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NEW & USED AG DEALS
RATS WILL HAPPEN:
JUST DEAL WITH IT » Pg 3
BECAUSE A WHOLE
LOT CAN GROW
FROM ONE
GOOD DECISION.
Book your canola seed now at UFA
Publications Mail Agreement # 40069240
VO L U M E 9, N U M B E R 1 9
S E P T. 1 0 , 2 0 1 2
New, nationwide co-op
to pay more for lambs
PREMIUM  Producer-owned and -controlled co-op to offer five cents over Ontario price
BACKFIRE?  Brokers
warn farmers holding
out for even higher
prices that they may
miss the boat
BY DANIEL WINTERS
STAFF
A
new, federally incorporated co-op that pledges to
eliminate the $20-$25 western freight discount on lambs and
breathe new life into the Canadian
sheep industry will be ready to launch
this fall.
The Canadian Lamb Producers
Co-operative (CLPC) grew out of the
Saskatchewan Sheep Development
board’s 2010 Canadian Lamb Initiative, which tested the feasibility of
a producer-owned and -controlled
marketing arm.
Since then, meetings have been
held in seven provinces across the
country that were attended by over
400 lamb producers. So far, 150 have
signed on.
Terry Ackerman, the former general
manager of the dairy-based Organic
Meadow Co-operative in Ontario
who is now tasked with setting up
the co-operative, said the goal is to
recruit at least 300 initially, and 650
within two years.
The past six months were spent
negotiating with seven provincial
governments from British Columbia
to Prince Edward Island to allow the
venture an exemption from having to
release a prospectus before soliciting
membership shares.
LAMB CO-OP  page 6
FORECAST:
Organic
feed grain
prices may
have soared
too high
BY DANIEL WINTERS
STAFF
P
High-tech grading equipment will be used at the plants to provide web-based feedback on the quality of
each lamb slaughtered. PHOTO: DANIEL WINTERS
rices for organic grains
prices may be too good and
could end up pushing the
organic industry over a cliff like
they did in 2008-09, some buyers
fear.
“I’m concerned that these prices
are getting too high,” said Roger
Rivest, an Tilbury, Ont.-based
buyer for Keystone Grain.
“We’re getting a lot of resistance
from feed companies and buyers.”
Driven by the U.S. drought,
old-crop organic corn has
reached $14 per bushel, and feed
soybeans at $23 to $24. That’s
reminiscent of three years ago,
when some feed companies
bought $14 corn and ended up
selling it for $8 when organic
livestock feeders, faced with the
prospects of negative margins,
simply shifted back into the conventional market.
“Then the whole system col-
FEED GRAINS  page 6
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12-08-24 3:37 PM
2
news » inside this week
inside »
Eggs don’t
squawk
But they are vital to the
poultry business
SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA
livestock crops Zoning out
More weed
resistance
columNists
brenda schoepp
A few suppliers of key inputs
have the real power
22
DWAYNE KLASSEN
Lower-than-expected canola
yields push prices higher
Check for
ergot
Contaminated feed
grains can be toxic
food file
Will starving
yourself help
you live longer?
Maybe not
by sharon begley
new york / reuters
The longevity diet’s premise
is seductively simple: cutting
your calorie intake well below
your usual diet will add years
to your life.
But new research shows
the extreme, emaciating diet
doesn’t increase lifespan in
rhesus monkeys, the closest human relatives to try it
in a rigorous, long-running
study. While caveats remain,
outside experts regarded the
findings as definitive, particularly when combined with
those from a similar study.
“If there’s a way to manipulate the human diet to let us
live longer, we haven’t figured it out yet and it may not
exist,” said biologist Steven
Austad of the University of
Texas Health Science Center.
Since 1934, research has
shown that lab rats, mice,
yeast, fruit flies and round
worms fed 10 per cent to 40
per cent fewer calories than
their free-eating peers lived
some 30 per cent longer. In
some studies, they lived twice
as long.
The new study suggests
a surprising disconnect
between health and lifespan. It found most of the 57
calorie-restricted monkeys
had healthier hearts and
immune systems and lower
rates of diabetes, cancer or
other ills than the 64 control
monkeys. But there was no
longevity payoff.
“You can argue that the
calorie-restricted animals
are healthier,” said Austad.
“They have better cholesterol
profiles, less muscle loss, less
disease. But it didn’t translate
into greater longevity.”
While initial results were
promising, the study found
the oldest animals in each
group had the same incidence of tumours, heart
disease and general deterioration. Moreover, it found
health markers were often
worse in monkeys that began
calorie restriction as young
adults than older ones, the
opposite of what scientists
expected.
23
33
Roy Lewis
25
Using livestock zones to
contain disease
21
U.S. records its first
2,4-D-resistant weed
11
Sorting out the many
choices for cattle vaccines
Farmers’ market a boon
for bison producers
looking up } Glendean Farms has seen sales grow by 20 to 25 per cent annually
at the Grande Prairie Farmers’ Market since setting up its booth in 2004
by rebecca dika
af contributor / grande prairie
E
ldine and Glen Kjemhus
are old hands when it
comes to selling directly to consumers.
The owners of Glendean
Farms, a fifth-generation
farm near Hythe, have been
selling at the Grande Prairie Farmers Market since
2004.
“We’ve been realizing 20
to 25 per cent growth there
every year,” said Eldine, who
has been raising bison with
her husband since 1998.
Glendean Farms sells its
own Homesteader Bison
meat from what they call an
environmentally sustainable,
multi-generational ranch.
Their herd now numbers
about 350 cows, with 30 to 50
animals processed annually
in the Peace region.
“A significant amount is
also shipped to southern
Alberta, Saskatchewan, and
the United Kingdom,” said
Eldine.
Bison roasts, steaks, prime
rib, patties and ground meat,
sausages, meat sticks, pepperoni and jerky garlic are
sold under the Glendean
label at the farmers’ market.
Jerky and meat sticks are
available at two Petro-Canada stations in Grande Prairie and a small store in Valhalla. Glendean bison is also
served in selected Grande
Prairie restaurants.
Being a producer in northwestern Alberta has its challenges, but succession isn’t
one of them. Son Greg and
his wife Kerri have been
working with the elder Kjemhus for years.
“Not only has the ranch
offered customers a healthy
and high-quality bison product, it’s been a great environment to raise our families
and instill values and business ethics,” said Eldine.
Producing healthy animals
and sustainable pastures are
the foundation of the enterprise, she said.
Eldine and Greg Kjemhus selling bison products at the Grande Prairie Farmers’ Market.
“Taking the time to promote the land and ensuring
the animal is healthy gives us
pride and confidence in the
animals we raise and sell,”
she said. “We’re working on
what we want the business
to look like in the future and
how to grow it forward.”
She said producer groups
such as the Canadian Bison
Association and the Bison
Producers of Alberta are a
boon to the small producer.
“They have excellent
resources which have really
built an awareness in the
public, the restaurant and
hospitality industry, as well
as with health associations
and organizations.”
But Eldine doesn’t minimize the value of the farmers’ market.
“It’s important that the
customer can meet the producer and know where their
food is coming from,” she
said. “I don’t intend to ever
lose sight of that.”
“A significant amount
is also shipped to
southern Alberta,
Saskatchewan and the
United Kingdom.”
Eldine
Kjemhus
24
3
ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012
Officials say rat battle will be won
PESTS  Alberta’s rat-free status doesn’t mean infestations won’t happen, just that they will be dealt with
BY HELEN MCMENAMIN
“Anybody who thinks
rat free means no rats
isn’t thinking straight.”
AF CONTRIBUTOR / MEDICINE HAT
D
espite national media coverage, last month’s discovery of a colony of Norway
rats at the Medicine Hat landfill is
not that big a deal, says an official
with Alberta Agriculture’s Inspection and Investigation Branch.
“We’ve found infestations every
few years,” said Vaughn Christensen. “This is the first time we’ve
had a nest in a landfill, but our
control methods are the same.”
Christensen said the province’s
claim to be rat free means continual vigilance on the part of landowners, farmers and the general
public.
“Anybody who thinks rat free
means no rats isn’t thinking
straight,” he said. “Rats cross the
border from Saskatchewan and we
work to control them in the control zone — the three ranges (18
miles) closest to the eastern edge
of the province and anywhere else
we find them.
“The critical thing to stop rats
becoming a problem is by killing
individuals before they establish
a nest site and by eliminating all
the animals in any nest site that
does establish.”
One infestation in the control
zone led to the collection of 169
dead rats. Specialists never really
know how many rats they kill
because some may be eaten by
predators and others die underground and aren’t found.
The infestation at Medicine Hat
became national news after four
dead rats were discovered near its
landfill on Aug. 8.
“When a rat colony is stressed
by running out of feed, water or
space, or being disturbed, scouts
and strays leave the colony,” said
VAUGHN
CHRISTENSEN
If you see this face, call an ag fieldman or dial 310-FARM.
Ed Jollymore, manager of the city’s
solid waste utility.
“Those animals are often killed
on the road or a dog will bring
them in. That’s what led us to the
colony in an area of the landfill
where there was very little activity.”
It took some effort to find the
colony. Neighbouring farms were
checked, but after two nights of
searching with flashlights, rats
were spotted in the landfill. City
and county staff immediately
began an aggressive baiting program across the landfill and surrounding areas. They were also
careful to keep the rats well fed
and watered to contain them in
their nest. The baiting program
worked well, with tens of dead
CGC offers free Harvest
Sample Program again
SAMPLE KITS  Must be requested by Oct. 15
The Canadian Grain Commission is again offering Harvest Sample Program, which
provides producers with free
unofficial grade and quality
information on samples submitted by Nov. 1.
“Our Harvest Sample Program is a voluntary program
that gives producers important information about their
grain. It also helps promote
the sale of Canadian grain by
providing customers with scientific information about the
quality of this year’s harvest,”
CGC chief commissioner
Elwin Hermanson said in a
release.
Free sample kits must be
requested by Oct. 15. They
include postage-paid envelopes and instructions for
sending in the sample.
Producers who send samples are also eligible to win
prizes, and the earlier they
send samples, the greater the
chances of winning.
The sample information
includes:
• Protein content on cereal
grains and pulses.
• Oil, protein and chlorophyll
content for canola.
©THINKSTOCK
rats found some days. By the end
of August, rat patrols had found
111 dead rats at the landfill, 17 in
the surrounding county and 18
in the city, but things had slowed
down. For over two days, no rats
had been found at the landfill or
in the county and four cameras
linked to motion sensors hadn’t
picked up any rat activity in the
landfill.
Jollymore’s crew will keep baiting and inspecting the whole
landfill twice daily until the rat
control experts are convinced
the entire colony has been exterminated, probably after 10 to 14
days without any sign of rat activity. Then, they’ll excavate the nest
area, destroy any remaining rats
and learn what they can about the
colony — what waste they choose
to nest in, how deep they burrow,
perhaps even discover something
about the source of the infestation.
Reports requested
“We need to find out all we can
about this colony in case there’s
another landfill infestation,” said
Jollymore. “We will win this fight.
If you’re going to have a rat infestation, a landfill is a pretty good
place for it. There’s no risk to
infrastructure or to public health.”
Both Jollymore and Christensen
stressed Alberta’s rat-free status
depends on everybody reporting
any rat-like animal they see. Rats
can hitchhike on trucks, trains,
in RVs, or in any sort of shipped
material, then hop off anywhere
in the province. Ag fieldmen are
usually the pest control specialists
for rural municipalities and bylaw
officers in cities, but staff at 310FARM are always ready to help
control rats. They advise taking
a picture if possible. False alarms
don’t bother them at all, if you’re
not sure it’s a rat you’ve seen.
Modern baits for rats have
worked well, said Jollymore.
They don’t cause undue suffering in the animals, but take two
to five days to kill them. The time
lapse prevents even highly intelligent animals like rats from linking the baited foodstuff or water
to sickness and death in their
nest mates. Also, the amount of
poison contained in a carcass is
well below the level that would
affect non-target species, such as
snakes, ferrets, birds or domestic
pets.
Alberta’s rat-free status costs
the province around $350,000 a
year — a bargain, compared to
the damage rats can do to stored
crops and buildings, as well as
the threat of spreading disease,
according to Christensen.
“I sometimes ask longtime
farmers if they’ve ever seen a rat,”
he said. “They almost always say
no. Most people have never seen
a rat — and that’s the success of
the rat control program.”
DON’T
miss the boat
Producers receive a free grade,
and the CGC receives important
information on this year’s crop.
• Oil and protein content and
iodine value for flaxseed.
• Oil and protein for mustard
seed and soybeans.
The CGC says the harvest
samples help test the quality
of the annual crop, assisting
with the marketing of Canadian grain as well as contributing to important scientific
research into grading issues
and finding new uses and
markets.
For information and to
receive a sample kit visit the
CGC website at www.grainscanada.gc.ca.
Make sure your grain is on board.
CWB pools help you navigate through volatile prices
in the new grain-marketing environment.
n
Net today’s strong price and retain forward potential
n
Sail through the crop year with peace of mind
n
Deliver to any elevator in Western Canada, with
good service to attract your CWB grain business
n
Canola pooling now available
Prairie strong, worldwide
www.cwb.ca/norisk
Early Delivery Pool
closes before the
end of September
Contact your local CWB
Farm Business Rep.
cwb.ca/fbr or call
1-800-275-4292
4
EDITOR
Will Verboven
Phone: 403-697-4703
Email: [email protected]
Reporters
Alexis Kienlen, Edmonton
(780) 668-3121
[email protected]
Why fight the battle against
safety regs for farm workers?
Sheri Monk, Pincher Creek
(403) 627-9108
[email protected]
PRODUCTION director
Shawna Gibson
Just do it } Government and producer groups
Director of Sales & Circulation
can benefit by being proactive
Lynda Tityk
CIRCULATION manager
Heather Anderson
By will verboven
Alberta Farmer | Editor
national ADVERTISING SALES
James Shaw
Phone: 416-231-1812 Fax: 416-233-4858
classified ADVERTISING SALES
Maureen Heon
Phone: 1-888-413-3325 Fax: 403-341-0615
ADVERTISING Co-ordinator
Arlene Bomback
Phone: 204-944-5765 Fax: 204-944-5562
PUBLISHER
Bob Willcox
Associate PUBLISHER/editorial
director
John Morriss
Printed by Gazette Press, St. Albert, AB
The Alberta Farmer Express is published 26 times
a year by Farm Business Communications.
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A
recent urban media and opposition
party political exercise might all have
been a coincidence, since it was close
to the self-declared “Farm Worker Day.”
But it seemed like a co-ordinated effort to
embarrass the premier to get her to take
action on one of her promises.
It all had to do with an old issue — including
farm workers under mandatory OHS standards, just like all other workers in Alberta.
It’s a promise the premier first made when
she was running for the PC Party leadership.
However since then that promise seems to
have been quietly buried. Such burials are
not an unusual occurrence with politicians
once they get into power and reality sets in.
To set the scene, a provocative frontpage headline in the Calgary Herald had
former Liberal opposition leader, MLA
David Swann, demanding a potato boycott
because child labour remains unregulated
in Alberta. He later mentioned that he had
heard about child labour on potato farms,
but he had no evidence. In a followup story
he recanted somewhat stating that it was not
his intent to destroy the livelihood of Alberta
potato farmers through a boycott. All that
showed was a serious disconnect the urban
media and city politicians have as to how
agriculture works.
But the goal here was the alarming headline, not the real story. By coincidence of
course, the day after the child labour scare
headline, the Calgary Herald published an
editorial criticizing the premier for not delivering on her farm worker rights promise.
Government response was rather muted,
stating that they don’t want to interfere with
the operation of the family farm and that the
ministers involved will be meeting later to
discuss the matter. It would seem government bureaucrats and lobbying by producer
groups has been successful in thwarting the
premier’s promise. It does cause one to ponder whether this issue is worth it in the bigger scheme of things.
Firstly, look at the damage done to the
image of agriculture by just one headline
— “Potato Boycott” — “Child Labour on
Farms.” It doesn’t matter whether the
headline is spurious, duplicitous or misleading. It’s a negative image in the eyes
of the consumer. Producer groups spend
countless thousands of dollars trying to
improve the image of agriculture just to see
it all blown out of the water by one negative headline. Would these not be better
headlines for the image of agriculture in
Alberta? “Alberta has the most progressive
Farm Worker Rights in Canada” or “Children are Safe on Alberta Farms”
Those headlines could be a reality if all the
time, energy, money and lobbying spent on
thwarting progress on farm worker rights
had instead been spent on being in the forefront of implementing the issue.
Bite the bullet
How can Alberta redeem itself on this issue?
• Government needs to bite the bullet and
state that Alberta will be joining the rest
of Canada in having farm worker rights
and specific labour legislation — including mandatory OHS and WCB.
• Government then needs to challenge
each commodity producer group to come
up with its specific recommendations on
how OHS, WCB and other labour legislation should be applied to their producers.
•Government needs to study how farm
worker rights are working in other provinces, with the intent to take the best
programs and make them better for
Alberta.
•Once government has learned what is
happening in other provinces it needs
to sit down with each producer group
to negotiate a program that is specific
to each sector. That needs to be done
as a partnership. Alberta has taken that
approach many times and it works. Arbitrary government compulsion needs to
be taken out of the issue.
•Phase in implementation over time
starting with the size of operations. For
instance start with commercial operations with over 20 employees — they are
already used to the process and paperwork as now demanded by their insurance companies.
•Include in the program not just farm
workers but owners, operators, spouses
and any of their children that may be
legally working on the ag operation. Such
inclusion would be real progress and the
first in the country. The loss or injury of
a farm owner or main operator can be
devastating to the future of any operation. Making a program more inclusive
makes it look less like a burden.
•Government needs to get the statistics
right and fair. Accidents, deaths and injuries to children on farms are not all related
to working on farms. The stats have to be
more specific, and they need to better
reflect what happens on Hutterite colonies. Those good folks are major players
in ag production and there needs to be a
better handle on who is doing what and
how it will be done better and safer.
Sometimes governments see the light and
sometimes they are obstinate — I hope this
matter will not need divine intervention to
see the common sense and fairness. After
all, there are human lives involved.
1-204-944-5568
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information provided.
An appointment not
quite like the others
I
t’s nothing new or shocking for
governments of every stripe to
make political appointments to
existing jobs or even invented ones.
That’s just part of the process, but a
recent political appointment by the
ruling PC government has raised
eyebrows in agriculture industry
circles. It was announced that former agriculture minister Evan Berger, who was defeated in his southern
Alberta riding in the last election, will
become a special adviser to Agriculture Deputy Minister John Knapp.
On the surface this seems an odd
appointment where your former
boss becomes your employee. What
caused even more ruminating was
that the appointment was quickly
cleared by the ethics commissioner
under a special ruling.
What seemed curious was why
the highly respected deputy minister, a 30-year government veteran
who has professionally served the
department in various capacities
from Cardston to Fairview, would
need advice from someone who
was the minister for a mere six
months. From known memory this
type of appointment has never
occurred before. It would be hard
to believe that this was the deputy
minister’s idea. The present minister may also be wondering why they
need highly paid advice from a former minister. So what gives?
What gives is the Wildrose Party
sweep of all of the rural southern
Alberta ridings, which seems to
have annoyed the ruling PC Party
who considered the south its fiefdom. It would now seem the PC
Party political braintrust is sending
a message to voters in southern
Alberta. Apparently they are getting a political overseer (I wanted
to use the word commissar, but
that seemed too harsh) to look over
the political interests of the PC
government in the rural south. It’s
rumoured that the former minister
will even be opening his own official office in southern Alberta.
Making a political appointment
to look after a particular region is
nothing new for governments, but
such folks usually work directly out
of the premier’s office and are not
embedded in a government department pretending to give non-partisan advice to a deputy minister.
Perhaps it’s also a message to the
department itself.
You can add this appointment to
the recent closure of a government
extended care facility in Carmangay
and the cancellation of the police
college project in Fort MacLeod.
One begins to suspect that the ruling PC government has a plan for
Wildrose southern Alberta.
5
Ethanol — an agricultural
policy that worked perfectly
Hardly new } The idea of having some buffer stocks on hand goes back to Joseph and the Pharaoh
by laura rance
Editor, Manitoba Co-operator
B
ack in the days of $2 corn,
someone got the bright idea
of turning it into ethanol.
Not only would this boost prices
by eliminating burdensome carryovers, it would partly diversify the
U.S. away from imported energy
and create rural jobs at ethanol
refineries. Throwing a few subsidies
and tax breaks in that direction and
legislating a minimum percentage
of ethanol in gasoline seemed like a
win-win-win policy decision.
By any measure, you’d have to say
the policy worked. Today, as much as
40 per cent of U.S. corn goes into ethanol, and prices of late have topped
$8 with the potential to go higher.
The trouble is, with much of the
U.S. caught in a drought no one
could foresee a few short months
ago, livestock producers and other
processors are getting priced out of
the market.
In all likelihood, that means a
downsizing in U.S. livestock herds
and higher meat prices for the foreseeable future. The livestock industry has its critics on environmental, health and animal welfare, but
no one can say this boom-to-bust
cycle is a good thing for anyone.
Also unpalatable is the likelihood of
food price increases as this weather
disaster works its way through the
food chain.
The U.S. is the world’s largest
corn exporter, which means these
developments have global implications, including right here in Canada, where the hog sector has been
thrown into another tailspin by the
rapid rise in feed prices.
The UN is poised to call an emergency summit to discuss the implications of a pending spike in food costs.
Not only do these developments
push the world’s poorest down the
food chain, they have a politically
Photo gives
wrong
impression
destabilizing effect at a time when
the world’s political and economic
status is already wobbly.
The easy target in all this is ethanol.
Demands are growing for the ethanol-blending mandate to be reduced
or waived until the supply shortage
has passed.
But is ethanol the problem, or is it
a lack of buffer stocks?
The free market philosophy shuns
the idea of maintaining emergency
stocks because it dulls the ability
of the market to moderate demand
through price signals.
It’s true that in the past, the vast
stockpiles accumulated under European and U.S. farm policies were
counterproductive. Governments
were propping up domestic prices
by buying up the excess and either
storing it, giving it away as food aid or
eventually dumping it on the world
market in a failed attempt to buy
market share. But they also served
as a buffer against shortages.
Today, as much as 40 per
cent of U.S. corn goes into
ethanol, and prices of late
have topped $8 with the
potential to go higher.
Not the first drought
U.S. agricultural economists Daryll
E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer
point out that this month’s USDA
World Agriculture Supply and
Demand Estimates forecast a 10.1
per cent reduction in corn utilization against a 12.8 per cent reduction in production.
But they point out that there
have been droughts before. For
example, the corn harvest in 1980
was 16.3 per cent lower than a year
I
earlier but cuts in export and feed
use fell by only 4.2 per cent. In 1983,
a combination of reduced acreage
and drought resulted in a corn harvest that was 49 per cent below the
year before, but “Even with half a
crop, corn utilization declined by a
mere 7.7 per cent and corn exports
matched the 1982 level.”
In 1988, corn production was 30.9
per cent lower than in 1987 while
corn utilization dropped by 6.4 per
cent. In 1993, the corn crop was
down 33.1 per cent and use by 10
per cent.
The difference between then and
now was buffer stocks. The U.S.
entered into the crop year in those
earlier droughts with more than two
billion bushels in a combination of
private and government stocks.
The programs that maintained
these buffers are gone. Corn users
are left to feel the full brunt of this
year’s production shortfall. The
most the U.S. government can offer
its panicking livestock producers is
to open up grazing lands in the Conservation Reserve.
Corn production could be back
on track as early as next year. But
if there is a significant decline in
use because livestock herds have
been depleted, it could take years
for those herds to rebuild — which
could result in price-depressing
corn surpluses.
The idea of holding buffer stocks
is hardly new. The Bible tells of
Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s
dream of seven fat and seven lean
cattle as a sign to gather grain from
seven years good production from
the seven poor ones to follow. Ray
and Schaffer’s analysis shows that
the effect of past droughts was mitigated by holding buffer supplies.
In the face of more market volatility — caused by rising demand,
increased speculation, and more
severe weather — having a few million extra bushels around is a good
idea.
am a reader of your paper and a
farmer/rancher in Alberta. I enjoy
reading Alberta Farmer and am
generally happy and pleased with the
quality of the paper and articles.
I recently read the May 7 paper and
felt that I should send you a comment.
(yes, we have been busy farming and
are quite behind in our reading this
summer). The photo with the article
on air emissions around confined
feeding operations caught my eye. In
the photo, the cattle pictured are in
very crowded pens, with no feed or
water.
As a rancher, I know that the photo is
an overhead view of an auction market,
and the cattle are only in those pens for
a few minutes. To the general public,
it looks like that is how cattle live in all
CFOs. I realize that most of your readers are farmers and ranchers, but I’m
sure there are also some urban readers.
I know that there are many more urban
residents starting to take notice of where
their food comes from and are making
what they think are knowledgeable decisions based on the “facts” they know.
I hope that this photo out of context
did not discourage anyone from buying beef, thinking that the animals lived
in these conditions. Everyone who is
involved in agriculture has a responsibility to inform others how things are
on our farms and the media also has to
help with responsible journalism.
Renee Laughlin
Youngstown
6
OFF THE FRONT
LAMB CO-OP  From page 1
“As soon as we’re given permission to sell them shares, then we’ll
take their money and start buying
lambs,” said Ackerman. “That
should be within 60-90 days by
the time we get everything ironed
out.”
The co-op will be the only federally incorporated co-operative
in the agriculture sector, and will
own and control a corporate entity
called the Canadian Lamb Company, staffed by professionals in
charge of marketing value-added
products such as kebabs, meatballs, sausages and other processed items ready for stocking
on retail shelves both in Canada
and abroad.
Producer members must pay a
$500 fee and a one-time $30 fee
for each lamb they intend to ship.
A minimum commitment of 25
lambs per producer is required,
and the maximum allowed is a
number equal to 25 per cent of
their ewe flock.
In exchange, the co-op will
arrange pickup of their lambs
from collection points in each
province and pay a five-cent premium per pound over the Ontario
auction price. After three years,
dividends will start flowing back
to producers.
“We’re going to take the Cookstown, Brussels and Kitchener
price average by weight and add
five cents per pound to make the
price that producers in Western
Canada will get paid,” said Ackerman.
Carcass data feedback
Processing will be contracted at
two federally inspected facilities,
one in Alberta and Abingdon Meat
Processors in Hamilton, Ontario.
High-tech Viewtrak grading
equipment worth $1.3 million,
similar to that used by the pork
and beef industry, will be used at
the plants to provide web-based
feedback on the quality of each
lamb slaughtered. The Alberta
government has agreed to cover
the cost of developing a grading
index algorithm that will work on
sheep carcasses.
“Producers will be able to log on
and see their lambs being graded
for the first time ever in the world,”
he said, adding that the data will
help them select optimal breeding stock.
FEED GRAINS  From page 1
Traceability throughout the food
chain will be in place, with each
carcass DNA swabbed.
“If there’s a recall, I can tell
exactly which lamb and which
farm that meatball came from,”
he said.
Saskatoon head office
The co-operative’s head office
is based in Saskatoon, and the
marketing arm in Guelph, Ont. It
will own “no bricks and mortar,”
which Ackerman describes as the
“kiss of death” for any business
venture. Instead, all functions,
from processing, fabrication,
warehousing, distribution, transportation, finance to legal, will be
outsourced.
“There’s one thing that
farmers agree on: Do not
allow farmers to run the
business.”
TERRY
ACKERMAN
“There’s one thing that farmers
agree on: Do not allow farmers
to run the business,” said Ackerman, adding that the success
of the Organic Meadow co-op
model shows what can happen
when farmers work with a separate entity staffed by professional
managers. Even though the cooperative’s goal is to grow the
market in Canada for lamb by providing producers with incentives
to expand, there has been interest
from importers from China, Singapore, Mexico and even the U.K.,
who seek the grain-finished “taste
profile” of Canadian lamb.
Brian Greaves, a sheep producer from Miniota, has already
signed up. He’s impressed by the
business model, the grading system, marketing strategy, and the
spread-out structure that seeks
to diversify the source of lambs to
reduce risk.
“To me it sounds like a good
deal,” he said. “But, like anything,
it costs money to invest in it.”
They’re not selling by the kernel yet, but organic grain is getting pricey.
lapsed. I’m afraid we’re getting
close to that again,” said Rivest.
Corn supplies this year are
likely to be an issue, and the livestock industry is likely to reach
for relatively cheaper barley and
then wheat as substitutes. However, talk of drought in Ontario
may have been overstated with
some areas reporting bumper
crops. Crops east of Toronto were
hardest hit, but Quebec has seen
an average year, he said.
Melissa Gardner, an Ann Arbor,
Mich.-based buyer for California
company New Organics, said
some farmers are holding out
for even better prices. One Amish
farmer in Iowa with 800 bushels
of organic corn in his bin recently
turned down her offer.
“He’s like, ‘I’ve got room to
store it. I’m not in a hurry to
sell it,’” she said. “But he turned
down $17 a bushel.”
Can backfire
Hoarding too long can sometimes backfire, she said. Farmers expecting a return to the
eye-popping prices of 2008, when
wheat hit $30 a bushel, may be
disappointed.
“I had a farmer the other day
tell me that he had 2005 peas for
sale. Seriously, those are seven
years old. I don’t want them,”
said Gardner.
The gap between buyers and
sellers seems especially wide this
year, she said.
One customer sought peas for
$9 a bushel at a time when farmers are looking for $15 to $16, she
said.
“When they told me the price
they were looking for I kind of
laughed at them,” she said.
On the other hand, farmers
seeking $14 to $15 a bushel for
hard red spring wheat at the
farm gate are finding customers
in short supply.
South of the border, she said,
corn, soybeans and edible beans
are in short supply, but wheat,
barley, and oats seem fairly abundant, depending on the region.
Bin-run barley is fetching $10
a bushel, and oats $5.50 in Canada, but U.S. farmers seem to be
aiming for $8 oats. Brown flax is
trading for $23 to $24 a bushel,
and golden, $28 to $29 on a clean
weight basis.
Strong prices for feed grains
has also driven millet up to $10
a bushel, she added.
Prices for organic feed grains
have “gone crazy,” but many
©THINKSTOCK
“I’m concerned that
these prices are getting
too high.”
ROGER RIVEST
farmers are waiting for the
spread between the organic premium and conventional grains
to widen, said Laura Telford, an
organic business development
specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives.
“They’d like to see it at least 20
per cent, and it’s not there yet for
wheat,” she said.
The small size of the organic
feed grain sector and lost production due to drought in the Midwest
has some producers of organic
meats south of the border showing signs of panic, she added.
“We are getting lots of calls
here in Manitoba from all sorts
of places that would normally
source organic feed grains from
the U.S. Midwest,” said Telford.
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7
Americans waste, throw away
nearly half their food
UNEATEN  Problem partly due to large portions at home and in restaurants
REUTERS
A
mericans throw away nearly half their food every
year, waste worth roughly $165 billion annually,
according to a study released Aug. 21.
“As a country, we’re essentially tossing every other piece
of food that crosses our path. That’s money and precious
resources down the drain,” said Dana Gunders, a scientist
with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s food and
agriculture program.
The NRDC report said Americans discard 40 per cent of
the food supply every year, and the average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to
$2,275 annually in food.
Just a 15 per cent reduction in losses in the U.S. food supply would save enough to feed 25 million Americans annually. It also would lighten the burden on landfills, where
food waste makes up the largest component of solid waste,
according to the NRDC, a non-profit environmental organization.
Particularly worrisome, the organization said, was evidence that there has been a 50 per cent jump in U.S. food
waste since the 1970s. Unsold fruits and vegetables in grocery stores account for a big part of the wasted food.
But consumers and restaurants are also to blame, preparing large portions that result in leftovers that often go
uneaten.
The NRDC said it is asking for the U.S. government to
study losses in the food system and set goals for waste
reduction.
“No matter how sustainably our food is farmed, if it’s not
being eaten, it is not a good use of resources,” said Gunders.
May Wollf, (l), 28, a practising “freegan,” climbs into a dumpster while Robin Pickell tears open a garbage
bag in an alley behind Commercial Drive in Vancouver, B.C. April 10, 2012. A freegan is someone who
gathers edible food from the garbage bins of grocery stores or food stands that would otherwise have
been thrown away. Freegans aim to spend little or no money purchasing food and other goods, not through
financial need but to try to address issues of overconsumption and excess.
REUTERS/Ben Nelms
Commercial Pen of 10
Bred Heifer Show & Sale
Nov. 10, 2012
Show: 10 a.m. Sale: 1 p.m.
For more information
or to enter, visit Farmfair.ca
8
The stem rust disease, forming reddish patches on plants like rust on metal. It has spread as far as South Africa (above) and north to Yemen and Iran.
©THINKSTOCK
Wheat scientists seek to slow
crop fungus spread in Africa, Asia
SWEEP  There are fears that it could sweep eastwards in Asia
BY ALISTER DOYLE
OSLO /REUTERS
W
heat experts are stepping up monitoring of a
crop disease first found
in Africa in 1999 to minimize the
spread of a deadly fungus that is
also a threat in Asia, experts said
Aug. 31.
A “Rust-Tracker,” using data
supplied by farmers and scientists,
could now monitor the fungus
in 27 developing nations across
42 million hectares (103 million
acres) of wheat — an area the size
of Iraq or California.
“It’s the most serious wheat disease,” Ronnie Coffman, vice-chair
of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), told Reuters ahead of a
meeting of wheat experts in Beijing
from Sept. 1 to 4.
“If it gets started... it’s like a biological firestorm,” he said. Experts
will review progress in combating
the disease, with fungicides and 20
new resistant varieties developed
in recent years.
The stem rust disease, forming
reddish patches on plants like rust
on metal, is known as Ug99 after
it was found in Uganda in 1999.
It has since spread as far as South
Africa and north to Yemen and
Iran.
Spreading
The fungus, which can destroy
entire wheat fields, is likely eventually to be carried worldwide on
the winds. The biggest threat in
coming years is a spread across
Asia to Pakistan, India and China,
the world’s top producer, Coffman
said.
“Effective control often depends
on finding out what is happening
in distant regions, and the RustTracker can help scientists assess
the status of stem rust and other
rust diseases,” said Dave Hodson,
the developer of Rust-Tracker.
About 85 per cent of wheat now
in production worldwide was reckoned to be vulnerable to Ug99 and
its variants, the BGRI estimated.
Rich nations are far less vulnerable because they can afford to
switch to new varieties or deploy
fungicides.
Front line
Among developing nations,
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Egypt, India, Kenya, Nepal and
Pakistan are on the front line of
deploying rust-resistant varieties.
Coffman said that relatively
minor amounts of wheat output
had been lost so far. “The only
country under immediate threat
of a dramatic loss of production is
Ethiopia,” he said.
In Kenya, for instance, Ug99 had
been brought largely under control
because of shifts to new varieties.
Another threat was from yellow
rust, which has struck nations
from Morocco to Uzbekistan in
recent years.
The Ug99 fungus is among
threats to food supplies. A UN
panel of scientists says that heat
waves, floods and droughts — like
the one affecting the United States
this year — are likely to become
more frequent because of manmade climate change.
Scientists were also studying
ways to limit a woody plant known
as barberry, where the fungus also
lives. Efforts to eradicate the plant
in the 20th century seem to have
reduced rust.
The biggest threat in
coming years is a spread
across Asia to Pakistan,
India and China, the
world’s top producer.
And the rust had overcome a
genetic resistance to the disease
developed for wheat in the early
1970s by Norman Borlaug, the
father of the “Green Revolution”
that introduced higher-yielding
crop varieties, Coffman said.
He said that rust had been
known at least since Roman times.
About 40 per cent of the U.S. crop
was destroyed in the early 1950s
when rust swept up from Mexico.
Drought seen cutting ethanol
output by 10 per cent
MANDATE  More state governors join in call
to reduce fuel requirement
BY CHARLES ABBOTT
WASHINGTON / REUTERS
U.S. ethanol production will
fall by 10 per cent in the coming year as rising prices from
the drought cut exports in
half, a University of Missouri
think-tank forecast on Aug.
28.
The Obama administration
is weighing whether to relax
a requirement to use cornbased ethanol in gasoline as
meat and dairy farmers complain that demand for cornbased biofuels is driving up
the cost of food.
But the record-high corn
prices caused by the worst
drought in half a century will
cause a 10 per cent decline in
ethanol production next year,
according to the Food and
Agricultural Policy Research
Institute, or FAPRI.
“Higher ethanol prices contribute to sharply reduced
ethanol exports and increased
imports, but domestic ethanol consumption declines by
just two per cent,” said the
newly updated FAPRI forecast.
Ethanol output will fall to
12.4 billion gallons next year
compared to 13.8 billion gallons this year, according to
the forecast. Exports would
drop to 505 million gallons
from nearly 1.1 billion gallons
this year.
Virginia Governor Bob
McDonnell joined governors
of seven other states — Texas,
Georgia, New Mexico, Arkansas, North Carolina, Maryland
and Delaware — in asking
the Environmental Protection Agency for relief from the
so-called ethanol mandate.
They say the Renewable Fuels
Standard is disrupting livestock production and causing
severe economic harm.
The so-called ethanol mandate guarantees use of 13.2
billion gallons of ethanol in
2012 and 13.8 billion gallons
in 2013. An ethanol trade
group estimates production
will total 13.4 billion gallons
during 2012, a reduction from
earlier estimates.
“It could be lower than
that depending upon market
conditions through the rest
of the year,” said the Renewable Fuel Association. The
trade group had no forecast
for 2013.
9
Record U.S. farm export
sales seen despite drought
Boost } High prices are expected to boost sales
Maple syrup expected
to hit the black market
Sticky } Officials are still trying to
determine how much was stolen
tally by five per cent in year ahead
By Julie Gordon
toronto / reuters
washington / reuters
U.S. farm exports will set a sales
record in the new marketing year
due to high commodity prices that
will magnify the value of dramatically smaller harvests amid the
worst drought in half a century,
the government forecast Aug. 31.
At $143.5 billion for the year
that opens on Oct. 1, it would be
the second export sales record in
three years. Farm exports were a
record $137.4 billion in 2011, but
will fall just short of it, at $136.5 billion, this marketing year, said the
Agriculture Department.
NEWS
Clashes over
grazing land,
water kill 48
in Kenya
mombasa, kenya
reuters
Attackers armed with
machetes, bows and
arrows and spears killed
at least 48 villagers and set
houses ablaze in Kenya’s
coastal region overnight
in an attack over land and
water, police said Aug. 22.
“They were armed with
crude weapons: machetes,
bows and arrows and
spears. Some had guns.
As a result we have lost 31
women, 11 children and
six men, all totalling to
48. Sixty cattle were also
killed,” Robert Kitur, Coast
deputy police chief told
Reuters by telephone.
Cattle rustling and
clashes over grazing and
farming land and water are
relatively common among
pastoralist communities
in the arid patches of east
Africa and often escalate
into revenge attacks.
High prices for corn, soybeans
and wheat — the three most
widely grown U.S. crops — as
well as larger wheat tonnage will
fuel the record, said USDA in its
first forecast of the new year. Cotton, meat and dairy sales would
decline from this year’s level.
The United States is the world’s
largest agricultural exporter,
shipping half of its wheat and
soybeans and three-fourths of
its cotton to overseas buyers.
Exports account for 33 cents of
every $1 in cash receipts for U.S.
farmers. Farm exports are a consistent winner in the U.S. balance
of trade.
China, the No. 1 market for U.S.
farm goods this year, would slip to
No. 2 behind Canada in the new
year, said USDA. China is the
world’s leading buyer of cotton
and soybeans and an emerging
importer of corn.
“Tighter U.S. exportable supplies and high prices for corn and
soybeans are expected to lead
to greater shipments to China
by Brazil and Argentina,” said
USDA. “In addition, an improved
Chinese corn crop should lower
overall demand for imported
corn. Cotton exports are forecast down as the Chinese government’s reserve policy is no longer
stimulating import demand to
build stocks.”
Soybeans and soymeal prices
will be record high in the new
sales year, said USDA, and corn
and wheat prices also will be up.
As a yardstick of the impact of
higher prices on tight supplies,
USDA estimated 104.6 million
tonnes of major bulk products
— mostly grain, soybeans, meat,
tobacco and cotton — will be
shipped in the new marketing
year, down seven per cent from
this year. But the exports would
be worth five per cent more.
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary
Tom Vilsack urged Congress to
pass a new Farm Bill before the
2008 farm law expires on Sept. 30,
so export promotion programs
will remain in operation. The
House is deadlocked with no clear
majority for a bill. The Senate has
passed a bill but House Republican leaders say it is unacceptable.
“They have time, if it’s a priority
of the House leadership, to get it
done,” Vilsack told reporters.
T
hieves in Quebec may have
pulled off the sweetest
heist of all time, siphoning off a reservoir of maple syrup
from a warehouse and cleverly
covering up their caper to evade
detection, an industry group
said Aug. 31.
The warehouse in rural Quebec held more than $30 million
worth of maple syrup, a whopping 10 million pounds of the
amber pancake topping.
It was not clear exactly how
much of the sweet stuff was taken
in the heist, which occurred at
some point over the last few days
and was uncovered during a routine inventory check.
“We don’t know yet how much
is missing — we do know it is
significant,” said Anne-Marie
Granger Godbout, executive
director of the Federation of
Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.
Numerous barrels in the warehouse were emptied of their
sticky contents. The remaining
barrels need to be weighed and
tested to ensure the syrup inside
had not been tampered with.
The robbers “were wise
enough, they tried to hide their
crime,” said Granger Godbout.
“We just want to make sure we
know how much is missing and
how much is still there.”
The warehouse, some 160
kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Montreal, is one of
many locations where Quebec’s maple syrup is temporarily stored ahead of sale and
distribution.
The agency believes the
syrup was taken to be sold on
the black market. Quebec’s
provincial police force is
investigating the robbery.
With Quebec’s 2012 harvest
expected to top 96 million
pounds, the province produces some 75 per cent of the
global supply of maple syrup,
made from the sap of maple
trees.
All the syrup held by the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup
Producers is insured and the
agency maintains a stockpile of
syrup that it likens to a “global
strategic reserve,” according to
a press release.
“I can assure you there will
be no shortage in maple syrup,”
said Granger Godbout.
Thieves with sticky fingers made off with maple syrup stored in a
warehouse near Montreal. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger
Trait Stewardship
Responsibilities
Notice to Farmers
Monsanto Company is a member of
Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS).
Monsanto products are commercialized
in accordance with ETS Product
Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in
compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for
Commercialization of BiotechnologyDerived Plant Products in Commodity
Crops. This product has been approved
for import into key export markets with
functioning regulatory systems. Any
crop or material produced from this
product can only be exported to, or used,
processed or sold in countries where
all necessary regulatory approvals
have been granted. It is a violation of
national and international law to move
material containing biotech traits
across boundaries into nations where
import is not permitted. Growers should
talk to their grain handler or product
purchaser to confirm their buying position
for this product. Excellence Through
Stewardship® is a registered trademark
of Excellence Through Stewardship.
ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE
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Roundup Ready® crops contain genes
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are not tolerant to glyphosate. Genuity
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10
Action needed to prevent
food price catastrophe — UN
SPIKE  World food prices jumped 10 per cent in July: World Bank
REUTERS
W
orld leaders must take swift, co-ordinated
action to ensure that food price shocks do
not turn into a catastrophe that could hurt
tens of millions of people in coming months, the
United Nations’ food agencies said in a statement on
Sept. 4.
Global alarm over the potential for a food crisis of
the kind seen in 2007-08 has escalated as drought
in the U.S. Midwest has sent grain prices to record
highs, fuelling a six per cent surge in the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) July food price
index. FAO said in a joint statement with the World
Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) that swift international action could prevent a renewed food crisis.
It said leaders must tackle both the immediate
issue of high food prices, as well as the long-term
issue of how food is produced and consumed at
a time of rising population, demand and climate
change.
Senior G20 officials held a conference call last
week on rising food prices, but leaders will wait for
September’s crop report from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture before deciding whether to take joint
action on the issue, France’s farm minister said on
Aug. 28.
The World Bank says world food prices jumped 10
per cent in July as drought parched croplands in the
United States and Eastern Europe. It is urging governments to shore up programs that protect their
most vulnerable populations.
From June to July, corn and wheat prices rose by
25 per cent each, soybean prices by 17 per cent, and
only rice prices went down, by four per cent, the
World Bank said.
Overall, the World Bank’s Food Price Index, which
tracks the price of internationally traded food commodities, was six per cent higher than in July of last
year, and one per cent over the previous peak of
February 2011.
“We cannot allow these historic price hikes to
turn into a lifetime of perils as families take their
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“We cannot allow these historic price hikes
to turn into a lifetime of perils as families
take their children out of school and eat less
nutritious food to compensate for the high
prices.”
JIM YONG KIM
WORLD BANK GROUP
PRESIDENT
children out of school and eat less nutritious food
to compensate for the high prices,” World Bank
group president Jim Yong Kim said. “Countries must
strengthen their targeted programs to ease the pressure on the most vulnerable population, and implement the right policies.
“Africa and the Middle East are particularly vulnerable, but so are people in other countries where
the prices of grains have gone up abruptly,” Kim
added.
A severe drought in the United States has sharply
cut corn and soybean yields this year, while a dry
summer in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan has hurt
wheat output.
The World Bank said its experts do not foresee a
repeat of 2008, when a food price spike triggered
riots in some countries.
“However, negative factors — such as exporters
pursuing panic policies, a severe El Niño, disappointing Southern Hemisphere crops, or strong
increases in energy prices — could cause significant
further grain price hikes such as those experienced
four years ago,” the bank said.
Separately, finance ministers from the 21-member
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group
issued a statement at their meeting on Thursday in
Moscow urging countries “to avoid export bans” in
response to food price concerns.
APEC member Russia imposed a temporary
embargo on grain exports two years ago after crops
failed.
BRIEFS
CWB announces
2012-13 initial
payments for canola
CWB will pay farmers delivering
canola into its Harvest Pool a
$475-per-tonne initial payment
for No. 1 and $462 per tonne for
canola graded No. 2, the company announced Sept. 4.
The initial payments, which
are guaranteed by the federal
government, represent a portion of expected final returns.
The current pool return outlook for No. 1 canola is $640
per tonne.
The Harvest Pool sign-up
deadline is October 31, 2012,
with a marketing period that
runs from harvest to June 30,
2013. Pool volume may be
capped depending on farmer
demand and logistical capacity, CWB says in a release.
Farmer participation in CWB
pools is based on a first-come,
firstserved system.
In its market commentary,
CWB says the canola supply and demand balance is
relatively tight and will remain
strained through 2012-13 due
to strong domestic and offshore demand. “The Canadian
canola crop is estimated at 14.7
million tonnes, somewhat less
than expectations and, given
anticipated demand, there is
very little chance that ending
stocks will increase year on
year,” it said.
British cow makes
like kitty and gets
stuck in a tree
LONDON / REUTERS A cow
had to be rescued by fire services in northern England after
it tumbled down a 30-metre
river embankment and got
stuck in a tree.
The animal was sedated by a
vet before being winched out
of the tree by firemen using
specialist equipment.
“(Fire crews) had to wear
body armour in case a stray
hoof lashed out at them,” said
a spokesman for Cumbria Fire
and Rescue Service.
“The vet checked the cow
over and it seemed reasonably happy and relatively
unscathed.”
11
BIG YEAR FOR HAIL CLAIMS
The Canadian Crop Hail Association reports that Alberta has had the highest claims
in the past decade this year. In its Aug. 31 report, the association said claims totalled
roughly 4,650, an increase of 700 over the past two weeks. These are the straight hail
claims, not including Crop Insurance endorsements. The association said the Peace
area had hail on Aug. 21 and on Aug. 23 there were hard-hit areas around Calmar,
Leduc and Fort Saskatchewan, with other reports from Camrose, Lamont, Vegreville,
Vermilion and south of Red Deer to Delburne, north to Alix and on to Daysland.
Calls for caution after 2,4-Dresistant weed identified in U.S.
OVERUSE  Researchers fear farmers will go for short-term solutions,
*Source: Independent feeding trial conducted at the
Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada (AAFC), Lethbridge, Alberta (2009-2010).
creating longer-term problems
BY ALLAN DAWSON
STAFF
T
he discovery of 2,4-D-resistant waterhemp in the U.S.
has sparked calls for new
rules governing how farmers use
herbicide-tolerant crops.
The researchers who documented 2,4-D-resistant population of waterhemp say new crops
stacked with glyphosate and
Group 4 herbicide tolerance must
be managed carefully to avoid
selecting for super weeds.
“The commercialization of soybean, cotton and corn resistant
to 2,4-D and dicamba should be
accompanied by mandatory stewardship practices that will minimize
the selection pressure imposed on
other waterhemp populations to
evolve resistance to the synthetic
auxin herbicides,” they wrote in the
latest issue of the Weed Science of
America’s journal.
“The fact that resistance to 2,4-D
has evolved in at least one waterhemp population (in Nebraska)
should be emphasized to corn,
soybean, and cotton producers to
show that proper stewardship of
these new technologies is critical
for maintaining their effectiveness.”
Adding 2,4-D or dicamba to
glyphosate-tolerant crops is one
way to combat glyphosate-tolerant weeds, University of Manitoba
plant science instructor Gary Martens said in an email. If the glyphosate doesn’t kill it, the 2,4-D or
dicamba will.
Common waterhemp.
PHOTO: OMAFRA WEBSITE
“But it is only a short-term solution,” he said. “Adding 2,4-D-resistant crops will dramatically
increase the use of 2,4-D.”
And that could result in more
2,4-D-resistant weeds, he wrote.
“(T)here are concerns that
we’re going to overuse that
group of herbicides and just create a big mess down the road,”
said Hugh Beckie, a Saskatoonbased Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada (AAFC) research scientist
who studies herbicide-resistant
weeds. “And that’s certainly a
valid concern. Stewardship of
those crops — say Roundup plus
2,4-D — will be key to try not to
create that big mess down the
road.”
Other Group 4s affected
Weeds that become resistant to
2,4-D could also develop resis-
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tance to other Group 4 herbicides
such as dicamba, Beckie said.
2,4-D and other Group 4 herbicides are important to Manitoba
farmers because they are so widely
used and are relatively inexpensive. “We do not have a readily
available alternative, inexpensive
broadleaf herbicide should 2,4-D
fail,” Martens wrote.
SEE RESISTANT WEED  page 12
8.9%
%
12-08-28 2:09 PM
12
september 10, 2012 • Albertafarmexpress.ca
resistant weed } from page 11
2,4-D, developed during the
Second World War, is one of the
oldest herbicides still in common use. While some resistant
weed populations have developed, they have so far remained
small and isolated. There are 17,
2,4-D-resistant weed populations in the world, including an
isolated population of wild mustard discovered in Manitoba in
the early 1990s.
Earlier this year, AAFC confirmed glyphosate-resistant
kochia in Alberta. Ontario also
has populations of glyphosateresistant Canada fleabane and
giant ragweed.
Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto are expected to release
glyphosate-2,4-D- and glyphosate-dicamba-tolerant crops by
2014. Dow’s program is called
the Enlist Weed Control System, while Monsanto’s is named
Roundup Ready 2 Xtend.
Officials from both companies
said in separate interviews they’ll
stress good stewardship to avoid
creating new herbicide-resistant
weeds.
“We really want to encourage mixing up modes of actions
and good rotation practices,”
John Foran, Dow AgroSciences
Canada’s, market development
specialist for Enlist Weed Control System said in an interview.
“In Canada it won’t be mandatory, but we will recommend a
soil-applied, foundation treatment (along with applications of
glyphosate and 2,4-D).”
That additional herbicide
application could be done at a
reduced rate to make it more
affordable for farmers, he added.
Temptation
But some agronomists doubt
farmers will be able to avoid the
temptation of simple, inexpensive weed control. For example,
the resistant waterhemp population in Nebraska was treated
with 2,4-D for 10 years consecutively.
As well, rotating away from
those two products is easier said
than done. Cereal crops such
as wheat and oats often follow
soybeans. Group 4 herbicides
are commonly applied in those
crops. After soybeans farmers
shouldn’t plant canola or sunflowers — crops that 2,4-D isn’t
used on — because of the disease
risk.
Edible beans should be avoided
too because soybean volunteers
can reduce edible bean quality.
The agriculture industry has
learned important lessons about
herbicide resistance weeds from
the experience with Roundup
Ready crops, said Mark Lawton,
Monsanto’s technology lead for
Canada.
“Where we’ve had glyphosate
weed resistance occur there was
probably an overly enthusiastic
use of the technology,” he said.
In some instances farmers grew
nothing but Roundup Ready soybeans or cotton on the same land
many years in a row.
“It was effective and was at a
good price point, but too much
of a good thing turned out to be
a problem,” he said. “The world
of biology and nature kind of
reminds you of that.”
He stressed the importance of
rotating crops, herbicide groups
and good agronomic practices
such as proper timing for applications.
Applying a tank mix of more
than one herbicide group is also
“Stewardship of those
crops — say Roundup
plus 2,4-D — will be key
to try not to create that
big mess down the road.”
Hugh Beckie
a good way to delay weed resistance, Beckie said. It’s more
effective than rotating herbicide
groups.
“I encourage growers to plan
out their rotations in advance,”
Beckie said. “Don’t plan year
to year what crop to grow. If
they can, think ahead and try to
avoid using the same herbicide
resistant crops year after year.
Again, if you rely too heavily on
one technology you’re probably
going to run into a problem. So
moderation, I guess, would be
my advice.”
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publication. Genuity and Design®, RIB CompleteTM, RIB Complete and designTM, VT Double PROTM are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada Inc. licensee. ©2012 Monsanto Company
Alberta Farmer AF-GEN-F’13 Jr. Page 4/C Junior page . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.125” x 10”
Resistant
waterhemp
sprayed 10
consecutive
years with
2,4-D
no surprise } This
native grass seed
producer didn’t
rotate his crop or
herbicide
By Allan Dawson
staff
Waterhemp, which is in the
pigweed family, is a major
weed in the United States
so it’s no surprise the discovery of a 2,4-D-resistant
population in Nebraska is
making headlines.
The resistant waterhemp
were found in a field of
native grass seed where
2,4-D had been applied for
more than 10 consecutive
years, researchers wrote in
the July-September journal
of Weed Science.
“Similarly, use of 2,4-D
for 10 years in New Zealand pastures resulted in
selection of a 2,4-D-resistant musk thistle population,” the article states.
The article says the resistant waterhemp “demonstrated at least tenfold
resistance to 2,4-D relative
to a susceptible population
in greenhouse bioassays.”
The highest doses of
2,4-D that were used in an
on-site field study were
insufficient to control 50
per cent of the waterhemp
population.
Researchers gathered
waterhemp seeds from
this field and performed
greenhouse testing against
a susceptible waterhemp
variety. Twenty-eight days
after treatment with the
herbicide, visual observation and dry weight
values showed a tenfold
resistance in the affected
sample.
The researchers also
found the 2,4-D-resistant
waterhemp was threefold
less sensitive to dicamba,
another herbicide in the
same Group 4 as 2,4-D.
The farmers first
reported problems controlling waterhemp in 2009.
Although 2,4-D has been
used widely worldwide,
only 17 weeds have evolved
resistance to this herbicide, the article says. They
are: wild carrot, Canada
thistle, musk thistle, Italian thistle, tall buttercup,
Indian hedge mustard,
wild mustard, wild radish,
field bindweed, kochia,
corn poppy, scentless
chamomile, prickly lettuce,
dayflower, Sawah flowering rush, marshweed and
globe fringebrush.
Wth files from Reuters
13
Despite reforms, Cuba is growing
less food than five years ago
SHORTFALL  Most crops remain below 2007 levels
BY MARC FRANK
HAVANA | REUTERS
C
uba is producing less food
than it did five years ago
despite efforts to increase
agriculture production, the government reported Aug. 31.
Some export crops and farm
output aimed at substituting
food imports registered minor
gains, but overall output last
year remained below 2007 levels, according to a report issued
by the National Statistics Office.
The g o v e r n m e n t h a s a l s o
reported that food prices rose
20 per cent in 2011.
Cuban President Raul Castro
has made increasing food production a priority since he took
over as president from his ailing
brother, Fidel, in 2008.
The communist country
imports up to 70 per cent of its
food and is investing hundreds of
millions of dollars to boost production of rice, beans, coffee and
milk and reduce imports.
Domestic production of
two Cuban food staples has
increased, the government
said. Rice production reached
566,400 tonnes compared
with 439,600 tonnes in 2007,
and farmers produced 133,000
tonnes of beans with 97,200
tonnes in 2007.
To stimulate production, Castro has decentralized decisionmaking, opened up more space
for farmers to sell directly to
consumers and raised prices the
state pays for produce. He has
stopped short of allowing market forces to take hold and drive
production.
Cuban farmhand Bienvenido Castillo, nicknamed Lilly, carries a wooden stake while doing chores on his neighbour’s dairy farm in Aranguito near Havana. In
spite of his age at 74 years old and having underwent a colostomy, he works some 16 hours and walks at least nine miles (14 km) a day. REUTERS/DESMOND BOYLAN
Domestic production
of two Cuban
food staples has
increased, the
government said.
Marino Murillo, who is leading
efforts to steer Cuba’s state-dominated economy in a more marketfriendly direction, announced in
July that a government effort to
reduce state bureaucracy in the
agriculture sector had recently
been completed.
Speaking to the National Assembly, he outlined plans for separating quasi-co-operatives from the
state and allowing them to operate
like private co-operatives. These
operations, formed by state-run
companies in the mid-1990s on
30 per cent of Cuba’s arable land,
have performed poorly.
Murillo also said at that time
that a land-lease program begun
in 2008 involving some 170,000
farmers would be expanded to
allow up to five times more land
per individual.
Private farmers produce the
bulk of the food in Cuba on a
fraction of the land. This has led
farmers and agricultural experts
inside and outside the country to
call on the state to pull back further and let market forces drive
the sector.
We’re in it for life.
Ag for Life delivers educational programming that will serve to improve rural and farm safety
and build a genuine understanding and appreciation of the impact agriculture has on lives.
Founding members:
Agrium Inc.
ATB Financial
ATCO Group
Penn West Exploration
Rocky Mountain Equipment
TransCanada Corporation
UFA Co-operative Ltd.
Contributing members:
AdFarm
Glacier Media Group
Government of Alberta
Mosaic Studios
07/2012-18514_01b
18514_01b AFL_Generic_8.125x10.indd 1
7/25/12 1:04 PM
14
Hemp has room to grow, but nowhere to go
PROCESSORS NEEDED } Though seed and oil processing is established, the hemp industry needs
fibre processing to really flourish
By sheri monk
af staff / pincher creek
T
he hemp industry in
Alberta has potential, but
is held back because of an
incomplete value chain, says a
recent report prepared on the
emerging commodity.
The study by Serecon Management Consulting for Alberta
Agriculture says there is a sustained and growing interest in
hemp production and hemp
products in Alberta. In 2010,
Alberta trailed Saskatchewan
and Manitoba in hemp production with 2,086 hectares,
but moved to first place with
6,434 hectares in 2011. However, growth potential is limited
by the lack of processing facilities, particularly for fibre. In
2010, hemp exports in the form
of seed and oil were valued at
over $10 million, with $8.5 million imported by the U.S. Only
a small fraction of the exports
were in the form of fibre.
The study notes several failed
starts in the hemp-processing
industry and attributes the
lack of success in this area to
undefined end markets, and an
underdeveloped value chain for
using both seed and fibre.
However, there are some bright
spots on the horizon — Edmonton’s TTS Inc., has struck a partnership with the town of Drayton Valley and Weyerhaeuser to
develop a non-matting woven
line in an old wood plant, using
equipment moved from a closed
plant in Vancouver.
A hemp straw-processing
The traditional use for hemp fibre. A company in Portage la Prairie, Man. manufactured rope in the 1920s, but growing the crop was later made
illegal because of concerns over illegal drug use. thinkstock
“For us we would consider it to be a very cheap
crop to grow in terms of input costs.”
If hemp growers become too
gung-ho before the facilities or
consumers are ready, the overproduction can cause such a
severe correction that very little
is grown the following season,
which leaves processors short
of product.
The study concludes that
commitment is needed from all
partners in the chain — producers, processors and researchers
— to fully develop processing
capabilities and market demand
for hemp, and its myriad of
proven and potential products.
hemp industry in Europe is better established and the public’s
current focus on sustainable,
clean energy may help fuel the
industry forward.
Banned in the U.S.
will van roessel
hemp grower
plant in Emerson, Man. has
been active for several years,
and a second Manitoba fibreprocessing plant is in the
works. Other projects are in the
research stage, some in conjunction with various levels of
government. The study says the
While Health Canada is content
to merely monitor hemp production, the U.S. still insists on
banning it entirely. It’s difficult
to know with certainty whether
the American situation helps or
hinders Canada’s hemp industry, which needs a critical mass
of seed and fibre demand.
TW 4 inch - 6 x 6.625 -_AGI 12-06-25 2:12 PM Page 1
Not a high-maintenance
crop: Seed growers
Will and Jean Van Roessel of
Specialty Seeds in Bow Island
are growers of pedigreed
hemp seed. “This is our third
year of growing hemp, and
we’ve been growing some of
it as pedigreed seed for one of
the seed companies, and some
of it is for commercial grain
production,” said Will.
This year, Will seeded 350
acres, all of which are irrigated. “Every acre of hemp
that gets planted in Canada
is supposed to be planted
with pedigreed seed. That’s
one way that Health Canada
monitors what’s happening
in the industry. Every hemp
grower needs a licence from
Health Canada and in order
to fulfil that licence you need
to buy pedigreed seed for
every field, every year,” he
explained.
Will says hemp isn’t very
high maintenance. “It’s similar
to canola in terms of fertilizer
inputs, but really there’s not
much other inputs other than
maybe some weed control
depending on the situation.
The cost is probably similar
to growing wheat. For us we
would consider it to be a very
cheap crop to grow in terms of
input costs.”
The Serecon study for the
Alberta government estimates
total costs of producing hemp
at $227.20 per acre for dryland
with returns between $280
and $800 depending on yield.
Irrigated costs are estimate at
$302.55 with returns of $500$1,500.
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Ask About our Prairie
Wide Classifieds
15
Prairie Soils
and Crops
website gets
an upload
FALL SCENE
RESEARCH  Studies to
add to farmers’ winter
reading list
BY DANIEL WINTERS
STAFF
F
PHOTO: WENDY DUDLEY
NEW
D3154S
D3153
This could be a postcard for Alberta’s economy, with fuel and grain and hay prices all headed up.
D3152
or hammock-swinging city
folk, there’s the summer
reading list.
But for farmers, it’s the long
winter months that are best
spent curled up with a good
book near the wood stove.
For agriculture-related additions to the off-season reading list, Guy Lafond, a research
scientist at AAFC Indian Head,
has recently uploaded a fifth
volume to the Prairie Soils and
Crops website at www.prairie
soilsand crops.ca.
This edition’s theme is composed of the summarized results
of all current long-term studies in Western Canada, which
includes crop rotations, soil
erosion, the effects of various
manure treatments, pesticide
trials and more.
“We put out a volume every
year on different themes.
We’re currently on No. 5,
and working on No. 6,” said
Lafond, who hopes that more
farmers will make use of the
educational resource available for free or online or as
a pdf download that can be
read on a tablet computer or
printed out.
The goal of the website is to
provide a wide range of general
information on Prairie agriculture research.
While last year’s theme was
based on research into insect
infestations and plant disease
threats in general, farmers
who find themselves driven to
insomnia by an acute outbreak
of pests or pestilence may gain
insights — and relief — by delving into the literature.
The website takes a Reader’s Digest condensed books
approach, offering up the latest
and best information. Each article is introduced with a Cole’s
Notes-style summary, which can
then be followed up via another
link that serves up more information.
“If you’re in lygus bug or
fusarium season, you can just
read the articles to find out a
little bit more about it,” said
Lafond.
“We’re trying to create a forum
for bringing research information to the masses.”
Volume five provides the first
update on long-term crop rotation information since the last
bulletin was published in 1990.
To make the volume as thorough
as possible, all the old crop rotation bulletins going back to 1928
were also added.
For academics researching
specific topics, a bibliography
of scientific publications is
available on the website as well
as a searchable database.
It’s not all about grain farming.
Ranchers might be interested to
know about research into reestablishing native grassland,
or what happens when manure
is applied at various rates up to
180 tonnes per acre on the same
land for 25 years.
ReDefining Canola Performance
Pioneer® brand D-Series canola hybrids are bred to deliver outstanding performance. D3153 delivers high yield with
exceptional standability and harvestability. D3152 adds the Pioneer Protector® Clubroot trait for protection from this
devastating disease. And new D3154S has the Pioneer Protector® Sclerotinia trait for built-in protection.
D-Series canola hybrids are available exclusively from select independent and Co-op retailers and are backed with
service from DuPont Canada.
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The DuPont Oval logo, DuPont and FarmCare® are registered trademarks or trademarks of
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates. E. I. du Pont Canada Company is a licensee.
Pioneer®, the Trapezoid symbol, and Pioneer Protector are registered trademarks of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
© Copyright 2012 DuPont Canada. All rights reserved.
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27/08/12 3:43 PM
16
Briefs
Three Albertans
receive
scholarships
Three Alberta students are
among 19 Prairie-wide who
have received $500 scholarships from FarmLink Marketing Solutions’s Farming
Futures program.
The plan funds high
school scholarships for students in agriculture, postsecondary research in grain
marketing, and community
projects and initiatives to
help farm families faced
with sudden hardship related to natural disasters.
Rural scholarships in the
amounts of $500 were given
to graduating students with
an average of 80 per cent
or above, who intended to
pursue higher education
within an agricultural-,
business-, arts- or sciencerelated field.
In 2012, FarmLink has
allocated $25,000 to be
distributed to youth and
community-based projects
in Western Canada.
Alberta recipients include
Nadine Jensen, Claresholm;
Tyler Zabolotniuk, High
Prairie and Adam McMillan,
Westlock.
Haying the old-fashioned (and hard) way
Swiss farmer Kari Gisler carries a bundle of hay as he practises wild haying on a steep hillside on the mountain Rophaien in the Swiss village
of Flueelen, some 75 km (47 miles) south of Zurich August 20. The tradition of wild haying in central Switzerland dates back around 200
years and is practised from mid-July until mid-September on higher grounds with steep hillsides which cannot or only hardly be reached with
animals. Reuters/Michael Buholzer
B:1
T:1
S:1
Beans officially a
“Good Source of
Protein”
staff Pulse Canada
says new data adopted by
Health Canada means food
manufacturers can now
include statements like
“Good Source of Protein”
on canned and dried pulses
(peas, beans, lentils and
chickpeas).
Health Canada recently
approved Pulse Canada’s
submission to adopt new
protein efficiency ratio
(PER) data for pulses. PER
values are used to determine the protein rating
which is based on a 250-ml
serving, Health Canada’s
reasonable daily intake
(RDI) for pulses.
Previously only cooked
chickpeas (a 250-ml serving) could make a claim for
“Good Source of Protein,”
based on existing PER values. Research completed in
2010-11 shows that additional pulses may now be
eligible for protein content
claims.
“The nutritional value of
protein is based on both
quantity and quality. These
newly adopted PER values
will enable the industry
to highlight the protein in
pulses, creating a new marketing opportunity,” Tanya
Der, Pulse Canada’s manager of food innovation and
marketing said in a release.
BayerCropScience.ca/InVigor or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative.
Always read and follow label directions. InVigor® is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.
O-66-09/12-BCS12149-E
17.4”
17.4”
17
Albertafarmexpress.ca • september 10, 2012
Wyoming grey wolves to lose
Endangered Species Act protection
Open } Unregulated wolf killings will be allowed in most of the state
By Laura Zuckerman
jackson, wyo. /reuters
G
From hunter to hunted, wolves will soon be subjected to unregulated killing. Photo: Reuters
17.4”
rey wolves in Wyoming, the
last still federally protected
in the northern Rockies, will
lose endangered species status at
the end of next month, opening
them to unregulated killing in
most of the state, the U.S. government said Aug. 31.
The planned delisting of Wyoming’s estimated 350 wolves caps
a steady progression of diminishing federal safeguards for a predator once hunted, trapped and poisoned to the brink of extinction
throughout most of the continental United States.
Wyoming will officially regain
control over the management of
its wolf population on Sept. 30,
joining Montana and Idaho, where
more than 1,500 wolves were
removed from the federal endangered list in May of 2011.
About 4,000 wolves in the northern Great Lakes region — primarily
Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota — lost their status as endangered or threatened last January.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
director Dan Ashe hailed delisting of the last wolf population in
the northern Rockies as a victory
assured by the Endangered Species
Act and co-operation among state
and federal partners.
“The return of the wolf to the
Northern Rocky Mountains is a
major success story,” he said in a
statement.
Conservationists decried the
move, questioning how an animal
could be protected until Sept. 30
only to be subject to “open fire”
on Oct. 1, the first day of Wyoming’s regulated hunting season.
Environmental groups say they
fear ending federal safeguards
could push wolves back to the
brink.
Like Idaho and Montana, Wyoming is required to maintain a
statewide population of at least
150 wolves, including 15 breeding
pairs, to prevent a relisting.
Wyoming wolves will remain off
limits to hunters inside national
wildlife refuges and national parks,
including Yellowstone and Grand
Teton national parks, as well as on
the Wind River Indian Reservation.
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But restricted hunting will be
permitted from October through
December within zones just outside those parks and refuges in
the greater Yellowstone region of
northwestern Wyoming, where
most of the state’s wolves reside.
For the rest of the state, wolves
would be classified as predatory
animals, subjecting them to unlicensed, unregulated killing year
round through methods such as
shooting, trapping and pursuit on
mechanized vehicles.
Wolves were reintroduced to the
northern Rockies in the mid-1990s,
but their return triggered an emotional debate that pitted livestock
producers and hunters against
conservationists.
Under Endangered Species
Act protections, wolf numbers
rebounded in the northern Rockies, far exceeding the original
recovery goals set by the federal
government.
Efforts in recent years by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service to remove
wolves in Idaho and Montana from
the endangered species list were
reversed by court rulings.
But Idaho and Montana wolves
ultimately were delisted last year
through an unprecedented act of
Congress, and those states have
since sought to reduce wolf numbers — mostly through hunting
and trapping — to as few as 300
from as many as 1,500.
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s
latest estimate puts current numbers in all three states at more than
1,774 adult wolves.
The grey wolf originally was
classified as an endangered species across the lower 48 states
and Mexico, except in Minnesota,
where the animal was listed as
threatened.
An estimated 7,000 to 11,000
wolves roam much of Alaska, but
are so abundant they have never
been federally protected.
18
Drought to cause spike in meat prices
Rising } Beef price to rise 4.5 per cent this year, USDA says
By P.J. Huffstutter and
Theopolis Waters
chicago / reuters
T
he worst drought to hit U.S.
cropland in more than half
a century could soon leave
Americans reaching deeper into
their pockets to fund a luxury
that people in few other countries
enjoy: affordable meat.
Drought-decimated fields have
pushed grain prices sky high,
and the rising feed costs have
prompted some livestock producers to liquidate their herds. This is
expected to shrink the long-term
U.S. supply of meat and force up
prices at the meat counter.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects beef and veal prices
to rise as much as 4.5 per cent this
year, and as much as five per cent
in 2013. Pork products could jump
by up to three per cent this year,
and as much as 3.5 per cent next
year.
At a time when high unemployment and rising gasoline prices
have U.S. consumers flinching,
any rise in grocery bills could chill
discretionary spending of the middle class, placing a further drag on
the economy.
“It’ll put a hardship on people
who are already suffering,” said
Bob Goldin, executive vice-president at food industry consulting
firm Technomic. “For most other
consumers, it’ll be an added burden to their finances.”
Food prices in 2013 are expected
to grow faster than normal for
the fourth time in seven years. A
recent forecast from the USDA
has food costs jumping as much
as four per cent.
Historically, food in the United
States has been cheap compared
to what people spend in other
countries. In 2010, Americans
spent just 9.4 per cent of their disposable income on food, according to research by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).
native. The number of animals
have built up on some farms, as
producers would not move them
in hot weather. Others are hurrying to market to avoid the autumn
seasonal price drop.
With producers rushing to sell,
processors are trying to control the
flood of protein into the market
to avoid driving down the price of
pork and beef. By purchasing fresh
meat and putting it into storage,
meat processors can sit on supplies for later use.
That is creating an unexpected
bounty for the public refrigerated
warehousing industry, which is
beginning to field sales calls.
The boomlet, though, will likely
be short lived, as meat supplies
dwindle and prices rise, said Tom
Poe, president of Crystal Distribution Services in Waterloo, Iowa.
U.S. pork industry
losing billions
Things are likely to get worse
for hog farmers. In a statement
North Americans will be reaching deeper into their pockets to buy meat. ©thinkstock
released Sept. 3, said Chris Hurt,
University of Purdue extension
economist. Hurt forecasted that
some pork producers could lose
as much as $60 per head by year’s
end, an all-time record high.
“The hardest decision is
whether I want to fight this bat-
tle,” said Bill Tentinger, 63, who
has run his family’s hog farm in
Le Mars, Iowa, for more than four
decades.
Expensive holiday meals
The first bite to consumers’ wallets
will likely arrive by Halloween at
the end of October, with certain
cuts of chicken and other products derived from livestock that
rely heavily on corn for feed, said
Ricky Volpe, research economist
with USDA’s Economic Research
Service.
As Americans begin to prepare
for holiday baking, the price of
milk and eggs is also expected to
rise. By 2013, nearly every aisle in
the grocery store will see an uptick
in pricing, Volpe said.
Livestock farmers hurting
Many chicken farmers have
decided to thin their flocks. Hog
farmers, too, are cutting back and
losing money on each animal they
send to slaughter.
Some feel they have no alter-
“It’ll put a hardship on
people who are already
suffering… For most
other consumers, it’ll be
an added burden to their
finances.”
BayerCropScience.ca/Liberty or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative.
Bob Goldin
executive vicepresident, Technomic
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19
Albertafarmexpress.ca • september 10, 2012
High protein wheat crop, but premium elusive
supply } The hot summer boosted protein levels in Canada as well as the U.S.
By Rod Nickel
“You can’t turn that extra
protein into money.”
winnipeg, / reuters
W
estern Canadian farmers are harvesting a
spring wheat crop that
looks to be well above average
in protein content, but they are
unlikely to command much of
the usual premium this autumn
due to abundant supplies, analysts say.
After two years of flooding,
Western Canada is set to produce its second-biggest allwheat crop in 16 years. Growing conditions have been mostly
favourable, but stress caused by
mid-summer heat helped boost
p r o t e i n c o n t e n t b y s h r i n king kernels and reducing their
starch production.
“It’s high, and in some cases,
extremely high,” said Jonathon
Driedger, market analyst for
FarmLink Marketing Solutions.
“There’s no shortage of protein.”
Doug
Hilderman
NorAg Resources
The United States is the biggest
importer of Canadian wheat, but
its winter wheat crop was relatively high in protein this year,
Driedger said, and the northern
Plains’ spring wheat production
this year is expected to be larger
than last year.
The premium of nearby Minneapolis spring wheat futures to
Chicago soft red winter wheat
was around 73 cents per bushel
Sept. 4, recovering somewhat
after hitting its lowest level in
late August since October, 2010.
A year ago, the Minneapolis spring wheat premium was
more than three times the current level.
The loss of traditional premium levels for high protein
are unlikely to dampen farmers’ mood much, however, with
big crops being harvested across
much of the Prairies and prices
high, due to drought harming
corn in the U.S. Midwest, and
pulling up other crop prices,
said Chuck Penner, analyst at
LeftField Commodity Research.
Canada is the biggest exporter
of spring wheat, used for baking.
Western Canadian spring
wheat averaged protein content
of 13.1 per cent last year across
all milling grades, down from
the previous 10-year average of
13.7 per cent, according to the
Canadian Grain Commission
(CGC).
This year’s average spring
wheat protein content is 14.2
per cent so far, based on 420
samples of all grades, mostly
from Manitoba where the harvest is advanced, according to
the CGC.
Protein levels are important
to the fermentation process
in making bread, said Nancy
Edwards, program manager of
bread wheat research for the
CGC.
Millers often blend lowerand higher-protein wheats to
achieve an average protein content specified by a customer.
In contrast to high-protein,
top-grade milling wheat,
demand is stronger than usual
for feed wheat, the lowest-priced
wheat grade, Penner said. Farmers have used feed wheat this
year as a substitute for feeding
livestock in parts of the United
States because corn supplies are
lower than expected.
For the most part, Canadian
millers aren’t eager to buy wheat
with higher than 13.5 per cent
protein, since it doesn’t perform
any better above that level, said
Doug Hilderman, vice-president
of western grain merchandising for Manitoba-based NorAg
Resources. “You can’t turn that
extra protein into money.”
Canada’s two biggest millers
are Archer Daniels Midland Co
and P&H Milling Group.
NEWS
Villagers kill
cattle thieves in
Madagascar
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antananarivo /
reuters
Malagasy villagers killed at
least 67 cattle thieves when
they attacked a number of
villages at the weekend, the
gendarmarie of the Indian
Ocean island said on Sept. 4.
General Bruno Razafindrakoto said about 100
cattle rustlers simultaneously attacked three villages
in the southern region of the
world’s fourth largest island,
prompting villagers to kill
the rustlers with spades,
spears and machetes.
“We counted 67 dead on
the side of the dahalo (cattle
thieves). People were acting in self defence to defend
their property,” he told
Reuters.
Razafindrakoto said that
incident took place in the
Anonsy region, more than
1,000 km south of the capital Antananarivo. A statement issued after a meeting
of security officials said
the rustlers had stolen 180
cows, of which 176 had been
recovered.
Separately, security forces
clashed with cattle rustlers
in the nearby southern
district of Betroka Sept. 2
resulting in the deaths of
three security forces and at
least eight rustlers, the statement said. The rustlers had
stolen about 1,200 cattle, of
which some 800 were recovered during the chase.
Razafindrakoto said police
reinforcements had been
sent to the area.
Cattle rustling has traditionally been common
among Madagascar’s southern tribes — in some communities it is a rite of passage ahead of marriage.
But it has taken on a criminal dimension as gangs
armed with automatic rifles
are increasingly involved in
the raids.
20
Some weeds are toxic for horses
DESPERATE  Horses in dry lots and box stalls will sample
anything green in sight when turned out
BY CAROL SHWETZ DVM
I
n natural settings, horses
develop selective grazing
habits, seeking out healthy
grasses and forages and avoiding
those that are harmful. Relatively
few plants are poisonous to horses and, fortunately, horses tend
to avoid eating these because of
their low palatability.
Horses with an abundant
supply of quality pasture or hay
avoid temptation to select harmful plants but those in dry lots
and box stalls become desperate, sampling “anything green,”
and so potentially ingesting toxic
plants. Hungry horses, such as
can happen after a long trailer
travel, may also indiscriminately ingest all sorts of plants
which might normally not interest them.
Horses that lack minerals or
salt may develop strange cravings causing them to make poor
plant selections. Thus balanced,
proper, and complete nutrition
plays a highly important role in
poisoning prevention.
It is important that horse owners familiarize themselves with
noxious plants specific to their
particular locale or environment.
Recognizing these plants when
Noxious weeds tend to become more prevalent in overgrazed fall
pastures.
they are quite small, even before
the flowering stage, enables
more effective control. Uprooting or mowing them in a timely
manner can remove the plants
before they become a problem.
Identification of noxious weeds
in their dried states can also
prove invaluable should these
troublesome plants accidentally
become baled in hay.
Caution is advised when clippings or trimmings of ornamental yard plants such as yew and
oleander are discarded. These
two plants are highly toxic to
horses. Lawn grass clippings can
also be detrimental. Clippings
can be easily overconsumed
by horses, potentially causing
colic or laminitis. In addition
the composting processes that
occur within piles of lawn clippings results in harmful moulds
and toxins.
Noxious plants and weeds are
exceptionally hardy plants thriving in areas of drought, overgrazing, and/or high traffic. For
example, field horsetail, which
resembles a small pine tree, will
grow in overgrazed pastures or
along trampled fencelines. Since
horsetail contains thiaminase,
horses consuming it develop a
vitamin B1 deficiency. Bracken
fern, similarly causes a thiamine
deficiency and is mainly a problem when incorporated in hay.
Both these plants become
problematic with repeated ingestion. Toxicity symptoms include
weight loss, jaundice, weakness, unco-ordination, anxiety,
paralysis, convulsions, and sudden death. These are symptoms
generally seen with any plant
toxicities.
The toxicity of a plant may vary
with weather and growing conditions. For example, weather
conditions that stress legumes,
especially the clovers, may cause
them to host “black patch” fungus.
This fungus flourishes in cool,
wet, and humid conditions. It
appears late spring, throughout the summer and even in fall
months as tiny black specks on
clover plants. When ingested the
horses may begin to salivate profusely, visibly “drooling.”
Affected horses can become
dehydrated and depressed, losing fluids and electrolytes. This
condition known as “Slobbers”
will typically disappear within a
day or two after the horse stops
eating infected plants. Take the
horse off the offending pasture,
and feed it hay while it recovers.
Ensure the availability of plenty of
clean water and free-choice salt.
Under certain weather conditions these infested clovers may
also predispose horses to photosensitization and scratches.
Plants such as burdock, buttercups and foxtail can also
cause mechanical or chemical
reactions similarly resulting in
increased salivation and drooling. Arrow-grass, death camas,
chokecherry/pin cherry leaves,
tall larkspur, tansy, timber milk
vetch, water hemlock, narrowleaved milk vetch, and silky
lupine are other plants that have
been identified in livestock poisonings. Provincial and federal
governments have comprehensive publications and websites
identifying noxious plants and
their geographic distribution.
Awareness and prevention is
the best medicine when dealing
with poisonous plants, as some
poisonings quickly attack the
central nervous system or liver
leaving little recourse for successful treatment.
Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian
specializing in equine practice at
Westlock, Alberta.
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21
Argentina has beef with U.S.
Cargill builds plant in china
Argentina on Aug. 31 accused the United States of unfairly blocking imports of Argentine beef because of restrictions to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.
Argentina complained to the WTO that the restrictions, applied on sanitary grounds,
don’t have scientific justification. However the U.S. countered that the move is a
negotiating tactic and part of a pattern for Argentina to file counter-complaints following allegations of trade discrimination by the U.S., Spain and Japan.
Cargill is building one of China’s biggest broiler production facilities and expects to start raising
and processing 65 million birds annually starting next summer. The $250-million integrated chicken
broiler facility in Anhui province includes a feed mill, farms, hatchery and processing plants. China’s
poultry industry is rapidly expanding with annual growth at five to six per cent, and experts say the
country wants to modernize the sector the way it has in pork over the past two decades. China now
accounts for half of the world’s pork production and consumption.
Zoning requires a checkpoint where all
livestock movement can be easily
reported without slowing commerce
Moose-country station records
livestock-country movements
CHOKE POINT } West Hawk Lake, Manitoba is the sole zone reporting
point in the country because of its ideal location
by sheri monk
T
he tree-covered resort
area at West Hawk Lake
on the edge of the Canadian Shield on the ManitobaOntario border doesn’t look
much like livestock country, but
it’s a key location in the event
of an animal disease outbreak
in North America.
It owes that designation to
an industry wake-up call after
the European foot-and-mouth
outbreak in 2001.
“It caused people to stop and
think about what we could do
here in Canada to control or
reduce our risk, and the longterm impact of a foreign animal
disease outbreak,” said Betty
Green, a Manitoba cattle producer and chair of Zone Canada, so named after an initiative
to designate Canadian livestock
movement zones.
“We started talking about
some of the mitigation strategies that we could undertake,
both in terms of training producers and preparing as a
country for an outbreak and of
course, zoning became one of
those initiatives,” said Green.
Zoning is a containment tool
allowing a nation to track animal movement in an organized
way as it is being transported
from one place to another. The
data is collected and stored, and
accessed only in the event of a
disease outbreak.
Zoning requires a checkpoint
where all livestock movement
can be easily reported without
slowing commerce. Natural
choke points were sought and
West Hawk Lake was the first
selected because of its relative
isolation.
West Hawk Lake is on the
Trans-Canada Highway and is
the only connection for vehicles
crossing between Eastern and
Western Canada. In addition
to the highway, there are two
nearby railways bridging the
nation.
The reporting site is similar to
a weigh station. In order to cross
through, each load requires a
permit and to obtain that permit, three pieces of information
Livestock trucks moving east out of the Prairies must check in a station at the edge of the Canadian Shield. ©thinkstock
must be collected — the sender
of the animals, the receiver and
the means of transportation,
including the licence plate.
“And then of course we’ll also
add what animals were moved
and if possible, individual
identification numbers, so the
RFID tags in the case of cattle,”
said Green.
Still need paper trail
Traceability measures slowly
being introduced to the livestock sector will speed the process in the future, but at least for
now, a paper trail is still an inevitability. “We started out by saying this should be an electronic
permit that’s remitted to the
site in advance of the load arriving. That doesn’t always work,
that’s one thing we learned. We
added the flexibility to allow
producers to send that permit
in paper form, by fax, by email
or by phone call if necessary,
so that we get all the pieces of
information required,” Green
said.
In the event of an outbreak,
the CFIA immediately assumes
responsibility, and will access
the database to determine
whether any animals from the
“The minute they have
determined where
those animals moved
to, they would be
isolated and tested to
see if in fact the disease
had spread…”
Betty Green
Zone Canada
committee chair
More information on the project can be found at www.zonecanada.ca.
infected area have been moved
through the zone during the
incubation or exposure period.
“The minute they have
determined where those animals moved to, they would be
isolated and tested to see if
in fact the disease had spread
and there are records of which
trucks were used so they can
isolate those and contain the
disease much quicker,” Green
said. That ability, so long as
the zoning protocols meet the
World Organization for Animal
Health guidelines, can prevent
borders from closing as it demonstrates outbreak containment and management.
The reporting site is up and
running, but it is not currently
mandatory. The first 18 months
of operation are currently being
analyzed by different government agencies. Green is optimistic the project will become
permanent.
“They are assessing the accuracy of our information and as
we’re doing our work, the CFIA
is working with the USDA on
having them recognize our
capability to zone. So there are
pieces underway at different
levels,” Green said.
Other reporting sites across
the country at strategic points
will likely be added as the initiative matures. Before zone
reporting becomes mandatory,
regulatory changes will have to
be made by the federal government. More information on the
project can be found at www.
zonecanada.ca.
22
Which comes first?
The egg, of course
Pullet
producers
hope to
join supply
management
RUFFLED FEATHERS } Sector could be lost if supply management dismantled
by sheri monk
I
n this chicken-and-egg situation, it’s clear which comes
first, but those who produce
the first step in the broiler industry don’t get that much attention.
“We don’t direct market to a
consumer, so I think that’s why
people don’t really think of us,”
says Nancy Robinson, assistant
manager of the Alberta Hatching Egg Producers (AHEP), a little
known, but vital segment of the
provincial chicken chain.
The chicken supply chain has
three major steps, and the hatching egg producers are the first.
“It’s the cow-calf operation of the
chicken industry. The producers we represent are the Alberta
hatching egg producers, and they
produce the fertilized eggs for the
hatchery industry, which then
hatches them into broiler chicks
which go into the chicken industry,” said Robinson.
Established in 1982, AHEP
functions as a marketing board
“It’s the cow-calf
operation of the chicken
industry.”
Nancy
Robinson
AHEP
Once a hatching egg breeder chicken has finished her useful lifespan, she can still be utilized for meat and goes
to market as fowl. file photo
within a supply management
system established in 1986 for
the national broiler hatching
egg industry. AHEP is run by a
five-member board consisting
of producers elected by fellow
producers.
The board helps producers
with the quota system, which is
somewhat complicated because
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to be said, you say it.
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The 28th annual Canadian Young
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takes place on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 at
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For competition rules, a list of speaking
topics and accommodation assistance
please visit
www.cysa-joca.ca.
The application deadline
is September 30, 2012.
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It’s your time to shine.
they’re based on a 52-week cycle,
but the hatching egg cycle is 66
weeks.
“We have 582,686 quota units
available in the province. In
our province, one quota unit is
equal to one hen placed every 52
weeks when allocation is at 100
per cent,” said Robinson, adding
that quota units vary between
provinces.
Once a hatching egg breeder
chicken has finished her useful
lifespan, she can still be utilized
for meat and goes to market as
fowl, which is not very tender
and is often used in processed
products, and as filler in deli
meats. Robinson compares it to
using older cull cows for hamburger.
“You can imagine on a large
scale, fowl meat is very, very
cheap, so if you can dilute your
product, you’re making that
product a lot less expensive. In
the big picture, it’s a huge saving for the processor,” Robinson
said.
Supply management has
recently been in the sights of
columnists in the national press,
but Robinson ensures local supply and avoids industry domination such as by the mega-barns
in the U.S.
“What happens if something
goes wrong with one of them?
Why do we want to take that risk
as a country? Why do we want to
rely on another country to supply
our food and hope that if there’s
a crisis out there, that they’ll still
supply us?”
Robinson warns that should
supply management be dismantled, the chicken industry could
go the way of others. “Look at
what happened to the pork
industry — there’s a free market
that has completely crumbled.
How many people have gone
out of business? How many farms
have closed?”
by sheri monk
The last sector of Canada’s
chicken and turkey industry
not currently under a supply management system has
submitted an application to
join the flock.
“It’s the last frontier,” said
Andy DeWeerd, chairman
of the Pullet Growers of
Canada. Nearly two years in
the making, the application
was submitted to the Farm
Products Council of Canada
on July 17 to approve the
request to become a federal
supply-managed marketing
board. “The biggest reason is
to receive a fair return on our
pullets that we’re growing.
Without a supply management system, we’re unable to
cover our cost of production
and unlike other commodities, our customers are set.
We’re all locked into a market,” said DeWeerd.
If the application is
approved, pullet growers
will be able to set prices and
establish quotas, which is
how the other sectors of the
chicken, egg and dairy industries work currently.
Canada’s 550 pullet producers specialize in raising
female chicks from hatchling
eggs to be sold as replacement laying hens for the
table egg industry.
“We need a unified voice
going forward to talk about
diseases and one voice to
unite us all,” said DeWeerd,
adding that in the event of
animal health issues, pullet
producers need an advocate
to ensure there are compensation programs for any
culls necessary to control an
outbreak of avian influenza,
as an example. “We also have
animal welfare that we’re
working on too, working with
researchers to develop the
new code for animal care,”
he said.
The Farm Products Council
of Canada has formed a committee to go over the application, and will meet as a board
this month to determine
what happens next.
“We don’t know yet if we
need to hold hearings across
the country. Farm Products
Council of Canada will let us
know what we have to do,”
DeWeerd said. If approved,
some sort of checkoff fee will
be implemented to fund the
marketing board. Currently,
the Pullet Growers of Canada
is voluntarily funded, and the
price tag involved in research
to submit the application
has been steep. Producers
have contributed between
$180,000 and $200,000 to
make their supply management marketing board a
reality. If the pullet producers get a green light, they’ll
be the first supply-managed
national board formed since
1986, when the Canadian
Broiler Hatching Egg Marketing Board was created.
DeWeerd says a website
for the Pullet Producers of
Canada will be launched in
the next month or so.
23
A few suppliers of key inputs
have the real power
FROM THE HIP  Improving infrastructure and reducing
food waste can help relieve hunger
BY BRENDA SCHOEPP
L
ike all weather-related discussions lately, talk soon
turns to the drought in the
U.S. and Ontario. It is hard to see
it from our regional view as we sit
on our deck, admiring the green
from “a little too much rain.”
Most of the social and economic
consequences of drought have
been repeatedly played in the
media, but I think we are missing
some key pieces of information
when we consider the future.
It is true that the world is growing to nine billion people and
that they need to be fed. That is
a fact and there is a ripple effect
when the world’s largest exporter
of corn is suddenly stricken with
a duster. As we live in the instant
age, there is a strong dependence
on trade and transportation systems. As most global food trade
is handled by five companies,
there is an inherent risk of storage issues. In 2008, the real grain
shortage was on ships owned by
those traders who were in their
legal right to forget to unload it.
In Canada there are two major
food-distribution companies. It
takes a short while, 10 days to be
exact, to starve out a city by interrupting the delivery of goods.
Before the kernels were even
counted during the summer of
2012 the news wires were filled
with fear stories of the price of
food going up. And up it did go
with beef climbing another $.02
lb. across retail. At the same time,
beef packers have not stretched
to own product and had enjoyed
a reasonable profit. With the
shortage of feed and water,
the volume of commercial and
fed beef product is inclined to
increase, thus allowing the buyer
more access to product that can
be sold at a higher price.
agricultural leader and I will
appreciate what the world looks
like without food. And while the
poor of the world don’t know or
care about agricultural policy or
the lack of national food sovereignty — they just want to eat —
we may be witness to the erosion
of access to food or freedom to
grow food in our own backyard.
It will not be because we lack
space or initiative, but it may
be because we cannot access or
afford seed, fertilizer or chemicals. Drought is a strong motivator to shortchange the world,
especially on seed. Drought
provides the perfect backdrop
for companies to extract huge
profits from the farmer and the
consumer.
Corporate hoarding is a concern
in these financial times and there
will be a temptation to extend
that further. This is not about a
conspiracy theory — this is fact.
In our world today there are four
companies that sell 90 per cent of
the grain, and seven companies
that own 99 per cent of all fertilizer production. Chemicals are
very much a part of current crop
production and five companies
own 60 per cent of all chemical
manufacturing. If that doesn’t
parch your pantry, consider this
— only three companies control
60 per cent of all seed.
More respect for food
With nearly 40 per cent of Canadian food wasted and food wast-
age a huge issue worldwide, we
have to examine if the price
of food really needs to be up
because of drought. In developed
countries food wastage occurs
in the fields and on the plate. In
developing countries it occurs in
storage.
The logistics of food distribution are huge and are not easily
solved but infrastructure would
play an important part. With a
staggering $20 billion in food
wastage each year, one could
hypothesize that a drop in agricultural production by 40 per
cent caused by drought could
be offset by domestic food policy
and self-control.
Drought presents opportunity
for a handful of companies who
Crops feed the world and in the
beef industry, crops also feed us.
Seeded crops are the backbone
of investment and the foundation of the beef cattle industry.
There is a high dependence on
seed, fertilizer and chemical to
continue to produce crops for
consumption to produce the
world’s most consumed crops
which are sugar, maize, rice and
wheat.
That has me thinking. I have
always believed that the next war
would be fought over food. True
to that theory, if you dig deep
enough into the unrest in Egypt
for example, is the core frustration of the lack of reasonable
access to food.
This month I will be in the
slums in India as a farmer and
Brenda Schoepp is a market
analyst and the owner and author
of Beeflink, a national beef cattle
market newsletter. A professional
speaker and industry market and
research consultant, she ranches
near Rimbey, Alberta. Contact her
at [email protected] or
www.brendaschoepp.com.
“We’re optimistic. We’re producing more and
better products and seeing a positive result.
I think the future
is going to be great.”
– Sabrina Caron, Quebec
In our world today there
are four companies
that sell 90 per cent of
the grain, and seven
companies that own 99
per cent of all fertilizer
production.
Powerful input sellers
trade in food, own seed, fertilizer or chemicals and control
the sale of grains. And as consumers we may be contributing to that power through food
wastage. As voters, we may allow
it to unfold unless we address
domestic food policy. Families
should not face the despair of
a parched pantry because of
corporate gouging or irresponsibility.
POWERED BY FARM CREDIT CANADA
It’s time to tell the real story
Canadian agriculture is a modern, vibrant and diverse industry, filled with forward-thinking people
who love what they do. But for our industry to reach its full potential this needs to be better
understood by the general public and, most importantly, by our industry itself.
The story of Canadian agriculture is one of success, promise, challenge and determination. And
the greatest storytellers are the 2.2 million Canadians who live it every day.
Be proud. Champion our industry.
Share your story, hear others and
learn more at AgricultureMoreThanEver.ca
08/12-18723-4E B
18723_4E_B Quebec 8.125x10.indd 1
8/27/12 8:15 AM
24
Sorting out the many
choices for cattle vaccines
beff 911 } Fewer choices are less confusing and fewer needles are necessary
By roy lewis, dvm
T
here is a multitude of diseases to consider vaccinating for, and vaccines
for them come in a multitude
of combinations with different
types of administration (subcutaneous or intramuscular)
as well as different dosage
amounts (usually two to five
cc). These possibilities should
all be considered when choosing vaccines.
First and foremost, use the
advice of your local veterinarian. He/she will have chosen
the most appropriate vaccines
for your area in the best combinations available to minimize the number of needles
to be given. Veterinarians are
a valuable resource when it
comes to vaccine selection a
very critical point of biosecurity for your farm.
Vaccine companies are producing more and more vaccines in multiple combinations. This is because there
are now several diseases routinely vaccinated for on most
farms. Fewer choices are less
confusing to producers, fewer
needles are necessary and the
cost per disease treated actually comes down.
In deciding the efficacy of
vaccines among reputable
pharmaceutical companies we
are often splitting hairs. Veterinarians choose which vaccine
lines to carry based on several
factors including effectiveness, route of administration,
dosage amount and dose sizing per container. Availability,
price, timing of administration
and service given by the sales
force are also considered.
We are really almost comparing apples to apples when
comparing the numerous vaccines available from the reputable companies. Again, your
veterinarian will know which
products compare favourably
to one another.
There are a few misconceptions about repeating vaccine protocol. Different vaccine lines will generally boost
the immune response from a
previous vaccination from a
different line of vaccines. Of
course the diseases in the vaccines must be the same. The
important thing to remember,
whether it be from previous
vaccination or exposure to
the real disease, is that revaccination stimulates the body’s
immune system to develop
further protection from sickness.
Increased risk in some
areas
Certain areas in Canada have
a higher incidence of specific
diseases and vaccination may
be considered. An example
of this would be Clostridium
Hemolyticum in west-central Alberta. Horses are vac-
There are no magic
bullets of vaccination
replacing good
management. Proper
nutrition, parasite
control and sanitation
go a long way to
preventing disease.
cinated for rabies in certain
regions of Eastern Canada.
Vaccination may be repeated
in herds with a prior history
of leptospirosis, and in outbreaks of anthrax the contact
herd as well as neighbouring
herds may be vaccinated in
subsequent years. Anthrax
is a reportable disease so the
federal vets will vaccinate the
contact herd initially.
Even though there are vaccines for other reportable diseases such as foot-and-mouth
disease or brucellosis, they
are not allowed to be used in
Canada because we are free
of these diseases and want to
keep them out. If we were to
vaccinate, the protection the
vaccine affords could mask
symptoms and carrier animals might develop. Tests for
disease exposure often cannot
differentiate between exposure to the real disease or vaccination, therefore eradication
is difficult.
In most herds across Western Canada vaccination is
now common for the diseases
of IBR, BVD, PI3, clostridials
(blackleg group 7- or 8-way or
now 9-way), histophilus) the
former hemophilus and BRSV.
For young calves up to and
past weaning the two respiratory pathogens pasteurella
and mannheimia are becoming common. If we are careful
how we mix and match these
antigens, calves can get immunized with all these antigens in
two needles.
Scours vaccination is becoming common for the breeding
animals, especially in larger
herds. A multitude of other
vaccines for foot rot — especially in breeding bulls, pink
eye and leptospirosis are more
commonly used. Other vaccines for mastitis (in dairies),
and as already mentioned
anthrax are used in special
occasions and would be done
in direct consultation with
your veterinarian.
Timing critical
The appropriate timing is critical in order to get maximum
benefit from your investment
in the vaccination process. A
perfect example of this would
be the current scour vaccines.
Each company has a different
concept as to how challenge
occurs. As a result in order to
achieve maximum benefit, the
timing of vaccination before
calving is critical and varies
considerably between the different products. Some can be
given as short as two weeks
before calving where others
must be about two to three
months before calving in order
to achieve optimal results.
It is extremely important to
know which vaccine will fit
best with your management
and processing schedule. Also
storage of vaccines (almost
all need to be refrigerated)
and handling when administered are critical to getting
the maximum effect. Freezing
or overheating of the vaccine
before administration cannot
be tolerated.
There are no magic bullets
of vaccination replacing good
management. Proper nutrition, parasite control and sanitation go a long way to preventing disease. All this augmented
with a properly thought-out
and implemented vaccination
program will severely reduce
the incidence of those diseases
on your farm. Talk to your
veterinarian as new products
and ways of administration are
coming out all the time.
Roy Lewis is a large-animal
veterinarian practising at the
Westlock Veterinary Centre.
His main interests are bovine
reproduction and herd health.
field trip
A team of horses pulls visitors at the Chinook Honey Farm, near
Okotoks, Alta., through a field used for the bees, which includes
clover, alfalfa and poppies. Photo: Wendy Dudley
25
Check feed grain for ergot this fall
CONDITIONS  Cool, damp weather in late spring and early summer increases ergot contamination
H
aying is wrapping up and
many herds are still out
grazing, so winter feeding might not be a top-of-mind
topic right now. However, it is
never too early to start thinking
about what grain will be used
in your herd’s winter ration. It’s
important to purchase the highest-quality feed grain you can.
Ergot contamination is an issue
to be aware of when sourcing feed
grain this fall.
“Ergot is a plant disease caused
by the Claviceps purpurea fungus
and can be found in rye, triticale,
wheat, barley, brome grass, wheat
grass, bluegrass, quack grass,
orchardgrass, meadow foxtail
and wild rye,” says Stephanie
Kosinski, forage specialist with
Alberta Agriculture and Rural
Development. “Ergot is most easily recognized by the hard, black
bodies that replace the kernels on
the seed head.”
Ergot overwinters as black,
grain-sized fungal structures. In
the spring, these germinate and
form mushroom-like structures
that produce spores which are
carried by the wind to flowering
cereals and grasses. Cool, damp
weather in late spring and early
summer increases ergot contamination due to the longer flowering time of cereals and grasses in
these environmental conditions.
Parts of the province may have
experienced these conditions
in the spring and early summer
this year, creating the potential
for ergot to develop.
“You should be concerned with
ergot contamination of your feed
grain because ergot contains
numerous toxic alkaloids that
will negatively affect the health
of your livestock,” says Kosinski. “General symptoms of ergot
poisoning include lameness,
excitability, belligerence, loss of
appetite and weight loss. It can
take two to eight weeks for these
symptoms to become visible.
Four syndromes
“There are four specific syndromes caused by ergot: gangrenous ergotism, convulsive/
nervous ergotism, reproductive
ergotism and hyperthermic ergotism. The gangrenous and nervous
forms are most common.”
Gangrenous ergotism is associated with longer-term ingestion of
ergot. Ergot alkaloids cause small
blood vessels to constrict, reducing the blood supply to limbs,
tails, teats and ears. If blood flow
is restricted for long periods of
time, the tissues become oxygen
deprived and die. Hooves can
slough off and, in cold weather,
ears freeze off.
Convulsive, or nervous ergotism is more common in horses
and sheep, and is the acute form
of ergotism. Symptoms include
dizziness, drowsiness, convulsions, paralysis and death. These
symptoms usually disappear
about three to 10 days after the
ergot is removed.
Reproductive ergotism is
caused by high levels of estrogen
in the ergot bodies. This can lead
to abortions or lowered fertility
due to abnormal cycling. Once
the ergot is removed, it takes a
long time for estrogen levels to
return to normal.
Hyperthermic ergotism results
from long-term exposure to
ergot. It is made worse on hot
and humid days with no shade.
Animals pant and lose weight.
“The upper feeding limit of
ergot in older, non-pregnant
cattle is 0.1 per cent by weight of
feed consumed,” says Kosinski.
“Health issues could still occur
at this level, so always try to feed
ergot-free feed to all your cattle.
Pregnant, breeding and lactating
animals are the most sensitive to
ergot. They should not be fed any
ergot at all.
“One last thing to think about
is the screening pellets or screenings you buy from your local
seed-cleaning plant. Ergot levels
in these screenings can be very
high. Do not buy screenings with
any amount of ergot unless they
can be appropriately diluted with
ergot-free feeds.”
STEPHANIE
KOSINSKI
Unreserved PUblic AUction
Grande prairie, Alberta
october 4, 2012
Dixonville, AB (Northwest of Peace River)
This property will be sold as four lots on
October 4, 2012 at unreserved public auction
at Grande Prairie, AB.
Every lot will be sold to the highest bidder on
auction day, regardless of price.
6 Parcels of Farmland & Major Grazing Lease
92± Title Acres of Farmland & 1425± Acres of Grazing Lease
Hotchkiss
AB/County northern lights
Auction
Property
Fort St. John
3
4 5
6
7
1 2
Dixonville
986
Dawson Creek
Blueberry
Mountain
49
Fairview
For complete and up-to-date equipment listings visit
» rbauction.com
49
Kathleen
Grande Prairie
Auction
Location
ContaCt: Victor Sonnenberg: 780.910.2661,
RealtoR: All Peace Realty – Rick Wallan: 780.518.3313
Peace River
Grimshaw
2
Beaver Lodge
PaRCel 2* – SE2-88-25-W5 160±
title acres Farmland, treed, sloughs &
natural pasture, 2012 taxes $75.00
PaRCel 3* – 4 Grazing Leases,
1425± acres (contact for more
information)
*Important Note: Parcels 4 & 5 will be
sold together. The winning bidder on
this group must pay the selling price
2
Dunvegan
Spirit River
43
aB/County noRtheRn lights
*Important Note: Parcels 1, 2 & 3 will
be sold together. The winning bidder
on this group must pay the selling
price multiplied by three and shall
receive all three parcels.
PaRCel 1* – SW2-88-25-W5 160±
title acres Farmland, treed & natural
pasture, 2012 taxes $75.00
35
97
Farmland
Grazing Lease
689
Ergot is most easily recognized by
the hard, black bodies that replace
the kernels on the seed head.
“The upper feeding limit
of ergot in older, nonpregnant cattle is 0.1 per
cent by weight of feed
consumed.”
Pea
ce R
.
AGRI-NEWS
DIXONVILLE
multiplied by two and shall receive
both parcels.
PaRCel 4*– NW34-87-25-W5 160±
title acres Farmland, 43± acres cult,
pasture in 2012, 117± acres treed &
sloughs, 2012 taxes $75.00
PaRCel 5* – NE34-87-25-W5 160±
title acres Farmland, treed, sloughs
and natural pasture, 2012 taxes
Crooked
Creek
49
High Prairie
43
Grouard
Mission
750
2
East Prairie
Valleyview
$75.00
PaRCel 6 – SE34-87-25-W5 149.920
± title acres Farmland, 80± acres cult,
pasture in 2012, 69.92± acres treed &
PaRCel 7 – NE27-87-25-W5 160±
title acres Farmland, 118± acres cult,
pasture in 2012, 42± acres treed &
RitChie BRos. teRRitoRy manageR:
Doug Vreeling: 780.836.5536
Site phone: 780.538.1100
Auction Site: Highway 43 & Range Road 51
Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2Z8 Sale Starts 9 AM
26
In a dugout, oxygen and light are key
IMPROVEMENT  Growing Together funding is still available for dugout projects
BY ALEXIS KIENLEN
AF STAFF / CLEARWATER COUNTY
I
n real estate, it’s all about
location, location, location.
For dugout water quality, it’s
all about aeration, aeration, aeration, says Brandon Leask, agricultural water engineer with Alberta
Agriculture in Red Deer.
Speaking to Clearwater County’s West County ag tour, Leask
encouraged his audience to think
of dugouts as independent ecosystems.
“Any time you’re adding something to a dugout, you’re adding
nutrients, unless you harvest it
out,” he said. That includes nutrients such as run-off from manure
or material that is deliberately
added, such as grass carp.
Leask said aeration is the key to
preventing those nutrients from
becoming food for dugout-choking plants and algae.
“Aeration puts little bubbles of
oxygen into the water,” he said.
INFRASTRUCTURE 
Think of a dugout as an independent ecosystem, says an Alberta Agriculture engineer.
“That oxygen bonds with the phosphorus and nitrogen in the water,
and settles it out. This makes the
phosphorus and nitrogen unavailable to algae and weeds.”
Aeration helps cycle water, eliminating a warm layer on top and a
cool layer on the bottom of the
dugout, creating a more consistent
mid-range temperature, reducing
algae growth and helping maintain
healthy fish populations.
Leask said that snow clearing on
dugouts is important. Light cannot
penetrate a thick layer of snow, so
plants die and decompose, robbing the water of oxygen needed
for fish.
Leask said the Growing Forward
water management program is
still open and applications will be
accepted until March 15, 2013.
“There is still money available and we need to get it out
the door,” he said. The program
helps to fund dugouts, new wells,
new aeration systems, new spring
developments and the decommissioning of old well pits and wells.
The program is similar to previous
programs before, except it requires
pre-approval.
Producers who have been
through the program before can
still apply for a second project,
said Leask. Anyone interested in
the program can request help from
their county office or by calling
310-FARM.
Behind
every
great yield
is a series
of great
choices.
The top canola varieties are now available from your local UFA.
Talk to us today and we’ll help you make the best selections for your operation.
So you can grow with confidence all season long.
Because a whole lot can grow from one good decision.
© 2012 UFA Co-operative Ltd. All rights reserved.
Experts
say more
extreme
weather on
the way
UFA.com
Climate events don’t
only affect crops, but
the routes and facilities
for moving them
BY ALISTER DOYLE
OSLO / REUTERS
Climate change could disrupt
food supplies from fields to the
supermarkets, raising the risk of
more price spikes, according to
food security experts working on
a review of global warming for the
UN.
“There is a whole chain that is
also going to be affected by climate change,” said John Porter
of the University of Copenhagen.
After harvest, floods could
wash away roads or bridges, for
instance, between fields and
factories processing the crop. Or
warehouses storing food could
be damaged by more powerful
storms. Such factors are likely to
hit poor nations hardest.
“There are reasons to expect
more frequent (price) spikes,
given that it will be more common
to see conditions that are considered extreme,” said David Lobell,
an assistant professor at Stanford
University in California.
However, other factors could
dampen rises, “including
responses such as raising grain
storage or changing trade policies,” he added.
“It’s a distributional problem —
there is enough food in the world,
but the distribution doesn’t work,”
said Bruce McCarl, a professor at
Texas A&M University.
A UN report on climate extremes
in March said it was “virtually certain” that days with extreme heat
would increase. Among other
findings, it said it was likely that
downpours would increase as a
percentage of total rainfall.
Scientists are traditionally wary
of linking individual extremes
such as the U.S. drought to climate
change as weather events from
heat waves to dust storms have
happened throughout history.
But James Hansen, director
of the NASA Goddard Institute
for Space Studies, expressed
“a high degree of confidence”
this month that the European
heat wave of 2003, the Russian
heat wave of 2010 and the Texas
and Oklahoma droughts of 2011
were “a consequence of climate
change” because they were so
extreme.
His conclusion was challenged
as too definite, even by some
experts who say risks of such
events are rising with greenhouse
gas emissions, led by China and
the United States.
On the positive side for food output, a slight rise in temperatures is
likely to help plant growth overall. But long-term net benefits are
doubtful, especially because UN
studies say rising greenhouse gas
emissions are on track to push
temperatures up by more than 2
C above pre-industrial times — a
level set by 200 nations as a threshold for dangerous change.
Temperatures have already
risen by almost 1°.
27
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28
SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS
Grain Wanted
FARM MACHINERY
Haying & Harvesting – Baling
BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.
WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN
Wheat,
Barley, Oats,
Peas, etc.
Green or Heated Canola/Flax
1-877-641-2798
BUYING:
Spraying EquipmEnt
Spraying EquipmEnt
WANTED: JD 7810 c/w fel & 3pth; sp or pto bale
wagon; JD or IHC end wheel drills. Small square
baler. (877)330-4477
FARM MACHINERY
Sprayers
FARM MACHINERY
Sprayers
FARM MACHINERY
Haying & Harvesting – Swathers
SPRAYERS!
2000 CIH 8825 SWATHER, 1130 eng. hrs. 21ft U2
PU reel, double swath, dual knife, stored inside.
$35,000 OBO (780)986-0678, 780-906-4240
2007 MF 9635 HESSTON swather, one owner,
267/Original hours, c/w MF 9175 15ft disc header,
MF 5200 25ft draper header, 25ft Bergen header
transport, pu reels, swivel gauge wheels, electric
fore/aft, roto shears, factory hitch on tractor unit,
asking $128,000 (780)955-2364, (780)554-4736,
HEATED & GREEN
CANOLA
CASE IH 18FT 8830 swather, new tires, sections,
guards, double knife, slant 6 cylinder motor, good
working condition, $12,500 OBO, (780)785-2418
780-785-9389
• Competitive Prices
• Prompt Movement
• Spring Thrashed
DON’T SPEND $80,000! 722 Cereal Implements
(Massey Ferguson twin), 30ft swather, Isuzu diesel
engine. Tractor unit shedded. 707/hrs, $29,500.
(403)666-2111 evenings.
“ON FARM PICK UP”
1-877-250-5252
CANOLA WANTED
Heated, Green, Damaged
Buying all levels of
damaged canola.
Excellent Market Prices.
Bonded, Insured.
CALL 1-866-388-6284
www.milliganbiotech.com
INC.
ANTIQUES
ANTIQUES
Antique Equipment
JD 55 COMBINE, EXC. cond, always shedded; antique JD grain binder, 1936 w/book, (780)786-4310,
Mayerthorpe, AB.
NEW TRACTOR PARTS and engine rebuild kits,
specializing in hard to find parts for older tractors,
tractor seats, service and owners manuals, decals
and much more, our 38th year! 1 800-481-1353,
www.diamondfarmtractorparts.com
AUTO & TRANSPORT
AUTO & TRANSPORT
Trucks
1978 KENWORTH TANDEM 5SPD auto, 3406A
Cat motor, 20ft grain box w/3-way endgate, good
condition, (403)227-2788 Innisfail, AB.
FARM MACHINERY
Haying & Harvesting – Various
2002 PREMIER 2940, 1250/HRS, 25ft 972 draper
header, excellent condition, (403)886-4285
MORRIS 881 HAY HYKER, 8 round bale retriever/mover. like new, minimal use, mint condition,
$16,000. (403)236-5415, Calgary Area
Combines
FARM MACHINERY
Combine – Case/IH
2002 CASE IH 2388, AFX rotor, 30ft cutter, Excellent condition, $130,000. Phone (403)877-2020, Lacombe, AB.
IHC 915 COMBINE, 1977, hydro, diesel, a/c, dual
range cylinder, long auger, 2527/hrs, excellent condition, $4,500, (403)784-3248, Clive, AB.
FARM MACHINERY
Combine – Ford/New Holland
1998 TX 66 NH combine, 1600 Sep. hrs. 14ft rake
up pu, excellent condition, $55,000 OBO
(403)823-9222, 403-854-1044, Rosedale, AB.
NH 1500 COMBINE, W/3208 Cat diesel, 2000 op.
hrs, always shedded and ready for the field. $5,000
OBO (403)932-2343, 403-519-7815
FARM MACHINERY
Combine – Various
1992 CIH 1660, EXTRA clean, 1800 hrs, pu header, $23,500; NH TR95, 2200 hrs, excellent condition, $6,450, both field ready, (403)392-8081, Red
Deer, AB
WOW! LOW LOW HOURS, 1480 IHC combine,
shedded, upgrades, well maintained, 2436/hrs,
great capacity, 30ft. straight cut header available,
$21,000; (403)666-2111, Evenings.
AUTO & TRANSPORT
Semi Trucks & Trailers
Put money in your pocket!
“LIKE MANY BEFORE, WE’LL HAVE YOU SAYING
THERE’S NO DEAL LIKE A KEN DEAL”
•Phone: (403)526-9644 •Cell: (403)504-4929
•Greg Dorsett (403)952-6622 •Email: [email protected]
FARM MACHINERY
Sprayers
SPRAY-COUP 51FT MODEL 116, shedded, VW
engine, wide flotation tires, 1547/hrs, 15in nozzle
spacing = better chemical coverage. shedded,
$7,250; (403)666-2111 Evenings.
Harvestore Silo 80 x 20
This Silo is in great shape,
was built in 1988, was
only used for 5 years at
most, it’s in immaculate
shape, comes w/ unloader
& feeder(they may need a
bit of work). Offers, you
will have to deal with the
disassembling & moving.
Located 40min. south of
Winnipeg in St-Malo, MB.
Jean-Luc (204) 226-7783 or (403) 363-3483
email- [email protected]
Tillage & Seeding
FARM MACHINERY
Tillage & Seeding – Tillage
KELLO 5 SHANK SUB soiler; hardly used, IH 800
12 botom plow; 40ft Blanchard crow foot packer
bar; 43ft Leon deep tillage cultivator; (780)623-1008
NEW TRACTOR PARTS and engine rebuild kits,
specializing in hard to find parts for older tractors,
tractor seats, service and owners manuals, decals
and much more, our 38th year! 1 800-481-1353,
www.diamondfarmtractorparts.com
JD 2210, LDR, 3PTH, MFD
JD 4050 fwa, 3pth loader
JD 4430 c/w loader
JD 4440, loader available
JD 4450 c/w loader
JD 6410 3pth, FWA, loader available
JD 7710 fwa, 840 loader
JD 7200, ldr, 3pth FWA
JD 746 loader, new
Mustang 2044 Skidsteer, 1300hrs.
Clamp on duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38
158 & 148, 265, 740, 280, JD loaders
CUSTOM COMBINING, 2388 CASE IHC, 20ft
cutter, contact Pete Wierenga @(403)782-2596 or
Cell: 403-877-2020
CONTRACTING
Custom Work
TOEWS CUSTOM SWATHING, M150 Macdon
Swather, w/30ft header and Canola shears, will
swath Canola, silage and cereals. (403)888-6702,
Acme, Ab.
FARM MACHINERY
Grain Bins
FARM MACHINERY
Parts & Accessories
NEW SUKUP GRAIN DRYERS On hand & ready for
immediate delivery. Propane/NG, canola screens, 1
or 3 phase. Also some used dryers available. Call for
more info (204)998-9915
FINANCE, TRADES WELCOME
780-696-3527, BRETON, AB
Buy and Sell
anything you
need through the
NEW WOBBLE BOXES for JD, NH, IH,
MacDon headers. Made in Europe, factory
quality. Get it direct from Western Canada’s sole
distributor starting at $995. 1-800-667-4515.
www.combineworld.com
1-888-413-3325
Stretch your
ADVERTISING DOLLAR!
1-888-413-3325
FARM MACHINERY
Tractors – Various
FARM MACHINERY
Double LL Industries
780.905.8565 Nisku, Alberta
2001 Kubota
M9580
1979 John Deere
3130
1980
International 584
2005
Toyota Forklift
FWA Tractor, 95 HP Diesel,4767
Hrs, 3PTH
80 Pto HP, 3PTH,
148 Loader
52 HP Diesel, 3247 Hrs,
3PTH, 540 PTO
25 Forklift,
5000 lb Lift
38,500
$
$
12,900
7,800
www.doublellindustries.com
$
JD 9400, 9420, 9520, 8970
JD 7810 & 7210, FWA
JD 9860, 9760, 9750, 9650, 9600
JD 9430, 9530, 9630
CIH 8010 w/RWD, lateral tilt, duals 900 hrs.
Case STX 375, 425, 430, 450, 480,
500, 530
CIH 8010-2388, 2188 combine
CIH 435Q, 535Q, 450Q, 550Q, 600Q
pto avail.
NH TJ 450, New Triples, Big Pump
8100 Wilmar Sprayer
5,800
$
JD 4710, 4720, 4730, 4830, 4920,
4930 SP sprayers
JD 9770 & 9870 w/CM & duals
CIH 3185, 3230, 3330, 4430, 4420 sprayers
9580 Kubota, FWA, FEL, low hours
3545 MF w/FWA FEL
GOOD SELECTION OF JD & CASE
HEADERS: 635F, 636D AND MANY
MORE CASE & JD
“LIKE MANY BEFORE, WE’LL HAVE YOU SAYING
THERE’S NO DEAL LIKE A KEN DEAL”
•Phone: (403)526-9644 •Cell: (403)504-4929
•Greg Dorsett (403)952-6622 •Email: [email protected]
FARM MACHINERY
Machinery Miscellaneous
FARM MACHINERY
Big Tractor Parts,
Inc.
Geared For
The Future
STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST
RED OR GREEN
1. 10-25% savings on new replacement
parts for your Steiger drive train.
2. We rebuild axles, transmissions
and dropboxes with ONE YEAR
WARRANTY.
3. 50% savings on used parts.
1-800-982-1769
www.bigtractorparts.com
FARM MACHINERY
1990 VERSATILE SWATHER, 4700, 22ft.
reel and Honeybee knife 2043 hrs; 1978
combine w/1946 org. hrs, very nice
Twister Hopper bottom bin w/aeration,
(780)668-3104
RETIRED FROM FARMING: Selection of used
Westeel flat bottom bins on wood floors, in 19ft dia.,
have 1 bin @3500/bu, 1 bin @2750/bu. in 14ft dia:
have 7 @1750/bu. All 19ft bins priced from $1/per
bu. All 14ft bins priced from $1.90/bu. Custom
transporters available. Hussin Seed Farms,
(403)936-5923, (403)680-4471 Calgary, AB
FARM MACHINERY
Grain Dryers
1845 JD MODEL H, running, shedded, good
shape.
$3,500
OBO,
(780)352-2818,
(780)361-9747
CASE IH 1990, 7110, 2WD, 18 spd, 4 rev.
1000/540 PTO, 130hp,; 1984 Hesston, 1580 DT,
fwa, 140hp, 1000/540 pto, c/w 125 ezee on high lift
loader; 1983 Ford 3/4T F250, 4x4, c/w suburban
bale handler. (403)577-2296, 403-575-0987, Consort, Ab.
CONTRACTING
Custom Harvest
FARM MACHINERY
FARM MACHINERY
Tractors – John Deere
FARM MACHINERY
CONTRACTING
1-888-413-3325
KEN DEAL EQUIPMENT
USED KUBOTA Utility Tractors (780)967-3800,
(780)289-1075 www.goodusedtractors.com
We also specialize in: Crop Insurance appeals;
Chemical drift; Residual herbicide; Custom operator
issues; Equipment malfunction; Yield comparisons,
Plus Private Investigations of any nature. With our
assistance the majority of our clients have received
compensation previously denied. Back-Track
Investigations investigates, documents your loss and
assists in settling your claim.
Licensed Agrologist on Staff.
For more information
Please call 1-866-882-4779
ALL THE TOP BRANDS!
We can turn your nightmare into a dream come true!
FARM MACHINERY
Tractors – Kubota
FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS
Advertise in the
Alberta Farmer
Express Classifieds,
it’s a Sure Thing!
Because if you have this thought for more than 4
minutes you should call Ken Deal about a sprayer!
TracTors
BUSINESS SERVICES
Crop Consulting
• JD
• CIH
• ROGATOR
• WILMAR
• SPRA COUP
Increase your productivity, ease your
Operator’s fatigue level!
BUILDING & RENOVATIONS
BUSINESS SERVICES
A GAMBLE...
Are you having bad dreams about spraying your crops?
48FT BOURGAULT SERIES 4000 packer bar,
heavy P30 packers, hyd. fold, used very little,
$12,000; (403)666-2111, Evenings.
40X80FT ARCH RIB SHOP package, newer metal
cladding, ready to reassemble, good condition,
(403)335-9205, Olds, AB.
IS ENOUGH OF
SPRAYERS!
FARM MACHINERY
Tillage & Seeding – Various
COMBINE WORLD located 20 min. E of
Saskatoon, SK on Hwy. #16. 1 year warranty on
all new, used, and rebuilt parts. Canada’s largest
inventory of late model combines & swathers.
1-800-667-4515 www.combineworld.com
FARMING
SPRAYERS!
30 MISCELLANEOUS HYBOY SEMI trailers; 8
step deck, and double drops; 5 equipment trailers;
misc. gravel trailers, pictures & prices on Aberdeen/Saskatoon, www.trailerguy.ca (306)222-2413
BUILDING & RENOVATIONS
Building Supplies
FARM MACHINERY
w/U2 PU
JD 7700
condition;
2300/bu,
2000
PREMIER/MACDON
2950
SWATHER,
972-25ft. triple delivery grain table, 922-16ft MacDon mower conditioner header w/5ft steel crimper,
2073/machine
hours,
excellent
condition.
(780)636-2463, 780-645-0492
2002 JD 1820, 45-FT., 10-in. spacing, double
shoot, dutch paired row, 3-1/2in steel, $25,000;
1996 Rogator 854, 800/gal, 80ft. 4x4, 2 sets tires,
3790/hrs, GFS boom, Raven auto-rake, Raven
cruiser, GPS, spd. hydro. 195hp Cummins,
$62,000; Case Dot 28ft Tandem disc. $4,000
(403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB.
RETIRING: SHEDDED IHC 1460, sp combine,
w/reverser, approx. 900 machine hrs; Ford 60ft.
harrow bar w/harrows; 100 IHC 14ft. H6628 24x6 press
drill; SR5000 Tag-a-long car dolly; 48ft. Morris rod
weeder; 36ft. Morris deep tillage; 12ft Aerway hayland
spiker; Quail cattle handling system; D7 Beale brush
rake; 1984 Versatile Bi-directional tractor w/loader &
3pth; Male herdsire and female llamas. 8x60ft HD skid;
Polaris Indy 700 High performance skidoo; 100 1400/lb
bales hay; (403)342-4923, Red Deer, AB.
WIRELESS DRIVEWAY ALARMS, calving/foaling
barn cameras, video surveillance, rear view cameras for RV’s, trucks, combines, seeders, sprayers
and augers. Mounted on magnet. Calgary, Ab.
(403)616-6610. www.FAAsecurity.com
3 WESTEEL ROSCO GRAIN bins, 14ft, (780)623-1008
45-FT WILLRICH CULTIVATOR; CUMMINGS
240bp skid mount clutch&trans; 860 MF PU & 20-ft
grain; D7G Cat dozer, tilt & ripper, (306)236-8023.
5100 IH SEED DRILL, hardly used, $3,500; 14ft
deep tillage cultivator $800; 12ft deep tillage cultivator $500; MF #9 square baler $700; MF disc 12ft
hyd. $800; #10 Seed drill with grass attachment, older,
$500; 400 Versatile swather, $1,800; (780)919-9985
ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS,
Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment,
Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab.
CASE IH 8230 HEAVY duty pull type swather.
1000 RPM. Great shape, always shedded; Bale trailer;
Flail 3-PTH finishing mower. Call Ed (403)575-1423.
IHC 16FT CULTIVATOR W/HARROWS, $200; Rod
weeder, 36ft, $200; JD side delivery manure
spreader, $100; MH 6ft one way disc, $150; Co-Op
18ft, sp swather, $500; Co-Op 15ft pt swather,
$150; Spot treatment sprayer, 2 tanks, plumbing for
changing tanks and widths, $400; Bale stooker
$100; (780)384-2366, Sedgewick, Ab.
JD 1995 790 ELC TRACKHOE, low hrs; Komatsu
WA 320-1 3yd loader; JD 3830 16ft hay header;
3830 w/16ft header and 21ft grain header; UH 122
trackhoe; (306)236-8023
MILK PROCESSING EQUIPMENT, PASTURISING vat, bulk tanks, ice bank tank, plate cooler,
drain table, single to 3 phase converter, hot water
heater, switching equipment. (780)352-9956
RETIRED FROM FARMING, MOST machinery
shedded, 1998 Peterbuilt, 460 Cummins, 18spd,
w/36ft tandem Doepker grain trailer $75,000;
Rock picker, $1,000; (403)586-0978, Torrington, Ab.
29
FARM MACHINERY
Used Flexicoil Aircarts, 4350, 3850 & 3450,
2340,2320,1720 & 1330................................................Call
Flexicoil 6 run seed treater ................................. $2,000
2006 51’ Flexicoil 5000 airdrill, 10”, 5.5” rubber
packers......................................................................................Call
2006, 39’ Flexicoil 5000 airdrill 10”, 5.5 rubber
packers, double chute, used 1 year, like new........Call
134’ Flexicoil S68XL sprayer, 2007, suspended
boom, auto rate, joystick, rinse tank, triple quick
jets, auto boom height, electric end nozzle & foam
marker .............................................................................$39,500
130’ Flexicoil 67XL PT sparyer, 2006,
trail boom, auto rate, rinse tank, hyd. pump,
combo jets, nice shape...........................................$26,500
51 Flexicoil Bodies c/w GEN. 4” carbide spread tip
openers, single chute, like new ............................ $3,500
150 MacDon swather, low hrs, 30’ header, roto
shears, MTD Canola roller................................................Call
3000 36’Westward MacDon PT swather...SOLD Call
9352 C Westward MacDon swather, 1400/hrs, 30’
972 header w/PU reel,.............................................$85,000
Flexicoil 10”x 50’ Grain auger........................... $2,500
1372 MF 13’ swing arm discbine 4yrs,
like new .......................................................................$20,000
New Sakundiak 10x1200 (39.97’) 36HP, Kohler
eng. E-K mover, P/S, electric belt tightener,
work lights, slim fit, 12 gal. fuel tank ........... $18,000
New Sakundiak 7x1200 (39.97’) , 22HP RobinSubaru eng., battery & fuel tank ...................... $7,500
FARM MACHINERY
cutter, always shedded exc. cond ................... $7,000
New Outback Max Available.................................Call
New Outback S3, STS, E drive, TC’s in stock
New Outback E drive X c/w free E turns ............Call
New Outback S-Lite..................................................$900
Used E Drive Console ......................................... $2,250
Used Outback 360 mapping.................................$750
Used Outback S guidance......................................$750
Used Outback S2 guidance.............................. $1,000
Used Outback E drive Hyd. Kits ...........................$500
Ron Sauer
Machinery Ltd.
(403) 540-7691
**Flexi-Coil, Westward MacDon Swathers, NuVision,
Sakundiak & Farm King Augers, Outback GPS Systems,
EK Auger, Movers, Sweeps, & Crop Dividers, Degelman,
Headsight Harvesting Solutions**
Sales Rep for George’s Farm Centre
[email protected]
WANTED: Small square balers and end Wheel
Seed Drills, Rock Pickers, Rock Rakes, Tub grinders, also JD 1610 cultivators (403)308-1238
R.W. Organic Ltd. Currently Buying all grades of
wheat, durum, rye, barley & peas. Immediate pickup.
Offering fall contracts. Mossbank, SK. (306)354-2660
FENCING
SEWING MACHINES
INDUSTRIAL SEWING MACHINE FOR leather and
upholstery (403)749-3871, Delburne, Ab.
TIRES
The Icynene Insulation
System®
• Sprayed foam insulation
• Ideal for shops, barns or homes
• Healthier, Quieter, More
Energy Efficient®
New 30.5L-32 16 ply, $2195; 20.8-38 12 ply
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$1749; 14.9-24 12 ply, $356; 16.9-28 12 ply $588.
Factory direct. More sizes available new and
used. 1-800-667-4515. www.combineworld.com
www.penta.ca
1-800-587-4711
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
FOR SALE: MAGIC CHEF 30-in gas stove in nice
condition, $150; Compost tumbler, approximately
18
bushels.
Very
low
hours,
$450.
Phone:(780)597-3747, evening.
IRON & STEEL
PIPE FOR SALE 3-1/2IN., 2-7/8in., 2-3/8in.,
Henderson Manufacturing Sales. (780)672-8585
Specialty
LIVESTOCK
Livestock Equipment
5’X10’ PORTABLE CORRAL PANELS, 6 bar.
Starting at $55. Storage Containers, 20’ & 40’
1-866-517-8335, (403)540-4164, (403)226-1722
RECREATIONAL VEHICLES
TRAILERS
Trailers Miscellaneous
2001 TRAVELAIRE TT250, FULLY loaded, original
owners, non-smokers, adults, equalizing hitch,
w/sway bar, electric jack, new tires, propane tanks,
and battery, $10,000 Firm, Bruce @780-405-6688
TRAVEL
Agriculture Tour Presentations
Lloydminster ~ September 24, 2012
Lethbridge ~ October 2, 2012
Westlock ~ October 4, 2012
Upcoming Agriculture Tours
Australia/New Zealand ~ Kenya
Hawaii ~ South America ~ India
Switzerland/Austria
*Tours may be tax Deductible
RECREATIONAL VEHICLES
Motor Homes
Select Holidays
1-800-661-4326
www.selectholidays.com
2008 Monaco Camelot
WATER TREATMENT
Motorhome, Loaded
$214,000
FARM MACHINERY
2002 7000HD Highline bale Processor, c/w twine
ORGANIC
Organic – Grains
HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING
FARM MACHINERY
New E-Kay 7”, 8”, 9” Bin Sweeps ...........................Call
FARM MACHINERY
Machinery Wanted
APPROX. 300-400 NEW PRESSURE treated
fenceposts 4-5”x7ft. 6-7x8 corral or corner posts,
10 rolls of high tensile smooth wire. (780)623-1008
FARM MACHINERY
OVER
43,000
PIECES OF AG
EQUIPMENT!
LOOKING FOR AG
EQUIPMENT OR
MACHINERY?
WANTED: HESSTON 60A STACKER any condition, preferably central Alberta area, also wanted a
60B stacker. (403)845-0414. (403)722-2409
CAREERS
CAREERS
Truck Drivers
(403) 586-0978 Torrington, AB
SEED / FEED / GRAIN
Feed Grain
BUYING ALL TYPES OF feed grain. Also have
market for light offgrade or heated, picked up on the
farm. Eisses Grain Marketing 1-888-882-7803,
(403)350-8777 Lacombe.
Hay & Straw
SMALL SQUARE BALES HORSE hay, Crossfield,
Ab. 50/lb bales $3.00/per bale, green, no rain
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DRIVER’S WANTED. EXPERIENCED OILFIELD
vac truck or body job tank truck operator w/Class 3,
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30
Prairie Swine Centre
continues to find answers
PEET ON PIGS } Minimizing water wastage and finding practical ways to
reduce stress and loading times are two examples of the centre’s work
By bernie peet
A
s it enters its 20th year
of operation, the Prairie
Swine Centre continues
to help find solutions to industry
challenges, particularly in its key
areas of expertise — engineering,
manure management, ethology
(animal behaviour) and nutrition.
As the industry provides both
board members and significant
funding, the centre responds to
the needs of the producers, both
in the short and longer term. Its
2011 Annual Report highlights
some of the ongoing research
projects and their potential benefits to producers.
The engineering department
has been looking at ways of reducing water usage, especially the
type of drinking system used and
the design of nozzle used for pressure washing. Water is a significant cost in pig production and
a great deal of wastage occurs,
leading to high manure disposal
costs. Three different drinking
systems were compared in growfinish pens: A conventional nipple
drinker, a nipple drinker with side
panels to reduce interference
from other pigs while drinking,
and a trough with side panels
and a constant water level. The
latter had 60 per cent less wastage,
using just 1.27 litres per day per
pig. The nipple drinker used 3.77
l/day-pig and the nipple with side
panel used 3.57 l/day-pig. One
The three types of drinker used in the trial on water usage (from left):
regular nipple drinker, nipple with side panels and drinking trough.
disadvantage of trough drinkers
is contamination with feed and
sometimes manure, leading to
lower water intake, which can
compromise performance. In this
trial, contamination with organic
matter did occur, but it did not
appear to impact feed intake or
growth rate of the pigs.
The trial on cleaning equipment compared water sprinkling
prior to washing with no sprinkling and measured the water use
of several different types of pressure washer nozzles. As might be
expected, sprinkling resulted in
higher water consumption, but
also reduced washing time significantly in part-slatted pens. Also,
the use of a conventional nozzle
led to the lowest water consumption and time spent washing.
An economic analysis, which
took into account the cost of water
and manure disposal, showed the
cost of water was reduced from
$3.77 for the conventional nipple drinker to $1.27 for the water
trough. Similarly, the manure disposal cost was reduced to $4.90
per pig from $9.11, resulting in
an overall cost saving of $9.23
per pig, a 56 per cent reduction
in favour of the trough drinker.
Such significant savings cannot
be ignored, although the potential impact of contamination in
troughs needs to be considered,
especially in nursery pigs. With
the correct trough design and
daily management to keep drinkers as clean as possible, changing
from nipple drinkers to troughs
can have a big impact on the bottom line.
Loading market hogs is one of
the most stressful procedures for
both pigs and people. Researchers Harold Gonyou and Jennifer
Brown looked at loading facili-
ties in Saskatchewan to identify
aspects of their design and handling practices that result in the
fastest and smoothest loading.
They looked at the dimensions of
pens, alleyways and doorways, in
addition to light intensity, ramp
angle, presence of corners, flooring changes and obstacles. Handling of pigs was video recorded
and analysed.
The 10 farms observed had
ramp inclines ranging from zero
to 11 degrees (the maximum recommended incline is 20 degrees)
and all worked well. Lighting levels on the farms varied considerably and the report recommends
loading facilities be well lit, ideally
with diffused incandescent lighting, which reduces contrasts and
shadows.
“When moving into a new area
such as the truck, lighting should
ideally change from darker to
lighter, as animals may balk if
required to move into darkness,”
the report states.
The researchers found using
“manways” outside the movement alley (which allows handlers to move around and past
the pigs without affecting their
movement) improved both pig
flow and handler safety. Also,
the use of loading pens, where
selected pigs are moved up to a
week prior to shipping, reduced
mixing stress at transport and
made the loading process much
faster and less stressful.
In terms of handling practices,
Trait Stewardship
Responsibilities
Notice to Farmers
Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence
Through StewardshipSM (ETS). Monsanto products are
commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch
Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with
Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of BiotechnologyDerived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This
product has been approved for import into key export
markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop
or material produced from this product can only be
exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where
all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It
is a violation of national and international law to move
material containing biotech traits across boundaries
into nations where import is not permitted. Growers
should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to
confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence
Through StewardshipSM is a service mark of Excellence
Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW
PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops
contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the
active ingredient in Roundup® agricultural herbicides.
Roundup® agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are
not tolerant to glyphosate. Acceleron® seed treatment
technology for corn is a combination of four separate
individually-registered products, which together
contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin,
ipconazole, and clothianidin. Acceleron®, Acceleron and
Design®, DEKALB®, DEKALB and Design®, Genuity®,
Genuity and Design®, Genuity Icons, Roundup®,
Roundup Ready®, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and
Design®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, RIB Complete and
Design™, RIB Complete™, SmartStax®, SmartStax and
Design®, VT Double PRO™, VT Triple PRO™ and YieldGard
VT Triple® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC,
Monsanto Canada, Inc. licensee. LibertyLink® and the
Water Droplet Design are trademarks of Bayer. Used
under license. Herculex® is a registered trademark
of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Used under license. Respect
the Refuge and Design is a registered trademark of the
Canadian Seed Trade Association. Used under license.
(3701-MON-E-12)
Alberta Farmer 1 x 84 li B/W
group size was important, with
small groups of five to 10 pigs
being easier to move. A common
distraction, which can cause
pigs to slow, balk or turn back,
is too many handlers, or handlers who get ahead of the pigs.
The researchers noted handler
technique and attitude are very
difficult to define and measure.
However, they recommended
minimizing prod use, using
behavioural principles such as the
“flight zone,” and maintaining a
calm and consistent attitude.
“Prod use on the farms observed
was very low — in fact, the farm
with highest prod use actually
had the longest loading time,”
the report stated. “This is because
when the prod is used frequently,
pigs become less capable of
responding and attempt to turn
back.”
This observation, measurement and analysis approach to
commercial loading facilities
has yielded a lot of very practical advice that will help producers to improve their own loading
practices. It is a good example of
research yielding benefits in the
short term to the pork industry.
In my next article I will review
some of the nutritional research
results from the Prairie Swine
Centre.
Bernie Peet is president of Pork
Chain Consulting of Lacombe,
Alberta, and editor of Western Hog
Journal.
news
Nominees sought
for pollinator
protector
The Canadian Federation
of Agriculture and the Pollinator Partnership, with
support from the Canadian
Honey Council, are looking
for nominees for the 2012
Canadian Farmer-Rancher
Pollinator Conservation
Award.
This award recognizes an
individual or family in the
farm and ranch community
in Canada who has contributed significantly to pollinator species protection and
conservation on working
and wild lands.
The recipients of the 2012
award will be recognized
during an evening reception
at the Canadian Embassy
on Wednesday, October 13,
2012 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
in Washington, D.C., or in
their hometown if they are
unable to attend.
For details visit www.cfafca.ca/node/1835.
31
After drought blights
crops, U.S. farmers
face toxin threat
NOT HELPFUL  Late-season rains could cause
nitrogen levels in stressed corn plants to spike
BY MICHAEL HIRTZER AND
MEREDITH DAVIS
REUTERS
T
he worst U.S. drought in five
decades has parched the land
and decimated crops. It now
threatens to deal a second blow to
farmers, who may have to throw
out tonnes of toxic feed.
Growers are rushing to check
the nitrate levels of that silage, the
stalks and leaves that corn farmers often harvest to feed to locally
raised cattle or hogs.
Agriculture groups are warning
farmers that drought-hit plants
may have failed to process nitrogen
fertilizer due to stunted growth,
making them poisonous to livestock.
Exceptionally early-spring planting has caused a crush of earlysummer requests for the tests.
Farmers are also expected to chop
down a near-record swathe of their
fields for silage to make up for this
year’s poor yields.
“We’ve had a lot of walk-in business and normally we are not a
walk-in business,” said Lola Manning, a 30-year employee of AgriKing, a laboratory that tests for
nitrates and other toxins. “At this
point it’s the busiest I’ve seen it.”
Manning said the facility,
approved by the National Forage
Testing Association, checked about
400 samples — roughly double the
norm — in July.
So far, few samples have shown
elevated levels of toxins, she said.
But late-season rains — far too
tardy to help salvage the corn crop
— could prompt mostly mature
plants to draw even more nitrogen
out of the soil and into the stalks.
“The tests are coming out OK but
as soon as they have rain, the situation will change,” Manning said.
So far, so good
Two months of dry weather and
high heat that stunted plants and
shrivelled ears likely caused the
absorption of excessive amounts
of nitrogen, experts say. Instead of
being distributed safely through
the plant, the chemical built up in
the lower portions of the stalk at
potentially toxic levels.
Kenny Wagler, a dairy farmer in
Nashville, Indiana who also farms
2,500 acres (1,000 hectares) of corn
and pasture, is testing his corn for
the first time since the last major
drought in 1988.
“It’s almost never a factor,” said
Wagler, who raises about 1,500
dairy cows and cattle, adding that
he is testing this year on recommendation from his farm nutritionist.
Nearly half of what he typically
harvests to sell as a cash corn
crop will be cut for silage this year
because most of the plants had no
ears of grain.
In the worst-case scenario, silage
with high levels of nitrate can be
absorbed into an animal’s bloodstream, causing poisoning leading
to death.
AgriInvest
Low grain yields, more silage?
For more information,
call 1-866-367-8506 or visit www.agr.gc.ca/agriinvest.
Farmers are expected to harvest
more of their corn crop for silage
than usual this season due to poor
yields, which are forecast by the
USDA to be the lowest in 17 years.
As many as nine million acres —
or nine per cent of the corn crop
— may not be harvested for grain
this year, according to USDA data
released last week. That would be
the most abandoned acres in a
decade. Much of that will be used
instead as silage.
At Agri-King in western Illinois,
tests cost $8 per sample for nitrate.
Farmers are advised to take six
stalks, chop them up and put them
into a bag for testing.
Nitrate levels under 4,400 parts
per million are considered safe
while those over 15,000 ppm are
considered potentially toxic and
should not be fed to livestock, said
Randy Shaver, extension dairy
nutritionist at the University of
Wisconsin.
At between 8,800 and 15,000
ppm, silage should be limited to
less than half of the total feed ration
and well fortified with minerals,
data from that university showed.
However, acceptable nitrate levels
vary slightly from state to state.
“We’ve had quite a few tests that
have come in at 14,000 parts per
million or higher, and that seems
to come up after a rain,” said Travis
Meteer, a beef extension specialist
at the University of Illinois, one of
several universities to issue bulletins about nitrates in silage in
recent weeks.
A Smart Investment for Managing Farm Risk
The AgriInvest program helps you manage small income declines on your farm. Each year, you can
make a deposit into an AgriInvest account, and receive a matching contribution from federal, provincial
and territorial governments. You can then withdraw the funds when you need them the most.
To benefit from the AgriInvest program for 2011 you must:
• submit your 2011 AgriInvest form;
• have or open an AgriInvest account at a participating financial institution of your choice; and
• make your deposit to your AgriInvest account at your financial institution by the deadline shown
on your AgriInvest Deposit Notice.
Application deadline for 2011 is September 30, 2012.
Please note: If you miss the application deadline, you can still submit the form by December 31, 2012.
However, your maximum matchable deposit will be reduced by 5% for each month (or part of the month)
your application is received after September 30, 2012.
Read the latest ag news from across the province or across the nation at
Tom Lubbehusen, owner of Lubbehusen Farm, cuts and grinds the droughtaffected corn in the field on his farm to make feed for his cattle as the
corn was damaged from drought condition in Dale, Indiana. Farmers are
being advised to have their forage tested for high nitrate levels.
REUTERS/JOHN SOMMERS II
32
BRIEFS
GOOD DAY FOR FISHING
Two silhouetted fishers stroll the dam ridge about Chain Lakes, in southern Alberta.
Cargill to open
$250-million
poultry plant in
China
PHOTO: WENDY DUDLEY
PHUKET, THAILAND /
REUTERS
Cargill is building one of
China’s biggest broiler
production facilities and
expects to start raising and
processing 65 million birds
annually starting next summer.
The $250-million integrated chicken broiler facility
in Anhui province includes
a feed mill, farms, hatchery
and processing plants.
China’s poultry industry
is rapidly expanding with
annual growth at five to
six per cent, and experts
say the country wants to
modernize the sector the
way it has in pork over the
past two decades. China
now accounts for half of the
world’s pork production
and consumption.
Brazilian ethanol
exports to
U.S. surge
Figured out
how to maximize
my yield - online.
SERTAOZINHO, BRAZIL /
REUTERS Exports of Brazilian ethanol to the U.S. market are likely to grow, says
sugar and ethanol analyst
Datagro.
Brazilian exports of ethanol surged in July to 410
million litres, most of it
going to the United States.
In previous months, exports
were between 140 million and 64 million litres a
month.
“This particular increase
in July is a seasonal phenomenon,” said Datagro
president Plinio Nastari.
Falling yields from Brazil’s cane crop has actually
lowered ethanol output and
driven up prices, but the
U.S. drought is pushing up
exports, Nastari said.
USDA supports
energy crop facility
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Chemical and biofuels engineering company Chemtex
has announced a partnership with enzyme manufacturer Novozymes and the
United States Department
of Agriculture to build a
$99-million energy crop
facility in North Carolina.
The USDA is providing
a loan guarantee of $3.9
million under its Biomass
Crop Assistance Program to
support the establishment
of more than 4,000 acres
of miscanthus and switchgrass in North Carolina.
The feedstock will be part of
the biomass supply for the
facility, which is planned to
produce 20 million gallons
of ethanol a year.
Novozymes, the world’s
largest manufacturer of
enzymes, says the plant will
use the same technology it
is providing to a cellulosic
ethanol plant in Italy due to
open this year, and to three
more planned for Brazil.
The North Carolina plant
is slated to open in 2014.
33
}takeover
World food prices jump
China’s approval on
Viterra awaited
All necessary approvals from domestic and foreign antitrust authorities, except one, are
now lined up behind Swiss commodity giant Glencore International’s friendly takeover bid for
Canada’s biggest grain handler. The “sole remaining regulatory approval” is still to come from
China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) under that country’s Anti-Monopoly Law, Viterra
said Aug. 27. Viterra’s assets in China include a joint-venture investment in a canola-crushing
facility, plus a trading office in Shanghai and a representative’s office in Beijing.
World food prices jumped 10 per cent in July as drought parched croplands in the
United States and Eastern Europe, the World Bank said in a statement. From June
to July, corn and wheat prices rose by 25 per cent each, soybean prices by 17 per
cent, and only rice prices went down, by four per cent, the World Bank said. Overall, the World Bank’s Food Price Index, which tracks the price of internationally
traded food commodities, was six per cent higher than in July of last year, and one
per cent over the previous peak of February 2011. — Reuters
Lower-than-expected canola
yields push prices higher
Reversed } Canola in the unusual situation of being at a discount to soybeans
By Dwayne Klassen
commodity news service canada
O
nly small gains were experienced
by canola contracts on the ICE
Futures Canada platform during
the week ended Aug. 31, although values
did push towards highs not seen in some
time.
Talk of lower-than-expected yields as
the canola harvest advances across the
Canadian Prairies provided some of the
upward momentum as did the continued
push to new all-time highs in CBOT soybean futures.
A jump in demand from domestic
processors helped to generate support
for canola, as did a slowdown in farmer
deliveries into the cash pipeline. The drop
in farmer movement was seen coming at
a bad time, especially when the commercial elevator system is preparing to move
large levels of canola to the West Coast
to meet record export commitments over
the next three months or so.
Any drop in farmer sales should in turn
translate into some upward price movement in the cash pipeline until these
commitments have been filled. There has
also been a lot of talk of how canola is
lagging the rally seen in CBOT soybeans,
and in fact some feel the spread between
the two, once the currency exchange
between the two is removed, has widened
to such a point, that canola is almost at
a near-record discount rate to soybeans
in the U.S.
Normally canola trades at a premium to
soybeans. Some have calculated canola’s
discount to soybeans in the US$3.18-abushel range, and are of the belief that
before the dust settles, the spread will
widen to the US$3.50- or even US$4-perbushel area.
Right now the key to the strong premium soybeans have over canola is tied
to the meal. There are few substitutes for
soybean meal in the feed system, with the
crush of the soybean providing a higher
meal content than oil. With canola the
opposite holds true.
However, with canola trading at such
a discount, international end-users are
expected to take notice, which in turn
should attract even more attention to the
commodity and help narrow that spread
to some degree.
These end-users will be looking to
canola for the oil content, with meal not
the issue. The Sept. 7 stocks in all positions report (issued after this issue’s
deadline) from Statistics Canada were
expected be a factor in which market
participants, who trade canola, will be
watching closely.
Some wheat, no durum or barley
The milling wheat contract on the ICE
Canada platform continued to see action
during the reporting period with commercials again the main participants.
Some realigning of the October-December spreads was evident.
No actual trades were reported in the
durum and barley contracts. In fact, the
new barley contract has not seen any
actual trades since the beginning of
August.
Soybean futures at the CBOT pushed
to new highs during the week with the
strength continuing to be influenced by
the fact that supplies of the commodity in
the U.S. and across the globe are in short
supply.
News during the reporting period that
U.S. soybean yields will be lower than
anticipated, also added to the upward
momentum. The steady rise in soy-
For three-times-daily market reports from Resource News
International, visit “ICE Futures Canada updates”
at www.albertafarmexpress.ca.
bean futures also reflected the strong
demand that is coming from the export
and domestic sectors, despite the recordhigh prices.
China and Taiwan appear to desperately need soybeans and are paying up
at these values in order to secure supplies.
However, there have been some suggestions that China will likely end up cancelling some of these purchases sometime
before Christmas when alternative soybean supplies become available.
The domestic crush pace in the U.S.
also does not appear to be slowing down,
with these processors trying to lock up
enough stocks in order to meet the meal
demand component. The taking of profits
and the need to undergo downward corrections prevented CBOT soybeans from
making a straight line to higher-price territory.
Some boost from Isaac?
Sentiment that some of the precipitation
from Hurricane Isaac, lately reduced to a
tropical storm, would benefit some lateseeded soybeans or the double-seeded
soybean crops, further limited some of
the price strength. Corn futures on the
CBOT again moved to both sides of the
plus/minus line during the reporting
period.
The commodity was left mostly to the
mercy of the price movement in both
wheat and soybeans, although the tight
supply situation did keep a firm floor
under values.
Demand for U.S. corn from the domestic and export sectors continues to be
non-existent, which in turn restricted the
upward price action. There continues to
be all kinds of stories about the U.S. livestock industry turning to Western Canada
in order to fill feed requirements. With
the price of U.S. corn these days, they are
finding it cheaper, even with the transportation cost factored in, to bring in the
Canadian feed.
The enquiries from the U.S. are just
not confined to a Canadian province,
but have been reported in all three. Wheat
futures on the CBOT, MGEX and KCBT
experienced a push to the upside during
the week, with some of that upward price
action linked to values correcting after a
series of declines. Some of the upward
price action in U.S. wheat values also
came from speculation that the Russian
government would suspend its wheat
export program on Aug. 31 at a special
meeting.
The suspension of that country’s
exports was linked to the production
problems with its wheat crop. The
rumours in turn sparked a rally in wheat
values, as wheat importers would then
have to turn to the U.S. to fill needs. However, being true to form, the meeting on
Aug. 31 came and went, with the Russian
government deciding there was no need
to curtail its wheat export program.
The advances in U.S. wheat values in
turn were promptly reversed. The arrival
of much needed precipitation in the U.S.
Winter Wheat Belt further restricted the
upside in wheat futures. The rain was
timely, coming just ahead of the planting of the U.S. winter wheat crop.
Dwayne Klassen writes for Commodity News
Service Canada, a Winnipeg-based marketreporting agency.
34
Hog market gets slaughtered,
as prices fall to a 20-month low
CHART PATTERNS  Technical analyst says there were
signals of a sharp drop at the end of July
BY DAVID DROZD
L
ast month I talked about the
record-high price of corn
and soybeans. As much
as this is exciting news to grain
producers, especially those fortunate to have a crop, this has been
devastating for hog producers.
Near-record-high feed costs
and a slowing economy are
forcing hog producers in China
to sell their herds. Liquidation is
also occurring in North America,
as producers decide to get out of
the business and preserve their
equity. With barns aging, many
producers are simply retiring.
Animals shipped are heavier
than normal and the trade anticipates this may lead to a backlog
of heavy animals to still come to
market. The Labour Day long
weekend signals an end to the
summer barbecue season, and
demand traditionally slows.
There will be better hog prices
in the future, once the exodus
is over, but the daunting question for many hog producers
remains, “Can I afford to ride out
the storm?”
This is a difficult question to
answer and it is one that each
hog producer must determine
for themselves. This creates a
great deal of stress on the owneroperators. After all, this is their
livelihood, with many operations
having been passed down from
one generation to the next.
It dismays me to hear about the
rare and unfortunate incidents
in which some of these decent
law-abiding folks are treated like
criminals for failing to look after
their animals. It is unfortunate
there isn’t a little more compassion for their plight.
Having grown up on the farm,
co-managed a successful family
farm operation for 17 years, and
having worked in the agricultural
community all my life, I have
seen what financial stress can
do to our rural neighbours.
This is in part the reason I
founded Ag-Chieve Corporation
10 years ago — to ease farmers’
stress as it relates to their risk
management and marketing
strategies.
Sell signal
For example, I’ve illustrated in
the accompanying chart the
two-day reversal (sell signal)
that developed on July 31, 2012.
Hog producers who realized the
price was about to drop could
take action to minimize their
exposure to price risk before
prices plunged another $10
per hundredweight through
August.
The two-day reversal is just
one of numerous chart patterns
that signal an abrupt change in
trend. When these reversal patterns occur at a new high for a
move or at an area of resistance,
they take on a greater degree of
prominence.
This particular two-day
reversal occurred as prices
approached an area of resistance
between $83 and $84, which was
the high in June and July. When
the minor rally (bounce) failed
to exceed $83, the downtrend
resumed.
Two-day reversal
On the first day, the market
advances to a new high for
the move and settles near the
high of the day. On the second
day, prices open unchanged
to slightly higher but cannot
make additional upside progress. Quantity selling quickly
appears early in the day to stall
the advance and prices begin to
erode. By day’s end, the market
drops to around the preceding
day’s low and settles at or near
that level.
The two-day reversal is a
180-degree turn in sentiment.
On the first day the longs are
comfortable and confident. The
market’s performance provides
encouragement and the expectation for greater profits.
The second day’s activity is a
complete turnaround from the
preceding day and shakes the
confidence of many who are still
long the market. The immediate
outlook for prices is abruptly put in
question. Longs respond to weakening prices by exiting the market.
By studying the ebb and flow
of the market and by watching
for reversal patterns, technical
analysis can prove to be a useful
tool for hog producers when it
comes to locking in prices before
the market turns down.
Send your questions or comments about this article and
chart to [email protected].
David Drozd is president and senior
market analyst for Winnipegbased Ag-Chieve Corporation.
The opinions expressed are those
of the writer and are solely
intended to assist readers with
a better understanding of
technical analysis. Visit Ag-Chieve
online at www.ag-chieve.ca for
information about grain-marketing
advisory services, or call us toll
free at 1-888-274-3138 for a free
consultation.
BRIEF
visit us online at: oldsdodge.com
CALL NOW! 1.877.258.9118
CONGRATS!
or drop by 6207-46TH Street, Olds, AB
Call for ritual
slaughter ban
slammed
AMSTERDAM / REUTERS
Israel’s leading rabbi has
warned Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders that his
WITH OUR CURRENT INVENTORY
party’s support for a ban of
ritual slaughter of animals
AND THE 100’S WE HAVE ON ORDER,
in the Netherlands is “antiOLDS MOUNTAIN VIEW DODGE IS
Semitic” and could drive
THE DODGE TRUCK SUPERSTORE
away the country’s Jewish
community.
MacDon Industries Ltd.
Wilders rose to prominence in the Netherlands
would like to send sincere
As alumni or students of Olds College,
denouncing the growing
you can enjoy preferred group rates on home
congratulations to the
influence of Islam in the
and auto insurance.
West, calling for a ban
faculty, students, and
TD Insurance Meloche Monnex wishes
against Muslim immigrants,
Olds College a memorable 100th Anniversary.
alumni of Olds College.
a halt to construction of
Get an online quote at
mosques, and a ban on
www.melochemonnex.com/oc
Muslim face veils.
or call 1-866-352-6187
Some of his most outspoken supporters are
in the conservative, proIsraeli movement in the
U.S. Wilders calls himself
Congratulations on a century
The TD Insurance Meloche Monnex home and auto insurance program is underwritten by
Israel’s “greatest friend”
SECURITY NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY.
of real-life, hands-on learning!
The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or a
and has proposed creating
wholly-owned subsidiary, in Canada and/or other countries.
a national Dutch holiday to
commemorate the victims
of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
04-MM8891-12_MMI.EN•special ad_oc (4.6x2.4).indd 1
12-07-04 7:40 AM
But his call for a ban on
ritual slaughter prompted
strong criticism from Chief
Province : Alberta
Épreuve # : 2
Projet : Annonce MMI 2012
Rabbi Yona Metzger.
For more information on how
Publication : Alberta Farmer News Focus
Client : Meloche Monnex
you can show your support in Date de tombée : 05/07/12 “It is obvious that one
cannot be at the same time
Format
4.6x2.4contact:
this :space
No de dossier :
a friend of Israel and the
04-MM8891-12_MMI.EN•special
ad_oc
(4.6x2.4)
Couleur
:
Quad
Graphiste
:
Yannick
Decosse
Join all of us at Alberta Farmer Express as we extend our most sincere
Tiffiny Taylor
Jewish people and on the
congratulations to Olds College on 100 yearsHamelin
of excellence
in boul.
education.
other hand support an antiMartineau • 505,
de Maisonneuve O. Bureau tiffi
[email protected]
• Montréal (Québec) H3A 3C2 • T : 514 842 4416 F : 514 844 9343
Jewish law,” Metzger wrote.
ATTENTION : Merci de vérifier attentivement cette épreuve afin d’éviter toute erreur.
To Olds College
for 100 years of
quality eduation.
®/
2013 marks the 100th
Anniversary of Olds College
35
} forecasts
El NiÑo short and weak
Drought lessens
Reuters El Niño weather conditions have emerged but will likely be weak and
short lived, New Zealand scientists said Sept. 4. El Niño is a warming of sea
surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years.
“Borderline El Niño conditions are present in the tropical Pacific, and a weak
short-lived El Niño is predicted for the spring and summer periods,” the
National Institute of Water and Atmosphere said in its latest climate outlook.
REUTERS The worst U.S. drought in a half-century loosened its grip on the Midwest
in the past week, helped by rain and cooler temperatures, but the drought grew
more dire in the northern Plains, a report said Aug. 30. The improved Midwest
weather arrived too late for crops in major farm states such as Kansas, Iowa, Illinois
and Indiana. The portion of the contiguous United States suffering from at least
“severe” drought fell to 42.34 per cent from 44.03 per cent over the prior week,
according to the Drought Monitor.
Warm, wet summer
warmer than average } Almanac predicts warm September and November as well
by daniel bezte
F
or many of us, summer has
now come and gone. That
is, if you consider summer
to run from June through the end
of August. Looking back at the
summer of 2012 across Alberta,
we could quickly sum it up as
being warmer than average over
nearly all regions, and near to
above average for precipitation
across all areas, except for the far
north. Environment Canada is
still having issues with weather
data for a number of locations
across Alberta, but thanks to the
good work being done at Alberta
Agriculture and Rural Development there are very good summary maps of both temperature
and precipitation data for agricultural Alberta.
I have included two maps that
show temperature and precipitation patterns this summer
(maps cover the time period
from May 28 through to August
26). The first map shows the
average daily temperature during this period as compared
to the long-term normal or
average. The advantage of this
type of map is that it makes it
relatively easy to see which
regions experienced warmerthan-average temperatures
(orange, pinks, and reds) and
those regions that saw coolerthan-average temperatures
(different shades of blue). The
green regions saw near-average
temperatures. Another interesting feature of this map is that it
gives you the frequency of how
often you should expect these
types of temperatures to occur.
For example, near-normal temperatures (light green) should
occur once every three years,
extremely warm conditions
(bright red) can be expected
to occur once in every 25 to 50
years.
A quick look at the map
shows us that a good portion of
the northern and Peace River
regions saw warm to extremely
warm conditions this summer,
with some areas even seeing
heat that occurs less than once
in 50 years. Farther south, most
regions were moderately to very
warm, with only a few areas seeing near-normal temperatures.
The second map shows precipitation amounts as compared
to the long-term average. This
map easily shows how nearly all
Map 1: Average daily temperature May 28 through to August 26
as compared to the long-term normal or average.
Map 2: Precipitation amounts as compared to the
long-term average.
Environment Canada is calling for the mild weather to continue, as all of Alberta is expecting to see above-average temperatures
from September through to November. ©thinkstock
of agricultural Alberta saw nearto above-average amounts of
precipitation this summer. Only
the far northern areas reported
moderately low to low amounts
of precipitation. The wettest
region was the central region,
where some areas reported precipitation amounts expected to
occur less than once in 50 years.
Now it’s time to take a look
ahead to see what the different
forecasters are predicting for
this fall’s weather. Environment
Canada is calling for the mild
weather to continue, as all of
Alberta is expecting to see aboveaverage temperatures from September through to November.
Precipitation is not as well
defined, but overall, EC is calling for near- to below-average
amounts during this time
period.
Over at the Old Farmer’s
Almanac they are also calling
for above-average temperatures
in September and November,
with near-average temperatures in October. Precipitation
according to them will be near
average this fall. The Canadian
Farmers Almanac is singing
a little different tune for this
fall. They appear to be calling for near- to above-average
temperatures in September as
they mention fair and pleasant
several times. Temperatures
then look to cool down to near
or even slightly below average
in October as they mention
fair and cold a few times. This
cooling trend looks to continue
into November as it seems that
it will be a colder-than-average
month with several mentions of
cold or turning colder. Precipitation this fall according to the
Canadian Farmers Almanac will
be near average for September
and above average for October
and November. For November they mention snow several
times and call for heavy snows
late in the month.
36
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