THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017
VOL. 95 | NO. 39 | $4.25
LOST & FOUND |
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
A PRAIRIE HARVEST | PAGE 20
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DROUGHT
Heartbreaking harvest for young farmer
When hog barns wear out Rebuild or renovate? Hog producers are urged to put careful thought into how to convert their barns from gestation stalls to open housing. | Page 57
Finding child care in 1956 in rural Alberta was a real challenge. | Page 17
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CATTLE CALL: PRODUCING QUALITY BEEF | PAGE 60
But who will mind the kids?
A STOLEN BLIND GOAT GOES HOME
Best-laid plans couldn’t offset punishing drought BY KAREN BRIERE REGINA BUREAU
Dallas Moneo learned that ageold farming lesson in 2017: a growing season usually begins with optimism but sometimes ends in disappointment. The 24-year-old is the fourth generation of a farming family near Assiniboia, Sask., but this year was the first that he rented land in his own name. “You can’t throw in the towel in year one,” he said, reflecting on the year that was. “It’s a wake-up call. It’s not always easy.” In a Facebook post that was shared worldwide, Moneo explained what happened. “This is some of our heaviest land,” he wrote. “We planted durum on this 700-acre field. “We used variable rate technology, which means we had a prescription written based on satellite imagery so our air drill can maximize returns by placing different rates of seed and fertilizer throughout the field.” SEE HARVEST HEARTBREAK, PAGE 5
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REBUILDING FROM THE ASHES
CROP RESEARCH
Industry sets research priorities New report from Canadian wheat industry calls for more acres, higher yields BY BRIAN CROSS
The Canadian wheat industry has released a new report that sets out a list of goals and research priorities that are aimed at ensuring a more profitable and sustainable future for growers, processors and exporters. The 20-page report, entitled Canadian Wheat Research Priori-
ties 2017, identifies wheat research priorities under five broadly defined themes that call for higher wheat yields, improved wheat yield reliability, more sustainable cropping systems, continuous improvements in the area of food safety and the production and delivery of wheat products that consistently meet customers’ quality needs. The report sets out a variety of
ambitious goals and measures within those five themes. Among other things, the report calls for: • average Canadian wheat yields to increase by two bushels per acre every five years • a 10 percent increase in net returns to farmers that grow wheat • a 50 percent reduction in the
number of Canadian wheat samples that exceed industry limits for harmful mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and ochratoxin • expanded use of wheat varieties that offer moderate resistance to high priority diseases such as fusarium SEE RESEARCH PRIORITIES, PAGE 4
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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
SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4
Cal Wellman lost his barn, corral, tractor and winter feed in the fire that devastated parts of southwestern Alberta earlier this month, but by some miracle his house did not burn. He said he has been overwhelmed with the community support in helping clean up the fire aftermath and rebuild fence so he can winter his cattle. SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE ON THE RECOVERY EFFORT. | BARB GLEN PHOTO
SASKATOON NEWSROOM
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