Grainews (Vol 37, NO. 13) by Farm Business Communications

Volume 37, Number 13 | July/August, 2011

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PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

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Three steps to effective pre-harvest weed control

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Knowing which perennial weeds you need to control and what growth stage they are at is key to whether or not pre-harvest glyphosate is worth it. As a dry-down tool, glyphosate isn’t the fastest option BY SCOTT GARVEY

t this stage in the crop year, many farmers are thinking about making a late-season application of glyphosate to control perennial weeds. A pre-harvest pass can be effective weed control, but if it’s applied at the wrong time or under the wrong conditions, it’s just wasted time and money. Farmers shouldn’t rely on it to desiccate a crop, contrary to popular belief. “Weed control should be the primary consideration in the decision to use glyphosate prior to harvest,” says Brent Flaten, integrated pest management specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. “Glyphosate is not a desiccant; it’s very slow to dry down crop material. It’s not quick acting like Reglone.”

GLYPHOSATE IS NOT A DESICCANT “In a lot of instances, it’s mistakenly used as a desiccant,” says Dale Risula, provincial specialist for spe-

cialty crops with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. He says that lentil growers should avoid it entirely in pre-harvest applications on that crop. “It would probably be wise not to use glyphosate as a pre-harvest treatment for weed control (in lentils),” he says. The reason is the acceptable limit for glyphosate residue on imported lentils is much lower in Europe than in Canada and the U.S. “They (Europeans) have a onepart-per-million residue limit on lentils,” he says. “In Canada, it’s four and in the U.S. it’s five.” From a practical standpoint, it may be impossible to achieve a level that low after making a pre-harvest pass. “The timing of application is really crucial,” he says. “In the event it’s applied too early, you can even get glyphosate levels above our own limits.” Flaten agrees, and he says if perennial weeds are a problem in a lentil crop, it may be best to wait until after harvest to try and control them. “Considering the European

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NEW HOLLAND PHOTO.

Making a pre-harvest glyphosate application can be useful at controlling perennial weeds. Farmers need to scout their fields to ensure weeds are at the correct growth stage to get the best long-term control.

In This Issue

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240

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

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

Crop Advisor’s Casebook .. 10 Farmer Panel .................... 13 Columns ........................... 15 Cattleman’s Corner .......... 28

Growing winter wheat on unseeded acres LYNDSEY SMITH

COULDA

SHOULDA

WOULDA

PAGE 5

Coverage of Regina’s Farm Progress Show

Machinery & Shop ............ 32 FarmLife ............................ 41

SCOTT GARVEY PAGE 32

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Wheat & Chaff LYNDSEY SMITH

CROPS — NOSE HIGH TO NOT THERE

“You’ll never remember the name of the disease. Just call it $250.”

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

U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com If you have story ideas, call us. You can write the article and we’d pay you, or we can write it. Phone Lyndsey Smith at 306-731-3637 Fax to 204-944-5416 Email lyndsey@fbcpublishing.com Write to Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1

HEARTS

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

JOKES For Mike and his mom, I hope you enjoy! avid received a parrot for his birthday. The parrot was fully grown with a bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was an obscenity. In a moment of desperation, David put the bird in the freezer, just for a few moments. He heard the bird squawk and kick and scream. Then, suddenly, there was quiet. David was frightened that he might have hurt the bird and quickly opened the freezer door.

The parrot calmly stepped out and said, “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’ll endeavour at once to correct my behaviour. I really am truly sorry and beg your forgiveness.” David was astonished at the bird’s change in attitude and was about to ask what had made such a dramatic change when the parrot continued, “May I ask what the chicken did?” † Thank you to Naden Hewko for sending this in. Have a joke you think Grainews readers would find entertaining? Please email them to lyndsey@fbcpublishing.com.

ummer is my chance to get out and actually spend time with the farmers I write for. After we have the discussion about there not being enough jokes in the magazine, we typically head to the field to see how the year is shaping up. Recently, I spent some time in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan and within a week after that, was up near Saskatoon. The difference really was night and day. The southeast has little to no crop. At the time I was there, there was standing water in many of the fields and, since then, several weather events have gone through dumping more and more water. One of the issues is that the water really has nowhere to go; it’s not really a part of any river system, it’s simply sitting there waiting to be used or evaporate, because it sure isn’t going to percolate down. There’s just nowhere for it to go. On the flip side, just south of Saskatoon, I walked in a canola field where the blooms were touching my nose. Now, I’m only 5'2", so I’m not what you’d consider a tall human, but the farmer I was touring with figured the plants had another four to six inches of reaching to do yet. The leaves were the size of dinner plates and I didn’t see a hint of disease or nutrient deficiency. Now, that was early July and that crop was a long way from the bin (Did I mention it was also irrigated? The area hadn’t received any rainfall for a few weeks, and the difference between irrigated and dryland crops was telling.), but it was likely the nicest canola I’ve walked through. The corn, also irrigated, was well above the knee with wide, dark-green leaves. It looked lovely. The farmer said that seeding conditions were just a bit wet, but that the weather had smartened up into June. Now, he’d almost say they were on the dry side. What a difference a few hundred kilometres makes, I thought. The farmer near Saskatoon was nearly sheepish in looking at his crop, as he knows of many others struggling with no crop or a struggling stand at best. But, I said, “You’ve had bad years too. Take the good and enjoy it!”

DON’T LOSE IT Which brings me to my next point. It never ceases to amaze me at how intent farmers are over every little detail at seeding, at spraying, at harvest, but then, once the bins are full, this dedication to babysitting the crop wanes.

How much grain do you think you lose to spoilage each year? Do you ever tally it up? Most farmers that have lost an entire bin to spoilage are much more diligent in the following years. Now, don’t feel too bad — spoilage in storage is very common and accounts for a huge portion of lost production worldwide. The tough pill to swallow is that much of it is avoidable. Careful and consistent monitoring is key, but there are also tools and gadgets to help you first dry and cool, then monitor your paycheque. While this issue’s theme is fall weed control and winter crops, there was such an overwhelming focus on grain storage technology at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show that we couldn’t help but include a good portion of the aeration products and monitoring equipment available. Coverage of the show starts on page 32. This is just what’s new, of course, there are temperature gauges, moisture sensors, grain dryers and retrofit aeration with heat setups galore. In our climate, and depending on harvest conditions which, let’s face it, are rarely ideal from one end of the farm to the other, investing in monitoring and storage technology is well worth it. I’ve also included a story from Ron Settler, the man who will make do with whatever he has, who has taken the time to properly convert an old Quonset into usable, or at least less back-breaking, grain storage. See? It doesn’t always have to be shiny and new to be useful or an improvement. His story is on page 12.

FALL WEED CONTROL There are a couple of farming practices I ask farmers about whenever I have the chance. One is seeding rates and how they determine them (it’s no secret I’m a big proponent of 1,000 kernel weight and seeding by desired plant density and not bushels per acre); another is soil testing; and the other has been fall weed control. Based on the biology of perennials and winter annuals, there really are three major weed removal periods: fall, spring and in-crop. As Clark Brenzil, provincial weed specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, so eloquently puts it, “Fall is the earliest spring.” No, you can’t get a jump on spring-germinating weeds in the fall, however there are several weeds you see in the spring that would have been better dealt with in September. Perennials, such as dandelion and Canada thistle, are moving energy into storage in the fall and will unknowingly do the same with herbicides, leading to an effective kill. Winter annuals such as flixweed germinate in the fall and may stay as seedlings or as small rosettes through the winter. At the first warming, these seemingly innocuous tiny plants spring up and set seed, sometimes much faster than you can get out there to

kill them. Killing seedlings is always easier than bolting or mature plants. I often ask if farmers do any fall control because it seems like such an effective control of some growing issues, now that zero till is the norm in many areas. Many want to or plan to, but a long harvest season can leave them pressed for time. A hard frost sooner than expected can knock off perennials before a farmer had a chance to spray, however, as you’ll read in the cover story of this issue, even a heavy frost doesn’t mean you can’t at least get good control of winter annuals.

WINTER CROPS Speaking of things that can fall by the wayside with a late harvest, this issue’s theme also includes winter crops. In nasty, wet springs like the one many farmers experienced last year and this, having winter wheat or other fall-seeded crops already in the ground does two things: it may provide the only crop in truly bad years, or, at a minimum, it takes some pressure off getting to each field to seed in an already tight seeding window. Again, I’ll ask farmers why don’t they grow winter wheat. While a few years ago a more common answer was there wasn’t as much money in it as spring wheat, now many farmers see the very real value in spreading out the workload but have been hampered by late harvests. Time, it seems, is rarely on the farmer’s side. If winter wheat isn’t your cup of tea but you like the idea of a fall-seeded crop, research out of Alberta suggests you may have new, nitrogen-fixing options to choose from. Lee Hart attended a field day early this year to look at plots of winter pea, lentil, canola and more. He’s written up what he saw on page eight — the future for some, but not all, certainly all of these winter crops, looks bright.

BEST OF GRAINEWS Each summer issue of Grainews, we take a bit of time to look back at the last 18 issues of the magazine and choose a few of our favourites. Starting on page 21, we’ve slotted in a collection of stories that are what Grainews is all about — practical, field-ready information for your farm. Did we miss one of your favourites? Throughout the year, if you find a story of particular help or interest, let me know. I’ll add it to the list of favourites for next year.

A SAFE HARVEST For some of you, harvest is just around the corner. For others, as one farmer faced with very little crop put it, at least you don’t have to worry about running out of room in your bins. For each of you heading out to the field this fall, be safe out there and here’s hoping the weather co-operates. Lyndsey

JULY/AUGUST 2011

grainews.ca /

Wheat & Chaff Fall weed control

Farm safety

Close the gate and keep kids safe Watch for

ometimes even those eyes in the back of your head aren’t enough to keep kids safe on the farm. You’re standing right beside them, watching, and then in what seems to be slow motion, they fall, they cut a hand or worse. And you were supervising! We have to face it — supervision alone cannot prevent injuries to children on farms. Data from the Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting (CAIR) program show 217 children and youth 14 and under, died in farm incidents from 1990 to 2005. That’s an average of 13 per year. Almost half of them were under five years old and three out of four were boys. It’s the same in the U.S. where children under 10 years

of age account for 26 per cent of all childhood farm injuries. In nearly all cases, someone was supervising the children at the time of injury. In both countries, most of these incidents occur to children who are not involved in or necessary to farm work. They’re sitting on someone’s knee on the tractor or they’re standing just out of range of the machinery operator’s field of vision. Maybe they’re reaching into an animal pen or leaning too close to a saw. Obviously these kids are not in a safe environment, even though they’re being supervised. In an active workplace such as the farm, you just can’t provide the high level of supervision needed to protect young children. You need a kid-safe area to

supervise — a play area with a fence. In theory, it sounds so simple and while it’s not all that hard to provide, it’s often difficult to put into practice. There are chores to do and even parents can’t be two places at once, but supervision and a safe play area will help prevent deaths and injuries to kids on the farm. CAIR data show an improving safety situation for our kids on Canada’s farms — no doubt due to better child safety practices and more farm safety education for kids. But also due to the fact that more parents are supervising their preschoolers closely and constantly whenever they are outside the farm home and, more often, within safe, fencedin play areas. So keep your young children away from the farm worksite,

fence off water holes and other hazardous areas, put away dangerous equipment and tools, and watch them play safely in a fenced play area. To double-check that you haven’t missed anything, download SafeKids Canada’s children’s farm safety fact sheet at www.safekidscanada.ca. There are lots of great tips on how to reduce the risk of injury to children on the farm. And better yet, on that same site, look for the booklet Creating safe play areas on farms. It provides a comprehensive guide for designing and building an outdoor safe play area on a farm. You can download it at SafeKids or go directly to the developer’s website: www.marshfieldclinic. org/safeplay/. † Courtesy of CASA, www.planfarmsafety.ca.

Mentorship program

Pass on your best management advice through STEP UP

he Canadian Farm Business Management Council, Canadian 4-H Council, Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum, and Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ Program have joined forces to unveil the all-new STEP UP mentorship program. STEP UP is an on-farm learning placement that matches those planning or considering a farming career with an experienced farm manager so that they can learn critical aspects of farm business management in a hands-on setting. STEP UP mentee Simone praises her 2010 STEP UP experi-

ence for giving her a “realistic perspective of the energy and commitment it takes to organize a functional farm…. having the opportunity to work with a knowledgeable farmer who enjoys teaching was a powerful experience.” Jocelyn, another 2010 STEP UP mentee, not only gained a “wealth of experience and skills” but feels she can contact her mentors in the future “to ask them for farm business management advice.” Participating in the STEP UP program as a mentor also has its benefits since you can:

• Share your passion and knowledge thereby allowing you to make a significant and enduring impact on an up-and-coming farmer’s career. • Gain a fresh perspective. • Receive a $2,000 honorarium. Gavin summarizes his STEP UP mentoring experience as: “I have learned a huge amount from all our mentees…The farm business certainly benefits from having mentees!” You can be a Mentee, if you are: 18 years of age or older, interested in owning and operating your own farm someday, willing

to travel within Canada and possibly outside of your province, able to commit at least eight continuous weeks to your mentor, and are eager to learn and share your own ideas and experience. Farm managers, experienced in any type of farming are encouraged to become Mentors. To be a Mentor requires: time, patience, an open mind, and an interest in passing on the best of your farm business management knowledge. † To apply visit the STEP UP webpage at www. farmcentre.com, or call 1-888-232-3262, or send an email to stepup@cfbmc.com.

Outstanding Young Farmers

Edgeley-area grain farmers named Saskatchewan’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2011

ig dreams, international connections and business planning all contribute to the success of Franck and Kari Groeneweg’s farm business, and are behind the Edgeley couple’s recognition as Saskatchewan’s Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) for 2011. As a boy growing up on a farm in France, Franck Groeneweg dreamed of owning his own large farm someday. After gaining farm experience in the United States, starting and selling a successful tractor parts

business, and meeting and marrying his western Canadian wife Kari, Franck was well on his way to realizing his dream. In 2002, they purchased land in Edgeley, Sask., the beginning of what would grow to be their 9,000-acre grain farm, Green Atlantic Farms. With a definite glass-half-full outlook, the Groenewegs look for efficiencies and opportunities in their farming operation. A grainburning stove retail business grew out of a bad crop quality year. A custom-designed seeder matches

photo contest

Give us your best shot Here’s hoping for more sun than rain for this upcoming harvest season. Thank you to Debbie Thiele at Briercrest, Sask., for sending in this great shot of harvest. We welcome your photos. But before you send one, make sure the focus is crisp and, if it’s a photo of people, we want to see the whites of their eyes. In a 4x6-inch print, faces should be at least the size of a quarter. Emailed digital photos with medium to high resolution work best. Scans of prints are rarely good enough to reprint. If we use your photo, we’ll send you $25. — Lyndsey

sprayer equipment to reduce fertilizer and chemical overlap. A rubber-track tractor reduces compaction on their sensitive clay soils. Grain bagging addresses limited farm storage and lowers harvest fuel consumption and efficiency. The Groeneweg’s 9,000-acre cropland base is made up of owned, rented and custom farmed land, in about equal thirds. Crops grown include spring wheat, canary seed, canola and peas. Farm trainees from France, Germany and Holland help on their farm. Kari is the home educator

for their four children — Luke (seven), Julia (five), Emma (three) and Solange (one), while managing the farm bookkeeping, cost of production and cash flow management. Franck and Kari are both active in their church, and Franck is president of the Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation and a director of the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission. In 2008, Franck proudly became a Canadian citizen. † Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2011 will be chosen at the national event in Brandon, Man. from November 15-20, 2011.

and control Japanese brome this fall

on’t underestimate Japanese brome, says Lethbridge-area producer Alex Russell. It is a much more aggressive weed than downy brome and it can germinate almost any time of the year. Russell says Japanese brome was already germinating in the stubble of his winter wheat fields in September of last year. “My advice is for producers to be watching and deal with it in the fall,” says Russell. He says that while it does pose risks as a spring-germinating weed, it’s best to watch for it in the fall. “I consider it a very aggressive, very opportunistic weed,” says Russell. “It never used to be here. Downy brome was a common-enough weed, but we applied control measures, and it was almost a nonissue on our farm, but now in recent years we are seeing more Japanese brome and it will germinate fall or spring. It will even encroach on native pasture whether it has been grazed or not.” Russell says that if farmers see any sign of Japanese brome this fall to treat it with a low rate of glyphosate to keep it under control. “It is cheap enough to do,” he says. “Hit any patches in the fall, and then if any do come along in the spring, you can spray them again.” Russell says if left untreated the weed will aggressively spread. The presence of Japanese brome raises the bigger issue of lack of regulations or control concerning the transport of equipment and grains from outside the region. Russell says the first evidence of Japanese brome appeared in the Lethbridge area, he suspects, carried in on equipment owned by custom combining operators coming in from the U.S. Fusarium head blight (FHB) is another example of an introduced pest carried into the region on feed grains sourced from FHB-prone areas of the Prairies. “It was never here before and you can see where it first developed in fields near the rail lines, or where trucks have been hauling feed grains,” he says. “And now efforts to prevent the spread of the disease have a real economic impact on producers.” With reports of herbicidetolerant weeds such as glyphosate-resistant kochia in parts of the U.S. grain belt, Russell is concerned if care isn’t taken to properly clean machinery used on both sides of the border, the seeds of those super-weeds could end up in Canada. † Lee Hart

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Cover Stories FARM SAFETY

An easier way to handle concaves

few months ago, Grainews asked its readers to let the Motor Safety Association know if you had any clever ideas for safely removing combine concaves. Thanks to your great responses from across the three Prairie provinces, MSA put together a nifty, back-saving solution to this tough job. Some of the comments received were, “the concaves are too large and heavy” or “grain producers are getting older and are not as strong or agile as they used to be.” Some suggestions received are to use a winch on the end of a wheeled picker crane to remove and reinstall the concave, or to purchase smaller concaves from

a jobber supplier which are half the weight as they supply them in long narrow strips. For example on a combine that requires three full-size concaves you would use six of the half-size concaves. After considering all the suggestions MSA purchased a 12-volt winch and mounted it on the left-hand flooring platform on a combine. Next, a wiring harness was run to the battery and a swivelling snatch block was mounted overhead. We then hooked the winch cable to the concave and successfully removed and reinstalled the concave (below, left). The process was very quick, efficient and inexpensive. It abolished the risk of a back injury by eliminating

the hazard of an awkward lift or overreach to remove or reinstall the concaves. With the addition of a snatch block one could utilize an ATV equipped with a winch to remove and reinstall the concaves. Simply drive the ATV beside the combine and utilize the ATV winch. This saves you from having to purchase a separate winch. This is useful in a field or at the farm as most grain producers have an ATV with a winch. MSA recommends anyone attempting either process to utilize CSA-approved materials and load-rated hardware/ rigging. MSA is very grateful for the cooperation we received from agricul-

tural equipment dealers, technicians and grain producers. When we first started asking people what can be done to correct this problem the answer was, “there is no other way to do this.” With co-operation and believing in discovering a solution it is possible to implement prevention methods to remove the chance of a back injury. For further followup to this story and to view Motor Safety Association’s other case studies please visit: www. motorsafety.ca. † The Motor Safety Association (MSA) is a non-government, non-profit organization funded through an operational agreement with the Workers’ Compensation Board. Back injuries are considered one of the nation’s biggest safety challenges, and account for approximately one in five workplace injuries.

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Using a winch eliminates the risk of back injury.

A winch could be mounted on an ATV for easy removal of concaves.

FALL WEED CONTROL » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

THREE STEPS TO EFFECTIVE PRE-HARVEST WEED CONTROL limit, it’s best to try and control those weeds in another crop year and just go with Reglone (for desiccation).” Use of that product does meet with E.U. approval.

GLYPHOSATE FOR WEED CONTROL But even if a farmer doesn’t intend to try using glyphosate as a desiccant, getting the timing right is still critical to ensure it’s effective at controlling perennial weeds. The only way to ensure that happens is to scout the field first. “It’s not just a matter of automatically going out there and spraying every year, it’s looking at what weeds you have, what weeds pre-harvest (applications) work best on and what weeds need post-harvest (applications),” says Flaten. “Depending on what weeds you’re going after, you may not want to use pre-harvest as a weed control method.” “If the condition of the target weed is poor or it’s completed its life cycle, then pre-harvest glypho-

Tundra

sate may give poor weed control,” says Flaten. Foxtail barley is a prime example. “Pre-harvest application of glyphosate isn’t the best time to control it. Often the leaves have dried down by pre-harvest. Perennial sow thistle is another example. It’s lost a lot of its leaves (at that time of year) so you don’t get much herbicide entering the plant. You get reduced control.” Even though foxtail barley may be too mature for herbicide control at pre-harvest, cutting the crop may stimulate its regrowth. Hitting a field with a post-harvest application when plants are active again may be a better alternative (see a story on this topic on page seven). Post-harvest may also be a better time to control dandelions. A dense crop canopy can prevent spray droplets from landing on their leaves, which are close to the ground. Once the crop is removed, getting glyphosate onto leaves could be much easier, providing they aren’t covered with too much residue.

PROPER TIMING Making a pre-harvest application too early will also limit its effectiveness, especially with weeds like Canada thistle that are still actively moving resources out of their roots

for plant growth. “If you make that pre-harvest application too early in August, you won’t get much (glyphosate) movement into the root system,” says Flaten. The most effective time to apply it is when weeds are actively building winter root reserves. If you made a spring herbicide

is the ideal time for translocation of applied glyphosate into that root system. “You tend to get good root and long-term control of broadleaf perennials, such as Canada thistle, later on in August or early September,” says Flaten. Farmers should also be sure to check with their grain buyer to

Cory Bourdeaud’hui Phone: (204) 954-1414 Fax: (204) 944-5562 E-mail: cory@fbcpublishing.com ADVERTISING SERVICES CO-ORDINATOR

Arlene Bomback Phone: (204) 944-5765 Fax: (204) 944-5562 E-mail: ads@fbcpublishing.com Printed in Canada by Transcontinental LGM-Coronet Winnipeg, Man. GRAINEWS is published by Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0H1. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240.

You tend to get good root and long-term control of broadleaf perennials, such as Canada thistle, later on in August or early September application of glyphosate, ensure target weeds have recovered and have enough regrowth for the second treatment to be effective. “You want the weed to be growing,” says Flaten. Grassy perennial weeds can usually be controlled well with an early pre-harvest application, but broadleaf weeds are best controlled later in the fall. When daylight hours are reduced, that signals broadleaf perennials to start storing food reserves in their roots, which

ensure a pre-harvest glyphosate application will not affect the crop’s end use. “Even in some cases with registered crops, certain buyers have additional restrictions,” notes Flaten. “This is particularly the case with malt barley and milling oats. The maltsters don’t want pre-harvest (glyphosate) used because there is the potential for reduced germination. That affects their malt yield.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Tundra

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

JULY/AUGUST 2011

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Features Crop production

Winter wheat for wet acres It’s not ideal, but seeding winter wheat on unseeded acres can work. Creating stubble, bumping seeding rates and seeding a tad early will all improve winter survival by Lyndsey Smith

hile many Prairie farmers are happy with how the crop looks, huge swaths of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are facing unprecedented flooding. For some, this is year two or even three of excessive water. Planting crops in the fall can help in these situations in a few ways. Crops seeded in August are up, growing and using water for several months going into winter. The crop also starts growing and using water early in the spring. What’s more, acres seeded in August are acres you sure won’t need to get into early in the year to seed, easing an already intense workload. Winter wheat typically delivers a decent yield bump over spring wheat and feed prices are still attractive, and, as one farmer put it during this monsoon season of 2011, “Any crop is better than no crop.” For those faced with unseeded acres this year, winter wheat may be a good fit. If you’re new to winter wheat, the idea of dragging the seeder out in August might seem pretty strange, but if you can get past that and take heed of some of the following tips, you may be mighty pleased come spring (especially — touch wood — if it’s another wet one).

Creating stubble The trick with winter wheat is to get it to come through the winter healthy and ready to grow. That usually requires good snow trap to insulate the plants from the harsh weather. Snow is trapped by tall, stiff stubble, ideally canola stubble, and that’s something many farmers with unseeded acres just won’t have. Pam de Rocquigny, provincial cereal specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, says that in the absence of good stubble, marginal stubble will do. “Last year’s stubble will be long gone, even if the field was left unseeded so some farmers have

had success creating stubble by letting weeds and volunteers grow a bit longer than usual. Let them use up some water, then spray them out,” de Rocquigny says. If you can manage it (without weeds setting seed or certain weeds, like wild buckwheat, getting too large), spray the field a few weeks before seeding. There is a risk of wheat streak mosaic virus spreading from green cereal tissue to newly germinated winter wheat, so always make sure volunteers and weeds are dead and brown before seeding, de Rocquigny says. “You should ensure that there is at least 10 days to two weeks of no green material prior to planting” Some farmers choose to seed flax or Polish canola late and spray that out prior to seeding, which does create better stubble, but costs significantly more. At this point in the year, that’s not an option, but one to keep in mind for subsequent years. Winter wheat can be grown successfully on other types of stubble, not just canola.

How early can you seed? In the spring, it’s all about early, early, early. With winter wheat, there is an ideal window — there’s such thing as too early and too late. If you’re looking at unseeded acres, it is possible to get in there too early, giving the plant too much time to grow. Overly large plants are more susceptible to winterkill, as de Rocquigny says, “The cells in the crown get too large and are more likely to be damaged by freezing in the fall and winter. Also, too much leaf tissue could leave you open to higher disease pressure.” What’s ideal? That depends on where you farm. For Manitoba, de Rocquigny says farmers should aim for August 25, and wrap up seeding by early September. Crop insurance will cover you until September 15 with extended coverage to September 20. The key, de Rocquigny says, is to have winter wheat at the three- to four-leaf stage with one tiller and well-developed crown tissue going into winter. It may not hurt to choose a variety with a

Using 1,000 kernel weight to calculate seeding rate Once you choose a target plant density, use the actual 1,000 kernel weight and germination of the seedlot to calculate your seeding rate. 1) Choose a desired plant population range. For winter wheat, that’s 25 plants per square foot. 2) Count out 1,000 seeds and weigh them (in grams). This is a great activity for the kids to help with. 3) Estimate a seedling survival rate, which is the germination percentage minus a small amount for seedling mortality (usually five to 20 per cent for cereals. It’s much higher for canola). A common range for estimated cereal

seedling survival is 80 to 90 per cent, calculated by subtracting five to 10 per cent mortality from 90 to 95 per cent germination. 4) Calculate seeding rate in lb./ac. for target plant density range. The seed drill will then need to be calibrated to fall within this range. Equation: Seeding rate (l.b. a.c.) = desired plant population/ ft² x 1,000 K wt. (g) ÷ seedling survival rate (in decimal form such as 0.90) ÷ 10.4 Example: Wheat seeding rate = 25 plants/ft² x 35 g (for example) ÷ 0.90 ÷ 10.4 = 93.48 lb./acre Adapted from Alberta Agriculture’s seeding rate calculator (found through www1.agric.gov.ab.ca).

slightly higher winter survival rating if you’re seeding into lessthan-ideal stubble conditions. Or you can consider fall rye which is more tolerant of colder temperatures than winter wheat. Ideal seeding time in Alberta is similar to Manitoba, with the southern portion of the province likely to seed in early to mid-September, with more northern areas starting seeding in late August. In Saskatchewan, the seeding window is somewhat earlier. Mark Akins, conservation program specialist at Ducks Unlimited Canada based near Avonlea, Sask., says that some farmers were caught last year when they waited for the “ideal time” only to have the rains return in late August. “Because it’s so wet, I’d say get seeding during the first dry period after August 10,” he says. It’s not entirely ideal, but if the weather turns wet late in the summer you may miss your chance. Crop insurance varies by province, of course, so check that you’re eligible for coverage if that’s important to you. When seeding, aim for a germinated, growing stand of about 25 plants per square foot. Seeding rates are similar to spring wheat, however it’s always a good idea to do a 1,000 kernel weight calculation and account for germ rates versus a rule-of-thumb bushels per acre. (See sidebar for a formula for determining your seeding rate this way.) “It’s not a bad idea to bump

Tundra

seeding rates and use a seed treatment to get that crop off to the best start possible,” Akins says. “The healthier and more vigorous the stand is going into the winter the better chance it will survive, even without ideal stubble. Winter wheat has no dormancy issues, either, so feel free to harvest one week and use the same seed the next for a new crop, de Rocquigny says.

N now or N later And what about fertilizer? Experts always recommend approximately 20 pounds of actual phosphorus to go down with the seed as P is crucial to a germinating crop and essential for winter survival. Nitrogen (N), however, is always a hotly debated topic. Nitrogen put down at seeding is in the field long before it’s needed and thus susceptible to losses. Should you put down some, none or use an N-protecting product like ESN? The answer, as usual, is it depends. It’s usually possible to get into the field early enough in the spring to top dress with N, however, that’s been a struggle the last few years. Some farmers put down half of the N with the seed as a risk management tool (just in case they can’t get back in the spring). Still others will treat some or all of the N with ESN to minimize losses. Research suggests that N put down with

winter wheat much later in the season is at less risk to losses, but it really comes down to your comfort level. “If you’ve done a soil test and soil N is extremely low, it may be worth putting down half or some of the N at seeding,” de Rocquigny says.

What to do in the spring Come spring, winter wheat can look very rough, so give it a few weeks before deciding on whether or not it made it through winter ok. Winter wheat only needs about eight plants per square foot (that survive the winter) to make a decent stand — fewer than spring wheat. Assessments shouldn’t start until about midMay. It may take until late May to accurately gauge how well a stand survived winter. Farmers should plan to control weeds early in-crop and may want to pencil in both a leaf-disease and fusarium-controlling fungicide application if yield potential is high. Both leaf disease and fusarium have been issues this year and last due to cool, wet springs. In more average years, winter wheat is usually flowering prior to when fusarium risk is highest. All currently available varieties, however, are susceptible to fusarium infection. † Lyndsey Smith is editor of Grainews and really loves winter wheat.

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Features HARVEST MANAGEMENT

Swathing canola in less than ideal conditions General recommendations for swathing work when conditions are average. In hot, dry conditions or with impending frost, however, swathing sooner may offer an advantage BY JOHN MAYKO

ne of the most common agronomic questions regarding canola is “When should I swath?” And the short answer is, “It depends.” It depends on the circumstances of the crop and of the growing season in which the crop is maturing. Sometimes you see farmers, fearful of crop loss due to shattering, swathing canola that is as green as grass, with little or no seed colour change. Because canola is an elastic plant and also because flowering (and therefore seed maturation) takes place over a period of time, choosing the correct swath timing can sometimes be quite a challenge. There are several misconceptions regarding swath timing its impact on green Varietyand reclassification – [6”] seed and shattering. June 30, 2011

Green seed in canola occurs when the degreening enzymes, which are active under reasonable temperatures and seed moisture levels above 20 per cent, are unable to complete their job because of low temperatures and/or low seed moisture. Low seed moisture occurs when the crop dries down too quickly in hot and windy conditions or when seeds are desiccated due to frost destroying the cell walls in the seeds, which prevents them from holding moisture for further metabolic activity. In this article, I’ll review the principles of swath timing for canola and when you should look at altering it to optimize crop quality and yield. In general, under normal maturation and weather conditions, canola is ready for swathing when approximately 50 to 60 per cent of the seeds in the pods

on the main stem have started to change colour (SCC). This colour change can be yellow, tan, brown or black (depending on the variety and weather con-

To avoid chances of higher green seed, you usually need to swath at least three days or so before an imminent killing frost ditions) and just has to be seen on part of the seed, not cover the seed completely. Under these conditions, enough seeds will be

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Attention: Grain producers

Reminder of upcoming variety reclassification Effective August 1, 2013, the following wheat varieties will move from the Canada Western Red Winter class to the Canada Western General Purpose class:

CDC Kestrel CDC Falcon

 

CDC Clair CDC Raptor

CDC Harrier

CDC Falcon will be reclassified on August 1, 2013, if a new replacement variety with similar agronomic factors is commercially available. The Canadian Grain Commission will extend the transition period for CDC Falcon if there are no alternative varieties available on August 1, 2013.

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

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

physiologically mature to balance the concerns of shattering more mature seeds in the lower parts of the main stem to the less mature and greener seeds in the pods on the upper parts of the main stem. You can delay swathing until about 70 per cent SCC, but any further delays may cause excessive pod shatter. Under normal conditions, you should not swath much before 50 per cent SCC, as yields will usually be lower due to smaller and/or lighter seeds. These recommendations were based largely on research conducted by Canola Council staff and published in their ‘Time of Swathing’ brochure which is available on-line at https:// canola-council.merchantsecure. c o m / c a n o l a _ r e s o u rc e s / p r o d uct12.aspx. A useful video outlining how to go about assessing seed colour change is available online at: http://www.canolawatch.org/2011/05/03/how-todetermine-when-to-swath/.

SWATHING TO AVOID GREEN SEED There are a few circumstances where when altering those general swathing recommendations can lower the amount of green seed. The first is when conditions are hot, dry and windy, which causes the crop to dry down rapidly and doesn’t allow proper curing to take place. Under these conditions, you have the double whammy of lower yields because seeds have not filled completely plus the much greater risk of higher green seed. The rapid drying reduces moisture levels in the seed before completion of the proper degreening processes, which results in higher levels of green seed. Under these conditions, you should delay swathing as late as possible (until 70 per cent SCC if possible) and plan on swathing in the evening or through the night when temperatures are lower and humidity levels higher. If you do end up locking in the green seed due to cutting too soon, leaving the crop in the swath for longer periods for a possible rain to rehydrate the seeds can help. This rewetting reactivates the degreening enzymes (which generally stop working below 20-per-cent moisture levels) and can help lower green seed levels. BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

SWATHING IN THE FACE OF FROST A second such situation is when the crop is still greener than normal and a fall frost is imminent. Under these conditions, you can swath canola as early as 10 to 20 per cent SCC and lower the chances of green seed. In this case, swathing earlier allows the plant to dry down before the frost, which lowers the amount of free water in the seed and lowers the point at which the frost will cause damage. However, before deciding on cutting earlier to avoid green seed, you also need to consider the current weather and shortterm forecast. To avoid chances of higher green seed, you usually need to swath at least three days or so before an imminent killing frost. Cutting any later will not generally allow enough seed drying to occur to significantly reduce the chances of frost damage. Cool and humid weather conditions will also extend the time required before frost damage occurs. So hearing a weather forecast for frost the following evening and jumping on the swather to knock down the canola the day before will usually not help.

FROST EVALUATION So what should you do if you do get a frost on your canola before you have swathed it? First, don’t be in a big rush to knock it down until the condition of the crop and the amount of damage can be assessed. With light to moderate damage (when the outside of the pods are speckled but the pods are intact and not in any danger of desiccating), then leaving the crop standing to continue maturation is the best course of action. Only when the frost severely damaged the outside of the pods and where rapid fluid loss from the outside of the pods is occurring, should you swath quickly in order to preserve as much crop volume as possible. Secondly, check the crop on a daily basis to assess the condition and further evaluate the frost damage. And thirdly, allow the crop to continue maturation as long as possible to allow the remaining seeds to continue as much degreening as possible before the remaining crop is at the appropriate stage for harvest. For more detailed information on how a fall frost impacts canola maturation get to the following factsheet on the Canola Council website at: https://canola-council.merchantsecure.com/ canola_resources/product39. aspx. Hopefully this article has explained the basic principles of seed colour change in canola, the optimum time for swathing, and when to considering altering that timing when weather conditions are less than average or “normal.” † John Mayko is a senior agri-coach with Agri-Trend Agrology and offers agri-coaching services in the Mundare, Alta., area where he also farms with his family.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

grainews.ca /

Features FALL WEED CONTROL

How late is too late to spray? Controlling perennials and winter annuals in the fall offers the most effective kill. A change of herbicide choice can stretch the spray window BY LYNDSEY SMITH

“

a ll is really the earliest spring,” says Clark Brenzil, provincial specialist in weed control with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. He’s speaking in the context of fall weed control, specifically for the control of perennials and winter annuals. Depending on the weed pressures out in the field and your weed control weapon of choice, fall spraying can still be effective long past harvest — assuming the weather co-operates, of course. “Late August and into September is the best time for control of perennials with glyphosate,” Brenzil says, as this is when weeds such as dandelion, Canada thistle and sow thistle are moving sugars below ground and into new buds. “The top growth may stop expanding, but the plant is still very much active,” he says. The key to effectively controlling these weeds before winter is to get the glyphosate on the plant and into the roots and new buds during this time of preparing for winter. In the spring, the process is reversed, so the plant is moving energy away from buds and roots making them much harder to kill. Just how important is fall weed control? Nasir Shaikh, provincial weed specialist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, says that the top four perennial weeds in Manitoba are: Canada thistle, dandelion, quackgrass and perennial sow thistle. If this sounds like the problem weed spectrum in your field, Shaikh says that, yes, glyphosate is a good option, but adding in a residual product, such as a Group 2 product, will offer better control of winter annuals, as well. Both perennials and winter annuals are best controlled in the fall, however the ideal window for control of each can be several weeks apart.

“A sudden, hard frost after warm or hot weather can cause a lot of damage,” Brenzil says, as evidenced by darkened, water-soaked leaves (not unlike frost damage to crops in the spring). If, however, the weather has been cool to cold for several days, Canada thistle, for example, could survive a frost as low as -10 C. “It’s best to wait 48 hours after a frost to determine if the plant is going to recover enough to warrant spraying,” he says. If the plant recovers and has about 60 per cent leaf tissue intact, be sure to up your rate based on the decreased living leaf area available to absorb the herbicide.

WINTER ANNUALS While late fall is also a great time to control winter annuals, early spring provides another window for control. That said, winter annuals are easiest to kill in the fall when they are their smallest, and you can’t always guarantee you’ll be able to get onto fields early enough in the spring for good control. Because winter annuals go into winter still green, spraying can happen much later into the season. “Winter annuals can be sprayed until freeze-up. Thanksgiving weekend or later is ideal,” Brenzil says. It’s important to switch chemicals as the days and nights get

colder. Glyphosate and Group 2 chemicals need sun and daytime and nighttime warm, temperatures to work effectively. After the last week of September, a phenoxy-based herbicide may be a better choice. The phenoxy family of herbicides, such as 2, 4-D and MCPA, still work in much cooler temperatures. “If it’s warm enough to keep your sprayer from freezing, you can still be out there spraying winter annuals (with phenoxy herbicides),” Brenzil says.

WET ACRES It is still very important to control weeds in wet or unseeded acres, says

Shaikh. “If these weeds are not controlled this year they (weeds) may go to seed and can come again next year with much more intensity,” he says. Brenzil does note one last caution. “For those with still-wet acres, take the time to evaluate the cost of late weed control on unseeded land. That cost includes the damage that ruts might make,” he says. Also, it’s important to take into account what impact wet land may have on frost damage to plants at the soil level. “Water is a heat sink and could provide some protection to weeds close to the ground,” he says. † Lyndsey Smith is editor of Grainews. Contact her at lyndsey@fbcpublishing.com.

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WHAT ABOUT FROST? The challenge with fall perennial weed control is deciding when it is too late to be effective. The decision has to be made by looking at the condition of target weed and the past and forecast weather instead of the calendar. Glyphosate is less effective on perennial weeds when conditions are cold and/or cloudy, causing the plant growth to pause. By Dan Piraro

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Features WINTER CROPS

Winter pulses give farmers another option

Seeding cereals in the fall is common practice for some, but seeding pulses may just seem too risky. New research in Alberta is proving otherwise BY LEE HART

any farmers struggled to get a crop in this spring, and still others were happy to have had winter cereals in rotation to take some of the squeeze off a short seeding season. With wet weather persisting in some areas, the prospect of seeding a wider range of “winter” crops in late sum-

mer may have greater appeal and a good fit in some regions. During an afternoon Crop Walk at Lethbridge in early June, about a dozen southern Alberta farmers had a look at field trials with winter crops being conducted by Farming Smarter (the new name for the Southern Applied Research Association) and Alberta Agriculture. Both organizations have been

looking at the potential of winter pulse crops for the past few years. Spokesmen for both organizations say they have been impressed with performance of both winter pea and lentil varieties. Ken Coles, research manager for Farming Smarter, says they’ve only had about three years of field trials, but winter lentils, seeded around September 15, have shown excellent winter survival in southern

Ken Coles of Farming Smarter, left, talks to farmers about potential of winter lentils.

Alberta and have out-yielded plots of spring-seeded varieties. Similarly, winter peas, seeded in September have performed well with yields 50 per cent higher than spring-seeded varieties. Alberta Agriculture research scientist Ross McKenzie says they have seen reasonably good success with both winter peas and lentils at research trials at Bow Island, Brooks, Lethbridge and Lacombe.

But it appears soil temperatures are just too cold at Edmonton to make current varieties viable in that area. Last year, for example, winter peas at Brooks yielded about 80 bushels per acre, which was considerably higher than spring seeded varieties. The key to the success of winter pulse crops obviously hinges on winter survival. Both peas and lentils can handle winter soil tem-

Ross McKenzie with Alberta Agriculture says winter canola varieties may be coming, but they are sometime away.

COULDA SHOULDA WOULDA

JULY/AUGUST 2011

grainews.ca /

Features peratures as low as minus five degrees Celsius, but survival is limited or doubtful if temperatures reach minus eight to minus 10 degrees Celsius. McKenzie says even though the 2010-11 winter seemed long and cold, the average winter soil temperature monitored at Lethbridge was in the minus four to five degrees Celsius range. McKenzie says he is encouraged with the potential of the two winter pulse crops. He isn’t recommending farmers seed half their farms to the crops, but he did suggest farmers may want to try 20 or 40 acres of the crops to see how they perform. Seed for both winter

pea and lentil varieties are available in the U.S. Field trials in Alberta are ongoing to fine tune seeding dates and seeding rates. On the other hand, McKenzie says anyone holding out hope of producing winter faba beans needs to move on. Research trials with the crop show current varieties just don’t have the hardiness to survive southern Alberta winters. For more information on the winter pulse trials contact Ken Coles by email at ken@farmingsmarter.com or phone 403-317-0757. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews at Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

OTHER WINTER CROPS WINTER CANOLA While plot trials with newer winter canola varieties appear to be promising, McKenzie is very clear in advising farmers not to get anxious about sourcing seed and growing the crop in Alberta. The research is being led by Habibur Rahman, canola breeder at the University of Alberta. McKenzie says it appears some new varieties of winter canola do well in research trials, but he says it is still some years before registered varieties and the proper agronomics for growing the crop will be available to producers. Some of the lines from Rahman’s breeding program are being evaluated at

Lethbridge. The crop is seeded in late August and is ready for harvest by early July the following summer.

Morton winter lentils appear to perform well under southern Alberta conditions.

WINTER SAFFLOWER With even the spring-seeded safflower varieties being a limited-acre crop in southern Alberta, some farmers may be interested in watching trials on winter safflower varieties. McKenzie says it’s early and it won’t be a large scale crop in any event, but winter safflower appears to have good survival at Lethbridge. While he included winter safflower in trials “just to see what it would do,” McKenzie says it may have some potential down the road.

Morton winter lentils appear to perform well under southern Alberta conditions.

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Features Crop production

Crop Advisor’s Casebook

STUNTED PEAS STUMP THIS FARMER

an’s curiosity about his first crop on a new parcel of land quickly turned to concern when he noticed some of the field peas he had planted that spring had stopped flowering. “A section of my field is ripening before the rest of it,” he told me one day in early July last year, “It doesn’t make sense.” I headed out to Dan’s farm mulling over the details he’d given me. The plants were stunted and appeared to have stopped flowering on roughly 50 acres in the middle of a 350-acre field, he said. Dan, who grows 7,500 acres of wheat, lentils, peas and canola near Herbert, Sask., told me the rest of the field looked completely normal. He thought perhaps herbicide carryover was to blame. That was one of many possibilities we had to consider. Looking out over Dan’s field of peas, I could plainly see an ovalshaped area of stunted plants. These plants seemed to be ripening, while the rest of the plants surrounding the area were still flowering. The healthy-looking plants appeared to be developing normally when compared with his other fields. I pulled up a few of the plants in the affected area and I noticed they had poor root and nodule development when compared with the healthy-looking plants. The field had seen its fair share of rain that spring, so conditions were wet, but the field was well drained and there was no standing water. With the exception of the rain, weather conditions had been fair, so frost, hail and wind were not factors in this case.

Corey Price The seed had been treated, and an inoculant had been applied at planting. We concluded the seed could not be the cause of the damage because the plants surrounding the area of concern were healthy and developing well. The damage to Dan’s field could have been caused by herbicide carryover or possibly drift from a neighbouring field. We examined the field for patterns associated with herbicide drift but we didn’t find any. We then contacted the previous owner for a record of chemicals applied to the field—no residual herbicides had been used over the past few years. Next we considered the possibility that insects were damaging Dan’s crop. We checked for pea leaf weevils and aphids as well as damage from wireworms and cutworms. We found no evidence of an insect infestation.

Crop Advisor’s Solution

etermining the reason for herbicide failure on your farm is more important than you might think, as one Manitoba farmer experienced first-hand after some broadleaf weeds in his wheat field appeared to be growing uncontrolled after spraying. Peter, who farms 2,500 acres of wheat, canola and oats at Eden, called me late last June to diagnose the problem — he’d found wild buckwheat, redroot pigweed and hemp-nettle plants growing in his wheat field three weeks after spraying a tank mix containing Group 1 and Group 2 herbicides. “The herbicide didn’t work on some of my broadleaf weeds,” he told me. At first, when I walked through Peter’s wheat field, I thought there was good control of all weeds. Although there were some green foxtail plants, as well as wild buckwheat and redroot pigweed in the cotyledon stage, these weeds were small, and I concluded they had emerged after herbicide application. I was more concerned about several

patches of hemp-nettle I found at the four- to six-leaf stage. These plants were too advanced to be second flush germinations. These weeds appeared to have escaped control — yet other species of weeds in the field showed symptoms of herbicide injury. There were a few possibilities for the failure of the herbicide to control the hemp-nettle: Peter may have made an error when making up his tank mix, or if he’d sprayed under adverse weather conditions, the herbicide could have been rendered ineffective. One last consideration involved an alarming trend I’d been witnessing more often on farms in our area and across Manitoba. In recent years, the number of herbicide-resistant weeds has been increasing. Hemp-nettle is one of several weeds becoming herbicide resistant. Records indicated Peter’s tank mix was correct, and since all other broadleaf weeds appeared to be controlled, he had not forgotten to add the Group 2 herbicide to the mix. Also, weather

This wheat is suffering in the same way Dan’s peas were. Do you know what’s to blame? Now that we had ruled out all of the other possibilities, we decided to compare the soil from the affected with the non-affected areas. We sent samples of the soil profile from a zero- to six- and sixto 12-inch depth for analysis. When the results came back, Dan was surprised by what I had to say.

Why have the plants in the middle of Dan’s field stopped flowering, and why is their growth stunted? Send your diagnosis to GRAINEWS, Box 9800, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 3K7; email lyndsey@fbcpublishing. com or fax 204-944-5416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook. Best suggestions will be pooled and

one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a GRAINEWS cap and a one-year subscription to the magazine. The best answer, along with the reasoning which solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. † Corey Price is a crop input manager at Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Herbert, Sask.

THIS MISS IS A RESISTANCE ISSUE conditions had been excellent at the time of spraying — warm, sunny and little wind — so right away we were able to determine that was also not the cause for herbicide failure. Finally, test results confirmed my suspicion — the hemp-nettle growing in Peter’s wheat field was Group 2 resistant. The issue of herbicide-resistant weeds is gaining importance for producers across Western Canada. Over the last few years, I’ve seen a growing number of cases like this one. Weeds can become resistant to herbicide by repeated use of the same herbicide group on a field. Hemp-nettle plants produce small seeds that are difficult to clean from grain, and the seeds can stay dormant for long periods of time, making the weeds hard to manage once they become established in a field. Peter’s records indicated he’d used a Group 2 herbicide on that field two out of the last three years—one year he grew glyphosate-tolerant canola. In the past, the Group 2 herbicide had

worked well to control the weed population, including hemp-nettle. Now that the population of hemp-nettle in Peter’s field was resistant to Group 2 herbicides, he had to change his game plan. For example, Peter should rotate the herbicide groups, or modes of action, he chooses for control of weeds by tank mixing multiple modes of action to target weeds. It is important for Peter to avoid using only Group 2 herbicides in the tank mix. By keeping accurate and current records to track the herbicide modes of action used on a field, effective groupings are easier to determine for targeting weeds in the future. Another essential step in minimizing the risk of developing herbicide-resistant weeds is to thoroughly scout fields early in the season in order to identify patches of these weeds. The use of cultural control methods, such as higher seeding rates, can also help reduce the onset of herbicide resistance. This reduces the selection for resistant weeds.

Do not allow herbicide-resistant weeds to produce seeds and monitor known patches of resistant weeds each year to prevent their spread to the entire field—it is easier to manage a few patches than an entire field, or farm, of resistant weeds. Spot spray or manually rogue patches of resistant weeds. Peter’s wheat crop and the hemp-nettle patches were too advanced for emergency application of in-crop herbicide. I recommended a pre-harvest application of glyphosate to reduce the viability of the hemp-nettle seeds or a manual rogue of the patches. Keeping a careful eye on his tank mixes and following the above suggestions resulted in a reduction of the herbicide-resistant hemp-nettle population in Peter’s field. Now that he knew what to look for, and how to continue to manage herbicideresistant weeds, Peter could go on controlling weeds in the future with confidence. † Scott Newton is a sales agronomist at Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Minnedosa, Man.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

grainews.ca /

Features GRAIN STORAGE

OPI introduces moisture sensors New technology eliminates guess work of determining both moisture and temperature of stored crops BY LEE HART

PI-Integris, which 25 years ago brought western Canadian farmers the first temperature sensing cables for monitoring grain condition inside the bin, has this year introduced a monitoring cable that provides a reading of both moisture and temperature of stored crops. The combination OPI-Integris moisture/temperature monitoring cable appears similar and operates similar to the straight temperature cable, but adding the moisture reading is a “huge leg up” for farmers looking to protect the quality of crops while in storage, says Dave Crompton, OPI-Integris founder and company CEO. “Temperature is one indicator, but being able to determine the moisture level of stored crops provides considerably more information to producers,” says Crompton. “The old saw is that moisture is money. Grain is sold by weight, so the objective is to have crops at safe moisture levels for storage, but at maximum allowable moisture content for marketing”. Technology behind the moisture sensing cable, earned the Calgary-based OPI-Integris an award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers earlier this year.

the inside perimeter of the bin, along with two or three of the standard straight temperature sensing cables. If farmers already have OPIIntegris (brand name StorMax) temperature sensors installed in bins, again on the smaller bins it is matter of replacing the straight temperature cable with the new combination cable. In larger bins, Crompton says producers should swap out some of the straight temperature cables and replace with the combination cable. The combination moisture/ temperature cable costs about 50 per cent more than a straight temperature sensor. That brings

the suggested retail price of the combo cable to about $600 each. Depending on the size of the grain storage system there are two ways to monitor moisture/ temperature cable readings. With smaller systems farmers can stand next to a bin to use a hand held StorMax monitor with digital display that shows both moisture and temperature levels. And with larger systems, or for producers who live some distance from grain bins, an Integris Pro monitoring system can be installed which links readings from sensor cables to farm office computers, whether you are just down the road, or two provinces away.

THE COST OF HIGH MOISTURE Aeration systems on grain bins, for example, are used for two primary purposes — to get air flow through the stored crop to reduce heat, and also, if needed, to lower moisture content by a couple percentage points to achieve safe moisture storage (depending on the crop about 14 per cent for short-term and 12 per cent moisture for long term). Some larger bins can be outfitted with drying units to actually use the bin as a grain dryer. “These new moisture cables, will eliminate the guess work of moisture levels in stored grain,” says Crompton. “The cable is accurate to within about one per cent moisture. And moisture can have a huge impact on crop value. Moisture itself is not a quality parameter, but if stored grain is too high in moisture it can lead to overheating and mould, as well as contribute to disease and insect development in stored crops.” Crompton says in hopper or flat bottom bins up to 24 feet in diameter one moisture/temperature cable, suspended in the centre of the bin is sufficient to monitor bin conditions.

A COMBINATION APPROACH In larger bins, he recommends a combination approach that includes one moisture/temperature cable in the centre of the bin and then two or three more moisture/temperature cables on

Advantage #2

Storage Versatility With Meridian smooth-wall hopper bins, Storage Versatility means you can store any grain, seed, fertilizer and even liquid in the same bin. Another great advantage of Meridian Built.

“It is an excellent insurance and management feature,” says Crompton. “You can guess at what moisture levels are in the bin, or you can invest in technology that will provide a much more accurate measure. If you can increase the value of stored crop or on the flip side reduce the risk of spoilage due to high moisture, the sensor equipment pays for itself very quickly.” OPI-Integris has an established dealer network in Canada and the U.S. For more information on company products visit their website at: www.advancedgrainmanagement.com. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews at Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OPI-INTEGRIS.

Dave Crompton, founder and CEO of the Calgary-based OPI-Integris points out that moisture is money.

/ grainews.ca

JULY/AUGUST 2011

Features GRAIN STORAGE

HOW TO MAKE STORING GRAIN IN A QUONSET EASIER BY RON SETTLER

t’s a beautiful harvest day. The truck load of No. 1 wheat is being augered into our row of shiny new hopper bottom bins...Wake up! You’re dreaming again! Oh, yes, it was only a dream. Now back to reality and the real grain storage on Ancient Acres. When I started farming back in 1975, my only grain storage was a 40 x 80 foot wooden quonset built in 1957 by George Burgess, my uncle. I’m not terribly forwardthinking, so I’ve been using this ever since — much the dismay of our three sons. Storing grain in the quonset used to involve a lot of work if I had different grades and types of grain. I would build movable walls out of OSB, plywood, and whatever sticks and boards I could find. Then, if the crop was good, the wall would start to lean over, and we would need more sticks and boards to prop them up. Once or twice we had a collapse but no casualties were reported. “The Leaning Walls of Tullis” (named after the extinct nearby town) were a much unloved tradition on our farm. Then came the time to haul grain. It seemed like 80 per cent of the grain would have to be shovelled into the auger. This wasn’t too bad when the trucks only held 200 bushels. However, with the advent of tridems and B-trains this was definitely getting tiresome. When we finally got a hydraulic bin sweep there was much rejoicing. In the last two or three years, we’ve discovered that grain vacs have been invented and this is great for cleaning the quonset. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s cheap grain storage. For the last 35 years we’ve stored grain in it and it hasn’t cost a lot for maintenance. We can put 10,000 bushels in there if we squeeze it in. If the moisture is up around 17 per cent, it will still keep over winter without spoiling.

True, the roof has always leaked. This quonset was built with a shiplap roof deck and cedar shingles. There’s a bit of a peak added to the top, but still it’s not steep enough to keep a cedar roof from leaking. Also the shingles were not No. 1s, but No. 3s with lots of knot holes in them. It likely leaked almost from the time it was built. I’ve thought of re-roofing but the cost of covering 4,000-plus square feet with something that doesn’t leak has always scared me. I just keep patching up the old cedar and we shovel out a bit of funny smelling grain every year. We probably lose on average about 10 or 20 bushels a year. That’s about $100 worth of grain and I’ve always rationalized that at this price it’s not worth putting on a roof. Over the years we’ve made a few additions that have helped make it more usable. See Figure 1. 1. Centre Wall: For the most part, Ben has been the idea guy for improving the quonset. A few years ago he suggested a centre wall, so we built one. It starts at the far end and goes down the centre for 40 feet. It’s eight feet tall and secured by cables top and bottom. It’s also lag bolted to the floor. When Uncle George built this he was thoughtful enough to put steel tie down brackets in the concrete every two feet along each side. We use these to attach cables from the outside edge of the floor to the top of the wall. The nice thing about cables is that we have pins attaching them to the floor so that they can be quickly unhooked when you’re hauling grain. We also have bottom cables to keep the bottom of the wall from moving. These we leave in place at all times. We often add makeshift extensions to the wall to make it longer if needed. (“The Leaning Walls of Tullis” continue). We didn’t make the permanent wall any longer than 40 feet because then it would

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It may not be fancy, but with a few modifications this quonset makes for decent grain storage. Figure 1

be too hard to back a truck into the quonset. We can fill the centre wall up to its full eight-foot height without any danger. The wall is made of two sets of 2"x4" studs with sheets of OSB in the middle. The top plate is triple (three layers of two-inch lumber) for added strength. 2. Corner bins Another helpful idea was to put bins in the front corners on either side of the doors. This area is not much use for grain storage without some walls to keep the grain from running out the front door. I put up these bins years ago and they hold about 600 bushels each. They are 14 feet long, six feet wide at the bottom, and the walls are six feet high. There’s one cable in the middle to keep the thing from collapsing when it’s full. We seem to use these every year but they are not easy to clean out. Lots of shovel work. However there’s a rumour that a grain vac is coming to live at our farm, so this will make them much more back-friendly.

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3. Loading Chutes Once we started loading trucks that were too big to back into the quonset, we decided to put in loading chutes on the far end away from the main door. Ben

For the last 35 years we’ve stored grain in it and it hasn’t cost a lot for maintenance designed these, and by hinging the tops and side panels made it easy to clean up around them. We may add one on each side in the middle but we’re not sure yet. 4. Roof Hatches The final things that made life easy are roof hatches for loading grain. In the old days, I’d just

back the two-ton into the quonset and unload grain until the axle of the auger was covered. Then you’d drag it out a few more feet and do it again. I can’t understand why our sons couldn’t see the fun in this. With roof hatches, however, you can just put the auger in the roof and unload three or four thousand bushels without moving the auger. Isn’t new technology amazing? We put one hatch on each side but we may put a couple more on the roof in the future. There you have it, the secret of storing grain in a quonset. If you have a quonset some of these ideas might make it a bit more useful for you. Until the bin fairy comes along to grant our wish for those new hopper bins, we’ll still likely be using our quonset. Enjoy the summer and good luck with your harvest. † Ron Settler farms with his wife Sheila and their sons Ben and Dan. They also operated a repair and salvage business at Lucky Lake, Sask. You can contact Ron at 306-858-2681 or email at r.settler@hotmail.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

grainews.ca /

Features FARMER PANEL

Zero to “great” harvest forecasts While there is a lot of weather to happen yet between now and harvest, farmers make a call on how harvest potential looks in July BY LEE HART

armers across Western Canada all have different stories to tell for the midsummer Farmer Panel as they talk about plans for harvest and crop storage this fall. All use “wet” to describe the situation at seeding, but details of their current circumstances go from one extreme to the other. An Alberta farmer was looking at a “very good” crop in early to mid-July, a Manitoba farmer was anticipating perhaps half his normal yield, and comments from two Saskatchewan farmers ranged from about average to absolutely nothing. Here is what farmers had to say about their fall harvest outlook:

DANIEL VAN DE VELDE MARIAPOLIS, MAN. Adequate crop storage isn’t expected to be an issue for Daniel Van De Velde of Mariapolis, Man., this fall. While he got everything seeded one way or another — albeit late — he expects yield of wheat and canola to be about half of normal this year. Van De Velde, who along with his

family crops about 4,000 acres in total on two farms in south-central Manitoba says it was a struggle to get crops seeded over a long, wet seeding season. They got all the wheat seeded, but about 250 acres of that at his dad’s farm near Dunrae drowned out after about three inches of rain fell after seeding. At Daniel’s farm at Mariapolis he hired a TerraGator to float on 500 acres of canola and an airplane to fly seed on another 500 acres. Some of it was harrowed after seeding and some was not. At the Dunrae farm 1,000 acres of canola was seeded by plane. “It is surprising how well the canola is coming,” says Van De Velde. “Some of it we were able to harrow after seeding and some of it we couldn’t. Even the seed that was just flown on and left is coming along quite well. We’re actually trying to get some fertilizer floated on right now (early July).” He says even seed that fell into standing water managed to germinate and take root. “It looks like a reasonably good stand has survived,” he says. But it took until mid-June to finish seeding, so he’s looking for good weather conditions between now and late fall so the crop can mature

for harvest. Even if all goes well, however, he expects yields will be about half of normal. In a “normal” year they have adequate bin storage, and have added some new 11,000 and 13,000 bushel bins in recent years. And if needed they have some larger machinery sheds that can be used when yields are at or above normal.

KRIS MAYERLE TISDALE, SASK. Kris Mayerle has gone through a range of thoughts about the 2011 crop between April and July. In late April it was so wet he thought it might be a repeat of 2010 when only about half of the nearly 20,000 acres he crops with family members got seeded. Surprisingly, conditions improved considerably to allow seeding to begin in early May and finish before the end of the month. For a few days, after crops germinated there was potential, he thought, for even a bumper yield because moisture conditions were so good. But then two weeks of rain — about four inches — in the last part of June has drowned out 10 to 20 per cent of canola acres, and put stress on crop that has

survived (root rot in peas, some wheat looking yellow), so he has revised his estimate to “perhaps an average yield”. It is still a better situation than last year, says Mayerle, but a lot of his crop land is at the saturation point. “Even a half inch of rain now and we have standing water in the fields,” he says. So with a well established storage system he doesn’t expect space to be an issue this fall. He has two grain dryers that can be used as needed, and overall between their own and on rented farms they have between 600,000 and 700,000 bushels of permanent storage, and three years ago he bought a grain bagging system, so that is also available if needed. “Some crops are stressed by all this moisture, but I see a wide range of conditions out there,” he says. “Some crops are looking pretty good and others aren’t. And crop stage is all over the board too.” Although wheat was seeded early, some is barely at the flag leaf stage, while other fields are fully headed. Some of the canola is in 40 per cent bloom, while other fields probably won’t even be at the bolting stage for another week. Peas were just

starting to bloom in early July, and oats are at the flag leaf stage. “At this point it looks like some of our crop will be normal and we’ll start combining in mid to late August and with other crops it is going to be pretty late.”

JOSH FANKHAUSER CLARESHOLM, ALTA. Josh Fankhauser, didn’t actually use the word “bumper” in his harvest forecast, but with “very good” conditions as of early July, the southern Alberta farmer expects he will be putting the grain bagging system he bought last year to good use this fall. Fankhauser, who crops about 7,000 acres at Claresholm, northwest of Lethbridge says seeding conditions were wet. He was unable to seed about 600 acres and another 300 acres of low spots and potholes have drowned out since the crop was seeded. As conditions dry out he plans to seed cover crops on the unseeded land. “There is the odd bad spot out there, but overall our crops are looking pretty good,” he says. “And with good moisture the yield potential is very good, as well.”

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Features » CONTINUED FROM Previous PAGE

about 10,000 to 15,000 bushels in each bag this year. “That was part of the learning process,” says Fankhauser. “The bagging system worked fine and we didn’t have any issue with spoilage until we opened a bag. But then if you only took out a portion of a bag, and then left the bag open for a while until next delivery, there could be some spoilage near the opening.” This fall he plans to only put 10,000 to 15,000 bushels in each bag, so when he makes a delivery he empties a bag completely. He estimates the cost of bagging and extraction system at 10 to 12 cents per bushel.

Fankhauser bought the Albertamade Renn 12-foot grain bagging system last year. “We put about 250,000 bushels of canola, wheat and peas in bags last year,” he says. “Any new system has a few hiccups, but over all it worked very well. He says the bags protected crop quality, and he is impressed with the unloading system, which can fill a Super B truck in less than 20 minutes. The grain bagger, for the most part, replaces older, smaller permanent storage bins. “We had a bunch of older 5,000 bushel bins that needed to be replaced and we compared the cost of doing that with buying a grain bagging system.” Fankhauser has a newer 24,000 bushel bin and two 10,000 bushel steel bins, which they’ll use, but everything else will go in the bags. Each bag will hold up to 30,000 bushels, but he says to minimize risk of spoilage and convenience he only plans to put

MARCEL VAN STAVEREN GRIFFIN, SASK. Despite the fact he has 13,000 acres unseeded, and much of that just sitting with standing water on fields, Marcel Van Staveren can still joke that on the upside he has lots of bin space available

this year, if anyone wants to rent it. He has plenty of storage capacity, but other than 500 acres he did get seeded, and a slim chance of harvesting some volunteer canola, he has nothing to put in those bins. Van Staveren, who farms at Griffin just east of Weyburn in southeast Saskatchewan, says all he can do now is manage his land in hopes he can plant a crop next year. “Right now it is all about 2012,” he says. “Our plan is to keep as much green cover as possible on fields as long as we can, in hopes of drawing that water table down, so we will be able to plant next year.” All that is growing this year is volunteer cereals and a lot of volunteer canola. With 40 per cent of his land, in some areas, with standing water (and some neighbors with 100 per cent) he says he can’t even get on fields to spray weeds or volunteers. “We’ll keep that green cover on

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there as long as possible and then hopefully by the end of July be able to work it in for green manure,” he says. He is looking at the possibility of harvesting some of the volunteer hybrid canola, but if it only produces 10 bushels per acre, it may not be worth the effort. Van Staveren, who has run a one-pass, direct seeding operation since 1993 says he also plans to make a couple tillage passes with a disc, this summer as well, to help dry out the soil. “I don’t like to, but we have to do whatever we can to help dry out those fields, and the green cover is the first step, and then tillage is next,” he says. The local Viterra farm centre has also agreed to delay delivery of anhydrous ammonia he had booked for this past spring, for use this coming fall. While the anhydrous usually goes on at seeding, he plans to deep band it this fall, which again should help speed up seeding operations next spring.

Van Staveren didn’t think it likely there could be crop failures two years in a row, and although he was lucky to get everything seeded in 2010, some of his neighbors didn’t and they are now coping with the second successive year of little or no crop. He remembers a wet spring in 1999 when he only got about 60 per cent of his land seeded, and then in 2004 a frost in midAugust produced “the worst loss we have experienced.” “It looks to me like we have to plan and manage for a crop failure every five or six years,” he says. “With the AgriStability Program and crop insurance we will survive, but it just places us in a holding pattern, we won’t be able to make any strides in our farming business. It just means that 12 months from now we will be in the same position we are in today.” † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews at Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES Weather Forecast for the period of July 25 to August 20, 2011

Southern Alberta

Peace River

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

July 25 - 30 Pleasant and warm on most days, but with isolated heavy thunderstorms in a few localities.

July 25 - 30 Sunny aside from 2 to 3 days with shower or thunderstorm activity. Seasonable to hot temperatures.

July 25 - 30 Sunshine dominates, except for thunderstorm activity here and there. Seasonable temperatures to hot conditions at times.

July 31 - August 6 Settled with comfortable temperatures. Widely separated showers or thunderstorms.

July 31 - August 6 Widely separated showers or thunderstorms at times, but generally settled with comfortable temperatures.

July 31 - August 6 Comfortable temperatures. Mostly sunny. Hotter days set off heavier thunderstorms.

July 31 - August 6 Pleasant temperatures and sunny most days. Hotter days spawn thunderstorms in places.

August 7 - 13 Seasonal to occasionally hot conditions. Sunny aside from isolated thunderstorms, heavy in places.

August 7 - 13 Sunny skies dominate, but with a risk of heavy thunderstorms in places. Seasonal to hot temperatures.

August 14 - 20 Sunshine and seasonal conditions most days, but showers or heavier thunderstorms are expected here and there.

August 14 - 20 Mostly sunny with highs often in the 20s. Expect a few passing heavier thunderstorms.

August 7 - 13 Hot at times. Sunshine alternates with scattered showers and thunderstorms, locally heavy.

August 7 - 13 Sunshine alternates with scattered showers and thunderstorms, locally heavy. Hot at times.

August 14 - 20 Mainly sunny and settled aside from widely separated showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures will be on the warm side.

9 / 22 Grande Prairie 67.9 mms

August 14 - 20 Warm conditions. Mainly sunny and settled aside from a few widely separated showers and thunderstorms.

Precipitation Forecast 9 / 23 Edmonton 94.3 mms

11 / 24 North Battleford

8 / 22 Jasper

7 / 22

51.2 mms

9 / 22 Red Deer 87.9 mms

Banff

10 / 23 Calgary

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

11 / 23 The Pas

69.9 mms

11 / 27 Medicine Hat cms Lethbridge 40.919mms 45.3 mms 26 cms 11 / 26

11 / 24 Saskatoon 58.0 mms

Precipitation Outlook For August

70.2 mms

72.1 mms

68.2 mms

56.2 mms

BELOW NORMAL

10 / 23 Prince Albert

NEAR NORMAL

11 / 24 Yorkton

11 / 24 Dauphin

ABOVE NORMAL

12 / 24 11 / 26 64.2 mms 69.3 mms 12 / 27 Gimli Regina 11 / 25 Moose Jaw 58.9 mms 75.0 mms Swift 54.1 mms 13 / 25 11 / 25 Portage 12 / 25 Current 11 / 27 Brandon 76.9 mms Winnipeg 48.9 mms Weyburn 72.1 mms 72.0 mms 60.0 mms 12 / 27 Estevan Melita 10 / 26 61.1 mms

64.8 mms

Much Above Normal Below Much above normal normal below normal normal

JULY/AUGUST 2011

grainews.ca /

Columns SOIL AND CROPS

Fertilizing canola for maximum yields Hybrid lines have great potential but can only reach the highest yields if fed properly LES HENRY

estern Canadian farmers have seen a revolution in canola yield potential thanks to the advent of hybrid lines and herbicide tolerant varieties. While yield potential of new hybrids is impressive, these varieties must be well fed to reach the top yields of 50 bushels per acre or better. On my little place at Dundurn. Sask., I have three hopper bottom bins that will hold 50+ bu/ac from the quarter section. Someday before I croak it would be nice to fill those bins with canola, and even better if it could be done with the price at $13/bu. This year Mother Nature provided a soil full of water to start the season and that was known early last fall. Surface water is fickle and changes quickly but subsoil moisture sits patiently until a plant root comes along to suck it up. On May 10 to 12, 2011, I seeded 5.1 lb./ac. of Pioneer 45H29 bought from Ardell Seeds at Vanscoy. Last fall, 65 pounds of N/ac was applied as anhydrous, and then on May 2, 150 lb./ac. of 21-0-0-24 was floated on most of the quarter. Some parts were too wet and are low-lying and likely didn’t need the sulphur anyway. A nice rain was received the next day to wash the broadcast fertilizer in. I also have a few acres of newer breaking that was an old pig pasture in days gone by. It has not seen a pig in probably 30 years but the leavings are very much in evidence. There was no fertilizer applied to the breaking except for a bit of seed-placed P and the

outside two rounds did not get even that. The following pictures taken June 28 tell quite a story about the role of soil fertility in getting the potential out of hybrid canolas. Please note that the following photos are not a true story about the entire crop; there are places of weak stand and the crop is not all at same stage. Dry, windy conditions after seeding and a poorly performing fertilizer attachment on my museum piece seeder (MF 360 discer) made for poor distribution of P. But, the photos do tell a story about soil fertility. (Thanks to John Lee of Agvise Labs, North Dakota, for the soil analyses). Photo 1. This is the newer ground with no fertilizer applied. The crop had vigor from the start and has big cabbage leaves, is flowering well and generally looks good. But, take a good look at the soil test data — soil Organic Matter is high as are all available nutrients. Photo 2. This is what some of the regular field looks like after a big dose of various fertilizers were applied. It’s a respectable looking crop, but nothing like the breaking. The soil organic matter is moderate and N, P and S are low. Photos 3 and 4. The eroded knolls are almost always a disappointment when the combine rolls over them. The soil test says it all — they need big doses of almost everything. On the left is what most knolls look like. On the right is a small area where I took left over 12-52-0 and broadcast it at a very high rate after seeding and rains after that moved it in. It made a huge difference. These few pictures drive home the importance of soil fertility in achieving yield goals of hybrid canola varieties. They are like thoroughbred race horses that need a

1. New breaking soil test: OM 5.2%, N 64, P 198, K 3084, S 88 lb./ac. to one foot.

3. Soil test on knolls: OM 2.1%, N 9, P 20, K 656, S 14 lb./ac. at one foot.

Fertilizer added: N 95, P2O5 20, K2O 0, S 30 lb./ac. special class of oats to reach peak performance. This experience also drives home the role of soil testing. We often over interpret soil testing Variety deregistration– [6”] and look for big yield differences with changes Julysmall 5, 2011 finalin measured

Fertilizer added: N 95, P2O5 20, K2O 0, S 30 lb./ac. + High Rate of Broadcast P after seeding.

fertility. The soil test data from the breaking drives home what it really takes to make crops grow to full potential. † J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask.

He recently finished a second printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water”, a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for Grainews readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book poste-haste.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Attention: Grain producers The following Canada Prairie Spring wheat varieties were deregistered effective April 28, 2011:  

Snowhite 475 Snowhite 476

Effective August 1, 2011, these varieties will only be eligible for delivery into the grade Wheat, Canada Western Feed. The following Canada Western Red Spring wheat variety will be deregistered effective August 1, 2013: 

Garnet

Effective August 1, 2013, this variety will only be eligible for the grade Wheat, Canada Western Feed. The following flaxseed varieties will be deregistered effective August 1, 2013:  

CDC Mons CDC Normandy

Effective August 1, 2013, these varieties will only be eligible for the grade Flaxseed, 3 Canada Western/Canada Eastern.

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

For more information, contact the Canadian Grain Commission : FERTILIZER ADDED = 0 lb./ac. 2. Regular field soil test: OM 3.2%, N 17, P 14, K 1082, S 56 lb./ac. to one foot.

1-800-853-6705 or 204-983-2770 TTY : 1-866-317-4289 www.grainscanada.gc.ca Stay informed. Check the variety designation lists on the Canadian Grain Commission’s web site.

Fertilizer added: N 95, P2O5 20, K2O 0, S 30 lb./ac.

/ grainews.ca

JULY/AUGUST 2011

Columns AGRI-COACH CORNER

Agronomic alchemy: Turning elements into food and fuel

As yield goals increase, so too do the plant’s demands for a long list of nutrients. Providing enough and the right balance is the key to this crop-making magic BY ELSTON SOLBERG AND MARKUS BRAATEN

magine that you are at a festival in a foreign country and a beautiful street performer is addressing a crowd of enthralled visitors. In front of her, she has several vials containing various elements and several loaves of bread. She is regaling her audience in the art of alchemy and how she can make bread from the elements in the vials before her. What are you thinking? Seriously, what are you thinking? I’m thinking that this young lady, while attractive, is full of horse feathers! However, if we ponder this proposition for a moment, and if the carnival lasted for several months,

grain. This may or may not reflect our N fertility program or merely the amount of N that ended up in the grain. The more N we have stored in the grain, the higher the protein content. But protein is a function of multiple elements and serious agronomic management. If any element becomes limiting in the plant, then yield and protein are compromised. Thus, we need to consider the relative amounts of each element that is required, when in a crops life they are most needed, their forms of availability, the balance (ratio) of those elements for optimal production and the impacts of biotic and especially abiotic stress. Let’s briefly consider the amount

Fig. 1

As a consequence, agronomy is very much both a science and an art Fig 2 she would pull this magical feat off easily! What does the ancient art of alchemy — the art of turning base metals into gold and silver have to do with agronomy? Well farmers, are really the first true alchemists. Growers take base elements, such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nutrients (N, S, P, K, Mg, Ca, Na, Al, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Mo, Se, Ni, Co, Si, Cl, etc.) and through the plant, turn them into yield, protein, oil, nutraceuticals, enzymes and more — the agricultural equivalent of platinum, gold and silver. Let’s look at just one example of agronomic alchemy. One of our goals as wheat farmers and agronomists is to: 1) Maximize grain yield 2) Maximize N concentration in the grain removed. The end function we’re concerned about is the storage of N as protein When we measure per cent protein, what we’re really measuring is the amount of N stored in the

and timing requirements of just four elements for 60 bu/ac HRS wheat (Fig. 1). The stated element requirement will be greater for higher protein content and greater yields. Element balance and timing are key considerations. The red shaded zone is where peak element demand and balance is critical. Now also consider that this represents only six to seven weeks of a crops life. The “pull pressure” that the crop is putting on the soil (and the farmer’s alchemy abilities) is immense! Consider potassium (K) and observe that the demand curve is nearly vertical between 7001,000 growing degree units (days). Given this, is it any wonder that we focus so much on N to K ratios when interpreting tissue sample analysis? Given all of this, why do so many experts poo-poo the importance of K management in optimization of crop yields/quality? While S is not depicted, the S demand curves are very similar

to N, hence the critical attention paid to N to S ratios throughout every crop’s life. We will need to consider the amino acid profile of the protein that we have concentrated. Can we manipulate amino acid profiles? How would we do that? What elements, rates, balances and timings affect will amino acid profiles? As a consequence, agronomy is very much both a science and an art. Transmuting base elements into highly valued nutritional compounds, like the several amino acids loosely grouped as protein, while fighting biotic and abiotic stresses (Fig. 2), is very much agronomic alchemy in the purest sense. Going forward there will be many opportunities for growers to find transmutation value.

There will be many questions about how to get there. Questions like: • How do I manage base elements on my farm to produce a nutrient dense crop? • What elements, amounts, balances and timings will optimize this nutrient density? • How can I create value added end products? • What factors govern a more balanced amino acid profile? Can I manage for that balance? • How can I get more selenium (Se) into my HRSW and take advantage of the huge premiums afforded by high-end markets? • What elements do I need to carefully manage to drive cadmium (Cd) out of my durum wheat?

And this is for only one crop we grow! There will be dozens of questions for every crop. As we focus on more yield and enhanced quality, the greater the pressure of biotic and abiotic stress management. As these pressures mount, the intensity of agronomic alchemy must match and overwhelm the pressure. Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls… step right up, listen and watch closely! In the next four decades, we must grow the equivalent of the last 10,000 years of humanities’ food, fuel and fibre production. Agronomic Alchemy will be a very big piece of the puzzle! † Elston Solberg is a senior agri-coach with Agri-Trend Agrology. Markus Braaten is an agri-trend Agri-Coach in Northwestern Montana affiliated with CHS Kalispell .

JULY/AUGUST 2011

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Columns GUARDING WEALTH

Bonds up, stocks down

There are bargains galore out there in both stocks and bonds if you can stand the heat BY ANDREW ALLENTUCK

t’s summer and world stock and bond markets are in the doldrums again. As I write this column, the S&P/TSX Composite is flirting with a 10 per cent decline year to date, the point at which a slump takes on the title “correction.” The problems driving down the world’s markets are real: the tsunami and nuclear power disasters in Japan that will take seven per cent out of that economy this year and pull down global stock market averages as a consequence. The housing market in the United States continues to be wretched with prices down to where they were in 2002. Net household wealth has shriveled and American consumers are neither able nor in a mood to spend and rescue their economy. In Canada, Canadian household debt is soaring. Statistics Canada recently measured it at 147.3 per cent of disposable income. That means consumers must at some point rein in spending and, if interest rates rise, cut spending and pay their bills. More problems are on the horizon. Greece totters on the brink of default. European finance ministers meeting in the third week of June resolved to do nothing until the Greek parliament agrees to pass drastic pension and spending cuts demanded by the recently deposed minister of finance. Ireland, Portugal, Spain could also default and then, if enough sovereign bonds fail, the banks holding those bonds, even the powerhouses in Germany, could crumple. The potential mayhem is enough to scare even sober long term investors. No wonder markets are in fright mode.

THE IMPACT OF GREECE Let’s focus on the Greek mess. Greek state 10-year bonds have recently traded to yield an astonishing 17.34 per cent. They yield 14.41 per cent more than German state bonds, which are the European benchmark. Recently, Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greek state bonds to CCC from B, pushing them deep into junk territory. Greece has proposed that holders of its national bonds voluntarily agree to roll over the bonds for new ones when they mature and not seek to cash BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

them in for some indefinite period. This is like agreeing to let somebody rob your house. You may not be able to prevent it, but to agree is nuts. Still, the voluntary rollover, which is a polite way of avoiding the moment that Greece runs out of Euros, which could trigger other defaults, is a diplomatic way of avoiding outright collapse. On the other side of the equation, a poll of Greek voters taken in mid-June found that 47 per cent oppose government austerity proposals and want early elections.The solution sought by Europe’s financial wizards in June is far from a certainty. The flight from risk is not mere nervousness. The problems of Greece are spread throughout Europe’s peripheral states. On June 16, The Economist, a British financial journal, added up who owes what. Ireland’s national debt has soared from 25 per cent of its gross domestic product in 2007 to 112 per cent of national output, the result of decisions to bail out two large domestic banks that added 42 per cent to the national debt.Portugal’s national debt will rise above 100 per cent of GDP while the national debt of Greece has reached an terrifying 160 per cent Just earning money to pay bills doesn’t look like the solution, at least not in the short term. The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for major global regions and economies. In a mid-June report, it said that U.S. GDP would grow at 0.2 per cent less than its estimate in April, Central and Eastern Europe 0.8 per cent less, and Brazil 0.5 per cent less. The IMF’s outlook for Canada was unchanged: GDP should grow at 2.9 per cent in 2011 and 2.6 per cent in 2012. These are not big changes, but, as the IMF said, there is a heightened potential that the situation in Europe could spread through the financial system. “If these risks (Greek and other bond defaults) materialize, they will reverberate across the rest of the world.”

THE IMPACT ON FARMERS What should a Canadian farmer do with his off-farm investment dollars? The biggest global economic problem driving down markets is government BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

debt. Banks are stuffed with it. Rates on national bonds set the rates for most other loans. So when sovereign bonds are no longer trustworthy, each country’s system of lending goes into the twilight zone. In that underworld where government bonds are chancy but utility bonds are golden, stock prices collapse in the face of uncertainty, and the fearful and the prudent flee to cash and the strongest bonds they can find, U.S. Treasuries.

There is the tried and true strategy of staying on the sidelines. In bad markets, cash can be king The U.S. has its own massive debt problems, but the idea that it would fail to pay its bonds is considered remote. The rush to U.S. debt has pushed down yields on 10-year Treasuries to 2.93 per cent, a massive 0.40 per cent drop in yield in just three weeks. Treasuries are still regarded at the best looking horses in the glue factory. Government of Canada 10-year bonds have recently been priced to yield 2.95 per cent per year. Canada bonds are the better investment, for our government debt is better managed than that of the U.S. and our inflation prospects lower. Investors willing to take on some risk can buy beaten down stocks. In the midst of gloom, investors should be able to find good value stocks that have fine

prospects in spite of the market. Still, there is the old saying that a falling tide lowers all ships. Moreover, some fine companies like Blackberry phone maker Research in Motion, which has been trashed by the market for weeks, threaten to be value traps in which low prices cannot convince investors to buy. RIM’s price has recently been just four times next year’s earnings per share. That would be a giveaway at the corporate candy store, but investors fear worse news from the once-dominant smart phone maker. Apple has taken RIM’s growth and RIM, for its part, has failed to dazzle the market with new technology. The future is bleak, says the market. RIM is just one example of stocks whose growth has been embalmed in bad news. Canadian bank shares have gone on sale. Across the TSX, there are bargains to be had. The problem, of course, is that the apparent bargains today may seem overpriced in a few days or weeks. Bank earnings are forecast to fall with the worsening economy.

OVER DONE PESSIMISM? Yet the pessimism may be overdone. In the U.S., Standard & Poor’s predicts that the companies in its bellwether index, the S&P 500 Composite will earn 18 per cent more in 2011 than they did in 2010. The index is now valued at 8.7 times the composite’s cash flow, which is cheaper than it has been 81 per cent of the time since 1998. The problem, of course, is the other 19 per cent of the time. If we are in correction territory, then it is possible that averages will go down and that 8.7 earnings multiple will become 7.7 per

cent. In the near term, the end of the bailout program called QE2 on June 30 is likely to reduce bank lending and trigger near term contraction. There is an absence of good news that can propel the market upward. For now, it pays to avoid excessive risk. Buying dividend rich stocks is a way to weather the storm. CIBC is selling for $77 as I write this, down from a 52-week high of $85.56. At that price, the $3.48 annual dividend represents a 4.50 per cent yield. Regulated utilities are also a buy. Shares of Emera, the holding company for Nova Scotia Power, have recently traded at $31.64, slightly off their $32.83 52-week high. Its $1.30 annual dividend amounts to a 4.10 per cent yield. Adjusted for the dividend tax credit, yields are 5.76 per cent and 5.25 per cent, respectively. The risks are not too great, for even if either company stumbles, its history of raising dividends will eventually pull up the stock price. The cautious and the crafty can cut their costs and generate premium income by writing covered calls on market exchange traded funds or stocks. The strategy works until the stock or ETF soars. Then the investor, having given up future profits, has to walk away. It’s always possible to buy back in, of course. Finally, there is the tried and true strategy of staying on the sidelines. In bad markets, cash can be king. After all, making a miserable one per cent or so in a savings account looks good compared to losing 10 per cent on the market or 50 per cent in Research in Motion. Modest goals are not always the craft of cowards — sometimes they can be downright reasonable. † Andrew Allentuck’s latest book, When Can I Retire? Planning your Financial Life After Work, was published earlier this year by Penguin Canada.

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Columns OFF-FARM INVESTING

Tips for gifting money wisely Some would rather spread wealth around while they can watch their family enjoy it, but large sums of money may need careful management so as not to corrupt the recipient ANDY SIRSKI

Grainews reader recently called with a good problem, but a problem nonetheless. He and his wife were quite fortunate to have a farm, children and money. He and his wife were wondering if they could give their children a few hundred thousand dollars each without corrupting them. This is an interesting question that haunts many parents. We’ve all heard of the old adage where the third generation drinks and pisses away what the first two generations worked for. My first comment was that I don’t think we can predict how anyone will react when they suddenly have a big fortune or even a small fortune come into their life. I’m sure there is lots of documented evidence that shows how people who won a lottery are broke in five years. There also are stories about rich people who got rich, went broke and got rich several times in their life. I suppose as long as they end up on the side they like best the story has a happy ending. Then we’ve all heard the comments: “It’s easier to make the second million so that’s where I want to start.”And we’ve heard: “If I had your money I would…” The real question this reader was asking was: the money has to go somewhere. What can I do to reduce the odds that the money I give my children will ruin their life?” This is a legitimate question and over the years I have heard people say. “Why should I store up money? First, I’m not so sure money buys happiness, and second, I’m afraid too much money might spoil our children, it might corrupt them and it might make them lazy.” Perhaps the first question is this: who is or will be responsible if you give your kids money and it ruins them? And who is responsible if you give your kids money and they use it wisely, perhaps use it as a base to build on, and so on? In my 41-year career of working with people, I have seen parents scrimp and save on meagre family income and then the kids end up suing each other and their parents for money or

Tundra

property or both. I have also seen where the next generation used inherited money to humbly develop a business, farm, charitable work and so on. I personally think that we as parents can influence our children’s behaviour up to a point, but once they become adults I think they are responsible for what they do and think and say. While we hope we instil reasonable values about money and wealth into our kids’ heads I don’t think we can take credit or blame for what our children do with money we gave them. We might want to, but in the end I think the children have to be responsible for their words, actions and deeds. What about the spouse? Sometimes it’s easy to blame the spouse for wanting the money and the image and lifestyle that an extra few hundred grand might bring. Sometimes the idea that Dad is sitting on a million bucks while a child or in-law has to drive a two- or 10-year-old car begets jealousy. I don’t know if it’s fair to suggest that children who are brought up to respect hard work, learning and good money management will not get corrupted if they suddenly have a lot of money. I sort of always figured that I could influence our children up to a point and after that they had to be responsible for their own actions. I suspect that is the way a lot of parents feel.

BUILD IT UP I think one of the first things for wealthy parents to do is to at least try to make sure their children are not under financial distress. Of course if they are under financial distress because of their own stupidity, well then parents might need to make some judgment calls. During all my years of speaking and writing and learning, it always seemed that parents don’t need to treat each child equally but they should try to treat them equitably. Some years the kid who got the farm for a sweetheart deal might seem like the lucky one but other years not so. Of course we’ve all likely heard about the Christmas suppers where one kid or his or her spouse opened the can of worms by jealously opining that the kid who got the farm was very rich because he “had a new combine.”

So I think wealthy parents can rightly help children get the education and skills they need to make it in the big wide world. I believe billionaire Warren Buffet said it more or less this way: I will give my children enough money to help them be comfortable but not so much that they don’t have to work. This opens the door to giving children some money and leaving the rest to a charity or charities. There’s even a way to donate stocks and other assets that have capital gain to charities and not trigger income tax on the gains yet still get a receipt for the donation. Of course giving a bunch of money to charity can make the children either proud and happy or jealous and

WHAT ABOUT WILLS? Can your will manage your money properly once it’s in your kids’ hands? I tried to get some opinions on that question from a couple of money managers I know. First, I spoke with Stan Clark, a money manager on my short list of people my family could call if something happened to my brain. Stan had some general comments. He offered several thoughts but this stuff needs to be tailored to an individual’s estate so best you call him at 1-604-685-3434 or 1-800-6619442. One pointer was that it is very difficult for a parent to bequest money to children and then tell them what to do with

While we hope we instil reasonable values about money and wealth into our kids’ heads I don’t think we can take credit or blame for what our children do with money we gave them resentful. But I would think some healthy split between charity and children should be OK. Next I’m not sure I would pay off their loans but I likely would give kids a gift of money that could make a payment or two. Of course if one child had no payments then he or she would have extra money while the other child used the money to “catch up” on payments. That’s life. If there are grandchildren, then I think there is a spot for some help. Grandparents can contribute to a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for the little ones. And a grandparent with the right skills can even manage the money. Matching contributions to a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or RRSP could be another way for parents to help children. I personally don’t understand trusts well enough to write about them but I think there is a way parents can set up money in a managed fund that pays money out over time. The kids will get the money just not all at once. And I’ve often heard the saying, “It’s a lot better to give money away while you can see the smiles.”

the money. However, if parents feel strongly about charity, for example they could meet with the children and send them an official letter asking them to do two things with the money they will inherit. One is to use some commonsense amount to improve their life and generally that would be tax — free money. The other is to donate some money to a worthy cause. That would use tax — free dollars to create tax deductible donations to reduce income tax — on other earned income. I like that. If you are concerned about an in-law getting hold of your money then you could set up two trusts through a qualified lawyer. In one trust put money the family can use so then it might become part of the assets if the couple split up. In the other trust put money that is intended to grow and donate out of that one to create a tax deduction. If a child is not capable of looking after his or her affairs then one way is to ask a friend to be an executor and manager of the money and dole it out year by year or month by month. Some institutions will do that for you too. Next, I spoke with Ed Thompson. He and his family run Money Concepts at Winnipeg, Man. Ed agreed that it was difficult to tell children what to do with money they get from your estate. And he said he has seen trusts broken, often at big expense. Ed’s business is on my short list of people my family could call. His number is 1-204-832-9148. I didn’t talk to any institutional investors but I’m sure there are trust companies that would agree to manage your money and dole it out to children over time. Expect significant fees but those are the trade-offs.

Back in the old days when interest rates were a lot higher people often used annuities as a way to create cash flow for the future. Some of that cash flow would be taxable and some would be your money coming out which would be tax free. There are ways to blend that out so there is a more or less fixed amount of taxable interest per year over the life of the annuity. These days when interest rates are pretty well below the rate of inflation and taxes, about the only reason to have an annuity is to protect the money from some person who might want to trick the old guy or gal into giving away their money. I suppose that is a decent reason under some conditions. I hope that gets your mind going if you are concerned about how to give your money away without ruining your children. While many people would say this would be a great problem to have, often they are broke so they don’t have the problem. If you have worked hard, saved well, invested well, or perhaps inherited some money, then it seems proper to think ahead a bit and try to figure out how to transfer your wealth so some can be enjoyed, and some put to good use to help people less fortunate. There are lots of them around. A reader of StocksTalk told me one day that his biggest thrill is to help people in underdeveloped countries. Another fellow I know supports a school in a poor country. We support orphanages in Ukraine so girls who turn 16 aren’t kicked out on the street with no skills or money and no place to go. We donated money for several dozen goats for people and communities in Nairobi. These goats become game changers for the families. All of these donations can become part of a permanent improvement for the people on the receiving end. The folks who got beaten up by tsunamis, fires, floods and earthquakes also need help. These might be temporary types of help that help victims get over disasters. I hope along the way that you help your children learn how to invest wisely. Often a good example on how to take money, and grow some, enjoy some and donate some is a good place to start. I find that people become much more disciplined and careful with money when they help to make it and our investment strategy has helped many smaller investors make good cash flow. If you don’t know how to teach investing then I encourage you to find someone who can help your children make good solid investments with the money they are going to inherit. † Andy is mostly retired. He gardens, travels with his wife and manages his own portfolio. Andy also publishes a newsletter where he explains almost day by day what he does with his stocks and how he sells covered calls to bring in cash. If you want to read his newsletter free for a month got to Google, type in StocksTalk.net click on form, fill out a few lines and click send.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

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Columns ANYONE CAN START FARMING

Encourage natural predators to manage pests Insecticides typically knock out the good insects along with the bad. Predators and trap crops can work in the garden and in the field DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

hen it comes to pest control, many farmers reach for insecticides first. We had always thought there were different, possibly less toxic ways to combat pest issues. When I came across research done by a professor in the U.S., I was encouraged to research alternative methods of pest control on our farm. David Pimentel, professor of entomology at Cornell University, wrote in 1991 that “although chemical insecticide use in the United States has grown tenfold in both amount and toxicity since 1945, the share of crop yields lost to insects has nearly doubled during the same period.” Just like with crops, avoiding a pest problem first is always preferred to having to eliminate one. There are a few ways to control pests naturally before resorting to chemicals. This is favorable because when chemical controls are used they kill both the pest and any beneficial insects that are present.

These beneficial insects include bees for pollination and about twenty five other species — from parasitic wasps to earthworms. Some species enjoy such a good reputation they are available by mail order (www.planetnatural.com). Before ordering any beneficial insects it is recommended that the area government entomologist is spoken to because some are restricted. On a small scale, we experimented with using ladybugs to control aphids by catching the beetles in the garden and moving them to a tree that was inundated with aphids. We had already tried spraying the tree and they seemed to increase instead of die after the application. The ladybugs took care of the problem in days.

CUTWORM CONTROL We’ve learned many natural methods for controlling pests in our garden, but it isn’t always easy or practical to expand what we have learned into the field. For example, we had been stocking our old garden plot with eggshells for years. Not only did this solve a lot of our blight issues that stemmed from deficient levels of calcium in our soil it also virtually annihilated the cutworm problems

we had been having. But to move this cure into a field of canola would be difficult. We have found that diatomaceous earth works just as well and can be added to the seeder at a rate of about four litres of powder for every 100 pounds of seed. The operator must take precautions against inhaling the diatomaceous earth as it can cause lung damage. Cutworms are found at a depth of five centimetres so seeding should be at least this deep. Not only will the diatomaceous earth decimate the cutworms it will also add some minerals to the soil itself. Earthworms shouldn’t be harmed because they are found deeper in the soil than this. United Kingdom researchers reported that the majority of cocoons found were at 25 centimeters. The other problem we have is controlling flea beetles. Luckily, we don’t live in an area that grows canola. In fact, the closest field is probably about 45 km away, but when combining starts we get clouds of them flying over.

FLEA BEETLES Natural control of flea beetle starts with being clean. Adult flea beetles over winter in plant debris

and are particularly fond of tomato and brassica family plants. This could explain why after the first time flea beetles found our farm they have never left. Flea beetles are causing a problem with a grazing project we have wanted to expand on. For the last few years we have wanted to expand our growing of turnips as a fall feed for our livestock, but we don’t want to use chemical control because the pesticides have a long withdrawal and any residue would be stored in the fat of the animals grazing them. Organic growers have recommended using trap crops to manage the issue. Last year, we grew one row of turnips as an experiment. Other farmers told us they were hard to grow here due to cabbage worms and flea beetles. The worm damage was manageable because the animals didn’t care if there were holes in the leaves. The worms came first and we used diatomaceous earth sprinkled on them for control, which worked instantly. Then the flea beetles came. Even though there was diatomaceous earth on the leaves, by the time we noticed their arrival it was already too late. We checked the plants almost everyday.

Trap cropping, in which other plant species that the pest enjoys eating are planted near the main crop to draw the pest away, offers some possibilities for flea beetle management. Apparently, the most practical trap crop in my area is radish, seed of which is widely available. Research has shown that planting this trap crop about every 55 yards between rows of cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower (or as a border around the field) can do an exceptional job of protecting them. To retain effectiveness, reseeding of the trap crop may be necessary, especially if the pest destroys the first planting. If the trap cropping doesn’t work on its own the flea beetle does have predators. We will have to try and encourage them to live in the area. These are toads, which eat them at any stage of development, as will chickadees, vireos and purple finches. Ground beetles and parasitic wasps will hunt them. We have observed all of these predators in our area and we have been feeding chickadees all winter so we are hoping they will stay and help us fight the flea beetles for the summer. † Debbie Chikousky farms near Narcisse, Man., and writes at http://chikouskyfarms.com.

Save the farm — and your family — with this informative video series Watch Elaine Froese at www.grainews.ca Current Video Series Schedule Elaine Froese is an expert in helping family businesses talk about tough issues. She’s a catalyst for courageous conversations for positive farm succession planning. Like many of her clients, Elaine is an active farmer and she watches the sky. Her common-sense and down-to-earth style of communicating and asking hard questions is deeply appreciated by folks who find it hard to ask for help.

July 11 - July 17 - Freeloading The brother who stayed on the farm is getting free room and board. The sister who left fills up with gas when she comes home on the weekend. Elaine talks about ways to ensure perception and reality of equitable benefits from the family farm. July 18 - 24 - Treating children fairly isn’t always fair There comes a time when a spouse who’s been working off the farm asks the question — How many farms can this family support? The answer may not be easy. July 25 - 31 - Making a succession plan Recent studies have shown that only about half the farmers who plan to retire in the next few years have a succession plan. Elaine reviews some of the excuses, and how to get beyond them.

Dealing with Transition Starting a successful farm career is hard. Ending a successful farm career can be even harder. In this video series first prepared for AgVision TV, host Kevin Stewart talks to farm family coach Elaine Froese (www.elainefroese.com) about the ways to maintain healthy family relationships while transferring the farm to the next generation.

August 1 - 7 - Ten barriers to succession planning If we think there’s no deadline, we tend to put it off, but if you want the children to take over, the deadline may be looming sooner than you think. August 8 - 14 - Dealing with death It’s inevitable, but too often we fail to plan for it. In this segment, Elaine suggests steps to leave a lasting legacy, and to ease the burden for the farm and the family when a farmer passes away. August 15 - 21 - Does your family know what to do when you die? It’s inevitable — all of us will pass on sometime. Elaine recommends compiling a binder containing everything from financial information to instructions for your funeral.

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Don’t miss any of the informative videos in this series visit www.grainews.ca

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Columns MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Global factors at play in the lentil market Last year’s poor-quality lentils are still weighing on buyers’ minds. Glyphosate residues may limit some marketing opportunities JEFF JACKSON

ach spring, the world’s pulse importers and exporters meet at the International Pulse Trade and Industry Confederation annual convention. Topics range from sustainable production, environmental issues, quality and trade issues, weather conditions and, of course, available volumes and potential supply from the major production regions. Here are some of the highlights from the program, blended generously with my opinion on how some of the issues discussed by the world industry could impact Canadian growers.

PRODUCTION LEVELS At the time of the convention, by all accounts, pulse production all over the world seemed positive. India and Turkey both appeared to be having good seasons for production. It seems the reports of frost in India were overcooked and very little, if any, damage resulted. Since then production in Turkey is now coming in and appears short of ear-

lier estimates of more than 500,000 MT; it is likely in the 350,000-MT range which would cover domestic usage leaving little, if any, for export. Here at home, seeding had begun with Statistics Canada reporting earlier in April an intended 2.7 million acres of lentils. Most in the Canadian industry agreed then that due to excess moisture in some of the lentil-growing regions and positive values for other crops this number could be 2.2 million or even less when all is said and done. It now appears that acres were somewhere in the two-million range, and due to extremes in moisture many of these acres have a lackluster appearance. What could this mean? While there are still large volumes of whole red lentils in store both in Canada and around the world, what is the quality? Canada’s stocks are bound to be somewhat homely from last year’s harvest, as is Australia’s carryover. With a likely reduction of acres in Canada, potentially below one million acres of reds, and those acres looking beaten up there is reason for optimism in the price of whole red lentils. Shortfalls from other production regions that have helped prices in recent years are likely not as great this year as in a couple of the more recent seasons. I do however have optimism that

the price of reds will firm moving forward. I would avoid selling in the low 20s and see what Mother Nature brings in the next few weeks. Green lentils are a similar situation. Stocks of high-quality lairds are essentially non-existent. Neither growers nor the world trade are sitting on significant stocks. Again, we will see significantly reduced acres in Canada. If you were fortunate enough to have your lentils in the ground early you have the potential for very positive results. Goodquality No. 1 and No. 2 lairds will, in my opinion, be at similar levels as were all season last season, firm to firmer. I would not sell any large green lentils if the number didn’t start with a “30” and as stormy, extreme weather continues the low 30s look less appealing every day.

GLYPHOSATE AND THE EUROPEAN MARKET Much has been made of glyphosate residues found in Canadian lentils resulting in trade barriers into the EU. There was lots of discussion on this during the convention. What should farmers be aware of? There are three significant points on this issue: 1) There is not necessarily any reason you must stop using glyphosate as a pre-harvest treatment for lentils. The trade barrier

only impacts product destined for the EU. While the EU is a strong trading partner there are many other destinations for your production, but the use of glyphosate may limit your delivery and marketing options, so be prepared for some impact as some buyers may shy away from your production. 2) If you chose to use glyphosate as a pre-harvest treatment (this is pre-harvest only, pre-emergent burn-off will not result in residue) do two things. First, follow the label directions. Not following directed use can result in maximum residue limits above the Canadian level of four ppm making your production unusable in any market. Second, be prepared to declare this to the buyer of your lentils; all buyers will likely be asking for declarations of use and proper use. 3) There is little need for panic. This is very likely a short-term issue. There is precedent in field pea with a glyphosate residue allowance of 10 ppm. There is strong belief among European importers that the tolerance will be adjusted when the sound case is made. This process could take up to 12 months and there are no guarantees of change. Both Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Pulse Canada have provided details on their websites that can aid you in your decision-making. If you

have any questions I would advise you to contact them directly.

BLENDING POOR QUALITY A quick note on 2010 leftovers of poor-quality, whole red lentils. Just like my old grandma used to sneak a mixture of all kinds of leftovers into a casserole and pass it off as something new, buyers around the world feel they may end up with a mixture of old poor-quality 2010 lentils and good new-quality 2011 production. Canada’s reputation for quality took a significant tumble last season for reasons beyond our control. If you are holding lowquality stocks with the hopeful intention of blending them my advice is to think twice. Red lentils are used primarily for milling, variant qualities do not mill well. Why give our reputation another knock if we don’t need to? That’s what I found of interest and of likely real impact to your operations. I am hopeful the weather will settle down giving a positive growing season for all. Looking forward to discussing these or any market issues with you. † Jeff Jackson is marketing manager, pulses for Scoular Canada based at Calgary, Alta. Contact him at jjackson@scoular.com. The opinions above reflect the writer’s and are not necessarily the opinion of Scoular Canada.

MANAGEMENT MINUTE

Three strategies for coping with a disastrous growing season As of late June, half of Dallas Wetnworried’s acres didn’t look like they’d produce a crop. What should he do for cash flow? ANDREW DERUYCK

MARK SLOANE

“

t’s over. I’m finished.” This was the first thing out of Dallas Wetnworried’s mouth at the end of June. We knew there was trouble when the phone quit ringing in early June. With only 50 per cent of the crop sown on a lot of farms guys knew there was a problem but didn’t know how big or where to start fixing it. Wetnworried is likely the start of a string of calls we expect to receive in the next six months depending on when guys become aware and accept the fact that they don’t have cash to pay operating expenses or make those fixed November payments. In the annual plan we prepared for Wetnworried last fall we did fixed charge analysis that looked like this: Payments $127,000 Taxes $18,000 Rent $45,000 Living $35,000 Total $225,000 (divided by 3,000 acres farmed) = $75/acre

Wetnworried was comfortable with this last fall. He runs a cereal and oilseed rotation. He has some of the better land for the area and rent is generally running around $45 per acre. He owns 2,000 acres and rents an additional 1,000 acres. With half his acres flooded or lost the reality of 2011 is shaping up much different than his plan. He is looking at the same fixed costs spread over half the acres, in addition to a significant loss on the remaining acres resulting from seed, fertilizer and chemical costs with no crop to provide any income. Wetnworried was totally distraught for the first time in his farming career as he could not see where his farming career was headed. He found himself wallowing in self-pity and hoping for some government program. He realized that he would need a heck of a life-jacket to keep his head above water with this approach. He called us because he wanted to go to the bank with a plan for his operation before the bank came to him with its own plan. We put it as simply as possible: There are only three ways out of a financial challenge: 1. Earn your way out 2. Refinance your way out 3. Sell your way out

EARN YOUR WAY OUT The first step is to assess the damage done. Update your bal-

ance sheet including all assets and liabilities. Prepare an amended status quo projection to see the impact 12 months out. This quickly indicates the business’s ability to earn its way out of the predicament. Once you are convinced that your business can earn its way out, the next challenge is convincing your creditors that your plan works. This is accomplished by past supporting income and expense records and production records such as production insurance. This plan needs to demonstrate that the operation will have ample cash flow.

REFINANCE YOUR WAY OUT If the business does not have the capacity to earn its way out in the next 12 months, changing the debt structure may be an option. This is the most challenging type of loan application for a lender. These applications represent more risk and often come in large numbers from an entire sector following a crisis. Changing the debt structure may involve terming out payables and operating loans, thus restoring working capital. Often this is associated with lengthening amortizations on existing debt to keep payments at a manageable level. Requesting a period of interest-only payments may also be an option that may be available. Terms are generally not very negotiable

with these types of applications and interest rates are generally not the greatest. Offering real estate security and monthly payments generally helps the loan application.

SELL YOUR WAY OUT The last and least preferred option is to sell assets to inject cash which could be used to: 1. Fund current year’s operating losses 2. Reduce debt 3. Make loan payments What should you sell first? The best option is by far the toys. Ouch! These items — the boats, bikes, cottages and campers — tie up much needed capital with no return. Selling these items will have no impact on the operation’s productive units, and they can always be bought back. Selling these items will not incur a tax bill at yearend, either. Once these items are gone selling RRSPs or investments should be considered. Consulting your accountant and investment planner is a must before liquidating these assets. These items can also be put back but will carry tax implications. Selling excess machinery would be the next-best option. That haybine and baler no longer being used, the backup combine can all go because it’s better than the next option. The last

option and likely least desirable is selling land. This will likely be very hard to replace and if the neighbours are all wet as you, the market may be limited. It’s very important to realize that selling land or equipment will decrease the capacity of the operation going forward to make the remaining payments. Understanding the sale of these assets as a business decision and removing the emotion is critical. Demonstrating to the rest of your farm management team including lenders, accountants and family that you’ve got a plan for the short term will benefit your business in the long run and help to avoid the stress of selling these assets with emotional attachment. All this talk of trouble reminds us of a quote from one of our favourite fellow authors — “I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, others come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see. Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me.” — Dr. Seuss † Andrew DeRuyck and Mark Sloane manage two farming operations in southern Manitoba and are partners in Right Choice Management Consulting. With over 25 years of cumulative experience, they offer support in farm management, financial management, strategic planning and mediation services. They can be reached at andrewd@goinet.ca and sloanefarms@hotmail.com or 204-8257392 and 204-825-8443.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

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Best of Grainews

When to re-seed hybrid canola

Plant stand counts, plant health, uniformity and the date on the calendar all factor into deciding to re-seed. If the calendar turns to June, it’s likely not worth it BY ANDREA HILDERMAN

armers can draw on four decades’ worth of research when making decisions about re-seeding open pollinated canola, but there isn’t much information out there when it comes to hybrid canola. “Hybrid canola can grow to be a monstrous plant,” says Sherrilyn Phelps, regional crop specialist with Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture at North Battleford. “They are just more vigorous and can adapt much better than open pollinated canola.” Crop insurance investigators have counted pods on plants and measured the effect of plant density. At lower plant populations, there can be upwards of 600 pods on a plant versus more normal plant populations, which would be closer to 100 pods per plant. “Again, this just demonstrates the tremendous (adaptive capability) of this plant,” says Phelps. But this makes it challenging to know when to re-seed. “Plant populations are important, no doubt,” says Phelps. “But the uniformity of the stand is also very important, really, more of a concern.” Doug Moisey agrees with Phelps. “The ideal plant population is around 80 to 100 plants per square metre,” says Moisey, senior agronomy specialist in Central Alberta for the Canola Council of Canada. “But there is a critical level at about 50 plants per square metre or five per square foot. Even at 20 plants per square metre and with really good management practices, the farmer can get a good yield without reseeding.” Moisey also points out it’s not plant population alone that is important. “Uniformity within the field and date of reseeding are also critical,” he says.

“We will run the trials next year, and hopefully for a third year, if we get the funding,” says Phelps. “Important questions will be answered like at what population density will hybrid canola still yield at least 90 per cent of maximum yield; what effect plant population has on maturity, green seed count and seed size; the minimum density at which hybrid canola should be reseeded; and, what risks can reseeding present in terms of maturity, yield and quality.”

NO RE-SEEDING AFTER MAY In Alberta, Moisey has many years of experience looking at farmers’ crops and has conducted research himself. His opinion on re-seeding?

“Re-seeding past the end of May doesn’t pay,” he says. “We haven’t seen it worthwhile to reseed from the last week of May forward. First off, canola is very plastic and secondly, hybrids are even more so, and will continue to branch. They may not reach their full yield potential, but it wouldn’t be worthwhile reseeding.” Moisey is a big proponent of getting out into the field and surveying the situation carefully and methodically. He recommends determining if there are huge bare patches or if it is the low spots, mid-slopes or hill tops that are affected. “Is the field the victim of cutworm? Or hail? Or frost? If the latter, it might be only the lowland

that has the problem. And what about dates? If it is still early or mid-May, reseeding might be an option. But if it’s later, I advise guys to really step up the whole management aspect a few notches, being aware they may have to do more than one weed control pass and watch for insects and disease pressure more vigilantly.” You need to make an informed decision, says Moisey. “Get out into the field with a hula-hoop and walk the field on a grid, a giant X or inverted W,” he explains. “I take the hoop and throw it out in front of me. Then I observe the area around the hoop and within it, and ask myself, ‘Is it representative of where I’m standing?’ Do that

20 or 25 times, but also make sure you look at hill-tops, low spots and whatnot to ensure you are getting the true picture of the stand in that field. You might end up taking 40 or more counts.” Moisey also recommends farmers contact local agronomists or provincial specialists if they are available. “The Canola Council has good factsheets available, one of which in this case is helpful — managing low plant populations — on its website,” he says. “There are a lot of resources out there farmers can use to help with these sorts of decisions.” † Andrea Hilderman has her master’s degree in weed science and is a member of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. She writes from Winnipeg, Man.

THE BARE MINIMUM Steve Shirtliffe, assistant professor with the University of Saskatchewan, and his team did a meta-analysis on all the research going back to the ’70s on re-seeding canola and hybrid canola. They found that at around 80 to 90 plants per square metre, maximum yield was attained for open pollinated or hybrid types. The study also indicated that much lower plant populations of hybrid canola, around 45 plants per square metre, could sustain yields. But there are very few studies looking at plant populations below 45 plants per square metre. So what does a farmer do when faced with five or 10 plants per square metre if he or she runs into frost or some other emergence issue? Phelps, Shirtliff and others are conducting trials to find an answer to two specific questions: What happens to yield at a wide range of plant populations (two to 150 plants per square metre)? And what are the risks of reseeding when populations are lower than 40 plants per square metre? These two trials began last year at five sites in Saskatchewan — Indian Head, Melfort, Saskatoon, Scott and Swift Current.

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Best of Grainews

10 tips to get your air seeder ready for spring Here is our guide to making sure air seeders are properly set up and ready to go to work BY SCOTT GARVEY

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due that can penetrate sealed bearings and may cause drag and bearing wear, which can slow rotation of the seed delivering system and cause inaccurate seeding rates. 3) Check for opener wear Opener designs vary in how much wear they can tolerate before placement accuracy is affected. On some, a relatively small amount of wear can cause wide placement

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t’ll be spring before we know it, and air seeders will soon be hitting the fields. Now is the time for a last good look at them before their wheels start turning. Whether the machine is brand new or new-to-you, focusing on fine tuning product delivery mechanisms will pay dividends through good, even germination and maturity. To help farmers cover as many bases as possible, we’ve put together our top-10 checklist of key inspection points. Cut it out and take it out to farm shop. Tack it on the wall or drop it in your toolbox. That will help ensure you don’t forget anything. Good luck. 1) Start by giving the seeder frame an overall inspection With so much horsepower pulling on them, toolbars are subjected to a lot of stresses. Inspect the hitch and main frame for signs of cracks or damage. Check, then equalize the pressure in all tires. This is particularly important if the seeder depends on the frame being level for accurate placement. Ensure packer wheels are following accurately behind openers. 2) Check all bearings on rollers and auger delivery systems for possible damage Seed treatments and coating on crops, like canola, can leave a resi-

variations. Pay particular attention to openers that follow in wheel tracks, as these typically see increased wear. 4) Check air lines and manifolds for leaks Use the soap-test method, just as you would for a propane line to the BBQ (and after you’re done setting up the seeder, maybe it’s time for some siz-

Use Avadex on a few acres now

or on a lot of acres later Don’t let resistant wild oats grow on your farm By rotating to Avadex (Group 8) on up to 25% of your farm each year, you reduce the risk of Groups 1 & 2 resistant wild oats and you will improve yields with early weed removal.

zling steaks. Just a thought). Squirt a water and dishwashing soap solution around hose connections at manifolds, metering

on components within the delivery system Determine if there is a bypass effect on seed and fertilizer caused

Opener designs vary in how much wear they can tolerate before placement accuracy is affected systems, air tank seals and other joints — escaping air will set the solution to sudsing. Eliminating leaks can make a big improvement in seed and fertilizer placement accuracy. Also, look for internal obstructions like mouse nests or other debris. 5) Turn product delivery lines ¼ turn This will maximize the life of lines and even out wear patterns inside them, particularly at bends. It will also reduce drag and help even out seed and product flow. 6) Check tank compartment seals Proper product flow requires pressure be equalized between the inside of the tank and the lines delivering product to the drill. A loss of tank pressure will slow product flow out of the tank due to back pressure from higher pressure in the tubes. Not keeping pressure on tank seals during winter storage can help keep them in good condition and extend their service life. 7) Check seed monitor sensors A build up of seed coating on monitor sensors can affect seeding rate accuracy. Ensure the number of pulses per mile are set properly. They can be affected by tire size, tire pressure and soil conditions. Confirm tire circumferences; there can be a small variation between brands. Measure and be sure. 8) Check for excessive wear

by wear. Check auger flighting and or fluted roller delivery systems for wear by running the air fan in the stationary position and watch the end of the seed boot for seed and fertilizer delivery. 9) Test seed velocity at the wing edges Take the hose off the last opener on the outside wing of the air drill and attach it to the frame at the angle recommended by the manufacturer. This will help you evaluate air flow as it relates to fan speed. If seed and fertilizer are propelled either less than 12 inches or more than 24 inches from the end of the tube prior to dropping, adjust the fan speed or air dampers at the fan outlet to regulate output and help reduce seed bounce, damaged seed or plugging at the boot. 10) Mark your settings on tillage implements After a tillage unit is levelled, mark all the adjustment nuts, lock collars and other adjustable components with a punch or chisel to make it easier to notice any changes due to backing off from vibration. A special thank you the Canola Council of Canada and the former Alberta Reduced Tillage linkages group for help on putting this list together. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews and wishes everyone a safe and happy seeding season.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

Best of Grainews

grainews.ca /

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few years ago, all you needed to know was a tractor’s rim size when you went to a tire shop to order replacement rubber. Today, things are considerably different. Tire technology has progressed far beyond the days when you only had three ag tire choices: bias ply, bias ply or bias ply. Now, radials offer a superior alternative, and even the options available within radial tire lines are increasing. Picking the right tire for the job is a little more complicated than it used to be. “[It begins with] an overall assessment of your needs, requirements and the machinery you’re using,” says Michael Burroughs, marketing manager for Michelin tires. Because tractor ratings have now hit the 600 horsepower mark, getting all that power to the ground without excess slippage or creating serious compaction represents a challenge for tire manufacturers. On top of that, tractors and selfpropelled machines are now travelling faster, adding high-speed capability to the list of things on farmers’ wish lists for tire performance. All of those factors continue to drive new tire technology development across the industry. When it comes to selecting the best tire for field work on highhorsepower tractors, Michael Vandel, farm segment marketing manager for Michelin, says many of those workhorses can be retrofitted with updated tire options to increase traction and reduce compaction without having to change rims. “As an example, when you look at the 350 horsepower range, there are numerous tractors on the market that are on a standard dual configuration starting with a 520 (metric) or 20.8 X 42 (bias) wheel,” he says. “Let’s say he (a farmer) is worried about traction, but it’s not feasible to spec new wheels. In that case he can look at the Multibib in a 650-65 X 42 or an Omnibib or a MachXbib in a 62070 X 42, and those tires will fit on the same rims he has. The only extra expense would be an extension to go in between the wheels for dual spacing. He’ll see a reduction in air pressure of about 20 per cent and a dramatic increase in footprint which will reduce the compaction rate and it will also help with traction.”

RADIAL VS BIAS-PLY Because the technology used to produce bias-ply tires is 40 or 50 years old, they simply can’t compete with the performance offered by any radial. “You’ll see a 20 to 25 per cent increase in footprint by going to radials,” adds Vandel. “That’s mostly due to how the tire casing flexes. A bias tire under load moves as a single unit; as the sidewall flexes, so does the tread area. With a radial, the sidewall is inde-

pendent of the tread. As it flexes the tread will simply lengthen. With a bias tire as it comes under load, the sidewall will flex but the centre (of the tread) will actually pick up, which is going to reduce your footprint under the same load and conditions.” That is one of the key factors that gives radials their advantage in the field. But what about equipping a front-wheel assist tractor that may have to do double duty, working in the field and handling frontend loader work? That increases the demands on tire performance beyond just maximizing traction and minimizing compaction. “My advice to anybody who is using a loader on a front-wheel assist machine is to look for the widest and highest volume air chamber (the biggest tire) you can to put on it,” says Vandel. “When you put your loader on, you have an increase in load carrying capacity to support that weight, but if you remove that loader you have a large air volume allowing you to decrease pressure and increase traction in the field.”

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TIRE VOLUME AND PRESSURE “It’s the volume of air inside the tire that carries the load,” continues Burroughs. “Fundamentally, a tire is a pressure container. As a rule of thumb, the air carries 90 to 95 per cent of the load. The tire, itself, only carries five per cent. The more you can increase the volume of air inside the tire, the more you’re able to reduce the psi (pounds per square inch of pressure) required. PSI has a linear relationship with ground contact pressure. If you have a tire that has 35 psi, you’re putting 35 pounds per square inch of compaction onto the ground. But if you have a tire with 12 or 14 psi, you’re cutting compaction in half.” And lower tire pressures also make things more comfortable for the operator. “Your tire is your shock absorber,” notes Vandel. So lower psi settings in radial tires allow them to cushion the ride much more than bias tires can. But while making the jump from bias to radial tires represents a giant leap in performance, new technology in radial design offers further gains. Tires like Michelin’s UltraFlex VF (very high flexion) designs, which were introduced to North America in 2006, allow for air pressure reductions of up to 40 per cent over bias tires, which further reduces soil compaction. “It’s still an emerging technology,” notes Burroughs. But tires like Michelin’s Xeobib model use this design (see the profi field test article in this issue that looks at their performance). Michelin’s website, www. michelinag.com, offers an interactive tire selection tool as well as useful information on how to minimize wheel hop, calculate tire pressures or minimize compaction. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

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Best of Grainews

Top four production tips for soybeans

Whether growing them for the first or fifth time, there’s always more to learn about soybean production management BY BRUNEL SABOURIN

elcome to part two of a two part series on soybean production in Western Canada (part one ran on the cover of the January 10 issue of Grainews). This article delves further into a few of what I consider important production issues you may run across in growing soybeans, and will help you fine tune your production whether you are new to the crop or a more seasoned grower.

CONTROLLING ROUNDUP READY VOLUNTEERS One of the major problems with growing glyphosate tolerant soybeans are glyphosate tolerant volunteers. Economically, they can seriously affect yield as nothing will grow around them and cosmetically it’s a real eyesore when the yellow starts showing up mid season. In researching this article I came across a paper put together by the Canola Council of Canada on the topic of canola volunteers (www.canolacouncil.org/ uploads/managing_vol_canola. pdf). The paper mentions studies conducted at the University of Saskatchewan showing that although most of the canola seed left over from previous harvest operations germinate in the first two years, there is still enough

seed left to easily germinate one to two plants per square foot in year three. Canola seed can also go into a second dormancy and remain viable in the soil for five years or more. Two obvious ways of controlling glyphosate tolerant volunteers are rotation and minimizing harvest losses by swathing on the earlier side, timely harvest operations and proper combine settings to minimize shelling. There are several registered options available in Western Canada for pre-seed control of volunteer canola. Unfortunately none of the options offer any residual activity to control volunteers later in the season. In-crop options available to us in Western Canada generally fall under the Group 2 category so they require that the canola be small for good control. It should also be noted that these in-crop options are not cheap and would negate most of the economic benefits of growing glyphosate-tolerant beans. There are other viable control options registered in Ontario and in the northern United States that are not available to us in Western Canada. While I do not recommend using unregistered products, hopefully these options will be available to us soon as the demand grows. If you suspect that you could potentially have glyphosate-tolerant volunteer issues, be sure to scout your fields early to avoid dealing

with surprises later when the canola is too big to effectively control.

SOLID-SEEDED, NARROW OR WIDE ROWS? With most soybean acres grown in areas suitable for corn and edible beans, many farmers are dabbling with row cropping soybeans because they already have the equipment. The jury is still out with what is the proper row spacing but I will attempt to summarize advantages and disadvantages to solid seeded, narrow and wide rows. 1) Solid seeded, targeting, 200,000 to 220,000 plants per acre. This is the most common practice because it can be done with regular seeding equipment. Weed control is typically better because the beans are quicker to cover the ground. In some cases late season frost tolerance is improved because there is better heat retention within the canopy if there is full closure. One of the biggest disadvantages to solid seeding is a higher seeding cost due to required plant populations. Less air movement through the canopy can increase the severity and development of white mold (sclerotinia). Solid seeding was originally thought to result in higher podding because of increased plant competition and higher seedbed utilization. Recent research is indicating that wider rows result in higher podding due to the plants being spaced closer together in-row. 2) Narrow Row: (15 to 22

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In the first year, some farmers double up on inoculant to ensure adequate nodulation of the root system. inches), targeting 175,000 to 200,000 plants per acre. More common in the sugarbeet and corn-producing areas, narrow rows can be thought of as the happy medium between wide rows and solid seeded. Advantages include lower seeding costs and slightly better disease control when compared to solid seeded. 3) Wide Row: (30+ inches), targeting 150,000 to 175,000 plants per acre. Wide row soybeans are most typically found in areas at high risk of disease pressure. These are fields with high fertility, good moisture throughout the season and little wind movement. Beans on these fields typically grow quite tall and have a tendency to lodge. The biggest advantages to wide rows are lower seeding rates and better air movement through the canopy. Disadvantages include less efficient use of the sun, tougher weed control and increased susceptibility to late season frosts.

INOCULANTS Inoculants come in three principal forms. Preference will generally depend on equipment available to the farmer. It’s common practice to double up inoculants on first-year fields to increase the chances of successful inoculation. When doubling up inoculants, farmers will often apply a granular inoculant to encourage nodulation on the lateral roots and a peat or liquid to encourage nodulation on the main root. Peat and liquid inoculants are applied on the seed and granular is applied through one of the dry tanks on the air seeder. If you are limited with a two compartment cart you have to choose between applying a granular inoculant or starter fertilizer. The salts in most commercial fertilizers have a negative effect on rhizobia so blending them is not an option. If you want both, you may have to look at applying your fertilizer prior to seeding. There are some newer inoculant products on the market that claim to have a plant health promoting effects. With the cool springs and short growing season we face here in Western Canada, this could prove to be an advantage. Ask your agronomist about these.

STARTER FERTILIZER Soybeans can benefit from starter fertilizers if residual soil levels are low. Two important nutrients to

soybeans (or any other crop for that matter) early in the season are nitrogen and phosphorus. While soybeans have the ability to fix their own nitrogen with the help of inoculants, it’s a good idea to have some available early in the season before the soybeans and rhizobia have a chance to get going. Aim for between 40 and 60 pounds of N available to the crop. If N levels are any higher, nodulation can be delayed until later in the season, possibly affecting yield. When it comes to phosphate, soybeans respond better to residual phosphate than fertilizers applied the year of but if your residual levels are low (less than eight ppm), there is a very good chance of getting a response to banded starter P. We are limited to how much P we can place in the seed row. In most cases, the maximum amount in the seed row you can put down is 10 pounds of P2O5 per acre if your seed row spacing is less that 15 inches and you have good spring moisture. Wider rows will accommodate less. P should be banded below or to the side of the seed row for maximum efficiency. Some farmers elect to build soil test P levels in the years prior to soybeans, but in our clay soils P has a tendency to get tied up right away and benefits are limited. Slow release fertilizers such as Micro Essentials S15 and MESZ are showing improved seed safety and allowing for higher rates to be placed with the seed. Have a discussion with your local agronomist or retailer to find out if these products are a fit for your operation. A soybean plant’s ability to grow and perform under a variety of weather conditions and its low input requirements make it a good risk management tool in rotation. The biggest limitations to soybean production on the Canadian Prairies are heat units and frostfree days, but as shorter season varieties are developed, expansion outside of traditional growing areas will continue. Finally, potential problems with glyphosate-tolerant volunteer canola cannot be ignored. If you are looking at growing soybeans on you farm this year, be sure to talk to your local agronomist or other growers in the area with experience in growing soybeans to evaluate if it has a fit and what your biggest risks might be. † Brunel Sabourin is a location agronomist with Cargill AgHorizons and based out of Morris, Man. Contact him 204-746-4743 or brunel_sabourin@cargill.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

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Best of Grainews

GPS makes drainage work more precise Digging accurately sloped drainage runs can be difficult. Trimble’s GPS system makes the job a lot simpler BY SCOTT GARVEY

can remember hearing a farmer complain he had spent a very frustrating day trying to figure out why the water wouldn’t run downhill in his newly dug drainage ditches. The answer was obvious. His ditches didn’t run downhill. He finally figured that out. As funny as that incident seems, it highlights how difficult it can be to “eyeball” drainage runs. As it has in so many other ag applications, GPS has taken the guesswork out of creating drainage systems in the field. Using RTK technology, Trimble’s AgGPS FieldLevel II System is designed to run on any tractor-mounted Trimble FmX display, which means there is no need to add another monitor to alreadycluttered cabs. “That’s one of our market advantages,” says Chris van der Loo, product manager for Trimble Water Management. “The FieldLevel II module for the FmX display can be independently purchased,” adds van der Loo. “We would provide a password at a cost that would give you all the

FieldLevel II functionality for the FmX display. FieldLevel II has all the water management applications, so it’s not just drainage, it’s levelling and levee marking as well.” And farmers can expand on that capability with Trimble’s Surface software package, which is an analysis and design tool that helps producers place ditches or drain tile in the best locations. It creates 3D views of a field to help in the process by displaying watershed boundaries, flow arrows, contours, and tributary paths. Drainage lines can be drawn over the map to create a profile which makes it easier to decide if the placement of ditches follows the best possible route. It will also calculate how much pipe and other material is required to complete a job. The finished drainage plan can be transferred directly to the FmX display in the tractor to get the work done. To further automate that process, Trimble offers a hydraulic control valve option which enables GPS control of a scraper or other ditching imple-

ment. These are called platform kits and cost up to US$2,995. The system plugs into the CAN bus at the back of the tractor, so it is a quick installation without requiring a mechanic to plumb into complex circuits. It doesn’t matter what make of tractor or type of ditching implement a producer wants to use. “We can pretty well control any vehicle and Water Management implement combination,” notes van der Loo. FieldLevel II interfaces directly with the three major manufacturers, AGCO, CNH and John Deere without the need for external hydraulic valves. Platform kits are also available for other vehicles with the use of an external valve. If a farmer already uses a Trimble system, the cost of adding the Surface software package is only US$1,850. For an additional fee, Trimble also offers an end-user technical support service to help operators solve any problems they encounter. For more information visit www. trimble.com. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

PHOTO COURTESY TRIMBLE

Trimble’s FieldLevel II module for the FmX display allows producers to use GPS technology to create accurately sloped drainage ditches. The optional Surface software package creates 3D field models to help plan ditch routes.

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Best of Grainews

Grow a cover crop, keep the cash flow

Adding alfalfa to your winter wheat crop not only leaves winter wheat yields intact, but it also pays you back roughly 30 pounds or more of N per acre and helps suppress fall weeds BY LYNDSEY SMITH

ometimes a failed cropping experiment isn’t failure at all. When Bob Blackshaw set out to evaluate growing a cover crop without sacrificing cash flow, he certainly didn’t expect to happen upon an effective new way to establish alfalfa or to pinpoint a new silage mix. But that’s exactly what happened. “If you look back at the actual study’s objectives, it was largely a failure,” Blackshaw says. The weed scientist with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada in Lethbridge, Alta., set out to follow three legumes for three years seeded with winter wheat in the fall or frost-seeded in the spring. The aim was to judge winter survival of the under-seeded

red clover, alfalfa or Austrian winter pea, and to measure each crop’s contribution of nitrogen to the following canola crop, as well as provide weed suppression and erosion protection. The goal was to add a crop without reducing the winter wheat yield. Two of three under-seeded crops had undesirable outcomes, based on the set objectives, and the frost-seeding trial failed every year. The trial established that the red clover wasn’t winter hardy enough for fall seeding, that the winter pea competed too effectively with the winter wheat and reduced its yield and that all three crop types seeded into the existing spring crop never got big enough to contribute much nitrogen, Blackshaw says.

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FALL-ESTABLISHED ALFALFA CAN WORK But for all those hard lessons, some very promising, though unexpected, findings did come out of the research. First, fall- seeded alfalfa did very well in the trial and survived all three years. Second, the Austrian winter pea not only survived winter, but it also grew a little too well the next year. Alfalfa proved to be the real winner in this trial. It was set up like this: Once the winter wheat crop was harvested in late summer, the legume (red clover, alfalfa or winter pea) was allowed to grow, providing ground cover to guard against weeds and erosion while fixing nitrogen. The alfalfa was sprayed out with a heavy dose (1.5 litres per acre) of

glyphosate in the fall with good kill each year. “We sprayed when the alfalfa was still actively growing with good results,” Blackshaw says. Blackshaw and his team measured the extra available nitrogen added by the alfalfa intercrop the next spring. The alfalfa consistently left 15 to 17 pounds per acre for the next crop that was available at seeding time. Over the course of the summer, approximately another 15 pounds per acre was made available through natural soil processes. “This is continually released nitrogen, so it’s available at the critical grain filling period,” unlike conventional, spring-applied nitrogen products. he says. The alfalfa did not reduce the winter wheat crop yield in each of the three years, meaning that

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the added nitrogen and weed and erosion control came at no cost to yield whatsoever.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Blackshaw notes there were few drawbacks to seeding a legume with the winter wheat crop, but there are some key points to consider. Seed cost of the alfalfa is one, of course. Seeding two very different-sized seeds at the same time can be tricky, too. If you’re not set up with a unit that can do it (the research team used a drill with two boxes), it could mean two field passes to get both in the ground, adding significant costs and time. Alternatively, if you’ve got a double shoot opener or if you could seed in alternating rows, you can make it work, Blackshaw says. If water is scarce, it should be noted that while the alfalfa/winter wheat intercrop didn’t use significantly more water from the shallower rooting zones, it did deplete deeper water reserves somewhat. “We’re talking two percentage points difference,” Blackshaw says, meaning that in most years the difference won’t be significant. There’s also the cost of terminating the alfalfa crop in the fall. For those who typically do a burnoff in the fall anyway, the added cost might only be a bit higher due to the higher rate of glyphosate, however Blackshaw notes this is where another positive possibility came out of the study. “We had several farmers come through who said the crop looked so good, they’d just leave it for hay for the next four or five years,” Blackshaw says. While under-seeding alfalfa for establishment is not a new practice, it’s typically done in the spring, not the fall. Fall seeding does seem to work, Blackshaw says, providing farmers one more option for establishing alfalfa.

WINTER PEA AS SILAGE ADDITION

Contact Ter ry McGarry at 204-981-3 730

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And what of the Austrian winter pea trial? Blackshaw says that the study confirms Austrian winter pea is a viable option — in the Lethbridge area, at least. “It not only survived all three winters, but it also grew so well the following spring, it negatively impacted winter wheat yields,” Blackshaw says. Because a focus of this trial was to maintain winter wheat yields, the winter pea treatment was deemed a failure. In practice, however, Blackshaw has had more than a few farmers from the area light up at the results. “They’re looking at it as a silage option,” he says, noting that the winter pea will boost protein content of the silage. That certainly wasn’t a goal of this study, he says, but it’s a very positive outcome. “Cover crops have largely been the domain of organic producers,” Blackshaw concludes, “but this work suggests that conventional farmers can include a legume in their cropping system without negatively impacting the main crop.” The added plant-available, slow-release nitrogen is only one spin-off benefit: improved weed control, erosion control and long-term improved soil structure follows as well. † Lyndsey Smith is the editor of Grainews. Contact her at lyndsey@fbcpublishing.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

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Best of Grainews

Re-think your cereal seeding rates Depending on how you choose your seeding rate you could be either wasting money or sacrificing yield potential. Improving seeding rates starts with a target plant stand BY JASON CASSELMAN

hen preparing crop plans with farmers and discussing planned cereal seeding rates, they usually talk in bushels per acre. But using the same rule-of-thumb bushels per acre can mean very different seeding rates year over year. Instead, we start by establishing a target plant stand per square foot for each crop type and perhaps even by field. If we’re not starting with a target in mind, we’re only guessing that a couple of bushels of seed will get us close enough and we are hoping it all fits into our crop budget. A precise plant stand target works into our plan to achieve a targeted yield goal and everything we do with the crop will be focused on maintaining the plant stand required to realize the yield goal.

MATCH SEEDING RATE TO FIELD POTENTIAL Plant stand recommendations have been established for the Prairies based on averages for each crop and all areas with an average growing season. These recommendations are a starting point and should be a guide, yes, but we all know that averages, by very definition, aren’t very precise. In our business, we do not treat all areas as average, because each field is unique and some have more crop producing potential than others. Fertilizer rate recommendations are based on yield goals and the field potential. Seeding rates should follow the same criteria. Adjust seeding rate or plant stand density for field conditions not by how many bushels of seed to be seeded but by plants per square foot.

OVER- AND UNDER-SEEDING By using the actual 1000 kernel weights of seed lots and doing germination tests to check seed quality on different varieties of spring wheat over the last number of years we have seen a range between 100 to 140 pounds per acre required to achieve the same targeted 34 plants per square foot. How’s that, you say? Well, the variety plays a role, but the conditions that the crop was grown in has a huge impact on the plumpness and test weight of the seed.

Test weights can change a seeding rate dramatically. If you’re going to re-evaluate and fine-tune your seeding rates, the first step is to determine the 1000 kernel weight when checking germination levels. The benefits of 1,000 KW are threefold: 1) You may actually be overseeding. Too much seed is a waste if growing conditions are poor. Too many plants over-compete for moisture and nutrients. 2) You may be sacrificing yield potential by under-seeding. Optimimum seeding rates should result in a uniform crop that matures evenly, and produces fewer tillers with high moisture kernels.

3) Seed treatment accuracy depends on calibrating the treater to the amount of seed based on true seed weights. Seed treatment rates are measured in ml/100 kg of seed. When applying seed treatment to different seed lots the application equipment settings will change as seed test weights change.

PROVE IT The second recommendation is for farmers to take the time to do some seeding rate trials on their own farm. Determine optimum plant stands for your fields to get experience with how higher or lower plant densities respond to

various conditions. Seeding rate trials are easy enough to do by seeding a couple of passes at 80 per cent your standard rate and a couple of passes at 120 per cent of the standard rate. At harvest time, check the yield difference with the combine monitor or a weigh wagon and compare to an adjacent strip of standard rate. Information from on-farm trials is important when recorded and referred to at crop planning time. Just as we know there are differences across the prairies for ideal seeding rates, there are differences from field to field. With variable rate technology we can seed at the optimum rate within the field.

The theory we are following for variable rate seeding is to manage the higher fertility rates with increased seed rates and where the fertilizer rates are lower to also reduce the seeding rates where the yield potential is less. Improving seeding rates for optimum plant density by seeding with a specific plant population target and will not only save money but increases the probability of determining the plant stands that are specific to your field conditions to help realize yield potential. † Jason Casselman is a partner and agronomist with Dunvegan Ag Solutions Inc. (www.howtogotoagsi.com) at Rycroft, Alta.

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Cattleman’s Corner PASTURE MANAGEMENT

Grazing capacity boosted 400% It took 10 years to turn conventional system around through holistic management

askatchewan producer Blain Hjertaas owns 800 acres of pastureland, which gives him the equivalent grazing capacity of 3,200 acres. How does he achieve this? By maximizing the collection of solar energy on his land and using that energy to help improve soil health, which ultimately translates into better productivity. If that sounds too simple to be true, it’s not. Hjertaas was a conventional farmer for 25 years of his career. He poured on the chemicals and subscribed to every new technology that came along, but the work wasn’t getting any easier and he certainly wasn’t getting any richer. He added livestock, seeded grass and tried a rudimentary rotational grazing system, but it wasn’t until he took a Holistic Management course that he learned how he could achieve his goals of maximizing the productivity and health of his land, his livestock and his family. Improving soil health is where it all begins says Hjertaas who farms at Redvers in southeast Saskatchewan near the Manitoba border. “In general soil health is declining,” he says. “It now takes 10 calories of energy to produce one calorie of food. Over half of prairie soil organic matter has disappeared in just 100 years and one ton of soil is lost per person per year.” Reversing this trend, says Hjertaas, was crucial to the many elements that have given him a naturally balanced system of production. Careful management of the system helps him achieve his goals, which form the foundation of holistic management. It has taken Hjertaas 10 years to achieve four times the usual carrying capacity of his land and has meant careful planning of his grazing system to maximize the poten-

tial of the land and its available resources and cycle them effectively through his animals. At a recent Planned Grazing workshop in Brandon, hosted by the Manitoba Forage Council and Ducks Unlimited, Hjertaas walked a number of Manitoba livestock producers through compiling a comprehensive Grazing Plan. The workshop was funded though the Agri-Extension Environment Program under Growing Forward, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative, which is a program designed to encourage behaviour and attitude changes towards environmentally sustainable agriculture practices and to encourage adoption of environmentally sustainable agriculture practice on farms. Hjertaas emphasized the importance of preparing a gross profit analysis for each individual component of farm operations. This needs to be done every year says Hjertaas, and should be based on historical data, which becomes more accurate and representative of the true picture with each year. The gross profit analysis is based on Animal Days per Acre (ADA) The importance of this calculation is that it should illustrate clearly the components of the farm that are making the most money. The grazing plan should take into account all of the following elements, without which livestock producers will fail to make the ultimate use of their resources, says Hjeertas. There are many variables in grazing, but a good plan will help producers be more prepared for them. Energizing the land. • “All you have to do to be successful in agriculture is collect solar energy,” says Hjertaas. An annual cropping system makes use of about three months of solar energy, whereas a perennial system can cap-

ture solar energy for a lot longer, at least seven months. Maximizing that energy involves matching the nutritional requirements of animals to plant growth. “Cows peak requirement for feed is several weeks after calving, so why not make the two peaks meet; peak demand and peak plant growth in mid June,” says Hjertaas. Better nutritional quality can be achieved by moving animals more frequently during periods of fast plant growth and less frequently during periods of slow growth.

Blain Hjertaas explains his grazing management system to producers at a Manitoba workshop. “Usually five days on a paddock is the maximum that I will leave (my animals),” says Hjertaas. “After five days the plants are starting to re-grow and I don’t want them to take a second bite as the plant will then be over-grazed. In May and June it could be only two days to re-growth, so you have to monitor that.” A high stock density improves productivity in a number of ways. High stock density gives more even grazing and distribution of manure, greater animal impact,

provides more plant litter and results in better animal performance, improved land and tighter plant communities. Hjertaas maintains a stocking density of 200,000 pounds of livestock per acre on his land. He has found that the nutrient level of the grass is higher because increasing the stock density and moving the animals more frequently prevents overgrazing and the increase of species that are not as palatable or nutritious to the cattle. • Making better use of water. Precipitation as rain or snow provides much of the water on the farm and although there is no way to control how much falls there is plenty of scope to affect what happens to it afterwards, says Hjertaas. Run off, infiltration, evaporation and transpiration can all be controlled, to a certain extent, by keeping the land well covered with green plant growth or plant litter to retain as much moisture as possible. Capturing just one millimetre more rain per year gives one more litre of usable water per square metre. “A good percentage of our water also comes as snow and it’s important to take advantage of all that nature gives us,” says Hjertaas. “Snow keeps the soil warmer allowing quicker green up in the spring. Having the land litter covered will allow the snow melt to enter the soil and be useful for plant growth, rather than running off and contributing to problems downstream.” • Improving organic soil matter Litter on the land is an important part of both building and maintaining the organic matter in the soil. It doesn’t matter whether the litter is green or brown, says Hjertaas, who uses bale grazing to help build litter. “I have achieved 800% more production after year

two in the areas where I have bale grazed,” says Hjertaas. Studies at the University of Saskatchewan have shown that with a bale grazing system 31 per cent of the nitrogen from manure ends up on the land, as opposed to only one per cent of manure from a corral feeding system. If he needs additional feed Hjertaas will purchase hay and believes the reason he nets over $100 an acre on his grassland is because he is not exporting any nutrient value through the removal of annual crops. • Reducing winter feeding costs One of the biggest costs in livestock production is winter feeding. Reducing that cost means keeping cows out on pasture 12 months of the year and not over-feeding. Hjertaas bale grazes throughout the winter and his cows have grazed through two feet of snow on stockpiled grass. And he feeds his cows to maintain or lose some weight over the winter. “Winter, in nature, is a culling time. If you keep cattle artificially heavy in winter it reduces their longevity,” he says. • Improving biodiversity The fewer species that exist in an ecosystem the less stable it is. But, as important as growing a diverse mix of plants, is understanding them. “Management is the key. You need to know how plants grow and how much time they need to recover after grazing,” says Hjertaas. Plant community dynamics help balance out a holistically managed system, which is all about mimicking nature, which means, says Hjertaas, that the less you do, the better it is. And isn’t that what every farmer would like farming to be about? † Article courtesy of Manitoba Forage Council and Ducks Unlimited Canada.

BETTER BUNKS AND PASTURES

Calculating creep feeding value PETER VITTI

reep feeding is a specialized feeding program for nursing beef calves that provides supplemental nutrition on pasture that restricts feed access of the cows. Most producers make their decision to creep feed based upon a number of economic and personal reasons. Producers who creep feed spring calves often realize: higher weaning weights in the fall, a more uniform marketable calf crop and an opportunity to maximize the performance potential of modern beef genetics. Aside from these sound reasons to creep feed, the deciding factor to creep feed should mainly be due to a profitable rate of return on every calf traced back strictly to creep feeding. This year’s creep feeds can be provided on pasture throughout the summer, but the best time for sup-

plemental calf feeding tends to be about three to four months after calving season is done. At this time medium-frame nursing calves are still growing at a rapid rate of gain; 1.8-2.2 lbs. per head daily, while larger-frame calves have the potential to gain over 2.5 lbs. per head, daily, but average milk production of the cowherd is slowing down. It is estimated that by mid-summer, the cows are only supplying about 50 per cent of their calves’ nutritional needs for energy and protein. This nutritional shortfall must come from elsewhere if spring calves are going to maintain good bone and lean tissue growth, and that usually means that calves are now forced to rely mostly upon nutrients held in pasture grass. Unfortunately as time moves toward mid-summer, most pastures are not as lush as they once were in the early spring, so wellformulated high energy and protein creep feeds might be utilized on a daily basis in order to close this significant nutritional gap, which in essence is a real barrier to overall calf performance,

especially for calves weaned and marketed in the fall. Likewise, most university and industry studies have successfully demonstrated the value of creep feeding. Their data has shown consistent increased weight gains and desirable herd uniformity in pasturing first-year crept-fed calves. For the last few years, University of Illinois beef researcher Dan Faulkner says the annual practice of feeding spring calves, high quality creep feed seems to be the producer’s best tool in order to maintain the high genetic potential of modern fastgrowing beef calves. Despite such high regard, the corresponding economic benefits strictly due to similar creep feeding programs across western Canada have been mixed. While the sale price of fall calves, cost of the creep feed and calf average daily gain (only due to creep feed) has a direct impact on overall creep feed profitability, it is the feed efficiency (FE) of the supplemental creep ration (the amount of feed converted into calf frame and lean bodyweight gain) as the main

driver and sometimes elusive force behind overall calf performance and finally gross profits generated during an entire- or mid-summer of creep feeding season. Broken down into its basic elements, the feed efficiency (FE) of creep feed formulated for spring calves is by nature not only variable (5-15 lb. of feed per lb. of gain), but as mentioned above is indirectly proportional to the quality of grazed pasture. Creep feeding calves grazing fair to medium quality pastures yields a feed efficiency of five to seven pounds of feed per pound of gain, while creep rations provided on tame high-quality pastures often yield a much lower feed efficiency of about nine to 11 lbs. per lb. of gain. In order to determine actual creep feeding profitability for your own situation, consider the following worksheet example (source: South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service) that uses present estimates of feed and calf prices in order to compare strict feed efficiency and creep-feeding returns on a medium native-grass pasture versus two-

year old tame pasture (re: consider the last column to calculate your own situation): There are many ways to interpret our above feed efficiency and creep feed comparison. One way to look at these results is native pasture has a 2.0 point feed efficiency advantage in creep feeding compared to tame pastures and yields $22.40 per calf more due to creep feeding. From an opposite angle, the vice-versa situation is realized; a mere drop of 2.0 points in the feed efficiency of creep feeding due to the better quality of the tame pasture resulted in about an 82 per cent drop in the direct worth of creep feeding. Sometimes, a decision to forgo creep feed calves during the summer is based upon allowing existing grasses (re: tame pasture) to put more economic gains on the calves, rather than rely on the concentrated nutrition formulated in creep rations. In contrast, the highest economic return from creep feeding often occurs when forages are becoming too mature for efficient

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

JULY/AUGUST 2011

grainews.ca /

Keepers & Culls Stars are lined up—at least for now LEE HART

wouldn’t say life is perfect in the beef world, but the grass is growing (in most places) and all indicators are that prices will remain relatively good/ strong into 2012, so at this point in midsummer that’s probably as good as it gets.

BE CAREFUL A funeral service is being held for a woman who has just passed away. At the end of the service, the pallbearers are carrying the casket out when they accidentally bump into a wall, jarring the casket. They hear a faint moan. They open the casket and find that the woman is actually alive! She lives for 10 more years and then dies. Once again, a ceremony is held and at the end of it the pallbearers are again carrying out the casket. As they carry the casket towards the door, the husband cries out, “Watch that wall.”

WATCH FOR ANTHRAX A University of Saskatchewan veterinary professor is reminding livestock producers to protect their herds against anthrax. The naturally occurring illness can cause staggering, convulsions and rapid death in animals. Unfortunately, the wet weather this year is increasing the risk of disease. Flooded land could be a problem for more than just raising crops. It could also mean a deadly season for livestock producers. Dr. Chris Clark of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine says that the first predictor for the potential of anthrax is a wet spring. Despite a few isolated cases since, the last outbreak occurred in the summer of 2006. And so to avoid the necessary widespread destruction of animals, Clark says cattle, horses, bison and other grazing animals should be vaccinated. For more information contact Dr. Greg Douglas, chief veterinary officer, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Branch, at (306) 787-5547 or e-mail greg.douglas@gov.sk.ca; or CFIA website at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/. Then click on Animals/Animal Diseases/ Anthrax.

SHORT RANT Vicki Dutton of North Battleford, Saskatchewan sent in these few comments about the agriculture industry. “Not sure of you’re interested in this rant but I get a little tired of people chanting about food prices being high, when farm efficiencies have replaced higher costs for many years. Higher costs have followed higher prices, and at this time I am not sure we can exist if prices go down

much. Seems to me as a kid the following ratios were to apply: A combine is the same as a quarter of land. A barrel of oil is the same as a bushel of wheat.”

ILC CONFERENCE IN CALGARY Come and join key beef industry leaders and stakeholders from around the world at this year’s International Livestock Congress — ILC Beef 2011, August 10 in Calgary. The expert lineup of speakers will include Gilles Gauthier, chief agriculture negotiator with Agriculture Canada (AAFC), Ottawa. He will provide an update on the status of the Canada-EU negotiations towards a comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and highlight the implications of an agreement for the beef industry. As well, Glen Hodgson, senior vice-president and chief economist with The Conference Board of Canada, will discuss the global economy and how the path to recovery is very different by region and sector. Hodgson will also give his perspective on the recovery in Europe and Japan, the growth in the U.S and Canada and the growing emerging markets. Visit www.ilccalgary.com for all the latest information and to register.

YOUNG GUNS Three outstanding winners have been selected for this year’s Alberta Beef Producers Young Guns contest. Youth aged eight to 21 were asked to submit what ABP means to them. Entries ranged from essays to composed songs and videos, blog posts and posters. The Communications Committee judged the submissions and awarded $1,000 for first prize, $500 for second and $250 for third. The winners are: 1. Amy Mayner, Bluffton 2. Dakota Wilson, Bashaw 3. Raymond Gallelli, Crossfield

FOOT IN THE DAIRY DOOR The inaugural year of Alberta Milk’s New Entrants Assistance Program proved to be a successful one. Five new dairy producers across Alberta will be loaned quota to help alleviate some of the startup costs normally incurred when starting a dairy farm. From all the applicants, five were chosen from an intensive process to help decipher the ones that would have the most success on the program. They all provided a two-year financial business plan, a 10-year implementation plan, a risk mitigation plan, and signed letter from the applicant’s financial institution agreeing to finance their operation. One of the successful applicants was Alex and Alinda Bakker. “Before the New Entrant Program, it would have taken several years for us to achieve our dream of owning a dairy farm” say the Bakkers. Following the submission of their documentation, they were interviewed by a committee comprised of industry experts and financial

institutions to assess their application and determine the strongest applicants. “A week after [the interview], we got the phone call that we were accepted, and we thought wasn’t possible for several years is happening. We are ready to pursue our dream as dairy farmers and want to thank everybody that helped us and supported us.” In addition to the Bakkers the four other people on the program need to purchase quota. The quota purchased will then be matched with a loan of quota from Alberta Milk up to a maximum of 15 kg/ day at no cost to the new entrant. The quota loan would gradually expire starting the end of year six. At the end of year eight, the quota loan would reduce to zero. While using the program, new entrants can expand up to 60 kg/day of quota holdings. Alberta Milk will continue to make this an annual program to assist those who need support entering into the dairy industry in Alberta. There have been improvements made to the program and Alberta Milk will be accepting applications for 2012 beginning in January.

RUTLEDGE HONORED

“She ain’t been wearin’ her wedding ring lately... I’m a little worried she might be meltin’ it down into a bullet...”

Dahl to

carries both Bachelor and Masters

Write, Email or Fax Contact Cattleman’s Corner with comments, ideas or suggestions for and on stories by mail, email, phone or fax. Phone Lee Hart at 403-592-1964 Fax to 403-288-3162 Email lee@fbcpublishing.com Write to CATTLEMAN’S CORNER, 6615 Silverview Rd. N.W., Calgary, Alta. T3B 3L5

Saskatchewan’s Roy Rutledge has garnered national recognition for his decades-long contribution of time, effort and skill to improve livestock marketing in Canada. Rutledge was recently inducted into the Livestock Markets Association of Canada (LMAC) Hall of Fame. Rutledge manages Assiniboia Livestock Auction and Weyburn Livestock Exchange while maintaining the family ranch and a farm sale auction business.To add to his achievements, at the same ceremony, Assiniboia Livestock Auction was also recognized as the Canadian Angus Association Auction Market of the year.

ALBERTANS HONORED WITH CREEK NAMES The outstanding contributions of three Albertans were honoured earlier this year with the naming of two Alberta creeks. Skrine Creek, located 24 kilometres west of Nanton, has been named in honour of Walter and Agnes “Nesta” Skrine. The Skrine family established the Bar S Ranch on Mosquito Creek in 1887, building and maintaining a herd of up to 700 cattle on nearly 16,000 acres of leased land. Bill Griffiths, a fisheries biologist with Alberta Fish and Wildlife, worked with local fish and game clubs to complete a fisheries enhancement program in the critical trout spawning waters of the newly-named Bill Griffiths Creek near Canmore. Those efforts helped make the Bow River one of the most important trout fisheries in Canada.

NEW MANAGER Manitoba Beef Producers is pleased to announce the selection of Cam

In the Goofy Livestock category, Darlene Chesney of Innerkip, Ontario sent this photo of a 10-year-old cow that likes to sit while eating and even feeding a calf. The Chesneys have 30 cow pairs, flock of 6,000 laying hens, and small herd of pigs, which Darlene says “keeps the two of us busy.” And obviously the cow that likes to sit is no help with chores. lead the organization as their new general manager. “Mr. Dahl has garnered vast experience and exposure during his career. His extensive agricultural and professional background makes him a great fit to lead our team,” said Major Jay Fox, President of MBP. “The MBP Board is confident that he will meet the challenge of his new position with great success and trust that he will build on the success of MBP and its predecessors.” Dahl comes to MBP most recently from Pronto Energy Group, a waste to energy company. Prior to this, he held positions as commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission, chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian International Grains Institute, executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada and spent several years working in Ottawa. He

Degrees of Science, specializing in Agriculture Economics and his graduate research work involved cattle and deforestation in the western Brazilian Amazon. The role of General Manager at Manitoba Beef Producers is a key position that reports to the board of directors. The core function of this position is to provide leadership and be responsible to implement the strategic direction as set out by the board and develop the annual operational plans that fulfill this direction. This includes initiatives and programs that positively influence and grows the beef industry sector and ensures a sustainable future for the beef producers in Manitoba. †

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Cattleman’s Corner HERD HEALTH

Take early action with cancer eye BY ROY LEWIS

ancerous eyes are a regular occurrence in most western Canadian beef herds and must be dealt with in the appropriate manner. Early detection and treatment alleviate the pain and suffering which occurs in advanced cases. Producers will also receive much greater financial benefits with early intervention. Just as with pinkeye, cattle with white pigment around the eyes are more susceptible to cancer eye. Ultraviolet light, flies and other irritants such as dust may accelerate the development of lesions. It is thought there may be a genetic susceptibility to the disease, but this is not proven. Most producers should try and select cattle for dark pigment around both eyes. Herefords cattle are even being developed with this pigment. Cancer eye (squamous cell carcinoma) usually starts as a plaque, which can progress to a papilloma (wart-like growth) and eventually progress to an invasive tissuedestroying mass. The goal is to recognize these early while surgery can be successful. In cattle, approximately half of the precancerous plaques regress spontaneously. If you observe these on a cow, simply note her number and keep an eye on her for progression. These plaques may even remain for several years before advancing. About 80 per cent of entire carcass condemnations are the result of cancer eyes. In the United States an estimated one to 1.6 per cent of cattle will develop cancerous eyes in their lifetime. This is definitely an economic disease. If left until the orbit is eaten away, infection sets in and tremendous pain is the result. The SPCA

can be called in, in these situations and charges can be laid. The disease can metastasis, or spread to the local lymph nodes in approximately 10 per cent of cases. With stringent regulations in packing plants today, if some of the boney orbit is eaten out, or infection is present condemnation of the carcass usually results. The way to avoid this is early intervention and treatment of the disease by your veterinarian. Several procedures can be done, depending on severity of the disease and the veterinarian’s expertise. A high percentage of cancers start on the third eyelid (nictitating membrane). This can be frozen and surgically removed without loosing the eye. When pregnancy checking in the fall, I see this as an ideal opportunity to closely watch for eye problems as they walk through your system. If problems are noted they may even be dealt with immediately. Other tumours, if on the eyelids and not too advanced, can be treated, by your veterinarian, with cryosurgery (freezing with liquid nitrogen), heat therapy or an advanced surgery called a tarsoraphy. These procedures have a higher chance of reoccurrence, but again the eye is saved. When performing these procedures always have your veterinarian check the other eye closely as precursors to cancer are sometimes picked up. In more advanced cases, especially if the cancer is on the eyeball itself, surgical removal of the eye and lids is the only option. Your veterinarian will usually need to consider several points in each case. At our clinic in late pregnancy (seven plus months bred) we generally will wait until just after parturition. Likewise in very early

(FILE

PHOTO)

Symptoms of cancer eye, if detected and treated early can avoid the need for complete eyeball removal. pregnancy we may wait as well, especially if the client wishes to keep the cow longterm. You must always consider the economic viability of the fetus when making decisions with regards to surgery. Generally the veterinarian has a very good idea on the prognosis for reoccurrence. If the prognosis is very good, the cow can be kept for several more years. If guarded, she can be kept until weaning. Some cancer eyes, especially in large bulls or cows, are removed to ensure they pass slaughter. Each case has its own specifics, which must be addressed. I always suggest quiet cows will remain quiet, even with one eye, whereas wild cows just get worse and should be culled. From a safe-

ty aspect, cows are always a danger working on the blind side. Bulls should have binocular vision to identify cows in heat so should be culled once the eye is removed and healed. We generally make sure fly control is adequate especially in the summer months. A fly tag or pour-on fly control product is a wise idea until the surgery heals. Early recognition of cancer eye is the key. We have become more successful at treatment, as producers bring cases in early, before a lot of spread has occurred. Often a few weeks can make a huge difference in the success rate. Be careful not to confuse the early stages of cancer eye with pinkeye. Small tumours can cause irritation to the eye, which greatly mimics pinkeye.

Check closely. In the early stages cancer eye is not painful and no eye spasms occur. There is a Cattle Facs sheet available at most auction markets or veterinary clinics, which have pictorial representations on what has been described The cost of cancer eye treatments vary considerably, but are always substantially less than the value of the cow or bull. In order to avoid slaughter condemnations, or extend the life of a productive cow have affected eyes attended to. If in doubt have it checked, bad eyes are something all veterinarians can help you with. † Roy Lewis is a practicing large animal veterinarian at the Westlock Veterinary Center, north of Edmonton, AB. His main interests are bovine reproduction and herd health.

THE MARKETS

Cattle prices positive for 2011 JERRY KLASSEN MARKET UPDATE

eeder and fed cattle prices are poised to move higher based on lower beef production and steady consumer demand. The cattle markets are starting to incorporate a risk premium due to the uncertainty in production. Despite lower calf crops over the past couple years, North American beef production actually exceeded year ago levels during the first half of 2011. During the third quarter, production will remain above last year and then drop under year ago levels in the final quarter of 2011 and first quarter of 2012. Packing margins have been very strong encouraging the weekly slaughter pace. Beef supplies have been building, adding pressure to wholesale prices. Ground beef prices continue to hover near record-high prices while “higherquality cuts” have softened since peaking earlier in spring. The increase in beef prices out-

paced consumer incomes causing the retail market to ration demand. Consumer spending and disposable income will continue to be a major risk over the next six months. Unlike the fall of 2010, U.S. corn supplies are building rather than contracting, which should also bode well for feeder cattle prices and feedlot margins. Canadian feed grains are expected to stay rather tight but lower exports will limit the upside potential. U.S. cattle on feed numbers have been running approximately four per cent above last year during the spring period and will only drop under year ago levels later in August. Placements during May were down 11 per cent in comparison to May of 2011, which is very important as analysts expect this trend to continue. Placements have been above year-ago levels every month since February of 2010. The May placement number is quite significant as a turning point in the supply equation of the market. Third-quarter beef production was increased on the last USDA report due to the larger on-feed numbers and softer corn values. However, notice fourthquarter production down sharply from 2010 and 460-million-pound

year-over-year decline in quarter one of 2012. Lower production prospects will keep the deferred live cattle futures very strong and we could even see the April live cattle 2012 futures contract make fresh highs. US Quarterly Beef Production (million pounds) Quarter

2010

2011

2012

6251

6411

5950

6547

6715

n/a

6768

6795

n/a

6741

6460

n/a

Total

26304 26266 25005

Canadian beef production during the first half of 2011 was 568,250 mt, down 12 per cent from 496,636 mt last year. Production will continue to run under year ago levels and we could see further declines in the fourth quarter. Cattle-on-feed numbers in Alberta and Saskatchewan are running one per cent below last year which isn’t that significant. However, on-feed numbers are expected to be down four to five per cent from October through December. The Canadian dol-

lar will continue to temper the weekly slaughter pace and also slow beef exports. Beef demand has not come on as expected during the spring and summer. Abnormally wet and cool weather slowed retail beef movement and barbeque activity. Consumer confidence was also down in June causing restaurant traffic to slow. Overall consumer spending failed to rise in May causing the first decline in 10 months. The U.S. is undergoing a very slow level of growth and larger economic indicators are actually pointing to stagnant growth for the remainder of 2011. September and early October are seasonally bearish months for the equity markets and this could also temper beef demand during this time. US consumers are contending with larger inflation and a weak currency; therefore, all these factors suggest a decrease in food spending. The ongoing debate regarding the government deficit continues to limit business optimism. Restaurant owners are very concerned about personal and business spending in the fall period. Feeder cattle numbers are expect-

ed to be down on the upcoming USDA inventory report. Drier conditions in the southern plains along with excessive moisture in northern regions have tempered the expansionary process. Canadian July numbers may show a marginal increase. Excessive moisture in Manitoba and Saskatchewan may offset the expansionary activity earlier in the year in Alberta. In conclusion, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Canadian fed cattle prices strengthen $5 to $8 over the next six months given the price structure of the deferred live cattle futures. The feeder market appears to encouraging expansion through higher prices, which should keep values near historical highs. When a market is at historical highs, there is usually increased volatility; therefore, producers are encouraged to have a prudent risk management plan in place. If the U.S. economy slips into another recession, the market could have significant downside risk. † Gerald Klassen analyses cattle and hog markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in Southern Alberta. For comments or speaking engagements, he can be reached at jkci@mts.net or 204 287 8268.

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

Cattleman’s Corner

Build a home team advantage Purebred breeder Mar Mac Farms says VBP helps the family-run beef operation play at the top of its game

roducing safe, high-quality beef. Building strong long-term relationships with customers. For Blair and Lois McRae and family of Mar Mac Farms, near Brandon, Man., it doesn’t get much simpler than that. These two objectives of their beef operation go hand in hand and it’s why the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program has become an integral part of their purebred beef business. “A couple of the things I like best about the verified approach is that it helps us keep organized with what we’re doing and it’s producer driven,” says Blair McRae. “As a purebred operation, we were already following many of the standard practices. But the VBP program helped us improve our approach to record-keeping and bring an added layer of focus and transparency to what we’re doing. Those advantages are very important today not just for our operation but for our industry.” Team focus Teamwork is the linchpin of any purebred breeder and definitely with Mar Mac Farms. The fourth-generation operation runs 190 breeding females among three groups of cattle — Red Angus, Black Angus and Simmental. Blair and Lois run it along with their son Brett and daughter Melissa.

All in the family. Blair, Lois, Brett and Melissa McRae.

“We take pride in doing things the right way. The verified program is about industry taking the lead and we believe that’s the right approach.” “Like most producers, we take pride in doing things the right way,” he says. “With the VBP program, it’s not about doing things drastically different. But it’s a good check on what you’re doing that can help you identify ways to get better. As a family and as a team, we can point to the program as part of the structure of how we do things. That supports everyone following the same approaches and working well together.” Record-keeping made easy Sometimes it’s the simple adjustments that produce the strongest benefits. The McRaes found that a key advantage of the VBP program was the stan-

dardized approach to recordkeeping. Before participating in the program, some records were kept on a calendar while some were kept in a couple of different log books. Now Mar Mac has one record-keeping book, in one place, that everyone uses. “The record-keeping adjustment was something we didn’t think about too much before, but it turned out to be a big thing for us,” says Blair. “Whether it’s me, my wife or my kids, each of us knows where to find it and where to put the information. Nothing gets missed. Our records are better organized and more consistent, and that has been a great benefit.”

Easy to participate VBP is a voluntary program and producers can choose to simply implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). If they wish, they can also move to the VBP registration stage, which is based on an initial validation audit. Mar Mac Farms is now in its fourth year as a registered participant in VBP. Blair says the course was straightforward and the assessment process involved with VBP registration has worked well. “As far as the records review or self-declarations, we’ve now had three of them completed. The process was simple and the administrator we dealt with was very knowledgeable and helpful.” Industry driven shows commitment Perhaps the greatest asset of the program and the main reason the McRaes got involved is that it is a purely industry-driven approach. “In my opinion, that’s the right way to go,” says Blair. “We know there is more demand to show standardized, verified approaches and as an industry it makes sense for us to lead on this.” At the end of the day, for the beef industry a program like VBP is simply part of continuing to strengthen the relationship with the end customer, he says.

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Cattleman’s Corner RANCHERS DIARY

Bulls can be a headache

Getting bulls to where they should be can delay plans and make for long days HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

JUNE 1

he cows were happy for green grass when we moved them into a portion of the field below the lane. The grass is finally growing, now that the weather has warmed up. Lynn took our tractor and post-pounder to the upper place and helped Michael set posts to repair and add onto the little corral. Michael borrowed our big tractor to feed his yearlings; his tractor had a flat tire. That weekend Nick ran at the state track meet in Boise, and did very well in the 800-metre run. Our little high school took third place overall in state competitions. Rubbie is still lame after her accident last month. I put DMSO on her leg for several days, and gave her bute (pills dissolved in water, with molasses added, given orally with a big syringe) for 10 days. We vaccinated and semenchecked our bulls, and Michael put his bull with heifers on the upper place. He’s not going to turn any cattle out on the range for another month, breeding the heifers in home pastures. The grandkids are out of school now, and enjoying summer vacation. On Friday Lynn and I were planning to go to Nick’s high school graduation, so I did our chores early while Lynn finished irrigating. When I went out to do chores, I discovered one of the range bulls on the road above our driveway. Lowell, our new range neighbour, hauled a bull over here that morning and unloaded him just through the gate—where about 40 cows and three bulls belonging to the other neighbor (Alfonzo) were hanging on the fence. The four bulls fought all day, and tore the fence down. When Lynn got home from irrigating, he and I herded the bull down the road to a gate, and then I chased all the cattle and bulls over the hill, away from the fence, while Lynn patched the fence. We couldn’t go to Nick’s graduation until we got that situation resolved, or the bulls would have torn up more fence and the range cattle would be out on the road and coming into our place. We hurried to town and made it to graduation 30

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28

CALCULATING CREEP FEEDING VALUE utilization by spring calves or forage quality is limited due to overgrazing or a hot dry summer. Such similar field conditions should be revealed to most of us within the next couple of months. Despite what happens, it appears that the current 2011 projected weaned calf prices are still relatively favorable in relation to the high grain prices that are formulated in most creep feeds, which makes creep feeding calves even more interesting to many people.

minutes late, and finally ate supper late that night after we got home. Yesterday Lynn’s family had a nice memorial service for his mother, Virginia (who died in February). Many relatives came, and we had a dinner the day before, with a chance for everyone to visit. We also had a dinner after the service, with many people bringing food. Andrea made eight salads and baked beans for the two dinners. We moved our cows to the lower end of the swamp pasture, and patched the fence where wildlife knocked it down. The old brace posts were leaning over and Lynn pulled them upright with the tractor. Michael helped him set new posts. We had more rain for several days (snow on the upper place), and the creek is really high. The calves were glad for the calf houses in their new pasture — to get out of the rain. There was too much water coming down the ditch above the house, and washed out the ditch bank. The high water also washed out one of our ditch diversions and Lynn spent several days trying to get water in the ditch, putting big straw bales in the creek. There’s still a lot of snow on the mountains so we’ll probably have a lot of high water. The rivers are flooding. Last week a young woman was walking with her dog along the river that goes through town — and tried to save her dog when it went into the water. The woman was unable to get out of the swift current, and washed away. Her body was eventually found 125 miles downstream.

JUNE 13 Andrea went to Idaho Falls again for another appointment with the pain specialist. The doctor is trying to figure out ways to help her deal with constant pain and problems caused by the shrinking scar tissue (from the old skin grafts) that’s pulling her shoulder, back and neck out of place. Lynn tried for several more days to get water in our ditch, driving steel posts into the big straw bales he put into the creek—hoping the posts would hold the panels and dam material (with cement blocks tied to the dam material to try to hold it down in the swirling water). He finally got a little water running into the ditch, but had to be careful to not fall into the raging flood. He then spent several days helpHowever, the primary economic opportunity for creep feeding beef calves on most individual beef operations remains; to supplement the nutrient requirements of fast-growing calves on pasture where milk and forage supplies may fall short during the late summer, so spring calves can keep on growing. A creep feed program does not necessarily fit every situation or particular year, but such profitable benefits of creep feeding should always be investigated beforehand by every producer. † Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

ing Michael, Carolyn and kids set more posts around the corral on the upper place, making a new pen next to it, and rebuilding the old runway to the chute. He took our backhoe up there and hauled rocks to fill in a mudhole so they can get their stock trailer in and out without getting stuck. Michael and Carolyn vaccinated and hauled 60 heifers to rented pasture on another ranch. They spent the rest of the day branding and vaccinating more of the steers and heifers they bought last winter. The next day they hauled 100 yearlings to a ranch at Leadore for summer pasture, and put some steers on our 160-acre mountain pasture. Veggie (25 years old) was a little thin this spring so I’ve been letting him graze green grass in the pen by the calving barn. Nick and Heather took old Molly and Chance to the upper place to graze with the rest of their horses for the summer. Lynn put up an electric fence in part of the barnyard so Veggie can be on green pasture for a while. We moved our cows to the hill pasture above the house, pumping water for them into several tanks from the ditch in our field across the road. There’s a culvert under the road, and we put a big PVC pipe through the culvert, hooking our hoses to it on both ends for pumping. I put front shoes on Ed (the mare I got from Michael and Carolyn) between rainstorms. She has tiny, narrow feet, and Lynn shaped the shoes to fit perfectly. I can’t leave any part of the shoe sticking out, or she steps on the shoe with another foot and pulls it off. On Thursday Michael, Carolyn and Heather rode for all morning in rain/snow to help the range neighbors on the south side of our place move cattle to the next range pasture. That afternoon they moved cattle on our low range to the middle range. As Michael and Carolyn brought the high cows around to the gate, Heather rode down the ridge to meet me, and she and I checked all the low country and gathered everything we could find down there. While moving cattle on the south side, Michael saw the young black wolf that’s been harassing his yearlings. The wolf came after his dogs — two of which ran back to Michael’s horse. But Fred, the young pup, wanted to tangle with the wolf. Michael charged at the wolf with his horse, yelling, and the wolf finally left.

PHOTO BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

Lynn with daughter Andrea and granddaughter Dani fixing fence. On Saturday Andrea rode with me to move one cow and calf that got left on the low range, then checked gates between the middle range and high range. We shut one of them just before we got caught in a hailstorm. The weather cleared by the time we got home, and we saw a bull pacing up and down our fence on the other range. He got left behind when the cattle were moved. He was rubbing on the fence, wanting to fight our bulls. So Andrea and I rode across our field and out that side, and took that bull two miles to where he was supposed to be, in a different range pasture. The bull was stubborn and threatened our horses because he didn’t want to go. But with two of us we were able to change his mind and keep him going the right direction. By the time we got back home, we’d ridden all day and the horses were tired. I put hind shoes on Ed, because she’d worn down her feet too much for any more rides without shoes.

JUNE 30 Michael, Carolyn and Heather rode and shut all the other range gates that were left open all winter by hunters. Some of the neighbours’ range cattle had already gotten into the wrong pastures. We’re now well started on Andrea’s new house, on the hill next to the field above our corrals. The basement floor and concrete walls have now been poured, and the carpenters can soon start on the main structure. The kids are excited about moving to the ranch. They’ve been coming to ride Veggie and play with the new

kittens. Last week Andrea had a serious kidney infection and went to the hospital for IV antibiotics, fluids and pain medication, but she’s doing much better now. She rode with me on Saturday to check range gates and water troughs and we rode again on Sunday (after I put shoes on Breezie)—a much longer ride to check the rest of the gates and fix the fence on top of Mill Mountain where someone keeps cutting the wire every year to take the fence down. Michael and Carolyn had the vet spay about 50 of their smaller yearling heifers (some of the ones they bought, that they don’t plan to breed). They’ll be worth as much as steers that way, when sold this fall. On Tuesday Andrea and Lynn went to Missoula, so Andrea could drive him home after his appointment with an eye specialist. About three weeks ago he suddenly had a shadow in one eye, and the local eye doctor couldn’t figure it out. The specialist checked the eye more thoroughly and discovered the blank spot in his vision is due to a stroke (occluded blood vessel) in that eye. He was fortunate it was in his eye and not his brain. So now he has to be more careful about his blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and take a small aspirin daily to help prevent any future strokes. Yesterday we moved the cattle back down from the hill pasture and put them in the field above the house, and put the bull with them—so we will start calving the first of April next spring. † Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

Native pasture

Tame pasture

Calculations

Your program

Expected body wt gain due to creep feed (lb.)

Input

FE (Creep feed fed /expected weight gain)

Input

Expected Creep feed used

420

560

AxB

Calf price at weaning

1.35

Input

Value of Expected gain

94.50

AxD

Feed cost per lb.

0.16

Input

Feed costs

67.20

89.60

CxF

Feed cost per lb. of added gain

0.71

0.95

H/E

Return per head due to creep

27.30

4.90

E-G

AxB

AxD

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Machinery & Shop SEEDING EQUIPMENT

Heavy-duty seed drill is tailored for tough conditions Baker No-tillage, the New Zealand company that created the Cross Slot seeding system, held a field demo day in May to show farmers its new heavy-duty 45-foot drill BY SCOTT GARVEY

T PHOTOS. SCOTT GARVEY

Cross Slot, the seeding equipment company from New Zealand, held a field demo day in North Dakota to show farmers what its new 45-foot drill and openers are capable of.

HAY

SEED

EQUIPMENT

GRAIN

ALWAYS

PREPARED

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he Cross Slot seed opener system developed by Baker No-Tillage of New Zealand has been exported to several countries around the world, but until now it hasn’t made significant inroads into the machinery market on the Canadian Prairies. When Grainews first looked at the technology back in 2009, there was only one farmer in Western Canada using it. S i n c e t h e n , h o w e v e r, t h e company has opened a North American subsidiary firm, Baker No-Tillage Ltd. U.S.A., and it is now marketing the Cross Slot No-Tillage System more aggressively to prairie farm-

ers in the northern U.S. and Western Canada. But perhaps more importantly, the company has made some manufacturing changes to lower production costs and adapted the design to more closely meet the needs of those farmers. “One of the problems we had was this was a very expensive piece of machinery to invest in,” says Gavin Porter, CEO of Baker No-Tillage U.S.A. “We’ve sought out (local) manufacturers to manufacture equipment for us. What that’s done is significantly reduce the cost of the investment (for buyers). And we’ve significantly reduced the cost of the openers. We’ve now got those down to just over $3,000. We’re a little bit more [expensive] than some of the other high-profile openers out there, but not much, and our equipment will be around a lot longer,” he says. Porter says the long lifespan farmers can expect from Cross Slot drills makes the higher initial investment a good one. “You don’t need a huge increase in yield to justify an investment in technology like the Cross Slot system versus something from a capital perspective that is half the cost, because its designed to last 10 to 15 years.” Aside from offering durability, Porter says the Cross Slot system takes no-till seeding beyond what most other production drills are capable of. “We call them an ultra-low disturbance opener,” he says. To show farmers exactly what that means, the company arranged a demonstration day in the field in North Dakota in early May. Kevin Larson, whose farm was used for the demo, had just purchased a 45-foot drill with a 12-inch opener spacing. Farmers attending the demo had a chance to see it at work.

SOD SEEDING Aside from being an owner, Larson has also become one of the company’s product specialists and a sales rep. He says the Cross Slot’s ability to produce up to 1,000 pounds of down pressure on each opener gives the drill the ability to seed into anything from corn stubble to pasture sod, exactly what he needed. “I’ve been no-tilling for 30 years,” he says. “Equipment failure is one of the things that drew me to Cross Slot. One of the key things (offered by the Cross Slot system) is hydraulic down pressure and enough weight to push them into stubble or pure sod.” With the expanded variety of crops Larson now grows, he found his previous drill didn’t perform well in fields where residue was heavy. “Too much residue would keep me from getting seed into the ground,” he says. “In sunflower, stalks would tend to push ahead of my seeder’s openers and cause me to pull out and have to use a vertical disc or some type of tillage.” Porter adds that the company originally designed the Cross Slot openers to function in the

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Machinery & Shop

The Cross Slot opener uses a centre coulter disc and seed boots on The field demo included seeding into barley Farmers watched as the Cross Slot drill placed seed directly into each side that cut an inverted “T” slot. Seed and fertilizer can be stubble (here), corn stubble and pasture sod pasture sod and left a reasonably smooth surface behind it. placed horizontally or diagonally from each other. without making any adjustments to the drill. very wide range of field and heavy residue conditions common in New Zealand. Because most farms there have livestock, drills often need to seed into pastures to keep up with crop rotations. So the Cross Slot’s opener down pressure capability is high, which allows farmers to seed directly into sod and completely avoid tillage. So far, the few Canadian farers who’ve chosen to purchase a Cross Slot system have opted to retrofit an existing tool bar with the openers. The company will still offer retrofit packages for anyone wanting to do that, but getting the maximum performance from them requires a pretty heavy toolbar, which may not be possible when retrofitting another, lighter drill made by a different manufacturer. “If you have 45 openers with 1,000 pounds of down pressure each, you need 45,000 pounds above them to keep them from lifting out of the ground,” says Porter. To allow North American farmers to get the best performance from the openers and still have a drill large enough to meet the demands of broad-acre farms, the company designed a 45-foot toolbar and arranged for Gates, a North Dakota farm implement manufacturer, to build it. The toolbars the company previously offered were much narrower. Porter adds that Baker No-Tillage also offers an even larger, 60-foot design, the first one built has recently been put to work on a farm in Australia.

SPEEDY SEEDING Because the Cross Slot system is capable of higher working speeds than farmers are used to, the 45-foot version provides more capacity than most people expect. “This drill works well at speeds from two miles per hour on up to 10,” says Larson. “I hope to operate at seven or seven and a half.” Rather than the openers’ ability to accurately place seed limiting the drill’s top speed, Larson thinks the capacity of the Case IH air cart attached to it will be the limiting factor. “The speed will be determined by at what point does the air system bog down.” Porter expects its high-speed capability will allow the 45-foot Cross Slot toolbar to compete with other, much wider competitors. “With a narrower width but a faster speed, you’re going to cover the same amount of acres in a day.” Larson says his current tractor is

capable of providing 10 horsepower per opener, but that is far more than necessary. “I think seven and a half is adequate for the most difficult situations, like seeding into sod,” he says. “But most field situations will be five or less.”

To show off the Cross Slot system’s capabilities, the company demonstrated the drill’s ability to work in three very different field conditions. “You saw in the demonstrations we did today, we put the tractor through corn stalks,

pasture sod and then into barley,” says Porter. “We didn’t change a thing on the system. That gives you an idea what this is capable of.” The company hopes that kind of versatility will catch the attention of North American farmers,

particularly those that need to seed a wide variety of crops or deal with difficult field conditions. To find out more about the company, check out their website, www.crossslot.com. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Exceeding your harvest

speed limit.

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For more information call 1-866-4BRANDT or see your local Brandt dealer. www.brandt.ca

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Machinery & Shop Farm show coverage

Swing auger has double the reach While still a prototype, the Sakundiak SwingMax Pro auger turned many heads at the Farm Progress Show BY LEE HART

he Regina, Sask.-based Sakundiak Equipment has raised the bar on swing auger systems, with a fully remote control prototype of SwingMax Pro. The current prototype allows farmers to unload trucks and trailers from each side of the auger without having to turn a wheel. The first and only unit of its kind, the SwingMax Pro demonstrated at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina in June is unique in that the swing auger (hopper) component not only moves sideways, but also extends to be properly positioned under a truck on one side of the auger. It can be lifted and swung over the top of the main auger, to reach a truck or trailer on the other side. “It is new feature a lot of producers are interested in,” says Dave Fletcher of Sakundiak. “You can have your tractor sitting in the yard with the swing auger attached, and have grain trucks and trailers coming in for unloading on both sides. “And it is all controlled by

Sakundiak’s new SwingMax Pro swing auger on The SwingMax Pro being swung over the top of The SwingMax Pro now on the right side of the left side of the tractor. the main auger tube. the tractor ready for unloading. remote control. The farmer can be standing on ground, position the swing auger under a truck on the right side of the tractor, unload it, and then swing the auger and hopper over the top and reach trucks or trailers on the other side.” The SwingMax Pro also has a seven-foot telescopic feature,

which gives it a reach of between 17'3" to 24'6". “If you are pulling in a B-train or a trailer and have to reach two or three different unloading hatches, you roll the low profile hopper on the swing auger under each of the hatches without having to jockey around the truck or the swing auger,” says Fletcher. “Often at harvest

every minute counts, so this speeds up the whole unloading process.” The prototype demonstrated in Regina had a 14-inch auger in the swing auger and 72 foot main auger tube. The swing auger component of the machine can also be positioned to rest on the top of the main auger tube for easy transport.

The SwingMax Pro, which was still on the drawing boards in May, is expected to go into production and be available later this year. Retail cost of the machine has not been determined. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews at Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

This is Farm Market News, broadcast number…

Missed the Farm Market News broadcast? Weren’t by a radio to catch the twice-daily grain market reports from Farm Market News? You haven’t missed it if you download the Grainews smartphone app, available free at agreader.ca/gn. It also brings you real-time weather from the WeatherFarm network, headlines from our daily news service, futures market prices and twice-daily audio market reports from Farm Market News. The Grainews Mobile app is currently available for Blackberry devices – Android and iphone apps coming soon.

Grainews Mobile is sponsored by

JULY/AUGUST 2011

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Machinery & Shop GRAIN STORAGE

Get air moving through hopper bins Manufacturers introduce retrofit solutions for adding aeration systems to hopper bottom bins BY LEE HART

armers interested in converting their existing hopper bottom bins into aeration bins now have a couple options as two western Canadian companies introduce retrofit kits that makes it possible to install perforated cylinders that stand in the centre of bins to move air through stored commodities. Meridian Manufacturing, which is part of the Westman Group of companies, and Grain Guard which is part of Ag Growth International at Swift Current, Sask., both have introduced their respective systems for getting air movement through hopper bottom bins to cool and/or assist with drying of crops. Meridian has developed its AirMax aeration system, while Grain Guard has introduced the Retro Rocket. Both were unveiled at the 2011 Farm Progress Show in Regina, in June. “Farmers can lose huge amounts of money either by delaying harvest until crops are “dry” enough for storage, or by storing grain that may be a few points high in moisture,” says Sid Lockhart marketing manager for Meridian. “Dry grain can get too hot, and grain that’s a bit high in moisture can heat, develop pockets of spoilage and attract insects. With hopper bottom bins, already on the farm, the issue has been how to get air moving through the stored grain.” Relatively low capacity horizontal aeration systems for hopper bottom bins have been available, but the AirMax is a much improved vertical design, with mounting brackets that attach to the cone wall that allow it to stand up into the centre of the bin. Because it stands up inside the stored commodity it can deliver high capacity airflow through a full bin. The Meridian AirMax system, available this fall, is a heavy duty, fully perforated cylinder or plenum, which stands about eight feet tall. It has a duct that extends to the outside of the bin, where any conventional aeration fan can be connected to force air into the plenum and up through the stored grain, oilseed or pulse crop in the bin. The AirMax aeration system comes in sections, which can be carried into bin through the manaccess door on the hopper for assembly. Lockhart says it will take about two to three hours to BY DAN PIRARO

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install the aeration cylinder in each bin. “The cylinder itself is well built and extremely durable and it is held in place by very sturdy mounting brackets,” says Lockhart. “Once it is installed it will last the life of the bin.” The AirMax system is a retrofit system designed to fit in all bin sizes from 2,000 to 20,000 bushel capacity bins. It comes in 30 and 45-inch diameters, with actual plenum heights of four to six feet, depending on the size of bin and desired airflow capacity. Price range on the AirMax kits is $1,600 to $3,500 depending on size. For more information visit www.meridianmfg.com. While Grain Guard has had The Rocket aeration system for new hopper bottom bins on the

market for some time, the Retro Rocket is a new design that can be installed in existing hopper bottom bins. The Retro Rocket, which stands about five-feet tall mounts to the very bottom of the hopper just above the hole in the cone. The cylinder or plenum is actually designed in six panels, which fold flat so it can be carried into the hopper through the man-access door. Once inside, the connected panels are unfolded to create the aeration cylinder. Grain Guard says it takes about 30 minutes for two people to install Retro Rocket. More information can be found on the company website at: www.grainguard.com/ retrorocket † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary, Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

Sid Lockhart with Meridian Manufacturing kneels next to a section of the AirMax aeration system for hopper bottom bins.

Seed Hawk welcomeS weStern tractor

Seed Hawk is proud to welcome Western Tractor into its dealer network. As an industry leader in sales, parts and service, Western Tractor is a perfect match for Seed Hawk’s industry leading seeding systems. To see Seed Hawk’s innovative opener designs, input saving Sectional Control™ technology and one of the industry’s largest pressurized air tanks for yourself, visit your nearest Western Tractor dealer. Burdett (403) 833-3811

Lethbridge (403) 327-5512

Medicine Hat (403) 526-4450

Taber (403) 223-3588

PRECISION INNOVATION QUALITY comes standard

Seed Hawk® is a registered trademark and Sectional Control™ is a trademark of Seed Hawk Inc. 07.11.11010

/ grainews.ca

JULY/AUGUST 2011

Machinery & Shop FARM SHOW COVERAGE

New seeding equipment debuts at WCFPS Three Prairie-based seeding equipment manufacturers unveiled new technologies at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show BY SCOTT GARVEY

egina’s Western Canada Farm Progress Show (WCFPS) has become the “home” exhibition for Prairie-based seeding equipment manufacturers. Most now use that venue to introduce their new technologies to farmers. This year was no exception, with three major companies introducing new products designed to meet a range of different field conditions and seeding demands.

SEEDMASTER Bourgault unveiled its new, giant 7950 air cart. It has a total capacity of FullPage_AV Ad.pdf 1 10/29/10 9:58 AM 980 bushels spread between five tanks.

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ing on a completely new air seeder cart and it hoped to have working prototypes in the field this spring. That new cart, the Nova XP-820 Smart Cart, was the centrepiece of the SeedMaster exhibit at Farm Progress. The design also won the company a Sterling Innovation award from show organizers, and it is much different than the versions the brand had previously offered. With a total capacity of 820 bushels, it’s one of the largest currently on the market. But if 820 bushels isn’t enough for you, the cart can be combined with SeedMaster’s 300 bushel on-board seed tank for toolbars, providing a combined carrying capacity of 1,120 bushels. That’s practically a

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semi-trailer truck full of product behind your tractor. The Nova XP-820 has three modular, primary 260-bushel hoppers and a smaller 40-bushel tank at the rear. The company says the cart’s flexible design allows it to be built in a one, two, three or four tank configuration. The lids on each compartment can be opened and closed hydraulically, eliminating the need to climb up and do the job manually. Each tank is equipped with an individual load cell to let the tractor operator know in real time how much product is left inside. That should help minimize the time necessary for endof season clean outs, eliminate field skips and provide confirmation of seeding and fertilizer application rates. The cart is equipped with two fans, one for seed and the other for fertilizer. Splitting the airflow between the two allows operators to run one at a slower speed to minimize damage to seed. The other can operate at a higher flow rate for fertilizer and reduce the risk of plugging. The Nova XP-820 is also VRT capable. Rates can be adjusted on the go, manually or from a prescription map through the DICKEY-John controller.

BOURGAULT Bourgault held its dealer meeting at Evraz Place a week before the WCFPS kicked off, giving dealers — and Grainews — a preview of what the company was going to introduce to farmers. Presenters literally dropped the curtain to reveal their giant new model 7950 seed cart. It boasts a total capacity of 980 bushels when the optional fifth, 30-bushel tank is included. The cart offers four main product tanks ranging from 90 to 410 bushels, each sized to hold precisely enough product to last as long as the commodities in the other compartments, allowing for uniform fill intervals. Because the 7950 puts so much weight behind a tractor, it’s equipped with brakes for safer road transport. When fully loaded, the cart can tip the scales at an incredible 99,000 pounds. The 850/80 R38 tires leave a relatively large footprint that help minimize compaction under all that weight. They can be operated with just 15 PSI of inflation pressure. Rubber that size also helps with floatation, a big concern in years like this one. Product levels inside the tanks can be monitored with the optional camera system. Up to seven cameras can be installed, including one that looks behind to help the tractor operator see approaching traffic when travelling on roads. The 7950 is available with a 10-inch conveyor or a 12-inch diameter auger. For safety and ease of access, a full stairway and catwalk make climbing up on the cart easy. The small, 30-bushel saddle tank has a truck-level platform for easy transfer of bagged product. Loading the other tanks can be done from the ground with a hand-held, wireless remote control. It allows the operator to see an image from the cameras to help avoid overfilling,

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Machinery & Shop

SeedMaster’s new XP-820 Smart Cart made its public debut and won a Sterling Innovation award from WCFPS organizers. It has an 820-bushel capacity and offers four separate compartments. It can be combined with Bourgault’s 7950 also comes with a handy a 300-bushel toolbar-mounted tank to boost overall on-board seed and fertilizer numbers to a mammoth 1,120 bushels. remote control to make refilling much easier. and actually make climbing up that stairway unnecessary. Metering is controlled by a hydraulic drive system; and according to Bourgault’s product specialists, the cart will be VRT capable when it becomes commercially available for the 2012 season. The prototypes that underwent field trials this year had the VRT feature, but engineers say they’ve decided to make some minor changes to the final production version as a result of those trials. The cart uses an X20 controller/monitor, which is built by Bourgault’s technology provider, Topcon. It can handle VRT on up to five separate products. Bourgault is offering to give buyers a $2,000 coupon good for any services from Farmers Edge, a precision agriculture consulting firm. Bourgault is also giving farmers something new to put in front of the 7950. It introduced three versions of its new coulter drill, the 3320, which is an update of the previous model 3310. The 3320 is available in the SE (standard edition), QDA (quick depth adjust) or XTC (extra terrain contouring) version. The QDA model uses a framemounted hydraulic depth adjustment that relies on shims to fine tune depth settings in 1/8-inch increments. The XTC uses a 1:1 parallel-link arm opener ratio — unlike the 2:1 ratio used on the other models — to better follow field contours in uneven field conditions.

using a 12 degree angle to improve its trash-clearing ability. The idea is field residue can more easily roll up and off it than is possible with a completely vertical shank. The new opener also offers 21 inches

of clearance to further minimize plugging, and it places the depthadjustment mechanism in a more convenient position. Finally, Morris had another surprise in store for farmers touring

The Contour drill gets a newly-redesigned opener starting this year, although the company will also continue to offer the original opener design for those who prefer it. The Contour II uses a 12-degree angle on the opener shank and 21 inches of clearance to improve its trash clearing capability.

its exhibit. It let them have a look at a completely new coulter disc drill prototype. Ellis says the company has had several models out undergoing field trials this year and expects to offer it for sale

sometime next season. So far, the prototype drill doesn’t have an official model number designation. We’ll keep you posted. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor with Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Morris Industries, Ltd. Morris Industries, too, had a lot to show visitors this year. The company finally unveiled their long-awaited “Input Control Technology,” which minimizes seeding overlaps when passing over previously seeded ground. The system uses small, individual hydraulic rams to disconnect sections of the metering roller from the drive, stopping seed and product flow immediately. It’s a different approach than that taken by some other manufacturers who’ve chosen to stop product flow and keep the meter turning. Morris also had a new seed cart to show off — the 650-bushel, Eight 650 tow-between model. According to Randy Ellis, Morris’ director of North American marketing and sales, the company wanted to offer a large-capacity, tow-between version which could minimize drill skewing on hillsides, a problem tow-behind carts tend to make worse. The company has also updated its Contour drill, debuting the new Contour II opener. Engineers have raked the new shank back,

All Deere, All Day Finally–a John Deere Draper for your John Deere Windrower Now, you can bring John Deere Draper performance to your fields with the new D450 Windrower. It offers all the speed and exceptional handling of 400 Series Windrowers–plus integrated platform controls, making it a true draper machine. With a 200-hp* PowerTech™ E Engine and heavy-duty drives, the D450 has the strength to power a 40-foot platform through thick canola and over uneven terrain. Pair a D450 Windrower with any John Deere 600D Draper Platform, and you’ll get a highly productive package, all backed by the service and support of your local John Deere dealer. Stop on by–or visit us online–to learn more.

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Machinery & Shop Farm show coverage

Three new light or vertical tillage tools The Western Canada Farm Progress Show last month offered a look at what’s new in vertical and minimum tillage By Scott Garvey

s no-till farming practices evolve, some farmers are turning back to some form of tillage in order to deal with heavy residue volumes on fields. The need to deal with that problem has given rise to the new vertical tillage equipment offered by manufacturers that incorporate trash without creating “plough pan,” a deep layer of compaction typically created by conventional tillage tools. Vertical tillage implements can even help break up plough pan compaction, according to some marketing claims. Lately, a growing variety of light, multi-purpose tillage implements has turned up at farm shows and competing for market share with the vertical tillage tools. Here’s a sampling of the new vertical and minimum tillage implements companies were introducing at Regina’s Western Canada Farm Progress Show this year.

Mandako Mandako introduced its Twister this year. While the company has positioned it as a vertical tillage implement, Llew Peters, Mandako’s Canadian sales manager, says it is capable of a variety of functions. “We’re looking at ours as being a multi-use tool, because we can angle our blades,” he sayss. The discs on the Twister can be angled up to nine degrees, right from the tractor cab. Higher disc angles make for a more aggressive tillage pass. With pairs of discs mounted on a separate shank, the Twister’s design is different from a typical tandem disc. “It’s not a gang machine,” says Peters. “So there’s more flexibility for it to go over rocks without damage.” T h e Tw i s t e r c a n a l s o b e equipped to provide an even higher level of soil disturbance. “We could put a concave disc on

it, which would move more dirt,” he says. At the back, buyers can opt for a rotary harrow or rolling basket attachment to provide a smooth field surface. Currently, Twisters are available in widths from 12 to 36 feet, but larger models will likely be available in the future. “Down the line we hope to go to 50 feet or more,” says Peters. Purchase cost runs at just over $2,000 per working foot. Adding the rear rolling basket attachment adds about $250 to that.

Seed Hawk Building on its partnership with Swedish manufacturer Vaderstad, Seed Hawk has begun importing two of the tillage implements Vaderstad has had success with in Europe: the multi-purpose “Carrier” and heavy tillage “TopDown” cultivator. Both use the European concept of combining multiple functions in a onepass implement. The heavy-duty TopDown is capable of working as deeply as 10 inches, and it incorporates four different systems. The two front rows use serrated 17-inch discs to cut up and blend residue. Next, cultivator shanks break up and loosen the soil. Behind them is a row of discs to level out ridges, followed by steel packing rings that leave a firm seedbed. The TopDown is available in widths up to 40 feet. “The TopDown is more of a sod buster,” says Trent Meyer, Seed Hawk’s director of international sales. “It’s a deep tillage tool.” Because of that it takes a lot of muscle to pull, roughly 20 horsepower per foot. The 40-foot model will need 500 to 600 horsepower, Meyer says. For farmers who’ve been unable to get onto a field for a couple of seasons due to excess moisture, Meyer notes the TopDown would be well suited for taming those overgrown areas. The lighter Carrier is another of

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the multi-purpose tillage implements that are gaining in popularity on the Prairies. The company believes it is well suited for running over stubble to incorporate heavy residues. It is designed with three separate tillage “zones”. First, spring tines distribute straw. Behind them, discs provide a light tillage pass and steel packers leave a firm soil surface. The Carrier likes speed. “Seven to eight miles per hour is ideal with these,” says Meyer. To show farmers what these two implements are capable of, Meyer says the company is hoping to arrange field demonstrations this summer near Seed Hawk’s Langbank, Sask., plant. Interested farmers should contact their local Seed Hawk dealer if they’d like to take part in one.

photos. scott garvey

Mandako is now manufacturing its own multi-purpose tillage tool called the Twister. Blades can be angled on the go to vary the amount of soil disturbance.

Lemken German manufacturer Lemken is working to establish a presence in Western Canada, and it used the WCFPS to show farmers its new Gigant minimum-tillage model. “We don’t want to call ourselves vertical tillage,” says Waldemar Heidebrecht, sales agent for Lemken. “We want to be considered light or minimum tillage machinery.” The Gigant uses two rows of angled blades to mix residue and soil, then a double row of basket rollers levels out the finished surface. One of the unique features on the two-part Gigant is it’s ability to be split up and used as a three-point hitch mounted implement. The carrier frame disconnects from the working sections, which split into two equal-sized sections. Heidebrecht says that allows farmers to work small areas of a field that need special attention or help get get onto very wet fields to dry them out without pulling the implement’s full weight. †

Seed Hawk is now offering two models of tillage implements built by its European partner, Vaderstaad. The “Carrier” and “TopDown” implements are designed for different applications.

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

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The Gigant carrier can be disconnected from the working toolbar, which splits into two sections that can then be mounted on a tractor’s threepoint hitch for smaller working widths when necessary.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

grainews.ca /

Home Quarter Farm Life SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Eleven tips to stay renewed Helpful information on ways for staying power ELAINE FROESE

wish I had gone to bed earlier last night instead of filing emails until midnight. I should know better since I need to get a really good sleep to stay on top of the daily demands of the farm. Vacuuming four shop vacs of water out of our waterlogged basement this morning only reminded me to be thankful for the dry years. I have no idea what kind of summer you are having. It might be scorching hot and dry on your farm, or you might be having a forced sabbatical year like us. Very few acres to harvest, only 10 per cent of our land got seeded. Regardless of your external circumstances, as your coach via this column I have the Hudson Institute’s 11 tips for staying power: ways to be self-renewing. 1. Stay value driven Do the things that are important to you that align with your cherished beliefs. Filter out the information overload we all experience with the Internet, cellphones, texts, twitter, Facebook, etc. and stay vitally engaged with your dreams and plans. For me this means showing up at my home office to meet writing deadlines, coach folks by phone and arrange new seminar dates. On the farm front it means appreciating the warm sun on your back as you complete the next chore with an attitude of gratitude that you will manage your way out of the mess. You might want to write a “thankyou” note to the folks who helped

you with flood control or renew some ties with old friends. As you declutter the stinky basement, you might find some household items to bless a needy family or your local thrift store. Less is more. 2. Connect to your community and the global agriculture tribe I love reading articles about successful young farmers and older entrepreneurs who are using creative business models. Our son brought home a bag of “Covered Bridge” chips, and then I read about the company in Country Guide. We have tools to “Google” information and make connections around the world. Install Skype on your computer if you have high speed, and start conversing with folks Down Under. My New Zealand coaching friend connects with me on Skype and we encourage each other. The Internet was also a useful diversion for my husband during the incessant rains during “normal” seeding time. We ended up with a piece of equipment to increase the fun factor of our camping adventures. 3. Spend time in your quiet chair I have a special comfy chair in the corner of my kitchen where I spend at least 20 minutes every morning to read, reflect, journal and pray. Finding time each day for solitude and quiet is a great practice to renew your body, mind and spirit. Some farm men go out with a cup of coffee on their decks to write out the action plan, or mind map their next project. This “using your noodle time” pays big dividends. When is the last time you just sat and pondered your life? 4. Pace yourself “Pacing” is my theme word for this year, and boy did I not

see the “slow down to a screeching halt” coming in January. We had no idea that we would have to have a mindset shift to farm weeds instead of seeds this year. We are going to manage yard projects and the unseeded fields, but we also plan to have fun camping, going to celebrations and finding a different pace this fall. Have tea or coffee with someone you respect for their sense and ability to control pacing and life balance. Put what you learn from them into practice. Go to www.patkatz.com to sign up for Pat Katz’s weekly encouragement to “pause.” 5. Get outdoors to let nature soothe you Have a picnic on the tailgate of your pickup. Nature for farmers is part of their daily routine. When the water roars or the frost boils swallow semis, it is not fun. When the sun is shining, and the birds are singing, and you actually notice the orioles on the yard, then nature is renewing. Don’t forget the parks and fun spaces in your backyard or municipality. When folks from Toronto walk down my lane they exclaim “the air here is exquisite!” Get some fresh air mixed with fun activities, or make play out of your haying work. The other day when I ground a smiley face into the gravel on my two-mile walk, I looked up and actually saw a huge “smiley face” in the cirrus clouds. I took a photo with my iPod, and thanked God for the reminder of His care for me, even in the tough times. 6. Be creative and playful Give your inner child more freedom to be. This might be sports, volunteering at the fair, or dancing

your heart out. Play with children and blow bubbles this summer at the beach. 7. Change is inevitable, growth is optional We all need to adapt to change and be flexible. Many folks in Manitoba will be dealing with water issues all summer. We need to keep positive and help each other out. Farmers call other farmers for wisdom on how to manage the new scenario of no crop. Make the call. Don’t be afraid to ask for guidance and create new ways of managing. 8. What do we learn from the “down times?” I am learning to “lighten up” according to Peter Walsh’s book of the same title. He has a great “life tension audit” tool that I’ve adapted. Email me at elaine@ elainfroese.com for a copy. Once we identify why we are in a funk and disappointed, we can learn from these experiences. Since I’ve been looking at my basement storage boxes on a daily basis since March, I don’t forget about them, and I plan to make several trips to the dump! Never underestimate your power to resist change. Process your feelings and resistance, then act! 9. Be a lifelong learner, always be in training Self-renewing persons never stop learning. I read many books, and write notes while I read so that I can translate my learning for you as farm families. Last night I got caught up in the webinars that had languished in my inbox for too long. I write notes as I listen, or clean out my desk drawers. It’s best not to multi-task though, just focus on the insights of your readings and audio experiences. Start getting

to know your local librarian, and use e-books and inter-library loan this summer. Your taxes have paid for this service, and learning new things might just be the jet fuel you need to get that next project launched. Money may be tight, but be creative to access learning sites and resources to inspire you. Trade books with your friends. 10. Lean into the future A woman who was a selfconfessed “planner” decided to “drop the oars” and let life happen. You might try that approach, yet coaches will encourage you to rehearse new scenarios for how the future might be, and choose the one you believe in. Plan by taking the “next step.” Beach time, and sitting under the shade of your favourite tree, might be the perfect spot to map out how you want to live your enthusiasm. If farming has got you down this summer, how are you planning to reignite your passion? For our family, having a young son, a potential successor to mentor, keeps us considering many of his creative ideas for the farm’s future. 11. Develop the leader within you Be a leader of yourself first. Be clear about the internal factors that are helping or hindering your own personal growth. Lead your family. Lead your farm business. Connect with other leaders. Personal leadership is a natural outgrowth of folks who succeed at life. † Elaine Froese, certified Hudson Institute coach, looks forward to seeing you at the Clear Lake campground this summer. July is her sabbatical month. Visit www. elainefroese.com and see her past articles on her blog. Book her for your next event to encourage farm families. Enjoy your family and be rich in relationship!

Family Farmers beats the odds Owner/operator created successful business that has thrived over the years BY SHIRLEY BYERS

urviving the first year is a challenge for any small business, and it really doesn’t get any easier after that. Not quite 75 per cent make that first crucial 12 months and less than one-third are still in business after five years. Karla Folstad owns and operates Family Farmers, www. familyfarmers.com, an Internet technology business, designing and building websites, near Archerwill, Saskatchewan. Her farm-based business has beaten the odds — it’s not only survived, it’s thrived for more than 10 years, and she shares what she feels helped her success. “Timing. When I was 12 I asked my dad for a pony. He brought home a Vic 20 computer instead and told me this would make me a better living than a ‘hay burner.’ He was right. I had a natural aptitude for the computer and from that moment on it’s been part of my life. Wanting to raise my children on the family farm, however, posed a few

dilemmas. Employment is not plentiful in rural Saskatchewan, so the simplest solution was to create my own. Now remember, this is back before anyone had anything but dial up in rural Saskatchewan, and the major-

Employment is not plentiful in rural Saskatchewan, so the simplest solution was to create my own. ity of people didn’t even own a computer much less surf the Internet. Family Farmers was a leader in our market; we established a new breed of website owners — the little guy. “Education. I enrolled in a small business entrepreneur’s course through a regional college and

learned a great deal of tips and tricks; it was by far the best six months I spent. “Marketing — trade shows that reached our market — rural Saskatchewan. Some of the most fun we ever had was touring the countryside and hitting town fairs. “After that it’s simple. The customer is ALWAYS right, even when he’s wrong, but you are the designer. Your customer came to YOU for help — so help.” A little more than a decade has wrought changes in the agribusiness world. In 1999, she brought her dad into the business because she knew that clients would be more likely to come in if they knew there was a man involved. She rented office space in town because homebased businesses weren’t taken quite so seriously. Much has changed in 12 years. She’s been able to move her office to her farmhouse and she sees positive shifts in attitudes as she watches her daughters moving into the workforce as employees or business owners. “Family Farmers will continue

Karla Folstad’s farm-based business has thrived over the years. to grow as it does, by recommendation of our clients. I’m not afraid to say I have turned down clients, simply because what they were looking for did not fit our niche. We will continue to offer the best service and the fairest price possible. It’s always been our goal; it always will be,” she says.

Family Farmers is at www. familyfarmers.com. Karla can be reached at farmer@familyfarmers. com. For samples of her work check out www.lucsusedequipment.com, www.nelsonsauction.com, www. yellowheadspeedway.ca. † Shirley Byers writes from Kelvington, Sask.

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JULY/AUGUST 2011

Home Quarter Farm Life

Bison farmer encourages “terroir” movement Decades-old concept is now being practised in Saskatchewan BY CHRISTALEE FROESE

t’s a concept that developed in France approximately four decades ago, before being adopted in Quebec in the 1990s. Now “terroir” is being practised in Saskatchewan. This unique approach to farming counters some of the negative effects that large, commoditybased markets have created in the agricultural sector. Defined literally as “the taste of place,” the wider definition of terroir involves interaction between people and their environment to create foods of specific flavours with a distinctive cultural knowledge and practice. Josée Bourgoin, a bison farmer from the Prince Albert, Sask. area, spearheaded the terroir movement in Saskatchewan, along with L’Assemblée Communicautaire Fransaskoise and L’Institute Français of the University of Regina. A pilot project in the Batoche Region beginning in 2008 marked the introduction of the regional growth initiative. Bourgoin has spent the last four years spreading the word about the benefits of developing agribusinesses that have a story and are interconnected with other businesses and attractions in a region. “We need to stop thinking of agriculture as just selling a commodity because if we do, we’re

not part of the food chain,” said Bourgoin. Using a chicken as an example, Bourgoin explained that a whole local economy can be created around one product. The chicken can be raised using specialized practices, like organic feeding, and that chicken, which will have developed a very specific flavour, can be served in local restaurants. Those restaurants can act as tourism destinations and may even partner

“Terroir is the bridge that links a specific product to a collective approach or collaboration,” said the terroir development and interpretation co-ordinator. “Collectively, a region profits and shares the prosperity while each person still enjoys the quality of rural living.” With some elements of the 100-mile diet concept in it, terroir encourages people to source out food products in their local

“We need to stop thinking of agriculture as just selling a commodity because if we do, we’re not part of the food chain.” — JOSÉE BOURGOIN with artists and entrepreneurs to attract more people to the region. Consumers are then attracted to an area for its specialty chicken, while spending dollars there to support the whole economy. The main focus of the terroir concept is to increase regional pride, recognize cultural identity, grow agribusinesses, create agricultural jobs and promote regional collaboration.

communities and take a regional approach to food consumption. “You can support your local economy and decrease your carbon footprint all at the same time.” Bourgoin said terroir is an approach whose time has come, considering that travellers are increasingly interested in the story behind the attractions they’re visiting. Using an example of an apple orchard in

Waldheim, Sask., Bourgoin said people will visit to pick fresh apples, drink apple juice, eat dried apples and take home a bottle of apple cider vinegar. This all creates value-added opportunities for farmers. “It gives people the opportunity to stop and savour what they’re tasting instead of comparing it to what they get at the grocery store — they get to enjoy the product, and the story of how it was made.” Bourgoin said Saskatchewan’s trading partners are increasingly interested in value-added products and consumers are seeking new authentic foods. “When you look at terroir, it automatically gives off a feeling that the products are quality ones and food safety is built in because people generally have a very high confidence in Saskatchewan products.” The cultural component is also key in the terroir concept, with Bourgoin explaining that Saskatchewan’s ethnic diversity makes it the perfect place for terroir to flourish. “You can travel the world in your own backyard when you think of all the cultural traditions we have from Métis to Ukrainian, Polish, First Nations and so on. It’s like touching the whole world, but at arm’s length.” By applying the idea of terroir

Josée Bourgoin benefits of terroir.

explains

the

to regional economies, Bourgoin believes competition between producers and communities will disappear, allowing for a collaborative approach where everyone wins both economically and socially. “The most important thing about these projects is that it has an ambassadorship element where you tell people to stop in the next town at the coffee shop and they promote what you have to offer.” For more information on terroir, call 306-764-5554. † Christalee Froese writes from Montmartre, Saskatchewan.

Largest conifer plantation in Western Canada Quality products and service have been provided for over 20 years BY VIVIAN NEMISH

audet Trees located 24 km south of Prince Albert along Highway No. 11 (just follow the signs), is a tree plantation that offers landscape, fruit and Christmas trees to a variety of markets. It is the largest conifer plantation in Western Canada. The nursery is a long-term investment, and has grown within the industry by providing quality stock in the wholesale, commercial and private-market sector for decades, shipping from Winnipeg to Yellowknife. “We are committed to providing quality products and excellent service to all of our customers regardless of order size,” said owner Ray Gaudet, who established the tree farm as a means of diversifying. The plantation has been providing trees, shrubs and service since 1989, specializing in conifers. Conifer seed is placed in the outdoor nursery bed to germinate and grow. All stock started at Gaudet Trees is from seed and are Prairie hardy. The seedlings develop in the nursery bed until three to five years old, and then are transplanted in rows within the plantation. Gaudet Trees has 450 acres with over 300 acres planted with trees at varying stages of development. The balance of acres is dedicated wetlands. The unique aspect of growing conifers is the time factor. Once

they are field planted, seven to 15 years are required to produce fourto 15-foot trees, thus long-term plans are critical. Operating a tree plantation is very labour intensive as most of the work is manual, requiring “hands-on” methods from transplanting seedlings and pruning, to wrapping and cutting. “Each tree in the plantation is touched by human hands at least once a year,” said nursery manager Anne Bitschy.

The plantation has been providing trees, shrubs and service since 1989, specializing in conifers “We do the best we can to create a proper environment to produce healthy stock,” said Gaudet. The staff containerize selected trees from the open ground. These trees are pruned annually and selected only based on high standards. The public may have a misconception about appropriate transplanting times. All trees may be planted throughout the entire growing season until freeze-up. The nursery digs trees in spring until the buds break open, and

Ray Gaudet shows his rows of balsam fir. digging conifers resumes in later August until freeze-up. Fall digging for deciduous trees such as poplar, linden and birch resumes after leaf drop. Stock should be planted at the same depth as what was at the nursery, and watered up to five feet away to encourage the roots to expand outwards and to build

adaptive growth that can withstand drought conditions. The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) has a general set of rules that guide the grade standards. Gaudet Trees is a member of CNLA and operates according to those standards. Quality service is tailored to the client’s needs and is the same whether

the order is for two trees or 2,000. The staff has many years of experience so well-informed advice will be given by phone: 306-922-1052, at the office: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, or visit www.treesrus.ca for their online catalogue. † Vivian Nemish writes from Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

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Home Quarter Farm Life SINGING GARDENER

Feedback and opinions Plus, what to do about apple fly maggots TED MESEYTON

y column on witching for water brought feedback and opinions as I suspected it would, so I’ll share some excerpts from an email sent by an Ontario reader. Also, an Alberta gardener isn’t happy with her raspberry canes. Along with the above is a fresh picture of myself minus the beard, taken at a Polynesian Fiesta Lu’au, plus a few other “goodies” to fill this Grainews page.

HI SINGING GARDENER I live in Dundas, Ontario and I grew up on a farm now located in Scarborough, in metropolitan Toronto. I have been a patent and trademark agent all my life and have read Grainews for about 10 to 15 years. I have never heard you sing — and I must admit that I sing in two all-male choirs. Canadian Orpheus Male Choir and The Burlington Welsh Male Choir. I thoroughly enjoyed your article on witching for water wells. It took me back many years to 1936 in fact, before I remember too much. My dad had sent the cattle to the nearest stream (about one mile from our farm) all winter long while the well was dry at home. He really didn’t believe in witching, but he had heard of a fellow in Longbranch, who was supposed to be a cracker when it came to witching. Longbranch is extinct now, but was located as a community on the west side of Toronto. So my father had quite a journey ahead of him to get the witcher. Anyway he got the guy to come to our place (my dad went and got him) and he drove a stake into the ground where he said that he found water. My sister in Ringwood, Ontario maintains the dowsing device came from a willow tree brought with the operator from Longbranch. He said to dig and that he would find water at about 35 feet. My dad dug and dug; when he had hit about 35 feet, he

SUE ARMSTRONG

LOVE HEARING FROM YOU Do you have a story about a farm or home-based business? How about some household management tips? Does someone in the family have a special-diet need? Share some of your recipes and some meal ideas. Send them to FarmLife, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0H1. Phone 1-800665-0502 or email susan@ fbcpublishing.com. Please remember we can no longer return photos or material. — Sue

hit quicksand and he would go no farther. He hired another fellow who finished the well off and he connected a pump to the well and never did the well go dry. He still adhered to the story at his end… but he was a non-believer in witching. As you can see, I do not subscribe to witching… but I would not dig a well in the absence of witching. From: Ed Oldham Thanks Ed, for such a detailed and even humorous email. So good to hear from you. (Ted)

RASPBERRY ISSUES … appear to be a challenge faced by many home fruit growers. Here’s what a reader writes from Three Hills, Alta. Hi Ted, I have two problems bothering me. First, we have raspberries that have been planted for about three years, having produced a few berries last year. This year they have small yellow leaves and look unthrifty. They have been fertilized with 20-10-10 and some got chelated iron. So far, they are not looking great. What can be wrong with them? Second, I was given some hollow cedar logs right out of the forest and cut into two- and three-foot lengths. I made planters out of them filling them with wave petunias. The petunias have stalled and are doing nothing. I suspect that the cedar is likely soaking up much of the water given them so I have used extra water on them and have fertilized them once (double dose) with Schultz’s 10-15-10. Is cedar the cause of their reluctance to grow or is it the cold weather we are having or — ? I sure would appreciate knowing what to do. Thanks. Eleanor Parker Ted’s reply: Personally, I recommend a foliar spray on raspberry leaves in early spring using an organic seaweed. It’s available at garden centres as dry seaweed or liquid concentrate and both can be reconstituted or diluted in water. Follow label directions. I agree with a commercial raspberry grower who says don’t fertilize raspberry canes, but they do like a slightly acidic soil. Also, do pour the water to them once forming fruit begins to turn pinky red. A soaker hose is ideal. Let it run 24 hours daily (unless it’s raining steady) until all raspberries are picked. Cut out the old mature canes in fall after fruit bearing is complete, rather than waiting until following spring. Raspberry troubles may include issues such as fruit and root rot in excessive wet soil, wilts, spur and cane blights, anthracnose and botrytis blights, plus pests such as aphids, spider mites, cane and crown borers, and beetles. Hose down the canes well with a strong flush of water. Add mulch or compost at the foot of the canes. Fungicide products such as Serenade, Bordo, Defender and garden sulphur dispersed in warm water for spray application help prevent and control leaf spots, blights, mildew, rust, scab, etc., on fruits, flowers and ornamentals. For pests, consider bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), diatomaceous earth or rotenone. Here’s an eco-friendly anti-fun-

These two apples high up on the tree seem to be in love. A safe way to retrieve them is with a homemade apple-picking bucket. gicide prevention alternative that I use. Stir in one tablespoon of baking soda, one tablespoon of household vegetable oil and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into four litres of water. Add a few drops of household soap or insecticidal soap. Do not use detergent — it is not soap. Shake well prior to and during application. Do it every five to seven days if humid or threat of disease is high. Spray both sides of leaves including canes at first sign of disease. This same formula also helps prevent and control powdery mildew on squash, melons, peas, as well as early blight on tomatoes and diseases on rose bushes. It won’t reverse a severe infestation that’s already taken hold. Do a small test site first and wait 48 hours in event of any adverse reaction. Some yellowing of older leaves on raspberries, roses and ornamental shrubs is normal. Yellowing on new growth can be a sign of nutrient deficiency, or waterlogged soil. The latter can leave a clay hardpan layer one or two feet below the surface, holding water around roots and starving out oxygen. This can be remedied by driving a piece of rebar about two feet deep into the soil throughout the patch to provide some drainage. Regarding homemade planters made from hollow forest cedar logs. My opinion is that cedar leaches or releases something into the soil that may be detrimental to some plants. Harvested cedar should be allowed to completely dry out and sit for a minimum of three to five years or longer. Eventually, when making planters, be sure to line the bottom and sides with heavy construction plastic and punch out drainage holes in the bottom. That’s my two cents’ worth. I don’t pretend to know it all, nor have I met anyone who does.

APPLE FLY MAGGOTS … have become a significant pest. The trick is to stop the larvae from getting inside the apple where they are somewhat protected, while inflicting severe interior damage, browning and tunnelling. Adult maggot flies are about six mm long, black with yellow legs

With a bit of skill and practice, you can quickly become a professional at picking apples from the security of ground level. Firmly bolt a four-litre pail to one end of a 12-foot wooden pole. and have a prominent zigzag band across the wings. Their eggs are invisible and laid on apple skin surface, hatching about 10 days later. The maggots are white or cream coloured and six mm long. They enter soil from dropped fruit where they pass the winter as pupae, then emerge as maggot flies the next spring.

APPLE MAGGOT BREW … is hung in four to six baited containers, about 1.5 metres high on the sunny side of each mature tree, starting right after flower petals begin to fall. I have two recipes. #1 — One part molasses, (regular or blackstrap) stirred into six parts warm water to facilitate distribution. Stir in six parts vinegar. #2 — One part molasses diluted with nine parts of water. Sprinkle in some dry yeast granules and let it work until fermentation stops. An option is to also stir in 10 ml of household ammonia and a bit of liquid or powdered soap for every litre of water used. Cut a two-inch hole on one side, about midway or higher up on an empty two-litre plastic bottle or milk jug. Add apple maggot brew to just below the opening. Many adult apple maggot flies will be attracted and drown. Strain out the contents every second or third day and reuse the liquid to trap more flies. Make a fresh batch every 10 days

or so, for best results. Note that cooking apples appear to be less attractive to apple maggots than are the sweeter sorts.

GRADE 2 GARDEN CLASS The teacher asked Johnny: If I give you two apples, then two more apples and another two, how many apples will you have? Johnny: Seven Miss Jones. Teacher: Now listen carefully again Johnny: If I give you two apples, then two more and again another two, how many apples will you have? Johnny: Seven Miss Jones. Teacher: Let me ask you differently this time Johnny. Now if I give you two rabbits, then another two rabbits and again two more rabbits, how many rabbits will you have? Johnny: Six Miss Jones. Teacher: Well where do you get seven apples from? Johnny: I’ve already got one apple in my pocket, Miss Jones! This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man. Life is often like a yo-yo with its ups and downs. We can attribute the following sentence to Alexander Graham Bell. “No matter where we’re from, when one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one ahead that has opened for us.” Let’s spend some time looking for the opening doors in our lives, or at least a window or two of opportunity, instead of the ones that may have closed. My email address is singinggardener@mts.net.

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