is well maintained in a decently organized shop. People are keen to clean up their messes and put tools back where they belong. Everyone treats equipment well, and observes

safe handling habits. Landlord relations are great, and production plans are in place to help the next generation have some ownership.

Buildings are well maintained, and the yard looks well kept.

Emotional care: It is OK to ask for what you need. Conflicts are embraced when there is a difference in perspective for solving problems. Emotions are not hidden, but expressed with respect and patience.

People adapt by reading the behaviour and language of others, because they truly care that the farm team has a great culture to work in.

Physical care: Farmers are aging.

We all are. Our bodies need good self-care in order to be able to do the long journey of the seasons of farming. Mental health asks

for times of renewal and refreshing which can happen in short breaks during the work day, and scheduled holiday time. Is it time to have a visit with your doctor?

Caring for the farm shows up for different folks in different ways. Give everyone permission to describe what their picture of “caring for the farm” looks like.

Celebrate the good. Make some changes to transform the “not so good.”

Send me pictures of your farm with your permission to share them in my sessions. † Elaine Froese is “Canada’s Farm Whisperer.”

Make her day by communicating clearly with everyone on your farm team. Order her books at www.elainefroese.com/contact and like her at “farm family coach” on Facebook.

We all share the same table.

Pull up a chair.

THE REAL STORY OF AG

“We take pride in knowing we would feel safe consuming any of the crops we sell.

If we would not use it ourselves, it does not go to market.”

– Katelyn Duncan, Saskatchewan

“The natural environment is critical to farmers – we depend on soil and water for the production of food. But we also live on our farms, so it’s essential that we act as responsible stewards.”

– Doug Chorney, Manitoba

“The welfare of my animals is one of my highest priorities. If I don’t give my cows a high quality of life, they won’t grow up to be great cows.”

– Andrew Campbell, Ontario

Safe food; animal welfare; sustainability; people care deeply about these things when they make food choices. And all of us in the agriculture industry care deeply about them too. But sometimes the general public doesn’t see it that way. Why? Because, for the most part, we’re not telling them our story and, too often, someone outside the industry is.

The journey from farm to table is a conversation we need to make sure we’re a part of. So let’s talk about it, together.

Visit AgMoreThanEver.ca to discover how you can help improve and create realistic perceptions of Canadian ag.

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Home Quarter Farm Life

Harness making fills a niche

photos: edna manning

The Livery Stable receives steady flow of year-round orders

Brad Funk with some of his horses.

BY EDNA MANNING

I

f you think business might be slow for a professional harness maker in the year 2016, you would be wrong.

Brad Funk of Langham, Sask. established The Livery Stable in 1988 and continues to enjoy a steady flow of orders that keeps him busy year round. His craft fills a strong niche market.

“My mainstay is new harness, which I build myself and sell to basically the four western provinces. I’ve actually had calls from as far away as Newfoundland. “I try to put out a quality product. I don’t spend any money on advertising — the work that goes out the door is my advertising,” he says.

The demand for harnesses comes from a variety of horse enthusiasts from hobby farms to large beef cattle operators using horses to feed their herds. Funk builds most of his harnesses from leather, but has also worked with nylon. “A leather harness, if it’s looked after properly, will last a lifetime. I’ve worked on harnesses that were 100 years old,” he says. Nylon is a good alternative in that it’s much lighter, but it won’t last as long.

The workshop at The Livery Stable is fully equipped with heavy-duty sewing machines, hand tools, and other equipment needed to turn out the product. Funk purchases his harness leather from the Amish in Ontario, and some leather from an outlet in Saskatoon.

“I do the difficult parts first, such as the back pads and the traces, then I’ve got the remnants from that to do the smaller pieces. I keep the best leather for the straps. Because leather is so outrageously expensive, you cannot waste it,” he says.

Harness making is exacting work that requires skill, time, and attention to detail, and although the work can be tedious, Funk takes pride in a job well done and a good finished product.

Funk and his two teams of Percherons provide ride service to fill another niche in and around the Saskatoon area. “We’re very busy during the winter, particularly in December doing sleigh rides for school groups and church functions. In January the winter festivals in the small towns keep us busy,” he says. When he gets swamped with bookings, he calls on his friend Ken Crush to help out.

Funk grew up in Mayfair, Saskatchewan. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father worked as a professional cowboy at a community pasture. He got into leatherwork after his parents purchased a leather crafting kit for him when he was a teenager.

“I had horses growing up and I’ve always loved working with them,” he says. Over the years he’s been a welder and a truck driver, owned some taxis and ran a gas station. About 28 years ago he and his wife closed down the gas station and he opened

Brad Funk working on a piece.

The Livery Stable. “This has blossomed bigger than I thought it would,” Funk said.

“You don’t get to retire when you’re a harness maker.”

For more information, contact Brad Funk at The Livery Stable at 306-283-4580 or 306-262-4580.

You can also write him at Box 560, Langham, Sask. S0K 2L0.

Edna Manning writes from Saskatoon, Sask.

The demand for harnesses comes from a variety of horse enthusiasts from hobby farms to large beef cattle operators using horses to feed their herds

MARCH 8, 2016 grainews.ca /

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Home Quarter Farm Life PRAIRIE PALATE

Good old-fashioned baked beans These will warm you up on a cold winter’s day and may bring back some good memories

I

t seems every old cowboy movie had a camp cook serving up a mess of baked beans.

I can see John Wayne eating them now… from a tin plate with an old battered spoon and a chunk of sourdough bread. So, it’s fitting that when I asked rancher Art Unsworth for a recipe from the annual Murraydale Stampede and Picnic, he sent a recipe for baked beans. The Murraydale Stampede and Picnic has been held every summer since 1909 in ranch country south of Maple Creek. On the second Sunday in July, local families gather in a natural amphitheatre on the edge of the Nekaneet First Nation for an afternoon of socializing, rodeo and food.

Four generations of the Unsworth family have been in attendance. Their story is not uncommon for Prairie pioneers.

Sam and Lillian Unsworth and four children left England in 1895, settling in Ontario for a couple of years before relocating by covered wagon to Oregon. Sam took up sheep farming. However, their daughter died tragically on the farm and they could no longer bear to live there. In 1907, they packed up the wagon and moved again, back to Canada, establishing a ranch near the Cypress Hills. They raised sheep, cattle, Clydesdale horses and 15 children.

Art is the youngest of 43 grandchildren and the third generation on the ranch. Among his oldest memories is attending the Murraydale Stampede and Picnic, when the ladies outdid each other with fried chicken, roast beef, potato salad, cold baked beans, homemade buns and rhubarb pie.

The men made ice cream. For a young cowpoke “it was like dining in heaven,” he says.

“The ladies brought their specialties of the summer. It was sort of like Christmastime when the best pickles were brought out. We got them at Eastertime, at Christmastime and at the Murraydale picnic.”

Back before refrigeration, preparations for the picnic began in early spring when the men cut blocks of ice from a frozen pond and kept them cool and covered until the picnic. The shaved ice was used to churn ice cream, a rare treat on a dusty Prairie summer day. An early history of the event was published in a local newspaper: “Mr. Boardman (…) made ice cream with a hand-turned freezer. Later he rigged a gas engine to do the job. The women set up long tables at which to eat, resembling a banquet or a potluck establishment.”

As years went by the stampede and picnic grew. Later, concession stands were set up to sell hamburgers, hotdogs and store-bought ice cream, but many families still pack a picnic hamper and stake their favourite spot from which to watch the rodeo and eat their evening meal.

“I’ve got a fond spot for the baked beans,” says Art. “And fried chicken always tastes better outdoors.”

Amy Jo Ehman is the author of Prairie Feast: A Writer’s Journey Home for Dinner, and, Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens. She hails from Craik, Saskatchewan.

Old-Fashioned Baked Beans 1/4 c. molasses 3 c. water 1/2 lb. (225 grams) bacon, diced 2- 3 onions, finely chopped

1 lb. (450 grams) white beans 1 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. mustard powder

photo: amy jo ehman

Amy Jo Ehman

This recipe for baked beans originally called for salt pork, which was a method of preserving pork in the old days. Nowadays, it’s made with bacon. With the long oven time, I can imagine Mrs. Unsworth baking these beans in the cool of a summer’s night and taking them cold to the picnic. But they’re also a great way to warm up a cold winter’s day and an old-fashioned hot supper.

Do you have a favourite picnic recipe? And a story to go with it?

Tell me (ajehman@hotmail.com) and perhaps I can include it in a future column on the fine art of picnicking. †

Soak beans overnight. Drain, wash and boil beans in water until soft and tender. Drain. Mix brown sugar, salt, pepper, mustard powder, molasses and water. Pour over beans. Stir in bacon and onions.

Cover and bake at 250 F for 7 to 8 hours, checking now and then and adding more water if needed.

Remove lid for the final 2 hours of baking.

Cook’s note: I like to do the first step of cooking the beans in a small Crock-Pot. I set the Crock-Pot on low and leave it overnight.

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Home Quarter Farm Life SINGING GARDENER

Ted shares reader input Plus, more home remedy uses for onions ted meseyton

POSTMARK — ROBLIN, MAN.

Receiving a handwritten letter from a Grainews reader via Canada Post is not snail’s pace mail to me. It’s almost like receiving a fresh-cut homegrown flower from someone else’s garden — rare and much appreciated. Thanks to Mary Tyschinski at Roblin for taking time.

She writes: “Feb. 2, 2016, Hi Ted: Received my Grainews today. I found a few very interesting items. If horns on February’s new moon point up — it will hold its water. If horns point down, it will release its water. The first place I turn to when I receive my Grainews is your page of the paper.”

Besides the moon, Mary has a special interest in handy garden tips, onion tea and other ways onions can promote health and well-being. I, Ted, did some digging from my compilation of home remedies and share the following: Roasted Onion Poultice: Cut a roasted onion in half and apply it warm to a boil (but not hot enough to burn the skin).

You may eat the other half; otherwise save and reheat it for a second application later. Continue with fresh roasted onion halves until the boil comes to a head, or consult your health-care professional. Here are two other folk recipes.

Honey, Onion, Pine Buds Cough Syrup: This recipe hails from Sweden — 1 cup honey, 1 cup warm water, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/3 cup pine tree buds. Make sure you know the source of the buds and that the tree hasn’t been sprayed, otherwise check for pine tree buds at a health food store.

Mix honey and water together then add other ingredients and bring to a

photo: ted meseyton

T

here’s lots of reader input in this edition of the Singing Gardener page in Grainews. On Tuesday morning, February 9 the phone rings at 8:45 a.m. CST. It’s Mary from Roblin, Manitoba who asks: “What’s the new moon going to do — are its horns pointing up or down?”

Cheryl who lives near Creelman, Saskatchewan has a special knack for growing sweet peas and tells how she finally got her method down pat. Sharing what Mary and Cheryl say with our Grainews family of readers gets the ball rolling.

I, Ted, next pose some questions. Are snowbanks diminishing out your way and are gardeners and farmers anticipating an early spring? By the way, did you get a chance to look at February’s new moon and make a determination? Will it be wet, dry or a middle-of-the-road kind of season?

I’ve donned my hat and tipped it again as a welcome to gardeners, farmers and golfers. Must admit however, the closest I ever get to the “greens” is wearing a pair of green socks with 18 holes in them. I can sew on buttons but darning socks is a challenge yet to be mastered. I love green fields and gardens as much as Mother Nature loves to get my socks and feet dirty.

Sweet peas have a wonderful fragrance. Keep cutting them for summer-long bouquets and you’ll delay their urge to form seed pods until fall. A reader shares with Ted, how she successfully grows them. slow simmer with a cover for 20 minutes. Dosage for adults: one tablespoonful and children one teaspoonful as needed.

Check with your health-care provider.

Honey, Onion, Flaxseed Cough Syrup: This recipe traces its roots to both Mexico and Canada — 1 tablespoon of flaxseed and 2/3 cup chopped or minced onion. Simmer aforesaid flaxseed and onion in 3 cups of water until reduced to half (that is about 50 per cent of original volume). Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup honey. Cool it down and add 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or the juice of one whole lemon, straining out the seeds. Except for the lemon juice, it sounds very Canadian to me.

Such recipes were kept handy back in the days when doctors were not easily accessible or families couldn’t afford one, although bartering with a ready-for-theoven chicken or other commodity was sometimes used as payment. Please remember, I provide such recipes for reader interest and information. I am not a doctor and do not diagnose nor prescribe.

GROWING SWEET PEAS — CHERYL STYLE The following method is according to Cheryl Popplestone who emailed yours truly back in February: “Hi there. I live in south Sask. near Creelman not too far northeast of Weyburn. I spent 40 years in Man. but retired to the farm where my sister and I were raised. Great home but sure not the southern Man. soil that I left behind. My parents still made a living here and we all survived... and I came back.

“Jolt Pink dianthus is for sale in T&T catalogue from Winnipeg if anyone is looking close to home. I will try it although I don’t always have much luck with starting seeds except for sweet peas. I finally got that down pat as sweet peas are my ‘feature’ flower! I love them and have a good place for chicken wire to be run up the deck railing. It is fun to share them with friends and even the daycare kids where I am the cook. They love them.”

SUPPLIES NEEDED AND METHOD Cheryl says: “I am not into the fancy stuff. Required are plastic glasses (beer glass size), wallpaper tray (it’s exactly the right width) and inoculant for legumes.

Soak sweet pea seeds a couple of days (five or six seeds for each glass).

“With a hot nail, melt a hole in the bottom of each glass for drainage.”

Interestingly, here’s how she does it. “I heat a nail by holding it with vice grips

and heating it on an electric stove element. Works good for me. Other folks might heat it with a propane torch but that requires too many hands.”

Cheryl continues: “Fill each glass to 1-1/2 inches from top with potting soil.

Lightly dry sweet pea seeds and then dust them with inoculant and plant four or five seeds near the edge of the glass and one in the centre. Cover with an inch of soil. Set the glasses in the wallpaper tray and pour in water so they can wick up from the bottom. That is how I always water them.

“Set them at window level (indoors) in the south and east windows. In the trays they are easy to move out on the deck for hardening off. I start them about a month before setting out, although longer wouldn’t hurt. The trick seems to be to give them time to really develop a good intertwined root system so that the soil does not fall off when they are being planted.

“To plant, I till the soil, and dig a hole a little deeper than my ‘handful’ of seedlings that are usually about three inches tall. I pour a little water in the hole. I slide the whole group of seedlings gently out of the glass into my hand to avoid dislodging the soil and set it in the hole; packing soil in around the whole ‘package.’ I am generous with plant food and water all season.”

Cheryl developed her method by necessity one very wet year. “I had soaked the sweet peas and they needed to be planted but that was not possible. I looked around the garage to see what I had to work with and came up with my method! Last year I planted the sweet peas on the west side in the soil and put the ones I had started on the south (necessity again) and the ones on the south outdid the soil-planted ones! I do have a great picture of a sweet pea bouquet. I always enjoy your page in Grainews. Best wishes, Cheryl.”

Note from Ted: Many thanks to Cheryl Popplestone for sharing her intriguing and detailed method for success at growing sweet peas. To Grainews gardeners: If you’ve never grown sweet peas before, now you know how. Go for it! I note that daycare kids where Cheryl cooks also love sweet peas. What an excellent opportunity to introduce youngsters everywhere to the art of gardening. Fresh-cut sweet peas are always a good seller at farmers’ markets too.

ANNABELLE POTATOES Back on January 20, 2016 Louise Plante of St. Paul, Alberta emailed: “Good Morning Ted: Three years ago I bought a gourmet potato from Early’s.

They are oblong, not too big, yellow flesh and delicious. I have not seen them in any catalogue or website since, but I have seen them rated by chefs as a great gourmet potato. Why do they release a new variety and then it is never to be seen again?

“I have been reseeding mine every year since but would like to go back to a seed potato to rejuvenate them. Have you heard of these? They are excellent for peeling as they fit neatly in your hand, but this year they grew to be the size of a large Netted Gem.” Ted’s reply: After extensive research I’ve determined that Annabelle seed potato is simply not available to home gardeners at the present time.

I also heard from Deb Hart, seed coordinator, Potato Growers of Alberta, Crop Diversification Centre North, based in Edmonton. Deb writes: “Hi Ted, I have confirmed there was no Annabelle seed grown in Alberta in 2015. I have added you to our directory mailing list which you will receive in late November of each year. It is always available on our website as well, albertapotatoes.com.

Sorry I didn’t have better news for you.

Regards, Deb Hart.”

TED’S CONCLUSION A possible route to pursue is for garden centre owners, seed potato retailers and interested home gardeners to write or phone seed potato growers and encourage them to consider growing Annabelle. There’s also another specialty-type potato variety that’s similar to Annabelle in quality, size and use.

Its name is — Marilyn — and is currently grown by one Alberta seed potato farmer, but who sells it for seed, I don’t know at time of this writing. †

This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and GrowIt Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man.© In pioneer days raw potato poultice was frequently used to treat burns, cuts, wounds, wasp and bee stings. Mix a scraped or minced raw potato that’s thickened with a bit of wheat germ and spread it between layers of cheesecloth and then apply the poultice over affected area. My email address is singinggardener@mts.net.

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