Grainews

FEATURE

COLUMNS

New cereal varieties for 2018

Diary of a pea crop

Find one that works for you 12

Les Henry tells the whole story 28

Volume 43 · number 18 dECEMBER 5, 2017 · $4.25 Practical production tips for the prairie farmer www.grainews.ca

By Scott Garvey

O

ur aim is to offer high-tech solutions to farmers worldwide,” said Christian Dreyer, CEO of the family-owned, Germanbased implement manufacturer Amazone, speaking through an interpreter during a field day near Bremen, Germany, in September. “Our strategy is to become specialists in crop production.”

To do that, Dreyer believes his brand needs to focus heavily on emerging digital technologies as it stretches its offerings to include every implement necessary for crop production short of tractors and combines. “Integrating data and technology is where farming needs to go to survive,” he added.

The field day coincided with the company’s 100th anniversary. It started off 100 years ago by building just a single model of fertilizer spreader. Now Dreyer is looking for “new markets” for the brand’s current product line. And that includes becoming a bigger player in North America. What Dreyer is counting on to help him distinguish his brand from other short-line manufacturers is an emphasis on technology.

Nowhere is that more obvious than on the brand’s newest pull-type sprayers, which the company says it will make available in Canada to challenge self-propelled sprayers, which have dominated the market here.

While a pull-type sprayer and tractor may not be able to offer the same under-body clearance, the combination offers a lower cost alternative to SP models, and marketing staff at Amazone think they can more than compete when it comes to technology.

“

New technology

Amazone sprayers go high tech Photo: Amazone

The brand builds cutting-edge technology into its pull-type sprayers

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wheat & chaff

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

CONTENTS

3

Agritechnica 2017 Leeann Minogue

leeann.minougue@fbcpublishing.com

I

’m writing this on the way home from a trip to Agritechnica, the machinery show that takes place in Germany every two years.

This was my first trip to the show — we usually just send our machinery editor, Scott Garvey. Scott was there this year too, the two of us led a group of readers on a tour of Germany that included a two day stop at Agritechnica and a couple of other agrelated stops.

The farm show was amazing, with the latest machinery and tech equipment on display inside acres of buildings. One of the men on our tour

walked just over 16 kilometres on his first day of the show (he had the phone app to prove it), and he still didn’t manage to see everything.

In the coming issues you’ll be hearing more about our trip, and much more about the new equipment that was introduced at Agritechnica.

For now, I’m just sharing this photo that I took in the Canadian pavilion at the show. That’s Rob O’Connor, show director of Ag in Motion on the left. He took his trademark black hat to Agritechnica to promote the Saskatchewan show, and to get a look at how they do things in Germany. In the middle is Scott Garvey, machinery editor, taking a quick break between covering stories. Spencer Myers, on the left, writes and shoots videos for AgDealer.

Leeann

Canola 100 in 2017 Lee Hart talks to a few of the farmers who took part in this year's high-yield canola contest 7

Photo: Leeann Minogue

New beans for 2018 Get a look at the new soybean varieties hitting the market for the first time next spring 16

Board primer Lisa Guenther finds ways to make your term on the board more effecttive 26

Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Crop Advisor’s Casebook. . 22 Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Machinery & Shop . . . . . . . 37 Cattleman’s Corner . . . . . 44 FarmLife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

GET IN TOUCH SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) call 1-800-665-0502 U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com

STORY IDEAS & SUBMISSIONS If you have story ideas, call us. You can write the article and we’ll pay you – or we can write it.

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

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Letter from Romania In her “Letter from Romania” in the October 17 issue of Grainews, freelancer Marianne Stamm interviewed a farmer in Romania who said that he received subsidies from the EU of 230 Euros per hectare. Trying to be helpful, I converted this figure to Canadian dollars per acre. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that helpful, since I accidentally multiplied ha/ac instead of dividing and came up with $829/acre. I’m sure the Romanian farmers

It’s not all work Deana J. Driver has launched a new book — Fun on the Farm Too: True Tales of Farm Life, a follow-up to her first installment of stories of life on Canadian farms. This book includes stories of “antics, accidents, pranks, and joys of life on a Canadian farm,” written by 22 Prairie writers.

The press release says the events in these stories are “unplanned but hilarious.” I can’t speak for you, but I think most days around our farm turn out that way.

Deana has given us one copy of this book to give away.

Email me with your name and I’ll enter you in a draw.

Or, if you email with your name and a short funny story I could use in a future issue of Grainews, I’ll enter your name in the draw three times (and give you better odds of winning). Send your entry to leeann@fbcpublishing.com.

If you don’t want to enter, you can learn more about the book and order a copy at www.driverworks.ca. You may still have time to get one home for Christmas. GN Leeann Minogue

would love to receive $829/acre, but the truth is that he’s getting about $171/acre in Canadian dollars (which would still be quite helpful).

Thanks for all the phone calls and emails letting me know. It’s always nice to hear from readers, especially readers that are obviously good at math! GN Leeann Minogue

4

wheat & chaff

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Farm safety

Safely transport oversized loads

W

Take the time to perform a pre-operational check of the equipment you will be transporting

photo: Laura Grzenda

ith larger farm equipment comes larger transportation challenges. Equipment wider than highway lanes poses a hazard to not only the equipment operator, but also to other motor vehicle operators. Tall equipment can come into contact with low-hanging wires, bridges and other vital pieces of infrastructure.

Collisions with other vehicles is a major concern while transporting all farm equipment on public roadways, but the danger is compounded when the load is wider and taller than infrastructure can accommodate. Not only are collisions with other motor vehicles a concern, so are collisions with infrastructure like guard rails, power and telephone wires, bridges, and rail crossing marker Understanding some key points and taking some precautions can help you get oversized loads from the farmyard to the field and back again.

Take the time to perform a preoperational check of the equipment you will be transporting. Ensure that all lights are working and that any warning signs are in good condition and affixed. Before heading out, make sure to plan the route carefully. Take a drive and see what infrastructure is on your route.

Make note of the heights and widths

Understanding some key points and taking some precautions can help you get oversized loads from the farmyard to the eld and back again.

of low wires, bridges, signs and other potential obstacles. If the load you are transporting is going to come into contact with any infrastructure, plan another route. (If you are unsure of the clearance under overhead lines, call your power utility.)

You may need a pilot vehicle for some oversized loads. If you are travelling on a route with hills, blind curves or other road features that restrict sight lines, a pilot vehicle is mandatory. You may want to consider using a pilot vehicle when going a further distance or on

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a public roadway that experiences high traffic volumes. The pilot vehicle will give other drivers warning that you are coming along with an oversized load. (It’s a good idea to research the laws applicable in your jurisdiction regarding pilot vehicles.)

It’s often difficult to see if there is a motor vehicle following you.

When trying to determine if a vehicle is following behind you, don’t suddenly swerve right to move your load out of your sight line. This could be misunderstood to a motor vehicle operator behind you that it is safe to pass and could result in a collision. Instead, if you need to know, pull over to the right as far as possible, park and get up from the operator’s seat and carefully look around your load. While driving on public roadways, make sure to watch for other motor vehicles.

They may be uncertain how to behave when approaching or trying to pass you. GN Canadian Agricultural Safety Association.

Find CASA online at casa-acsa.ca.

YOU MIGHT BE FROM THE PRAIRIES IF...

You live in a major city, and you have had to yield for moose on the way to work.

Canola Week While it’s hard to look forward to a Prairie winter, you have to admit that there are some moments of beauty.

This shot was sent in by Susan Gross. Susan wrote: “Roses still blooming in my flower garden, even with snow on the ground and -2 C outside.” She says this is a “Never Alone” rosebush. Susan’s flower garden is near High Bluff, Manitoba. We’ll be sending her a cheque for $25.

Send your best shot by email to leeann@fbcpublishing.com or through Twitter at @GrainMuse. Please send only one or two photos at a time, and also send along some information about where and when you took the photo, or even something about your farm. Photos with larger file sizes look better in the paper.

December 5 to 7 is Canola Week in Saskatoon. If you aren’t planning to go, watch for news from the Canola Discovery Forum and Canola Innovation Day. The Canola Council of Canada is also planning hands-on canola learning days across the Prairies in the new year. These events give you a chance to look at things like growing plants with herbicide

injuries and bugs you might find in your fields, and there will be plenty of experts on hand with time to answer your questions.

Take in this full-day event at Brandon, Dauphin, Saskatoon or Edmonton. Visit the events section at canolacouncil.org to see the dates and register. GN Leeann Minogue

cover stories

Grainews.ca / dECEMBER 5, 2017

5

New technology 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 www.grainews.ca Publisher Lynda Tityk Editorial director Laura Rance Editor Leeann Minogue Field Editor Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor Lee Hart Farmlife Editor Sue Armstrong Machinery Editor Scott Garvey Production Director Shawna Gibson Designers Mackenzie Burling, Ron White Marketing/Circulation Director Lynda Tityk Circulation Manager Heather Anderson President Glacier Farmmedia LP Bob Willcox Head Office 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 Phone: (204) 944-5568 Fax: (204) 944-5562 Sales Director Cory Bourdeaud’hui Phone: (204) 954-1414 Fax: (204) 944-5562 Email: cory@fbcpublishing.com

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When a sensor detects a green plant, the appropriate nozzle is activated with centimetre accuracy, even at speeds of 20 km/h or at night.

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 amazone from page 1

The UX AmaSpot The UX AmaSpot sprayer leads the pack as the company’s most advanced offering. It’s built around some hightech wizardry that won a Silver Innovations Award at Agritechnica 2015.

This model, with its “Intelligent Nozzle System” offers growers the ability to significantly minimize the amount of chemical used per acre. An onboard digital system allows it to identify growing weeds and spray herbicides only where needed.

The AmaSpot system uses GreenSense fluorescent sensors that detect chlorophyll. It can differentiate between green plants and bare ground, which would be useful in pre- and post-season glyphosate applications. Sensors are spaced every metre along the boom. Each one has four segments that scan strips of field surface 25 centimetres wide.

When a sensor detects a green plant, the appropriate nozzle is activated with centimetre accuracy, even at speeds of 20 km/h or at night. The boom also uses a special nozzle that can open or close in just two milliseconds.

Using pulse width frequency modulation control, the nozzles are capable of 50 switches per second. So the system is not only able to turn nozzles on and off with lightning speed, but it can also vary the spray rate on any individual nozzle from 100 to 30 per cent. It can maintain consistent spray pressure and proper droplet size even while only spraying selectively.

Continued on page 6 

25 cm

Direction of travel

100 cm

Accuracy  One sensor per metre with four individual sections  Fluorescence measurement method is very accurate and tolerant of dust and differing light conditions

Photo: Amazone

Canadian Postmaster: Send address changes and undeliverable copies (covers only) to PO Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man. R3C 3K7

The nozzles on the UX AmaSpot boom spray only when weeds are detected below them.

Each sensor has four separate segments to identify weeds in front of every boom nozzle.

GreenSense On-line sensor

AmaSpot Nozzle switching

SpotFan 40-03 Injection nozzle

60 cm

Direction of travel

The weed detection system on the UX AmaSpot sprayer looks for weeds 60 cm ahead of the boom, and the nozzle activates when the boom passes over it.

Photo: Amazone

Subscription Prices: For Canadian farmers, $63 per year or $95 for 2 years (includes GST) or $119 for 3 years (includes GST). Man. residents add 8% PST to above prices.

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Photo: Amazone

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6

cover stories

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Photo: Amazone

Amazone demonstrated its high-tech UX 01 Super Series pull-type sprayers at a field day in September.

The SwingStop option controls boom yaw with two hydraulic cylinders that provide rapid reaction with the help of two accumulators mounted near them at the back of the sprayer body.

The UX 01 Series sprayers offer a steerable axle that can pivot wheels up to 28 degrees.

In turns, sensors can calculate the actual ground speed of each individual nozzle and alter the application rate along the entire boom to ensure completely even product coverage. Nozzles can be spaced as close as 25 cm apart, which allows the boom to be lowered very close to the top of the crop canopy.

And when the work is done, the ContourControl system allows for 40 per cent faster boom folds. GN Christian Dreyer, CEO of Amazone, addresses journalists during a field day event in Germany in September.

Photo: Amazone

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

Photo: Scott Garvey

The company has also just released an updated version of its existing pull-type sprayers, the UX 01 Super Series. Although it won’t get that selective spraying system offered on the UX AmaSpot, it makes up for it in other ways, one of them is size and capacity. These sprayers offer three tanks sizes, 4,200, 5,200 and 6,200 litres (1,110, 1,373 and 1,638 U.S. gallons) and boom widths from 27 to 40 metres (88 to 131 feet).

The new SmartCentre operator station and retractable 60-litre induction bowl are located together in a compartment at the front left of the body. A touch screen computer controls loading and mixing functions, and it can be used even while wearing gloves.

The induction bowl can also handle granular or powder mixes and has an automatic rinse feature. Its lid folds flat to act as a shelf to hold containers. There is also a spray wand mounted near the bowl to handle external cleaning chores.

The optional Comfort-Pack feature allows for automatic tank fills.

Just program in the amount needed and the pump stops filling it when the desired level is reached. The onboard computer can even permanently store up to two different fill job profiles. The operator just has to chose one, connect a fill hose and the sprayer handles the rest. And a variable rate agitation system decreases the speed of the agitator as the level drops inside the tank, which prevents excessive foaming.

Comfort-Pack also has a built-in automatic rinse feature to clean the entire sprayer system, including the booms.

To keep the UX 01 following in the wheel tracks of the tractor, a steerable axle can pivot the sprayer wheels up to 28 degrees.

There are two separate boom control options, a more basic version and another that includes the ContourControl system with SwingStop yaw control, which won a Silver Innovations Awar d at this year’s Agritechnica.

SwingStop uses a pair of hydraulic cylinders to control fore-and aft movement with the help of sensors that compare the boom tip speeds to the sprayer’s ground speed. Up to six Ultrasonic sensors also allow the boom to contour and maintain a constant height over uneven terrain.

Each side of the boom can operate independently of the other.

The 60-litre, swing-out induction bowl features an automatic rinse option.

Photo: Scott Garvey

The UX 01 Super sprayer

Photo: Amazone

In addition, blanket coverage and selective applications can be combined. So, for example, 30 per cent of the application rate can be sprayed across the full boom width all the time, and where the sensors detect areas with weeds, the rate can be increased to100 per cent for the appropriate nozzles. That way only areas with heavy weed populations receive the full application rate.

Now that field trials have wrapped up, full production of UX AmaSpot models will begin in 2018.

They’ll be available with just one choice for booms widths, 24-metres (78-feet), at least initially.

Photo: Scott Garvey

 Continued from page 5

A touchscreen computer control display offers allows operators to store up to two separate fill functions.

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

7

canola 100

Mother Nature shreds canola contest plans

Drumroll for the 2017 Canola 100 challenge results

Two major hail events takes 2016 yield leader out of the running

Results of the second year of the contest to find a 100-bushel canola yield to be announced this week

BY LEE HART

file photo

I

s the “green” going home this year? That’s the question that will be answered this first week of December as the results of the 2017 Canola 100 challenge are revealed at the Agri-Trend Agrology Farm Forum conference in Calgary.

This is the second year of the three-year Canola 100 contest challenging canola growers from across Canada to produce a verified 100-bushel canola yield on a designated 50-acre plot of canola. The first farm that produces that verified 100-bushel yield will win a grand prize of 100 hours of free use of an entire (seeding to harvest) fleet of John Deere equipment.

Of some 34 competitors who entered the contest in early 2017, 19 actually carried through to the end to have their contest plots harvested, cleaned, dried and weight verified by a third party auditor.

One of those 19 might be winning use of the John Deere equipment. If there is no winner, the contest carries on to the final year in 2018.

Results will be announced during the annual Farm Forum conference Dec. 5 to 7 being held at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary.

“If we don’t have a winner (100 bushel yield) this year, there will definitely be a winner announced in 2018,” says Rob Saik, former CEO with Agri-Trend Agrology who developed the contest idea. If over the years of the contest no farm produces a 100-bushel yield, the grand prize will be awarded to the farm with the highest canola yield over the three growing seasons. “If there is no winner this year, someone will definitely be taking home

Rob Saik says he is pleased with farmer participation in the Canola 100 challenge, and impressed with decent yields despite adverse growing conditions.

John Deere equipment next year,” says Saik.

During the 2016 growing season there was no 100-bushel yield winner, however Mike Nelson, a Wetas­ kiwin, Alta., area farmer led the field of contestants with an impressive verified 81.43 bushels per acre on his farm.

Saik was pleased with the participation by producers during this, the second year of the contest.

There were slightly fewer producers this year who signed up initially late last winter, but more of that group decided in late summer to ante up $1,000 to carry through with the final yield weighing and verification.

“In talking to producers generally I am impressed with how well canola growers did do this year,” says Saik. “In many respects we didn’t have the greatest growing conditions this year. It wasn’t the case everywhere, but in many areas it was a very dry year.

“Farmers in some areas are reporting 60 and 70 bushels and even higher yields which really reflects their good management,” says Saik. “They are using conservation farming practices, good crop

genetics, good nutrient management, and proper weed and disease control, for example and that all contributes to some pretty exceptional yields even under adverse conditions.”

Saik says the idea for the contest was sparked by a Canola Council of Canada announcement in recent years setting out a target for Canadian canola farmers to achieve an average 52-bushel canola yield by 2025. Currently the average canola yield is around 35 bushels per acre.

“The Canola Council of Canada set a target for a 52-bushel average,” says Saik. “But it got me wondering “what is the potential for this crop?” Averaging 52 bushels is great but with proper or perhaps extra management can we hit that 100 bushel mark? A lot of experts think we can.”

The Canola 100 challenge is sponsored jointly by Agri-Trend Agrology, John Deere Canada and Glacier Farm Media (publishers of Grainews). GN Lee Hart is a field editor with Grainews based in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@ fbcpublishing.com.

ike Nelson is all too familiar with the fact you can plan the best possible agronomy program for canola, but Mother Nature has to sign off first.

Nelson, who farms with family members near West­ akiwin, Alta., was the yield leader in the 2016 Canola 100 challenge producing a verified yield of 81.6 bushels per acre on a 50-acre plot on his farm. That was the top yield from any farm entered in the first year of the contest which is looking for a farm to produce a 100­b ushel canola yield. But Nelson’s plans got adjusted in 2017.

“We were hailed out,” says Nelson. “We had a few major hail events which affected between 80 and 90 per cent of our farm. We usually get some hail, but not usually as wide spread.”

Heading into 2017, Nelson had selected two fields that potentially could produce high canola yields. His plan was to apply a specific treatment program to those fields, hoping to optimize yields and then select 50 acres to be harvested for the Canola 100 challenge.

“But we really didn’t get that far,” he says. “The first hail storm hit June 20 and then there was another one July 23 so we just decided not to follow through with the yield verification step. Those fields were hit pretty good.”

Photo courtesy of Mike Nelson

M

BY LEE HART

Mike Nelson says weather didn’t co-operate for 2017 canola contest.

With canola being quite resilient the fields did bounce back some, says Nelson. The nutrients were there and they did try a new foliar product supposed to help canola crops deal with and recover from heat blast. He’s not sure if it was the best year to make an evaluation, but one of the hail-damaged fields did yield about 70 bushels per acre — not enough to be a canola contest prize winner, but still pretty respectable.

With his main interest being to see how far he can push yields on his farm, Nelson says if there is no grand prize Canola 100 contest winner in 2017, he will plan to enter the final year of the contest in 2018. GN 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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8

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Canola 100

Grower keen to see what canola can do It wasn’t a 100-bushel crop, but Merle Klassen is getting closer and enjoying the challenge

BY LEE HART

A

fleet of new green machinery around the farm would probably look good, but Merle Klassen says if nothing else comes of the Canola 100 contest, at least he’s enjoying the challenge of trying to optimize canola yields on his south-central Alberta farm.

Klassen who has been involved in

both the 2016 and 2017 years of the contest looking for a Canadian canola grower who can produce a 100 bushel per acre canola yield on a 50-acre plot, says he didn’t achieve the magic 100-bushel yield yet, but he’s had fun trying. “The challenge isn’t a hobby,” he says. “Farming is what I do for a living. But I’m always interested in a challenge and trying something different.”

Klassen farms with family mem-

bers near Linden, about an hour north of Calgary. Klassen Agri Ventures is a diversified farming operation producing grain and oilseed crops and certified seed along with a beef feedlot. Merle Klassen focuses on the cropping operation.

The Canola 100 challenge is a contest launched in 2016 jointly by Agri-Trend Agrology, John Deere Canada and Glacier Farm Media — publishers of Grainews. Farmers

can register for the contest in late winter, and then they can decide part way through the year to opt to have the yield from their designated plot cleaned, and weight verified by third party auditors.

Klassen says on his 50-acre contest plot he achieved his highest canola yields yet on the farm. The raw yield of the plot checked on a legal scale showed an average yield of about 86 bushels per acre for

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straight cut canola, but then it still had to be cleaned and weight verified.

Klassen selected one of his best quarter sections for the Canola 100 challenge plot. He applied a few extra treatments to about 80 acres and then narrowed that down to the best 50 acres to be combined for the challenge.

The field selected had received manure and compost which is fall applied. The first treatment involved a spring pre-seeding burndown with glyphosate tank mixed with Pardner. That was followed by seeding an InVigor canola variety — L233P — at 4.9 pounds per acre (based on 1000 seed weight count) with a target plant stand of nine plants per square foot.

Using a John Deere 1835 air drill, the fertility program included 120 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phosphorus, 25 pounds of potassium and 30 pounds of sulphur. Fertility applied at seeding did not factor in any nutrients supplied by the manure. Of the total fertilizer program, about 25 lbs. of N, 10 lbs. of P, five lbs. of K, and five lbs. of S was included in the seed row, with the remainder placed beside the seed row.

In crop, the canola was treated with one pass of Liberty Link herbicide tank mixed with Centurion. He also made four fungicide applications during the growing season. He included a bit of the micronutrient boron with the fungicide. And to top up fertility he dribble banded some UAN pre-bolting. With some Diamond Back moth pressure on the field he also applied an insecticide.

“I know a lot of areas were dry, but we actually did not do too bad for moisture,” says Klassen. His farm received about 12 inches of rain during the growing season.

He applied a glyphosate treatment August 29 to desiccate the crop and then straight cut the crop about 10 days later. “The canola seed itself was dry but the stems were still a bit green, so it was a bit tough combining,” he says.

While most of his 1,700 acres of canola is swathed, he has been increasing the amount of straight cut crop in recent years.

Klassen says he didn’t go overboard with extra nutrients on the Canola 100 plot, but the program did include extra fertility and more fungicide treatments than his canola crop would normally receive.

“Overall I was pleased with how the season went and crop performance,” says Klassen. “We didn’t make the 100-bushel mark, but it is the highest yield we’ve ever had. I don’t know if I’m ready to apply this program to the entire canola crop yet, but it is interesting to see what this crop can do.” GN 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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9

canola 100

Extra canola inputs appear to pay off That 100-bushel yield still a bit elusive, but growers are pushing their fields to the limits

BY LEE HART

D

avid Harrish figures the extra agronomic attention he paid to a Canola 100 contest plot on his north-central Alberta farm in 2017 would probably pay off for the rest of his canola acres.

Harrish, who dished out some extra TLC to about 70 acres of Pioneer Hi-Bred canola this past season, says it produced about an extra 12 bushel per acre yield, compared to the rest of his 700 acres of canola.

“It was a return of about 1 ½ times the input costs,” says Harrish, who farms near Calmar, just south of Edmonton. “Our land is pretty consistent here, so we probably would have seen close to that return over the whole canola crop. It is something to consider for next year.”

says his 2016 crop got off to a poor start, so he stopped short of verification. This year, although flea beetles presented a challenge early on, he saw it through to the final weigh in.

“I know I didn’t average 100 bushels per acre this year and I haven’t heard the final yield figure after cleaning and weighing,” he says. “The crop was a bit tough when it was combined, but the

yield monitor was showing about 85 bushels per acre. The rest of our canola was around 72 bushels per acre.” His son Curtis who also entered the Canola 100 challenge “might have had slightly better yields on his land,” says Harrish.

For the 2017 contest season, Harrish selected about 70 acres for the Challenge. The field, seeded to hard red spring wheat in 2016, had also received some hog manure in the

past, although Harrish wasn’t sure if there was any residual benefit from the manure.

Harrish, who follows a threeyear crop rotation, cultivated the wheat stubble in the fall of 2016 and using Valmar equipment also applied about 100 pounds per acre of 0-0-60 potash. A couple of seasons ago he also had a bio-sulphur product applied to the whole farm.

Produced by the Calgary-based

Bio-Cycle the Bio-Sul Premium product, custom applied by the company, is made from recycled products. It contains 70 per cent elemental sulphur and 30 per compost. It is intended to provide a residual benefit to the soil for five years. For Harrish, 2017 was the second cropping season after the product had been applied.

Continued on page 10 

Farmers can register for the contest in late winter, before the growing season starts, and then they can decide part way through the year to opt to have the yield from their designated plot cleaned, and weight verified by third party auditors This was the second year that Harrish participated in the Canola 100 challenge. It is a contest launched in 2016 jointly by AgriTrend Agrology, John Deere Canada and Glacier Farm Media — publishers of Grainews. The three-year contest is open to all Canadian canola growers — the first registered contestant to achieve an average, verified 100-bushel yield on 50 acres of canola wins the grand prize. And the grand prize is 100 hours free use of a whole fleet of John Deere equipment, covering all field activities from seeding to harvest.

Farmers can register for the contest in late winter, before the growing season starts, and then they can decide part way through the year to opt to have the yield from their designated plot cleaned, and weight verified by third party auditors. There’s a $1000 fee for the verification process. Harrish

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

In the spring of 2017, Harrish deep banded potash and urea on his canola, followed by a broadcast application of urea on top of the soil. He applied a light tillage to work that in.

Using the more precise RTK guidance system for the seeding operation, he moved the seed row over five inches from the earlier banded urea and potash and seeded a Pioneer Protector Clubroot Resistant variety. Harrish targeted a plant stand of five plants per acre. It worked out to about 4.5 pounds of seed per acre.

“To apply these higher rates of fertility it can’t all go with the seed, so I try to place it around the seed row with different applications,” he says.

With potash, sulphur and most urea requirements looked after in earlier field applications, he seeded the canola with a doubleshoot seeding system. Some more urea was applied below the seed while phosphate with a micronutrient product containing copper was included in the seed row.

“We seeded in mid-May and the crop faced a fair bit of flea beetle pressure,” says Harrish.

“There was good soil moisture at seeding, but later we got a heavy rain which caused the soil to cake a bit. Crop emergence wasn’t perfect and the flea beetles were in there too, so we didn’t know what to expect.” Despite those challenges the crop did establish with the targeted five plants per square foot.

Along with inputs applied prior to and at seeding, the Challenge plot also received in-crop treatments. Along with Roundup Ready herbicide to control weeds, Harrish made three in-crop nutrient applications, to foliar apply boron and potash. A fungicide was included twice with those two of those foliar treatments — once at the bolting stage and again at the 30 to 40 per cent flower stage.

The final boron application was made later in the growing season at about 60 per cent bloom to help the crop recover from some midJuly heat blast. Plant tissue tests were also taken during the growing season to monitor any nutrient deficiencies. “They didn’t really show anything was lacking,” he says.

Canola on the 70-acre block was swathed in early September and within that area Harrish selected 50 acres to be combined in early October for the Challenge.

Although he waited as long as he could, the crop still came off at about 13 per cent moisture.

“Overall I was pleased with the crop this year,” he says. “Although it was dry at times we did end up with reasonable moisture. When we were combining any high spots or knolls we saw a change in yield, yet in the lower areas the yield was phenomenal.” GN

file photo

 Continued from page 9

As growers know, canola can be a very durable crop able to bounce back from heavy rain, insect pests and even to some extent hail events. It does have its limits, but despite adversity can recover amazingly well. With good agronomic practices and variable weather conditions the question is still to be answered — did any fields in the 2017 Canola 100 challenge produce that magic yield?

A funny thing happens when you use a leader.

You become one.

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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Client: BASF

Publication: Grainews

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FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Topic management Farm heading

Photo: The Climate Corporation

New digital data platform on the Prairies The Climate Corp. launches its Climate FieldView service in Western Canada

By Leeann Minogue

I

“

Climate FieldView is a new data platform in the Western Canadian market.

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t’s been a long time coming and in the works,” said Denise Hockaday, Canada business lead for The Climate Corporation. The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of

Monsanto, launched a new data service in the U.S. in 2015 and in Eastern Canada last year. Prairie farmers will have access to Climate FieldView for the first time in January 2018. “We’ve been working to make sure that the platform is relevant and of value,” Hockaday said.

The new service allows users to pull all of their data — weather data, machinery data, crop data — into one place so that it can be used to make cropping decisions more effectively.

“It isn’t just another software product,” Hockaday said. “We’re bringing a platform to the marketpace which other folks that have areas of specialty can build on top of or partner with.”

For example, a company operating drones could use the maps and platform built into Climate FieldView to deliver images and scouting tips to farmer customers during the growing season.

“FieldView helps bring all the contextual information together,” Hockaday said. “It’s a neutral place to bring everything together.” Some of the companies with a Western Canadian presence that are already partnering with The Climate Corporation are Veris, TerrAvion and Conservis. Hockaday expects more companies to use the platform. “We continue to have ongoing discussions,” she said.

About 50 Western Canadian farmers tested the service during the 2017 growing season, to make sure the details made sense in a Western Canadian environment. Because Climate FieldView was first developed in the U.S., Hockaday said, “it was initially primarily used in a row crop situation.”

The details This cost of Climate FieldView starts at $1,000 per farm, up to a maximum of $3,000 per farm. New users would get a starter kit, incluing a “drive” placed in the cab of the tractor to bring in all of the information. “It all happens instantly and live, while the tractor’s operating,” Hockaday says.

This price would also include a license for the year. To take full advantage, you would also need to have an iPad in the cab.

That’s the cost, but what’s the value? Hockaday gave the example of variable rate fertilizer. “Between five to 10 per cent of the market is using variable rate application,” she said. “It’s much smaller still for seed.” The numbers are low are farmers struggle to figure out what to variable rate and what rates to use.

Platforms like Climate FieldView will simplify variable rate technology by “bringing your information into one spot.” Then, at the end of the season, having more data will tell you “if it worked or not.” That is, if making the management change helped you make a profit. “I can measure that with this platform at the end of the day,” Hockaday said.

For more information visit: www. climatefieldview.ca. GN

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Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

2017-11-14 4:31 PM

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FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

New seed varieties

New cereal seed varieties for 2018 This year’s crop of varieties are all about fighting fusarium and increasing crop yields

By Leeann Minogue

Graphic: Manitoba Agriculture

Y

On July 13, farmers across most of Manitoba were facing a red zone on the fusarium risk map (showing an extreme risk of fusarium, based on weather conditions).

ou only need to take a quick look at this list to see that seed companies are responding to farmers’ needs.

Fusarium continues to be a problem across the Prairies (where there isn’t a drought). On July 13, 2017, farmers across most of Manitoba were facing a red zone on the fusarium head blight (FHB) risk map (showing an extreme risk of fusarium, based on weather conditions).

Many farmers who lived in areas where fusarium wasn’t an issue in 2017 have seen what the disease can do, and are interested in resistant seed. Fusarium-tolerant seed won’t do the whole job on its own, as is stated in the notes for FP Genetics’ new CDC Landmark VB. That seed is rated “intermediate” with respect to its resistance to FHB, but farmers who choose this seed as one part of an integrated pest management plan (including maintaining recommended rotations and spraying when necessary), should have fewer FBH problems.

Another feature that’s mentioned in several of these varieties is short straw. But by far the most common claim attached to these new varieties is the promise of increased yield.

HEALTHY ROOTS, HEALTHY PLANTS,

HEALTHY RETURNS.

Here are the new cereal varieties hitting the market for the first time in 2018.

Canadian Western Red Spring (CWRS) varieties Canterra Seeds AAC Connery is an awnless, semidwarf CWRS wheat variety that combines early maturity with the benefits of short, strong straw. It is suitable for high-input farm management, as well as irrigation. Its superior disease resistance package to rusts and FHB makes it broadly adaptable across the Prairies. AAC Connery has excellent milling and baking quality.

FP Genetics CDC Landmark VB: This CWRS variety is wheat midge tolerant with top in-class yield (113 per cent of the variety checks). It’s intermediate to FHB, a strong base for a fusarium integrated pest management plan.

AAC Viewfield: This CWRS variety is semi-dwarf, the shortest CWRS variety available. It’s high yielding, up to 117 per cent of variety checks.

It’s intermediate to FHB and has good sprouting resistance for high grain quality.

Proven Seed CDC Hughes VB is high yielding with short straw and low lodging scores. With partially-solid stems, and midge and stripe rust resistance, CDC Hughes offers a solution to a number of pests. Available at Crop Production Services.

Syngenta SY Slate is a new, early-maturing CWRS variety with high yield potential, high protein and an excellent quality profile. SY Slate also includes a strong disease package with good tolerance to all major rusts and fusarium.

SY Sovite is a new, high-yielding CWRS variety that has an excellent quality profile and provides very good tolerance to fusarium and foliar diseases — including all rusts and leaf spots. SY Sovite is available at Richardson retail locations.

Corn varieties BrettYoung E44H12 R is BrettYoung’s earliest dual-purpose hybrid with 2100 CHU for grain. E44H12 R is a VT Double PRO RIB Complete hybrid for pest protection in a mediumheight plant that delivers consistent, high yields. E44H12 delivers exceptional spring vigour in a hybrid that has excellent bushel weight for grain and very good quality and stock strength for silage and grain in the lower heat unit production areas.

Croplan 1756VT2P/RIB has a 77-day maturity rating and 2350 CHU. It is a fixed-ear hybrid requiring medium to high populations and is a medium-stature plant with a medium flowering date for its maturity rating. Strong roots and test weight combine with good standability and staygreen.

Decoding VB

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The wheat varieties whose names include “VB” are midge-tolerant varieties, sold as a “varietal blend” of two varieties. The main variety will make up 90 per cent of the seed and will contain the midgetolerant gene Sm1. The other 10 per cent of the seed will be a non-midge-tolerant variety. The blending is done at the breeder stage of pedigreed seed production.

Using blended varieties creates what is called an “interspersed refuge system.” This system is designed to protect the effectiveness of the midge-tolerant gene. Most midge can’t survive the midge-tolerant wheat — the Sm1 gene causes the larvae to stop feeding and starve to death.

However, in the midge population, some midge will be immune to the Sm1 gene (these are called virulent wheat midge). If every plant in the field carried the Sm1 gene, soon these virulent midge in the field would be mating with each other,

creating a new population that would be immune to the Sm1 technology. Researchers say this could make the midge-tolerant wheat technology ineffective in 10 years.

Keeping some non-virulent midge in the population helps to prevent that change, drawing out the useful life of the gene. This can be done by keeping a refuge of 10 per cent non-Sm1 wheat in the field for them to eat.

Over generations, the proportion of the seed blend in the VB wheat will change. After a year with particularly high midge damage, the refuge variety could make up a much smaller percentage than 10 per cent of the seed.

To keep VB blends in check, when you buy VB wheat, you’ll need to sign a stewardship agreement and agree not to use your farm-saved seed from midgetolerant varieties for more than one generation past certified seed. GN Leeann Minogue

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

184RR has an 80-day maturity rating and 2450 CHU. This is a flintdent hybrid for cool, early-maturity areas. A tall, aggressivegrowing hybrid, 184RR has excellent silage yield potential and a large, flex ear for wide adaptation to all soils and populations.

quality, such as high pigment concentration, as well as low semolina ash. It has excellent resistance to stripe and stem rusts. More notably, while having the same level of FHB resistance as the current durum varieties, it expresses a lower DON accumulation in grain.

2587VT2P/RIB has an 85-day maturity rating and 2625 CHU. This seed is fit for multiple soil types with above-average staygreen and average stalk integrity. It has a good disease tolerance and an open husk for quick drydown.

FP Genetics CDC Alloy: This durum variety is top of class in yield, with 114 per cent of variety checks. It has a comprehensive disease package and shorter straw for improved standability.

2845VT2P/RIB has an 88-day maturity rating and 2675 CHU. This hybrid has high-yield-potential across all soil types and environments. It exhibits excellent heat stress tolerance along with great tolerance to cool or short growing seasons. It flowers early with fast drydown and has optimum performance with higher management. It also has excellent silage yield potential.

Corn traits and the RIB Prairie wheat growers planting new midge-tolerant seed are getting used to varietal blends, that include a variety that can act as a refuge for wheat midge that are not tolerant to the Sm1 gene.

Meanwhile, corn growers have been dealing with the concept of including refuge for years. The RIB shown in the variety description notes that the variety includes a

“refuge in a bag,” meaning that the bag of corn seed includes a small amount of a second variety with different traits. Throughout the U.S., there are different refuge requirements depending on the variety you’re growing and the conditions in your area.

This list of new corn varieties includes several different corn traits.

Here’s a cheat sheet.

•R oundup Ready 2: glyphosate tolerant • Agrisure: glyphosate tolerant • SmartStax: glyphosate and Liberty tolerant • VT Double Pro: dual modes of action for protection against corn earworm, European corn borer and fall armyworm. GN Leeann Minogue

Continued on page 14 

MAISEX MZ 1340DBR: This grain corn variety has the VT DoublePro trait and 2150 CHU (73RM). It is an ultraearly flowering hybrid with exceptional grain quality and test weight.

It has industry-leading early season vigour adapted for short seasons.

Open husks at maturity aid rapid grain drydown. Responds to increased population. Adapted in and north of its maturity zone.

MS6902R: This Roundup Ready 2 silage corn variety has 1950 CHU (69RM). It has unmatched combination of maturity and yield, with leading performance for early silage. It has Large, girthy ears with soft kernel texture for increased starch availability. The large robust plant has wide leaves that maximize tonnage. White cobs increase feed palatability.

MS 7420R: This RR2 silage corn has 2300 CHU (74RM). It is aggressive. Strong seedling vigour develops large, robust plants. Its large ears have kernels with soft texture to increase digestbility. White cobs increase feed palatablity.

MS 8088R: This Agrisure GT silage variety has 2400 CHU (80RM). Its strong stalks allow flexible harvest. It has large ears for increased starch quantity. The tall, robust plant increases tonnage. Performance excels in low- and highyield environments.

LF 9066SMX: This SmartStax silage variety has 2600 CHU (90RM). It is ideal for continuous corn acres. It has a eading combination of yield and digestibility in the early season. Strong early vigour develops into extremely large, robust plants. Impressive plant health protects yield potential.

Durum varieties Canterra Seed AAC Congress has improved yield over the current varieties on the market. It has superior end-use

13

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 Continued from page 13

Proven Seed CDC Carbide VB is a new high-yielding, early-maturing, midge-resistant Canadian Western Amber Durum wheat from Proven Seed, with R ratings for stem and leaf rust. Available at Crop Production Services.

SeCan AAC Cabri is a high-yielding durum with solid stem for sawfly protection. Yield averages 108 per cent of AC Strongfield (in the 2010 to 2013 Registration Trials), three cm taller and similar straw strength to AC Strongfield.

Oats Canterra Seed CS Camden is a white milling oat with very high yield potential. Its shorter stature confers excellent lodging resistance over the current varieties. CS Camden has great quality attributes such as high betaglucan content and plump kernels and has been approved by the milling industry. Its high biomass makes it a very good option for the farmers looking for a silage oat.

SeCan CDC Norseman is a white-hulled milling oat that is currently under market development evaluation. Registration data shows excellent milling quality. Yield is 102 per cent of AC Morgan, MR to crown rust, three days earlier than AC Morgan, with similar plant height.

Barley Canterra AAC Connect is a two-row malt barley with significant yield and agronomic improvement over the current popular varieties. Also, this variety has improved standability due to its shorter, stronger straw.

AAC Connect has the best FHB resistance in its class, as well as good stem rust resistance. Having a similar malt quality to AC Metcalfe, this variety is a great option for the maltsters and brewers in need of a product for the adjunct brewing market.

SeCan CDC Bow has the strongest straw available in a two-row malt barley. Yield is 109 per cent of AC Metcalfe (2011 to 2012 Registration Trials), maturity similar to AC Metcalfe, with lower grain protein than AC Metcalfe. Ask your domestic maltsters about the potential for a identity preserved contract for 2018.

On the scale The scale used to rate seed’s resistance to disease has five levels.

• R: Resistant • MR: Moderately resistant • I: Intermediate resistance • MS: Moderately susceptible • S: Susceptible GN Leeann Minogue

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Soft white wheat varieties SeCan AAC Indus VB is a soft white wheat with improved yield and milling quality. Yield is 105 per cent of AC Andrew, with three days later maturity and six cm taller. AAC Indus VB is midge tolerant and is paired with AC Andrew as a refuge. The variety fits traditional soft white milling markets, works well for ethanol, and its excellent straw strength makes it a great fit for silage production.

Special purpose wheat varieties SeCan KWS Alderon is a high-yielding spe-

photo: Thinkstock

14

cial purpose wheat originally from the UK. Yield is 129 per cent of AC Carberry CWRS, 103 per cent of Pasteur special purpose wheat. A great fit for feed, ethanol or silage.

KWS Alderon has very short, exceptionally strong straw that allows it to handle high inputs for maximum yield potential.

KWS Charing VB is a high-yielding special purpose wheat originally from the UK. Yield is 129 per cent of AC Carberry CWRS, 103 per cent of Pasteur special purpose wheat. A great fit for feed, ethanol or silage.

KWS Charing VB is midge tolerant.

KWS Charing has exceptionally strong straw that allows it to handle high inputs for maximum yield potential.

from the UK. Yield is 132 per cent of AC Carberry CWRS, 106 per cent of Pasteur special purpose wheat. A great fit for feed, ethanol or silage.

KWS Sparrow VB is midge tolerant.

KWS Sparrow VB has exceptionally strong straw that allows it to handle high inputs for maximum yield potential.

KWS Sparrow VB is a high-yielding special purpose wheat originally

Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

Spelt varieties SeedNet 11Spelt11: This variety is a highyielding, earlier-maturing spelt with shorter straw and better lodging resistance. GN

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

15

Farm management

Ag orgs build open-source data platform Collecting data is one thing, but pulling it into one place brings it to the next level

By Lilian Schaer

T

he advent of precision agriculture technology and the Internet of Things has led to the collection of vast amounts of data.

Many different types of tools, equipment and devices gather data on everything from crop yields to how many steps an animal takes in

SEE THE

a day. Much of that data, however, is under-utilized and is collected by varying systems that can't communicate with each other.

The potential this presents was behind the creation of Ontario Precision Agri-Food (OPAF), a partnership of agricultural organizations that is collaborating to build an open agri-food innovation platform to connect and share data.

“This is not just for or about

Ontario, it could just as easily be called Canadian Precision AgriFood,” said Tyler Whale of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies (OAFT).

“We are piloting this in Ontario but it’s intended to be available nationwide to those who want to use it.”

Other project partners include University of Guelph, University of Waterloo, Niagara College, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, Livestock Research Innovation

Corporation, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Grain Farmers of Ontario and Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

The goal, according to lead researcher Dr. Karen Hand of Precision Strategic Solutions, is to get data from sensors so it can be used to help advance big issues of importance, such as food safety, traceability and disease surveillance.

“How do we answer questions with

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science and data if they’re not connected?” Hand said, adding that the third party, independent organization approach with OPAF is a model that industry supports in terms of security, privacy and respecting data ownership rights.

For example, the platform could be used to help fight pests and diseases, such as weevils or cutworms.

Currently, information about things like prevalence and control lies with many different people and organizations, including university and government researchers, crop advisors, input suppliers and growers.

There is no single spot where all of the information about a particular pest can be accessed in a sciencebased system and used in decisionmaking, said Hand, and that’s where OPAF’s platform will help.

It can also help boost productivity and efficiency by removing redundancy from systems, where, for example, the same data is keyed in repeatedly simply because platforms can’t communicate.

Ontario’s grain farmers are one commodity working with OPAF on pilot projects that identify sectoral needs in areas like crop protection,

The goal is to get data off sensors so it can be used to help advance big issues sustainability and food safety and how OPAF can provide solutions to benefit farmers. Projects are also underway in dairy and poultry.

“We sit down with representatives from a sector including producers, advisors, associations, government and research to find out what data they have, where it exists and if we were able to connect them, what value or benefit would that offer participants,” she said.

“It can be cross-commodity as well, such as food safety or trade impact. In the end, we want to have a system that can readily answer these questions through all available data,” she added.

Earlier this year, Internet of Food and Farm 2020, a large project in the EU exploring the potential of Internet of Things technologies of European food and farming, recognized OPAF as one of three global projects to collaborate with.

“This is going to be changing the face of data enablement in Canada and contributing globally,” Whale said. “We are creating a platform that is the base of something new.” GN Lilian Shaer is a professional farm and food writers based in Guelph, Ontario.

Follow her blog at foodandfarmingcanada.com

16

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Seed varieties

New oilseed and soybean varieties for 2018 XTend soybeans have become a standard part of the soybean variety portfolio

By Leeann Minogue

I

n August the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association surveyed retail companies about their experience with the herbicide dicamba in the 2017 growing season.

Of the 124 respondents (including some head offices with several branches), more than 80 per cent said they’d seen dicamba damage in soybean fields adjacent to where soybeans were sprayed, although they claimed label directions were followed.

With the release of soybeans with the XTend trait, beans tolerant to both dicamba and glyphosate, dicamba is back in sprayers again.

Even with new, less-volatile formulations of dicamba, there have been many problems with spray drift.

Non-tolerant soybeans are particularly susceptible to damage. While dicamba manufacturers are pointing to illegal use and improper application as the source of the problems, legal firms are rounding up claimants for class-action lawsuits.

Meanwhile, farmers are struggling to keep their soybean fields clean, and Canadian retailers are responding to demand by offering more new varieties of XTend soybeans.

In canola varieties, new development focus on blackleg and clubroot resistance. There are products that contain more than one resistance gene for each of these diseases. As clubroot extends its reach across the

Use the seed guide These pages are only lists of what’s new in seed varieties for 2018. Not-so-recentlyreleased varieties may be a better fit for your farm, or, some of the varieties on this list may be hard to find in your area this spring. To know for sure, turn to your provincial Seed Guide.

These guides are developed mainly by seed growers associations in each province.

They’re printed and distributed in January. If you don’t see your guide in your mailbox, find it online.

• Alberta: seed.ab.ca • Saskatchewan: saskseed.ca • Manitoba: seedmb.ca As well as the seed guides, the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba governments produce guidebooks that list yield data and trait information for seed varieties. You can find these on provincial websites.

• Alberta: Varieties of Cereal and Oilseed Crops for Alberta • Saskatchewan: Varieties of Grain Crops • Manitoba: Yield Manitoba GN

Prairies, these traits will become more and more valuable.

Canola varieties BrettYoung Seeds 6090 RR is a new DefendR blacklegrated canola hybrid with industryleading blackleg performance in a variety with exceptional standability and yield. 6090 RR has a yield index of 104 per cent relative to 45H29/5440 standards and is well adapted to the mid and long canola zones.

Multi-genetic blackleg resistance This spring the canola seed industry agreed to enhance the blackleg resistance labels on their seed.

The traditional ratings for blackleg are still in use (resistant, moderately resistant, moderately susceptible and susceptible), but they’ve also added a letter that indicates indicating which gene they’ve used to make the canola resistant. Over the next few years, the Canola Council of Canada says, we’ll see as many as 10 different labels.

Just as you would rotate herbicides by herbicide group, take advantage of this new system to rotate resistance genes in your seed. Rather than using the same variety year after year, look for a variety with a different resistance gene than the one you’ve been using. GN Leeann Minogue

PROFIT CLIMBS. Exciting, isn’t it? The start of a new season and another opportunity to prove yourself. Bag after bag, field after field — Nexera™ delivers hybrid performance and profit potential that’s higher than any other canola on the market.

See your retail or contractor. NexeraCanola.ca

Leeann Minogue

56556_2 DAS_Nexera_2017_DPS_ProfitClimbs_V1_16-875x10.indd 1

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Growing Nexera canola If you’re planning to grow identity preserved Nexera canola, you’ll need to contact one of their growing partners early in the season. Your options are: ADM, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus, Richardson and Viterra. You can grow it under contract, or sign a “flexibility contract” that allows you to sell it as commodity canola. However, if you do this, you still have to sell to one of the contract partners. GN Leeann Minogue

Canterra CS2300 is a new GENRR (Genuity Roundup Ready) canola hybrid with big yields and excellent standability. This new hybrid sets a new standard for yield. It is currently yielding 106 per cent of 75-65 RR in the 2017 western Canadian strip trials that have been reported to-date. R-C to blackleg.

CS2400 is a new early season GENRR hybrid with very good yield potential that delivers unique multigenic blackleg resistance (R-CX). CS2400 is three to four days earlier compared to the CANTERRA hybrid CS2000.

Nexera 1024 RR is a Roundup Ready hybrid that averaged 54.9 bu/ac in Dow AgroSciences 2016 Advanced Demonstration Trial sites. It offers multigenic blackleg and clubroot resistance as well as excellent standability and early season vigour.

17

Roundup Ready 2 Most of the new soybeans coming to market in 2018 are Roundup Ready 2 soybeans with the Xtend gene. RR2’s are tolerant to both dicamba (Group 4) and glyphosate (Group 9). GN Leeann Minogue

1026 RR is the newest addition to the Roundup Ready Nexera canola portfolio. It offers multi-genic blackleg and clubroot resistance as well as excellent standability and lodging resistance.

Trial sites. It offers multi-genic blackleg resistance and excellent standability. 2024 CL displays pod shatter reduction and can be considered for straight harvest.

2024 CL is a Clearfield hybrid that averaged 53.2 bu/ac in Dow AgroSciences 2016 Advanced Demonstration

2026 CL is the newest addition to the Clearfield Nexera canola portfolio that offers the highest yield potential in

this category. It also offers multigenic blackleg resistance and excellent early season vigour and standability.

Proven Seed PV 585 GC is a multi-genic clubroot resistant Genuity Roundup Ready canola hybrid from Proven Seed. PV 585 GC has improved agronomics with excellent blackleg resistance and standability. Available exclusively at Crop Production Services.

New soybean varieties BrettYoung Seeds Nocoma R2 is a new, high-yielding soybean for the very early soybean category, with 000.8 relative maturity. Nocoma R2 as excellent tolerance to white mould in a medium to tall plant that has very good podding height. Nocoma R2 is a photosensitive plant well suited to production in more northerly production zones. Limited quantities will be available in 2018.

Mani R2X is a new Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean with excellent yield, white mould tolerance and soybean cyst nematode resistance. Mani R2X is a 00.4 relative maturity bean making it a great fit in the mid and long soybean zones.It is a medium to tall plant adapted to all soil types and row spacings. Mani R2X is semitolerant to iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) and has excellent tolerance to phytophthora root rot (PRR), with the Rps1C gene.

Croplan RX00797 is in the 00.7 maturity group and 2475 CHU. It is medium height, with branchy and aggressive qualities and prefers wide rows. This soybean cyst nematode variety has good yield Continued on page 18 

The sensitive soybean While heat units are important to soybean development, heat isn’t the only factor to consider.

Soybeans are a photosensitive plant. This means they use the length of the day to decide when to trigger flowering and when to mature.

Some soybean varieties react better than others when you take them further north. Groups for soybean varieties are based on their sensitivity. The scale ranges from 000 to X. In Western Canada, we need varieties that are added on to the low end of the scale: 000, 00 or 0. There are parts of Southern Ontario where farmers could grow a I variety. In Texas, you could grow a IV; in Florida, you could grow a VII. GN ® TM

Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow. 11/17-56556-02

2017-11-09 12:41 PM

Leeann Minogue

18

FEATURES

 Continued from page 17

potential with an above-average IDC rating and a good disease package.

DEKALB DKB003-29: (00.3RM or 2375 CHU) is a Roundup Ready 2 Xtend variety well suited to tough, low productivity growing conditions as well as high yield environments. It is a mediumto-tall, branchy variety with resistance to soybean cyst nematode and excellent tolerance to white mould.

DKB006-29 (00.6RM or 2450 CHU), a Roundup Ready 2 Xtend variety, is a medium height, very branchy variety with excellent tolerance to white

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

mould. It contains the Rps 1k phytophthora root rot resistance gene .

This variety has excellent standability, making it well suited to highly productive loam soils.

NorthStar Genetics NSC Riverside RR2X: This new line has the Xtend trait. This variety requires approximately 2475 CHUs to reach maturity or a relative maturity rating of 00.7. This variety consists of tall, aggressive plants that stand well. It has a tremendous yield potential and performs extremely well even in tough, stressful conditions. Limited quantities available for spring 2018.

NSC GreenRidge RR2Y: This new line has resistance to the soybean cyst

nematode. It’s a very defensive variety in that it has a very strong disease package. For example, it has stacked RPS (1c & 3a) for excellent phytophthora root rot resistance and has very good ratings to IDC and White Mould.

It requires 2500 CHUs to reach maturity or a relative maturity rating of 00.8. Limited quantities available for spring 2018.

SeCan Foote R2 is a medium-maturing Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield oilseed soybean with an excellent disease package. It is rated at 2400 HU, with a SeCan yield index of 104 per cent.

Foote R2 is rated as semi-tolerant to iron chlorosis.

Syngenta S0009-D6 is an early-maturing Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean variety with excellent yield potential, standability and drought tolerance, along with outstanding sclerotinia white mould tolerance.

S008-N2 is a Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean variety that offers up top-end yields, fast canopy closure and excellent tolerance to IDC.

Flax Secan CDC Plava flax offers a unique combination of high yield and earlier maturity. Until now any earlier-

maturing varieties were lower yielding than CDC Bethune. CDC Plava yields 106 per cent of CDC Bethune (2012 to 2013 Registration Trials), with three cm shorter straw and similar straw strength.

SeedNet CDC Dorado Yellow Flax is higher yielding in the black and grey soils zones of Western Canada. Significantly higher oil and linolenic acid content with higher meal protein, shorter maturity and higher tkw (thousand kernel weight) than Flanders. It has a good disease package. GN Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

What did they seed in Manitoba?

February 14 & 15

Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre 1808 Wellington Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

• Two full days featuring more than 30 inspiring speakers • A tradeshow with access to crop-specific information

Keynote Speakers (visit cropconnectconference.ca for details and times) The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, PC, CC, GOQ

David Frum

David Mead

Senior Editor - The Atlantic

Expert Start With Why Facilitator

Canada’s Eighteenth Prime Minister

v

The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) compiles an annual “Variety Acreage Report."

With 3.1 million acres of canola reported, MASC needed more than three pages to list all of the different canola varieties seeded.

The three most popular varieties grown in Manitoba were all from Bayer’s InVigor line. L252 was the most popular variety, with 25.1 per cent of seeded acres. L140P came in second place with 17.5 per cent of seeded acres and 10 per cent of acres were seeded to L233P. All other canola varieties registered less than five per cent of seeded acres each, or less than 155,000 acres per variety.

No one soybean variety claimed more than 10 per cent of the 2.1 million reported commercial soybean acres in Manitoba in 2017.

The most popular soybean variety was Syngenta’s S007-Y4 RR2Y with 8.3 per cent of acres. Growers reported less than seven per cent of total acreage seeded to other varieties. GN Leeann Minogue

Manitoba: commercial seeded acres in 2017 Canola: 3.1 million acres

Banquet Speaker A highlight for this year is an evening with Greg Johnson, Tornado Hunter February 14, 2018

L252

25.1%

L140P

17.5%

L233P

10.0%

Oats: 437,000 acres

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Summit

36.3%

CS Camden

29.0%

Souris

17.1%

Red Spring Wheat: 2.0 million acres

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AAC Brandon

56.1%

Cardale

11.4%

AAC Elie

8.3%

Soybeans: 2.1 million acres

S007-Y4 RR2Y

8.3%

23-60RY

6.1%

AKRAS R2

5.4%

P006T 46R

5.4%

Source: MASC, Manitoba Variety Acreage Report

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

19

Tip of the issue

Manage clubroot proactively, not reactively Clubroot continues to spread. Don’t be too sure it won’t happen to you

By Aaron Miller

C

lubroot is rapidly spreading across Western Canada.

Whether or not it’s in your fields, all canola growers need to be concerned about clubroot. Once a field is infected, clubroot will always be present, so preventing the spread of the disease is critical. A clubroot infection, in good environmental conditions, can devastate a canola

field and lead to significant or total yield loss. Luckily, clubroot can be managed with very little economic.

The most important strategies a grower can implement are choosing clubroot resistant canola genetics and implementing a longer crop rotation. Resistant genetics are built into the crop, preventing a clubroot infection from happening, and from building up on your fields. A longer crop rotation allows more time between susceptible crops, which

allows spore loads to drop in the field, decreasing the chance or infection.

Growers should also manage susceptible pests like volunteer canola and brassica weed species to prevent buildup of the disease in non canola years. Ensure soil from infected fields is not spread through soil movement on equipment. Fields should be monitored and scouted regularly.

B:9.875” Another good practice is to rotate T:9.875”that have new to canola hybrids sources of clubroot S:9.875” resistance to

Resistant genetics are built into the crop manage a changing clubroot population in areas where the disease has been present in the past.

Clubroot infections can range from having very little impact on a field to total devastation. Management strategies, agronomics and environmental conditions will have

a huge effect, so it’s important to stay a step ahead.

For more information, speak to your local agronomist or seed sales rep. GN Aaron Miller, area agronomist, DuPont Pioneer.

TAKE COMMAND OF CLEAVERS

• PRE-EMERGENT CONTROL OF CLEAVERS

• SOIL APPLIED

cropscience.bayer.ca/command | 1 888-283-6847 Always read and follow label directions. Other terms and conditions apply. InVigor ® is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group.

FMC® and Command® are trademarks of FMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

• RESIDUAL ACTIVITY (UP TO FOUR WEEKS)

B:10”

*Maximum rebate: 300 acres or $900. Purchase must be made between September 1, 2017 and June 15, 2018.

See your local retailer or visit cropscience.bayer.ca/command for complete details.

T:10”

S:10”

Save $3/acre on your first 300 acres of Command® herbicide when you purchase at least 300 acres of InVigor® hybrid canola.

20

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Meet the neighbours

Meet your farming neighbours Every farm has a story. Here’s the story of one in west-central Saskatchewan Photos: Courtesy Robert Ellis

By Leeann Minogue

Robert Ellis, his wife Kaylie Ellis and their son Rixten live west of Elrose, Saskatchewan.

E

very farm has its own story.

No two farms (or farmers) are exactly alike. Everyone got started in a different way, and every farm has a different combination of family and hired staff who make the decisions and keep things running.

But, in general, even after you consider all of the details, Prairie farmers are more alike than different.

This is the first article in a new feature where we’ll profile farmers from B.C. to Manitoba. We’ll tell you how they started out, and what they see ahead. Maybe you’ll find a story just like yours, or maybe you’ll get an idea for something new to try.

The first volunteer who bravely stepped forward and agreed to take our questions was Robert Ellis, a 37-year-old farmer from west-central Saskatchewan.

These are Robert’s answers to our questions.

Where do you farm?

Our home farm is 13 miles south west of Elrose, Saskatchewan on the border of the rural municipalities of Lacadena and Monet. I farm in the RMs of Snipe Lake, Monet and Lacadena.

What do you grow?

We’re growing red and green lentils,

WHO DO YOU TRUST FOR THE BOTTOM LINE ON NEW SEED?

yellow peas, durum, spring wheat, barley and canola. I’ve also tried soybeans.

How long have you been farming?

About seven years.

Who do you farm with?

I farm on my own. My wife Kaylie and I have a new baby, Rixten. Rixten is 17 months old, and he keeps us on our toes.

Because I’m mainly on my own, one of the very important things that makes my farm work is having good dependable employees that know what they’re doing. I lucked out when I found the guys that are working for me now. I have one full-time employee, two seasonal employees and another guy that comes when I need him.

You could’ve done anything. Why did you choose farming?

I always wanted to farm.

I worked in the oilfield for a while, to see what that was about. But I always really wanted to come back and give farming a try.

At one point, we couldn’t find anybody to rent some of my dad’s land, so I started off farming just his three quarters. My step-dad allowed me to use some of his equipment.

Then I started renting more land from both my mother and farther, and ended up buying Dad’s land.

Then I started renting land from my stepfather as well. It kind of all snowballed from there. I started renting land from other farmers as well, and now I’m farming 6,500 acres.

What farming season do you enjoy most?

Harvest. It’s hard to beat harvest, when you finally reap the reward from all your hard work.

What’s the farm implement you can’t live without?

A broker from his 10th floor office? Or your local FP Genetics Seedsman who spends years screening, growing and testing new varieties, ensuring you get the very best.

These days, I would have to say the sprayer. It just never seems to shut off from the day you start in the spring, and it’s the very last thing you put away before freeze up. We seem to live in it nowadays.

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FP Genetics is a trademark of FP Genetics Inc. All others are trademarks of their respective companies. ©2017 FP Genetics. All rights reserved. 3078 10.17

The Cereal Seed Experts

fpgenetics.ca After seven years in the business, Robert is farming 6,500 acres, making decisions on his own.

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

21

What good decision have you made that turned out well?

The obvious answer is growing lentils, but canola is a new crop for us.

When I started farming, there wasn’t a lot of canola in this area.

Over the years we’ve added more and more canola to our rotation, and now we’re up to the point where it’s a third of our crop. It seems, even on a year when you count it down and out, canola still seems to come around and do quite well for us. It’s been a consistent profit maker.

Have you made a decision on the farm that you regret?

2017 was the first year Robert grew spring wheat on his farm.

Thanks for agreeing to be our first interview, Robert. If you or someone you know would like to be featured in a future edition of “Meet the Neighbours,” email Leeann@fbcpublishing.com or Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com. GN Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

Harvest is Robert’s favourite farm season.

Robert has a strong team: one full-time employee, two seasonal employees and another employee who comes when he’s needed.

I wouldn’t say I regret this decision, but one of the toughest decisions we always fight with is fungicide, and how far to go with it on a wet year — when to stop and wave the white flag.

That was a really hard decision for us in 2016. We continued to spray fungicide and in hindsight, we should have just quit.

This year, it was dry. We got out money back from the fungicide, but that was it this year.

What do you see as the biggest challenge ahead over the next five to 10 years?

It’s obvious for our area. Durum.

What sort of cereal crop can we use to replace durum? It’s been good to us for a long, long time. But last year was a wreck, with fusarium. This year was good, but I foresee if the wetness comes back we’re definitely in trouble again.

This is the first year I’d ever grown spring wheat and barley, and it worked out pretty well. Hopefully it can help replace some durum, or we’ll, hopefully, find better ways to go after fusarium.

What do you see as the biggest opportunity ahead over the next five to 10 years?

The easy answer might be soybeans and corn, but I tried soybeans a while back and it just really didn’t work out that well.

We need more diversification. We used to be a just a lentil and durum area. Then we added canola. I think we’ve got to start looking towards spring wheat, flax, maybe other varieties of lentils and stretching out that rotation even further.

What do you like to do for fun or to relax?

We have a permanent campsite at the Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park. We have a boat down there. We go down there as much as possible in the summer. It’s close, so we don’t have to drive a long ways, so we actually do make it down there.

I also like to volunteer. I’m an RM councilor, I serve on the local rec board and I'm a part of the Elrose Lions Club) In the winter we typically go on a hot holiday. I play hockey. I snowmobile. We’ll probably have skates on Rixten, this year, but I don’t think he’s quite there yet.

Richardson is committed to ensuring reliable and efficient services for our customers.

From increasing storage capacity to adding high-speed fertilizer blenders across our Richardson Pioneer network, we continue to invest in our facilities to enhance our operations and serve our customers. We are committed to operating the most efficient, fully integrated network of high throughput grain elevators and port terminals to move your grains and oilseeds from the Prairies to markets around the world.

Being truly invested is at the heart of everything we do.

To learn more, visit richardson.ca

22

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Topic production Crop heading

Crop advisor casebook Barley blues: why aren’t these plants growing faster?

By Bruce MacKinnon

T

homas, who owns a 3,000acre mixed dryland and irrigation farm near Magrath, Alta., asked me to visit his operation in early June. He wanted help identifying the weeds in three barley fields as well as advice on a herbicide package that would best fit his farm. He also mentioned the plants in one of the barley fields were growing more slowly than the others.

After scouting the barley fields for weeds and offering herbicide recommendations, I felt we also needed to address the growth and development issues identified in one of the fields.

When compared with the other two, the plants in the third field were visibly stressed. For example, the affected plants were slow growing and far behind those in the other fields in development. These stunted plants were much smaller and paler in colour when compared to those in the other two fields, which contained healthy, normal plants.

Furthermore, the plants’ oldest leaves were red to purple in colour, which probably occurred as soon as the crop emerged. The leaves also had purple margins and the plants’ stems and stalks had reddish-purple streaks from the soil surface to the first two leaves. This discolouration was noticed when the crop was entering the four-leaf stage.

Additionally, Thomas and I discovered the affected plants’ roots were smaller, thinner and had fewer root hairs when compared with those taken from the other fields. The ground cover in the affected field was also less than that of the other fields.

Prior to seeding, all three fields were sprayed with a tank mix of Group 9 and Group 2 herbicides for the pre-seed burndown application.

When compared with the other two, the plants in the third field were visibly stressed — slower growing, smaller and paler in colour.

The plants’ oldest leaves were red to purple in colour, which probably occurred as soon as the crop emerged. The leaves also had purple margins and the plants’ stems and stalks had reddish-purple streaks from the soil surface to the first two leaves.

Then, the three barley fields were planted the same day; however, the two fields with healthy plants were seeded on winter wheat stubble, whereas the field in question was seeded on canola stubble.

“Could some sort of herbicide residue be causing the plant discolouration and slow growth in this field?”

Thomas asked. “Because all three fields were treated the same way.”

Not only were we going to look at the field’s history, but we would be examining fertilizer records, soil test results, evidence of environmental or disease stressors, and anything else we could think of that might be causing the symptoms in the field.

Since barley was planted under both dryland and irrigated conditions, we could immediately rule out excessive or inadequate moisture stress as the cause of the symptoms.

We started reviewing Thomas’ records, such as the affected field’s crop and herbicide histories as well as the crop yields pulled off it. Based on 2016 yields and soil test results from 2017, we calculated fertilizer removal rates for comparison with soil test levels and recommendations. We also examined fertilizer records and soil tests to determine if

fertilizer amounts, timing and application methods were correct.

Nothing from these records could account for the damage to the barley plants. Furthermore, the same fertilizer blend was used on all three fields, and no visual sign of fertilizer injury was evident.

Thomas thought the plants’ symptoms may be related to herbicide injury either due to application issues or chemical residue. However, the symptoms present were not typical of herbicide injury. Thomas’ herbicide application records for the previous canola crop and this year’s barley crop also didn’t support herbicide injury as the cause of plant damage.

We examined the plants’ roots for seedling diseases or early seeding stress, but aside from being smaller and thinner than those of the healthy plants, the roots looked normal. The seed planted in all three fields was also from the same source. The plants from two of the three fields emerged normally and were growing well, eliminating the seed as the symptoms’ cause.

Additionally, there was no difference between the fields with respect to seeding operations. Seeding depth

was one and a half inches, on average, across all three fields.

When we checked the crop for pest pressure, there was no significant presence of insects, insect feeding or damage. In terms of straw management, more straw was present on the fields seeded into winter wheat stubble, however it hadn’t caused any seedbed issues that spring.

As far as I was concerned, we’d eliminated any doubts I had about the cause of plant injury in this field.

With swift action, we could also prevent yield damage.

If you think you know what’s affecting Thomas’ barley field, send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 3K7; email lminogue@fbcpublishing.com or fax 204-944-95416 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 reasoning that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. GN

Gary Gary Demoskoff, CCA, works for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Brunkild, Man.

Casebook winner The Casebook winner for this issue is Cornie Fehr, who farms near Winkler, Man. Unfortunately, he knew the answer to Casebook because he’d learned the hard way, by having the disease in his field.

Thanks for entering Cornie!

We’ll be sending you a hat and renewing your subscription for a year.

You could be a winner too.

If you know the answer to this issue of Casebook, email me at Leeann@fbcpublishing.com.

Leeann Minogue

Bruce MacKinnon, B.Sc., CCA, works for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Magrath, Alta.

Crop advisor’s solution

A stimulating situation: rapid plant growth and herbicide injury

By Gary Demoskoff

S

ometimes, when solving an agronomic issue, the devil is in the details. This was apparent in Rob’s case. In 2016, this Brunkild-area producer asked me to figure out what had injured his red spring wheat plants. While scouting his fields that June, Rob discovered yellowing wheat in the centre of one of his wheat fields.

In fact, a distinct square had formed separating the headlands, which contained healthy plants, from the rest of the field, which was chlorotic. In addition to

turning yellow, bands were forming in the centres of the leaves.

So far that season, excellent growing conditions and adequate moisture had encouraged rapid growth of both wheat plants and weeds. Rob told me he applied herbicide a few days earlier. He started the field by spraying the first few rounds with the tank mix left over from another wheat field.

After spraying out the remainder of the tank mix, Rob filled up with what he thought was the same chemistries and sprayed the rest of the field.

However, the plants in the wheat field he’d sprayed first were now green and healthy, as were

the headlands of the field in question, while the plants sprayed after Rob filled his sprayer tank were injured.

We could eliminate spray drift as the issue because of the distinct square pattern to the damaged area. After checking Rob’s fertility plan we could also rule out a nutrient deficiency. We were missing something.

After some thought, Rob remembered the tank mix left over from spraying the previous wheat field contained a biostimulant. With that little piece of information everything fell into place.

Because of the favourable con-

ditions, plant growth that season had been rapid. This rapid growth can inhibit a plant’s ability to metabolize herbicide, thus causing injury to the plant. Specifically, the graminicide portion of the herbicide is trapped in the plant causing the leaf yellowing and banding.

The plants on the headlands weren’t injured because the area was treated with a biostimulant when Rob sprayed out the remaining tank mix from a previous field.

Biostimulants can improve plant metabolism efficiency, thereby reducing the effects of herbicide injury.

Although rapid plant growth

can cause herbicide injury, it doesn’t happen often and really depends on environmental factors, crop stage and the herbicide used.

I consider this case a success story as Rob learned, although uncommon, herbicide injury can occur during rapid plant growth due to excellent growing conditions. Furthermore, he witnessed first-hand the efficacy of biostimulants, which are attracting a great deal of attention these days. GN Gary Demoskoff, CCA, works for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Brunkild, Man.

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

23

Silage management

Earlier-maturing varieties help drive spread of silage corn Producers are growing a lot more silage corn in Western Canada than 10 or 15 years ago for a number of reasons, not least of all is the fact that seed companies have been working hard to produce varieties that can grow successfully in these geographies.

“Having the right products for our zones has driven the majority of the growth in corn,” says Nicole Rasmussen, DuPont Pioneer’s area agronomist for Alberta and British Columbia. “People have tried it, had great success with it from an animal performance, quality and yield standpoint, and word has spread. Lots of farmers now have several years under their belt of experience growing corn on dry land or even irrigation in Western Canada, and have a lot more confidence with it.”

Corn yields have also been steadily increasing as producers gain a better understanding of the agronomic requirements of the crop, and breeders have tried to bring more yield into earlier maturing varieties. They’ve also added insect resistance traits — for things like corn rootworm which have followed the march of corn crops westward, appearing in Manitoba and British Columbia — into those hybrids. “Eight years ago, we didn’t have the corn borer trait in our early set of hybrids and now we do into the earliest products we have,” says Rasmussen.

In 2017, Pioneer introduced three new early maturing corn hybrids suitable for silage, grain or grazing in Western Canada that offer increased yield potential and new insect and disease resistance packages.

P7527AM is an early maturity corn product at 2150 heat units with Optimum AcreMax technology, which includes an integrated refuge for above-ground insect control, drought tolerance and an average resistance rating to Goss’s Wilt.

P7958AM is an Optimum AcreMax corn product good drought tolerance, moderate Goss’s Wilt resistance and good root strength for improved standability and ease of harvest.

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“We’ve gone through our first year of seeing these hybrids out in the field and they brought a good yield jump and highquality silage numbers,” says Rasmussen. “We’re seeing good tonnage and feed results so far, so that exciting for us.”

Angela Lovell

Plan ahead to grow silage corn Planting, chopping and weed control require planning, but can help you turn a profit

By Angela Lovell

G

rowing silage corn needs some advanced planning and can involve a change of mindset for producers who are used to doing everything themselves.

“Corn is different from most silage products that can be made in Western Canada,” says Ray Bittner, livestock specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. “Corn needs to be

chopped or combined, but haybines knock cobs off and swathers create swathes that are too large to handle.

Corn is never dry enough for baling like hay, and if you try to ensile in round bale silage it’s very difficult to control sharp stalks from penetrating the silage wrap. Producers need a forage harvester or a combine to salvage the crop if it’s too dry.”

For many smaller livestock producers it’s simply not feasible to invest in the equipment to plant and

harvest silage corn, so they have to make sure they have custom planters and silage operators lined up, often a year in advance.

Corn silage advantages may outweigh the costs There are a few other challenges with growing corn silage. Seed and fertilizer costs are high, timing of seeding can be an issue, as can spraying and the cost of chopping and ensiling. There may also be an

additional feeding cost. “Gone is the ability to pick up five-days worth of hay bales and throw them in a feeding area,” says Bittner. “Most operations need new feeding equipment, and regularly scheduled feed deliveries to the cattle.”

That said, for a growing number of producers, the advantages of corn silage outweigh the costs. Chris Lea, Continued on page 24 

24

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

PhotoS: Chris Lea

 Continued from page 23

Chris Lea says he’s producing more tonnage of feed on 40 acres of corn than he used to product on 120 acres of hay land.

who operates a 70-head cow/calf operation near Manitou, Man., says he’s producing more tonnage of feed on 40 acres of corn than he used to on 120 acres of hay land.

“It’s also the reduced workload,” he says. “Haying was very labour intensive. It’s a high energy feed, and the cattle look better, they are shinier and healthier, and they do very well on corn silage.”

Lea says to grow silage corn costs around $125 an acre in fertilizer, $100 an acre for seed and $108 an acre to have a custom operator come in and chop, haul and pack the silage. With the extra tonnage he

produces, the high nutritional feed value and the labour savings, corn silage still pencils out for Lea, who began growing silage corn four years ago.

For 40 acres it’s simply not feasible, says Lea, to invest in a forage harvester and trucks — close to a $2 million investment — to put up the silage himself, but he is planning to purchase a corn planter in the next couple of years.

Corn planter a good investment “We were getting it custom planted, although this year we tried our own drill. But when corn plants touch each other they don’t

produce as big a cob, and with the corn planter they are exactly spaced and that’s ideal,” says Lea. “A good, used corn planter is probably about $30,000. That’s a good investment because it also allows us to get the corn planted when we need to, as there’s usually only a short window of time to get it done.”

The corn planter is an essential piece of equipment for any corn grower, says Nicole Rasmussen, DuPont Pioneer’s area agronomist for Alberta and British Columbia.

“If producers are going to do corn silage, a planter is very important,” she says. “It’s also important because producers want the corn

CHEERS!

to all mature at the same time.

They don’t want some plants to be ready and others not because they were planted too deep, which affected their emergence. A planter is important for achieving the best yield and an even stand for harvesting purposes.”

Because of the cost of the equipment, custom silage operators need to try and spread the cost over as many acres as they can, so as a consequence they are heavily booked.

It’s vitally important to book them well ahead of time or you may end up last in line.

“Producers should make sure they put themselves in the best position to get that crop harvested at the right time and in the best condition possible,” says Rasmussen. “Producers should pay a lot of attention to the crop so that they can work with their custom person to get it in the pit in an optimal harvest window. They don’t want to be looking for someone to chop their corn when it’s ready to go.

They need to set themselves up for seeding, spraying and harvest and put it up in good condition whether it’s in a bag or a pit.”

Chop at the right moisture content

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The ideal moisture content to harvest and ensile corn is around 60 to 70 per cent. Corn that has a higher moisture content — because it is harvested too green — will result in poor quality feed. Fermentation in this wet silage can produce bacteria, which convert sugar and organic acids into butyric acid, carbon dioxide and ammonia. That results in a foul-smelling feed, with high pH, that is unpalatable and reduces intake.

Corn chopped too dry (at 55 per cent moisture or less) may not be able to pack well enough which can cause heating, reduced fermentation and spoilage.

“Producers who invest in their own chopping equipment do have up-front costs that are significant, but achieving the ideal chopping date over a few crops will pay dividends on their investment,” says Bittner.

Being prepared to control weeds is another consideration. Most corn is Roundup Ready but canola volunteers and some harder to control weeds may require a tank mix, and in some areas where corn isn’t a big crop, those options may not be as readily available. “Producers should speak with their agricultural retailer to make sure they have the proper, safe chemistry in stock so they can spray their fields when the time comes,” says Rasmussen. “Corn doesn’t like early competition so keeping on top of weeds early is critical.”

Corn doesn’t like wet feet, says Bittner. “For corn it’s important to have land which doesn’t pool water during the early growing season.”

Well suited to beef and dairy rations

meetlmno.com

“Corn has always been well suited to beef and dairy rations, whether corn silage or corn grain,” says Bittner. “The high energy content of corn is important in Western

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Canada because in our cold winters animals require high energy over long periods of time.”

Corn silage contains more energy per ton than barley or hay. The energy content TDN (Total Digestible Nutrients) per ton of corn silage averages 66.4 per cent, compared to 65.5 per cent for barley silage and

60.4 per cent for alfalfa/grass silage.

“Corn is an easy to balance ration once you are familiar with its traits, but can be a minefield if you treat it the same as hay,” says Bittner.

“Corn is high energy, high starch, low calcium and low protein by western Canadian standards. So all

corn rations need a partnering feed, alfalfa is a preferred option, but many exist. For exact rations, a nutritionist should work with farm specific feed tests and work out the best options from a nutrition and cost of production ” B:9.875perspective. in Lea says that growing corn silage T:9.875 in has helped him to stay in the cattle S:9.875 in

25

business. “Because of the reduced work load in the summer without haying and better animal performance,” he says. GN Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Off-farm management

Get on board with these five tips Much of rural life is governed by non-profit boards. Know how to give your best when it's your turn

By Lisa Guenther

N

on-profit organizations and their legions of volunteers are essential to rural and urban communities alike. In small towns, non-profits are responsible for everything from running curling bonspiels to fundraising for medical equipment.

It’s no secret that while some non-profits are well-oiled machines, others run more like a combine picking up lodged wheat in a rock-strewn field.

What are the rock-star non-profits doing that others aren’t? According to Wendy Bulloch, often it comes down to board governance.

Bulloch is no stranger to nonprofit boards. Through her business, Building Up, she has helped boards develop strategic plans, write and revise bylaws, create succession plans, and run better meetings.

She’s also served on several nonprofit boards. In 2013, she received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her board work with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba. She’s also on the Brandon Chamber of Commerce’s Agriculture Committee.

In many cases, board members have the best of intentions, Bulloch says. They are passionate and want to do good work.

But even a board stacked with well-intentioned directors can run into problems. Often there are one or two issues at the root of nonprofit troubles.

One is that many non-profits operate on a shoestring. Small nonprofits in small communities “struggle big-time because of funding,” says Bulloch. These nonprofits often can’t afford to hire staff, so board members “are not only setting policy, but they’re doing the work.”

Another issue is that many board members haven’t kept up on the changing responsibilities of nonprofit boards.

“Things have changed a lot in the last 10 or 15 years around the whole issue of governance,” says Bulloch.

And there are basic requirements for any board, she says.

“You have to have meetings. You have to approve a budget.”

Bulloch adds that organizations need to have motions on the books when they’re dealing with money or applying for funding.

1. Know your role Much of the responsibility around governance and culture lies with the board chair, says Bulloch. But everyone at the meeting has to put on their directors’ hats, and leave their personal interests and biases at the door.

A director needs to think about whether he’s in a conflict of interest over a motion, and make sure he’s acting in the organization’s best interest. The organization’s mission statement should be the driving force behind all board decisions, says Bulloch.

Directors also need a clear idea of the difference between governing and managing. Governing is the board’s main role. It’s focused on the organization’s mission. A board’s biggest responsibilities include strategic direction, finances, leadership development, and stakeholder relations, Bulloch says.

Board members should know the bylaws, follow the bylaws, and review them regularly, she adds.

If the non-profit has the resources to hire staff, managing daily operations is the executive director’s role. Basically, the board makes sure the right thing is done and the executive director makes sure things are done right, Bulloch says.

However, non-profit boards without the financial resources to hire help will have to do it all.

Those boards will have to find a way to run the day-to-day and mind the big picture.

2. Know your risk A laissez-fair attitude towards governance can expose board members to liability, Bulloch says.

Non-profits are required to operate by their bylaws, policies, and procedures. Board members who ignore these three pieces of governance and don’t manage the organization’s risk may be open to liability, she adds.

Any non-profit that handles money ought to be incorporated, Bulloch says. For one thing, if the group wants to apply for grants, incorporation is a must. “You won’t get a grant if you’re not incorporated.”

If the non-profit isn’t incorporated, board members should make sure they understand the ramifications of that, Bulloch says. The Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan outlines the following issues with unincorporated non-profits: • Board members are personally liable to creditors for the organization’s debt.

• Property must be in the members’ name, not the non-profit’s name.

• Bank accounts cannot be in the non-profit’s name.

• The non-profit can’t enter into contracts.

• The non-profit can’t take legal action in its own name.

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• The non-profit itself cannot be sued — members must be sued.

If someone is thinking about joining a board, one important question to ask is whether the organization has directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, says Bulloch.

While an incorporated non-profit provides some protection to board members, board members can still be sued personally. Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance is designed to cover legal costs and damages.

“I would not join a board if their answer was they didn’t have directors’ and officers’ liability,” says Bulloch.

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

27

More board resources

photo: THINKSTOCK

For those interested in board governance, Wendy Bulloch recommends Mel D. Gill’s book, Governing for Results. Gill covers four key components of governance: • Accountability.

• Transparency.

• Predictability (conduct or actions of elected officials). This is based in laws and regulations.

• Participation and engagement.

People can also take university courses on non-profit governance through www.coursera.org. Course certificates are available through the site for a subscription free, or the courses can be audited for free.

Course offerings vary throughout the year. GN Lisa Guenther

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3. Be professional While board members are bound to disagree, they should avoid being rude at meetings, says Bulloch They should also keep contentious discussions in the boardroom.

“The time to disagree is at the meeting and not when you walk out the door and go to the coffee shop the next morning,” says Bulloch.

Private or secret meetings are also taboo. They’re not professional or transparent to membership, Bulloch says.

A strong board chair is key to managing conflict. Boards struggling to rein in conflict can try the pass technique. Each board member gets a chance to speak, with a time limit. While one board member is speaking, others cannot interrupt or comment. Board members can also choose to pass on speaking, but the chair can give those members another chance to speak at the end.

“Everyone kind of calms down. It takes the anger out,” says Bulloch.

The pass technique also gives quiet board members a chance to speak.

Bulloch doesn’t recommend including restrictions on rude behaviour, abuse, or harassment in the bylaws. However, such behaviour can be covered in board policies. Bylaws should also include a process for removing board members if there is just cause. A few examples of just cause include not disclosing conflicts of interest, violating bylaws, and violating board policies.

4. Plan for the future Non-profit board members wear many hats, Bulloch says. They volunteer, they are ambassadors for the organization, and they wear legal hats as well. A typical non-profit board may have some worker bees, some board members with a financial background, and some who fundraise.

All those skill sets are valuable.

If your board loses someone with a vital skill set, how will you replace them?

Nominations committees are being replaced by board governance committees, says Bulloch.

Board governance committees deal with bylaws, succession

planning, and policy. And it’s a good idea for all non-profits to have one, no matter the size, as these committees keep boards current and ease board succession.

Bulloch says she can’t emphasize enough the importance of regular governance training and board orientation. There are also plenty of online guides for how to orient new board members.

“The time to disagree is at the meeting and not when you walk out the door and go to the coffee shop the next morning.”

Board manuals are commonly suggested. They include information about expectations of board members, board mandate, board organization, bylaws, recent meeting minutes, budget and financial information, and any other information a new board member would need. Some also suggest orientation sessions.

5. Stay organized Bulloch recommends all boards use a board calendar. This calendar is not only about board meeting dates. It also lists the tasks, responsibilities, and issues the board must consider over the next year. Examples include: • Bylaw review.

• Succession planning.

• Recruiting new members.

• Financial audit.

• AGM. • Performance review of executive director.

• Board orientation. GN Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Follow her on Twitter @LtoG.

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Soils and Crops

Photos: Les Henry

Diary of a pea crop Volunteer growth in the field on November 10, 2016.

This season was too wet, then dry, but it’s left a promising start for next year

The crop was doing well on high ground by June 26, 2017.

Les Henry

T

his is the story of the pea crop on my farm near Dundurn, Sask., in the 2017 growing season.

August 21, 2016 Last year we combined an 82 bushel per acre malt barley crop on this field. The soil was well supplied with water at seeding time and the May to July rain was 10.5 inches so it was well set for next year.

October 5, 6, 2016 A foot of wet, heavy snow left 1.6 inches of water in rain gauges and a bit more rain in October brought the May to October total to 17.4 inches. Ouch. The soil was full and the water table was rising.

November 10, 2016 The post-harvest rain and snow brought on much new growth — volunteer canola, sow thistle etc. Most years we might want to spray them out to save moisture, but not this time. Let the weeds grow and use up all the excess water they can.

May 5, 2017 Little snow plus an early, warm spring brought quick growth of winter annuals — sow thistle etc.

One liter per acre of glyphosate applied on this date gave a quick and thorough burndown.

May 10, 2017

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Our good neighbour, Curtis Block, seeded 2.5 bu./ac. of peas with his Seed Hawk. Cell-Tech granular inoculant was applied with the seed, but no fertilizer. The field was so wet that several acres could not be seeded. There was little point in waiting a few days as those areas had a high water table and would not be good for seeding for weeks.

The 1.5 inches of rain that came in May served only to bring up the water table in parts of the quarter.

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The field was harrowed and rolled to make a nice flat surface for straight cutting in fall. The wet conditions meant that all stones were also well “planted.”

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

29

June 5, 2017 The crop was sprayed with Viper herbicide (Group 2 and Group 6) at label rate and at the perfect crop stage. Weed control was slow but good.

About June 10, 2017 On areas that were too wet to seed in May, I broadcast canola and worked it in with a cultivator with mounted tine harrows. It was still plenty wet and the canola established well. The idea was to use up water and keep the weeds at bay.

June 26, 2017

By June 26 the crop was doing well on high ground. From June 1 to 30 there was 1.5 inches of rain. It came in small shots of 0.2 to 0.4 inches.

July 11, 2017 The crop was sprayed with Priaxor fungicide. I think that was a waste of money. I could see no difference in a check strip that was left. From July 1 to 31 there was 0.9 inches of rain in small shots of 0.1 to 0.5 inches.

August 10, 2017 Pre-harvest spray of one l/ac. glyphosate (Group 9) plus label rate of Heat LQ (Group 14). The crop was mostly ripe but some late germinating weeds still green. The herbicide worked very slow because of dry conditions, but it did work.

August 19, 2017 Crop combined . The yield was 37 bu./ac., net sold. With my two neighbours’ big Green S 680 combines and a grain cart it was a small job. Even with only 2.4 inches of rain in June and July the yield was limited by too wet rather than too dry.

The yield monitors confirmed that most of the peas came from the higher, drier ground. On the highest, driest knoll the pea crop sucked the soil completely dry to two feet and had the third foot about half dry.

August 24, 2017

By August 24, the best of the midJune broadcast canola is sown in the photo. There was too little area to bring swather and combine back in, but it did meet the objective of using up water and it really did keep the weeds down.

Post harvest The dry conditions in 2017 have dried up sloughs that we have not seen the bottoms of for eight years.

About three decent rains since mid-September (2.75 inches) have recharged soil moisture to the point that I am prepared to start spending money on a 2018 crop. GN J.L. (Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He recently finished at third printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for “Grainews” readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book.

Combining in progress, August 19, 2017. With my two neighbours’ big Green S 680 combines and a grain cart it was a small job.

By August 24, the best of the mid-June broadcast canola looked like this.

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Hart Attacks

USGS finds more dirt for growing crops Illustration courtesy USGS

Until we defrost Greenland this could be all we’ve got Lee Hart

M

uch like the excitement I feel when I find a missing sock behind the clothes dryer, I

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am sure that is what the US Geological Survey (USGS) experienced when it recently discovered more cropland in the world. And they didn’t just find one sock, it was a whole outfit.

The USGS recently reported that further review of new satellite imagery has revealed another 250 to 350 million hectares of cropland — that’s a

15 to 20 per cent increase over the previously held estimates. They now figure there is about 1.87 billion hectares of cropland in the world.

For several years farmers have heard the often-repeated message to improve crop production efficiency in order to feed a world with a projected 9.7 to 10 billion person population by 2050 — be more efficient. “They aren’t making anymore dirt.” Well here we go. They found 20 per cent more dirt.

The green area of the accompanying world map shows the identified cropland in each country. The black areas are not cropland. I’m guessing most of it is tree-covered or mountainous. And that big white area near the top centre is Greenland and obviously not much happens there other than skiing.

The are several pockets (sometimes large pockets) of tan or beige colored landscape, which again I assume are primarily dry or dessert regions.

Back to the green... I found it interesting just how little green there is in Canada. During travels on any summer day it feels like the country is wall-to-wall grain and canola, but in reality less than five per cent of the country is cropland, and Canada has at most .25 per cent of the total world cropland. This imagery is good. It even managed to capture Eric Peters’ wheat and canola fields near La Crete in the northern Peace River region.

His weed control looks pretty good.

Some other interesting facts from the updated USGS — what country has the most cropland? Earlier studies showed China or the U.S. as having the highest net cropland, but not so.

India ranks first with 179 million hectares, which is nearly 10 per cent of the global net cropland area. No wonder they don’t want our peas.

While the USGS identifies the cropland, it also points out that water will be the ongoing challenge to achieve production from this cropland. Their study estimates that 80 per cent of all human water use across the world goes toward producing food. So managing and growing crops with improved water use efficiency will be critical.

The USGS says further analysis of the imagery and data will provide more details on identifying what crops are present, when they grow, their productivity, any areas of fallow land, and it also should be able to identify who left the gate open the day the cows got out.

The other reassuring message I got from this map is confirmation of my long-held belief that the world is indeed flat. I don’t see any rounded corners. If you are paddling your canoe west of Alaska be prepared for a sharp drop off — there’s no coming back. GN 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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31

Understanding market bulls and bears

Finding the price in the new age With delisted futures contracts, who’s responsible for price discovery?

Brian Wittal

O

ver the past five years there have been major changes to the Prairie grain marketing landscape that have — or should have — changed the way you market your grain.

The biggest change, and no doubt the catalyst for many of the changes since, was the removal of the monopoly marketing powers of the Canadian Wheat Board. When this happened, responsibility for marketing and selling all your grains fell on your shoulders.

Those who were comfortable with the pooled price system were no doubt a little uncomfortable. Those who wanted freedom to market and sell their grains where and when they wanted looked at this as a new start that would allow them to take control.

Not long after the CWB lost its monopoly the Intercontinental Commodity Exchange (ICE), formerly known as the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE), developed and opened up a couple of new wheat futures trading contracts for milling wheat and durum to go along with the Western barley futures and canola futures contracts that had been in place for quite a number of years.

I saw the addition of these wheat contracts as a great opportunity and a pricing mechanism that would help provide pricing transparency and price risk management for farmers.

So why, after just three years, has ICE decided to delist these contracts, along with the Western barley contracts, and take them off of the exchange? Because few people were trading these contracts!

Futures contracts little used Why weren’t farmers and the grain trade using these contracts?

ICE created these futures contracts thinking that after the demise of the CWB the grain trade and farmers would be looking for a mechanism to help them with price discovery and transparency, to ensure they were selling and buying their wheat at a fair market value.

The CWB was created to market and sell all the wheat produced on the Prairies back in 1917, during the First World War. It was known then as the Board of Grain Supervisors, which after a couple years was renamed and turned into the Canadian Wheat Board. In 1943 the CWB was granted a legal monopoly to market all wheat, durum and barley grown in Western Canada and destined for human consumption or export markets.

Because they did this job for 95 years, I have heard many — including farmers — say that the CWB kept farmers from having to learn how to use futures contracts. When ICE came out with wheat futures con-

tracts in 2014, farmers didn’t really know how to use them and instead turned to grain companies, letting them do the price discovery and price setting.

This sounds like a fox guarding the henhouse. Who’s going to get the better of that deal?

Back in the days of the CWB, grain companies were contracted to handle wheat and were paid handling and storage fees. The CWB made the sales and controlled the basis.

Included in the basis were the CWB’s operaing costs, with all net proceeds above that going into pool accounts to be paid to producers.

In today’s world, grain companies make the sales, control the basis, determine handling and cleaning fees (to a maximum set by the government), and include a profit. The end result is the bid they will offer farmers.

The process hasn’t really changed, but those that are in control of the

process have. I am fairly sure that the farmer is not the one benefitting the most from this change.

Being the seller, you really don’t want to leave the entire price discovery process to grain buyers.

Remember, grain companies’ business is handling and moving grain. Now that they are also in charge of making sales, do you think they’re going to sit back and hold out for the best possible price, or will they sell grain at the lower values, to

ensure they can handle and move grain?

In the next article I’ll continue to explain how these and other factors have contributed to the failure of the ICE wheat and barley futures contracts. GN 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.

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Guarding wealth

Choosing off-farm investments

By Andrew Allentuck

C

lint Eastwood captured the problem of finding value in stocks and bonds in his 1966 spaghetti western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Three gunslingers go on a perilous trip to find a cache of Confederate gold left over from the American Civil War. There are bandits along the way. The gold is buried in a cemetery. As a metaphor for investing, it doesn’t get much better.

The lure of gold is what all investing is about. The “gold” in farming is tangible. You grow something or raise something, sell the crop, the herd, the milk, the eggs… and you get into the pickup and ride off to town.

Off-farm, it’s different. The vast majority of off-farm investments are intangible — shares of stocks that do not even come with

certificates anymore, bonds that are also certificate-free, gold units held on your investment banker’s ledgers and participation in real estate investments documented by yet more account statements.

Where is the reality?

It lies in the future. The great investor Warren Buffett, chief of Berkshire Hathaway and master of much of the bond and stock universe, has said that a stock is worth as much as but no more than all the money it will ever make. Estimating that number is no mean trick.

But we can try.

If a stock, say a telecommunications company like BCE Inc. which has earnings, then it has a ratio of price to earnings per share. For BCE, it’s 18.75. It should pay a dividend. BCE’s is 4.75 per cent. This is good. This means that if the earnings are stable and do not increase, you will get your money back in about 19 years during which time you

make a nice living from dividends. This should work provided that BCE does not go the way of the bad — Nortel Networks (accounting from outer space, bankruptcy) — or the really ugly — YBM Magnex (Russian mobsters controlled this TSX-listed maker of actual magnets and bicycles). The hazards are everywhere. For safety, you need to go for the most solid stocks, the least risky bonds, and the most solid real estate deals you can find. Tangible is good, solid earnings make it better, and well-supported dividends provide insurance that even if the company goes into a slump, patience will save your financial life.

Today, you can buy the hottest things on the planet. They include many stocks high on concept, e.g., the marijuana company Canopy Growth Corp., shares of which are up about 300

photo: Thinkstock

Stocks or bonds, the challenge is in finding value for your off-farm portfolio

When your assets are intangible, their value lies in what you, and the markets, think they will be able to earn in the future.

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

per cent in the last 18 months based on no earnings, no dividends, a product that remains illegal in some jurisdictions and potential for regulation that may turn it into, who knows, something like dried milk solids priced by marketing boards. Canopy could also be like a distilling stock in the U.S. at the end of Prohibition in 1933.

You can also buy Amazon.com with no dividend, a ratio of price to earnings of 280 (yes, not a mistake, that is two hundred eighty), no dividend, and a chance to be part of a business that appears to be eating the retail world. Amazon was priced at a modest US$300 per share in 2014 and now it’s about US$1,100 per share. It has 341,000 employees, stock price volatility 1.5 that of the market as a whole and is a must-have stock for every major American equity mutual fund.

However, with no dividend support, it is a pure play on the future. If earnings — and there are genuine earnings — stumble, the stock price could drop by 280 times the shortfall in expected or delivered results. This stock has a future but it is one with a lot of risk.

And what about bonds?

A bond is a promise that, if you lend some outfit money, it will pay you back and add interest at whatever was agreed to when the bond was sold. With U.S. Treasury bonds or Government of Canada bonds, the promise will be kept. The issuers will print money if they have to. With Canadian provincial bonds, there is no ability to print. But the provinces can tax. Worry about something else. With corporate bonds, you should worry.

Once upon a time, there were AAA corporate bonds, lots of them. Today, there are just two U.S. companies which have an AAA rating. They are Johnson & Johnson, maker of health care products, and Microsoft Inc., the centre of the digital universe. AAA means that nobody can imagine that it will not pay its bonds. If you go down to straight A, the future is bright. B+ is OK, B- gets people worried, C-level bonds are close to default and D bonds are in default. If you buy corporate bonds below B+, you are brave or patient or maybe a great investor sure that Kodak will turn around (it didn’t) or that Enron was no fraud (it was).

To invest only in what you can see from your porch window is also risky When considering a bond, always look at financial reports such as the annual statements of corporate bond issues. Make sure that the bond issue is not less than $25 million in Canada, US$100 million south of the border. Any less and the bond issue will not be easy to trade. It may not have its prices reported on bond price boards (analogous to stock tickers and online data) and may not be easily saleable without big cuts in your offering price.

Further to that, if you can explain the bond’s story in a sentence, it is probably OK. If the story is paragraphs about sales forecasts and air rights for new shopping malls and explanations of how company X will soon be a hit in Indonesia, forget it. The longer the story, the crummier the bond.

Sometimes things go badly What all this is leading up to is that for the off-farm investor

prepared to throw money at things as intangible as the prospects of stock shares or bond coupon payments, cash flow is vital, distributable profits are essential and dividends sufficient to put dinner on the table are life boats when things go badly.

And they do. Consider poor General Electric. Trading at US$20 give or take, the price is about where it was in 1997. Holders have been kept alive and hopeful by the 4.77 per cent dividend but, as warning notes on many reporting services say, it may not last. Here is the word from Thomson Reuters: “General Electric Co'.s dividend may not be sustainable; the company has paid out more to shareholders over the past 12 months than it has earned.” It was a 20th century winner. But perhaps no more.

GE has endured through the Great Depression, numerous crashes and corrections. It was

33

one of the original stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1893. Its present return on equity is 9.6 per cent compared to Honeywell International Inc.’s 26 per cent RoE. The analysts hate it. Jet engines, electric power turbines and toasters are so old economy that almost nobody wants to hear anymore. Curiously, Amazon’s return on equity is also nine per cent, but GE has old technology and Amazon has new stuff embedded in its gigantic distribution system. It is the future. GE is the past.

Ultimately, off-farm investments are a commitment to assets you cannot touch and whose management you must trust. The more distilled the asset is from its base, the harder it is to find solid value. But to invest only in what you can see from your porch window is also risky. Your farm, its equipment, the crops, the animals and the land are tangible. The balance of assets in a diversified portfolio is intangible. Management is vigilance. GN Andrew Allentuck’s forthcoming investment guide, "Cherished Fortune," written with Benoit Poliquin, will be published in 2018.

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GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Reporter's Notebook

Moving from Twitter to real life Twitter is bringing the ag community closer together, in many different ways

Lisa Guenther

I

t’s a scenario familiar to anyone on Twitter who attends farm shows— the attempt to figure out if that stranger you’ve just met is actually someone you know through Twitter.

But farmers and ag industry launched a simple solution this summer. It’s a black lanyard, with #agtwittercommunity printed on the fabric. The name tag includes the person’s Twitter handle, name, farm business, and location. I sat down with Louise Carduner at Ag in Motion last July, and she was kind enough to fill me in on the project in between handing out lanyards.

“This project is the brainchild of Old Man Gord on Twitter, who is a farmer near Englefeld, which is near Quill Lake,” Louise said. Gord Moellenbeck (aka @OldManGord on Twitter) wanted to transfer the relationships he’d already built on social media to face-to-face meetings at farm shows, Louise explained.

Louise then approached Rob Makowsky, a DEKALB territory manager in Sask, with the idea. Rob

jumped on board. Soon P&H backed the idea, too.

During Ag in Motion, Louise heard through the grapevine that an Australian visitor planned to take the idea home, and she was quite chuffed.

“We want people to replicate our idea, and make it their own in their own country. And before you know it, it could be something that is going to help agriculture people find each other at shows.”

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Why twitter?

Louise’s roots are on the Canadian Prairies. She works in ag sales, and says she loves working with farmers. She also manages the @FarmsofCanada Twitter account. While Louise runs this account, quite often a farmer or other aggie will tweet from the account for a week.

Why bother with Twitter? It’s all about the relationships, Louise says.

People assembling a Facebook network tend to pick people they already know. But Twitter networks are more based on shared interests and values, Louise said. With Twitter, “you can really build a strong tribe based on like-minded people,” she said, which makes for an interesting timeline.

Louise is a real connector. While I was talking to Louise for this column, she introduced me to Trevor Scherman, which is how I ended up writing about the Schermans’ ScherGain Solution System for measuring harvest losses. That article ran earlier this fall.

This fall a group of Italian farmers were looking for farms to visit as they headed from Calgary east. Elio Mastrangelo, the Italian travel agent leading the group, was already in the habit of using Facebook and Twitter to organize these farm tours. He got in touch with Louise, who used social media to find farms for them to visit.

One of those farms was the Scherman place near North Battleford.

They contacted Trevor Scherman through Twitter, and a couple of days later the group of 18 were touring his farm.

The Battleford News-Optimist has a good article about that farm visit.

Visit www.newsoptimist.ca/ and search for Italy if you’d like to read it online.

Online community Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but I see the ag community as a little more civil online than the wider internet. I think it’s because so many of us grew up in small towns and know the consequences of mouthing off every time we’re mad at someone (although sometimes this still happens). Sure, there are some heated conversations, but I think (or at least hope) most people can disagree strongly without turning to the dark side.

Unfortunately, nasty behaviour is widespread on Twitter, and that leaches into Ag Twitter as well. There is someone/some people who like to create spoof accounts of people advocating for various issues in ag, and say gross things about those people through these fake accounts. This has been going on for a few years, and has affected men and women (though from what I’ve seen, it seems to be directed more at women).

But the one heartening thing is how quickly other people on Ag Twitter jump in to defend the target of the spoof account. I think it’s important to let the person being targeted that everyone has her back (although, of course, one should refrain from tweeting anything that might trigger a visit from the cops).

columns

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Over the last several months, there have also been people doing some really good things, and using Twitter to spread the word. Many have been speaking up on mental health issues in rural areas. I think Kim Keller, Sean Stanford, and Mathieu and Lesley Kelly all deserve kudos for this. I hope it’s just the start of much-needed changes around our understanding of mental health, and better access to necessary services.

The other good news Twitter story from the Wedrick campaign is now closed, but it raised fall was the fundraising response to the wild- over $100,000. The Hargrave fundraiser was fires in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta. still open as I wrote this column. At nearly An individual started an online fundraiser for $80,000 raised, it had exceeded its $50,000 the family of James Hargrave, the 34-year-old goal. rancher who died fighting fire. And someone The Saskatchewan Stock Growers’ Associaelse started a Go Fund Me page for the families tion has also been fundraising for producers of Ron and Evan Wedrick, who were badly who suffered losses in the wildfires. They are T:9.875” injured while battling the grass fires. The accepting cash donations, as well as things like

feed and trucking. The Sask government had now agreed to match donations up to $100,000.

The application deadline for producers was November 15th, but the Stock Growers are still accepting donations. Visit skstockgrowers. com for more information. GN LIsa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at LIvelong, Sask. Follow her on Twitter @LtoG.

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Can’t take the farm from the boy

Too busy not to look after the long-term plan Even when you're in the thick of things, take time to focus on yourself and your goals Toban Dyck

I

had a moment of lucidity. It came amid what turned out to be a few weeks of absolute frenzy.

I had been busy. On the farm, we were rushing to finish the fall fieldwork before the snow and cold weather was scheduled to hit. At work, a series of projects were coming to a close. I had a bunch of writing assignments due. The Ag Society, which I chair, was in the throes of a land battle and organizing a strategic planning session. And I was scheduled to be the guest speaker at the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists’ fall event.

I’m on the other side of all that now. I made it. Barely. I was very busy. I think we all have spells like this. We are all busy people. We all need to take care of ourselves.

It was in the heat of all this when I realized that I am too busy not to

exercise. I haven’t been diligent in this regard at the best of times. But I like being busy. I enjoy being involved in more things than seems wise, and I want what I do and how much I do to be sustainable.

The lucid moment: I’m too busy not to exercise. I’m too busy not to read and write, regularly.

When I am flitzing around from one thing to the next — being productive, efficient and focused — it’s easy to justify letting things go.

I have never been much of an exerciser. But, long days on the farm and/or office, then cerebral evenings at events or meetings wear a person down. I have felt the beginnings of this and it terrified me. I don’t want to burn out. Exercising would have been a great decision when I was less busy, but I believe it’s an even better decision now.

This is new to me. It’s fresh on my mind and there’s something about it that seems counterintuitive. Exercise is something you do when you

have time – when you have lazy mornings or a window of time after the workday. It’s not something you treat as a must in order to sustain a certain lifestyle. It’s this way of thinking that is new to me. Is this just a realization that comes with nearing 40 years of age?

Writing, too. Everyone has a basket of skills that got him or her to where they are today. These skills and the habits that formed them atrophy, like it or not. I remember having an edge. I remember dedicating time to developing that edge.

Over time, these things, these habits, are seen as dispensable and juvenile in the face of careers and the minutia of adulthood. They are let go in favour of (fill in the blank).

This is not a rebuke. I need a kick in the teeth, too. You’re great, but you could be better. You’re sharp, but you could be sharper.

It was about 10 years ago. I was sitting in my tiny second-story office on Mulvey Avenue in Winnipeg. I had an interest in writing. I

wanted to pursue it. So, on an index card, I wrote down a list of goals that I wanted to achieve inside of five years from that day. Then, I set out developing a skill that was then nothing more than a dream.

I wrote every day, rain or shine, for many years. Some of that early stuff was terrible, but it was always getting better. I felt good about it. I was developing.

On that index paper, I wrote, Globe and Mail, Maclean’s magazine and I can’t for the life of me remember the third thing.

In 2012, five years after I scrawled that wishlist, I had a cover story on the Globe and Mail and had started writing semi-regularly in the business section of Maclean’s.

I write all the time. I have this wonderful column. I have a column in the Financial Post, and I write articles, letters, news releases, proposals and other things on a regular basis for Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers. I am honoured to have these opportunities.

But I don’t want to atrophy. I want to be better at the things I do.

And I’d be willing to bet you’re in the same boat.

I’m tempted to get out another index card. I’m tempted to get back into some productive, skill-enhancing routines. I don’t need to. You probably don’t, either. But, and perhaps it’s the skeptic in me, I feel uncomfortable when things are good. I think it’s in the throes of happy productivity that we need to look at being better, whatever that means for you.

November to March are busy months in the ag world, full of meetings, projects, learning curves and activities that require attention.

I will be too busy not to exercise. I will write too much not to write.

Why don’t you join me? Grab an index card and let’s touch base in 2022. GN Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck.

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37

New equipment

Photo: Amazone

High-speed Ceus 60002TX Super debuts at field day

Photo: Scott Garvey

New ‘Ceus’ tillage tool from Amazone The high-speed Ceus tillage implement gets a new rear double disc roller attachment designed to help provide smooth field finishes.

By Scott Garvey

T

his fall, marketing reps from Amazone were taking the brand’s new Ceus 6000 2TX Super high-speed tillage tool on a demonstration tour across parts of Canada. At about the same time, during an international field day in Germany in September, the brand included the Ceus in its parade of new products and demonstrated what it can do in front of a group of international farm journalists.

The new Ceus is designed to work at speeds from eight to 15 kilometres per hour. And it’s meant to be a multi-purpose machine.

Marketing reps say it can be used for shallow residue mixing and cutting, stubble cultivation or operators can drop it deep to loosen soil. In fact its discs and ripper tines can even be set to work at different depths, or the tines, which are spaced 40 centimetres apart, can be used entirely on their own for deep ripping without the discs engaging the soil.

The Ceus can be equipped with a twin row of dishshaped rollers that, according to the company, can cope well with stony fields

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The discs can be set to work from five to 14 centimetres.

The Ceus can be equipped with a twin row of dish-shaped rollers that, according to the company, can cope well with stony fields.

The heavy weight of the rollers allows them to actually push stones back down into the soil.

That weight comes in part from the heavy-duty construction of the 60 cm-diameter dishes that make up the rollers, and it can also help them break down clods to leave an even field finish. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

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machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Photos: Scott Garvey

Canada’s Farm Progress Show

The PPS, a two-row single-pass planter designed on a Manitoba farm is capable of handling a wide range of seed types.

A one-pass, hybrid planter-drill born on the farm Manitoba farmers debut their do-it-all planter designed for Western Canada

By Scott Garvey

A

look back at the origins of Western Canadian shortline ag equipment manufacturers would reveal one thing common to almost all of them: their founders were farmers making on-farm machine modifications or inventing new systems to achieve goals not possible with then-existing equipment. The new PPS single-pass planter on display at this year’s edition of Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina proves that on-the-farm evolution is still happening today.

Frank Prince, one member of the farming family that owns the Capricorn Bay Company based in Waskada, Manitoba, said their PPS planter was the result of years of evolution, resulting in a machine that met their own needs for a single-pass, multi-crop seeder. They wanted something that could handle everything from large-seed crops like corn to canola and wheat.

“We’ve grown corn and soybeans for 15 years, roughly, and we’ve done lots of multiple things to planters to try and put fertilizer on all in one pass, and it’s never worked,” he told Grainews. “There are lots of other issues with 15-inch spacing toolbars, for ease of working on, for residue, for rocks. So we just said why not put two rows on there and have a row for fertilizer.”

The example of display at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina had twin-row openers set 20 inches apart, which placed seed in alternating seven and 13-inch row spacings.

Future production PPS models will get heavier castor wheel assemblies and sturdier wing fold designs. The changes are based on the field performance of this and two other working prototypes.

Aside from wanting a do-it-all toolbar that could better deal with those field-surface and mainten­ance concerns, there was also a need to reduce the downtime from refilling.

“Most planters have a 100bushel seed tank on them,” he added. “That’s fine for corn, and in canola it’s awesome. But in soybeans it’s 80 to 100 acre fills.

For our big fields, all you do is fill all day. So I said why not pull a cart that you can put on a sizeable amount of seed? We picked 400 (bushels) because you can do a half (section) with soybeans with that and make it commercialized for Western Canada.”

With Three PPS planters now working in fields, Prince said the family is ready to build and market it directly to farmers.

The toolbars are equipped with

said. “The one I designed has lots of room to work on it. It’s seven inches between two rows and then 13. If someone wants to do wheat or peas, I know it works.”

The drill is able to seed and place one or two fertilizer blends in the furrow. The front bar lays down the main fertilizer application, making it a true single-pass seeder.

“This one is set up for midrow between the two seven-inch (spacings),” said Prince. “So it’s about 3.5 inches off (the seed). If you wanted 10-inch spacings and regular mid row, you can see it’s easy to slide them (openers) over.”

With the PPS planter, Prince thinks many farmers could do away with an air drill entirely and seed everything with this one machine.

narrow, twin-row Harvest International row units, which are capable of working at field speeds up to 10 m.p.h. Sorensen Welding in Minnesota builds the toolbars for the company.

“We’re going to do 40, 60 or 80 (foot working widths),” he said. “We’re working on an 80 and you can have whatever row spacing you’d like on it. I think the most common spacing would be 15 inch. Guys will do corn soybean and canola with them.”

However, the planter on display in Regina was set up with twin-row openers spaced 20 inches apart that place seed in alternating seven and 13-inch row spacings. And Prince notes that configuration has worked well for their farming needs.

“This one’s twice as easy to work on as the other ones,” he

“I see this two ways,” he explained. “You have your small farmers that seed 4,000 acres that, in Manitoba, are going to be one-quarter corn, beans, canola, wheat. You had to use a planter for corn. It made sense to use it for beans and canola because of the seed savings. Wheat was your trouble. You still had to have an air seeder for it. Now you can cut that out.

“If you have a big farmer who has 12,000 acres and 4,000 of it is canola, they can buy the machine just to do canola.”

Anyone interested in the planter can contact the Prince family farm by phone at 204-5763500. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.

Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

39

Picking spuds

New potato harvester from Grimme Brand sees an emerging market for specialty harvester in North America

B

ig red Grimme potato harvesters are anything but a common sight here in Canada, but spud growers will likely recognize the name of one of Grimme’s brand subsidiaries, U.S.-based Spudnik, which it acquired in 2003. Spudnik has been a major potato equipment supplier in North America for a long time.

The Grimme brand harvesters are generally smaller in capacity than their Spudnik cousins and until now have been better suited to European growers’ needs. But at a field day in Germany in September, the company debuted a larger model, the EVO 290. With consumer preferences changing and specialty potatoes gaining a larger market share at supermarkets, Grimme marketing staff thinks the EVO 290 could be a good fit for Canadian growers who want to take advantage of those new variety opportunities in the evolving North American retail food market.

The new EVO 290 builds on the same basic design as the existing SE 260, which was introduced in 2012, but it adds capacity and includes some updates. For example, the 290 pushes bunker capacity to nine tonnes from six on the 260, and it rides on three wheels instead of two to reduce soil compaction. The EVO 290 uses some mechanical drive systems to reduce horsepower requirements, but it also includes several hydraulically driven components that allow for speed adjustments and reversing when a component plugs up.

An optional 5.5 tonne “non-stop” bunker is available, which relies on a moving floor system for more efficient use of on-board storage capacity and allows for non-stop harvesting. The brand claims this feature can increase capacity by another 20 per cent over a conventional bunker. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

Photo: Grimme

By Scott Garvey

Grimme hopes Canadian farmers will see the potential offered by the new EVO 290 potato harvester as the brand looks to increase its presence in the North American market.

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machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Machinery updates

Digital upgrades from Bourgault The brand moves up to a Topcon X35 in-cab monitor

By Scott Garvey

B

uyers of Bourgault seeding equipment will now get an upgraded monitor system. A Topcon X35 system replaces the previous X30 the brand had been using.

“This year the X35 replace the X30,” says Bourgault’s Rob Fagnou.

“For the most part its very similar to the X30. The screen size is the same, but it has a smaller case. The buttons that used to be on the bottom are now touch screen.”

That means users will find it very similar to use, but they will get some added features.

“With the X35 we have the Extend feature, so it has a Wi-Fi system,” Fagnou adds. “Now you can download an app from Topcon and enter

Users will find it very similar to use, but they will get some added features in your weights (on a mobile device) and run your calibration from right beside the seeder, as opposed to having to write down your weights and go back to the monitor in the cab.”

The X35 is capable of making independent adjustments on the overlap of seed and fertilizer as well.

“We’ve gone to a dual ASC now,”

says Fagnou. “So we have dual Auto Sectional Control. In our previous ASC you set the timing when you wanted seed and fertilizer to turn on and off. Now you can actually adjust that separately. Farmers tend to set fairly heavy overlaps for seed to ensure they don’t have any gaps.

Now they can do that without over fertilizing. They could have, say, a 95 percent overlap in seed and 5 percent in fertilizer. It’s a little greater savings and a little less risk of lodging.”

And the really good news is the upgrade to the X35 won’t add anything to the sticker price of a new Bourgault air seeder unit, according to Fagnou. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

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machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

41

Canada’s Farm Progress Show

Kitoti puts cabs on its CK10 Series

By Scott Garvey

O

ne thing most farmers would agree on is it takes a lot work to keep farmyards neat and tidy. Whether it’s mowing grass in the summer or clearing snow from driveways and around buildings in winter, small tractors that fit into the compact utility segment can come in pretty handy with those chores.

Often those small farmyard tractors are just open-station models, which means the operator will almost certainly get a face full of wet snow during snow blowing operations or come in pretty dusty after cutting grass.

Kioti just introduced a new factoryinstalled cab option on its compact utility tractors that can make those jobs a little more pleasant. It displayed its new CK10 SE Series cabbed models during Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina in June.

“On a lot of the small tractors, you don’t have factory-mounted cabs,” said. Gerry Picard, Kioti’s territory manager. “And a lot of guys were asking about that. So we have a beautiful system now. We decided to put a factory-mount cab on a 35 and 40 horsepower. It’s our SE version.”

The cabs are typical of what you’d expect on a tractor of any horsepower class. They’re airtight and quiet.

As for the compact CK10 SE series tractors, just like regular field tractors, Picard thinks once farmers opt for a cabbed version, they won’t want to go back to an open station model for farmyard tasks. “It’s Canada,” he said.

Photo: Scott Garvey

The South Korean brand ups the comfort level on its compact tractors “It’s either hot or cold, there’s no inbetween. It’s comfortable in there.” GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

Kioti introduced the SE models to its CK10 tractor series. They’re cabbed models available with 35 or 40 horsepower.

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OF AN AVALANCHE!

The cabs are typical of what you’d expect on a tractor of any horsepower class “It’s done right from the factory and it is a nice piece of work,” Picard adds. “It comes with air conditioning, heat, all that kind of stuff. And it’s very quiet. There aren’t any loose fitting or air holes (as with aftermarket cabs).”

Picard said the brand is moving to increase its presence in Western Canada with its largest PX Series tractors that now reach up to 95 horsepower.

That makes them capable contenders for farm hay and forage jobs, because they have enough power to run a typical round baler.

The brand also offers the kind of durability that buyers have come to expect from the South Korean auto brands, claimed Picard, noting the Kioti brand is part of the giant Daedong Industrial Corporation headquartered in that country.

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42

machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Canada’s Farm Progress Show

Auger side-shift invention A Saskatchewan on-farm invention helps position large augers

By Scott Garvey

Photo: Scott Garvey

G

ord Blechinger of Gord’s Horsepower Service in Muen­ster, Saskatchewan, was one of the farmyard inventors to pick up a Sterling Standard Innovation award at this year’s Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina. He won it for his Auger Side Shift, which was displayed in the farmyard inventions forum.

Blechinger’s brainchild was born when he began imaging an easier way to position large augers on his own farm, especially when trying to spot them over older bins with smaller access hatches.

“Just when you get to the right spot one wheel can hit a rut or a ridge or something like that, and it throws the spout off,” he explained. “So this allows you some side-to-side movement.

Even with the larger conveyors, when you lower the swing, it likes to shift the other end somewhat.

You can adjust for that.”

His invention uses a hydraulic system mounted on the axle to allow the operator to shift the auger position laterally. That makes lining up an auger spout to a bin hatch a much easier job. He has created two different designs, including one that allows for adjusting the auger track width.

“I worked two systems,” Blechinger said. “One for a solid, fixed axle width and one with adjustable wheels. With the adjustable axle, you don’t have to jack it up to change the width. It’s a lot like a sprayer, you can just drive and move the wheels in and out.”

Blechinger is in the early phase of developing his systems and hopes to interest the manufactur-

This mock up shows the design of the hydraulic Auger Side Shift axle, which won an innovation award at Canada’s Farm Progress Show.

ers in adopting either version as a factory option.

“I’d like to get on board with the manufacturers,” he said. “If they’d incorporate this when they’re building the augers, it would be quite a simple option to add.”

In the meantime, however, he hopes to continue developing the design and possibly make it avail-

able as an aftermarket system available to farmers, who could install it on existing augers.

“It’s in the beginning stage now,” he said. “I’d like to do a little more research.” GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor in Grainews. Contact him at Scott.

Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

His invention uses a hydraulic system mounted on the axle to allow the operator to shift the auger position laterally

machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

43

U.S. Farm Progress Show highlights

Deere’s Gator family grows Photos: Mark Moore

Show visitors could drive new models over a test track For 2017, John Deere is introducing its first Gators to offer three-wide seating.

By Mark Moore

ll hydraulic Now with fu stment and depth adju veling machine le

V

isitors to the U.S. Farm Progress Show in Illinois in August were able to take a spin in one of the new John Deere Gators. They had a choice between taking the new gas-powered XUV835 or diesel XUV865 Utility Vehicles for a turn around a specially constructed demonstration track on the show grounds.

For operators who need to travel over rugged terrain, the 54-horsepower XUV835 and 23-horsepower XUV865 offer tight turning and balanced weight distribution.

The XUV835 can reach speeds of over 45 miles per hour (72 kilometres per hour), and the XUV865 offers a top speed of better than 30 m.p.h. (50 km/h). Both units feature an 11-gallon (41-litre) fuel tank.

These are also the first units in the Gator family to have threewide seating, the new XUV835 and XUV865 include an adjustable driver's seat, improved legroom and tilt steering. The XUV835M also offers a premium cab to make things easier on passengers in all conditions with available HVAC and heating. The heating feature also defrosts the windshield.

The new vehicles include increased payload capacity, which when combined with towing capacity, hits 2,000 pounds (909 kilograms).

The Gator XUV835R and Gator XUV865R come standard with a climate-controlled cab with premium cloth seating. The R trim level also includes upgraded attachment ready wiring to allow quicker installation of roof lights or other electrical attachments, plus the R models come standard with brighter, longer lasting LED headlights.

Deere is also introducing two more Gators to the line, the HPX615E with a gasoline engine and the diesel HPX815E. They get an overall load rating of 1,400 pounds (636 kg) and a towing capacity of 1,300 pounds (590 kg).

They’ll be available from dealers late in 2017.

There is a full range of over 90 attachments, from snow blades to winches that are designed to mate with the Gator line. GN

Mark Moore is a freelance ag writer based in the U.S.

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44

cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

MANAGEMENT TIPS

Cooler heads prevail to protect vaccines Vaccines stored in conditions that are too cool or too warm can be compromised

By Michael Thomas Photo: Michael Thomas

W

hether you are vaccinating cattle now or later this winter, it’s important to protect most products from freezing to preserve their quality and effectiveness. By exposing the vaccines to freezing temperatures we were compromising the level of immunity we were trying to give the cows.

Here at Whittington Creek in northern Idaho, we’ve been down this road. We’ve been out there processing cattle on days when the mercury gathered in the bottom of the thermometer while the snow piled up for days on end. We recall past winter experiences at the chute: our first years of giving precalving vaccine in the winter and cussing the vaccine freezing in the needles, unaware that aside from inconvenience, the larger problem lurked unseen to the naked eye.

Through the efforts of our Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) programs we have learned the proper methods and locations for injecting the vaccine. In addition, studies begun in 2009 in Arkansas and Idaho are helping producers learn the importance that vaccine storage and handling methods play an important

This heavy styrofoam cooler has been modified with holders for two needle guns.

role on potency and quality all the way from the seller of the vaccine to the cow.

In 2009 these studies began with participating retailers and producers placing LogTag data loggers in their vaccine storage refrigerators.

Initial temperature data collected from participating retailer’s vaccine coolers across the state of Idaho demonstrated that a substantial number of these coolers did not maintain the recommended 35-45 F (2 -7 C) temperature band for safe storage of vaccine. Only 34 per cent of retailers’ vaccine coolers tested during the Idaho study stayed within the 35-45 degree range 95 per cent of the 48-hour collection period.

THERMOMETER TELLS THE STORY Shannon Williams, University of

Idaho extension educator for Lemhi County, one of a group of extension educators participating in the studies, explains the project.

“We placed the data loggers in the retailers’ and producers’ refrigerators and asked that they fill out a survey answering questions regarding their storage and handling procedures,” says Williams. “We collected a minimum of 48 hours’ data from each participant and downloaded this information into spread­ sheets for analysis. From the data we collected from the LogTag data loggers, and the surveys, we encourage producers to ask retailers if they monitor temperature and record it regularly.”

In addition to testing the temperature of retailers’ vaccine refrigerators, the study also tested individual producer’s vaccine refrig­­er­ators across the state. “Of the participating producers’ refrigerators tested for the study, 67 per cent failed to maintain the proper temperature required by the vaccine manufacturers,” says Williams.

“We anticipated finding the most failure in the really old refrigerators out in the producer’s garage. Surprisingly we found more failures in newer refrigerators that were instal­ led in locations with surrounding air temperature ranges outside of

the manufacturer’s recommendations. One producer’s refrigerator performed perfectly for three days in the garage until the outside temperature dropped to -10 F, and then the internal temperature dropped well below the recommended 35-degree minimum required for vaccine.”

Producers can relate to variable refrigerator performance.

“The refrigerator in our house was one of the best tested in the area, but the new refrigerator we put in Mom’s old house (not currently occupied) would not regulate temperature until I put a small heater beside it that kicked on when the house got below a set temperature,” says Bruce Mulkey, a rancher who participated in the study.

Williams recommends producers place thermometers inside their storage refrigerators and regularly monitor the temperature. “In instances where you anticipate storing large quantities of expensive vaccine, use a thermometer that allows you to pre-set a safe band, sounding an audible alarm if the temperature rises or falls outside of that band.”

Armed with this data showing temperature variation with products as they move from the retailer to the producer, Williams and other

participants became curious about the conditions vaccine was exposed to between the producer refrigerator and the cow. Participating producers placed thermometers in the coolers they were using to transport vaccine from the retailer to home, and from the refrigerator to the chute. The findings revealed that heavier solid-sided coolers were more effective, and softsided coolers the least reliable.

Discovering how much temperatures varied within the coolers, several participating producers began to experiment with methods to protect the vaccine beyond the bottle in the cooler. Understanding the risks to the vaccine and realizing that a vaccine gun may be idle for a time between uses, these producers cut holes in coolers to make it easy to insert the gun into the cooler without taking the lid off and on.

A FEW STORAGE TIPS At our ranch on Whittington Creek, through experiences when processing cattle in cold weather with precalving vaccinations, we have learned to keep the vaccine in a cooler separate from the vaccine guns. And we monitor the temperaContinued on page 45 

Animal Health

Provide calves a place of their own ANIMAL HEALTH Roy Lewis

C

alf hutches are used by many producers at calving season and for very good reason. They are especially important if calving early in inclement weather. With the increasing size of our herds, young calves need to get away from the crowded stress of the herd. Even summer-calving herds will find hutches used for shade and protection from severe rainstorms. Unless you have lots of bush or well-treed areas, hutches serve a valuable purpose as it is the only place calves get totally away into a dry and warmer environment.

There are a few design strategies, which will afford better utilization and fewer issues with disease transmission. This is a good time of year to be planning hutches for the coming calving season.

Calf hutches should be put out as soon as the cows start calving.

Young calves will find them quickly

and you will be amazed during a storm how many will use these warmer, dry areas away from the stresses of weather, wild cows stepping on them, being bunted around and other stresses. I have seen various-sized hutches or sheds using everything from the very low set ones which only calves can enter, to modified half or onethird of large open-ended pole sheds, to something in between where planks are put across part of a shed so only calves can enter. All can have a place and are worth the effort to keep maintained.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Each type has advantages and disadvantages. The very low ones are warmer and have fewer problems with drafts but because of poorer air movement disease transmission can be greater. It is also more difficult to spot sick calves back in the dark corners. A good time to check is early in the morning at feeding time. All the calves should be out nursing. If they are not, check them out. Calves are harder to catch in these hutches as the whole fronts

Photo: Roy Lewis

Calf hutches or creep areas help in disease prevention

This is one example of an adjustable creep area. The metal panels can be moved to change the size of the well bedded creep area. Smaller (calf-size) access points have been created at the front to let calves enter, but keep cows out.

are open which means you have to work in a cramped space.

The higher ones provide more accessibility to the calves and their mothers can easily see them. In the larger sheds producers often “creep” them — create an area just for calves — so cows can get close to the calves on two sides (front and side) by only “creeping” a portion

of the shed. Be sure to check before calving for any protruding nails that could rip hide or look for holes in the wood or tin where legs could become trapped. This quick check could avoid unnecessary injuries.

The smaller portable hutches can easily be moved a few times during a calving season automatically removing the contaminated bedding. If possible allow them to air dry. I would also do a quick spray of Virkon disinfectant, especially if you have had some disease issues.

KEEP THEM CLEAN The best biosecurity measure for these creep areas and pens is to clean them after the calving season and let them air dry. Baking in the sun the whole year will help remove any pathogens before the next calving season. This should kill the most hardy bacteria or viruses.

Make sure any manure packs are scraped off as these can harbour infectious organisms for a long time. Both fungi (ringworm) and protozoa (coccidiosis) are much more resistant. Physically removing the pathogens by cleaning is the only sure way to combat them.

The hutches are also a good place to start with small amounts of creep feed. Feed small amounts at first to keep it fresh. Diatomaceous earth is used by some producers. If coccidiosis is a problem it can be treated through this feed as well.

The feed mill in our area mixes Deccox in the creep feed, which is a great prevention and treatment for coccidiosis. Treating this way can be a bit hit and miss since not all calves, especially the very young ones eat much creep feed, but it is a start.

The use of hutches can also cut down on injuries like broken legs or bruising from being stepped on in crowded conditions. The hutches give calves a place of solitude, they will perform better, have more resistance to disease and can more easily be observed and treated for sickness. You will be happy with the end results — a healthier calf crop to turn out to summer pastures. GN Roy Lewis is an Alberta-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

45

better bunks and pastures

Cow ration will have long-term impact on calf Feed the growing unborn calf, and meet cow’s winter requirements A LIFETIME IMPACT Peter Vitti

I

n fall I visit several different cow herds going into winter.

One of the first herds I saw this year was a 300 Angus-Simmental cows grazing drought-stricken pasture.

I understood from the producer that his herd was nearly four months pregnant and the calves were going to be weaned about a month earlier than in the past. I felt the cow herd lacked body condition, despite most of its mature cows having big bellies (perfect for consuming lots of coarse prairie grass) and the surprising good shape of their calves — one or two, I would even call plump. As I was about to leave, I talked to the producer and he agreed with many of my observations; leading to the consequence that he move his cow herd onto better quality pasture to improve their overall body condition.

After a month or so, he would move them closer to home in order to maintain them on a wellbalanced feeding program until the calving season.

 Continued from page 44

ture with a digital thermometer attached with double-sided tape to the inside wall of the cooler above the cold/hot source. During cold weather we implemented Williams’ recommendation for keeping vaccine and the guns for safe storage, yet warm enough to handle on cold days. She gives the basic recommendation for cold weather as follows: • With outside temperature of 36 F (about 2.5 C) no cold/hot source is needed.

• Outside temperature of 29 F (1.5 C) two cups hot tap water in a glass canning jar will maintain a medium-sized cooler within the acceptable temperature range for 4.5 hours.

• Outside temperature of 13 F (-10.5 C) two cups hot tap water in a glass canning jar will maintain a medium-sized cooler within the acceptable temperature range for three hours.

Controlling the temperature of vaccine from the retailer to the cow will prove to be an ongoing challenge for producers. These guideline will help you develop a good storage and handling protocol: • Ask your retailer about their temperature monitoring.

• Take your own cooler with cold/ hot packs and a thermometer to pick up your vaccine from a retailer, Add or subtract cold/hot packs as needed to regulate the temperature.

• When ordering vaccine, place orders on a Monday to ensure the

A concept coined as “fetal programming” theorizes that the lifetime performance of calves can be positively or negatively affected by the soundness of cow nutrition during all gestation trimester stages (from conception to calving).

This concept further specifies that even though 75 per cent of fetal growth occurs during the last trimester, early and mid-term nutrition of the gestating cow (and her fetus) are just as important. This is when maximum growth and vascularization of the placenta takes place, which regulates fetal growth.

In addition, major fetal organs such as the liver, lungs, brain and kidneys become significantly developed compared to “fetal growth” of muscle and fat tissue, which occur in late gestation.

Although scientific trial results are mixed, the concept makes logical sense.

For example, the University of Wyoming (2010) evaluated the growth performance and organ development of calves born to cows for which nutrient intake was restricted for the first 83 days of early gestation. It was later resumed to 100 per cent of NRC levels until calving.

Data showed: birth, weaning and

vaccine does not sit on a loading dock over a weekend. When this vaccine arrives, make sure the cold packs are still cold, and the vaccine is not frozen. If you are concerned about the condition of the vaccine, contact the distributor immediately.

• Monitor the temperature in your vaccine storage refrigerator.

• Preheat or cool your coolers for a least an hour before filling with vaccine.

• Don’t put all of the vaccine for a big day in the cooler at once. Only pack the vaccine needed for the morning or the afternoon.

• Protect your vaccine in coolers with the appropriate cold/hot packs; use a thermometer to monitor the temperature. Take extra packs to add later. Keep coolers out of direct sunlight on hot days.

• Protect the vaccine in your guns from temperature and sunlight by placing in a cooler with adequate cold/hot packs when not actively in use.

• Don’t place vaccine directly on hot/cold sources in the cooler.

Cold packs are most effective when placed vertically against the sides of the cooler versus flat on the bottom.

• Discard any vaccine that has frozen or been exposed to hot or cold temperatures outside of the manufacturer’s recommendation for any extended period. GN Michael Thomas operates Thomas Ranch along with family near Salmon, Idaho.

Contact him at: Thomasranch@ centurytel.net.

It is important that this south Saskatchewan cow and all bred females that may be out on dry grass or crop residue in late fall, be supplied with proper nutrients to keep their unborn calves healthy and growing.

finishing weights were not significantly affected, but at slaughter the weights of heart and lungs were reduced. Months later, another U of W study (2010) showed that steers born to cow grazing low-quality pastures (six per cent protein) for 60 days during mid-gestation had lower weaning weights and finished carcass weights.

These field trials are good reminders that beef producers should first take a visual assessment of each cow after weaning calves in autumn/ winter and assign a body condition score or BCS, which ranges from 1 = emaciated, 5-6 = optimum and 9 = obese. This score represents her level of body fat covering or energy status upon which she can draw during

periods of dietary energy deficiencies. Mature cows should maintain or achieve a BCS of 5-6 from the beginning of winter until the day of calving. Replacement heifers should calve out at a little better BCS of 6.0.

As well, producers should never allow any cow to lose optimum body condition once winter temperatures fall and she needs to elevate her total energy requirements just to keep warm. More university and extension environmental study on beef cattle has come up with a linear cold weather rule of thumb as follows: for every 1 C drop in temperature below 0 C, the beef cows’ TDN energy maintenance requirement increases by about two per cent.

This calculation is an estimate and is based upon effective air temperatures. Producers can also use windchill temperatures without adjustments, when cows have little shelter.

This means if there is an early morning windchill temperature of -25 C, then there is an increase of about 50 per cent in the cows’ basic dietary energy needs.

A SIMPLE RATION Given these facts, I often formulate overwintering diets for gestating beef cows on a very simple plane of nutrition.

For example, I recommend the best candidates to be fed straw as an economical forage in over-winter diets are mature early to midgestation beef cows. These pregnant cows have nutrient require­ments of about 53-55 per cent TDN dietary energy, nine to 10 per cent protein, 0.25 per cent calcium, 0.20 per cent phosphorus and a good compliment of essential trace minerals and vitamins.

I put together a TMR diet that consists of: 20 pounds cereal straw, eight pounds barley, 1.5 pounds of a 32 per cent beef protein supplement and a commercial 2:1 cattle mineral fed at 0.25 lbs per head. Total cost of my diet is about $ 1.50-1.75 per cow daily.

I suggest feeding this straw-based diet until the last three months before calving, then switch to higher-quality forages such as mixed hay, possibly supplemented with more protein supplement and grain.

At any time when cold weather becomes a dietary factor, I would increase the energy-enriching grain portion of the diet substantially. GN Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him call 204-2547497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

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y name is Jill Moore and I have a cow/calf operation near Bentley, Alberta with my children, Joe and Ruth. I planted annual mixes for both grazing and silage, to improve soil health and increase grazing days. I learned a lot and will definitely do it again. Graeme and Ben are absolutely great when it comes to customer service and helping right from the busy planting season, the gazing season, right through to taking crops off. There will be a lot to learn in the coming years about various mixes across western Canada, and these guys spend the time to learn what’s working and what isn’t. I look forward to working with Union Forage in the years to come!

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46

cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

The Markets

Strong demand enhances cattle prices Consumer spending in the U.S. is a major price driver MARKET UPDATE Jerry Klassen

F

ed and feeder cattle prices have been ratcheting higher over the past month due to stronger-than-expected demand.

Consumer confidence reached record highs in October and U.S. third-quarter GDP also came in

above expectations. This economic data confirms that consumer spending is stronger than anticipated, enhancing overall beef demand.

Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $148 to $150 in mid-November, up approximately $10 from a month earlier. Feeding margins have improved and renewed optimism has flowed into the feeder market. Available feeder cattle supplies will decline in December and January and with the equity buildup

JANUARY 16–18, 2018

9 AM TO 5 PM DAILY

in the feedlot sector over the past year, the feeder market will remain hot.

In southern British Columbia, the Canadian satellite recap had a larger group of Charolais-cross 500pound calves trading for $266; heifers weighing 465 pounds reportedly sold for $229. These feeders don’t quite pencil out but feedlots and backgrounding operators need to secure ownership before the end of the year.

In the November column, I mentioned that producers should watch the speculative fund activity for an indication when to purchase price insurance. We’ve seen the managed money build up a near record-long position in the live cattle so it looks like the futures market may have run its course for the time being.

U.S. NUMBERS FLUCTUATE Earlier in fall, the U.S. weekly slaughter was running about 30,000 head

KEYSTONE CENTRE

BRANDON, MB.

per week above year-ago levels.

However, in mid-November, the weekly slaughter actually declined so that weekly beef production was last year for the first time since May. U.S. carcass weights are sharply below last year.

I’m projecting that U.S. beef production will decline into the first quarter of 2018. U.S. fourth-quarter beef production is expected to finish at 7.0 billion pounds but first-quarter 2018 production will drop to 6.4 billion pounds.

The market is moving from a burdensome supply situation to a tighter stocks environment. In Canada, the weekly slaughter has been running near 59,000 head per week but I’m also forecasting a marginal decline in weekly production in January and February.

Looking at the demand, the Conference Board measures U.S consumer confidence and the reading in October came in at a historical high of 125.9, up from 120.6 in September. This is a leading indicator of the economy because it predicts consumer spending over the next four to six months.

Consumer spending is the largest factor influencing beef demand and also makes up about 70 per cent of U.S. GDP. Restaurant and retail beef demand tends to make seasonal high in December and then slightly cools in January and February. We may not see such a sharp drop in restaurant spending in January because of the robust economy.

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Over the past month, feedlots have bid up the price of feeder cattle so that feeding margins are in negative territory. For feedlot operators, yearling steers weighing 850 pounds are selling for $205 and with a cost-per-pound gain of $1, the breakeven price for fed cattle in April is $162. At this time, the highest prices available for forward contracting have been around $160.

For backgrounding operators, steers weighing 525 pounds have been trading for $235 in central Alberta.

Using $1.05 cost per pound gain, the breakeven price when the animal is 850 pounds is $1.86. For backgrounding, the market looks fairly valued.

The yearling market is expected to hold value into the first quarter of 2018. Cattle buyers have seen two distinct markets in Western Canada in November because prices in eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba have traded at a $10 premium over Alberta prices. This is largely due to buying interest from Ontario. In eastern Saskatchewan, mixed steers weighing 525 pounds reached up to $260 so this results in a breakeven price of $202 for an 850 pound steer in April. Margins are quite thin for these calves in the eastern Prairies.

MANAGED MONEY The funds have added to their net long position over the past month.

At the end of October, the managed Continued on page 47 

cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

LIVE CATTLE FUTURES NET FUTURES POSITION OF MANAGED MONEY 140000 130000 120000 110000 100000 90000 80000 70000 60000 50000

A good read for the winter

I 1 t3 Oc 4 t2 Oc 7 t1 Oc t 10 Oc t3 Oc 26 pt Se 19 pt Se 12 pt Se 4 pt Se 8 g2 Au 1 g2 Au 4 g1 Au g7 Au 1 y3 Jul 4 y2 Jul 7 y1 Jul 0 y1 Jul y3 Jul 6 e2 Jun 19 e Jun 2 e1 Jun 5 e Jun

 Continued from page 46

money had a net long of 121,000 contracts. We saw back in June that the long was near 130,000 contracts so their running out of buying power.

Strength in the fed cattle has pulled up the feeders in the nearby and deferred positions. Therefore, backgrounding operators should look at taking price protection on about 30 to 50 per cent of their expected marketings for the January through June timeframe.

The fundamentals look favourable for fed cattle into the first quarter of 2018. Production is expected to

decline and demand looks firm. For feeder cattle, the market is now at levels where there is minimal or no margin on yearlings and calves. At the same time, the futures market has experienced active fund buying.

Now is the time to take some protection on first and second quarter feeder cattle marketings. GN Jerry Klassen is manager of the Canadian office for Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Products Ltd. With a strong farming background, he is also president and founder of Resilient Capital — a specialist in commodity futures trading and commodity market analysis. He can be reached at 204-504-8339.

47

f you are looking for a Christmas gift or just a good read about life on a ranch, longtime Grainews columnist Heather Smith Thomas has written three excellent books that fit the bill.

In these volumes, Thomas has captured the essence of the joys and challenges of working with cattle and horses over her lifetime as an Idaho rancher.

Horse Tales: True Stories from an Idaho Ranch is a collection of 22 stories about the horses that helped define the author’s life in Idaho ranch country — a unique memoir infused with the wisdom that can be acquired only through an existence built around livestock and the land, along the way sharing lessons on life, family and stockmanship. 282 pages, paperback.

Cow Tales: More True Stories from an Idaho Ranch (325 pages) is an entertaining and compelling collection of autobiographical essays detailing her family’s adventures raising cattle in the challenging ranch country outside Salmon,

Idaho. In the tradition of James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small), each story centres on a particular animal or aspect of animal husbandry, offering insight into the resourcefulness required to manage a cattle herd, and a heartwarming look at humananimal bonding.

Ranch Tales: Stories of Dogs, Cats and Other Crazy Critters, the third book in this series (273 pages) consists of stories about the memorable horses, ranch animals and wildlife that populate a working ranch.

For signed copies, contact the author directly at Heather Thomas, Box 215, Salmon, Idaho 83467 (208-756-2841) hsmiththomas@centurytel. net (check ahead for prices and postage.) And if you are an online shopper you can find the title at Amazon.ca. GN

Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference 2018

What’s Your Piece of the Puzzle?

January 24 and 25, 2018 Saskatoon Inn & Conference Centre For more information or to register visit: www.saskbeefconference.com

Conference SASKATCHEWAN’S PREMIER BEEF EVENT

48

cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

Rancher’s Diary

Fickle weather impacts fall pasture Challenge to connect cattle with the protein tubs

OCTOBER 29 Last Friday Andrea and I planned to ride to the 320 and check the cows but weather turned cold and very windy — not a good day to ride young Willow. It started raining by noon when Steve Herbst brought another load of straw. He had to unload it in the rain and then had trouble getting the truck turned around and up our muddy driveway.

The next day was not so windy, but cold and snowy. Andrea and I rode Sprout and Dottie to check cows and moved the low ones back up to the top. They need to finish grazing that grass before it snows under. The overflow on our new trough was plugged with leaves and fir needles from the storm, but Andrea got it unplugged.

That morning I started feeding

Buffalo Girl and the weaned heifers a little hay at chore time, to start gentling the heifers. Buffalo Girl is their role model and when she comes to the hay, they do.

Today Andrea shut off some of our irrigation water, then we rode to check cows. This was Willow’s 37th ride. We’ve now ridden her as many times this year as that first summer we started training her (two years ago when she was a three-year-old), after skipping last year. She’s come along nicely in training.

NOVEMBER 7 This past week was cold and stormy but Andrea, Robbie and Jim got a couple of loads of firewood. Dani shot her first deer the day before the season closed, in the field below Andrea’s house.

Andrea and I rode Sprout and Dottie to the 320 to see how the cows fared during the stormy days.

Most of them were on the north side of Baker Creek where the snow was less deep, and the grass is nearly

deep snow and diminishing grass, it was time to let them into the lower part of the 320 where the snow is not so deep.

Andrea and I opened the gates and hurried home. She and Robbie went back up in his little pickup with chains on, and had trouble getting up the ridge. They made it to the first two tubs but the hill was too steep and snow too deep to get the higher ones. So they hiked up to those and rolled them down the hill and through the upper gate.

Yesterday it snowed even more, which brought the cows down into the lower section.

photo: Heather Smith Thomas

Heather Smith Thomas

As winter and snow sets in on higherelevation pastures, the protein supplement tubs had to be moved to lower pastures where cattle can find them. Even though it was downhill it was still a chore for Andrea to move the 200-pound tubs through the brush and rocks.

NOVEMBER 15 Saturday afternoon Andrea and I made a fast ride to the 320 to check cows again, and were glad to see some of the snow had melted on the lower end. The cows were doing well, except they weren’t using those two upper protein tubs. So Andrea rolled them down to a flat spot by the little water trough, while I led her

gone on that side. Only 10 cows were up at the protein tubs in the deep snow. It looked like they’d all come down during the storm (after Michael and Nick took the tubs up there) and only a few of them even knew the tubs were there. With the

horse. She got the first one down the trail through the sagebrush without it getting away from her and into the gully, but the second one rolled into the gully. These tubs were still quite full and weighed over 200 pounds each, so it was difficult getting that second one rolled down the narrow gully, over the rocks and brush. Then we herded most of the cows up to those tubs (so they’d know where they are), and broke ice again on the little trough. The big trough in the lower area stays ice-free unless it gets really cold, because it runs more water.

Sunday we rode up there again, and Andrea chopped ice on the little trough with Jim’s saddle axe, and got all the ice out so the cows could drink easier. Yesterday it snowed, so today we’ll ride again to see if the grass is snowed under. GN Heather Smith Thomas is a longtime Grainews columnist who ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho.

Contact her at 208-756-2841.

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March 16, 2017

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Manitobacooperator.ca

Wheat recommending committee reforms paying efficiency dividends

Western Manitoba OVER 200 NEW AND USED EQUIPMENT LISTINGS INSIDE! opens doors for stranded travellers CAn You ImAGIne SWAPPInG G Your CATTle For ZebrAS AnD AnTeloPe? In South Africa, there are now as many game ranches as ones raising cattle » PG 3

Communities in SEE Technology TOUCH Innovation BE Empowered western Manitoba The process was sparked by a 2013 letter from then agriculture minister Gerry Ritz found themselves sheltering travellers Mar. 6-7 as the storm raged and highways closed ™

Don’t miss it! July 18-20, 2017 www.aginmotion.ca

BY ALEXIS STOCKFORD Co-operator staff

L Vo lu m e 14 , n u m b e r 1 3

PEDv outbreak shows the ‘inconvenient’ truth about biosecurity Officials say affected farms in Manitoba had good biosecurity protocols — but following them every day is another matter

BY JENNIFER BLAIR

j u n e 1 9, 2 0 1 7

Publications Mail Agreement # 40069240

ATLANTIC EDITION July 2017

ife ground to a halt in much of western M a n i t o b a M a r. 6 - 7 , as heavy snow, winds and whiteout conditions closed highways, leaving many travellers stranded and some needing rescue.

Brandon spent 31 hours with visibility below 400 metres.

The same area saw up to 41 centimetres of snow, sustained winds of 71 kilometres an hour and gusts up to 87 kilometres an hour, matching wind speeds in Morden, Berens River and Gretna, but below the 105-kilometre-an-hour gusts logged in Churchill.

Motorists found themselves suddenly seeking shelter as conditions deteriorated. David Matthews of the Municipality of Whitehead’s volun-

E

sEE PEDv } page 7

SEE OUR NEW...

SEARCH ONLINE:

stranded on page 6 »— it’s t’s not just farmers who will be hurt if OttawaSee axes tax break e entire grain sector will be dramatically affected, says MnP M the

BY JENNIFER BLAIR

AF stAFF

R

emoving the deferred cash ticket system won’t just hit farmers at tax time — it could also affect the entire supply chain, interrupting the flow of grain to international markets.

“If they take this deferred cash ticket system away, you’re going to have farmers refusing to move grain when we need it to move,” said stuart Person, director of primary producer agriculture at accounting and business advisory firm MNP. “You’re going to have railroads sitting idle. You’re going to have grain terminals sitting empty. All because selling at certain times might not work for farmers because of tax implications.”

Right now, deferred cash tickets are used to help producers “smooth their income out,” said Person.

“With any farm business — it doesn’t matter if it’s livestock or grain — the income fluctuations can be significant from year to year due to a number of factors,” he said.

If, for instance, a farmer has a bumper crop one year and sells it that same year, he or she will have a significant spike in income — and “generally, the higher your income, the higher the rate of tax you pay.”

But the deferred cash ticket system allows farmers to take a portion of the money and defer the rest until next year.

But Ottawa is considering scrapping the cash ticket deferral system — a move that would seriously impact Prairie producers, say Alberta’s wheat, barley, pulse, and canola commissions as well as other farm groups. the commissions asked MNP to review the situation and its analysis supports their claim. the majority of farmers aren’t trying to avoid paying taxes, but just want to “smooth their income out and make sure they’re paying tax at a reasonable rate like everybody else,” said Person.

sEE cAsh tIckEts } page 6

A nice chAnge

www.agdealer.com

Industrial & Forestry INSIDE OVER

Scrapping deferred cash JANUARY 2017 tickets could ‘screw up’ grain-marketing system O

AF stAFF

xperts say the PEDv outbreak in Manitoba is a warning to livestock producers across the Prairies that biosecurity has to be a 24-7 priority every day of the year. since late April, the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has been found on 10 farms in three areas in southeastern Manitoba — and two of those areas suffered outbreaks just last year.

“We’ve heard of a lot of scary practices happening on our negative farms that are in diseased areas,” said Mark Fynn, manager of quality assurance and animal care programs for Manitoba Pork. so far, officials have found “some linkages” between the three areas where the disease has emerged, but are still working on tracing the spread of the disease, including looking at staff movement, transport, and contamination on load-out areas on each of the operations.

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The Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT) has streamlined voting on new varieties seeking a recommendation for registration.

The PRCWRT held its annual meeting in Winnipeg Mar. 2. Here ballots are being distributed to members of the PRCWRT’s cultivar voting panel. PHOTO: ALLAN DAWSON

BY ALLAN DAWSON Co-operator staff

rdinarily voting over whether to recommend new wheat, rye or triticale varieties for registration can stretch on well into the afternoon.

This year it was over before the morning coffee break at the annual meeting of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT) in Winnipeg Mar. 2.

Many participants said they thought it was a record for the group, and in no small way former federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz is the reason why.

The process has been streamlined — one of several reforms Ritz asked the PRCWRT and 16 other recommending committees to do when he wrote them in 2013.

“I am challenging you to think about the future of variety regis-

tration and how best to ensure that Canada has an approach going forward that encourages innovation in variety development and balances the interests of producers and the entire value chain,” Ritz wrote.

Some saw the letter as the beginning of the end for recommending committees, which its critics alleged were bureaucratic and an impediment to getting new, higher-yielding varieties to farmers faster.

This year there were just 18 candidate cultivars before the PRCWRT, and a dozen weren’t up for voting because they’d already been supported for registration by the agronomic, disease and end-use evaluation teams, which results in an automatic registration recommendation, just one of the streamlining measures introduced since Ritz threw down the gauntlet.

Before they’d come back to the full committee for further discussion and voting.

This year only six varieties came before the cultivar voting panel (CVP), a subgroup of the PRCWRT, whose members represent the entire wheat value chain including farmers, breeders, agronomists, plant pathologists, exporters and end-users.

Up to 23 of the PRCWRT’s members serve on the CVP. The CVP’s creation is another streamlining measure. It reduced the number of people voting, while still allowing all PRCWRT members to give expert insight.

The CVP also addresses Ritz’s concern that the process reflect the industry and its needs.

At the PRCWRT meeting in 2013 Fairfax, Alta., seed grower Henry Vos said farmers and endusers should decide what varieties to grow, not a committee.

But this year Vos said creating the CVP and having wheat commission representatives on it, is an important change. He said in the past, farmers had little for-

mal involvement or voice on the committee. Today he represents the Alberta Wheat Commission’s 14,000 farmer members on the CVP. “I like the committee structure,” Vos said. “I like the input of all the individuals. On varieties where there are concerns we have the cultivar voting panel, which represents the whole value chain. That is the most important part.”

Much of what Ritz sought has been accomplished, said Brian Beres, a former PRCWRT chair and member of the ad hoc committee working on reforming the PRCWRT, following this year’s meeting. He said the group worked very hard along with the PRCWRT’s outgoing chair Curtis Pozniak, who is a durum breeder at the University of Saskatchewan, to streamline the process.

“We wanted to get ahead of

Tiffiny Taylor

National Advertising Sales tiffiny.taylor@fbcpublishing.com Phone: (204) 228-0842

See committee on page 7 »

GradinG Grief: NFU exploriNg graiN-gradiNg woes » page 8

WESTERN CANADA’S BULL SALE SOURCE

forget orget supply and demand or logistics — tax considerations may soon determine when Prairie airie farmers sell their grain if deferred grain cash tickets are scrapped. file photo

farmers benefit from efficient grain handling } Page 19

ATE145_July_2017.indd 1

BIg ImpACT

QuESTIONS COmINg

Canola is a major economic driver » PG 3

Buyer scrutiny coming to crops » PG 18

17-07-07 1:06 PM

Manitobacooperator.ca

Wheat recommending committee reforms paying efficiency dividends

Western Manitoba OVER 200 NEW AND USED EQUIPMENT LISTINGS INSIDE! opens doors for stranded travellers CAn You ImAGIne SWAPPInG G Your CATTle For ZebrAS AnD AnTeloPe? In South Africa, there are now as many game ranches as ones raising cattle » PG 3

Communities in SEE Technology TOUCH Innovation BE Empowered western Manitoba The process was sparked by a 2013 letter from then agriculture minister Gerry Ritz found themselves sheltering travellers Mar. 6-7 as the storm raged and highways closed ™

Don’t miss it! July 18-20, 2017 www.aginmotion.ca

BY ALEXIS STOCKFORD Co-operator staff

L Vo lu m e 14 , n u m b e r 1 3

PEDv outbreak shows the ‘inconvenient’ truth about biosecurity Officials say affected farms in Manitoba had good biosecurity protocols — but following them every day is another matter

BY JENNIFER BLAIR

j u n e 1 9, 2 0 1 7

Publications Mail Agreement # 40069240

ATLANTIC EDITION July 2017

ife ground to a halt in much of western M a n i t o b a M a r. 6 - 7 , as heavy snow, winds and whiteout conditions closed highways, leaving many travellers stranded and some needing rescue.

Brandon spent 31 hours with visibility below 400 metres.

The same area saw up to 41 centimetres of snow, sustained winds of 71 kilometres an hour and gusts up to 87 kilometres an hour, matching wind speeds in Morden, Berens River and Gretna, but below the 105-kilometre-an-hour gusts logged in Churchill.

Motorists found themselves suddenly seeking shelter as conditions deteriorated. David Matthews of the Municipality of Whitehead’s volun-

stranded on page 6 »— it’s t’s not just farmers who will be hurt if OttawaSee axes tax break e entire grain sector will be dramatically affected, says MnP M the

AF stAFF

E

xperts say the PEDv outbreak in Manitoba is a warning to livestock producers across the Prairies that biosecurity has to be a 24-7 priority every day of the year. since late April, the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has been found on 10 farms in three areas in southeastern Manitoba — and two of those areas suffered outbreaks just last year.

“We’ve heard of a lot of scary practices happening on our negative farms that are in diseased areas,” said Mark Fynn, manager of quality assurance and animal care programs for Manitoba Pork. so far, officials have found “some linkages” between the three areas where the disease has emerged, but are still working on tracing the spread of the disease, including looking at staff movement, transport, and contamination on load-out areas on each of the operations.

sEE PEDv } page 7

SEE OUR NEW...

SEARCH ONLINE:

BY JENNIFER BLAIR

AF stAFF

R

emoving the deferred cash ticket system won’t just hit farmers at tax time — it could also affect the entire supply chain, interrupting the flow of grain to international markets.

“If they take this deferred cash ticket system away, you’re going to have farmers refusing to move grain when we need it to move,” said stuart Person, director of primary producer agriculture at accounting and business advisory firm MNP. “You’re going to have railroads sitting idle. You’re going to have grain terminals sitting empty. All because selling at certain times might not work for farmers because of tax implications.”

Right now, deferred cash tickets are used to help producers “smooth their income out,” said Person.

“With any farm business — it doesn’t matter if it’s livestock or grain — the income fluctuations can be significant from year to year due to a number of factors,” he said.

If, for instance, a farmer has a bumper crop one year and sells it that same year, he or she will have a significant spike in income — and “generally, the higher your income, the higher the rate of tax you pay.”

But the deferred cash ticket system allows farmers to take a portion of the money and defer the rest until next year.

But Ottawa is considering scrapping the cash ticket deferral system — a move that would seriously impact Prairie producers, say Alberta’s wheat, barley, pulse, and canola commissions as well as other farm groups. the commissions asked MNP to review the situation and its analysis supports their claim. the majority of farmers aren’t trying to avoid paying taxes, but just want to “smooth their income out and make sure they’re paying tax at a reasonable rate like everybody else,” said Person.

sEE cAsh tIckEts } page 6

A nice chAnge

www.agdealer.com

Industrial & Forestry INSIDE OVER

Scrapping deferred cash JANUARY 2017 tickets could ‘screw up’ grain-marketing system O

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March 16, 2017

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UNITS TO CHOOSE FROM FRO ONLINE IN PRINT AND ONLIN

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT) has streamlined voting on new varieties seeking a recommendation for registration.

The PRCWRT held its annual meeting in Winnipeg Mar. 2. Here ballots are being distributed to members of the PRCWRT’s cultivar voting panel. PHOTO: ALLAN DAWSON

BY ALLAN DAWSON Co-operator staff

rdinarily voting over whether to recommend new wheat, rye or triticale varieties for registration can stretch on well into the afternoon.

This year it was over before the morning coffee break at the annual meeting of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT) in Winnipeg Mar. 2.

Many participants said they thought it was a record for the group, and in no small way former federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz is the reason why.

The process has been streamlined — one of several reforms Ritz asked the PRCWRT and 16 other recommending committees to do when he wrote them in 2013.

“I am challenging you to think about the future of variety regis-

tration and how best to ensure that Canada has an approach going forward that encourages innovation in variety development and balances the interests of producers and the entire value chain,” Ritz wrote.

Some saw the letter as the beginning of the end for recommending committees, which its critics alleged were bureaucratic and an impediment to getting new, higher-yielding varieties to farmers faster.

This year there were just 18 candidate cultivars before the PRCWRT, and a dozen weren’t up for voting because they’d already been supported for registration by the agronomic, disease and end-use evaluation teams, which results in an automatic registration recommendation, just one of the streamlining measures introduced since Ritz threw down the gauntlet.

Before they’d come back to the full committee for further discussion and voting.

This year only six varieties came before the cultivar voting panel (CVP), a subgroup of the PRCWRT, whose members represent the entire wheat value chain including farmers, breeders, agronomists, plant pathologists, exporters and end-users.

Up to 23 of the PRCWRT’s members serve on the CVP. The CVP’s creation is another streamlining measure. It reduced the number of people voting, while still allowing all PRCWRT members to give expert insight.

The CVP also addresses Ritz’s concern that the process reflect the industry and its needs.

At the PRCWRT meeting in 2013 Fairfax, Alta., seed grower Henry Vos said farmers and endusers should decide what varieties to grow, not a committee.

But this year Vos said creating the CVP and having wheat commission representatives on it, is an important change. He said in the past, farmers had little for-

mal involvement or voice on the committee. Today he represents the Alberta Wheat Commission’s 14,000 farmer members on the CVP. “I like the committee structure,” Vos said. “I like the input of all the individuals. On varieties where there are concerns we have the cultivar voting panel, which represents the whole value chain. That is the most important part.”

Much of what Ritz sought has been accomplished, said Brian Beres, a former PRCWRT chair and member of the ad hoc committee working on reforming the PRCWRT, following this year’s meeting. He said the group worked very hard along with the PRCWRT’s outgoing chair Curtis Pozniak, who is a durum breeder at the University of Saskatchewan, to streamline the process.

“We wanted to get ahead of See committee on page 7 »

GradinG Grief: NFU exploriNg graiN-gradiNg woes » page 8

WESTERN CANADA’S BULL SALE SOURCE

forget orget supply and demand or logistics — tax considerations may soon determine when Prairie airie farmers sell their grain if deferred grain cash tickets are scrapped. file photo

farmers benefit from efficient grain handling } Page 19

ATE145_July_2017.indd 1

17-07-07 1:06 PM

home quarter farm life

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

49

SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

How do we tell our non-farming children they are not getting a raw deal?

Elaine Froese

O

ur 33-year-old daughter was lamenting the fact that there is no longer a Sears Christmas Wish book. Decades ago she delighted in flipping pages of the coloured catalogue seeking out requests for her wish list, hoping that the cherished gifts would be under our Christmas tree.

I remember the not-so-happy Christmas when some of the gifts were “recycled” or pre-owned magazines, books, and book racks. The hurt that “we weren’t made to feel very special that year” still lingers.

When you Google “buy nothing for Christmas” you can see a completely different approach to not buying into the gift-giving frenzy that December may harbour.

“How do we tell our non-farming children they are not getting a raw deal?” That question was part of my online course pre-work survey, and I don’t make these things up!

Founders in transition are worried about more than what is going to be under the Christmas tree this year.

They stress about the tax changes proposed by the federal government, and even with concessions, there is a great deal of uncertainty in tax planning, according to the tax experts I’ve listened to.

So what can you do to explain “the deal?”

The deal is the plan for the transition of labour, management and ownership of your farm. Labour usually transfers first when the young backs and internet technology whizzes arrive to work on the farm. Then there is the transition of roles and responsibilities, marketing, operations, and risk strategy as Dad and Mom pull back from working so hard, and give the next generation a chance to show their management skills. Hopefully

this is done as a collaborative decision-making process. Years quickly go by, then grandbabies arrive, and the successors wonder when they will get a piece of equity in the farm. Their siblings are also parenting and paying mortgages in the city or towns that beckoned them away from the farm.

What is the raw deal?

For some non-business heirs, it may seem like a raw deal when they don’t get access to the same amount of wealth that their farming successor siblings do. I think this sentiment needs to be processed with an earlier question to all adult children: “What does fairness look like to you as we transition our farm assets to your sibling(s)?” It also begs founders to create a personal wealth bubble beyond the farm to have cash assets to flow to non-farm heirs.

Most farm successors are not planning to flip the farm for cash in the next 10 or 20 years. So the assets of land, machinery and livestock are part of the critical mass that they need to cash flow debt, buy food, and have a decent life. I recall a young dairy farmer who was deeply saddened that his cousins and uncles were well set up, but when it became his turn to have equity, the extended family still wanted more! This young farmer was clearly passionate about farming, and he was also willing to be a financial safety net for his siblings, should that need arise. Some lawyers have prorated clauses in the estate plan should the successor sell out within a predescribed time. Greed is greed.

We are talking about your family’s core values, beliefs, and culture of support. We have assured siblings that we will support them if they get snagged in tough financial times, and that was a great relief to them. There is no culture of “raw deal” in our clan, as we have discussed what each person expects, needs and wants. Ultimately the parents decide. I also suspect gifts of a college education (worth over $200K according to my financial planning colleagues, home mortgage

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Start by asking what fairness looks like as farm assets are transitioned

Discussions must be had so everyone is clear on the plan for transition of labour, management and ownership of the farm.

It is time to formulate the WHY behind your gifting of farm assets, and the WHY for the assets or shares that need to be bought by your successors down payments, etc. have been gifted by the farm at an earlier stage).

I suspect the folks who are kept awake at night wondering how to find the magical fairness formula have not been clear that their needs come first.

They would be wise to let go of children who are never satisfied no matter how much they are given. Recall the young child tearing off gift-wrapping paper, only to exclaim, “Is that all there is?” Yikes.

It is time to formulate the WHY behind your gifting of farm assets, and the WHY for the assets or shares that need to be bought by your successors.

Consider this quote: “Keep your goal in sight. It was the philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche who said, ‘Develop your why & you can bear almost any how.’

A worthwhile goal serves as the fuel

that you need to drive your engine toward success. Keep your goal in mind and focus on what moves you forward.”

If your biggest why is to keep the farm intact, with a legacy of management by the next generation or your joint venture partner, then share your reasons with all of your children and their spouses. My parents’ family meeting in July 1998 clearly stated that my farming brother would be given the most assets, and that came to pass six short weeks later when my mom died in the middle of harvest of an asthma attack. Her shares rolled to my farming brother. I was fine with that because I did not need financial gifts from my parents, I needed their legacy of love and blessing.

Sometimes your children will be

Elaine Froese is excited to share Christmas with her family, and her first grandchild, Penny Grace. Embrace your loved ones, you never know how long you have them with you. Visit www. elainefroese.com/store for Build Your Farm Legacy, Elaine’s fourth and newest book.

! ay d. tod ite ter lim gis is Re ting a Se

If it weren’t for the messages from some of the leaders I connected with, I wouldn’t have this clear vision nor the motivation to go after it. I can’t thank you enough for that. – Jen C., AWC Delegate

wealthier than you are. They won’t “need” monetary gifts, but will always appreciate your respect, love, and consideration. If you don’t agree with how your children spend money on homes, toys, and vacations, you don’t get to judge, you give gifts without expectation or manipulation. You can also give those gifts to charity or folks who actually need a financial boost.

Jim Snyder of BDO has a daughter who quipped that “fairness is helping everyone to be successful” and the word equal does not appear here. In some old country cultures, each child was always expected to be given the same amount, and that is a recipe for fighting in the reality of 2017 estates.

Money in my books does not equal love. Words and affirmation and meaningful physical touch were freely given by my farming parents to bless me.

You may have to let go of your need to “please” everyone. One non-farm sibling confided that she was not pleased that land values had jumped so much, and she wishes she had held on to her gifted quarter rather than selling to her farming brother. This is “woulda, coulda, shoulda, language” that fuels discontent and is not helpful.

Raw deal? I think not. Why are you allowing that descriptor to be part of your family story? Hire a facilitator to navigate the tough conversations about fairness that you are avoiding.

Start pencilling out your “why” about the gifts you wish to give to build legacy on your farm. Have this family meeting after Boxing Day. Celebrate Christmas as the Incarnation of Christ, what it truly is. Be grateful. GN

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50

home quarter farm life

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

REMAINING POSITIVE

Laughing in spite of it all

Five farm women share how they remain positive even in dire circumstances

BY MARIANNE STAMM

PHOTO: COURTESY

W

Kids at play can remind us to appreciate the simple things.

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hen snow sets in on October 1, and half a bumper crop lies in the field; when the news is full of refugees and the days seem long and grey — it’s easy to succumb to the blues. Five farm women from Africa, Switzerland and Canada tell us how they laugh despite dire circumstances and cultivate a heart of thankfulness.

Vivienne Muluwa from Zambia is a small farmer with a full-time job as a professional secretary. Widowed twice, mother of six grown children, she has two adult children who cause her grief. Yet visits with Vivienne will always include much laughter. “It’s all about being positive about your circumstances,” Vivienne says, “not wishing for things you can never have.” Vivienne herself always strives for more — attending night classes to improve her education, walking long distances to have the farm she dreams of, and working hard at her day job. But in it all she stresses the importance of being content.

“When others are negative about something, try and bring out a positive aspect of it,” she says. “Always imagine something good about a situation.” At the end of a difficult day, “drink a cup of tea with a friend and laugh. What else are you going to do?”

Her four young children often make Rebekka Gasser, a Swiss farm woman, laugh. “Kids can be so amusing and have such funny ideas,” she says. Rebekka finds joy in the small things in her life and often laughs at her own mistakes. “Staying orientated to what is really important in life helps to see a bad crop situation in a different light.”

She tries to focus on solutions instead of getting bogged down in the negative. Taking time out to do something special for herself, and spending time with good friends with whom she can laugh help keep joy in her day.

Swiss egg farmer, Magdalena Pulfer, prefers to see the funny side of life rather than to walk through it dead serious. A cheerful comment made while waiting in line at the till will make three people laugh, she says. Often she’ll hug her more reserved husband with a light comment, and they’ll laugh together.

Magdalena seeks to enjoy the little things — the flavour of a good coffee; blooming flowers; the neighbour who waves to her; happy

moments with her family. It’s important to her to cultivate a thankful heart. When all around her are negative, she strives to bring a positive note to a situation or lighten it with a joke. Sometimes she also walks away in order not to get bogged down.

Sharon Rottier of Westlock, Alberta thinks she is more of a crier than a laugher by nature; that her nursing experiences have left their mark on her. “Joy is a force,” she says. “You do something to make yourself laugh.” She looks at funny pictures on Facebook or of little children. Sharon keeps a “Thank You” book, in which she writes five things each evening for which she was thankful. There’s always something, even if it seems mundane.

“One of my biggest boosts is learning to trust God even in the rough circumstances; to see His good goodness.” Sharon classifies herself as a fighter: “I’m not going to let myself be pulled down!”

“Laughter is a medicine on its own.”

Vivienne Muluwa As fires threatened their ranch, the flames within half a mile of calving cows, Helen Harris of Fort St. John, B.C. and her neighbours got together for coffee. Stories were shared and laughed about together. “The absurd and difficult things become bearable as we remember a poignant moment with witty remarks,” Helen says.

Even at funerals people will share stories and laugh together in the midst of grief. Helen has a small TV in the kitchen and watches shows such as “The Price is Right” while working. “They laugh a lot and someone is usually winning something.” When retelling an event, Helen will seek to do so in an entertaining way that ends in laughter.

“A good belly laugh is very cleansing for the soul. It’s impossible to be stressed when you are laughing.”

To maintain a positive attitude Helen reads good books and surrounds herself with people and things that make her feel good about herself.

“Laughter is a medicine on its own,” Vivienne Muluwa says. “It keeps away the wrinkles!” GN

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home quarter farm life

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

PRAIRIE PALATE

Kutya

Just in time for Christmas — kutya bit of folklore: “It is also traditional to throw a tablespoon of kutya at the ceiling. If it sticks, it is a sure sign that you will have peace and prosperity in the year to come.”

Peace and prosperity to you all! GN 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.

1 cup wheat kernels 4 cups water 1/2 cup poppy seeds 1/2 cup honey (buckwheat is best) 1/2 cup boiling water 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped

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Meanwhile cover poppy seeds in warm water and soak for 30 minutes.

Drain well then grind to a fine texture. Add honey, poppy seeds and 1/2 cup boiling water to cooked wheat, stirring gently. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

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Keeping that water flowing

Detecting your canola dockage

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Leeann Minogue gets a dockage demo from CGC staff 12

Volume 43 · number 01 January 10, 2017 · $4.25 Practical production tips for the prairie farmer www.grainews.ca

By Scott Garvey

The Tribine begins production HARvEST TECHNOLOgy

I

Will the Tribine’s design become the new standard configuration for combines?

To: MArk Moore

W

hat sets Manitoba’s cuisine apart from the rest of Canada? I asked that question of Christine Hanlon, author of the new cookbook Out of Old Manitoba Kitchens, which arrived on store shelves in September. It’s chock full of old recipes that characterize the early cuisine of the postage stamp province.

Some of the recipes are recognizable across the Prairies, such as potato perogies, bread and butter pickles and saskatoon berry pie, but many others are unfamiliar to me even though I am born and bred just across the border in Saskatchewan.

This reflects the shared and divergent histories of Manitoba and the rest of the Prairies — differences in settlement patterns and in the foods passed through the generations to become the cherished family recipes of today.

“History has influenced the food we eat, but the food has influenced our history,” says Hanlon, whose family came from Brittany, in France, in the 1920s to homestead in the region of Swan River.

For instance, she points to flour, one of the most common ingredients in a Manitoba kitchen dating back to the fur trade. Scottish fur traders loved their bread so much — particularly the quick bread called bannock — that they lugged sacks of flour with them. They passed that love of bannock to their children, the Métis.

Early on, bannock was made with suet from bison, but with the arrival of farming, suet was replaced by butter and lard. Currants and raisins were a nice addition, too.

Soon the settlers were growing wheat for use in their own kitchens.

The Selkirk settlers brought their heavy hand mill “querns” with them from Scotland to Manitoba so they could grind their wheat into flour.

Eventually, the trickle of homesteaders became a rush, as the demand for flour grew into an international market and the Canadian Prairies became the breadbasket of the world.

Manitoba’s cuisine is also marked by the influence of Icelanders, including many recipes for pickles and fish. “It’s the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland. Their influence is huge,” says Hanlon.

“That’s why we’re all fond of eating pickles and our baseball team is called the Goldeyes. It’s named for a food!”

And no cookbook of Manitoba cuisine is complete without mention of Mennonite foods such as farmers’ sausage, zumma soup and, something I had never heard of before — jreeve and rebspaa (crackling and ribs).

Since Christmas is nigh, I’ve decided to include a recipe from Manitoba’s (and beyond) Ukrainian

heritage. Kutya is one of 12 meatless dishes served at supper on Christmas Eve. It’s the first dish eaten after the blessing, however, everyone takes just a spoonful so as to leave plenty of room for the 11 dishes that follow.

Kutya (or kutia) has family variations; this recipe was provided to Out of Old Manitoba Kitchens by Mary Marcinkow, who is devoted to preserving her Ukrainian heritage and its traditional foods. It comes with a

PHOTO: AMY JO EHMAN

This meatless dish of Ukrainian heritage is the first of 12 served on Christmas Eve Amy Jo Ehman

51

t sort of looks like a combine. But not like one you’ve ever seen before. The Tribine, which was officially introduced to the public at the U.S. Farm Progress Show in August, is the blending of a rotary combine threshing body with a 1,000-bushel grain cart. The result, said Greg Terjesen, Tribine’s VP of sales and marketing, is a machine that pushes combine technology and productivity into the 21st century.

“Really, if you look at the (combine) industry, it hasn’t changed much since the Second World War,” he said as he sat next to the first production model Tribine at the company’s display during the show.

The Tribine concept has been around for a while, and the budding manufacturing company behind it has shown a prototype at a major farm show before. It first appeared at the Ag Connect Expo in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2013.

Back then, prototype number four, the one on display, was based on a Gleaner combine body modified to work with the rear grain tank.

When I spoke with company owner Ben Dillion at that time, he said he hoped to interest one of the major brands in the concept and licence them to produce it.

That didn’t happen. So Dillon has chosen to begin commercial production of the Tribine with his own company. But under its skin, the current machine is considerably different than the concept machine that appeared in Kansas City. It incorporates the firm’s own newly developed threshing body design, using one of the largest rotors in the industry.

52

home quarter farm life

GRAINEWS.CA / DECEMBER 5, 2017

SINGING GARDENER

Here’s Ted’s final column of the year Plus, a request from a psychologist and kids’ letters to Santa Ted Meseyton

singinggardener@mts.net

GREETINGS FROM ONTARIO Hi Ted, I hope this finds you well!

I’m a psychologist in Ontario and I completely agree with you that “the best physicians are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet and Dr. Merryman.” I have just finished reading a couple of your articles on water dowsing that came up on Google when I was researching orgonite pyramids.

Your articles piqued my interest because my late grandfather, Ernest Fraser Blackburn, a farmer in Dauphin, Manitoba was a dowser. He used to call it “Witching a Well.” It’s a long shot, as my late grandfather was born in 1904 and died in 1988, but I was wondering if you might be able to put me in touch with any Manitoba dowsers who might have known him.

He had a farm six miles south of Dauphin in the Burrows district toward Riding Mountain and frequently provided dowsing services on neighbouring farms as a personal favour to others in the area.

He was born in 1904, was married in 1933 to Edith Mary Harman, loved horses and calling square dances for the community. He retired within the town of Dauphin and resided at 121 Forrest Avenue.

He died in 1988 at the age of 84.

My dad, Bill (Blackburn) left Dauphin in the ’50s and wondering what time frame you would’ve lived

PHOTO: TED MESEYTON

S

o what does yours truly, Ted, have to say in this my final Grainews column to close out the year 2017? A variety of subject material includes an email from a Toronto psychologist searching for information about her late grandfather. Hopefully someone out there in Grainews land may be able to assist her.

Also, excerpts from letters that kids write to Santa Claus. Our children are an amazing bunch. We thank God for them and ask for his constant care and protection.

More than once someone has asked me the following: What am I doing wrong? My Christmas cactus refuses to produce flowers! Read on and you’ll find some answers.

If you’re a first-time reader to this page, my tip of the hat means “you’re welcome,” and glad to have you aboard. Can I count on you to stick with me? So come along and join the rest of the crew. We’re all one great big family that loves to read Grainews.

Apart from amaryllis or coloured bracts of a poinsettia, few other plants can warm the heart like an enchantingly beautiful cactus in full bloom during Christmas and New Year festivities. Characteristically, a true Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) has side pendant branches with segments that are decidedly arching.

there while working on air at CKDM? I haven’t been to Manitoba in years, but am certainly overdue for a visit. It would be a pleasure to see you perform if I am ever in the area. To get in touch, I can be reached at susan@susanblackburn. com. With kind regards, Susan Blackburn, Toronto, Ont. It’s very interesting that you’re a singing gardener, poet and journalist. I was able to find you singing ‘I Love Tomatoes’ on YouTube and enjoyed listening. Your other songs sound entertaining also, but I wasn’t able to find them.

Followup from Ted: Yes, it’s true: I was a youthful whipper-snapper kind of DJ at CKDM Dauphin for a number of years before moving on to other stations. Among my fondest memories is travelling with Bev Munro and the Pembina Valley Boys as MC at some of their live stage shows and doing live in-studio country music programs that were broadcast and sponsored by a soft drink company.

Today, many former Manitobans including any who practised water dowsing may now reside in other provinces. Regardless of where they now live, if any can be of assistance to Susan Blackburn please contact her via email at susan@susanblackburn.com. Thanks.

WHAT KIDS WRITE TO SANTA CLAUS Children are full of curiosity, imagination and dreams. They have a special knack at revealing their innermost thoughts in letters to Santa. And with Christmas close at hand, here are some examples.

Eight-year-old Maggie writes: Thank you Santa for the dollhouse last Christmas. Would you be able to stop by and play family with me?

I’ll stay up late if you can. Maybe we could tell Bible stories. Do you and Mrs. Claus have any kids?

Timothy who is seven years old asked his mother to help write this letter. Dear sweet Santa: I wonder if people in places far off from Canada have Christmas. Do they eat turkey and stuffin’ with cranberries, pray and sing carols? My dad sometimes thinks he is you. Could you set him straight that he is not?

Hello Santa: I’m giving this letter for you to my mom to mail at the post office. I am in Grade 2 and doing good in school. I have a boyfriend and like him real lots but am too young to get married. Whatever you bring me for Christmas is OK. — Esther, age eight.

Brodie who is 10 wrote to Santa and asked: Santa I wonder whether you recycle at the North Pole, Canada? My mother and dad are teaching me to recycle because I want to help save trees on the planet from being cut down and made into paper.

Katrina in Grade 1 printed her letter plain and simple. Sweet Santa: You are good and kind and so am I. Love you lots.

Hunter, age nine in Grade 3 writes: Santa, I hope you can stay at my place long enough on Christmas Eve to drink some milk and have my mom’s homemade cookies that are really good. There won’t be enough for all your reindeer but maybe you’ve already planned for that.

Poppy, who sat on Santa’s knee at the mall, gave him her letter that said: I am six and have been a good little girl and always listen to my mom and dad. They read to me lots so could you bring me some storybooks for Christmas.

We are so grateful for our young-

sters. No wonder ’tis said: Christmas is for children.

WHAT TRIGGERS A CHRISTMAS CACTUS TO BLOOM? The more I discuss this subject with others, the more information I’ve compiled. One Christmas cactus grower told me “outdoor exposure during summer prompts future flower buds to develop. I condition the plant outside in partial shade, dappled or filtered light (not direct sunlight) between mid-June and mid-September; then it’s brought indoors.”

Other folks never put their potted Christmas cactus outdoors, but keep it inside at the same spot year round, giving it a weekly quarter turn toward light.

If a Christmas cactus has never bloomed or produces just a few flowers, some indoor conditioning in low light and coolish location should be commenced by end of September or mid-October. About 15 hours of darkness and nine hours of low daylight help snap it into budding.

Ideally, a room temperature between 10 and 15 C is ideal. During this adjustment period give it very little water and only when soil has become almost dry. Occasional misting with water can help prevent leaf pleats from shrivelling.

Most cacti prefer acidic soil with a pH range that’s close to 5.5. When watering, this can be achieved by adding one-half teaspoonful of apple cider vinegar to a litre of melted snow, rainwater or tepid tap water. Allow it to sit first for a few hours. Other cacti growers periodically add leftover diluted weak tea to soil. The tannic acid in tea does the trick. Unless your cactus has

outgrown its pot, repotting isn’t necessary. Matter of fact, doing so too often can lead to trouble, as they do well even when pot bound.

That old adage still applies: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

LAST COLUMN FOR 2017 Here are some lyrics extracted from a couple of seasonal songs I’ve written.

Christmas Card After all there is a reason why we celebrate this season, Something special happens at this time of year, Spirits rise as families plan to be with loved ones if they can, I’m coming home for Christmas that is clear.

Happy New Year all In the coming new year may all of its days, Bring good things to you and good things to me, Then let them remain ’til it’s New Year’s again, With a heart full of love let it be. GN

This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man. You can follow my son Chris the Accordion Guy and myself at www.chrismessytone.com. It’s that time of year when good laughs, plenty of smiles and long sleeps are the best cures in the doctor’s book.

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