May, 2010 - Quebec Farmers` Association

Transcription

Vol. 30, No. 5
May 2010
CLAUDE JOYAL INC.
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140643
What’s Inside…
QFA’s new insurance
plan… p. 13
PHOTO: PIERRE-YVON BÉGION/TCN
Are your farm
vehicles properly
licensed?... pp.5-6
Get a QFA
licence plate holder
FREE… p. 14
Energy drinks for
dairy cows?… p. 15
w w w. q u e b e c f a r m e r s . o r g
w w w. q u e b e c f a r m e r s . o r g
Knowing your farm
banker… p. 16
Mario Théberge of Saguenay Lac-St-Jean clowns around at the La Financière agricole du Québec Siège social building in St-Romuald ealier this month. Quebec agricultural producers participated in a rash of demonstrations throughout the province to protest the funding agency’s recent changes to its cost-of-production formula.
Andrew McClelland
Advocate Staff Reporter
Quebec’s La Financière agricole is facing mixed reactions to
recent changes it has made to
the way income stabilization is
organized for agricultural producers. With the province’s
farmers concerned over the
future of their businesses, and
the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) on the offensive
with a petition sent to the
National Assembly, the controversy surrounding the farm
finance agency shows no signs
of cooling off.
Earlier this month, La Financière CEO Jacques Brind’Amour
announced the creation of a
new farm income stabilization
support program called AgriQuébec. With an envelope of
$70 million, Brind’Amour and
La Financière’s brass hope that
the new program will reassure
producers who are fuming
over recent cuts to the
province’s Income Stabilization
Insurance
program—also
known as ASRA.
“Agri-Québec represents a
complementary protection for
more than 20,000 Quebec agricultural businesses (and) adds
to the risk management programs already in place,” said
the president and general manager of La Financière.
The
provincial
funding
agency says that Agri-Québec
has been designed to be “complementary” to Ottawa’s business risk management programs like AgriInvest and
AgriRecovery. Moreover, the
new provincial program will
work much like the federal
government’s now-defunct Net
Income Stabilization Account
(NISA) program. An eligible
farmer who chose to take part
in Agri-Québec would make
annual deposits to an account.
Those would be matched by La
Financière, and could then be
withdrawn by the producer
according to the needs of the
farm.
La Financière’s matching contributions to an Agri-Québec
account would equal three per
cent of a farm’s eligible net
sales up to a maximum $45,000
per year. An exception has
been made for fish farmers,
who are able to receive contributions of 3.6 per cent of eligible net sales up to $54,000 if
their farming revenues come
exclusively from aquaculture.
The program excludes producers in the supply-managed
dairy, egg and poultry sectors.
March 31. That criteria would
see the 25 per cent least productive farms in Quebec axed
from the stabilization insurance program’s cost-of-production formula.
Quebec’s farm industry
responded with a rash of
demonstrations across the
province, the high point of
which saw UPA President
Christian Lacasse wrap a chain
and padlock around the main
doors of La Financière’s head
offices in Lévis, preventing
employees from getting into
their place of work from 7:00
a.m. until noon on May 4.
UPA unhappy
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
La Financière agricole has been
the focus of Quebec’s agricultural community for the past
months due to the highly-controversial “efficiency criteria”
approved by the funding
agency’s board of directors on
Being a QFA member just got better!
Sign up for QFA’s new Group Insurance Plan
Publication
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See p. 13 for details......
Canada has never been
a melting-pot; more like
a tossed salad.
— Arnold Edinborough
Page 2 - Quebec Farmers’ Advocate / May 2010
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
The Best of
“They want to shut down
farms so we don’t need the La
Financière’s anymore,” Lacasse
ceremoniously announced to
the media as he shut the lock.
The UPA also collected
22,000 signatures on a petition
demanding that the “efficiency
criteria” be overturned. The
petition was left on La
Financière’s doorstep and tabled
at the National Assembly on
May 6.
feel that the UPA is a good
union, but sometimes they
don’t listen to the grass roots of
their organization.”
According to Townsend, the
debate concerning La Financière
could have been foreseen last
year
when
the
Quebec
Agriculture Minister Claude
unveiled the government’s five
year plan for risk management
programs in the agriculture
industry.
“I’ve been working with the
AN AGRI-QUÉBEC ACCOUNT WOULD EQUAL THREE
PER CENT OF A FARM’S ELIGIBLE NET SALES UP
TO A MAXIMUM $45,000 PER YEAR. THE PROGRAM
EXCLUDES PRODUCERS IN THE SUPPLY-MANAGED
DAIRY, EGG AND POULTRY SECTORS.
Producers unhappy
However, some producers
are saying that the recent debacle between the UPA and La
Financière isn’t entirely the government’s fault.
“Until now, I’ve been disappointed about how the UPA
has been in lockstep with the
government on the issue of
ASRA,” says Robert Townsend,
a cow-calf operator from NotreDame-du-Laus in Labelle. “I
ASRA program since its inception—and it’s been a very good
program,” says Townsend.
“Even though you might need a
Philadelphia lawyer to figure
out how to understand your
forms, it has still helped me
out. But I feel that the UPA is a
year behind schedule in only
protesting
La
Financière’s
changes now. If we had had a
stronger defence a year ago, we
wouldn’t be in the jam we’re in
now.”
Mission
To defend the rights, provide information and advocate for
the English-Speaking agricultural community in Quebec.
The Quebec Farmers’ Association (QFA)
represents and promotes the interests of the
English-speaking agricultural community through assuring
the provision of information, programs, and services. In doing so, the QFA provides
a forum to develop a sense of belonging, confidence,
and pride among its constituency.
Specific objectives in support of this mission include:
• Creating a supportive environment for agricultural and rural development •
Seeking respect and recognition for the English-speaking agricultural
community’s contribution to rural development • Facilitating communication
between the QFA’s constituency and the full range of stakeholders from suppliers
and government through to the consumer.
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Producers hold up “For Sale” placards bearing their farms’ names at a cattle auction in
Mauricie.
PRICE
Agricultural or forestry producer, rural resident or retired farmer: $56.44 (taxes included)
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Feeder replacement cattle = remonte
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Quebec Farmers’ Advocate / May 2010 - Page 3
Outaouais co-op demands commitment
from government
Richard Ledbetter
Special to the Advocate
The Outaouais Valleys Fine Meats Coop held its annual general meeting here
at the Shawville Lions Hall Thursday,
April 29. Co-op President Robert Griffin
told the large group of members and
government officials, “We, your board
and local government officials, have
done our part. The building plans and
the equipment requirements are complete and approved, the land has been
acquired and the waste water treatment
is in hand. You, the co-op members, have
promised the supply of livestock
required, the financing has been lined
up. All of the big questions have been
answered. We have all done our part!
Now it is time for the federal government, negotiating with the province, to
make a significant cash contribution to
this co-op.”
The membership voted unanimously
on a number of items. Among them to
pursue constructing a processing plant;
maintain the current board of directors;
and demand that their federal government, working with the provincial government, come on board with a grant
sufficient to bring the project to reality.
Five years ago the co-op was formed to
construct a livestock processing facility
in West Quebec. The requirement for a
regional facility to kill and process locally grown beef, lamb and pork was
apparent years ago, and the recent
trends in transportation costs, the
increasing market demand for locally
grown food and the dire need to convince young people that there is a future
in agriculture have only increased that
need. Producers, local supporters and
regional governments all got on board,
making a minimum $500 cash commitment.
Over the intervening years, thousands
of volunteer hours and more thousands
of dollars in consultant’s fees have been
committed to seeing the plan to fruition.
Feasibility studies have examined every
aspect of the project, fine-tuning and at
times altering the plan to conform to current realities.
With help from the federal government, the town of Shawville—where the
facility is to be located—has enlarged
and improved its waste water treatment
facility to accommodate the co-op’s
effluent. The Canadian Food Inspection
Agency has assisted in assuring that the
highest standards of hygiene are met
and maintained. School boards and the
international job placement agency
Manpower Inc. are ready to train
employees. Lenders at several levels
have indicated their willingness to supply capital financing at favourable terms.
The short and long term benefits of the
co-op are far reaching. Once business is
up-and-running, the Outaouais Valleys
Fine Meats Coop will fulfill the growing
demand for wholesome locally produced food, provide local farmers with a
better and larger market, and encourage
farm succession. But primarily, the co-op
PHOTO COURTESY OF RICHARD LEDBETTER.
$400,000 grant sought
OVFMC executive remaining on the board for an extension of its mandate until June are: standing from left:
Ron Hodgins, John Sullivan, President Bob Griffin, Ralph Lang and Pat Kavanagh; seated: John Lapierre, Bill
Fairbairn, Elwyn Lang, Michael Layer and Garfield Hobbs.
“YOU, THE CO-OP MEMBERS, HAVE PROMISED THE SUPPLY OF
LIVESTOCK REQUIRED, THE FINANCING HAS BEEN LINED UP.
ALL OF THE BIG QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED. WE HAVE
ALL DONE OUR PART! NOW IT IS TIME FOR THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT, NEGOTIATING WITH THE PROVINCE, TO MAKE
A SIGNIFICANT CASH CONTRIBUTION TO THIS CO-OP.”
— OVFMC PRESIDENT BOB GRIFFIN
will provide jobs—at the plant, on the
farm and on down the line. The total cost
of the project will be just over $3 million
dollars.
The co-op’s members are asking the
federal government for a cash infusion of
$400,000, a gesture of federal support for
their constituents, the project, the local
economy, agriculture and the food
supply.
QFA Board Members
UPCOMING EVENTS
“Ce qu’il vous faut savoir sur les nouvelles
tendances en production bovine”
—June 11, 2010
Organized by Intervet/Schering-Plough
Santé animale and the Société des parcs
d’engraissement du Québec
Hotel Dauphin, Drummondville, QC
Cost: $35 ($25 for students)
Info: Christian Bernier or
Jean-Philippe Grenon
Tel: 418-563-5889 or 418-554-6048
Email: [email protected] or
[email protected]
2010 Beef Improvement Federation
Conference
—June 28 to July 1, 2010
Organized by the Beef Improvement
Federation
Holiday Inn Select, Columbia, Missouri
Douglas Brooks
Executive Member
Franklin
John McCart
Vice-President
Grenville-sur-la-Rouge
Ken Brooks
Franklin
Kelly McCormick
Hinchinbrook
Margaret Cheal
North Hatley
Roderick Morrison
Kingsbury
Wendall Conner
Executive Member
Canton de Hatley
Wylie Munro
Cascapedia
Roy Copeland
Lachute
Gib Drury
Executive Member
Alcove
Bill Fairbairn
Executive Member
Wakefield
Malcolm Fraser
Cookshire
Chris Judd
President
Shawville
Ronald Strutt
Shawville
Meredith Closs
4-H representative
QFA EDITORIAL
PHOTO : CHANTAL TIE
Looking out for number one
Ivan Hale
QFA Executive Director
How often have we heard
those words.
I daresay that most mothers
around the world are “hardwired” to always put the needs
of their children ahead of their
own. Men with families, in my
observation, may also put their
children and spouses first, but
not necessarily.
Sometimes,
especially for men who run their
own farm or other business, the
best interest of the family is relegated to second priority. They
may spend a lot of time and
effort staying abreast of the latest research in crop or livestock
production, but the financial or
health needs of the family get little attention. The logic for doing
this is simple. If the business
fails, the family will suffer too.
True, but …
Since the creation of the social
safety net with its programs of
employment insurance and universal health care, we also were
lulled i nto believing that “the
government would provide”
and look after us in our time of
need. This happened in the 70s
and 80s, but since then the federal and provincial governments
have drastically cutback on program budgets while tightening
up on eligibility requirements.
Today, Canadians continue to
be well off when compared with
other nations, but we would be
fools to think we can rely on
government to mee t our needs
as we grow older.
Another adage that rings true
for me is “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Just think of how
many of us and our neighbours
never think about planning for
their retirement. It’s no wonder
that many farmers bemoan the
fact that they will likely work
well past the normal retirement
age because of necessity, not
choice. Despite being bombarded by advertisements and com-
merc ials, many people don’t
take time to prepare for the
future by putting their financial
house in order—even if it means
something as simple as opening
an RRSP and making automatic
monthly contributions of $50 or
$100.
Of course, it is understandable
that some of us don’t plan or
take decisions on such matters
because we lack the time—or we
don’t know how. What then?
It’s not that hard. Assistance is
out there. For instance, how
many of us read Consumers’
Report magazine before going
out to buy a digital camera or
new car? The few dollars spent
on the magazine can save us
hours of research and steer us
towards a reliable product at an
affordable price.
When it comes to the agriculture industry, too many selfemployed individuals and their
families are living without
health benefits that top up the
governments’ meagre programs. I believe as farmers we
deserve access to the same drug,
dental, eye care and other supplementary coverage as our
neighbours who work as teachers or government employees.
We should not have to be second-class citizens because we
chose farming as a career! Until
now, it was virtually impossible
for farm families to find such
coverage—at any price. I am
extremely pleased that has all
changed thanks to QFA’s hard
work over the past two years.
The new program has been tailored to the needs of farm families. Being offered exclusively to
QFA members, it provides
excellent
health
coverage.
Please check it out. You and
your family deserve nothing
less!
Sign up today for the QFA’s new Group Insurance Plan.
Including,
- Health benefits
- Drug payment plan
- Basic life and dependent life insurance
- Accidental death and dismemberment Insurance
See page 13 for details…
140644
Quebec Farmers’ Advocate
Editor-in-Chief
Ivan Hale
[email protected]
Managing Editor
Andrew McClelland
[email protected]
Production Manager
La Terre de chez nous
Published to benefit the English agricultural and rural community in Quebec
Vol. 30, No. 5: May 2010
All contents copyright and may not be reprinted or translated without
permission. Published in Quebec by The Quebec Farmers’
Association. Legal deposit: National Library of Canada. Dépôt légal:
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec.
ISSN#0714-9518
Publication Mail No: 40033773
THE QUEBEC FARMERS’ ASSOCIATION GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE SUPPORT
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CANADIAN HERITAGE IN THE PUBLICATION OF THIS
PAPER.
Sales Director
André Savard
[email protected]
450-679-8483 ext. 7221
www.quebecfarmers.org
Sales Representatives
Daniel Lamoureux (National Sales
Representative), Christian Guinard,
Sylvain Joubert, Marie-Claude Primeau.
Contributors
Ahmed Bilal, François Biron,
Jean Brisson, Gabriel Calixte,
Vincent Cloutier, Louis-Martin Dion,
Sonia Dumont, Mario Gauthier,
Chris Judd, Thierry Larivière,
Richard Ledbetter, Mark Lefsrud,
Diane Lequin, Caitlin MacDougall,
Paul Meldrum, Martin Ménard, Terry
Mosher, Robert Savage, Anita Stewart,
Carl Thériault.
Subscription rates to the Advocate
for non-QFA members are $56.44 per
year (taxes included).
Subscriptions do not include free
classified ads and are renewable after
11 issues.
QFA memberships (includes a free
subscription to the Advocate) are
$56.44 (taxes included) and are
renewed every year.
Send cheques to:
The Quebec Farmers’ Association
555 Roland-Therrien, office 255
Longueuil, QC J4H 4E7
Phone: (450) 679-0540, ext. 8536
Fax: (450) 463-5291
E-mail: [email protected]
Are you properly licensed?
Farm tractors owned by agricultural producers must be licensed if they travel on public roads. The plate will be marked with the letter “C” and will cost $47 per year.
Martin Ménard
We’ve all heard stories of
SAAQ agents and police officers
who flagrantly hand out tickets
to agricultural producers who
drive their machinery on public
roads. On the other hand, many
of us would admit that there are
farmers who neglect to properly
license their machinery, convinced they have immunity as
agricultural producers.
The purpose of this article is
not to solve who’s right and
who’s wrong in this debate.
Rather, let’s try to identify the
machinery that requires a particular licence or registration, in
order to avoid costly and sometimes (excessively) frustrating
penalties.
The $47 plate
In Quebec, all road vehicles
must be licensed. And the cost
can sometimes be very expensive. However, agricultural pro-
ducers are in luck, since farm
tractors and machinery are
among the rare exceptions. In
fact, farm equipment registrations cost only a fraction of the
price compared to what other citizens, industries and businesses
have to pay.
For example, if a landscaping
company purchases a farm tractor (weighing between 3,000 and
8,000 kilograms) it would have to
pay $508 annually for its registration. A farm producer who buys
the same tractor would have to
pay only $47 per year. This $47
licence plate, marked with the
letter “C”, is therefore quite a
privilege. But in order to avoid
hefty fines, it’s important to
know that not all farm equipment is eligible for these reduced
rates.—only tractors owned by
farmers are eligible, whether it is
a small, 30-hp model or a giant,
articulated 400-hp model.
Farm operators enjoy a similar
privilege when it comes to
machinery used exclusively for
farming activities (ploughs, harrows, hay balers, etc.). These may
travel on public roads without a
licence. It should be noted that
grain combines are also designated as farm machinery and, as
such, do not need to be licensed.
Things can get complicated!
So far, there’s nothing too complicated about this. But things get
problematic when equipment,
which at first view seems to be
farm equipment, is not—at least
in the eyes of the law! For example, a liquid manure spreader is
not considered an agricultural
machine—it’s considered a trailer. The same applies for pesticide
sprayers, hay wagons, etc. This
equipment must therefore be
licensed. If the weight when
empty is less than 2,300 kilograms, the cost is $10. If it is more
than 2,300 kilograms, the licence
goes up to $67. Luckily, this fee
has to be paid only once.
However, some farmers neglect to register equipment of this
type, putting them in an illegal
position. And even if a farmer
bitterly argues that his liquid
manure spreader is a farm
machine and not a trailer, the
police officer may still answer by
giving him a $438 ticket. But
wait! Following our interview,
the
SAAQ
representatives
phoned back to mention that the
implementation of this law has
been suspended until further
notice, since discussions are ongoing with the UPA.
Front-end loaders, mini-loaders, backhoes and telescopic
material-handler tractors belong
to the long list of machinery that
is often improperly licensed and
a source of fines. Farmers may
sometimes have the habit of
licensing these as farm tractors,
but in fact, they are considered
“tool vehicles” by the SAAQ,
whether they are used on the
farm or not. The cost to license a
tool vehicle can be as high as
$751, which is much more expensive than the $47 plates used for
farm tractors. If one of these vehicles is found to be improperly
licensed, the fine can be up to
$274. In fact, one producer mentioned that he received such a
ticket when he was caught on a
public road with his backhoe
licensed as a farm tractor.
Finally, ATVs and side-by-side
utility vehicles cannot be registered as farm tractors, even if
they are used for farming.
Producers have been fined for
this reason. These vehicles must
have off-road (“V”) licence
plates, at a cost of $54 per year.
Special cases
Across Quebec, it’s not uncommon for farmers to rent their tractors to snow removal contractors
or do commercial snow removal
themselves. Should they have a
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Considerable
savings for farm
vehicles!
Agricultural machinery, owned by a farmer, does not have to be licensed even if the machines travel on the road. Thus, there is no cost.
Pick-ups, vans and heavy trucks have very advantageous licence
fees when registered as farm vehicles. For example, a pick-up
truck weighing between 3,000 and 4,000 kilograms will cost $358 if
licensed as a farm vehicle (“L” plate). But for those who are not
farmers, the cost would be $599. For a five-axle vehicle, the numbers are even more favourable: $1,193 for an agricultural producer
and $2,741 for others.
For those who may not know, care should be taken when shopping for a truck, since licence fees are determined by weight. Also,
for a similar product, the weight category may differ. For example,
a Ford F-250 Super Duty XL, 4x4, 6-passenger pick-up with a long
box weighs 2,990 kg empty. Since this is less than 3,000 kg, its farm
registration will cost $213 per year. On the other hand, its twin, the
F-250 Super Duty 4x4 King Ranch, 6-passenger pick-up with long
box weighs 3,171 kg. Since this weight exceeds the 3,000 kg limit,
it must have an “L” licence plate, which has a farm-use cost of $358
per year.
Page 6 - Quebec Farmers’ Advocate / April 2010
New rules on
visibility!
Last January 13, at the Salon de l’Agriculture in Saint-Hyacinthe,
the UPA held an information session on road safety with regard to
the agricultural community. Indeed, fatal accidents on public highways involving farm machinery have led some coroners to make
severe recommendations. Among other things, they propose an
obligation for all machinery to have front headlights, red tail lights
and turn signal lights—in short, the same items required on other
road vehicles to indicate their position and whether they are stopping or turning. Given this pressure, the SAAQ has followed up by
proposing a regulation for 2010 that would increase the visibility of
agricultural machinery.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
Utility vehicles of the side-by-side type must be licensed as off-road vehicles. This licence plate will have the letter “V” and will cost $54
per year.
special
type
of
licence?
According to Jacques Vézina of
the SAAQ, the answer is no. “If
the farm tractor is registered to
an agricultural producer, he
keeps his farm licence. But if a
snow-removal company purchases a farm tractor, it must register it as a tool vehicle.”
“However,” warns Vezina,
“farmers who loan or rent a vehicle to a third party must understand that they are responsible
for any tickets related to the
improper registration of their
vehicles.”
But what about a more unusual, but not unheard-of situation,
where a farmer builds a tractor
himself. Must he license it? “Yes,
if the tractor travels on public
roads,” says Vézina. “But not if it
is used only on private land. In
fact, this is the same rule that
applies to standard tractors.”
Disagreement
Liquid manure spreaders, herbicide spreaders and grain wagons are legally considered trailers and not agricultural machinery. If they
travel on public roads, they must have an “R” licence plate, which can cost up to $67 (a one-time payment). However, the SAAQ is
presently in negotiations with the UPA, and has temporarily suspended the application of this regulation.
Credit for UPA dues for farms with
gross farm revenues of less t h a n $ 1 0 , 0 0 0
Many farmers get up in arms
because of the government’s
refusal to consider certain
machines as farm tractors. For
example, some say that their
loader is used for agricultural
purposes, specifically for handling silage. Therefore, it should
be allowed to be licensed as a
farm tractor and not a tool vehi-
cle. This is a quarrel that will continue to mount as more and more
farmers acquire farms that are
located at a distance and where
their machinery must travel on
public roads. The SAAQ is planning some modifications to its
agricultural
regulations.
However, according to Jacques
Vézina, an SAAQ manager,
farmers have a responsibility to
abide by the law. “If a producer
improperly licenses one of his
machines, intentionally or not, he
has broken the law. And he cannot plead ignorance of the law.
For example, I saw one situation
where a farmer told a SAAQ
clerk that he wanted to license his
Kubota. The clerk asked if it was
a tractor and the owner said yes.
But in fact, it was a two-seat,
side-by-side utility vehicle. Of
course, SAAQ clerks are not
aware of each company’s full
range of products. If the owner
does not give the right description of the machine, the clerk
may give him the wrong licence
plate and would not be held
responsible, since it is the owner
who has the obligation to ensure
that his machines and vehicles
are properly licensed.”
Originally published in Utili-Terre
magazine, March 2010.
To be eligible for the program applicants:
A credit for UPA dues
is in effect at the UPA
and applies to some farm
businesses. The object of
this credit is to aid multipleowner low-income farms. It
reduces their fees for 2011
by an amount equivalent to
a single UPA dues fee.
Find out more!
d
This credit coul
be for you!
Must be agricultural producers registered
as double-fee farms for the current year
($540);
Must be in compliance with the fee
regulation, having paid all UPA fees,
including the current year;
Must show that gross farm revenues for
the year 2009 were less than $10,000;
Must complete the appropriate forms
and send them to the UPA before
October 31, 2010 (Note : The credit will
be applied to their 2011 UPA dues).
If you meet all the criteria, you may be able to obtain a credit of $270, which is equivalent to a
single UPA dues fee. Please obtain the necessary form from your regional federation or from the
UPA website (http://www.upa.qc.ca/eng/upa_at_service/index.asp) or by calling 450-679-0540,
extension 8213.
If your application satisfies the conditions, your file will be
adjusted effective January 1, 2011, and the farm will automatically
be considered as an individual producer.
140787
Front loaders, mini-loaders, backhoes and telescopic material-handler tractors must be
licensed as tool vehicles if they travel on the road. Depending on their size, the cost could
be as high as $751 per year and the plates will be marked with the letter “F”.
The MAPAQ team of the Outaouais region is pleased to bring you the following information and we hope that it will be useful to you.
Beekeeping in the Outaouais
A strong start for the 2010 beekeeping season!
The mild 2009-2010 winter has
given way to an early spring,
accompanied by above-average
temperatures. Indeed, it has been
a fantastic change of seasons for
Quebec beekeepers. They have
been able to complete their spring
inspections earlier than normal,
some of them advancing their
first visit by almost a month.
Furthermore, the honeybees
have already been gathering
pollen for their hives since midMarch, a month when exceptional temperatures shattered dall
records for warm weather. These
conditions allowed the bees to do
their cleansing flights earlier,
thus reducing the possibility of
developing nosema disease in the
colonies.1
The weather also promoted
good development of the brood.
We believe that during the month
of March, the queen bee normally
lays only a fraction of the eggs
that she lays at the height of the
season. However, this year, many
beekeepers have observed that
their queens have rushed to
increase their egg laying at the
beginning of March. Thus by
mid-April, they noticed that
healthy hives already contained
over six frames of brood.
Of course, this higher rate of
egg laying is not only dependent
on warm weather. Another necessary factor is food. Remember
that at your first spring visit, the
hives with two levels should
weigh more than 25 kilograms
(18 kg for one-level hives).2 The
objective is to ensure that the
colonies do not lack food, a situation that would no doubt jeopardize the egg laying of the queen
bees.
Due to of the past mild winter,
food reserves should be adequate, particularly if the fall feeding went well. Nevertheless, the
rapid start of brood development
requires
additional
food.
Although dandelions are already
out, bee colonies with less than
two frames of honey should be
fed.
Moreover, for a trouble-free
season, early disease detection in
the colonies is a key to success.
The screening of 10 per cent of
your colonies will allow you to
validate the effectiveness of your
fall miticide treatments. You will
then be more confident as to the
health management measures to
adopt during the up-coming season.
You should be aware that the
Centre québécois d’inspection des
aliments et de la santé animale
(CQIASA) offers a free detection
service to all beekeepers who
have registered their colonies.
This service also includes monitoring for nosema disease, where
a new infectious agent (Nosema
cerena) has appeared and is
resistant to treatments with the
antibiotic
Fumagiline-B.
Therefore, all the more reason to
check for its presence in your
hives.
Don’t forget to register
your colonies!
Before your little charges start
flying about and requiring all of
your time, I would invite you to
complete the bee colony registration form. CQIASA’s renewal
period for this is between April 1
and June 1. Remember that registration is compulsory under the
Regulation respecting the inscription affixed on hives and the
Regulation respecting the registration of beekeepers, adopted in 2005.
These regulations promote the
improvement of health management of bee colonies and consequently, reduce the risks of practicing beekeeping in Quebec.
Furthermore, registration permits the collection of important
information regarding this valuable agricultural sector.
Have a great spring!
For further information on beekeeping, you may consult:
The Agri-Réseau website:
http://www.agrireseau.qc.ca/apiculture/
default.aspx
The provincial beekeeping advisor,
M. Nicolas Tremblay
[email protected]
Telephone: 418-286-6704
Centre québécois d’inspection
des aliments et santé animale
(CQIASA) :
www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca/Fr/Productions/
Santeanimale/surveillance/
PHOTO: GABRIEL CALIXTE, MAPAQ-OUTAOUAIS
Gabriel Calixte, agronome
MAPAQ, Outaouais sector
A disease caused by protozoa and
generally more common in the
spring. As a result of this disease,
the infected bees are unable to do
their cleansing flight and defect
inside the hive. These droppings
may contain high concentrations of
pathogen spores (Nosema apis
and/or Nosema cerena).
2
Gestion optimale du rucher,
CRAAQ, 2008
1
New in 2009:
Results of Outaouais field trials
François Biron, agronome
Land-use, innovation and
environmental advisor
MAPAQ – OutaouaisLaurentides Regional
Directorate
Outaouais sector
The following are the results
of several innovation projects
conducted in the Outaouais
region in 2009-2010, from your
regional innovation advisor. It
should be noted that the participating farmers received a rebate
of 50 per cent of admissible costs
(not including the farmer’s
time), through the MAPAQ program
“Support
for
the
Development of Agriculture and
Agrifood in the Regions – Funding
for Innovation.” This is an easy
way to reduce the cost of trying
a new technique or a new crop,
where the expected results are
relatively unknown.
Kale
Kale is a plant with a high
potential yield, containing much
energy and is very resistant to
cold temperatures. It is the ideal
plant for late pasture (October to
December), when conventional
pastures are finished. In 2009,
we obtained yields of about
eight tons of dry matter per
hectare, in spite of a significant
amount of rain. Preliminary
results out of the Centre de
recherche en santé animale de
Deschambault (CFSAD) in 2009
showed excellent average daily
gains with steers. We are convinced that this crop will be very
economical for our region’s beef
producers and we will therefore
continue testing it in 2010.
Propane flaming
Propane flaming consists of
using propane burners mounted
on a tractor in order to control
pre-emergent and post-emergent weeds, directly in the rows.
In 2009, we first prepared the
seedbed and then planted carrots and parsnips. Just before the
emergence of these crops, we
burned the weeds that had
already
germinated.
This
proved to be successful in eliminating an operation of manual
weeding, thus greatly reducing
labour costs. Certain modifications to the flaming equipment
are needed: i.e., the addition of
wheels to maintain the burners
at a constant height above the
soil, as well as the addition of a
deflector to protect the flame
from wind coming from behind
and from the sides. We will continue testing this machine in
2010.
Sugar bush fertilization
Used as a technique against
maple tree dieback, the quantity
of lime and/or fertilizer needed
per hectare is first determined
by soil analysis. Then, knowing
the number of maple trees per
hectare, it is possible to determine the quantity to apply to
each tree. The products are
spread by hand. Data regarding
the quantity of sap collected, the
Brix level and the effect on
regeneration in the sugar bush
will be measured in 2010, 2011
and 2012. This will allow us to
determine if this practice is economical for maple producers.
Also, mechanical lime spreader
prototypes are being tested in
other regions, which would
eliminate the hand spreading of
very fine lime, thus preserving
the health of workers.
Alternative methods
for pasture renovation
Always searching for ways to
reduce costs at the farm level,
we have been testing the use of
high animal density as a way to
introduce new, more productive
plants (orchard grass, ladino
clover) into pastures, without
having to plough the field. The
results of this field trial will be
known in a few years. To be continued…
Compost extracts and teas
used as organic fertilizers
A “compost extract” is a mixture of compost and water that is
left to steep for several days. On
the other hand, a “compost tea”
is a mixture of compost and
water to which a source of easily
assimilated carbon (molasses or
sugar) has been added in order
to stimulate the microbial activity. The extracts and the teas are
filtered before being applied on
the crops. We used chicken compost to prepare extracts and teas,
which will be applied to the surface of transplanted pots of
greenhouse tomatoes. Analyses
of the extracts and teas have
shown that the tea has an electrical conductivity that is much
higher than the extract. Data on
the mineral content and on
tomato plant growth are still to
come, but their potential as fertilizers is evident.
An exceptional
contribution
I would especially like to
acknowledge the outstanding
work done by our trainee,
Geneviève Deniger. The quality
of many of these projects would
have been greatly compromised
without her involvement. She
allowed us to do an impeccable
job of monitoring the projects
throughout the season and we
sincerely thank her.
Most of the innovation projects for 2010 have now been chosen. However, if you have any
ideas or would like to take
advantage of the Funding for
Innovation program, please do
not hesitate to contact me. Other
projects will be conducted in
future years. It is preferable that
the ideas come from you!
Louis-Martin Dion
and Mark Lefsrud
Bioresource Engineering
McGill University
Macdonald Campus
New research is providing
greenhouse operators with an
opportunity to convert exhaust
gases from a greenhouse wood
heating system into a useful
resource.
Conducted
at
McGill’s
Bioresource
Engineering Department, this
research is focusing on the use
of renewable biomass combustion fuels. Professor Mark
Lefsrud, who is leading this
new research, is capitalizing on
the recent explosion of interest
in biomass. Often in the form of
wood chips or pellets, biomass
can be seen as a sustainable and
economically feasible alternative to heat greenhouses.
Greenhouse industry
directly affected by
changes
The horticulture industry has
received increased pressure to
reduce greenhouse gas production and operational costs due
to high energy consumption.
This has been brought forward
by the worldwide shift in energy policy requiring most industries and governments to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil
fuels. Greenhouse operators
must address this issue by balancing
energy
efficiency
through structural or fuel saving techniques, while maintaining optimal growing conditions
in order to compete with an
ever increasing competitive
market. Heating represents
around a quarter of operational
costs depending on the energy
source (oil, gas, electricity, or
biomass) and so it is to the
growers’ economic advantage
to reduce energy costs and, consequently, their environmental
footprint.
CO2 emissions reduced
with biomass options
Recent fluctuations of fossil
fuel prices have increased the
necessity to explore alternative
systems and this has allowed
biomass heating to become an
economically viable option.
Biomass resources such as
wood residues, wood and grass
pellets, agricultural residues or
municipal solid waste are all
options that are being explored.
The life-cycle carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions from biomass
are at least 90 per cent lower
than from natural gas, but still
occur due to the natural thermo-chemical reaction of combustion. However, using waste
exhaust gases from a heating
system can be beneficial to
greenhouse plants by providing
a viable source of carbon dioxide. CO2 enrichment is one of
the commonly accepted techniques to enhance photosynthesis resulting in improved yields
and income. Operators typically
increase levels from 800 to
1000ppm from an atmospheric
level of 380ppm. Enrichment is
commonly practiced with pure
CO2 in bulk or from combustion
of hydrocarbon fuel (natural
gas or propane). Usually, these
fuels are employed in dedicated
burners to provide CO2 while a
separate heating system provides most of the heat to the
greenhouse. CO2 enrichment
from the exhaust of a natural
gas or propane heating system
has proven to be feasible, but
using renewable energy could
have further benefits. In terms
of enrichment applications,
combustion of dry and clean
wood biomass can produce two
times more useful CO2 than natural gas for the same energy
unit.
The Quebec greenhouse
research centre, “Centre d’information et de développement expérimental en serriculture” (CIDES,
Canada), had begun promising
demonstrations of CO2 enrichment from corn based biomass.
It was reported that 1.7kg of
CO2 was produced from the
combustion of 1 kg of corn. In
comparison, propane yields 3kg
of CO2 per 1kg of fuel. The costs
were approximated to be
0.11CAN$/kg
for
corn,
0.18CAN$/kg for propane and
0.17 CAN$/kg for natural gas.
Emission challenges
Since life cycle greenhouse
gases of biomass are significantly lower in emissions than fossil
fuels, they could be lowered
further through enrichment and
absorption of CO2 by the crops
growing in a CO2 fed greenhouse. While the overall system
would not be considered carbon
neutral throughout its complete
life cycle, CO2 enrichment from
exhaust gases could still be
viewed as a means to reduce
carbon emissions directly at the
source. Such an initiative could
be part of a carbon market and
sequestration incentive.
In practice, CO2 enrichment
from the exhaust gas of biomass
boilers is still challenging and
PHOTOS: COURTESY M. LEFSRUD
Biomass Heating for
Improved Greenhouse Efficiency
Top: Macdonald Campus Horticultural Centre Greenhouses; Bottom: Gasifier unit under maintenance.
expensive, considering the current equipment and exhaust gas
composition.
Many of the
exhaust gases (carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides
(NOx), sulphur oxide (SOx), ethylene (C2H4), other VOCs, and
fine particulates) are toxic to
humans and plants and must be
removed or diluted before
injection into the greenhouse.
One possible solution is using
membrane separation to extract
CO2 from flue gases. This technique has shown a lot of potential for large industries trying to
reduce and isolate CO2 emissions for sequestration and
could be applicable to the
greenhouse industry for enrichment.
Recent research at
McGill University
Our research is focusing on
comparing gasification and
direct combustion. Gasification
converts biomass into a combustible gas mixture (syngas,
comprised mostly of CO and
H2) by heating the biomass
under high temperatures and
low oxygen. Through this
process, far fewer fine particulates are emitted from the stack.
By coupling a gasification
chamber to a combustion chamber, the syngas is burned separately from the biomass fuel.
With this design and an adequate level of air supply, fine
particulates and undesirable
gases can be reduced greatly.
The energy efficiency for a gasification system is also higher
than for combustion. Net conversion efficiency for biomass
combustion is reported to be at
20 to 40%. Gasification coupled
with combustion can provide 40
to
50%
net
efficiencies.
Consequently,
gasification,
along with a proper system
design, could be a first step at
facilitating CO2 enrichment of
greenhouses with biomass.
We are enthusiastic about our
MAPAQ
(Ministère
de
l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de
l'Alimentation) funded research
project and the benefits it could
have on the greenhouse industry in Quebec. We know that
through leading edge research,
we can help keep Quebec
greenhouse operators at the
forefront of the world while
ensuring that the industry is
able to meet new and emerging
environmental standards for
CO2 emissions.
We welcome your interest.
Dr. Mark Lefsrud can be contacted at
[email protected]
or visit his website at
www.mcgill.ca/biomass-production-lab/
The Quebec Beef Producers Federation
Fédération des producteurs de bovins du Québec
Annual General Meeting
Sonia Dumont
Fédération des producteurs
de bovins du Québec
It was under the theme “Proud and Committed”
that Quebec beef producers held their annual
meeting in Sainte-Foy on April 7and 8. Over 265
beef farmers, industry stakeholders and representatives from various levels of government attended this annual event.
In his opening remarks, the president, Michel
Dessureault, encouraged producers to “work
together.” Regarding the issue of the removal of
the 25-percent least productive farms from the
cost of production calculations, he declared that
“the Quebec government has abandoned farmers.” He concluded by saying that Quebec beef
producers would not accept this situation “without acting in response.”
Delegates also welcomed several distinguished
visitors who attended the producers’ meeting,
including Jean-Pierre Blackburn, federal Minister
of State for Agriculture, Christian Lacasse, UPA
president, Kevin Antworth, director of the
Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Gib Drury,
president of the Canada Beef Export Federation.
During this two-day annual meeting, over thirty resolutions were adopted. In order to inform all
member-producers of the highlights of the meeting, the federation is in the process of preparing a
special report on the annual meeting, which will
be published in the spring 2010 edition of the magazine Bovins du Québec.
Elections
At the end of the meeting, the federation’s
Board of Directors proceeded with the election of
its executive committee. Several changes were
made within the organization. The executive committee welcomed some new directors: Yvon
Boucher and André Ricard joined the team, while
Claude Veil became the federation’s vice-president, replacing Denys Beaudet. Also, Alain Juneau
vacated his position on the executive committee.
Michel Dessureault remained as president and
Michel Daigle will continue as a member of the
executive committee.
We take this opportunity to acknowledge the
work done by the out-going directors and to welcome the federation’s seven new directors and the
two new members of the executive committee
Officers and regional representatives
President
Michel Dessureault
Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Stanislas Gachet
Claude Viel (1)
Bas-Saint-Laurent
Beauce
Thérèse G. Carbonneau
CMMVE president
Centre-du-Québec
Côte-du-Sud
Estrie
Gaspésie
Lanaudière
Mauricie
REGIONS AND REPRESENTATIVES
Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Bas-Saint-Laurent
Beauce
Centre-du-Québec
Côte-du-Sud
Estrie
Gaspésie
Lanaudière
Mauricie
Outaouais-Laurentides
Québec
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
Saint-Hyacinthe
Saint-Jean-Valleyfield
Accredited Association
Representative
CMMVE
Representative
Federation Representative
Outaouais-Laurentides
Québec
Bertrand Bédard
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
Saint-Hyacinthe
Saint-Jean-Valleyfi eld
J.-Alain Laroche
Gib Drury
Gilles Murray
Yvon Boucher (2)
Eddy Proulx
CMMBA president
Michel Daigle (2)
CMMVG president
Gérard Lapointe
Antoine Doyon
CMMVL president
Johanne Poulin
Guy Gallant
CMMBR president
Pierre Ruest
Daniel Lajoie
André Ricard (2)
René Perreault
Legend: 1 : Vice-president; 2 : Member of the executive
committee
A lively round
table discussion
Vincent Cloutier FPBQ
For the first time this year, the federation’s annual meeting
was preceded by an activity of reflection entitled the Beef
Round Table. Under the theme “The beef value-chain in flux,”
delegates reflected on some of the basic trends that are apt to
have an effect on the strategic orientations that the value-chain
will be recommending over the next several years.
Based on the success of the activity and the appreciation of
the participants, there is a strong chance that it will be repeated
next year. Indeed, it was an opportune time to rise above the
matters of daily routine. CULL CATTLE
COMMITTEE
(CMMBR)
SLAUGHTER STEER
COMMITTEE
(CMMBA)
FEEDER-CALF
COMMITTEE
(CMMVE)
GRAIN-FED VEAL
COMMITTEE
(CMMVG)
MILK-FED VEAL
COMMITTEE
(CMMVL)
Paul Ten Have
Pierre Ruest (1)
Bertrand Gagné
J.-Alain Laroche
Dany Frappier
Jacques Fortin
Jules Côté
Jean-Pierre Sinotte
Yves Marcoux
Maurice Veilleux
Thérèse G. Carbonneau (1)
Open
Open
Vital Potvin
Open
Céline Bélanger
Jean-Yves Gosselin (3)
Alain Pelletier
Normand Dumais
Gérard Lapointe (1)
Alain Bouffard
Marco Doyon
André Tessier
Antoine Doyon
Guy Gallant
Jean-Guy Bouvier
René Perreault
Lise Beauchamp
Normand Bourque
Open
Denis Ouellet
Michel Trudel
Jacques Desrosiers(2)
Guy D’Anjou
Étienne Lagacé (3)
Martin Drainville
Daniel Allard
Stanley Christensen(2)
Open
Open
Gérard Ricard
Louis-Joseph Beaudoin
Open
Magella Lemay
Steeve Bouchard
Jean-Marc Ménard (2)
Carol Tremblay
Michel Daigle (1)
Pierre Dallaire (3)
Gérald Brouillard
Lysette Harvey (3)
Jocelyn Grenier (3)
Denis Dumouchel
Gabriel Rancourt (3)
(FPLQ)
Normand Vinet (3)
Sylvain Raynault (3) (SPEQ)
Serge Dethier
André Beaumont
(CCRB)
Robert Wynands (2)
N/A
Open
Open
Alain Marcoux
Marco Richard François Mayrand (4)
Diane St-Hilaire (4)
Daniel Lajoie (2)
Isabelle Hudon (4)
Patrick St-Onge (3)
Annick Lapierre (4)
Open
Open
Open
Open
Rémy Pouliot
Jocelyn Bilodeau (4)
Pierre-Luc Nadeau (4)
Open
Johanne Poulin (1)
Yves Barbet (4)
Mario Robert (4)
Fabien Fontaine (3)
N/A
Thérèse G. Carbonneau
Yvon Boucher (3)
N/A
Claude Viel (3)
N/A
Yvon Boucher (3)
N/A
André Ricard (3)
N/A
Michel Daigle (3)
The secret of good quality silage
Making the most of nature
Grass is ready to be ensiled when it contains between 35 and 45 per cent dry matter. Just a few hours of drying time may be sufficient:
all you have to do is make the most of what nature has to offer.
Jean Brisson, agronome
Research and Development
and
Diane Lequin, agronome
Strategic Advisor,
Eastern Townships
and
Mario Gauthier, agronome
Strategic Advisor,
Centre-du-Québec
Valacta
The weather in the summer
of 2008 was awful, and 2009
was even worse. When it rains
one day out of three, sometimes
without warning, a technique
like silage-in-a-day is an obvious asset when you’re trying to
get the most out of every harvest day.
Mowing and ensiling the
same day—it can be done
Many people still believe it’s
impossible to mow in the morning and ensile in the afternoon
at proper moisture content. Yet,
more and more producers have
been trying the technique and
making a success of it, particularly since the summer of 2008,
after taking part in Valacta’s
“Haycrop silage: Aiming for
quality” workshop. And not
only is it possible to ensile a
few hours after mowing, but on
top of that, there’s a huge
improvement in forage quality!
When it comes to convincing
sceptics, however, there’s nothing like concrete evidence. Here
then, in a few words, are the
ABCs of silage-in-a-day, with
results that speak for themselves.
same day you cut it, the moisture content will have to drop
to around 60 per cent (35 to 45
per cent dry matter, depending
on the storage method). There
are two tricks to managing that:
wide-swath
mowing
and
unconditioned plants.
1. Wide swaths
A narrow swath covers only
35 to 40 per cent of the mowed
area, and a large part of the cut
material remains shaded, without air circulation. A wide
swath, on the other hand, covers at least 70 per cent of the
mowed area, and almost all of
the grass is exposed to sunlight,
which means the stomata stay
open. The stomata are the
plant’s pores, and it is through
them that the plant releases 80
to 90 per cent of its moisture
(see box). If a plant is to lose 20
per cent of its moisture in only
a few hours, the stomata need
to be kept open, which means
keeping the cut grass exposed
to sunlight. So the first key to
success is a wide swath.
his team at Cornell University
demonstrated the technique
under various conditions. The
figure below illustrates the
results of an experiment carried
out under poor and good drying conditions. The swaths
were not moved. The points on
the graph represent the moisture content of the forage:
green triangle for wide swaths,
red diamonds for narrow
swaths.
Left, first-cut alfalfa, under
poor drying conditions: less
than eight hours after mowing,
the moisture content of the forage left in wide swaths had
dropped to 62-65 per cent, low
enough for ensiling. In contrast,
the moisture content of the forage in narrow swaths was still
over 70 per cent more than 24
hours after cutting.
Right, second-cut alfalfa, this
time under good drying conditions: a mere three hours after
cutting, the moisture level of
the forage left in wide swaths
was down to 60-65 per cent,
whereas, in the narrow swaths,
the moisture content was still
over 60 per cent 24 hours after
mowing.
And don’t go thinking you
have the whole day in front of
you. Take a close look at the
graph to the right: when conditions are good, three hours is
all it takes for the moisture content to reach the optimum
range. After four hours, the
grass may already be too dry to
be stored as silage..
In Quebec, too!
In 2008, more than 200 dairy
producers in Quebec took part
in Valacta’s workshop on same
day silage. In 2009, more than
650 did the same. Many of them
have since used the technique
successfully. To validate their
experience—and
convince
sceptics—Valacta employees in
the Eastern Townships and the
Beauce closely monitored harvest operations on a number of
farms trying the technique for
the first time. Table 1 presents
the data for two farms in the
Eastern Townships that managed to harvest their silage at
the targeted moisture content
within ten hours of mowing,
i.e. in the same day. Would
they be willing to do it again?
They certainly would—and
did, as of the second cut!
Obviously, drying conditions
can vary greatly from one season to the next, from one day to
the next. For successful same
day silage, a number of factors
must be taken into consideration, such as cutting height,
mower width, and swath width
depending on the mower
model, to name but a few. But
one thing is clear: same day
silage has proven its worth. The
response is unanimous: “We
sleep well at night because
everything’s done.”
Have a good summer!
2. Avoid conditioning
Drying (especially the first
phase; see box) goes faster if the
plants are left intact, i.e. unconditioned, which ties in with the
previous practice. Conditioning
breaks the plant stems and so
impedes the natural movement
of water from the roots to the
leaves. The moisture in the
stem is thus deprived of its
main outlet – the stomata – and
the drying phase slows down.
The second key to rapid drying
is to avoid conditioning.
The ABCs of same
day silage
Does it actually work?
At dawn, under normal moisture conditions, forage plants
contain 80 per cent moisture. In
order to ensile the forage the
So, wide swaths and unconditioned plants. It really works?
The answer is YES.
Researcher Tom Kilcer and
The ABCs of drying
Understanding the drying
process makes for a more efficient harvest. Although plants
are complex organisms, the following principles are fairly simple:
Stomata
Stomata are pores in the plant’s
leaves that allow the passage of
carbon dioxide, oxygen and
moisture. A growing plant loses
80 to 90 per cent of its moisture
through its stomata. In forage
plants, stomata generally open
during the day and close at night
(or in darkness) to reduce moisture loss.
Drying
Drying occurs in 3 phases1.
During the first phase, the moisture level drops rapidly to 60-65
per cent. The second, slower
phase ends when the forage
reaches 40 per cent moisture. The
third, and longest, phase ends
when the moisture content is
acceptable for storage as hay (20
per cent).
Phase 1
When drying begins, moisture moves in two directions:
along the stem toward the
extremities (axial movement)
and from the centre of the stem
toward the surface (radial
movement). The natural passage of moisture toward the
leaves and through the stomata
(called evapotranspiration) is
the dominant pathway. Hence,
moisture loss is more rapid in
intact plants than in an equivalent quantity of separate stems
and leaves. In good drying conditions, plant moisture reaches
57-65 per cent before the stomata close, well within the acceptable range for good silage.
Evapotranspiration is therefore
the most efficient drying mechanism. Exposure to sunlight and
wind is comparatively ineffective.
Once the stomata close, axial
movement slows, and radial
migration takes over. Because
stem walls are more resistant
than open stomata, however, the
speed of moisture loss is reduced
by a factor of 10. That’s why
phases 2 and 3 of the drying
process play virtually no part in
same-day silage.
1
Forage conditioning, from harvest time to
the cow, conference by Jean Brisson, Dairy
Cattle Symposium, Drummondville, QC,
October 30, 2008.
Quebec 4-H Innovative Ag Tour visits
Pontiac farms and businesses
On March 19-21, 2010 the
Shawville 4-H Club hosted
Quebec 4-H’s Innovative Ag
Tour for a sunny weekend of
visiting eight farms and agribusinesses in the Pontiac area.
The event was attended by 49 4H members, representing nine
different clubs, including several
guests from Renfrew County,
Ontario.
The purpose of this annual
event is to allow 4-H members to
visit and learn more about a
variety of farms and agri-businesses and innovation in agriculture. The tour also allows
youth interested in pursuing
agriculture to learn about new
farming methods, feeding techniques, grants for entrepreneurs
and best management practices,
which will help them in their
own careers.
Members arrived at the
Pontiac
High
School
in
Shawville on Friday evening,
where they registered and
played games before going to
“camp out” in the school’s gym.
The rest of the participants
arrived bright and early
Saturday, and the group set out
for
Chapeau,
North
of
Shawville, to visit Ferme
Wendelin, a new farm with a
rotary dairy parlour owned by
Lucas and Christina Kaiser.
4-Hers also visited Centre
Point Farms, a mainly Black
Angus cow-calf and feedlot
operation owned by John and
Susanne Lapierre. Their son
Thomas Lapierre is in the
process of becoming a partner in
the operation. At both of these
farms participants learned about
the need to plan for expansion
and changing markets. The
Kaisers also breed German
Shepherds, which they sell for
police dogs and family pets.
Saturday afternoon the bus
headed to Ferme Stépido in
Luskville, which is a dairy and
cash crop farm owned by
PHOTOS: CAITLIN MACDOUGALL
Caitlin MacDougall
Agricultural Liaison
Quebec 4-H
Humans, as well as Charolais cows and calves, enjoyed the sunshine while visiting R & R Farms on March 21st, 2010.
Stéphane Alary, known for its
strong genetic Holstein herd and
receiving the Master Breeder
award in 2006. Here members
learned about the importance of
good genetics, embryo transfers
and marketing.
The next stop on the tour was
Jolly Egg Farm, owned by Jared
and Holly Hamilton, who were
able to start their laying hen
operation thanks to a grant of a
lifetime of free quota for 5,000
hens through the FPOCQ contest. In operation only since
September 2009, Quebec 4-H
was very lucky to be the first
group to tour the specially-built
agri-tourism room with windows and two-way mirrors to
see the hens and packing room.
Jolly Egg Farm was definitely
one of the tour highlights.
The final stop of the day was
Coronation Hall Cider Mills,
owned by the Graham family in
Bristol. Participants learned
about the history of the
Coronation Dance Hall, the site,
and the importance of niche
marketing and farmers markets,
before
enjoying
freshly
squeezed apple juice made right
before their eyes. Afterwards,
the bus went back to the Pontiac
High School where participants
and parents enjoyed a banquet
and some social time.
On Sunday morning, the bus
headed to the last three farms of
the tour. At David Thompson’s
sheep farm in Shawville, he
explained the necessity that his
180 ewes “do their own work.”
Thompson also farms with his
two brothers under the Alfacroft
Holsteins prefix, so it is essential
that the sheep be low-maintenance.
At Fermes Rolling Acres, owned
by Stephen, Paula and Laird
Hamilton, participants visited
the feedlot and learned about
how the business includes an
on-farm store to market and sell
its own Hereford and Angus
beef. Members also learned
about the challenges of the mar-
kets and managing large operations.
Last but not least, the group
visited R & R Farms, owned by
Ron Hodgins and Robert Miller,
and learned about the greenhouse, and breeding Bouvier
dogs, donkeys and Charolais
cattle. Once again, the message
of diversification and niche marketing was impressed upon the
Symbols for Safety
Radio frequency/non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation hazard/alert
Laser beam hazard/alert
Radiation hazard/alert
4-H members in front of the coverall barn where David Thompson keeps his flock of sheep at his Shawville farm.
4-Hers, an unofficial theme for
the tour.
Evaluations from the weekend
were highly positive with members taking a lot of good ideas
home to think about for their
current and future plans in agriculture. Next year’s Innovative
Ag Tour will be hosted by the
Gatineau Valley 4-H Club, and
is much anticipated!
There are dozens of
hazard and safety
symbols that you
may encounter in
working around
your farm. Below
are some pictograms
that can appear on
heavy machinery or
in your work area.
Each one is industryrecognized
internationally, and
remembering what
they mean may help
you prevent an accident or injury.
To learn more,
visit the Association
of Equipment
Manufacturer’s
website at
www.aem.org and
click on PICTORIALS
It’s time Canadian publications
celebrated our food culture
Anita Stewart
Advocate Food Writer
Heads up Quebec!
Of the
dozens of food magazines on
earth that I judged for the
Cordon Bleu World Food Media
Awards (WFMA), it was an
agricultural publication that
came out on top.
Spain’s
Gourmetour is published by the
Spanish Institute of Foreign
Trade to promote Spanish food,
wine and tourism. It is circulat-
ed three times a year to culinary
journalists and industry around
the world. Gourmetour is a visually and culturally delicious
magazine, proudly flaunting
fresh ingredients with good—
sometimes quite complicated
recipes—often from its top
chefs. Its photography and
design have always been
extraordinary.
The World Food Media
Awards are part of “Tasting
Australia (TA),” arguably the
most exciting gathering of global food pros on earth. It’s worth
logging onto the TA website to
read the breadth and depth of
the undertaking, founded in the
1990s by television star Ian
Parmenter. Based in Adelaide,
a small metropolis roughly the
size of Quebec City, Tasting
Australia has been supported by
the government of South
Australia (SA) since day one,
mainly because of a visionary
Lord Mayor who, in 1999, stated
flatly that her goal was to make
Adelaide the culinary centre of
the southern hemisphere.
By virtue of its climate and
geography, SA has an incredible
edible bounty. Olive oil,
almonds, spectacular dairy
products and dozens of hot climate vineyards have inspired
both growers and chefs alike to
create what has become a new
Australian cuisine.
So when a FedEx van pulled
up my driveway in the February
snow and its driver unloaded
two huge boxed filled with all
the judging materials, it felt better than Christmas! I grabbed a
knife, slit the packing tape and
hauled out food and drink magazines from around the world.
There were dozens of publications from Cuisine (published in
tiny New Zealand—population:
three million) to the luxury of
the Aussie-based mags delicious, cravings and the extraordinary Australian Gourmet
Traveler. A tad less glossy, BBC
Good Food was jammed with
ideas and recipes. No one could
ignore Jamie Oliver’s entries,
which I happen to really like, not
only because of the depth of his
research and environmentally
conscious paper but because
he’s not afraid to take on the U.S.
food establishment.
The
American entry that worked
best was Culture, a brand new
magazine about cheese.
Food communication is fundamental to the creation of a
competitive culinary culture. I
dream of the day when Canada
has a magazine as brilliant as
Gourmetour which proudly celebrates our own agricultural
richness.
Perhaps it should
begin in Quebec, where the link
between food and culture has
always been understood.
Here’s a recipe I’ve adapted
from another WFMA competitor, Waitrose’s Food Illustrated,
which will be a lovely late spring
dessert.
Anita Stewart, culinary activist
and gastronomer, has published 14
books during her career. Her most
recent collection, “Anita Stewart’s
Canada,” from which the above
recipe is taken, is described as “a
pan-Canadian odyssey tracing the
history of our major ingredients
while peeking into dozens of multiethnic home kitchens.” Visit her
website at www.anitastewart.com
Maple & Walnut
Ice Cream Terrine
Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup maple syrup
4 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1 ¼ cups heavy (35%) cream
Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Set aside.
Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat and add the
walnuts and ¼ cup of the maple syrup. Cook, stirring, till
sticky and caramelized. Set aside to cool.
To make the ice cream, heat the remaining syrup till bubbling. Whisk four egg yolks in a heat proof bowl and slowly
whisk in the syrup. The mixture should be pale and thick.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites till stiff and using the
same beaters but in a separate bowl, whip the cream till it
forms soft peaks. Fold the yolk mixture and the whites into
the cream. Spread evenly in the prepared pan and top with
the caramelized walnuts. Freeze for 4 – 6 hours or overnight.
To serve, turn the terrine out onto a serving platter and slice
with a warmed knife. Serve with lots of seasonal fruit.
Serves 6.
RemindeR: new membeR benefit!
The Quebec Farmers’ Association is very pleased
to announce a new comprehensive Group Insurance
Plan to all members and their eligible employees.
• HeAlTH BeneFITs
• DruG PAymenT PlAn
• BAsIc lIFe AnD DePenDenT lIFe InsurAnce
• AccIDenTAl DeATH AnD DIsmemBermenT
InsurAnce
President’s
Message
Details of the Plan’s coverage and options were provided in an information package mailed last month
to all QFA members and english-speaking members
of the uPA. If you did not receive your package, or
if you require additional copies, please contact the
QFA’s Plan Administrator at 1-800-453-9543.
special Introductory Offer
All QFA members who apply by June 15, 2010 will
be accepted for coverage - even if they have preexisting health conditions.
Dear Friend,
I am very pleased to be launching the new Group Insurance
Benefit Plan designed exclusively for full members of the Quebec
Farmers’ Association and their families and eligible employees and
families.
If you are not an active QFA member and you wish
to join our association so you can access this new
Group Insurance Plan you may do so - but you must
act before June 15th to take advantage of the open
enrolment offer.
members’ fees support QFA’s efforts to represent
the needs and interests of agricultural producers,
their families and employees.
The QFA knows that most farm business owners have difficulty
finding comprehensive health plans that meet their needs at
affordable cost. It’s a sad reality that too many farm families do
not have access to benefit plans. We have done our research. We believe this is the best comprehensive group plan available to agricultural producers’ families
and their employees in Quebec. (If you already have coverage
through another plan, perhaps through your spouse’s workplace,
take the time to compare the benefits closely, and the costs. It may
make sense switching to switch to the QFA’s plan.)
Remember, it’s never too soon to plan your family’s and employee’s health insurance. Don’t put off making a decision. I encourage you to carefully read the enrollment package sent to you
recently in the mail and to contact our Plan Administrator, Johnson
Inc., if you have questions. Can’t find the envelope? No problem.
You can request another or you can see all the information on our
website at: www.quebecfarmers.org.
The QFA’s Insurance Benefit Plan could help you to reduce the
financial uncertainty for the future by guaranteeing you affordable
health benefits when you need them most – while providing you
with much deserved peace of mind. Sincerely,
Chris Judd President
140845
Become a QFA
member today!!!
A chance to be involved in the agricultural community, to be heard and to make a difference, as
well as a wide range of member benefits make it
more than worthwhile to become a QFA member.
Member benefits include:
• Annual subscription to the Quebec Farmers’
Advocate
• Discounts on translation service
• 3 free classified ads and announcements in the
• Opportunity to sit on committees and Board of
Directors
• 10 % discount on selected items at L’Équipeur
• New Health Insurance and benefits plan
Join for 2 years and
receive a free QFA licence
plate holder!
Simply fill out the membership application
form on page 2 and send it to the QFA office with
a cheque for $56.44. You can also join online at
www.quebecfarmers.org
PERMANENT POSITION AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY
Quebec Farmers’ Association (QFA)
Director of Operations
The individual is responsible for managing the QFA’s general operations. The numbers of hours worked is flexible and varies with the season,
averaging 25-35 hours per week. He/she reports to the Executive Director
The successful candidate will work in both French and English and shall have a post-secondary degree or diploma. Experience with office
administration or association management is highly desirable. Preferred qualities include:
• Tact and diplomacy and ability to work to the highest ethical standards
• Ability to work independently and to meet deadlines
• Problem solving
• Self-starter, shows initiative
• Commitment to excellence
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Proven project management experience, including staff supervision
• Availability to travel and to work outside normal office hours
Most important is the ability to work independently, a willingness to learn and work with a small dedicated team.
The individual will have experience and demonstrated ability in:
• Communication, oral and written, in French and English
• Microsoft Word, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint
• File management (electronic and paper)
• Document production
• Website management (desirable, not essential)
• Planning and working to deadlines
Specific duties include:
• Managing translation services, member and subscription lists as well as membership services
• File management
• Writing meeting minutes and basic correspondence
• Website management and up-dating
• Sales of classified ads
• Telephone and mail
• Production of brochures and annual report
• Planning and co-ordination of information days and meetings
• Liaison with federations of l’Union des producteurs agricoles and Quebec Community Groups Network members
• Petty cash
• Board and Committee communications
• Management and co-ordination of contractor services
• Liaison with accountants
• Representing QFA at meetings, as required
Applications should be sent to the QFA office no later than June 11, preferably by e-mail. They should include salary expectations, references
and available start date.
Quebec Farmers’ Association — Bureau 255, 555, boulevard Roland-Therrien, Longueuil, QC J4H 4E7 • E-mail: [email protected]
DEVOTION TO DAIRY
Dairy cows on energy drinks?
Managing high yielding dairy
cows during the post calving
period has always been a challenge.
Due to the improvements in genetics, forage quality and ration formulation, we
are now feeding high-octane
feed to more productive cows.
The result is that cows lose
weight in early lactation
because they cannot consume
enough feed to fuel their output
of milk.
Think of it as cows on highenergy drinks. So the extra
energy needed to produce this
milk comes from their body
reserves, putting the cow in a
negative energy balance. It has
been well documented that
cows in negative energy balance are under stress, reducing
their immunity to disease,
increasing the risk of metabolic
disorders such as ketosis and
fatty liver syndrome, and
reducing fertility. In our desire
to get the cow to “produce to
her potential” by maximizing
output and thereby increasing
profitability, we might be making her less profitable.
PHOTO : ARCHIVES/TCN
Paul Meldrum
Manager
Macdonald Campus Farm
duced more milk with not much
increase in DMI, suggesting a
loss of body condition. The
lower protein ration produced
less milk with higher fat, but
here’s the kicker: the pregnancy
rate was off the chart. In the
lower protein group, a staggering 83 per cent of all cows were
confirmed pregnant 100 days
into their lactation, while the
mid and high protein groups
were at 67 per cent and 62 per
cent respectively. Cows didn’t
peak as high, so their energy
gap or period of negative energy
balance was reduced. Income
from milk was lower but most of
them were in calf at a time when
it is usually difficult to get a cow
to conceive. Getting cows in
At the Agri-Food and
Biosciences
Institute
in
Hillsborough, Northern Ireland,
Dr. Ryan Law is conducting
research that may challenge the
accepted wisdom of how to deal
with cows in early lactation. He
looked at the premise that maximizing energy intake in fresh
cows by feeding them a high
quality diet may in fact make
the problem worse by increasing
milk production. A high protein
diet will produce more milk but
will peel off more flesh. Rather
than trying to get the cow into
positive energy balance by feeding her a high energy and protein ration, Dr. Law examined
the possibility of reducing the
energy gap—the difference
between the cow’s energy
requirement and her energy
intake—by modifying the lactation curve. Instead of getting
the c ow to peak as high as possible, what would happen if you
reduced her peak by lowering
crude protein levels in the diet?
In some respects, it is going
back in time to the days when
dairy farmers took their first cut
of hay in July so protein levels in
the diet were naturally reduced.
The difference here is that forage quality is high, but total
ration protein level is reduced.
Dr. Law fed three rations with
different protein levels during a
full lactation study. One of the
key benchmarks was at 150 days
in milk. The group fed an 11
per cent protein ration had a dry
matter intake (DMI) of16.5
kg/day with milk yield at 25.4
kg/day and an average fat test
of 4.2 per cent. The numbers for
the group fed a 14 per cent protein ration were 18 kg DMI with
milk yield at 31.8 kg/day and a
fat test of 3.8. For the third diet
at 17 per cent protein, DMI
increased by just 0.6 kg /day,
while milk yield jumped to 35.4
kg/day and fat test remained at
3.8per cent.
The higher protein diet pro-
calf is one of the keys to having
a profitable dairy, but the numbers have to be crunched to
determine if the sacrifice in milk
production is worth it.
In the next phase of his study,
Dr. Law will be trying another
way of changing the lactation
curve to rapidly close the energy
gap. The crude protein level in
the ration will be reduced to 15
per cent with a forage to concentrate ratio of 65:35 for the first
four weeks after calving. Cows
would then be ramped up to a
commonly fed ration in
Northern Ireland dairies of
18per cent protein with a 60:40
forage to concentrate ratio by
the time they are six weeks into
their lactation. This is research
that is taking a different
approach
to
profitability.
Rather than being obsessed with
maximizing production per
cow, the goal is to look at feeding strategies to improve cow
health and fertility. The preliminary numbers warrant a serious
look, and it will be interesting to
see what happens with the second phase of the study.
Paul Meldrum is the manager of
McGill University’s Macdonald
Campus Farm. In the past, he has
run successful dairy operations in
both Ontario and New York State,
hosted and produced CJOH TV’s
“Valley Farmer,” and has been
heard on agriculture reports for
CBC Radio Noon in Ottawa.
The Umbrella Syndrome
“A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back
the minute it begins to rain.” — Mark Twain
Establish your credit
rating
Asking for credit when you
need it is much like calling for a
life-preserver when you’re
about to plunge over Niagara
Falls. Why bother trying to save
someone from a helpless situation? Instead, take advantage of
the opportunity while your boat
is afloat and out of danger to
increase your line of credit.
Doing so will ensure that, when
facing much harder times, there
will be a little financial pillow
on which to rest your head.
Robert Savage, Agronome,
MBA
CEO Solutions affaires
experts-conseils
Immediately after leaving his
neighbour’s house, Dennis
Brown went to meet with his
banker. Thinking it would never
happen, old Mr. Bradbury had
finally decided to sell him the
piece of land he was longing for.
It was just a matter of getting a
loan, signing some papers and
soon after, he would be seeding
an additional 80 acres of grain
corn. It was a dream come true!
However, the dream turned out
to be a complete nightmare
when his banker calmly
informed him that his loan
request had been refused. What
the heck could have gone
wrong?
Know thyself
When applying for a loan
your banker will, among other
things, base his decision on the
overall economic state of agriculture, your warranties, your
credit history, and your management skills. He will also consider your family history.
Indeed, even family ties can be
used to evaluate your loan worthiness. Are you a descendant of
a reliable family? Even though
this seems a little far-fetched,
like a double-edged sword,
your ancestry could play in
your favour or, alternately,
leave you with two strikes
against you. You need to be
aware of any rotten apples on
your family tree!
Farming by
the Numbers
Total number of farm trucks
in Canada in 1976:
444,369
in Canada in 1991:
526,808
in Canada in 2006:
466,798
Number of trucks on the average
Canadian farm in 1976:
2
2
2
Source: Statistics Canada Census of
Agriculture 2006
Be prepared
Having a great project is a
good way to start. Convincing
your banker of the value of your
project, however, may be difficult. Be prepared for all contingencies and more. DO have a
solid and detailed project, based
on even stronger financial projections, be honest with your
ideas, outline your strengths
and weaknesses, and have a
strategy to impact the potential
risks related to your project.
You should also have a plan ‘B’
ready in case plan ‘A’ is rejected. DO NOT underestimate the
costs of your project, nor overestimate your production capacity
or marketing skills. Most of all,
do not assume that your banker
is your best friend.
Get help
Should you, like Dennis
Brown, be confronted with a
loan request refusal, but really
need the credit to realize your
dream project, then appeal to
the expertise of professionals
who can help you understand
why you got refused, and how
you could turn the wind in your
favour. A refusal certainly indicates that your banker doesn’t
feel safe with your project, but it
could also mean that he hasn’t
received the right data to properly analyse your request. Clear
explanations that highlight the
strengths of your project remain
your best strategy.
Mr. Bradbury’s place with a
token of appreciation under his
arm.
Shop cautiously
If, after all is said and done,
your banker refuses to budge on
his decision, it might be that
your situation is much worse
than you think. It may also indicate that either your bank or
your banker is risk averse to
your type of project. In that case,
go shopping. Once again,
appealing to the help of an
expert who understands the
banking system might save you
a lot a time and frustration.
Dennis Brown did his homework and finally got his loan.
He took the time to explain why
the last few years had been
rough and, most of all, showed
conservative financial projections about the positive impacts of his
project.
Then,
when all was
signed, he
headed
back to
o l d
Having worked for over 16 years
for various organizations—including
the
Caisse
populaire
Desjardins, the Office du crédit
agricole du Québec and Farm
Credit Canada—Robert Savage,
founder of Solutions affaires
experts-conseils, has established an
innovated approach to farm consulting services. With the help of a
multidisciplinary team of experts,
Solutions affaires experts-conseils
can get your farm on its way to
greater profitability by working
with your existing resources and by
having access to a network of professionals involved in agribusiness.
Ask the Green Thumb
If you have questions about your houseplants or garden for world crops specialist Ahmed Bilal, please drop the Advocate a line!
Your questions and Ahmed’s expert answers will be published in an upcoming issue. Write to:
Quebec Farmers’ Advocate “Ask the Green Thumb”
555 boul. Roland-Therrien, office 255, Longueuil, QC J4H 4E7
Fax: 450 463-5291
Spots — and mildew!
Q: What are the common
foliar diseases of cucurbits and
how do can you control them
culturally?
Common diseases that may
appear on the foliage or the
fruit of cucurbits include powdery mildew, downy mildew,
Alternaria leaf spot, and angular leaf spot.
Powdery mildew, caused by
the
fungus
Erysiphe
cichoracearum, affects cucumber, cantaloupe, pumpkin, and
squash. The fungus produces a
white powdery growth on
leaves. Crown leaves are infected initially and may wilt and
die. Disease development is
favoured by high temperatures
and high relative humidity.
Downy mildew, caused by
the fungus Pseudoperonospora
cubensis, affects cucumber and
cantaloupe. The fungus produces yellow to brown spots on
the upper leaf surface. Under
moist conditions, a fluffy, grey
fungal growth appears on the
underside of the leaf, corresponding to the leaf spots
above. Infected leaves may die
as the disease spreads from the
crown outward. Moist conditions favour downy mildew
development.
Alternaria Leaf Spot, caused
by the fungus Alternaria cucumerina, affects cantaloupe and
cucumber as well as other cucurbits. The fungus causes tan to
brown leaf spots (1/2 inch in
diameter) that contain dark concentric rings within the lesions.
Spots merge and defoliation
occurs, beginning with the
crown leaves. Weak plants are
most susceptible to Alternaria
Say your piece!!!
The Quebec Farmers’
Advocate always welcomes
letters to the editor! If
you have something to
say about today’s agriculture, politics, rural life
or what’s going on in
your community, write
to:
QUEBEC FARMERS’
ADVOCATE
555
Boul. Roland-Therrien, Office
255, Longueuil, QC J4H 4E7
Or e-mail [email protected]
leaf spot. The fungus is spread in
wind and rain and is favoured
by warm, wet conditions.
Angular Leaf Spot, caused
by the bacterium Pseudomonas
lachrymans, affects cucumber,
squash, and pumpkin. Leaf
spots are angular in appearance, being limited by major
veins. They are water soaked
initially and eventually turn
greyish brown. Leaves take on
a shot-holed appearance as
spots drop out. The bacterium
also produces small, watersoaked spots on fruit, which
can lead to rotting of the fruit.
The disease is favoured by
warm, wet conditions.
Control of foliar
diseases of cucurbits
Strategies for controlling
foliar diseases of cucurbits culturally include the following:
• Rotate crops.
• Plant certified disease-free
seed.
• Plant in well-prepared, fertile
soil.
• Control weeds.
• Plant resistant varieties when
available.
• Practice clean plough down
after harvest.
Typical symptoms of downy mildew on upper side cucumber leaf
Alternaria on Cantaloupe
Typical symptoms of powdery mildew on a cucumber leaf
Typical symptoms of downy mildew on underside cucumber leaf
Angular leaf spots on cucumber leaf
“The padlock is on the door!”
declared Christian Lacasse, president of the Union des producteurs
agricoles (UPA) as he finished putting a chain and padlock on the
front door of La Financière du
Québec’s head office in Lévis.
Between 200 and 300 farmers,
according to police, travelled
from every corner of the province
and proceeded to block access to
the institution’s employees from
7:00 a.m. until noon on Monday,
May 4.
“If they want to shut down our
farms—we no longer need La
Financière,” exclaimed Lacasse.
He recalled that on March 31, in
spite of UPA’s objections, La
Financière’s board of directors
made “a regrettable decision that
will have dire consequences,”
notably the removal of the 25-per
cent of least productive farms
from the cost of production calculations. Lacasse added that this
decision will lead to the bankruptcy and abandonment of
many farm businesses. According
to him, this additional efficiency
measure represents a reduction of
$85 million in the farm income
stabilization (ASRA) program.
The UPA president added that
farmers had already agreed to
other measures totalling $80 million.
Consequently, the UPA president called on the Quebec government to intervene, recalling
that Quebec Agriculture Minister
Claude Béchard had expressed a
willingness to listen last
November when he announced
La Financière’s budget of $630 million per year.
According to Lacasse, La
Financière is taking a steam-roller
approach to agricultural financing. “They have not done an
analysis of the consequences,”
said the UPA President. “With a
unbelievable lack of judgement,
they’re sending thousands of
PHOTOS: PIERRE-YVON BÉGIN/TCN
Angry farmers travel to Lévis to protest
ASRA changes
The UPA president, Christian Lacasse, putting a padlock on the door of La Financière’s head office in Lévis.
farms to abandonment. They’ve
shown no flexibility. The only
way to obtain a fair and equitable
income is through the cost of production. We will not give up!”
In addition to the head office,
producers also protested at some
of La Financière’s regional offices,
particularly in the Estrie region.
There, farmers also left a petition
containing 22,000 signatures on
the institution’s doorstep, calling
for the Quebec government to
reverse the efficiency measure
regarding the 25-per cent least
productive farms. The petition
was to be tabled in the National
Assembly on Thursday.
La Financière CEO Jacques
Brind’Amour arrived on the
scene and accused the UPA of
conducting a campaign of misinformation and of manipulating
the numbers. Debates with producers became heated and voices
were raised. The CEO then left
the area in a police car. The following day, in an interview with
La
Terre
de
chez
nous,
Brind’Amour apologized and
hoped he had not offended any
farmers with his remarks.
He also confirmed that the efficiency measures would reduce
ASRA spending by $75 million,
while La Financière’s overall
budget was increased from $305
million to $630 million per year.
He emphasized that farmers
would be receiving one billion
dollars in 2010-2011 through
ASRA compensations, tax rebates
and investment programs such as
Prime-Vert.
“Where is the problem?”
Brind’Amour asked. “There is no
lack of commitment on the part of
the government. Even if we
remove $75 million, it does not
mean the impact will be as bad as
the UPA claims regarding the
number of farms that may disap-
pear. We never said that there
would be zero impact, but we
cannot agree with UPA’s opinion
concerning the disintegration of
agriculture.”
Brind’Amour explained that in
2009-2010, 63 farms, half of them
in hog production, declared
bankruptcy—the same number
as in the previous year. He also
noted that two billion dollars had
been injected into the pork sector
during the past four years by
ASRA. He maintained that the 25per cent efficiency measure was
necessary and would allow La
Financière to show a small surplus
of $90 million over five years. He
believes that this is a reasonable
margin of error, since the institution will have paid out more than
three billion dollars.
Brind’Amour also said that he
anticipates an improvement in
farm income. “Without the efficiency measures, we would have
In front of the head office of La Financière agricole in Lévis, farmers wrote “No food without agriculture,” with the help of a sack of seeds. What they’ll harvest remains to be seen.
a deficit of $220 to $250 million
within five years,” he declared. “I
am managing an insurance fund
that has been living off borrowed
money for the past four years.
According to our figures, the
ASRA deficit in five years will
still be about $450 to $500 million,
barring some extraordinary
improvements.”
On the previous Friday, the
special committee, created by the
Quebec government to put an
end to the war of numbers, met
for the first time. In addition to
members from La Financière, the
UPA and MAPAQ, the committee also includes representatives
from the Ministry of Finance and
the Treasury Board. The committee may meet again in one or two
weeks before submitting a recommendation to the acting agriculture minister, Robert Dutil.
Pierre-Yvon Bégin
LTCN 2010-05-06
22,058 times NO!
Christian Lacasse
UPA President
22,058! That is the number of
farmers who signed the petition
that the UPA recently handed
over to the provincial government. Over 22,000 producers
are calling on the government
to order La Financière agricole to
reverse its decision regarding
the latest cuts to ASRA.
Managing to collect so many
signatures in less than 10 days
and during such a busy time of
year, while preparing for the
peak agricultural season, constitutes a message that can be
heard loud and clear – this has
gone much too far!
In so doing, producers have
sent a clear message that all
Quebec farmers are behind the
UPA’s demands.
The petition—which was submitted
to
the
National
Assembly on May 7—will be
referred to the Parliamentary
Commission for debate, according to the new Parliamentary
rules. Then, it will be up to the
government to act. If it does
not, it will be saying no—not to
the UPA—but effectively to
over 22,000 producers from
every region, who have put
their confidence in it to avoid a
catastrophe.
It is more than just a petition.
It is a heart-felt cry from farmers directed at their elected representatives; a cry from the
heart for the survival of their
businesses, for the future of
their families, for their farm
succession and thus, even for
the future of the family farm in
Quebec. It means that, over and
above the war of numbers, the
realities felt in the field do not
lie. These 22,058 signatures, so
rapidly collected, are conclusive
proof.
It boils down to reminding La
Financière agricole that there are
men and women, children and
entire families, who will have
no other choice but to abandon
farming as a result of its decision—which is the reason that
we demonstrated in front of its
head office on Quebec’s South
Shore.
It was the same situation
right across the province, where
our troops made themselves
heard at the institution’s
regional offices. The anger was
similar everywhere: this “snake
oil” solution has raised the ire
of farmers in every “county.”
Quebec had better do the right
thing. Otherwise, there will be a
heavy toll to pay, not only for
agriculture, but also for the economic health of rural regions
and the businesses that gravitate around our activity sector,
both downstream (suppliers)
and upstream (processors).
Following the crisis in the
forestry sector that seriously
shook things up, will our rural
areas be able to withstand
another shockwave, which
would be the result of this poorly thought-out decision?
More than ever, it is now up
to our elected representatives to
reconsider this decision. During
this period when farmers are
planting their seeds in the soil
and tending to new arrivals in
their barns, time is of the
essence, since they are preparing to “take a leap” without a
security net and with a real
sense of anxiety. It is like the
Sword of Damocles, hanging
over our heads and over all of
Quebec’s agriculture. Either the
government rescinds the decision or it allows the government-owned corporation to
deal the final death blow—
which would be unthinkable!
LTCN 2010-05-06
Demonstrations get colourful in rural regions
tain flexibility” in the global
budget allocated to the FADQ,
as expressed by the Agriculture
Minister, Claude Béchard.
Thierry Larivière
LTCN 2010-05-06
PHOTO: UPA SLSJ
They are also criticizing it for
not taking into account “a cer-
All regions are criticizing the FADQ for excessively squeezing ASRA and setting itself up for a $400-$500 million surplus over the next five years.
PHOTO: TCN
Producers from almost every
regional federation of the Union
des producteurs agricoles (UPA)
continued to express their dissatisfaction with the reform of
the farm income stabilization
program (ASRA). Many of them
decided to deposit a petition on
the doorsteps of the regional
offices of La Financière agricole
(FADQ).
Some regions used rather
innovative methods to protest
strongly. In Abitibi, for instance,
producers staged a symbolic
handing over of the keys to their
farms. In the Mauricie, farmers
organized a large auction where
they sold their farms in front of
La Financiere’s regional office.
The UPA federations in the
regions of Estrie and Bas-SaintLaurent accused La Financière of
playing “Russian roulette” with
farmers. In the Saguenay-LacSaint-Jean region, producers
brought livestock to the FADQ
offices. On their cages was written “FADQ orphans” or
“MAPAQ orphans.”
The message from the president of the Syndicat des producteurs de moutons de l’Estrie, Louis
Desrosiers, illustrated the seriousness of the situation for
farmers. Desrosiers declared
that the measure represents an
additional reduction of $14 per
ewe. “This is the amount I
spend on groceries to feed my
family—my two children. My
wife will have to return to an
off-farm job, since I already
work 70 hours per week on the
farm. When I started farming, I
dreamt that I would be able to
support my family and to see it
grow up on the farm.”
All regions are accusing the
FADQ of squeezing ASRA
excessively and of generating a
surplus of between $400 and
$500 million over five years.
Farmers in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean delivered animals in cages marked “orphans” to the regional offices of La Financière agricole.
Farmers are finding it hard to
swallow the $272,000 in performance bonuses handed out last
year to about 100 employees of La
Financière agricole du Québec
(FADQ). While demonstrating in
front of the institution’s head
office in Lévis, some 300 producers were enraged to think that
they will have to absorb a reduction of $85 million in their farm
income stabilization insurance
(ASRA).
“With these bonuses, they
could have helped 27 farms at
$10,000 each,” declared Pierre
Murray, categorizing himself as a
“poor” field crop producer from
La Doré in the Lac-Saint-Jean
region. He added that the price of
pork is on the rise and that La
Financière based its forecast on a
price of $1.38, while it is expected
to reach $1.60 next month.
“We are not asking for additional money,” Murray stated.
“This means that there will be
enough money and that the $80
million will be left unspent.”
Mario Gagné is a hog producer
from Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage in the Lotbinière region. On
Monday, when employees at the
head office of La Financière were
prevented by producers from
entering, he confronted the CEO,
Jacques Brind’Amour. While trying to show him his farm’s financial statement, Gagné found the
CEO to be quite arrogant, claiming to have paid $80,000 in
income tax. According to Gagné,
the 25-per cent efficiency meas-
ure will result in an addition
reduction of $16,000 in his revenues, leaving him with a measly
$6,000 of net income.
“I am working for next to nothing,” Gagné stated. “We have
become the slaves of society.
While the Caisse de depots lost $40
billion over two years, ASRA has
cost $2.2 billion over 25 years. So
agriculture is not that expensive
after all! Now we’re returning to
the 1930s. If the efficiency measure is applied, it will be like a
cord of wood toppling down—
and all regions will suffer. In hog
production, it is the federal
advance payment program that
has allowed us to make our payments, but that has to be reimbursed.”
Gagné had on-hand a study
done by the Groupe conseil
Beaurivage consultants firm,
involving 61 hog enterprises,
both farrowing and finishing
operations. According to Benoit
Turgeon, an agronome from the
Groupe, the 25-per cent efficiency
measure could result in a deficit
of $100,000 in each of the businesses in 2011. From a $36,000
profit in 2008, the average of the
61 farms has already dropped to
a deficit of $43,000 in 2009, a difference of $83,000 in a single
year.
“The 25-per cent efficiency
measure will be the straw that
breaks the camel’s back,”
declared Turgeon.
Guy Larochelle is a sheep producer in Saint-Ambroise. Along
PHOTO: PIERRE-YVON BÉGIN/TCN
Farmers fear a domino effect for ASRA
Mario Gagné, a hog producer from Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage, tries to explain his situation to La Financière CEO Jacques
Brind’Amour.
with other farmers in the
Lanaudière region, he wanted to
demonstrate his disappointment
in front of the FADQ offices.
“Without ASRA, I cannot make
a living in sheep production,” he
said.
Normand Marsolais, a grain
and hog producer in SaintAlexis de Montcalm, believes
that the 25-per cent efficiency
measure should also have been
aimed at the highest performing
farms. He claims that there is a
limit to pushing performance,
recalling that the government
had encouraged farmers to
favour exportations in 1998.
“Barely ten years later, they
come and cut our legs out from
under us,” he criticized. “We
have already got on the boat and
we have investments to support.
La Financière has created this
insecurity and it is unbearable.”
Daniel Habel is 1st vice-president of the Fédération de l’UPA
Lotbinière-Megantic and also a
dairy, grain and maple syrup
producer in Parisville. Being
personally affected by the efficiency measure in two of his
three productions, he fears that
productions under supply management may eventually be targeted by similar measures.
“All production sectors are
brought into question by such a
measure,” he declared. Habel is
afraid that the efficiency measure will lead to the disappearance of thousands of farm businesses, since many producers
are ready to hand over their
keys.
Pierre-Yvon Bégin
LTCN 2010-05-06
Ag Canada’s budget remains uncertain
Freeze on civil servants
In the last federal budget, a
freeze was announced on departmental budgets. As a result,
Agriculture Canada has set a ceiling on its number of employees
until 2013, at the present level of
6,086. The Canadian Food
Inspection Agency (CFIA) will
also be affected by the budget
restrictions, since it will lose $30
million over three years. The
number of employees at the
Agency, presently at 6,588, will
be decreased by 129.
Nonetheless, these forecasts to
2012-2013 bring us to the end of
the strategic framework, Growing
Forward. In reaction to the
planned decrease of Agriculture
Canada’s
budget,
Laurent
Pellerin, president of the
Canadian
Federation
of
Agriculture (CFA), declared to
the Western Producer newspaper
that this was not surprising, on
account of the income support
programs being based on the
farms’ historic profits. Thus,
these programs were designed so
that many producers will become
ineligible, although they will still
need support.
However, it should be noted
that these projections could be
revised, based on the global
budgetary context and on the
particular situation of agriculture.
Thierry Larivière
LTCN 2010-05-06
PHOTO: BEATRIZ SALAS/ TCN
According to the plan presented to Parliament in Ottawa in
early April, Agriculture Canada
predicts that its expenditures in
2012-2013 will be $1.947 billion—
compared to last year’s budget of
$3.554 billion. That’s a 45 per cent
decrease!
However, Agriculture Canada
did confirm that the ministry’s
expense projections for 2012-2013
do not include any of the costs
associated with its Business Risk
Management programs (i.e.
AgriInvest,
AgriStability,
AgriRecovery,
Advance
Payments
Program,
etc.)
Minister of Agriculture Gerry
Ritz says he’s still waiting for federal authorizations regarding the
renewal of the programs.
Consultations are currently ongoing. Subsequently, a proposal
will be presented to the Treasury
Board and a specific budget
should then be added to the forecasted amount shown above.
In the last federal budget, a freeze was announced on departmental budgets. As a result, Agriculture Canada has set a ceiling on its
number of employees until 2013, at the present level of 6,086.
Since its creation in 2001, La
Financière agricole du Québec has
paid out more than $2 million in
performance bonuses to its
employees and management
staff. Last year, the farmers’ bank
forked out a total of $270,000,
including $55,000 divided among
five members of the senior management.
Moreover, in addition to the
hard-arm tactics used against the
UPA regarding the 25-per cent
efficiency measure on the cost of
production, La Financière also sent
formal demands to five regional
federation presidents, calling on
them to retract their statements.
Although La Financière acknowledged that these demands have
been issued, it refused any comments, citing that the legal process
is underway.
La Financière’s CEO, Jacques
Brind’Amour, justified these performance bonuses, saying the
institution is following the government rules and the Civil Service
Act, whereby it has the right to
attribute bonuses of up to two per
cent of its total payroll of $44 million.
According to Brind’Amour, last
year about 100 employees shared
approximately $130,000, while
about $85,000 was split among
some of the management staff. He
confirmed that about $272,000 in
performance bonuses has been
paid out each year since the creation of La Financière in 2001.
PHOTO: ARCHIVES/TCN
More than $2 million paid out in
La Financière employee bonuses
Recently, La Financière agricole du Québec CEO Jacques Brind’Amour created quite a stir when he claimed he had paid $80,000 in income tax. During a telephone interview with
the newspaper La Terre de chez nous, he apologized, saying that he had been carried away in the heat of the moment
“We are not a commercial
company,”
Brind’Amour
declared. “Government rules
apply and we are also governed
by the Civil Service Act.” In his
own case, Brind’Amour has a
right to receive a ten per cent
bonus based on his annual salary
of $189,000. According to Nancy
Fiset, a spokesperson for the
institution, the CEO received no
bonus in the year 2009-2010. In
Agri-Québec
the previous year, 2008-2009, he
was paid almost $19,000, or ten
per cent of his salary.
Recently, Brind’Amour created quite a stir when he claimed
he had paid $80,000 in income
tax. During a telephone interview with the newspaper La
Terre de chez nous, he apologized, saying that he had been
carried away in the heat of the
moment.
La Financière’s board of directors has approved the introduction of a new risk-management
program. With a $70 million
budget, this new program will at
last be able to offer protection to
all production sectors except
those under supply management.
Called Agri-Québec, the program
will allow a participant to make
deposits in a savings account and
to receive an equivalent amount
from the government. Quebec
will contribute up to three per
cent of allowable net sales (ANS),
to a maximum of $45,000 per
year. Taking into account the federal AgriInvest program, producers can thus bank on 4.5 per cent
of their ANS.
Pierre-Yvon Bégin
LTCN 2010-05-06
Hope for Bas-Saint-Laurent forestry producers
The year 2010 should be the
end of the crisis for forestry producers in the Bas-Saint-Laurent
region, who have seen just
about everything since 2005.
“For us, 2009 was the forestry
industry’s
worst
year.
However, in 2010, we have
started to see the light at the end
of the tunnel and we do not
believe it is a train coming
through to run us down,” exemplified Jean Tremblay, directorgeneral of the Syndicat des producteurs forestiers du Bas-SaintLaurent (SPFBSL). In the U.S.,
housing starts in 2009 were
forecast to be less than 500,000
units, while presently they are
at over 600,000, even in a context where American counterveiling duties have just
decreased due to rising prices.
“Buyers have started to buy
lumber
again,”
explained
Daniel Boucher, president of the
Syndicat des producteurs forestiers
du
Bas-Saint-Laurent.
“Bioenergy will also gradually
develop. For example, some
insulation panels are replacing
mineral wool in Europe.”
In 2010, recovery seems to be
on the horizon and wood deliveries to sawmills should grow
from 522,852 million apparent
cubic meters (MAP) to at least
650,000 in 2010. “And this is a
conservative estimate,” noted
Boucher.
Nevertheless, the past five
years have been extremely difficult, even painful, for wood producers in the lower Saint
Lawrence region. The number
of truckloads of wood (all
species combined) decreased
from 24,000 in 2005 to 9,400 in
2009. Deliveries four years ago
were 1.6 million cubic metres,
but only 522,000 in 2009. Wood
sales dropped from $67 million
to less than $20 million in 2009,
or a decrease of 70 percent.
The problems experienced by
the FFS Soucy mill in Rivière-duLoup (under bankruptcy protection) and the former Frazer mill
in Edmunston have not caused
problems for new deliveries. In
the pulp and paper sector, commercial pulp is on the rise but
newsprint pulp continues on its
decreasing trend.
There is also hope with regard
to bio-oils, biofuels and a new
generation
of
panelboard,
which will, in the end, use
250,000 hectares, with the commercial thinning of new plantations. The development of small
bio-energy plants to produce
steam is another future possibility for generating electricity, but
also for using the steam to dry
wood granules or pellets.
Carl Thériault
Special Collaborator
LTCN 2010-05-06
PHOTO: TCN
A Fragile Recovery
Daniel Boucher and Jean Tremblay, the president and the director-general of the Syndicat des producteurs forestiers du Bas-SaintLaurent
“It remains very fragile,” declared Jean-Pierre Dansereau, director-general of the Fédération des producteurs de bois du Québec
(FPBQ), referring to the recovery of his activity sector. He has
observed an increase in wood orders in all regions of Quebec,
while prices obtained by producers have remained “relatively stable.” Many mills have only minimum reserves and must therefore
get new supplies quickly, as soon as the orders are received.
Nevertheless, the FPBQ hopes that the positive signals regarding
prices can be maintained and that the value of the Canadian dollar
does not have a negative effect on Canadian wood exports.
Thierry Larivière
LTCN 2010-05-06
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Quirky QFA Crack-Ups
Randy inseminates every hen in the henhouse. He runs out and
sees a flock of geese down by the lake. He enthusiastically
Three vampires walk into a bar. The first one says, ‘’I’ll have a pint of blood.’’
mates with all the geese. Then Randy runs to the pigpen, the
The second one says, ‘’I’ll have one, too.’’
cow pasture—soon, he’s been on every animal on the farm.
The third one says, ‘’I’ll have a pint of plasma.’’
The poultry producer is distraught, worried that his expensive
The bartender says, ‘’So, that’ll be two Bloods and a Blood Lite?’’
rooster won’t even last the day.
Sure enough, the farmer wakes up the next morning to find Randy
A farmer buys a rooster to inseminate 200 hens on his poultry operation. When he gets laid out flat in the middle of the yard, buzzards circling overhead.
the rooster into the barnyard, he tells him, ‘’Randy, I want you to pace yourself now. You’ve The sad farmer shakes his head and says, ‘’Oh, Randy, I told you
got a lot of chickens to service here, and you cost me a lot of money. Go at your own pace to pace yourself.’’
Randy opens one eye, winks, and nods towards the sky, ‘’Shhh, they’re
and take your time.’’
getting closer.’’
The farmer points him toward the henhouse and the rooster takes off like a shot.
This blood’s for you
Randy rooster
CASE IH LB 3 SERIES LARGE SQUARE BALERS set the standard for precisely
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COATICOOK
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DALHOUSIE STATION
Fernand Campeau & fils Inc.
MIRABEL
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SAINTE-MARTINE
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Coop Uniforce
WOTTON
Équipement Proulx & Raîche Inc.
IBERVILLE
Équipement Inotrac Inc.
140785
Your success – our speciality

May, 2010 - Quebec Farmers` Association

Transcription

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