The western producer march 10, 2016

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THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016

VOL. 94 | NO. 10 | $4.25

FARM SAFETY FEATURE | P24-26

SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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WWW.PRODUCER.COM

Western Producer reporter Ed White filed these reports from Canola Council of Canada’s annual convention in San Diego. For more stories, see page 6.

WORK BEFORE PLAY

CANOLA PRODUCTION

Rosy outlook expected in fields of gold Sector on track to meet 2025 production target BY ED WHITE WINNIPEG BUREAU

Kashina Mahon and her brother, Rio, unwind bale wraps during chores on their D’Arcy, Sask., farm. They were helping their dad, Bob, who owns Rafter Diamond Ranch, feed their commercial herd of 275 Black Angus cross cattle. See the on farm feature, page 22. | WILLIAM DEKAY PHOTO

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — China’s recent announcement on stricter canola import rules might have cast a pall over the immediate outlook, but the future remains bright for Canada’s canola growers. That was the feeling coming out of the Canola Council of Canada’s annual convention: China and a host of other challenges cloud the next year or two, but the crop and the industry are likely to remain strong in the long term. Last year was tough for canola growers with serious drought in some areas, flooding in others and frost causing widespread reseeding. However, production was the second largest in history.

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SEE ROSY OUTLOOK, PAGE 5

INFORMATION SHARING

Farmers can store and control access to information they download on the Agricultural Data Coalition Sean Pratt recently travelled to the Commodity Classic, the largest gathering of crop analysts and farmers in the U.S. BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM

NEW ORLEANS, La. — A leading U.S. farm organization believes it has found a way to give farmers peace of mind about sharing their data.

The American Farm Bureau Federation spearheaded the formation of the Agricultural Data Coalition, a central data repository where farmers can store and manage the information collected by their tractors, combines and aerial drones. That data can then be formatted, synchronized and transmitted to third parties such as researchers, crop insurance agents, government officials, farm managers,

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input providers and advisers. A pilot version of the repository will be launched this spring, and a few dozen farmers will be asked to add their data to the system to work out kinks before it is made available to all growers. Matt Bechdol, executive director of the coalition, said it will be a safe and secure place for farmers to store their data, and they will be in control of how much they put on and who gets access.

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“It minimizes the burden of data management for the grower,” he said. “That allows them to focus on decisions.” The coalition was two years in the making. It was designed by 10 organizations, including the bureau, technology providers, farm advisers and universities. SEE CENTRAL DATA, PAGE 4

+10%

YIELD OVER LATE APPLICATION OF GROUP 2 HERBICIDES

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C-78-02/16-10508448-E

u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv,:! MARCH 10, 2016 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240

Plan afoot to protect farm data


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