Document 2025673

Volume 41, Number 14 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
$4.25
PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER
www.grainews.ca
FOUR STEPS TO MINIMIZING
YOUR HARVEST LOSSES
Combines don’t leave the dealers’ lots set specifically for your
field. Don’t throw out profits this late in the game
By Lisa guenther
I
f you’re reluctant to measure the
seed your combine is leaking and
adjust the machine accordingly,
you may be leaving a lot of yield
in the field. That was Jim Bessel’s message to farmers during EvolveAg’s field
day in north-western Saskatchewan
in July.
Bessel, who worked with the Canola
Council of Canada for over 20 years
before retiring into a consulting position, cited research from a three-year
study looking at canola harvest losses.
Harvest losses ranged from 2.3 per
cent to over 11 per cent. The study,
led by Rob Gulden of the University
of Manitoba looked at 310 western
Canadian fields and wrapped in 2012.
Combines don’t leave the lot set for
each farm, Bessel told farmers.
“The point is they’re done with an
algorithm and a computer that’s certainly not related to your conditions
in your field and you as an operator,”
Bessel said. That means farmers are
better off doing a little testing on their
own, he said.
So how can you curb harvest losses
and the next year’s volunteers? The key
is to do a little testing in your own fields,
Bessel said. Here’s a four-step guide to
finding and plugging those leaks.
1. Catch a sample
When it comes to capturing that sample, you have plenty of options. You can
buy a magnetic tray to attach to your combine, or Red-Green something yourself.
“Anything’s better than that darn No.
9 scoop shovel,” said Bessel.
Whichever tray you choose, you’ll
need to switch off the chopper and
spreader to get a representative sample,
Bessel said. The formulas for calculating
grain loss use trays that are a square foot.
One option is to set a tray in the crop
and drive over it, Bessel said. Another
do-it-yourself option is to attach a handle to a tray. Bessel prefers a paint exten-
sion pole, which allows him to telescope
the tray several feet from where he is.
If using a tray on a pole, Bessel has
someone drive him alongside the combine, while he sits in the back of the
truck or quad. He holds the tray, facedown, behind the combine. Once the
combine reaches its normal harvest speed
and is pulling in a normal amount of
grain, the combine operator flashes a
thumbs up. Bessel flips over the tray and
the truck or quad stops.
“Let the combine pass over… the full
one square foot,” said Bessel.
Bessel recommends making sure the
handle is fully extended so you’re a
reasonably safe distance from the com-
photo: leeann minogue
» continued on page 4
Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240
In This Issue
Wheat & Chaff .................. 2
Features . ........................... 5
Crop Advisor’s Casebook . 6
Columns ............................ 18
Machinery & Shop............. 26
Cattleman’s Corner .......... 34
Ieuan Evans on soil tests
Lee hart page 5
Soil testing top tips
les henry page 22
FarmLife ............................ 43
2
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Wheat & Chaff
STAMPEDE
BY JERRY PALEN
Leeann
Minogue
H
“Well, that oughta hold ‘em until we can fix it, or it warms up.”
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arvest is in full
swing in southeast
Saskatchewan.
Of course if you
ask, we will say, “It’s been too
dry,” and “it’s been too hot,”
but the truth is that in the wake
of flood, hail, disease and last
year’s frustratingly late harvest,
this is the first year we’ve had
an “average” crop for a long
time. When he’s not cursing
the $%#$ straw chopper in the
combine, The Husband would
probably even admit that this
year, so far, harvest is actually
fun again.
But we won’t deny that this
has been a strange year. In
early August a neighbour told
me, “We can’t believe it. This
spring we put in a crop insurance claim for flooding.” (There
are still a lot of waterlogged
unseeded acres on the edges of
unusually large sloughs around
here.) “Now we might have
another claim due to drought.”
My aunt and uncle from
Ontario have made the trek out
West in mid-August to help us
with harvest for a second year.
The first few days they wondered if Air Canada had accidentally routed them to the
Sahara Desert. It was so hot in
their trailer at the back of the
yard that when a power outage
shut down the air conditioner,
we could’ve cooked soup in
there without turning on the
stove. Then this morning, not
even a week later, they woke
up to weather so chilly they
came to the house to borrow a
space heater.
Four things I’ve learned
While I spend some time in
the field (and I can prove it
with a picture I took from the
cab of the swather), during harvest you can more often find
me driving to town to pick up
(more) parts, giving someone a
ride out to their truck, or… you
guessed it… cooking. So, for
those of you in a similar situation, I’m going to share four
things I’ve already learned this
season about harvest cooking.
1. Nothing is more satisfying than the “pop” of a canning
jar sealing on the counter. Turns
out even an amateur can make
mustard bean pickles. Again, I
have a photo to prove it. I think
the garden supply company
accidentally shipped me magic
beans when I ordered seed. This
entire rural municipality could
never eat all the yellow beans
that have grown in my garden
this year. So I pulled out my
grandmother’s old cookbook
and started sterilizing jars. The
pickles are delicious.
2. Don’t overdo the zucchini.
After the incident last year when
I served a meal that included
zucchini three different ways
in one meal, The Husband is
a bit wary of zucchini. (Partly
because he worries that too
many zucchini-based meals
might drive the staff off, and
leave him trucking grain all by
himself.) At first when I noticed
none of the zucchini I planted
in the garden actually grew, he
didn’t say anything. But one
night, he finally admitted it. “I
didn’t mean to hoe out them
all”, he said. I think he’s feeling bad, but I’m not taking the
chance again. Next year I’m
hiding the zucchini plants in a
place he’ll never find them.
3. Farm women can do anything.
My friends are renovating their
farmhouse. For now, they are
living in their camper. This isn’t
the most convenient time of
year for a farm family to live
in a trailer with three kids. Last
week, when it was 40 C, it was
also her turn to cook for the
entire harvest crew of eight,
plus her family. My friend was
cooking chicken and ribs for
12, in a trailer. (“We also had
to unplug the freezer,” she said,
looking on the bright side. “At
least I had a chance to use
everything up.”)
4. We don’t have to do this.
One farm operation took a look
at the amount of work this
takes, the number of people
working on the farm, and the
number of off-farm jobs that
the farmers’ wives were holding down. Then they drove
straight to town and hired a
caterer. Now, on harvest days,
one of the crew drives in, picks
up pre-wrapped suppers for
everyone, and delivers them
around the field. They can
even write off a portion of the
bill as a farm expense (talk to
your accountant.) There are
plenty of other options, and
not all of them involve eating
microwaved hot dogs on your
way to bed after a late night in
the combine.
Happy harvesting! †
Leeann
1
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photos: leeann minogue
1. Our neighbour got into the field well before us
this year, combining some lentils just north of our
house. 2. There were some off-track moments
when the GPS flickered off mid-afternoon, but at
least I didn’t break anything. We haven’t harvested
this canola field yet. 3. These mustard pickles
are made with garden yellow beans, powdered
mustard, turmeric, celery salt and flour.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Wheat & Chaff
Farm safety
Extinguish the risk of combine fires
H
arvest is a rewarding
time of year for farmers. There is nothing
more satisfying than
having all that hard work result
in a successful and bountiful
harvest. However, a combine fire
can put all of that work and your
safety in danger. A combine fire
can mean lost time, property
damage or worse — severe injury
or even a loss of life.
Combines can become fire hazards if not properly maintained.
A fire only needs three things
to ignite: oxygen, a heat source,
and material to burn. When you
consider dry fields, high winds,
hot machines, and crop dust
and straw, it’s no wonder these
machines can catch fire.
One of the most effective ways
to prevent a combine fire is by
simply taking the time to clean
the machine.
Many farmers make sure to
thoroughly clean their machines
either before or after harvest.
The reality is that cleaning your
combine once a year simply
isn’t enough to prevent a fire.
It’s important to take the time
to clean your combine routinely to prevent the build-up
of crop debris, which can lead
to machine breakdowns or a
costly fire.
First, remember never to clean
or unplug the machine with the
engine running. Make sure to
disengage the drives, turn off the
engine and remove the key. It’s
essential to wait for all movement to stop before leaving the
operator’s seat.
There are a few key areas
to inspect and clean on your
combine. They include batteries, feeder area, engine compartment, rotor covers, ground drive
transmission, chopper area, tailings housing, frame ledges and
wire harness. Regular inspection
and cleaning of these specific
areas provide the greatest impact
in reducing fire hazards.
Using a leaf blower or compressed air can make cleaning
much easier. Remember to use
these air blowing tools in a
fire-safe area, away from any
flammable materials (including fields). The quick-moving
air may ignite any hot particles
resulting in a fire. Make sure
to wear the proper gear when
using compressed air including
eye protection and a face mask
to protect your eyes and lungs.
It’s also important to stop and
check for crop debris buildup
throughout the day. Certain
crops are prone to excess buildup
on your combine, if this is the
case, inspections and cleaning should be performed more
often. Pausing to clean out the
machine may seem like a waste
of time, but a few moments of
cleaning can save you a burnt
combine, a ruined crop, and
months of lost time. The more
residue you can remove from
the machine, the safer and less
prone to burning it will be.
In addition to cleaning procedures, there are some key components that you need to think
about when you’re trying to
avoid combine fires:
• Check coolant and oil levels
daily. Running low on either
of these things can cause your
combine to heat up and put
you in a risky situation.
• Ensure bearings, belts, or
other moving parts that can
get extremely hot aren’t surrounded or wrapped up by
plant material.
• Repair leaky fuel or oil hoses,
fittings or metal lines immediately.
• Wait at least 15 minutes before
filling the machine with fuel
to lower the risk of spilled fuel
on a hot machine.
• Keep at least one fire extin-
Agronomy tips… from the field
A
www.casa-acsa.ca
Farm safety
Use a true desiccant
for best dry-down
big part of getting high
quality peas and lentils in
the bin is using a “true”
desiccant that gives you a
fast, even dry down.
How I define a “true” desiccant?
Simple. A true desiccant is not systemic and works by actively bursting the live cell of the plant on
contact, thus releasing moisture.
Other products, like glyphosate,
move systemically through the
plant. This takes far longer for dry
down and could lead you to lose
out on quality by having those
plants exposed to poor weather or
excess moisture late in the season.
Another huge advantage to
using a true desiccant over glyphosate is that it doesn’t affect the germination and vigor of your seed,
guisher in the cab of the combine and a second outside
the machine at ground level.
(Check them daily to make sure
they continue to work well.)
• Stop the combine and clean
out debris frequently throughout the day. Dry, hot and
windy conditions can add to
the build-up of debris, so it’s
important to check the danger
zones for blockages.
If a fire arises after these precautions, call emergency services
first. Once the fire department
has been called, attack with the
fire extinguisher if it’s safe to
proceed. In a dry, windy environment, fires can double in no
time and expand well beyond
your control.
Contact your dealer and read
your manual for specific instructions for your combine. Have a
safe and productive harvest! †
since it’s not moving through the
plant. Glyphosate is going to affect
your seed’s germination and prevent you from putting that seed
back in the ground.
As for desiccant timing in lentils
or field peas, you’ll want to go in
when there’s about 30 per cent
moisture left in the plant.
The bottom pods should appear
brown and dry but not split and
the seeds rattling in the pods. The
middle pods will be light green to
yellow and have full-size seeds that
are splitting but not juicy. Finally,
the upper pods will be a fleshy
green, though the seeds may be
immature. †
This agronomy tip is brought to you by Carolyn
Ruzicka, agronomic service representative, SouthCentral Saskatchewan, with Syngenta Canada.
Photo contest
GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT
Ken Hofer sent us this picture of his son Konan and
Konan’s cousin Masen Hofer. The Hofers are part of
the Ewelme Colony, near Glenwood, Alberta. In the
picture, the boys are out having lunch where their father
is farming on the Blood Indian Reserve near Lavern,
Alberta.
Ken, thank you very much for sending us this picture.
I’m sure this lunch is already a great harvest memory for
these adorable boys.
Send your best shot to leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.
com. Please send only one or two photos at a time. Be
sure to include your name and address, the names of
anyone in the photo, where the photo was taken and a
bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up
about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that
images are of high resolution (1 MB is preferred), and if
the image includes a person, we need to be able to see
their face clearly.
Leeann
You might be from the Prairies if...
By Carson Demmans and Jason
You move to a big city out of province
and you suddenly have a lot of friends
from high school visiting weekly.
Be safe out there
Y
our harvest is probably already
well under way, but it’s not too
late to stay safe.
Here’s a new way to get the latest safety news: Until October 31, Syngenta
Canada will be sharing daily harvest
safety tips on Twitter using the hashtag
#SafeHarvest. The tweets will include links
to farm safety videos, articles and websites.
If you see something you want your friends
and neighbours to remember, why not
retwee?
This is the third year Syngenta has run
this #SafeHarvest campaign. This year,
Syngenta’s goal is to reach even more farmers with these safety message.
Do you have your own harvest safety
tip? Share it on Twitter with the hashtag
#SafeHarvest and Syngenta will enter you
to win safety equipment prizes like first
aid kits, fire extinguishers and safety harnesses. †
www.synentafarm.ca/safeharvest
3
4
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Cover Stories
Harvest management
WEIGHING METHOD – ALL CROPS
CUT WIDTH COMPARED TO WINDROW DROPED BEHIND COMBINE (CONCENTRATION FACTOR = CF)
Loss Collected Behind
Combine in 1 square foot
Grams/ft²
CF
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Loss
lb./ac.
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
10
0.6
0.8
0.9
1.1
1.2
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1.6
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Lynda Tityk
1.0
1.3
1.6
1.8
2.1
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2.6
25
Associate Publisher/
Editorial director 2.1
2.6
3.1
3.6
4.2
4.7
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50
3.1
3.9
4.7
5.5
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7.0
7.8
75
4.2
5.2
6.2
7.3
8.3
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10.4
100
5.2
6.5
7.8
9.1
10.4
11.7
13.0
125
6.2
7.8
9.4
10.9
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150
7.3
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Farml ife Editor
8.3
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Machinery EDITOR
FOUR STEPS
TO MINIMIZING
HARVEST LOSSES
bine. Regardless, you’re going to
get dirty, he said, and if you don’t
like getting dirty, “tough bananas.”
“It’s very expensive when you
don’t want to get dirty. The shower
is pretty cheap.”
Farmers can also buy magnetic
trays. Bessel had one that could
be moved to different machines.
It could be set behind the axle, or
near the table, to capture wayward
grain. It also had a remote control. Push the button and the tray
drops, he said.
2. Measure the loss
To figure out how much grain
you’re leaving behind, you’ll need
two numbers: the weight or volume of the clean sample and your
combine’s concentration factor.
The Canola Council of Canada
and the Prairie Agricultural
Machinery Institute (PAMI) have a
handy table to figure out your com-
bine’s concentration factor. The
concentration factor is determined
by the width of the combine’s cut
and the width of the discharge out
the back. Most combines are five
or six feet wide at the back, but use
your measuring tape, said Bessel.
Before measuring the sample,
you’ll need to clean it. You can use
a screen to remove straw and chaff,
according to the Canola Council.
Or you can put the sample into a
five-gallon pail and blow out the
chaff with a hair dryer or blower.
Armed with those two numbers, you then need to consult the
charts published by the Canola
Council and PAMI. Those charts
will spell out your losses in bushels
per acre (if you measured volume)
or pounds per acre (if you went
with grams).
3. Adjust the machine,
or driving style
Now it’s time to fix any problems. Bessel recommended starting at the front end and working
your way backwards. The Canola
Council also suggests searching for
leaks at the front first — specifically
John Morriss
Ed itor
Leeann Minogue
fiel d Edito r
Lisa Guenther
Cattleman’s Corner Editor
Lee Hart
Sue Armstrong
photo: lisa guenther
of
PAMI
and the
Canola Council
of
Canada
Calculate your concentration factor (CF) by dividing the width of the header by the width of the discharge behind
the combine. For example, with a 30-foot header and discharge five feet wide, the concentration factor is six.
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
PUBLI SHE R
Scott Garvey
For bigger collection pans multiply the values in the table by the number of ft² in the collection
Calculations are based upon 0.010413 grams/ft² over each ft² in an acre =1 lb./ac.
Table: Courtesy
1 6 6 6 D u b l i n Av e n u e ,
W i n n i p e g , MB R 3 H 0 H 1
w w w. g r a i n e w s . c a
the pickup, feederhouse, elevator,
shoe seals, grain tank and separator
covers.
If you adjust your settings, only
change one thing at a time, Bessel
said. And recheck losses between
adjustments, the Canola Council
recommends.
When it comes to combines,
there’s a big difference between a
driver and an operator, Bessel said.
He suggested spending the dough
to train someone, and offering an
incentive to operators who save
bushels.
Who makes a good combine
operator? Someone who listens,
asks questions and doesn’t push
the throttle, Bessel said.
4. A quick, dirty method
As the days fade into evenings,
environmental conditions change.
And that affects your harvest losses.
“Thrashing changes. Moisture content, all of that starts to change,”
said Bessel.
But that doesn’t mean you have
to redo the test in full. Instead,
Bessel suggested giving the “Frisbee
special” a throw.
A throw pan, or “Frisbee special,”
is a quick way to catch a sample of
grain from the back of the combine.
Bessel’s Frisbee is a square-foot
lid that can be tossed under the
combine to catch a sample. “And
most often once you get onto it,
you can get pretty good. The big
thing is to stay safe and not get run
over by the tires.”
Once you’ve cleaned the sample, you can use felt pen markings
in the corners of the Frisbee to
measure the sample. For example,
canola that fills a three-inch area
in the corner represents about a
one bushel per acre loss (assuming
a combine concentration factor of
five or six). Canola seeds need to
be rolled and flattened into the
corner, Bessel said.
It’s a “quick and dirty” method
that gives you something to work
with, Bessel said.
“You can do this even with a
flashlight at midnight if you really
want to get on somebody’s case
about how fast they’re driving.”
For more tips on reducing harvest
losses with canola, visit canolawatch.
org and search for “reducing combine
losses.” †
Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based
at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@
fbcpublishing.com or on Twitter @LtoG.
Harvest management
On the edge
of my seat
By Danell van Staveren
S
tep into my office. I had to climb the
ladder to get here. Okay, it’s the combine
cab. A labour shortage due to the lack of
nephews precipitated my recruitment to
the harvest crew. I’m not new to running the
combine. Years ago, five to 10 B.C. (before children) I could often be found in the field.
There was a little rust to shake off, however,
shaking off the rust wasn’t my biggest challenge
in the fall of 2014; due to the wet conditions in
south east Saskatchewan, getting stuck was an
ever present danger.
All in all, operating the combine was about the
same. There were a few more feet on the header,
a bit more capacity and a lot more electronics,
but it still had a steering wheel, and I still used it
sometimes. I thought the auto steer technology
was great — when it worked, or at least when it
worked like I thought it should.
The objective of combining remained the
same. Single-mindedly rumble as much crop
through the combine as quickly as possible.
There is a certain thrill in piloting a machine the
size of a small house around a field watching the
areas of standing grain, or number of swaths,
disappear as they are gobbled up. When the full
hopper light goes on, there are 315 bushels of
grain ready for the bin. That is the equivalent of
28,350 loaves of whole wheat bread. Wow!
The view from 12 feet in the air on a clear
sunny fall day is spectacular. The radio is tuned
to the CBC. Aside from the occasional broken
sheer bolt, or plugged knife, everything seems to
roll along, except for the fact I’m constantly on
the edge of my seat watching for water and soft
spots, trying not to get stuck.
Combines are not noted for their agility in the
mud, nor do they particularly like to be towed. A
daily stream of Facebook and Twitter pictures of
harvest machines sunken and mired in the bog
gave proof to the woes of others, and a sober
reminder that it could happen to you. For the
record, only one of our combines was stuck,
only once, and most importantly, not by me.
There were rules. No. 1: Spout out. Always go
around a slough with the spout away from the
slough in case unloading was necessary. No. 2:
When in doubt, stay out. Never get too close to
slough edges, or areas that looked remotely suspicious of harbouring water or soft ground. No. 3:
Perpetually watch the tires. Soft spots, undetectable with the naked eye lay in wait. If the tires
come up wet, take evasive action immediately,
or even sooner if the tires come up muddy. On
the top 10 list of things causing me angst last
fall, trying not to get the combine stuck topped
the chart.
My closest encounter with being stuck came
one sunny afternoon as I skirted a large slough,
much of which had once been cultivated acres.
I was cautiously following the rules. It was a
picturesque scene; blue sky, still blue water, green
edges, and lazy waterfowl bobbing here and
there. A startled duck began its sudden quest
for flight. It skimmed the surface leaving a trail
across the water as it picked up speed. It spread its
wings and… and I realized the tires were muddy,
and through the standing grain I could see the
glimmer of water on the right side of the header.
Oh no! (Not my actual words) I was the one in
flight mode now. Turn out, turn out, turn out.
Keep moving. Please keep moving. Every inch
counted as I clawed my way to terra firma. Safe.
Please exhale. Stupid duck!
Saskatchewan is next-year country, and now
that it is next year, fortunes have changed. We
are looking to the sky for rain. In a few short
weeks, when next I step into my office, I am
anticipating that the fields will be drier, and
the fear of getting stuck will be greatly diminished. I can do without that stress, but, what
stress, I wonder, in an optimistic way, will take
its place? †
Danell van Staveren farms and writes near Griffin, Sask.
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Features
5
Soil management
Soil testing more relevant than ever
If you don’t know what nutrients are in the soil it’s hard to meet your crop’s needs
By Lee Hart
T
o optimize crop yields,
Ieuan Evans, a wellknown western Canadian
plant pathologist, urges
farmers to get back to the basics
— do a soil test and follow the
recommendations.
Evans, speaking to farmers
at the Ag In Motion farm show
near Saskatoon in July says farmers have been advised since the
beginning of modern agriculture
to make soil testing a routine management practice and yet many
producers still fly by the seat of
their pants.
“You talk to a farmer and he
may say I have “good” land here
and “poor” land there, but the
fact is they really don’t know what
they have,” says Evans, a senior
coach with AgriTrend Agrology.
“They may go out every year
and apply nitrogen, phosphorus,
potassium and sulphur (NPKS),
but that may be at rates they use
year after year and many just don’t
consider the total nutrient package which also includes micronutrients. A farmer may be applying
nitrogen and phosphorus but if
one or more of the other macro
or micro nutrients is limiting that
can affect the health of the crop,
the standability and ultimately the
yield.”
Evans, in a sometimes colorful
and occasionally frank criticism
of some agronomic recommendations made to producers, says
farmers need to look at the whole
macro and micro nutrient package.
Look at the facts
He referred to a crop nutrient removal chart available on
Alberta Agriculture’s Ropin’ the
Web — and there are similar
versions available from other
provincial departments of agriculture — which point out for
example, an 80-bushel barley
crop will remove 78 pounds of
nitrogen, 34 pounds of phosphate, 25 pounds of potash and
seven pounds of sulphur. Those
are macronutrients, but at the
same time that 80-bushel crop
also requires to varying levels of
calcium, magnesium, boron, copper, iron, manganese and zinc.
“It is just a fact of biology, that
an 80-bushel barley crop will
require those levels of four macronutrients and seven micronutrients,” says Evans. “And if one or
more is missing the yield and
quality potential of that crop can
be adversely affected.
“And farmers need to start with
a soil test to know what is available in the soil and then fertilize
accordingly.”
Evans who has long been a proponent of what he considers is the
important yet often overlooked
role of copper in a crop nutrient
program says about 20 per cent of
Alberta farmland (peat and sandy
soils) are chronically deficient in
copper, while another 20 per cent
are routinely deficient in periods
of high moisture. It is a similar situation in Saskatchewan, and some
soils in south central Manitoba are
also chronically deficient.
“I visited one farm near Ituna,
Saskatchewan, where a farmer
had an 80-bushel wheat crop
and part of the field was badly
lodged,” says Evans. “The crop
was lodged in all the low spots. If
wind had been the problem the
crop would have lodged in the
high spots. They had received several inches of rain earlier in the
growing season, those soils in the
low spots were high in organic
matter and the copper had moved
into the subsoil where plant roots
couldn’t reach it.”
In another case, Evans was asked
by an Alberta farmer to investigate
what the farmer believed was a
situation of herbicide injury on a
barley crop following a treatment
by a custom applicator. It wasn’t
herbicide injury. The farmer had
received a fertilizer recommenda-
tion that called for 120 pounds of
nitrogen as well as a four pounds
of copper per acre. He followed his
normal practice of applying 100
pounds of 10-15-10 fertilizer, with
no added copper. It was a poor
crop that yielded about 40 bushels
per acre. The following year the
farmer applied the recommended
fertilizer rate that included 120
pounds of nitrogen, plus copper
and the crop yielded 140 bushels
per acre.
“There are no quick fixes or silver bullets,” says Evans. “You can’t
just apply one new miracle product and start optimizing yields.
You need to look at the whole
nutrient program, and that starts
with a soil test ideally every year
or at least every couple years and
then make sure the crop has was
it needs.”
With copper in particular, he
says wheat varieties tend to be
the most sensitive, some barley
varieties and a few oat varieties,
to deficiency. Flax is also often
sensitive to a copper deficiency.
And most of these crops can be
sensitive when pushed toward
higher yields. And referring to
organic crop production, he says
it becomes a real challenge for
organic producers to provide the
total nutrient package. If they are
not using commercial fertilizer
blends they end up mining the
soil. †
Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in
Calgary, Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by
email at [email protected].
photo: lee hart
Euan Evans, plant pathologist
points out the value of providing a
crop the whole nutrient package to
optimize yields.
6
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Features
Crop Advisor’s casebook
Poor canola establishment
By Tess Strand
A
t the end of May I
received a call from Don,
whose family grows
9,000 acres of wheat,
canola, oats and barley at their
farm in Canora, Sask. There was
patchy emergence in the farm’s
first seeded canola field, and the
grower thought the seed might
have suffered from fertilizer burn.
I paid Don a visit and he took me
out to affected canola field. I could
see the plant stand was poor, with
only three to five plants per square
foot and very uneven emergence.
The plant populations were lowest
on knolls within the field.
In addition to low plant density, the canola was obviously
growing very slowly. I dug up a
few seedlings, which had been
planted at a depth of one to two
inches, and noted some plants
were only just emerging and
there were a quite few dead seedlings that had never germinated.
There was also evidence of exten-
sive flea beetle damage in the
early crop.
Don told me he’d first noticed
the patchy emergence a couple
of weeks after seeding. When I
inquired about the fertility program for the field, Don said he’d
used a new independent opener
drill he’d purchased that spring to
sideband a 70-20-0-20 blend during seeding.
Because it had been a cold,
damp spring, Don had been worried about the wet field conditions
he was seeding into. As a result,
he had lowered the pressure on
the drill in an effort to reduce
compaction.
Was fertilizer burn to blame
for the poor canola crop, or was
something else affecting the
plants? If you think you know
the answer, send your diagnosis
to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg,
Man. R3C 3K7; email leeann.
[email protected]
or fax 204-944-5416 c/o Crop
Advisor’s Casebook. The best suggestions will be pooled and one
Casebook winner
Some plants were only just
emerging and there were a
quite few dead seedlings that
had never germinated.
Heather Krahn is an agronomy
manager with Richardson Pioneer
Ltd. in Regina, Sask.
winner will be drawn for a chance
to win a Grainews cap and a oneyear subscription to the magazine. The answer, along with the
reasoning that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop
Advisor’s Solution File. †
Tess Strand is a regional sales agronomist
with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Canora, Sask.
The plant stand was poor,
with only three to five plants
per square foot and very
uneven emergence.
This issue’s Casebook winner
is Rory Cranston, a market development specialist with Bayer
CropScience Inc. at Outlook,
Sask. Rory gave us a very detailed
answer that I thought our readers
might find interesting.
“The twisted canola is the
result of wind,” Rory wrote in
an email. “High winds during
rapid growth in the bolting
stage of the plant. At this stage
the stem is rapidly growing and
flimsy, the high winds will bend
it over and cause it to grow
in a sideways direction while
the wind is blowing. Once the
winds stop and growth continue the plant will correct itself
and grow upwards again, but
the “S” in the stem will remain.
There is no yield loss associated
with this condition.”
Thank you very much for
entering! We are sending you
a Grainews cap and a one-year
subscription. †
Leeann Minogue
Crop advisor’s solution
Canola damage caused by wind
By Heather Krahn
B
ack in mid-July, Ralph asked me
come out to his grain farm near
Regina, Sask., to have a look at
the canola crop in one of his fields
that was growing irregularly. He suspected
a neighbour might be to blame, but he
wanted a second opinion.
Because of the kinked and twisted appearance of the canola plants, Ralph thought
that chemical drift from the neighbour’s
adjacent field might be responsible. “I don’t
want to confront anyone regarding herbicide drift unless I know it is actually drift,”
said Ralph, who grows 4,500 acres of canola,
durum wheat, flax and lentils. “But I think
my neighbour drifted on my canola!”
After I looked at the canola field and
the area where it bordered the neighbour’s durum wheat field, I ruled out
herbicide drift. While twisting and curling in plants can be caused by Group 4
herbicide drift, it was obvious this wasn’t
what was happening here; I could see a
healthy crop of weeds running alongside
the durum wheat field, and while some
weeds along the edge of the canola field
were damaged, this could be explained by
the herbicide hand spraying that Ralph
had done previously.
The canola plants were in the flowering stage, and apart from the twisted
and curling stems, they looked relatively
healthy. Most of them were growing back
in an upward direction, and from the
looks of it, something had damaged the
plants a few weeks previously when crop
was in the bolting stage and the stems
were still very soft and flexible.
At that point, I knew it was most likely
wind damage. An important clue was that
much of the affected canola was clustered
in the lowest lying areas of field, where
plant populations were lower due to
water stress and saturated soil conditions.
In these areas, the crop would have been
more vulnerable to wind as the canopy
was not as thick and would not have provided as much protection.
I also learned that another canola field
a couple of kilometres north had plants
that showed similar symptoms — but
these plants were only on the field’s edge
and therefore more susceptible to wind
damage. We recalled that there had been
some strong winds earlier that season.
If strong enough, winds can affect the
growth plants at vulnerable stages of their
development. In this instance, because
the less mature stems of the canola plants
weren’t as thick and tough, they had bent
and twisted in the wind but hadn’t fully
broken off.
Because the damage was due to environmental conditions, there was really
no way it could have been prevented. But
in the end, Ralph’s canola crop bounced
back and the symptoms caused by the
wind had little effect on the overall average yield.
A lesson here is that it’s always wise
to thoroughly investigate cases like this.
Knowing the facts can head off harmful
accusations before they occur, and is part
of being a good neighbour. †
Heather Krahn is an agronomy ma ager with Richardson
Pioneer Ltd. in Regina, Sask.
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Features
7
Soil management
Controlling your farm trafficd
It’s still a new concept here, but many farmers in Australia and Europe are embracing CTF
By Emily Padfield
A
recent conference held
on the subject of controlled traffic farming, or
CTF as it’s more commonly known, has shown that
the uptake in North America and
Canada is somewhat behind that
of northern Europe and Australia.
Held in Prague and organised
by CTF Europe, the conference
attracted more than 130 participants, including farmers, managers, industry professionals and
consultants all keen to share their
experiences with CTF. Trimble,
Claas and Horsch also supported
the conference.
First and foremost, controlled
traffic farming is about reducing
production costs, while at the
same time increasing yields and
improving soil health, explained
Tim Chamen of CTF Europe. “It
works on the premise that if it’s
not broken, you don’t need to fix
it. Primarily, soils are damaged by
heavy machinery running all over
them. So, if soil is not trafficked,
then there shouldn’t be any compaction.
“What CTF aims to do is to
turn present production systems
on their head by leaving 80 to
90 per cent of fields un-trafficked,
hence reducing soil compaction
significantly.”
Permanent traffic lanes are introduced, confining compaction only
to these areas, leaving the rest of
the field untouched. All of this
hinges on GPS and RTK, or realtime kinetic correction.
There are several challenges that
face growers looking to go down
the CTF route. First is designing
the system, which is largely based
on your current machinery fleet,
unless you have the luxury of starting from scratch. Systems are usually based around your combine
tires and header width.
Establishing where wheelways
fall is also important for run off;
drainage plays an important part
in this.
It’s also obvious that most CTF
systems are either no-till or noninversion. However, it is crucial
that the system in place can deal
with residues, diseases and weeds
when ploughing isn’t an option.
Gurr of Brannan, Manitoba. As well
as farming, Gurr is studying for a
Masters degree in controlled traffic
farming at Iowa State University.
“I thought it would be an ideal
opportunity to see the latest
research and also to talk to farmers
who are also using CTF on their
own farms.”
Gurr farms 4,800 acres near
Rapid City and Brandon with his
father and brother-in-law. For the
past 20 years the farm has been
managed under a no-till strategy;
this year will be the fourth that
CTF has been in place.
The system had to fit in with
the farm’s existing machinery fleet,
which included a Claas Lexion
760TT with a footprint of 132
inches, explained Gurr.
The Case 4420 sprayer has a
120-foot boom and is on 132-inch
wheel spacings. The Challenger MT
865 with 30-inch tracks is on 128inch track gauge. The MT 765 with
18-inch tracks is set at 132-inch
track widths. An 80 foot Seedhawk
drills at 12-inch row widths and
has 132-inch tracks.
For the most part the equipment wheel and track gauges are
standardized. The air tank on the
drill is not standardized, but most
of the time will have an axle load
less than 10 tonnes. In a 3:1 CTF
system, seed drills are typically onethird the width of the sprayer; in
this case the drill is two-thirds the
width of the sprayer.
“The only exception is the 35
foot swather we use to swath the
canola, but at the moment I am
okay with that.
“We will have to see whether we
have any issues with residue being
effectively spread across the whole
width, however we haven’t experienced any problems yet.”
On-farm research requires planning ahead, but modern technology, including GPS systems, makes
it relatively simple, explained Gurr,
who has also established Agritruth
Research, an agronomic research
company specialising in extensive
farm-based testing.
“First and foremost I am
a farmer,” he said. “However, I
understand the benefits of largescale research which is why we
established Agritruth.
“One significant benefit is the
CTF in North America
Several
Canadian
farmers
attended the two-day conference
and farm tour, including Adam
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“I’m getting into real estate.”
improved trafficability since adopting CTF. Even in wet conditions
we are able to travel with heavy
machines, whereas before we
would have got stuck.”
Out of the eight blocks Gurr
farms under CTF, seven have
yielded higher than those not
under CTF, however, it’s important
to take into account other factors
before attributing this increase to
controlled traffic farming.
“Without doubt we will continue with CTF even when the
trial ends,” Gurr said. “It’s a logical
progression from sprayer and drill
tramlines.” †
Emily Padfield is a freelance writer and farmer
based in Warwickshire, U.K. Contact her at
[email protected] or follow her on
Twitter @emilyfarmers.
8
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Features
1
2
3
CTF research
in Alberta
4
photos: emily padfield
1. Class 830 tractor with wheel spacings. 2. Controlled traffic fertilizer spreader. 3. Horsch has a dedicated bowser for the sprayer that takes out tank
mixes, increasing his work rate. 4. Class 830 tractor with trailed sprayer.
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Controlled traffic farming (CTF), “reminds me of
the no-till movement 20
years ago,” explained Peter
Gamache of Controlled
Traffic Farming Alberta.
“There’s a lot of scepticism
but also a lot of interest.”
In 2014 it was estimated
that around 50,000 hectares
of land were under CTF in
the U.K., and two million
hectares in Australia.
In North America, there
are less than 50 famers
practicing permanent CTF,
although this is growing by
the year.
“It’s difficult to come up
with an accurate number,
as lots of farmers use some
form of CTF or another, such
as sticking to the tramlines
for spraying, etc.”
Gamache is currently
heading up a University of
Alberta CTF study running
from 2014 to 2017, the second study since 2011.
With co-operative sites on
farms throughout Alberta, the
study involves farms using different CTF widths, with headers from 30 to 40 feet, and
sprayers from 60 to 120 feet.
Plots are laid out with
both random traffic and controlled, with imposed traffic
being provided by a John
Deere 9560 RT.
For most farms involved in
the trial, capital investment
was minimal at $20 per acre.
All farms involved in the
trial have built their systems
around header size — 30, 35
or 40 foot table widths.
On trial sites, crop emergence for canola, wheat and
corn was found to be very
similar for both the trafficked and CTF plots, with
some recording increases in
plants per square metre.
CTF performs well in
extreme weather conditions,
including droughts and
floods, concluded Gamache.
“It also improves timeliness and efficiency as well
as uniformity in terms of
both crops and soil. CTF is
the ultimate precision platform, and is much more
than merely keeping to the
tramlines.
However, there are some
cons, he added. “It requires a
higher level of management,
sticking to a rigid system and
yields haven’t improved so
far in our trials.”
Another challenge is
the availability of suitable
machinery. Not all machines
suit CTF systems, and some
are completely incompatible.
For example, tractors aren’t
available with adjustable
track widths like sprayers,
making it necessary to fit
spacers and in some cases
invalidate warranties.
Both manufacturers
and delegates agreed that
machinery manufactures
should consider CTF in some
of their equipment to make
it easier for farmers to adopt
CTF successfully. †
Emily Padfield
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Features
Machinery
manufacturer
adopts CTF
photo: emily padfield
to reduce spraying time in one
such field by 45 minutes, just by
planning tramlines.”
Now, less than 10 per cent of
each field is travelled upon, compared to as much as 80 per cent
with usual traffic.
“You only really understand
CTF when you are doing it,”
Michael added. “But we expect
that long term, it will mean less
deep tillage, better soil quality,
more traceability and less chemical and fertilizer use. We don’t
know about yields yet as it hasn’t
been in place long enough.” †
Emily Padfield
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N
O
RT
CS
M
ore than 130 farmers, consultants and
industry professionals visited Horsch’s
3,200 hectares Agrovation farm
in the Czech Republic, as part
of the second International CTF
Conference, organized by CTF
Europe and supported by Horsch,
Trimble and Claas.
Machinery manufacturer and
farmer Michael Horsch has been
an advocate of controlled traffic
farming (CTF) for several years and
so it provided the perfect opportunity to showcase how he and his
brother Phillip have adopted it on
the 7,900-acre farm the company
bought three years ago.
“We had never seen land or soil
structure so run down before,”
explained Michael Horsch to visitors. “But because we had the
luxury of starting from scratch, it
seemed the perfect opportunity to
adopt CTF.”
Each machine is on three metre
wheel threes, a decision partly
dictated by the track width of the
combine. This has meant adapting
tractors and machinery to fit. “We
have the benefit of having the
expertise and facilities to carry out
the modifications, but in many
cases it hasn’t been that difficult.”
Cultivating and drilling are done
at 12 metres with a Horsch Joker
and Pronto disc drill. Spraying is
at 36 metres, with a Leeb PT330.
“First and foremost, my brother
and I are farmers, then machinery
manufacturers. We are using the
Agrovation farm to develop products, and if there is a market for
them then we will take them to
production.
“Everything we can we put on
tracks,” added Horsch. In fact,
nearly all machines are tracked,
even the fertilizer spinner is
mounted on a tracked unit, set at
three metres.
“Although we are not long into
the process, there are several observations that are already clear. The
first is that we are getting more
done with less machinery. In fact,
going CTF has meant we need less
machinery and not more.”
The second is the quality of
the work done. “Because we can
control what’s being done more,
it has resulted in a uniformity
that wouldn’t have been possible
without it.”
“When we took over the farm
we had a workforce of 77. It was a
traditional unwieldy soviet-based
system and it took us a week alone
to track down all the parcels of
land. Now, we only have a workforce of five, and that includes
the labour on the dairy part of the
enterprise.”
The logistical benefits of CTF
are considerable, he added. “But
you have to be prepared to plan
things more carefully. We now
have a dedicated bowser for the
sprayer that takes out tank mixes
at a time, meaning we can manage
work rates of up to 600 ha/day,”
(1,482 acres).
A software programme lets you
plan tramlines and also helps with
field obstacles such as pylons and
trees. “In one case, we’ve managed
Machinery manufacturer
and farmer Michael
Horsch has adopted
controlled traffic farming
on the land he farms
with his brother.
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trademark of the Canadian Seed Trade Association. Used under license. ©2012 Monsanto Canada, Inc.
T
NE
I
9
10
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Features
Harvest quality
Send samples in for free analysis
The CGC’s Harvest Sample Program gives farmers a valuable marketing tool
By Lee Hart
G
etting a free grain quality analysis at harvest
not only puts farmers
in a better bargaining
position when they market their
crops, but it also helps Canada
sell grain, canola and pulse crops
around the world.
The ongoing Harvest Sample
Program offered by the Canadian
Grain Commission (CGC) gives a
farmer more solid footing when
it comes to talking business with
a grain company or commodity
broker, says Jim Smolik, assistant
chief commissioner with the CGC
based in Winnipeg.
“The Harvest Sample Program,
which provides a free quality analysis, first of all gives a producer a
good sense of the quality and grade
of crop in the bin,” Smolik said in
a recent presentation to producers
attending a “Making The Grade”
workshop at Olds College, Olds,
Alta. He points out while the grade
and quality determined through
the Harvest Sample Program is
“unofficial,” simply because it
doesn’t comply with all the conditions required for an “official”
analysis, it is a good starting point.
“And by having even an unofficial analysis on the grade or quality of the crop, producers are in a
better position when it comes to
marketing,” says Smolik.
As farmers attending the workshop sponsored by Alberta Barley,
Alberta Wheat Commission and
the Alberta Canola Producers
Commission heard again, determining quality of any particular
sample is a subjective process.
While some quality sorting technology is available and is in the
process of being refined, determining the quality and grade of wheat,
barley and canola is still largely a
matter of human judgment. And
that reading of a sample can vary
from grain buyer to grain buyer
based on a wide range of factors.
Making the grade
Farmers attending the workshop
had a chance to work with Judy
Elias, an operations supervisor with
the CGC in Weyburn, Sask. to
measure out 100 seed samples of
canola and perform a crush test
to make their own assessment on
green seed count. In Bill Adduono’s
lab, the High River, Alta., CGC
operations supervisor had farmers
evaluating samples of wheat to
make a call on the level of frost or
heat stressed kernels in one area.
At another table farmers provided
a rating on mildew damage. Kevin
Sich of Rahr Malting in Alex, Alta.,
lead farmers through quality factors affecting malt barley.
For both young and experienced producers, in this workshop
setting, it wasn’t an easy call to
first identify the quality issue then
correctly determine the grade.
In all visual examinations it takes
a well-trained eye to identify the
particular condition that affects
quality. Then, looking at the seed
sample, you need to estimate the
number of affected kernels (percentage) to actually determine the grade
level — with “X” level of wrinkled,
frosted kernels, for example, is it a
No. 1 or No. 2 or No. 3 grade?
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Features
3
4
11
4
3
photos: lee hart
1. Farmers and grain marketers attending a recent one-day workshop at Olds College look over a sample of Hard Red Spring wheat
to determine how much mildew damage appeared in the sample and then decide whether it Graded No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3. Bill
Adduono, at right, green shirt, an operations supervisor with the Canadian Grain Commission was there to provide directions and
advice on the visual grading process which is anything but clearcut. 2. Farmer Kevin Sandau collects a sample of canola seed at a
grain grading workshop which he later crushed with a roller and then compared to the official Canadian Grain Commission colour
chart to estimate the amount of green seed in the sample. 3. These samples of sprouted and fusarium infected wheat standout when
isolated from good quality seed, but it becomes an art and a science to look at a random sample of wheat and pick out the affected
kernels and then make a call on the percentage of contamination. 4. After collecting and crushing a 100-seed canola sample the
question is how does it grade? These crushed seeds are compared to an official Canadian Grain Commission colour chart to estimate
the amount of green seed in the seed sample.
And dockage can be an issue
as well. What is the dockage?
Is it weed seeds or other foreign material, is it damaged seeds
or kernels, or does it also contain smaller seeds or kernels that
fall through the sieve, but otherwise are good quality seeds?
Depending on how the sample is
cleaned and evaluated there can
be a judgment call on what constitutes dockage.
Good starting point
So that brings it back to Jim
Smolik’s point — a quality and
grade analysis from the Canadian
Grain Commission gives a producer a good starting point when
talking to a grain buyer about
the quality and value of the crop.
While the rating made through the
Harvest Sample Program has value,
it is considered unofficial because
the sample size submitted is less
than the minimum requirement
of 1,000 grams; the dockage is not
retained, and a sample needs to be
collected by a CGC grain inspector
to be deemed official.
The Harvest Sample Program is
voluntary and free. The CGC even
provides the envelopes for samples and covers postage. Results
are usually available to the producer within one to two weeks,
depending on the volume of samples. The CGC provides grade and
quality results that include the
protein content on cereal grains
and pulses; oil, protein and chlorophyll content for canola; oil and
protein content and iodine value
for flaxseed; and oil and protein
for mustard seed and soybeans.
While Smolik describes the
Harvest Sample Program as an
important tool for producers, he
also says the information gives
Canadian grain marketers a handle
on the quality of the crop to be sold
in a given year.
Getting a sense of the quality of
the crop sitting in the bin helps
guide CGC research into finding
new uses for grain.
Farmers can sign up for the
Harvest Sample Program by contacting the CGC. Phone 1-800-8536705 and select “Harvest Sample
Program” from the menu options
or email [email protected]. Samples to be graded
must be returned to the CGC by
mid-November. †
® TM
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow.
09/15-45385
Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in
Calgary, Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by
email at [email protected].
12
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Features
Disease management
Are plant infection rates increasing?
Prairie farmers are spending more time and money on disease prevention than ever before
By Patty Milligan
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armers are staring down
a legion of diseases these
days. Whether it’s scouting for this or spraying
for that, they are scrambling
like never before to keep them
under control.
On the cereal front, says Tim
Gardner, senior market development specialist with Bayer
CropScience, leaf diseases have
always been around but now
fusarium head blight is the biggest issue. Because it doesn’t just
affect quality or quantity of your
crop; it will determine if you can
even sell your product at the end
of the year. With canola, Gardner
identifies the main challenge as
sclerotinia. “We’re just getting
our heads around how we manage that.”
Jay Schultz farms 6,000 acres
of canola, wheat, and yellow
peas 100 km east of Calgary
near Standard, Alberta. He’d
love to spend his Canada Day
long weekend at the lake but
now he spends it spraying for
sclerotinia. After many years
of no issues with sclerotinia
in canola, in 2012 it infested
about 50 per cent of his crop.
Other diseases he’s struggled
with recently include septoria
leaf blotch and tan spot. He also
suffered heavy losses a couple of
years ago when one variety of
HRSW got “smoked with rust”
brought in on winds from the
U.S. He started growing peas a
year ago and spraying fungicide
was built into the plan from the
get-go. Schultz wonders if in
the years ahead he’ll be spraying for blackleg in canola too.
“I really would prefer not to
have to do it. I’d prefer to be at
the lake!”
Farmers used to enjoy a break
in the summer but it’s become
harder to take time off. What’s
creating such an intense and
stressful disease situation?
For a disease to succeed, it
needs all three parts of the disease triangle: the pathogen, the
host, and the right conditions
to flourish. So which part of the
triangle is selling us out? The
two main factors are, it appears,
several years of unusually wet
weather and the tight rotations
between canola and cereal grains.
Additional factors are at play,
including whether or not producers are planting susceptible
varieties. The problems are not
simple and, as it turns out, the
solutions aren’t either.
Five years or more
of wet weather
Faye Dokken-Bouchard, provincial specialist in plant disease with the Saskatchewan
Ministry of Agriculture says five
years of unusually moderate temperatures and frequent moisture
across much of the Prairies have
provided the ideal environment
for pathogens.
Anita Brulé-Babel, a plant scientist who works on developing
disease-resistant wheat at the
University of Manitoba reminds
us, “Pathogens are always there.
The conditions just have to be
right.”
Producers
in
parts
of
Saskatchewan and Alberta have
had to watch for — and treat
— diseases they’ve never worried about before. In Manitoba,
where it’s more humid, farmers are already old hands.
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a
given in Manitoba and Ontario
and even in some parts of
Saskatchewan. Farmers in the
rest of Saskatchewan and Alberta
are now watching closely for it.
Schultz says FHB is on his radar
especially because there’s a zero
tolerance for FHB in Alberta seed
cleaning plants: “If we ever got
it, we wouldn’t be able to use
our own seed.”
It’s not
going to
disappear
overnight
Thicker plant stands
mean more moist
conditions
Recently, Schultz is “paying
more attention to plant stands.”
Higher density means better
yield as well as less reliance on
herbicides. But with a thicker
crop, disease spreads more easily because the canopy dries out
more slowly after a rainfall or
even a dewfall.
“Dense plant stands are not
a bad thing,” says Gardner.
“Farmers spend a lot of time
and money and effort to create a
great stand. They are aiming for
higher yields and they are doing
everything right. But they are
also creating an environment
for disease. They have to accept
that risk.”
Is going back to thinner plant
stands the answer? More aeration could help, says DokkenBouchard, but only if there’s a
relatively low rate of infection in
the first place. Thin stands have
disease disadvantages, too.
Gardner points out that in a
thin stand, “the plants are the
flowering all over the place so
the window for FHB infection
slides open. A good solid stand
means uniform flowering and
the window for infection is narrower.”
Tight rotations mean
higher pathogen levels
In addition to the wet weather,
disease rates are a reflection of
current tight rotations. According
to Kelly Turkington, research scientist with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada at Lacombe, Alta.,
up to 60 per cent of the acres
on the Prairies alternate yearly
between cereals and canola. If the
weather is conducive, every year
farmers are either dealing with a
wheat disease or a canola disease.
There is no break. When producers ran a solid four-year rotation,
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Features
Gardner believes “things took
more care of themselves.” That
rotation included summer fallow,
forage legumes, and diverse cereals — wheat, barley and oats.
The tighter rotations in the last
10 to 15 years are largely driven
by commodity prices. Sabine
Banniza, pulse specialist with
the Crop Development Centre at
the University of Saskatchewan,
acknowledges that farmers “want
to capture the high value of certain crops like canola.” Unless
they’re close to a market or have a
cattle operation, they’ve left summer fallow and long-term perennial crops, which both break up
the disease cycle, behind.
In longer rotations, farmers
take the host out of the disease
triangle for a period of time,
allowing pathogens to breakdown. With a short rotation, the
pathogen population builds up
over time, waiting for the right
host and the right conditions to
come around again. Turkington
admits, “I know we need longer
rotations because of my work as
a pathologist. But if I were farming with my dad, we’d grow canola-wheat-canola-wheat because
of economics.”
Pathogens are
always evolving
Canola-cereal-canola-cereal is
a “vulnerable rotation” because
the farmer is simply selecting
for resistant individuals of the
pathogen population. You can
be assured, says Turkington, that
problems will develop in two,
three or five years. Depending
on the disease, resistant varieties
aren’t always available. But even
if they are, Brulé-Babel says,
“If the pathogen shifts, then
it may take plant breeders five
to 10 years to shift the breeding programs to varieties that
have new sources of resistance.
Turkington warns, “You can go
from a resistant crop to a crop
with high disease susceptibility
in an instant.”
Breeding for host resistance is
difficult when it comes to residue-borne diseases, says BruléBabel. “When you build in resistance for one, you make room
for another one.” In her work
with leaf-spot pathogens, it was
possible to find “good sources
of host resistance.” But building
resistance to FHB is a challenge
because, she says, “We’ve got a
large number of genes involved
each with small effects.” The
resistance is not complete but
in combination with a fungicide, “you get some pretty good
results, especially in a low infection year.”
Fungicides are now
part of the plan
From now on “fungicide is
built into our crop plan,” says
Shultz. But, he acknowledges it
can’t be our “one big hammer
for dealing with all of these
issues, otherwise we’ll create problems.” Schultz cites an
example from Australia, where
scientists were able to develop
good resistant genes to blackleg
in canola. But after producers
overused a particular fungicide,
a different string of blackleg
emerged. Turkington agrees.
“We don’t have a continuous
supply of new active ingredients. The goal is “to add diversity into that system as best you
can,” and farmers won’t achieve
that by using the same product
repeatedly in the same year and
between fields.
The learning curve is steep for
producers, says Banniza. They
are working out the best timing for an effective application.
Pulse growers across the Prairies
and cereal growers in Ontario
and Manitoba where FHB is predominant, have far more experience than western grain growers.
Schultz uses what is happening
It’s not tillage
W
ith no-till acres
on the rise,
it’s tempting
to pin current
disease issues on that change.
University of Manitoba plant
scientist Anita Brulé-Babel
says crop residues left on the
surface can take two to four
years to decompose leading
to a build-up of residue-born
pathogens including tan spot,
scald, fusarium head blight
(FHB), sclerotinia and leaf
spot diseases. When a susceptible crop reappears in a
tight rotation, and suitable
environmental conditions
emerge, the pathogens are
there, ready and waiting.
According to Kelly
Turkington, Agriculture and
Agri-Food research scientist,
tillage is not a big factor in
preventing disease, even FHB.
For instance, aggressive tillage
in northeast Saskatchewan in
the 1990s didn’t prevent the
spread of blackleg in canola.
Certain diseases, says
Saskatchewan provincial plant
disease specialist Faye DokkenBouchard, occur less frequently
under reduced tillage such as
root rots in cereals. The effects
change according to the disease
and the pathogen. For instance,
for a disease like anthracnose
of lentil, no-till is clearly beneficial because the pathogen
deteriorates more quickly on
the soil surface, says Sabine
Bannisa, pulse crop pathologist at the Crop Development
Centre in Saskatchewan. For
other diseases, it’s the opposite.
Few long-term studies have
focused on the impact of no-till
on disease rates, notes Bannisa.
Some research has looked at
mold-board ploughing, where
the plough completely inverts
the first eight to 12 inches of
soil creating a physical barrier.
But, Turkington says, then the
soil must be tilled to prepare
the seed bed and pathogens
may be pulled back up to
the surface. Brule-Babel and
Dokken-Bouchard agree that
no-till benefits outweigh the
disadvantages. †
Patty Milligan
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13
in other parts of the world as a
model: “As compared to Europe,
we’re just at the cusp of using
fungicide. We can learn from
other people’s mistakes.”
Wrestling with
the disease triangle
All points of the disease triangle are at play when it comes
to the development of current
disease conditions. Gardner says,
“The bed is made. It’s not going
to disappear overnight.” At the
same time, the industry strives
for solutions with the hope that
they won’t just be short-term.
Individual management options
won’t fully protect crops, says
Dokken-Bouchard; multiple strategies, including varietal resistance,
rotation, and fungicide application, will provide the best means
of grappling with that dreaded
triangle. †
Patty Milligan is a freelance writer based at
Bon Accord, Alta.
14
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Features
Disease management
17 disease prevention strategies
Fungicides are key, but there are many other parts to an effective long-term strategy
By Patty Milligan
A
s you can tell by the fact
that this article includes
17, yes 17, strategies for
crop diseases prevention, there are no quick fixes. Crop
disease prevention is going to be
an ongoing struggle.
1. Use multiple strategies:
Understand that multiple strategies are the way to go. There isn’t
one big hammer, rather lots of
little hammers with lots of little
effects. Using multiple strategies
like those laid out in any standard
info sheet will help you avoid a
complete shipwreck.
2. Add diversity: Pulling diversity into the system is key. Don’t
repeat patterns year after year!
Whether it’s the rotation you follow, the varieties you grow, or the
fungicide you apply, you’ve got to
change it up.
3. Do things differently: Every
move you make to change things
up will make our current resistant varieties and our current fungicide last longer. Saskatchewan
Agriculture’s plant disease specialist, Faye Dokken-Bouchard
says the best way to help plants
keep their resistance is to use
Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) and rotations.
4. Share information: Learn
from other producers, both positive and negative. Pulse growers
have led the way in managing diseases and applying fungicides. In
Manitoba and Ontario, fusarium
head blight (FHB) is now a given.
Producers in Europe cope with
much wetter weather than we do
and have been using fungicides
for years. Australian producers and
their experiences with blackleg in
canola also contain a valuable lesson for us.
5. Use longer rotations: One
year between crops is not enough
time for infested residue to
decompose. In dry periods, Sabine
Banniza, pulse specialist with
the Crop Development Centre at
the University of Saskatchewan,
believes, you can get away with it.
“But in the wet periods, when conditions are right, you will get hammered.” Crop rotation is really
important especially for diseases
that are host-specific. Farmers
need to rotate away from that particular crop.
6. Calculate your long-term
economic benefits. Banniza
believes that producers who stick
to very good rotations may be
missing out a bit but they are
ensuring the long-term sustainability of their fields. We also
need long-term studies on the
economic impact of longer rotations, says Turkington. In the
short term, the farmer will gain
because canola’s paying $10
to $14 per bushel. But canola
also tends to be input intensive.
Inserting pulses into the rotation
will lower input costs for cereals,
especially because the producer
will also be able to rely on resistance. “If we spread those costs
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and benefits over a five to 10 year
frame, what do we get?”
7. Do the best you can: If you’re
not going to change your rotation,
then do the best thing you can.
Gardner knows that longer rotations are not an easy sell: “I could
talk rotation every day.” But if you
aren’t in a position to change your
rotation, what are the other ways
that you can introduce diversity
into your system?
8. Rotate crop types, not just
crops: Longer rotations aren’t
completely problem-free because
some diseases are not crop specific.
For instance, sclerotinia crosses
over between lentil, peas, soybeans and canola.
9. Try new crops: Kelly
Turkington, Agriculture and AgriFood research scientist, says,
“humans gravitate towards what’s
familiar.” For Prairie farmers, it’s
cereals and canola. Turkington
advocates employing whatever
method of tech transfer available
— demo plots, extension agronomists, crop centres to expand
producers’ capacity to grow unfamiliar crops. Marketing support
for these crops is as important as
agronomic support.
10. Use resistant varieties. But,
not the same one every year. You
need to keep changing what you
do or any pathogen will adapt. Jay
Schultz, a farmer near Standard,
Alberta, mixes up his seed source.
For instance he alternates between
planting Roundup Ready canola
and Liberty canola. By doing this,
you will help the scientists and
plant breeders keep ahead of the
game. They are constantly searching for new and better sources for
resistance and then trying to incorporate them into our new varieties.
11. Use fungicides as part of a
larger plan: If fungicide is your sole
approach to managing a disease
with a tight rotation, Turkington
warns, depending on how frequently you use it, you could be
selecting for a non-susceptible
fungus. Brulé-Babel worries that
though fungicides in Manitoba
have been effective to date, we run
the risk of overusing them. “The
better the fungicide works, the
more we select.” There are different formulations but there aren’t
a lot of different modes of actions.
For the most effective use of fungicide, Gardner urges farmers to take
care of all the cultural things they
can “at the front end” including
choosing resistant varieties and
using seed treatments.
12. Know your fungicides
well. Especially, know their active
ingredients and how they work.
Gardner observes that in Europe,
farmers don’t even use product
names when they talk, but rather
they refer to active ingredients.
Some fungicides work on single
sites of selection and others work
on multiple sites. The single site
fungicides give you just one kick
at the can. Over time disease will
figure it out more quickly.
13. Rotate between fungicide
groups: Gardener says, “You want
to mix things up.” If you repeatedly use the same fungicide, you
select for resistant pathogens. This
is especially important in the same
year: if you spray fungicide at flagleaf, switch groups if you are going
to spray again later in the same
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Features
The R&D pipeline at DuPont
A
t the Ag in Motion farm
show in July, DuPont’s
Western Sales Manager, Russ
Putland, told farmers that
DuPont is working hard to create new
products for Prairie farmers. “”We need
to be around for another 200 years,” he
told farmers in the Dupont tent.
Part of DuPont’s strategy on this
front is heavy investment in research.
“We used to register a new active
once every two years,” Putland said.
Now, their new research team has a
mandate of registering one per year.
Putland believes DuPont has one
of the best research pipelines in the
industry, with a steady stream of new
products in development. In three of
the past five years the company has
won Agrow (a news, data and analysis
provider) awards recognizing its R&D
pipeline. †
Leeann Minogue
year. (Using a seed treatment with
the same active ingredients as a
foliar application later in the same
season is not an issue.)
14. Use the right fungicides,
with good timing and good application technology and good coverage: Many farmers are penciling in fungicide application and
budgeting for it but they still
must be conscious about when
and how to use them and how to
get the best return on investment.
They cannot be recreational or
cosmetic. If the risk factors are
low, don’t spray! Schultz notes
that pre-buying fungicide in the
winter is not good agronomic
practice, since you don’t know
what the conditions will be —
you may not need them.
15. Scout, then scout again: You
must check and see what’s in the
field at the right time and then
figure out what you’re going to
do if a disease issue is apparent.
There is a small window to apply
fungicide, for instance, for FHB
prevention. You have to catch it.
Be First in
Field
your
Combine multiple
strategies
16. Watch the weater: If you
spot symptoms of FHB, you’re
too late. What you need to be
doing is watching the weather at
the time of flowering. “There are
no curative applications,” says Jay
Schultz. “You only have preventative. You only have one shot.”
Manitoba and Ontario have an
FHB forecast. With data collection,
Brulé-Babel believes that forecasts
could be established for other diseases too. Shultz keeps a close
eye on the weather forecast and
stays up-to-date on disease issues
through websites like the one run
by the Alberta Canola Producers.
He also relies on Twitter. “It’s basically coffee shop talk for all of
Western Canada.”
17. Accept the inevitable: There
is no simple recipe. Coping with
disease issues is ongoing and complex. Success is only achieved
through lots of smaller actions.
Brulé-Babel, acknowledges that
though “Resistant genes can make
things better, we may have to combine multiple strategies and, in the
end, live with some FHB.” †
Patty Milligan is a freelance writer based at
Bon Accord, Alta.
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16
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES
Weather Forecast for the period of September 6 to October 3, 2015
Southern Alberta
Peace River Region
September 6 - 12
Brisk winds at times, with frost
likely. Fair overall apart from a
chance of scattered rain or
showers on a couple of days.
September 13 - 19
Warm overall, but some lows fall
to near zero on a couple of nights.
Mostly sunny and dry, but expect
spotty showers or thunderstorms.
September 20 - 26
Highs often in the teens along with
a threat of frost in places. A couple
of warmer days bring showers or
thunderstorms.
September 20 - 26
Highs often in the teens along
with some frost in places. A couple
of warmer days bring a chance of
showers or thunderstorms.
September 27 - October 3
Fair and mild most days, but
cooler, blustery outbreaks bring
periodic rain. Frost patches in
many areas on 2 or 3 nights.
September 27 - October 3
Fair and mild most days, but
cooler, blustery outbreaks bring
a chance of periodic rain. Frost
patches on 2 or 3 nights.
42.2 mms
September 6 - 12
Brisk winds bring variable
temperatures. Frost in several
areas. Mostly sunny, but with
scattered rain on 2 or 3 days.
September 13 - 19
Sunny and warm days dominate
the week, but with a few passing
showers or thunderstorms. Some
overnight lows fall near zero.
September 13 - 19
Frost touches a few areas at
night, with daytime highs in the
teens and twenties. Expect some
scattered showers or
thundershowers.
September 20 - 26
Seasonal to occasionally warm,
but with a few frosty, cooler nights.
Fair apart from a risk of showers
or thunderstorms on two days.
September 20 - 26
Fair skies dominate, but expect
passing rain on a couple of days.
Seasonable temperatures with a
few frosty nights.
September 27 - October 3
Temperatures vary from the teens
to sub zero lows. Often fair but
expect rain on a few cooler, windy
days. Risk of snow in the north.
September 27 - October 3
Warm, dry weather is interrupted
by cooler, blustery, wet conditions.
Frost on a few nights. Chance of
snow in the north.
Precipitation Forecast
3 / 17
Edmonton
41.6 mms
3 / 16
Jasper
37.0 mms
3 / 16
43.8 mms
Banff
5 / 17
North Battleford
3 / 17
Red Deer
54.2 mms
4 / 17
Calgary
Forecasts should be 80%
accurate, but expect
variations by a day or two
because of changeable
speed of weather systems.
Manitoba
September 6 - 12
Frost likely in several regions on
at least 2 nights, as temperatures
vary from warm to cool. Blustery
at times. Scattered rain on a
couple of days.
September 6 - 12
Brisk winds at times, with frost
likely at many localities. Fair
overall apart from scattered rain
or showers on a couple of days.
September 13 - 19
Warm overall, but some lows fall
to zero on a couple of nights.
Mostly sunny and dry, but expect
a risk of spotty showers or
thunderstorms.
4 / 16
Grande Prairie
Saskatchewan
48.1 mms
6 / 20
Medicine Hat
19mms
cms
Lethbridge 36.3
44.2 mms
5 / 20
26 cms
3 / 16
Prince Albert
30.6 mms
BELOW
NORMAL
5 / 15
The Pas
5 / 18
Saskatoon
32.1 mms
39.8 mms
Precipitation Outlook
For September
57.3 mms
NEAR
NORMAL
4 / 17
Yorkton
5 / 18
Dauphin
Much Above Normal Below Much
above normal
normal below
normal
normal
6 / 17
4 / 19 48.0 mms 62.0 mms
6 / 19
Gimli
Regina
5 / 18 Moose Jaw 34.4 mms
47.9 mms
Swift 35.2 mms
6 / 19
4 / 18
Current
Portage 6 / 19
5 / 19
Brandon 50.1 mms Winnipeg
33.7 mms
Weyburn
50.5 mms
51.3 mms
42.3 mms 6 / 19
4 / 20
Melita
Estevan
42.2 mms
52.7 mms
Temperatures are normals
for Sept. 15th averaged
over 30 years.
Precipitation
(water equivalent)
normals for Sept. in mms.
©2015 WeatherTec Services
www.weathertec.mb.ca
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Features
17
Weed management
Fall weed management in canola
If you have time for fall weed control in canola fields, make the most of it
Melanie Epp
C
anola is one of the
higher value crops in
Western Canada, but
returns can be negatively impacted by poor weed
control. Luckily, there are
options for glyphosate-tolerant
canola. Controlling weeds in the
fall ensures that the crop suffers
next to no yield loss due to competition in the following year. If
pre-harvest control isn’t possible,
there are still spring options to
consider.
Scouting for weeds
Knowing what you’re dealing
with is the first step in any weed
management plan, says Angela
Brackenreed, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of
Canada. She suggests that farmers first assess weed populations
carefully. In particular, look for
perennials and winter annuals.
Perennials and winter annuals,
she notes, can be much harder
to kill in the spring when they
have less leaf area and larger root
systems to target.
If populations of perennials
and/or winter annuals are high,
a fall glyphosate application is
ideal, says Brackenreed. However,
if there are mostly annuals in the
field, a spring application is most
economical. “The only consideration here is whether those
annuals have time to set seed
and contribute large amounts to
the seed bank,” she says.
Troublesome weeds in canola
include dandelions, Canada thistle, quackgrass, foxtail barley and
winter annual cleavers. The seeds
of cleavers, in particular, are difficult to separate from canola seed
at or after harvest. Also, their
seeds are much harder than those
of canola, which can result in
damage to crushing machinery.
High populations of Canada thistle are also problematic as they
can negatively impact yields.
Brackenreed says that 10 Canada
thistle plants/m2 can reduce canola yields by 10 bu./ac.
the crop, particularly to foreign
buyers, could prove difficult.
Generally, it is best to apply
when seed moisture is less than 30
per cent, says Brenzil. At this stage
the seed is mature and separated
from the mother plant by a cork
layer.
If applying after harvest, producers need to be careful not
to apply companion herbicides
with glyphosate that could leave
a soil residue. Soil residue can
injure canola plants.
Brackenreed reminds growers
to check product registration to
see when products are best used,
spring or fall. “Some registered
products have application cut-off
dates, so even if they’re registered,
one should check with their retail
or company representative to get
all of the details on the product,”
she says.
Ideal conditions for glyphosate
applications are warm, sunny
days when plants are actively
creating and moving sugars from
the leaves to other areas of the
plant, says Brenzil. Glyphosate,
he reminds growers, must get
to where it needs to work in the
plant within 24 to 48 hours.
Cool, cloudy conditions where
translocation is slow can cause
glyphosate to get hung up in
the leaves, which means it does
not move to the roots where it
is needed to control perennial
weeds.
If frost occurs, farmer should
evaluate the degree of frost in
the following day or two. “A lot
of producers wonder if a frost in
the fall will enhance the control
of their post-harvest glyphosate,”
says Brackenreed. “Cooler temperatures increase translocation
of sugars to the roots of perennial weeds, but temperatures
below zero won’t enhance that
movement. Although frost itself
may not improve control of perennials, one could still get good
control after a frost if there is
enough healthy tissue still there
for uptake.”
Brenzil agrees, but warns growers to evaluate leaf tissue carefully. “If tissues turn black they
are no longer suitable for herbicide uptake,” he says. “Monsanto
suggests that a loss of more than
40 per cent of the original leaf
tissue can reduce the effectiveness of glyphosate on perennial
weeds.”
“Application after a light frost
can sometimes improve activity
in perennial weeds,” he continues, “but due to the risk of a
killing frost, gambling on a light
frost for a slight bump in activity
is risky.”
If fall frosts have been severe
and there isn’t enough leaf tissue to warrant a spray, farmers
should definitely plan to clean up
their fields pre-seed in the spring
ahead of their canola. When in
doubt, be sure to contact your
local agronomist for more information. †
Melanie Epp is a freelance farm writer.
Options for
optimum control
Clark Brenzil, provincial weed
specialist with Saskatchewan’s
Ministry of Agriculture, recommends pre-harvest glyphosate as
the most effective form of control. “There are many advantages
to this timing when compared to
post harvest treatment,” he says.
Glyphosate combinations such
as Cleanstart, which contains
carfentrazone, are also effective.
Brenzil does warn, though, that
rapid burn down products can
limit the translocation of glyphosate in perennial weeds since
leaves are killed very quickly.
Since in perennial weeds the target is the root, this is less desirable than glyphosate on its own.
Application timing is key
Timing is key, as pre-harvest
applications that go on too early
can lead to high residues in grain.
If residues exceed the Maximum
Residue Limit (MRL), marketing
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all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc. MERGE® is a registered trade-mark of BASF Canada Inc. © 2014 Monsanto Canada, Inc. and BASF Canada Inc.
18
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Columns
Can’t keep the farm from the boy
When the rubber hits the road
Making decisions and paying the bills is turning Toban Dyck into a real farmer
Toban
Dyck
T
wo days ago it was way
too early. But that morning, driving by my field
of soybeans, I wasn’t sure.
In fact, it’s hard to be sure of anything related to the fate of my 110
acres. I drove to the approach,
walked in a few feet, there didn’t
seem to be much for weed pressure. I had cultivated this field
before seeding. But there was rain
in the forecast. There was lots to
consider, and I wanted/needed to
make the decision on my own.
Parked on a tiny approach in
the middle of a large section of
relatively bald prairie, sitting in
my truck with the air conditioning
blowing directly on my face, about
to make my first critical decision,
I was nervous. Or at least I would
have been had I not asked a local
agronomist to meet me there that
morning.
We chatted for a bit. He knew
our farm, this field, and he
knew the guy who drove by in
a dirty, white truck. I gave him
the land’s legal address, but he
was familiar with the property
and over the phone just wanted
to confirm it was “the Shannon
Creek land, right?”
The weed pressure was minimal.
He confirmed as much. But there
were some weeds starting to poke
through, and some he thought it
would be good to kill before they
got much bigger. He left the decision to spray that day up to me,
saying that given weed size and
crop stage whether I do it now
or in a few days wouldn’t make a
huge difference.
I sprayed that day. Because,
you know, farmers don’t like
to mess with rain predictions
greater than 50 per cent. And I
consider myself a farmer in this
context. The fact that I have over
five weather apps on my phone
speaks to that.
The experience hashing such
decisions out with an agronomist
was pleasant and reassuring. I am
not alone. There are experts in
I feel an uncanny sense of responsibility.
the community who stay up to
date on chemicals, weeds, and
other relevant agricultural information. They are paid to help us,
the farmers, and seem to enjoy
doing so. I became less scared
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Visit Agrium at agrium.com.
09/15-23180_3 GN
photos: toban dyck
about farming that day. I became
less scared about the many things
I don’t yet know.
The transition from saying you’re something to actually being it is difficult for most
people. I’m among them. I find
myself still, to this day, giving
this pat response to people who
ask anything about me taking
over the family farm: “Well, succession planning is tricky. I’m
still in the throes of that. I’m just
starting out.”
It’s still a true statement, but
only kind of. We’re further along
than this already, and I need to
recognize that. I’ve been here for
three years, and that counts for
more than I let on.
My first year as a farmer with
land of his own is still a fuzzy
experience. I’m making decisions I don’t fully understand.
I’m acting. There are huge deficits in my knowledge of agriculture, and I have to go on as
though I know enough to make
things work. They will. I have to
be sure of it. And this confession
is as much of a tell-all from me
as it is a comment on what it’s
like to jump into a new vocation
in your 30s.
No matter what the discipline;
no matter what the subject matter,
this blind spot along any learning
curve is intimidating, important,
and worth pushing through.
It’s where I am right now, and
I’m learning to deal with it.
The bills are starting to come.
I mention this not to suggest I’m
hard done by, ‘cause by no possible stretch of the imagination
could that be true. My bills are
small. My costs are low. The figures are tiny. No, I’m mentioning
bills because receiving them is
tangible proof that there are people and businesses out there who
consider me a farmer.
I feel an uncanny sense of
responsibility, as though I’ve
become an adult again in my
30s. This may seem excessively
introspective, but recall your first
farm input bill, look me in the
eye and tell me you didn’t feel the
same way.
I’m sure this blind spot won’t
last long. I’m already starting to
shed the city boy turned farmer
perspective. I cling to it from time
to time, as it has defined me for
the past three years. It’ll give way
to the perspective of a full-on
farmer and country boy.
As for right now, in the doldrums between the first and second round-up applications, it’s
time to check my two beehives
and mow the ditches. †
Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new
farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter
@tobandyck or email [email protected].
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
19
Columns
Reporter’s Notebook
Getting them under the influence
Farm organizations use several different strategies to sway government decision makers
Y
ears ago I attended a
public relations meeting on the topic of how
companies and other
organizations could influence
government.
I was a web editor with Alberta
Agriculture at the time and wasn’t
really a bureaucrat that anyone
was trying to influence, so I’ve
forgotten details. But the gist of it
was that you influenced government officials by building a relationship with them, by helping
them when you can and by not
flogging them in the media (or at
least warning them first).
None of this is automatically
sinister. Co-operation can be a
good thing. But it did leave a bad
taste in my mouth. It lay bare
how government officials might
disregard citizens’ best interests in
favour of power.
I didn’t think about it at the
time, but influence is a twoway street. Several farm groups
were spotlighted in the Western
Producer last spring for applauding
the feds more often than debating issues (see “Have farm groups
become federal cheerleaders” on
producer.com).
But what is the right approach
when dealing with government?
Should farm groups co-operate,
protest loudly, or find a middle
ground?
There are also examples, which
may be hard to find, of groups
“quietly working with government” to achieve agreed-to goals,
said McGrane. It’s hard to say that
one tactic or the other will work
100 per cent of the time, he said.
At times, it’s “fair comment”
to accuse a group of being “too
cozy” with the government,
McGrane said. For example, a
more adversarial approach on the
grain transportation file might
have worked better for some
farm groups, he said. However,
going toe-to-toe with the feds
didn’t work for the Friends of the
Canadian Wheat Board.
“That group has been very
much against the government,
very openly, yet haven’t been able
Finding a balance
I think several farm groups
have figured out this balance. For
example, the Saskatchewan Stock
Growers Association was quick to
defend ranchers’ interests when
the federal government issued an
emergency protection order for
the sage grouse in 2013. The Stock
Growers have also applauded
the feds for new trade deals. The
Agricultural Producers Association
of Saskatchewan (APAS) both
praises and critiques the provincial
government and has criticized the
federal government’s handling of
grain transportation.
These farm groups seem to
know where they need to stand
on various issues, and they’re not
afraid to tell the rest of us where
they’re at. By doing so, they’re
holding governments accountable. They’re also adding to public discussions.
Ultimately,
voters
decide
whether politicians — and farm
leaders — are serving their interests. Membership response to the
board’s direction is a good barom-
eter of whether they’re truly representing those members, McGrane
pointed out.
If farm leaders are too cozy
with government, and the group
has a democratic process, it’s up
to members to have “a revolution of some sort, whether that
be voting them out or pushing
out their leaders in some other
way,” said McGrane.
So whether or not being a
government cheerleader, adversary, or something in between is
the best approach for each farm
group is debatable. In the end,
farmers will get their say during
the farm meeting season. †
Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based
at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@
fbcpublishing.com or on Twitter @LtoG.
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OM
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O
N
I couldn’t think of a definitive answer, so I phoned Dr.
David McGrane, a political scientist with the University of
Saskatchewan. McGrane is also
president of the Prairie Political
Science Association.
“I don’t know if there’s one
particular approach that works
better than the other,” said
McGrane. (“Darn it,” I thought).
Both co-operative and adversarial
approaches have worked over the
years, and it’s up to farm groups to
figure out which approach works
best for them right now, he added.
Groups such as Greenpeace
have successfully worked outside
government, McGrane said, as
governments are more environmentally-conscious than they
once were.
But it’s not just environmental
groups that turn to activism and
civil disobedience. “Saskatchewan
has a whole history of farm protests going back to the CCF and
Tommy Douglas,” said McGrane.
You only need to look at the
Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly for more recent examples of
farmers protesting. On the one
hand, we have the Friends of
the Canadian Wheat Board, who
have turned to the courts to try
to save the monopoly. On the
other, we have Farmers for Justice,
whose members tried to sink the
single desk by dumping grain on
the Wheat Board’s door step and
serving time for crossing the border with grain.
to stop what’s happened with the
Wheat Board,” said McGrane.
Constantly taking shots at the
government poses risks. But all
farm groups, including those who
favour more co-operation, need
to make sure they put their members’ interests first. McGrane said
he’s not sure if there’s a foolproof
way of doing that.
RT
CS
Lisa
Guenther
H S TA R G E
T
NE
© NorthStar Genetics 2015
ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand
agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Genuity and Design®, Genuity Icons, Genuity®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®,
Roundup Ready®, Roundup WeatherMAX®, and Roundup® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada, Inc. licensee. Respect the Refuge and Design is a registered
trademark of the Canadian Seed Trade Association. Used under license. ©2012 Monsanto Canada, Inc.
I
20
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Columns
Understanding market bulls and bears
We’re in weather market madness
Weather drives grain markets. And this year, weather is also driving farmers to distraction
Brian
wittal
W
e have had another summer of
weather extremes.
It started in
May with dry weather across the
Prairies and parts of the U.S.
plains, and excessive rains across
large U.S. grain-growing regions.
June brought hot, dry spells
across the Prairies. Then we
topped it off with rain, hail and
tornados in July — almost the
prefect recipe for a weather market rally. This caused grain futures
markets to react and overreact in
a short period of time.
Feed barley went from $4 to
$5.25/bushel in a month, then
back down to $4.25/bu. in less
than three weeks.
Canola markets ran up $100/
tonne from May 1 to June 30,
and then dropped off $53/t by
the end of July.
Minneapolis wheat futures
went through three high/low
cycles starting May 1 at $5.55/
bu. up to $6.07 on May 21, then
down to $5.55 by May 29, back
up to $6.11 on June 10 and back
down to $5.62 on June 19 before
heading to an ultimate high of
$6.53/bu. on June 30 and plunging to a low of $5.29 on Aug 3.
Of course most of this futures
market action was fueled by speculative activity by the funds as
they saw the opportunity to get
in on a market weather rally and
make some money.
The growing season got off
to an early start with an open
and dry spring allowing crops to
be seeded earlier than normal.
Problems started to show about
the middle of May, as there had
been no rains since the spring
melt and temperatures were
warming. Markets started to take
on a bullish tone as the hot, dry
weather looked like it was going
to persist.
By the end of May some areas
had received scattered showers
but not enough to make a real
difference, so markets started
to crank up even more. June
remained hot and dry for the
most part. This pushed markets
into an upward frenzy, no doubt
stimulated by speculative funds
taking on huge positions to make
some money in a true weather
market scenario.
In the first week of July the
first real general rain fell across
a good part of the Prairies.
The spec funds stopped buying and sat back to wait and
see if this was a pause in the
rally or the beginning of the
end. When more significant
rains fell across the Prairies in
the second week of July it was
enough to make the specs cash
out and take their profits. The
market rally is over.
The cause and effect
Weather conditions across
North America have been a little more extreme the past couple
of years. A big part of the cause
of this is the El Niño effect that
has been building off our Pacific
coastline. To date, Eastern Pacific
sea temperatures are up three
degrees above normal. This is a
significant change over a short
period of time which will continue to impact North American
weather patterns for some time.
Some forecasters predict that
the El Niño effect will remain
in place for the rest of 2015 and
likely the spring of 2016. With
this system as strong as we have
seen since the early 80s, and
forecasters are calling for a wetter-than-normal harvest period
(September to November) and
a dryer-than-normal winter as
well. Rest assured there is more to
come from this weather system.
We are not out of the woods
when it comes to extreme
weather events.
Response
How do you plan to manage
and react to this kind of weather
information from a marketing
perspective?
Have you reviewed your cost
of production numbers and readjusted your anticipated yields to
honestly reflect what you have
in the field?
photo: thinkstock
North American weather conditions have been a little moe extreme.
The recent CWB crop tour
reduced overall production
forecasts by 15 to 30 per cent
from last year. If your yields are
reduced, your break-even pricing targets are going to change.
You need to know those new
numbers.
Grain market values have
come off of the July highs but
some crops (canola, peas, lentils, durum) are holding at very
decent pricing levels that should
meet or exceed your break even
pricing targets.
Decide if you should be pricing
some of these crops now to get
some cash flow back into your
operation to pay bills and save
interest charges. This would give
you the option to hold off selling
some other crops if you expect
those markets to recover after
harvest. Always a big question
mark that comes with big risk!
Is the weather too risky for you
to physically price any of your
crops before you have them in
the bin? Maybe protecting your
canola prices paper (options contracts) is something to consider.
You can protect a floor price with
no delivery commitment so if
you end up unable to deliver any
grain you won’t have to buy out
of a contract later.
This year will not be remembered fondly by anyone as a great
year in farming because of these
weather extremes. But with some
preparation and planning, you
can be ready to make the best of
a bad situation. Weather drives
markets and this weather isn’t
done with us yet! †
Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry
experience, and currently offers market
planning and marketing advice to farmers
through his company Pro Com Marketing
Ltd. (www.procommarketingltd.com).
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 Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. Commercialized products have 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 LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance
to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will
kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for canola contains the active ingredients
difenoconazole, metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil and thiamethoxam. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for
canola plus Vibrance® is a combination of two separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active
ingredients difenoconazole, metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil, thiamethoxam, and sedaxane. Acceleron® seed treatment
technology for corn (fungicides and insecticide) is a combination of four separate individually-registered products, which
together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, and clothianidin. Acceleron® seed treatment
technology for corn (fungicides only) is a combination of three separate individually-registered products, which together contain
the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin and ipconazole. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for corn with Poncho®/
VoTivo™ (fungicides, insecticide and nematicide) is a combination of five separate individually-registered products, which
together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, clothianidin and Bacillus firmus strain I-1582.
Acceleron® seed treatment technology for soybeans (fungicides and insecticide) is a combination of four separate individually
registered products, which together contain the active ingredients fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin, metalaxyl and imidacloprid.
Acceleron® seed treatment technology for soybeans (fungicides only) is a combination of three separate individually registered
products, which together contain the active ingredients fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin and metalaxyl. Acceleron and Design®,
Acceleron®, DEKALB and Design®, DEKALB®, Genuity and Design®, Genuity®, JumpStart®, RIB Complete and Design®, RIB
Complete®, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and Design®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup Transorb®,
Roundup WeatherMAX®, Roundup®, SmartStax and Design®, SmartStax®, Transorb®, VT Double PRO®, and VT Triple PRO® are
registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC, Used under license. Vibrance® and Fortenza® are registered trademarks of
a Syngenta group company. 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. Poncho® and Votivo™ are trademarks of Bayer. Used
under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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21
Columns
Off farm income
It was just another typical summer
Many analysts say something happens every summer to bring down stock market prices
ANDY
SIRSKI
I
f you listen to the media, the
stock market is a total mess.
Oil prices have been cut in
half and then some. Gold
has been in a rut since November
2011. And most significantly: the
stock market has dropped five
per cent or more since the highs
earlier this year.
There are several sayings such
as “sell in May and go away,”
or “buy when it snows and sell
when it goes.” This year, the easy
strategy would have been to go
to cash in the spring. And that is
likely a good strategy for a busy
farmer or a busy family.
I always wonder what I can
learn by keeping some money in
the market, and I always want to
verify whether or not my selling
rules hold. I figured it was a stock
picker’s market so I picked stocks.
And, as you know, I sell covered
calls. Over time, this brings in
cash and drops the adjusted cost
base of my shares. All of this takes
time to learn but that is what my
brain is for. And cattle producers
don’t usually send their cows to
pasture in June and not look at
them until late October. Work is
work. My stocks are one of my
enterprises and part of my financial business plan.
Other commodities
and stocks
Japan just re-started a nuclear
reactor that was had been shut
down since the 2011 earthquake
and tsunami. The plan is to bring
more nuclear reactors to new
safety standards and start them
up to take the pressure off other
production systems that need
imported coal or natural gas.
Apparently Japan has been buying uranium even as the nuclear
reactors were shut down, I guess
partly to make sure they have a
supply. The big fear was that if
Japan did not start up those reactors it would sell its inventory of
uranium and drive the price down.
It looks like that fear can now
be put to rest, although it might
take another 18 months before the
overall price for uranium heads up.
Silver is being used in solar
plates being built around the
world. So, silver is mined, smelted
and used up forever. Silver normally is mined as a byproduct
of gold, copper or lead. As that
mining slows less silver will be
produced so there should be some
long-term support for silver.
That supply from byproducts
is going to be offset somewhat,
according to companies like Silver
Wheaton (SLW). SLW expects to
stream more and more silver in
the coming years, which, to me,
means the supply will be adequate. This likely will be good
for SLW.
The best streamer on the market is likely Franco Nevada (FNA.
TO). At $60 per share, the stock
may be too high for many, but
it still likely has a good future. I
do not own FNA shares, but I do
think about buying some now
and then.
I own 2,000 shares of TASER
(TASR). This is a one where I
should have sold shares when
the daily price dropped through
the 10-day moving average. I
broke a rule and did not because
of “this is a great stock” thinking. That did not stop the market from driving the price down
$8 or $10 from its peak. I think
TASR has a good business future
selling stun guns and body cameras. It sounds like city budgets
often like to buy this equipment
towards the end of the budget
year and so most years that
stock does very well going into
late fall.
I started out writing that this
is typical stock market summer.
Some analysts say that “something happens” almost every
summer to knock down the price
of most shares. This year it was
low oil prices, the idea of rising
interest rates and then China’s
knocking the value of the Yuan
by two per cent over night. †
Andy Sirski is mostly retired. He gardens,
plays with grandchildren and runs a small
tax business. Andy also publishes a newsletter called StocksTalk where he tells what
he does with his family’s portfolio. You can
read StocksTalk free for a month by sending
an email to [email protected].
BUILT
TO
HANDLE
TRASH IN HIGH RESIDUE CROPS
I look
for stocks
that could
rebound
Oil
I don’t own any oil stocks at
this time. There sure is a lot of
conflicting chatter. For example,
some work shows some Bakken
oil producers can pump oil at an
all-in cost of $29 a barrel.
Some say the supply of oil is
about three million barrels more
per day than consumption. I’ve
found out that only the U.S.
reports oil stocks by the month
and week. Other countries report
supplies quarterly with a threemonth lag so we really don’t
know how much oil is around.
I look for stocks that could
rebound if and when the price
of oil stops falling. One is
Vermillion (VET), which has
wells in North America and
Europe. That gives it cash flow
in two currencies.
Some days I wonder if I should
just buy shares in Imperial
Oil (IMO) and sell out-of-themoney calls and stop searching
for some pot of gold. When I
look at a 10-year chart the price
does not impress me, but IMO
has made some good money for
many people over the years. I
owned IMO shares when I was
in university but sold them to
pay off my car sometime in the
late 1970s.
VISIT WWW.FARM-KING.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION OR VISIT YOUR LOCAL FARM KING DEALER.
FARM KING TANDEM DISCS ARE BUILT TO HANDLE TRASH AND
INCORPORATE HEAVY RESIDUE. Utilizing a one of a kind floating
hitch, Farm King tandem discs leave a more level finish when compared to competitive units. Farm King discs are also built using the
best bearings in the industry, so you stay in the field until the job is
done. Farm King offers a full line of offset and tandem discs, in addition to a line of cultivators, chisel plows and chisel cultivators.
©2015 Buhler Trading Inc. | [email protected] | www.farm-king.com
www.farm-king.com
22
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Columns
Soils and crops
Soil: Test the right pound of ground
If you don’t measure what you have, you can’t know what to add. Know the basics of taking soil tests
les
henry
F
irst, some general tips
around soil testing.
The first thing to note
about soil testing is that
it is an index — it is not like a
dipstick in a crankcase. A soil test
(index) rates a soil as very low to
excessive and is one piece of information to guide fertilizer use. But,
use only one type of test!
The best we can hope to achieve
is the “average” nutrient level for
the depth and area we are sampling. What is really needed is the
“mode.” The “mode” of the nutrient level is the test value where
as many acres test lower as test
higher than that test value.
The truth about the distribution
of soil test values in a field is that it
is not “normal.” There are always
a few sites that test very, very
high. They skew the average to a
number higher than the mode.
So, soil testing has an inherent
tendency to underestimate what
might be needed in fertilizer.
Depth and number
of samples needed
When soil testing started in
Western Canada in the 1960s
Alberta measured at the zero to
six inch depth, but Manitoba and
Saskatchewan used three levels: zero
to six, six to 12, and 12 to 24. Bob
Soper at the University of Manitoba
was the leader in this field, and he
showed that two feet was the depth
needed to get a handle on soil
nitrogen levels. From an academic
view, testing three different depths
was great. We learned many things
about soils by studying the data
from the three depths. After a few
years Manitoba introduced the zero
to six, six to 24 depth regime but
Saskatchewan was slower to change.
Detailed analysis of individual
samples from a range of fields
in the 1990s showed that, with
cores, at least 30 are needed to get
an average. High rates of fertilizer
banding can also cause problems
with coring. But, in the real world,
DUPLICATE SAMPLING, FALL 2010, NW22-32-3 W3 (12” SAMPLE)
AREA
FIELD
KNOLLS
NEWLY
BROKEN
Duplicate OM % N, ppm P, ppm K, ppm S, ppm
A
3.1
12
3
260
64
B
3.3
22
4
281
48
A
2.0
8
6
162
12
B
2.1
10
4
161
16
A
4.6
62
48
772
112
B
5.7
66
51
770
64
taking 30 core samples at three
depths just ain’t going to happen.
So we came up with the one foot
sample for nitrogen. The idea was
that it was better to get enough
cores to get a better estimate of
the average. I was a big proponent
of the foot sample. In hindsight,
it has a lot of limitations. For
potassium and phosphorus a foot
sample is a very blunt instrument.
In summary: I think the best sample depth is zero to six inches and
six to X inches. Your “X” can vary
from 12 to 24 inches, but should be
consistent from year to year.
GPS and fertilizer zones
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Modern technology allows farmers to establish zones within a
field, and sample each zone separately. But remember, the same rule
applies to the zones as to the whole
field samples. You must have some
idea if the zones are correct and if
you have the correct average.
Duplicate sampling
I think that at the start of a
zone establishment some duplicate sampling should be done. I
have been doing it for years and
have learned a few things in the
process. See some of my results
from 2010 in the table.
Both A and B samples are a
composite of 30 individual cores.
Note that it is foot sample so
P and K leave something to be
desired, but the real difference of
the new land is still evident.
Even with 30 cores the duplication of N for the “field sample” is
a bit shaky — usually I get better
than that.
But duplication of S is very
problematic. If the value is very
low it duplicates not too badly.
But for higher values the lack of
proper duplication shows that the
sample means little.
That means that the S soil test
is shaky at best. In garden patch
agriculture it works very well but
on a field basis not so much. What
it means is that if the S test says you
need S, you really need S. If the soil
test is high, you may still need S. It
only takes a core or two out of 30
with a bit of gypsum in in to mess
up the average.
By jonny hawkins
Country Chuckles
Whether you’re looking for a
comprehensive article on a specific
crop, or a recipe for muffins, start your
search at the AgCanada Network.
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
23
Columns
photo: les henry, taking a selfie
photo: keith head
These photos are of the canola on my “breaking” land — recently broken land (this is only
the second time its been under a seed drill. The pictures were taken on July 27, 2015. In fall
2014 the soil test N in this field was only 20 lbs./acre to one foot but the zero to six inch level
organic matter was 6.5 per cent. The “normal” areas in this field got 94 lbs. N/acre as anhydrous. This area got only the 20 lbs. N/acre as broadcast 21-0-0-24. Obviously, mineralization
is providing much of the N. My zone fertlilization plan involves telling the custom applicator
to leave out the breaking and salty ground. It works!
When, where and how
The future
The biggest current limitation to
soil testing is a lack of a test for N
that will be mineralized during the
growing season. I am convinced
it is a simple as taking the field
moist soil in the fall, leaving it in
the sample bag for a month or so
at room temperature, and then
sending it to the lab. Alas, no one
is listening.
Owners of “Henry’s Handbook of
Soil and Water” can check out pages
64 to 67 for a bit more detail about
soil testing. †
J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and
extension specialist at the University of
Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He
recently finished a second printing of “Henry’s
Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes
the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer
and farming. Les will cover the shipping and
GST for “Grainews” readers. Simply send a
cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143
Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, Sask., S7H 3H7, and he
will dispatch a signed book.
CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK FOR HIGHER YIELDS.
With up to 60% of your yield dependent on soil fertility, invest wisely in your farm’s productivity.
Trust the leader in balanced crop nutrition. With over a decade of results, MicroEssentials® by
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Fall is the time to soil test. Any
time after harvest. That gives you
the winter to study the data and
figure out a fertilizer program.
In my experience labs give accurate results for the samples they
receive. The extracts they use and
how they interpret the data are
the main variables. The biggest
potential soil testing problems
come from the pound of ground
you send to the lab.
Today most lab sheets are interpreted by locals with local knowledge. In early days, U.S. labs would
get samples from the Prairies and
give the same N recommendation
for stubble and summerfallow,
based on soil organic matter not
nitrate N. (I realize some young
folk may not know what summerfallow is.)
At the Ag in Motion farm
show near Saskatoon July 23 I
was quite impressed with a quad
mounted sampler that would
take zero to six and six to X
samples very efficiently. There’s
no excuse for insufficient sample numbers with that type of
equipment.
Spot tests of one or two fields
every four or five years are mostly
a waste of time and money. The
value in soil testing is a proper
program with some data each
year and using consistent sample depths, sample time, laboratory and interpretation. Today
many use a consultant so choose
a “keeper.”
24
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Columns
Agronomy management
Applying your nitrogen in the fall
Fall application can be more convenient, but effectiveness varies, depending on conditions
Ross
McKenzie
A
pplying nitrogen fertilizer
at the time of planting in
spring is usually the best
option for most Prairie
farmers. But that means applying
a lot of product, which can really
slow down the seeding process.
Getting the seed in the ground at
the optimum time is important,
and delays can reduce crop yield
potential. Some farmers are weighing the advantages and disadvantages of applying all nitrogen fertilizer at seeding with other options.
One option to consider is banding N fertilizer in late fall. But keep
in mind that fall N application
can range from very effective to
very disappointing. Effectiveness
depends on environmental conditions after application including
soil moisture and temperature.
The products
The two best fertilizers for
fall application are urea 46-0-0
CO(NH2)2 and anhydrous ammonia 82-0-0 NH3. When urea or
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.
anhydrous ammonia are banded excess precipitation, particularly in
into moist soil, both convert to sandy soils and can be loss to deniammonium NH4+. Ammonium is trification (gaseous loss of N in very,
positively charged and is relatively wet soil).
immobile in soil and will not leach
Banding ammonia or urea creunder wet conditions. In warm, ates an environment within the
moist soil, specific bacteria will con- band that slows the activity of soil
vert ammonium to nitrate [NO3-] bacteria that convert ammonium
over a several week period. ThisB:17.9583”
to nitrate, delaying nitrification.
T:17.4583”
process is called nitrification.
When urea or anhydrous ammonia
Nitrate is negatively charged, isS:17.0833”
are banded in late fall after the soils
mobile in soil and will leach with have cooled in temperatures less
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
25
Columns
than 5 C to 7 C and micro-organism
activity has slowed, most of the
fertilizer N will be remain in the
ammonium form over winter until
the soil warms up in the spring. The
ammonium form is relatively stable
and won’t leach or denitrify.
If urea is broadcast and incorporated or banded in early fall when
soils are still warm and moist, much
of the ammonium can potentially
be converted to nitrate before
freeze-up. Excess precipitation in
late fall or spring could then cause
the nitrate to leach below the crop
root zone, particularly in sandy soils
or be lost due to denitrification.
The denitrification process occurs
when N fertilizer has converted to
nitrate, soil conditions become very
wet or saturated after snow melt in
spring or due to heavy precipitation events. Soil N is lost when soil
microorganisms in anaerobic conditions (very wet soil without oxygen)
convert nitrate-N to nitrous oxide
— a gaseous form of N that is lost to
the atmosphere.
All soil types and regions of the
Prairies are susceptible to losses of
fall-applied N fertilizer. However,
the risk of N loss is highest in
regions with moister climates when
soils can be very wet, such as the
black and gray soil zones, and risk
is lowest in regions that tend to be
drier, such as the brown and dark
brown soil zones.
Alberta research has shown that
nitrate losses through denitrification in drier regions are usually low,
and fall-banded N is usually equally
effective to spring-banded N. But
if spring wet conditions occur, N
losses can still be high even in low
risk regions, after heavy precipitation events. Each fall, a farmer must
look at specific local environment
conditions to weigh the risks versus
benefits of fall fertilizer application.
Some issues to consider:
• Late fall-banded N can be as
effective as spring banded N, if
there is no extended period of
very wet or saturated soil conditions in the spring.
• Early fall application of N fertilizer has a greater chance of
converting to nitrate-N before
freeze-up and would be more
susceptible to N loss in the
spring.
• Fall-banded N can be more
effective than spring-banded N
when springtime seedbed moisture is limited, and spring banding would dry out the seed-bed.
• Fall-banded N can be less effective than spring-banded N
when spring moisture is wet for
extended periods.
• Fall fertilization shifts workload
from the hectic spring to the
fall. This can increase spring
seeding operation efficiency.
• Nitrogen fertilizer prices tend
to be lower in the fall than in
the spring, providing an economic advantage with fall versus spring fertilization.
It is wise to get opinions from
soil and crop experts in your
region including your fertilizer
dealer, industry agronomist and
government agronomist to consider all the pros and cons of
fall fertilizing before you make
your final decision. †
Ross McKenzie, PhD, P. Ag., is a former
agronomy research scientist. He conducted
soil and crop research with Alberta
Agriculture for 38 years. He has also been
an adjunct professor at the University of
Lethbridge since 1993, teaching four-year soil
management and irrigation science courses.
Manipulator
on display
T
om Tregunno, product manager at Engage Agro
had plots on display at Ag In Motion, demonstrating their new product, Manipulator. Manipulator
is a plant growth regulator which keeps plants
shorter and less susceptible to lodging. The plants Tregunno
is holding up on the left side of this photo were treated
with Manipulator, and are significantly shorter than the untreated plants in his other hand.
Plant growth regulators are common in Europe, but relatively new to North America. This year, trade issues stopped
Annex Agro from fully promoting this new product. And,
Tregunno said, with this season’s dry weather, 2015 wouldn’t
have been an ideal year for many Prairie farmers to try this
product for the first time. †
Leeann Minogue
T:11.9286”
B:12.4286”
S:11.4286”
O-66-08/15-10406655-E
26
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Machinery & Shop
Product Launch
New technology options for NH balers
Variable density control for round balers and IntelliCruise on big square balers
By Scott Garvey
A
s New Holland marks its
120th birthday in 2015,
one of the ways the
brand is celebrating is by
offering some new features on the
trademark red balers that made
the brand a household name in
North America — and around the
world. But this year, the focus is
on adding some sophisticated new
technology to the updated models
it introduced in the last few years.
For those who opt for one of
NH’s Roll-Belt Series round balers, they can get it equipped with
an in-cab bale density adjustment
feature. It allows the core size and
density to be set independently of
the outer layer. It’s either standard
photo: scott garvey
New Holland introduced the IntelliCruise feature on large square balers
paired with a T7 AutoCommand tractor to automatically set ground
speed in changing field conditions.
or optional, depending on which
particular model you choose.
“Why is that important?”
asked Mark Lowery, hay and forage marketing specialist, during a
new-product launch at the com-
pany’s Pennsylvania headquarters in July. “There are two big
reasons. The first is the ease of
spearing that bale in the field
and transport. And when feeding
that bale, it’s a little easier for
animals to break up that core,
which tends to be pretty dense.”
“The next (reason) is if we are
challenged by weather, I have the
ability to lessen that core density
pressure to let that bale breathe
a bit more if I’m right on that
border of acceptable moisture for
dry hay. So, I have the opportunity to do that now for the first
time with my New Holland round
baler versus having a common
density across that whole bale.”
All of those control functions
are done via the in-cab monitor.
So an operator doesn’t have to
get out of the tractor, minimizing
the amount of time it takes to
make those adjustments.
“This provides me the ability to sit in the cab and change
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pressure at will,” said Lowery.
“Throughout the day if my crop
conditions are changing, I can
simply change that pressure in
the monitor versus going out and
making a mechanical change on
a valve on the baler.”
And adjustments to the bale
density, along with any other
baler settings, can be made
through any ISOBUS-compatible
virtual terminal in any tractor
brand.
“We do have another control option for the round baler,
which is ISOBUS, meaning if I
have a late-model tractor with
an ISOBUS plug and I have an
existing tractor monitor I have
the same sort of functionality,”
said Lowery.
Large square balers
If you are a fan of large square
balers, NH also introduced new
technology for its offerings in
that segment, too. Pair one of
the brand’s big balers with a T7
AutoCommand tractor and the
new IntelliCruise feature helps
maximize tractor speed through
the field in changing swath conditions. So even inexperienced
operators can easily create bales
with pretty consistent quality.
“The IntelliCruise speed rate
control system allows me for the
first time, with the New Holland
big baler, to optimize tractor
speed to give me the desired
big bale package I’m looking
for,” said Lowery. “That’s enabled through the ISOBUS class 3
functionality. Really, what that
means is the tractor can take
commands from the baler, in this
case to regulate ground speed.”
IntelliCruise can be set to
either of two different priorities.
Using the Charge Control setting, it will keep the baler fed to
capacity.
“I have the ability to set my
maximum speed in the field,
whatever the operator feels is
safe,” explains Lowery. Then I’m
going to set my capacity. That’s
the efficiency at which the baler
is working. Whenever I have an
irregularly raked windrow or uneven yield in the field, the baler is
going to see that based on the
sensors at the bottom of the precharge chamber, and it’s going
to regulate the tractor speed to
keep that capacity. Essentially,
I’m able to complete the field a
lot faster using this feature. As
an operator I can increase my
efficiency using Charge Control
about nine or 10 per cent versus
just using constant speed.
When getting highly consistent bale size is more important
than forcing the baler to gulp
down the maximum amount of
material in the shortest amount
of time, the other setting, Slice
Control, regulates tractor speed
to ensure each new flake of
material the plunger pushes
into the bale chamber is evenly
sized.
“(Uniform bale size) is also
important to me if I’m picking it
up with an automatic bale wagon
to make sure I have the exact
length,” says Lowery. †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Machinery & Shop
27
New equipment
Agrifac brings sprayers to Canada
This Dutch manufacturer is making a play for a share of the Canadian sprayer market
I
f you’ve been to the giant
Agritechnica machiner y
show in Germany, you probably noticed Dutch-built
Agrifac high-clearance sprayers on
display. In the future, you’re likely
to see them at North American
shows as well. The company has
recently decided to strike out
beyond the European market. It
previously launched in Australia,
and now has its sights set on
North America, having already
sold the first few machines here.
Agrifac offers two base models,
the Condor and larger Condor
Endurance. The smaller of the
two, the Condor, offers tanks sizes
of 900, 1,050 and 1,300 gallons
(3,400, 4,000 and 5,000 litres),
while its big brother can hold
2,100 gallons (8,000 litres). They
carry these tanks on the brand’s
StabiloPlus, pendulum-mounted
chassis that rides on air suspension.
The “J-Boom” design is modular, and is standard equipped
with a full circulation system. The
company claims the Condor lines
can handle boom widths up to
180 feet. An optional feature, the
HighTechAirPlus system allows
for a 50 per cent increase in capacity and can produce the right
droplet size without the need to
change nozzles. In a company
press release, the HighTechAirPlus
system is described as “a combination of traditional spraying,
air injection and mixing in the
nozzle holders. The computer will
inject either more or less air to the
nozzle holder to create the right
droplet size.”
Adjustable track width is standard and ranges from 59 to 181
inches (150 to 460 centimetres).
The Condors are capable of working speeds of up to 22 m.p.h. (35
km/h).
The Condor is available in a
Clearance Plus version with
adjustable ground clearance of
51 to 79 inches (130 to 200 centimetres). That gives it exceptional
in-crop clearance but allows for
a lower centre of gravity when
travelling on roads.
For more information go to the
company’s website, www.agrifac.
com. But you won’t find a dedicated North American page there
yet. That’s because all Condors
the world over are the same,
explains Blijdorp. The company
does have a Facebook page that
focuses on its Canadian and U.S.
activities, www.facebook.com/
agrifac.north.america. Something
that will likely appear on that
Facebook page in the near future
is the demonstration tour of a
Condor Endurance model.
Agrifac has one dealer in
Western Canada, Prairie Side
Equipment Ltd., in Taber, Alberta.
And it is willing to talk to others
interested in carrying the line,
says Rob Blijdorp, the company’s
North American rep. But it also
takes a direct marketing approach.
“Our sales approach is more
direct to the end user,” he says.
“This means that if people are
interested they can contact me.”
(email: [email protected])
In line with that direct marketing strategy, the Condors are
equipped with modems so a com-
pany technician can conduct a
remote diagnosis of any problems
that might develop right from the
factory in Holland.
“Since the distances are rather
big in North America, we created
a system (which is also used in
other areas in the world) where all
our machines will have a modem
on board,” Blijdorp says. “Since
the data from all the sensors on
board will be logged, we can go
back in time with the machine
and troubleshoot what the problem was. This reduces down time,
and we can fix problems from the
Netherlands. Or we can guide the
end user to the problem so he can
fix it himself. †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
photos: agrifac
Top: Dutch manufacturer Agrifac offers two
model sizes capable of handling boom widths
up to 180 feet. Left: The largest Condor model
is the Condor Endurance which carries a 2,100
gallon product tank. Right: The Condors use
the brand’s “StabiloPlus,” pendulum chassis
riding on air suspension.
FO
R NO
TH W
E BO
20 O
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ED NG
IT
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Machinery & Shop
29
Ag in Motion
Automated boom height control
Norac’s system prevents collision damage and improves spray efficiency
By Scott Garvey
M
ike Malmgren,
Canadian sales
manager for Norac
Systems, talks to a
lot of farmers. At Norac’s display
at the Ag in Motion farm show
near Saskatoon in July, which
exhibited the brand’s sprayer
boom height control system, he
explained what he often hears
from farmers who don’t use a
similar automated system.
“We talk to people who come
here and don’t have a system
and have a 100 foot (sprayer)
boom,” he says. “They tell us
they just can’t do it: ‘After I do
two quarters I’m just fried; I’m
so tired.’”
Automated boom height
control systems from Norac
(which was recently acquired by
Topcon) are included by some
OEMs on their new equipment,
But the company also offers retrofit packages direct to producers who want to update their
existing equipment.
“We’re a factory installed
option on RoGator,” he says.
“And we could be installed on
any other sprayer you can buy
in the marketplace.”
stuff in between and the soil all
at the same time. You can set
your mode of operation. You
can pick crop mode. You can
pick soil mode, or you can pick
hybrid mode.”
Hybrid mode allows the system
to compensate for bare patches
in the field without dropping
the boom too far and hitting the
crop when it reappears.
“What that (hybrid mode)
does is it knows where the soil
is and the crop canopy is, and
it knows where the crop canopy
should be if it goes missing,”
Malmgren explains. “If you go
over a spot that didn’t germinate, is flooded out or is lodged,
if you’re using a Norac system
it won’t dive down and hit the
crop on the other side.”
Keeping the boom where it
should be without constant operator intervention prevents possible impact damage, and also
ensures the nozzles are positioned
correctly to get the best chemical
coverage. And it makes spraying
at night a little less taxing on the
driver, because the sensors work
even in the dark, when it’s hard
to see boom ends from the cab.
“We are the only company
in the marketplace to offer a
30-day money back guarantee,”
Malmgren adds. “We’re that
confident in our system.” †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
Aggressively cut, size and
Incorporate your heaviest residue
®
at 10 mph
The sensors
work
even in
the dark
Retail prices for the systems
range from $6,500 for a basic
starter package with two sensors
to $15,000 for a top-of-the-line
model. And the company will
come out to install it.
“We’ll come and do it at a dealership or at a farmer’s place,” he
continues. “Some guys do install
it themselves, because (on basic
systems) it is pretty easy. A base
system you could do in a day,
even if you’ve never done one.
With some of the more complex
systems, you’re better off to get
us to come and do it and make
sure it’s working right. We’ll go
over it with the farmer and make
sure he knows how to operate it.”
Farmers can contact Norac,
which is based in Saskatoon,
directly to purchase a system or
there may be a local dealer that
handles the product.
“We prefer to work through
our dealers,” Malmgren says.
“Even if farmers contact me
directly, I try and find a local
dealer that will work with us.”
The boom height system relies
on ultrasonic sensors to locate
the ground, crop canopy or
obstacles. And it is capable of
multiple readings, locating the
crop and ground levels independently or simultaneously.
“Our sensor is unique,” he
adds. “There are others in the
marketplace, but ours has some
features and capabilities that
others don’t have. We can look
at multiple layers of the crop.
We can look at the crop canopy,
photos: scott garvey
This display at Norac’s exhibit demonstrated the automated boom height
control function.
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8/7/15 1:21 PM
30
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Machinery & Shop
Ag in Motion outdoor show
High-speed sprayers come to Canada
Two models offer mechanical four-wheel drive and lightning-fast road speeds
By Scott Garvey
T
he model names of RBR
Enterprise’s two sprayer/
spreader models, Vector
and Venturi, are both
associated with speed, at least indirectly. That inference seems pretty
appropriate for the 305 and 350
horsepower machines that can hit
52 m.p.h. (roughly 83 km/h) on
the road. That kind of speed would
seriously cut down travel times
between fields.
But they have some other features that should catch farmers’
attention as well, according to Jeff
Gulas, RBR’s product rep, who was
manning the company’s display
at the Ag in Motion outdoor farm
show near Saskatoon in July.
“Our biggest advantage would be
road speed and a four-wheel drive,
mechanical chassis,” he says. “It
has really high road speeds, up to
52 m.p.h.”
Power comes from either an 8.3
litre QSC or 8.9 litre QSL Tier 3
emissions level Cummins diesel
and gets routed through an Allison
4-speed automatic transmission.
And with the mechanical drive
system, it flows out through driveshafts to solid front and rear axles.
There are no hydraulic driveline
motors on these machines.
That conventional drive system
coupled with a rear differential
lock means these machines get the
benefit of the kind of traction true
four-wheel drive offers, according
to Gulas.
“These will go through a lot of
field conditions that others can’t,”
he says. “They’re four-wheel drive,
which is the big difference between
them and other floaters.”
Both models come standard with
Michelin’s Spraybib 380/85R46
radials. 680/64R38 floatation tires
are available as an option. Air
brakes provide the stopping power
and allow for remote connections
to blow off the machine or run
air tools.
The Vector and Venturi can be
fitted with either an air-flow box,
New Leader dry spreader or liquid tanks, with available stainless
steel liquid tank sizes ranging from
1,000 to 2,400 U.S. gallons (3,800
to 9,120 litres) and boom sizes up
to 150 feet.
These machines are built with
durability in mind, says Gulas.
Instead of paint or powder coating
on the chassis, the RBR models get a
rubberized top coat to protect them
from corrosion caused by exposure
to fertilizer and chemicals.
“They’re built very rugged,” he
says. “Even the frame’s not painted,
1
photos: scott garvey
1. RBR Enterprises’ two models, the 305 horsepower Vector and 350 horsepower Venturi, are capable of
handling spreader or sprayer work. 2. A variety of options are available for cab interiors. 3. Solid axles
slung under air bag suspension carry the chassis. Both models use air brakes for stopping power.
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For the latest specials, visit your local OK Tire or oktire.com
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
Machinery & Shop
forage production
In the field with
a Versatile 280
We posted video of our field demo
of Versatile’s flagship sprayer
I
t isn’t very often farmers get to try it before they buy
it when it comes to shopping for farm equipment. So
whenever the opportunity to get into a cab and see
how a machine performs presents itself, it makes sense
to jump at it. That’s true even if you aren’t yet ready to buy
or aren’t even considering something from that brand. At
least you have a standard to use as a comparison.
At the Ag in Motion farm show near Saskatoon in July,
Grainews had an opportunity to take a Versatile 280 sprayer
for a field demo. If you didn’t make it to the show to get
your own demo, you can still take a virtual ride along
with us. Just go to “Grainews.ca/video” and click on the
“e-QuipTV videos” link to watch our in-field video. †
Scott Garvey
2
3
it’s Rhino Guarded, like the Rhino
Guard you put in the back of a
pickup truck.”
Up in the cab, a variety of options
are available to make life comfortable for the operator, including a
leather seat and tinted glass.
The basic design of the Vector
and Venturi make them suitable for
jobs other than applications work.
They could be fitted with any type
of body, such as liquid manure
injection systems. So the company
will sell you just a cab and chassis
if you want and let you figure out
what to do with it.
“We’ve had a little bit of interest from the mining industry
where you need to get into remote
places,” Gulas explains.
Missouri-based RBR is a recent
entry into the Canadian market.
It started its Canadian marketing
efforts in the east in 2014 and
has only been looking toward the
prairies since last fall. So far it has
only one western Canadian dealer.
However, it’s looking to recruit
more.
“(We’re) pretty new to the
Canadian marketplace and still
sourcing dealers,” says Gulas.
“We just got our first one, Corner
Equipment, just south of Brandon,
Manitoba.”
Suggested retail, depending
on which model is chosen and
whether it has a spray unit, a
floater or a New Leader spreader
on it, ranges from U.S. $350,000
to $425,000. †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
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31
32
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Machinery & Shop
Ag in Motion
New Leader demos a broadcast spreader
Technology has caught up with dry product spreaders, resulting in much better spread patterns
By Scott Garvey
I
n past years, the uses for
dry-product broadcast
spreaders have declined.
Aside from forage growers,
most producers have turned to
more targeted fertilizer placement alternatives. But with the
introduction of slow-release
nitrogen products and the difficulty of handling large amounts
of fertilizer in the short spring
seeding season, many are reexamining their placement alternatives. So broadcast spreaders
are once again garnering interest
across the prairie.
But the dry-product broadcast
spreaders on the market now are
much different machines than
they were a decade or two ago.
Technology has caught up with
them too.
“Today the technology we
have versus what we previously
had has changed the way product is being broadcast across
the country,” explained Craig
Fenstermaker, product specialist
with Highway Equipment, who
was demonstrating one of New
Leader’s spreaders at the Ag in
Motion farm show in July.
“Previously-designed spreaders
were PTO driven, so 540 r.p.m.
spinner speeds,” he continued.
“Our spinner discs, the way they
were designed, they’d broadcast
product high into the air, 10 or
12 feet. So we had high trajectory and low velocity on our
product. A 10 m.p.h. wind would
blow a pattern apart. That had to
change.”
If you buy a dry product
spreader from any of the major
brands today, it’s probably built
by New Leader, regardless of
what name appears on the side.
And the company has incorporated several design changes into
all its models to change that outdated and inefficient broadcast
pattern. Most notably, the spin-
ner discs have been reshaped to
change how product is thrown.
“Previous spinners, the way
they were designed, was an
open centre disc,” continued
Fenstermaker. “The fins on the
disc were short. At 540 r.p.m. We
had a 40 to 60 foot spread width.
But as we increased the spinner
speed to anywhere from 700 to
1,000 r.p.m., that open centre
spinner disc created a problem.
So the design of the spinner
disc today on the New Leader
spreader is a full fin from the
outer perimeter to the very centre. It allows infinite adjustment
on the machine to accomodate
(various) products.”
The conveyors that move
product back to the spinner discs
are now electrically controlled
and hydraulically driven, rather
than mechanical ground drive.
Inputting data into a tractor’s
monitor allows the operator to
pick a set target speed and the
spreader will deliver the correct
volume to the spinner discs. And
that also better accommodates
today’s higher operating speeds.
“Once we set that speed in our
controller, we now have repeatability in our spread widths,”
he said. “With auto guidance it
allows us to be consistent in our
spread widths, so it allows us to
avoid skips and misses as we go
through the field. As we increase
or decrease speed, the conveyor is
automatically adjusting to those
application rates. Today with
those (higher) speeds and being
electrically controlled, we have
repeatability in all that we do.”
Fenstermaker said the company has conducted extensive
testing on how various types
of dry product react when put
through a spreader. Based on that
data, the company offers buyers
charts and measurement kits to
help them calculate exact pattern
spreads for the types of blends
they’re broadcasting.
1
photo: scott garvey
2
3
photos: lisa guenther
4
“Products will only broadcast
so far because of their size and
the structural integrity of that
granule, He said. “So today when
you get a New Leader spreader
there are two kits. A pan test kit
that allows us to test for broadcast widths. There is also an SGN
kit that allows us to understand
the product capabilities. We’ll
1. Dry product spreaders built by New Leader are capable of
much more accurate spread patterns than older, PTO driven
models could ever achieve. 2. A series of collection pans are
placed along the spread width to collect samples and verify
the broadcast pattern. 3. Redesigned spinner discs spread
product more effectively than older designs. 4. Contents of
each collection pan are poured into these tubes to give a visual
reference on the spread pattern across the full application width.
take a sample of the product and
put it into the SGN scale, shake
it out and come up with a size.
With that and the documentation we have, we know what the
spread width will be. We’re also
able to test the structural integrity of the product by crushing
a granule. It allows us to program the spinner speed into the
controller to get our maximum
spread width without pulverizing
the product.
“(Broadcasting dry product) is
not what it used to be,” he said.
“It’s altogether different, allowing us to be much more efficient
in our operation.” †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
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9/29/14 5:54 PM
34
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Machinery & Shop
Sprayers
NH talks
front-boom
advantages
Bob Schnell discusses the benefits
of front-boom sprayers at the New
Holland’s head office in July.
photo: scott garvey
Product rep sees unique
benefits to front-boom
sprayer design
By Scott Garvey
500
$
REBATE
I
n July New Holland
held a media event at its
Pennsylvania headquarters to unveil some new
machines. Company product
reps also used that opportunity
to talk up the advantages of
some of the blue brand’s existing models. Standing beside a
front-boom sprayer parked on
the company’s R&D test track
behind the corporate head office,
Bob Schnell, an NH sprayer specialist, did exactly that.
“Why do I want a front-mount
boom sprayer?” he asked a group
of farm journalists. “Because I
can see every nozzle body from
the cab of that machine. And
that’s important, because when
the boom is behind you, you
can’t always tell if a nozzle is
plugged or not. On here you can
always see it.”
It’s that improved visibility
angle that Schnell said he believes
makes the front-boom concept
superior to that of a rear-boom
model. And it makes control in
tight quarters simpler, too.
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It makes
control in tight
quarters simpler
“When I get to the end of a
field with a front-boom sprayer,
if I want to spray right into the
corner, I drive in, get right to
the edge, back up, turn and I’m
gone,” he said.
And Schnell doesn’t share
the concern some may have
about driving through justapplied chemicals. The sprayer
has smooth under-body panels
that can easily be hosed off, he
explains. And, he points out,
in reality there is actually very
little machine contamination
because of the very high underbody clearance, so the problem
is minimal at worst.
In about 20 minutes the boom
can be removed and replaced
with different attachments, such
as a nitrogen applicator for rowcrop corn or even a swather
header, giving the machine a
broader range of uses.
When NH originally began
selling their line of front boom
sprayers, they were sourcing
them from Miller, an independent manufacturer in St. Nazianz,
Minnesota. Miller had been
retailing them under its own
brand name for several years
prior to that. However, last year
NH purchased Miller, bringing
the line of sprayers completely
under the NH umbrella. So far,
NH hasn’t shared distribution of
these machines with sister brand
Case IH. †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
35
Cattleman’s Corner
forage production
Be on the lookout for water hemlock
About 1-1/2 pounds of leaves or a bite of a bulb is enough to kill a cow
BY KIM NIELSEN
Y
ou are typically hearing from me with an
Australian story but for
a change I am reporting
to you from our 4-Clover Ranch
south east of Rocky Mountain
House, Alberta. Since coming
back in late May we have endured
a very dry spring and summer.
While a good 125 mm of rain
has fallen since mid-June many
pastures have had a tough time
catching up from a very poor start.
We decided to graze our semiopen woodlot and rely more on
some lower ground not previously
grazed much. So far it has turned
out well. Our 2015 grazing data,
which puts grazing days into a
spreadsheet and calculates animal
unit days per acre, will on some of
our pastures, not look a whole lot
different than 2014. This is especially true of the lower pastures
which were skim-grazed early in
June and have since banked a lot
of reasonably good-quality forage
for grazing late summer on the
second rotation.
It hasn’t been without challenges and one of them, the grazing of the semi-open woodlot
on the home place for the first
time in about 10 years. We enjoy
monitoring the cattle and the
grass as they move through our
25 pastures and observing how
the plants respond to the grazing
management. It is gratifying seeing the species diversity expanding as some species thrive under
different rest regimes. It is also
pleasing to see weed species such
as tall buttercup declining and
our relying less and less on herbicides for control.
HEMLOCK CONCERN
One species that caused some
angst this year in grazing the
woodlot was not your typical noxious weed but rather the native
plant, Western Water Hemlock. As
a native plant it is not regulated
under the Weed Control Act but it
is certainly an equally undesirable
plant to that of tall buttercup and
capable of causing significant and
rather instant losses in the form of
cattle deaths.
I just came in from a pasture
check of the woodlot pasture and
shuddered to find more than my
liking of the extremely poisonous
Western Water Hemlock. We previously haven’t seen many plants,
but perhaps the dry year brought
them on, especially seeing their
preference for lower areas which
this year have had better growing
conditions overall. Exactly the areas
we are relying more on grazing this
year, not a good combination.
While herbicide control is
an option in the early stages of
growth with 2,4-D or glyphosate,
the plants we found were mature.
The soft ground where they grew
made it relatively easy to pull
them, which is the cause for concern as cattle will do that as well.
Western Water Hemlock has a
unique and characteristic doublecompound leaf. This means that
aside from the main leaf stem’s
leaflets, the lower part of the stem
has additional compound leaves
on each side of the main leaf
stem. Once you train your eyes to
this identifying characteristic you
don’t have to physically touch the
poisonous plant to look for the
more common characteristic, the
root tubers, which is where the
bulk of the toxin is stored. There
is another species called Water
Parsnip that looks similar but it
lacks the double compound leaf
feature as well as the root tubers.
A LETHAL PLANT
While the poison is throughout the plant it is more concentrated in the tubers and the lower
mOBile
yOUR PORtaBle
eQUiPment sOURCe!!
stalk, which is chambered near
the base of the plant. When cutting the stem base and tubers in
half lengthwise, a clear oily substance oozes out containing the
cicutoxin poison. This quickly
turns yellow upon exposure to
the air. One tuber is enough to
kill a 1,600-lb. cow. Green leaf
material is fatal as well if consumed at a dose of 0.1 per cent
of body weight (1.6 lbs. by the
same cow). Other livestock and
humans are affected as well and
the most well-known connection would be that of Socrates
sentenced to death by drinking
hemlock juice in 399 BC.
We discovered with some concern that some of the plant had
been slightly grazed prior to our
discovery but not enough to see
signs on the cattle such as trembling, salivation or worse yet,
four legs pointing up to the sky.
Two further checks of the woodlot tell me that we’ve got them
and we shouldn’t have any cattle
going the Socrates way. †
Kim Nielsen provides an Australian perspective
from time to time. He grows grass during
the Australian summer at Alcheringa Pastoral
in the South West of the state of Victoria,
Australia and during the Canadian summer up
on 4-Clover Ranch, Rocky Mountain House,
Alberta. He can be reached at kim.juul56@
yahoo.com.
photo: kim nielsen
The Water Hemlock (above) looks
similar to the harmless Water
Parsnip, but it doesn’t take much of
the leaves and only one tuber to kill
a grazing animal.
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36
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Cattleman’s Corner
Better bunks and Pastures
Money to be made in creep feeding calves
At least pencil it out for your farm — you could be leaving $85 per head on the table
PETER
VITTI
A
s a beef nutritionist, I
have advocated creep
feeding spring calves for
years. That’s because as
feeder cattle prices have steadily
risen, there was a real profit due
to creep feeding as well as some
decent side-benefits. I haven’t
changed my position for 2015 and
advise each cow-calf operator to
calculate their own situation and
hopefully pencil out a positive
impact creep feeding can make to
one’s financial bottom line.
I believe creep feeders should be
moved onto pastures by the middle of summer, even when calves
are receiving lots of milk from
their cows and grazing lush grass.
(Although it is late summer or
early fall now, it is not too late).
Calves might eat only about two to
three pounds of creep feed, but by
late summer (three to four months
after calving), their dam’s milk production is declining, such that the
average beef cow might be meeting
only about 50 per cent of her growing calf’s nutrient requirements.
In addition, pasture quality is
also declining. Once lush grasses
become more fibrous, essential
nutrients such as energy and protein are not as readily available. As
a result, the same calves are being
drawn to the feeders and dramatically consume about eight to 10
lbs. of creep feed by summer’s end
and well into autumn months
before weaning.
These creep feeders should be
filled with a well-balanced creep
feed: 14 per cent protein, medium
level energy (65-70 per cent TDN),
balanced with calcium, phosphorus, salt, fortified trace mineral
pack (especially copper, zinc and
selenium). Ingredients that I recommend include: barley, wheat
middling, corn distillers’ grain,
and soybean meal. Avoid most
types of feed screenings.
NOT FOR ALL
A good-quality creep feed is not
recommended for every spring
calf on the farm. Replacement
heifers on good quality pasture,
need a modest energy diet comprised mainly of milk and forages.
Otherwise, they could get overconditioned, which most university field trials have proven could
lead to a life-time of lower milk
production as mature cows and
as a result, leads to lower weaning
weights of future calves.
CREEP FEEDING CALCULATIONS
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Calf price at weaning
$2.85
$2.30
$1.50
$1.65
$1.35
POSITIVE ECONOMICS
Value of creep gain
$171
$138
$90
$99
$81
Regardless, consider the positive
economic forces of creep feeding
spring steers for 2015. I compare
them to creep feeding outlines
of the last four years of 2011-14
using present and past dollar values on weaning calves and feed
costs. Parameters include: creep
feeding a group of large-framed
calves with solid genetics (re: segregate replacement heifers to other
pastures and feeding programs).
I also set up the actual selling
price of $350-375/mt for 14 per
cent protein — medium energy
commercial calf creep pellet that
was made up of ingredients and
nutrient specifications that I outlined above. My calculations also
included the feed conversion of
these pellets of 6.0 lbs. of creep
feed per lb. of weaning weight
gain and fed in about a 100-day
creep feeding program. Calves are
weaned at 600 lbs. in the fall.
Record high prices for weaned
feeder cattle and modest creep feed
prices, makes the decision to creep
feed spring calves during this season attractive to myself and many
Market discount
($5/cwt)
$27
$27
$27
$27
$27
Net value of gain
$144
$111
$63
$72
$54
Total feed costs
$59.40
$57.60
$54
$61.20
$57.60
Total return due
to creep
$84.60
$53.40
$9
$10.80
-$3.60
Return on investment
142%
93%
17%
18%
-6%
people. I summarized my comparison for creep feed profitability in
2015 and recent years:
Net profitability due to creep
feeding range: a nominal loss (2010)
to $84.60 per weaned calf (2015); a
market discount of $5 per cwt gain
was accounted to determine the
net worthiness due to creep feeding
compared to “not” creep feeding.
Otherwise, creep feeding in 2011
would show $23 profit.
ROI ranged from minus six per
cent (2011) to a steady increased
ROI, topped at 142 per cent in 2015.
Value of creep gain has increased
every year since 2010, mainly due
to a steady increase in weaning
weight calf prices. Highest value
of creep gain is projected for 2015.
In today’s cattle market there is
money to be made by creep feeding spring calves. I agree that time
is getting short to build a 100-day
calf creep feeding program, but
there is still some time. However,
a custom 80, 60, and 45 creep
feeding program can still be set
up, which should fit into most
people’s operations and ultimately
capture some of this profit. When
an approximate $85 per calf return
due to creep feeding can bring a
potential $25,000 to a 300 cow-calf
operation, I believe that it’s time to
creep feed beef calves. †
Peter Vitti is an independent livestock
nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg.
To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at
[email protected].
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BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF
Industry heads up:
Buckshot, broken needles
What to watch for heading into the fall run
Life isn’t always fair and the world of beef
on-farm food safety is no exception.
More cases of buckshot in beef products are
showing up at beef processing. Most likely this
is through no fault of the producer personally.
Yet in the customer’s eyes, beef producers are
held accountable for producing a safe product.
What to do?
“While it is very infrequent, it is enough of
a recurring issue that it is important to deal
with,” says Shannon Argent, co-ordinator for
the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program
in Alberta. “As an industry we try to encourage
wildlife organizations to let their members
know about the issue.
“Individual producers may want to take
precautions as fall hunting season approaches.
Counsel hunters not to shoot in the direction
of cattle. Avoid grazing cattle on pastures
behind hunting blinds or feeding areas for
game birds. And producers should never use
shotguns for any purpose around animals
themselves.”
Broken needles
There isn’t much debate on the broken needle
issue. This is directly a responsibility of
producers, says Argent. Each time a broken
needle appears the beef industry’s reputation
takes a hit.
“If a broken needle is suspected, specific steps
must be followed, she says. Identify the animal
and record the incident on the permanent
Buckshot found in a beef cut causes
thousands of pounds of beef product
resorting and a run through a metal
detector again.
record. If an animal is being sold, the next
owner must be notified of the broken needle
in that specific animal. The animal may be
slaughtered for a producer’s own use. A smaller
plant can help manage that process more easily.”
Critical injection
techniques
Here’s a quick recap of the basic, accepted
steps to prevent broken needles on the farm
or ranch.
Restrain the animal securely. Use sharp
needles, never dull or burred, and never
straighten a needle for reuse. That could
break, leaving a fragment in the animal.
Keep syringes in good working order.
That helps make it less likely equipment
will fail.
Visually inspect needles after use. It’s a
simple way to ensure they are intact on the
syringe and not bent.
Use appropriate needle size and length.
This depends on the product viscosity and
route of injection.
Use proper injection technique. Give
injectable products in the neck and use
under the skin (sub-Q or SC) method
when identified on the product label.
Use detectable needles. Ask for them!
Change needles. Try to change the needle
every 10 animals if vaccinating mature
animals, or use a new needle each time for
sick animals.
Use neck extenders on the chute. They’ll
help hold the animal’s neck in place if
working properly.
Discard used needles into a sharps
container. Don’t risk other cattle, animals
or people.
How will you respond?
“There is no way to completely eliminate
problems of broken needles in meat,” says
Argent. “The question is how we respond as
beef producers and an industry.”
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38
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Cattleman’s Corner
the Markets
Cattle market is a tough one to call
Risk of increased 2016 production could throw a wrench into prices
Jerry
Klassen
Market
Update
T
his past spring, we saw
the stars align with all
major factors favouring
higher beef and cattle
prices. Moving into fall of 2015,
the cattle market continues the
transition phase with growing
meat supplies along with softer
consumer demand.
Alberta packers were buying
fed cattle at $182 in mid-August,
which was down from the spring
highs of $204. Breakeven pen
closeouts are in the range of $187
to $190 so feedlots are contending
with a slightly negative margin
structure.
Feed grain prices have also come
off the spring highs with barley
and feed wheat trading around
$220/mt delivered Southern
Alberta; however the weaker input
costs have not offset the decrease
in fed cattle prices. Smaller volumes of varying quality have characterized the feeder cattle market
across Western Canada. There are
a few batches of fresh yearlings
and calves coming on the mar-
ket and prices are under pressure
given the current environment.
In my July column, I mentioned the beef contraction phase
was over and producers should
expect quarterly beef production
to exceed year-ago levels starting
in the third quarter.
U.S. feedlot inventories are running slightly above year-ago levels
although we have seen feeder cattle
placements drop over the past few
months. Therefore, it now looks
like third- and fourth-quarter beef
production for 2015 will be just
marginally higher than last year.
In September and October, feedlot placements are expected to
exceed year-ago levels which will
cause beef production to experience a sharp year-over-year
increase in the first and second
quarters of 2016.
The accompanying table shows
second-quarter beef production in
2016 is expected to be 650 million
pounds higher compared to the
second quarter of 2015. This is a
major fundamental shift which
will weigh on the deferred live
cattle futures and limit the ability
of feedlot operators to lock in a
profit on fall placed calves. And
2016 beef production is expected
to be up nearly 1.1 billion pounds
over 2015.
CANADIAN NUMBERS
U.S. QUARTERLY BEEF PRODUCTION (MILLION POUNDS)
Alberta and Saskatchewan onfeed numbers have been running
about eight per cent below last
year during the summer months.
Canadian year-to-date beef production for the week ending August
1 was 545,723 mt, down six per
cent from the same period of 2014.
Despite the weaker Canadian dollar,
exports of slaughter steers and heifers to the U.S. are down 48 per cent
for 2015 compared to last year while
exports of fresh and chilled beef
cuts are relatively the same as in
2014. The Canadian cattle and beef
market is becoming more dependent on domestic demand to set the
price structure. Higher U.S. pork
and poultry production along with
growing meat stocks is tempering
exports of cattle and beef products.
U.S. packer bids have been about $6
to $8 below Alberta bids throughout
the summer limiting exports and
this will likely continue into the fall.
Low energy prices initially
increases disposable income for
the average consumer, that is until
crude oil prices drop so low that
companies start laying off hundreds of people. Now we start
seeing the effect on overall beef
demand because these people are
not eating at restaurants as often.
Quarter
2012
2013
2014
EST. 2015
EST. 2016
1
6,283
6,172
5,868
5,664
5,885
2
6,475
6,517
6,183
5,885
6,505
3
6,584
6,608
6,178
6,215
6,345
4
6,571
6,420
6,023
6,130
6,115
Total
25,913
25,717
24,252
23,759
24,850
Source USDA
FEEDER VALUES
Feeder cattle may hold value
into the fall despite the current
—slightly negative — feeding
margin. Feedlot operators may be
more aggressive on heavier feeder
cattle in September that will be
market ready in late December or
early January. Feed grain prices
will also grind lower during the
harvest period, which is supportive. There is a fair amount of optimism given the margins over the
past year and with plenty of pen
space available, feedlots will buy
a certain amount of cattle on the
hope factor.
Producers that placed cattle
in a custom feedlot will also
be back in full force so overall demand for feeders is quite
strong. Canadian feeder cattle
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supplies remain near historical lows and if the export pace
improves, available supplies
could be lower than anticipated.
In past years, waiting for lower
prices has not been profitable so
the mindset is to fill up earlier.
I want to emphasize the potential for higher beef production in
the second quarter of 2016, which
could have a serious negative effect
on the margins for high-priced
calves bought in the fall. †
Jerry Klassen is manager of the Canadian
office for Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA
Grains and Products Ltd. He is also president
and founder of Resilient Capital —a specialist
in commodity futures trading and commodity
market analysis. Aside from owning farmland
in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, he’s a
University of Alberta graduate who grew
up on a mixed farm feedlot operation in
southern Alberta, which keeps him close to
the grassroots of grain and cattle production.
He can be reached at 204 504 8339.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
39
Cattleman’s Corner
animal health
Putting thought into changing vaccine lines
With a bit of planning, it is possible to switch from one manufacturer to another
Roy
Lewis
animal
health
T
here are many difficult
decisions to be made
when changing the brand
or manufacturer of a vaccine line. The real comparisons
can be made when you know what
specific diseases you need to vaccinate for in your herd, whether to
use a modified live, killed, or combined program and rate the effectiveness of your original program.
Knowing this will help your herd
veterinarian determine where to
come in with different products.
This is all assuming the previous
vaccines were purchased, stored,
handled administered properly
and timely in the past to all necessary cattle in your herd.
If it is a case where your herd
health veterinarian is changing
lines it could be for several reasons,
only one of which might be the
efficacy of the product. Other reasons are availability, cost, dosage
formulation, number of doses per
bottle and even service provided by
the pharmaceutical company.
I have known clinics changing
trade names simply based on route
of administration. If two vaccines
are equal and one is approved to
give subcutaneously that may be
a more desirable route and supports the Beef Quality Assurance
program. Sometimes newer products may protect against a broader
range of bacteria or viruses, making them more desirable. Vaccines
that provide greater protection
in fewer shots may be favoured
as well. More shots simply mean
more labour and stress (another
needle poke) on the calves. The
intranasal route eliminates the
needle but may have a shorter
duration. These are all decisions
you and your veterinarian need
to make.
READ THE FINE PRINT
Knowing which vaccines do
what requires essentially reading
the fine print and you will find
most pharmaceutical companies
have pretty good spreadsheets
indicating which vaccines protect against which diseases. Pay
close attention, as vaccines can
be very close in protection yet
one organism’s protection may be
missing. This is where it best to
consult with your veterinarian in
case there are any differences in
coverage.
Once you’ve determined control of all the diseases are the
same, then there is the question of
whether you can carry on boosting the same way you have in
the past. Just because you have
changed vaccines does not necessarily mean you need to start a
vaccine program all over again —
in fact the opposite is the case.
Vaccines in general stimulate
the body to produce antibodies
or protection against a specific
disease. If you come in with a different vaccine — as long as immunity is there and the diseases are
the same in the new vaccine — it
should booster the previous vac-
cine response. This is much the
same principal as if a natural viral
infection came through it would
essentially stimulate the immune
system the same way.
Follow label directions and if
the previous vaccination program
has worked well and you trust the
protection it provided, then boostering with a comparable product
should work fine.
My only caution is if killed vaccines were previously given at the
recommended rate, then modified
live vaccines or different killed products can be followed up with. My
personal preference is using modified live vaccines for the longer
duration of immunity but some
vaccines such as the footrot vaccine
only come as a killed product.
REASONS TO CHANGE
Starting over with a new line
may be recommended in several
instances such as the acquisition of new stock with a sketchy
vaccination history or if a year
has been missed meaning now
it is two years between vaccinations. Vaccinations can be missed
because cattle escaped the chute,
dosage was not calculated or automatic syringes were not working
properly. Whatever the reason
treatment was missed, it is important to start the vaccination program over again. If an additional
organism (virus or bacteria) has
been added into the program it
is highly likely it will need to be
boostered the first time.
The bottom line is if you
are changing vaccines and your
previous one gave protection
and all the antigens (organisms) are the same you should
be protected with using the
new vaccine. If new protection
has been added it may need to
be boostered, but these are all
good questions to pose to your
veterinarian so gaps are not
created in the new vaccination
program.
As we all know, vaccination
is common and it is far better
to prevent disease than treat it.
It also allows more cost savings
in using antimicrobials as well.
Sparing usage helps prevents antimicrobial resistance from building as quickly.
These are all good reasons
to work with your veterinarian
yearly on the most updated, least
stressful most comprehensive and
efficacious vaccination program
necessary for your farm and management style. Pharmaceutical
companies will continue to
improve vaccines making them
more efficacious, broad spectrum
and less reactive, coupled with
in some cases easier means of
administration. The future looks
promising to use vaccination to
improve the health of our cattle
herds and reduce antimicrobial
usage. †
Roy Lewis is an Alberta-based veterinarian
specializing in large-animal practice. He is
also a part-time technical services vet for
Merck Animal Health.
BEEF
EVENTS
First Lady Classic
November 24
President’s Classic
November 24
Commercial Cattle Show & Sale
November 27 & 28
Prospect Steer & Heifer Show & Sale
November 28
Junior Beef Extreme
November 28
RBC Beef Supreme Challenge
November 28
Bred heifer show presented by
Bull calf jackpot show presented by
Including Bull Pen Alley sponsored by
sponsored by
Multi breed female show for youth sponsored by
Champion of Champions - the purebred nale
Visit www.agribition.com for the full schedule of events including all breed show and sales.
------------------------------------------For more information call 306.924.9589 ENTRY DEADLINE: OCTOBER 1, 2015
-------------------------------------------
40
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Cattleman’s Corner
Rancher’s Diary
Concerns over a water shortage
Haying is done and everyone is trying to get healthy
heather
smith
thomas
JULY 12
M
photo: heather smith thomas
Dani and Sam, out riding the range, stop at the water trough with their horses.
ichael and Nick borrowed some of our
electric fencing tape
to fence part of their
field to keep their horses away
from the neighbours. The horses
fought at the fence and Michael’s
horse Captain cut a front foot
severely. The electric fence will
prevent another accident.
We continue to have water
problems from our shared ditches.
Lynn had planned to cut hay,
but spent so much time on water
issues that he didn’t start cutting
hay until Friday.
Andrea and I rode the next day
to check our 320-acre mountain
pasture and make sure range cows
hadn’t broken in. Sunday Lynn
cut more hay. Andrea and Robbie
helped me get the last of the old
hay out of my shed and stacked
it by the horse pens, with a tarp
over it, then got the baler hooked
up. Andrea started baling until a
thunderstorm hit. She and Lynn
got soaked coming home from
the field.
Tuesday Lynn turned hay than
baled all afternoon. He started
hauling hay the next day, and we
picked up some wet bales with
the pickup and opened them by
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the corral (so they won’t heat and
mould) to feed to the bull.
Thursday morning, Lynn woke
at 3 a.m. passing blood. The ER
doctor sent him by life flight to
St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula,
Montana. They thought he might
need a blood transfusion as well as
IV fluids, but the bleeding finally
slowed down. The doctor found
and removed one polyp but no
tumours.
JULY 24
Lynn was weak and wobbly for
a few days after he returned from
hospital, so Michael stacked some
of our hay. Andrea, Dani and I
rode to check the 320 fences and
make sure no range cows had
gotten in. Those cows are short
on feed in that corner of the
range and have been pressing our
fence hard.
Andrea is doing all the irrigating now, since it’s hard for Lynn.
She baled the hay on Heifer Hill,
and Lynn stacked it that evening.
Sunday Lynn cut our last field,
and got it baled on Tuesday. Lynn
stacked it that evening, so we are
done haying!
Yesterday evening the kids
got back home from their week
with Mark. We all had supper here and then Sam and
Dani helped me lead Rubbie
and Veggie to new pasture. I’ve
been letting those old horses
graze pens and areas around
the barnyard to mow the grass.
They are so honest about fences
that we use baling twine “fake”
electric fences to partition off
certain areas to graze.
This morning Heather and I
made a short ride (Willow’s ninth
ride out in the hills) then Andrea
and the girls and I made a fast ride
up to the 320 to check fences.
Emily took the final test for her
GED, and now has her diploma,
finishing school a year ahead of
her classmates. We’re proud of
her for having a full-time job
this year and going ahead with
studies to finish her high school
education.
AUGUST 14
Two weeks ago Andrea and
Carolyn went to Idaho Falls for
Andrea’s doctor appointments.
Sam and Dani rode with me for
nearly five hours. We checked
the 320-acre pasture, then made
a loop through the high range
and ate our lunch near the Basco
trough, coming home through the
middle range.
The kids got home again last
Thursday. Sam hurt her ankle
on the trampoline at their dad’s
place the previous Saturday and it
hurt so badly she was sure she’d
sprained or broken it, but she
hadn’t seen a doctor so Andrea
made an appointment.
The doctor x-rayed the ankle
and thought there might be a hairline fracture in one of the growth
plates, and said Sam should not
have been walking on it. The
ankle is now in a boot brace and
Sam is on crutches. It continues to
be swollen and painful. †
Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her
husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her
at 208-756-2841.
PROUD OF
WHAT WE DO.
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Edmonton EXPO Centre
42
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
The Dairy Corner
Pay attention to post-weaning program
You want replacement heifers to grow at an optimum rate, but not too fast or too slow
BY PETER VITTI
A
lmost every time I visit
a dairy barn, I make a
point of looking at postweaned replacement
heifers as well. Raising young dairy
heifers can be one of the greatest
challenges even on the best-run
dairies. I believe implementing a
good post-weaning heifer program
makes good sense and contributes
to their future success as high-milkproducing dairy cows.
Sometimes it’s hard to realize
that post-weaning heifers from two
to six months of age are not miniature milk cows. Rather, these young
replacement heifers have immature rumens, which takes up to six
months of age before they are fully
developed and functional; contain
enough rumen microbes, digestive
enzymes and volume to consume
and efficiently digest all types of
forages and other feedstuffs.
Keeping this in mind: a young
dairy heifer diet should contain
enough starch-enriched feedstuffs
to promote rapid and continuous
rumen development.
DON’T WANT THEM FAT
Most viable dairy heifer replacement programs still target a modest growth rate for post-weaning heifers of 1.8 – two lbs. per
day (increased to two – 2.2 lbs.
after puberty at about nine to
10 months of age). Feeding diets
with excessive energy to make
them grow much faster should
be strictly avoided. Overweight
heifers tend to lay down fat in
their developing udders, which
irreversibly reduces their capacity
to produce milk in their first and
future lactations.
Most
ruminant
scientists
acknowledge dairy heifers gaining
more than what’s considered the
“safe” limit of 2.2 lbs. per day may
actually lay down more lean muscle compared to replacement heifers on a more growth-controlled
program and save on overall feed
and housing costs. However, they
also agree chances are very good
more fat heifers are produced by
promoting such rapid growth.
But don’t short-change your
post-weaning heifers, either!
A sound heifer grower diet for
two-to-six month old animals
should contain enough dietary
energy of 67 to 69 per cent TDN
(total digestible nutrients), 16 to
18 per cent protein, and be fortified with adequate levels of macroand trace-minerals and vitamins.
Also keep in mind young dairy
calves from weaning (180 lbs.) to
six months (400 lbs.) of age have
a limited dry matter intake from
about six to 10 lbs. per head per day.
PICK A PROPER DIET
There are many practical diets
for two-to-six month old heifers
that promote good rumen development and growth performance
at the same time. For example, a
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University of Minnesota field trial
fed 90 dairy replacement heifers
from three to six months of age,
weighing on average 222.2 lbs. for
84 days on a balanced ration consisting of free-choice high-quality
hay (16.7 per cent CP) and a 18
per cent grain ration (based on
cracked corn and soybean meal)
fed up to five lb./head/day.
Average daily gain was relatively
consistent among the study heifers;
recorded at 2.1 – 2.2 lb./head/day.
Addition of some dried distillers
grains to replace some of the soybean meal in the diet as an alternative protein source did not affect
growth at all. Such demonstration
also proves that high-quality forages and sufficient amounts of grain
are required in order to achieve an
acceptable level of performance.
In contrast, I am not an advocate of feeding two-month old
dairy heifers a total mixed ration
(TMR) containing silage, either specifically formulated for them, or
producers that simply feed them
lactation leftovers. In particular, I
believe these young post-weaned
heifers have limited rumen capacity, which is not fully developed in
the first place and bulky TMRs containing silage challenges their daily
intakes in order to obtain enough
essential nutrients. As proof, I have
on occasion seen young heifers
with their “big balloon” bellies
filled with silage and gas.
Another reason not to feed
TMRs is some ensiled feeds such
as high-grain corn silage contain
excessive energy and often not
enough protein, which could possibly over-condition young growing heifers. If a dairy producer
wants to feed a TMR/ensiled feed,
I recommend waiting until heifers
become older; four to six months
of age, so silage might be formulated up to 25 per cent of the total
forage dry matter consumed.
Regardless of what post-weaning
diet is ultimately fed, the best diet
for dairy replacement heifers is also
largely based upon knowing how
the animals look at any given time.
Dairy heifers should have a body
condition score of three to 3.5
(based on a five-point scale; one =
thin, five = fat). If they appear not
to be growing or are thin; dry matter intake records and the entire
diet should be reviewed.
DIET AND MANAGEMENT
Dairy producers should also
parallel proper diet with good
post-weaning heifer management. Many dairy specialists and
I recommend to first wean six- to
eight-week old heifers still consuming about a kilo of calf starter
for a few days.
Wait a couple of weeks before
removing them from hutches or
individual stalls and then segregate
them into small groups according to their size and weights. All
of these young dairy candidates
should be moved into groups of
no more than five to seven heifers
per pen. These pens should finally
have adequate space for animals
to move around and rest, be clean
and well-bedded, with water provided on a free-choice basis. †
Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist
and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him
call 204-254-7497 or by email at [email protected].
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
43
Home Quarter Farm Life
SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Eating well for a happy farm team
Good food can increase productivity, improve efficiency, and keep those workers coming back
Elaine
Froese
I
n July I had the fun and privilege of joining 30 farm women
in a cooking experience at the
Kansas City Culinary Center.
In teams of six we cooked meals for
low-income families and also heard
how two farm women, Karmen and
Kerri Mehman of MBS Family Farms
make 40 freezer meals that feed a
harvest crew of 14 employees. The
Mehmans believe that keeping harvest workers well fed increases productivity and improves efficiency.
We had a farm worker who said
the food at harvest was one of the
key reasons he kept coming back
to help! Retention of farm labour
is a huge issue and cost to farmers. What are you doing with your
tools for eating well for a happy
farm crew?
Many of you may have a copy
of Once-a-month Cooking by Mimi
Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg
which outlines how to shop, prepare and cook a month’s worth
of meals. I bought the book long
before www.allrecipes.com even
existed.
The Mehman women have lots
of tips for feeding a large crew, and
I’ve adapted some of them for our
small crew of four. Having freezer
meals in heavy-duty foil pans also
is handy for the “ministry of the
casserole dish” when you quickly
need to take a meal to a grieving
friend or neighbour. I bought foil
pans in bulk along with some
tight-lid plastic containers that are
handy for soup. One farm woman
uses the Starbucks ceramic coffee
cups to serve soup to harvesters.
Soup may not be the best food
for high-speed eaters in combines,
but it can work if folks are willing
to take a 15-minute break. We
all know that farmers eat fast at
“combine speed!”
Here are some tips:
1. Put your favourite freezer recipes on an Excel spreadsheet. This
way you can manipulate the ingredients and categories of how you
organize your cooking spree. For
example — Beef recipes: meatloaf,
cheeseburger soup, lasagna, chili,
shredded Pepsi beef, stroganoff,
stew, browned minute steak, shepherd’s pie, cheeseburger pie. Google
“once-a-month freezer cooking.”
2. Pork recipes: the BBQ ribs
are a favourite. Employee meals at
MBS cost about $2.75 per person,
and the Mehmans have huge loyalty from their hard-working farm
team because they are very well
cared for during harvest. Other
pork recipes are scalloped potatoes/
ham, pork chop casserole, ham loaf,
root beer pulled pork, slow-cooker
apple cherry pork loin, upstate minestrone, pork and veggies.
3. Slow-cooker liners save time
in cleanup. The foil pans are heavy
duty. As the team of cooks works,
each person does one recipe and
completes it. They cover foil pans
with Saran wrap first and then tinfoil to prevent freezer burn. Each
meal is marked with the date and
reheating instructions. The CrockPot recipes that are meat only are
started the night before cooking
day. The meat is thawed the night
before, i.e. take the meat out of
the freezer the night before cooking day.
4. Chicken is easy to purchase
as frozen breasts on sale. The
recipes are slow-cooker orange
chicken, chicken soup, chicken
chili, chicken pot pie, chicken tortilla soup, chicken bow tie pasta,
creamy chicken biscuits, and wild
rice chicken. Can you compile six
of your favourite chicken recipes
to freeze?
5. Serve milk. As the nights get
cooler quicker later into the fall,
the Mehmans found that the men
loved milk with their meals, and
it provides more protein to sustain
energy through long hours.
6. Make idea lists of side dishes,
soups and desserts on a spreadsheet
or table. Some examples are baked
beans, coleslaw, applesauce, mac
and cheese, squash, garlic bread,
loaded baked potatoes. You might
want to compile a binder with pageprotected recipes that is your idea
bank for harvest meals.
ahead.
Zucchini7. Bake
everything recipes are baked and
in my freezer. Try to lower the
amount of sugar in your dessert
options, and use lots of fresh fruit
for dessert. The sign on the window
in Kansas City said, “Pie makes me
happy,” and farmers love pie! Serve
it once a week, not every night!
8. “Taco in a bag” recipe for a
taco in a corn chip bag (find recipe
at www.allrecipes.com), or in a plastic container with lid is easy to eat. I
use the Tupperware divided dish for
taking meals to the field, and have
given these useful tools to new farm
brides. A Rubbermaid dishwashing
square tub also contains the meal,
drinks, fruit, and desserts so that it
transports easily between the trucks
and machines. Each tub has the
worker’s name on it.
9. Wear long pants, socks and
shoes to the field when making
meal deliveries. Bring a jacket along,
too. When you are delivering the
meals to the field you may end
up as the combine driver or a fuel
truck person, so be prepared to stay
in the field. It is also a good idea to
eat before you deliver the meals,
as you never know how long you
might stay there. I also like to have
a notepad and pen to write Grainews
columns ideas (seriously!) or jot out
plans while I am waiting. Facebook
on the phone may be entertaining,
but when you have some quiet time
to think, that is a gift.
10. Keep lawn chairs and picnic
tablecloth or denim blanket with
you in your delivery vehicle. It is a
treat to be able to stop the machines
and have a tailgate supper at the
back of the pickup or sit in a circle
of lawn chairs. This is especially
important for families with young
children who miss seeing Dad during the busy seasons. Thirty minutes of family eating time together
will create a happy culture around
agriculture and groom the next generation with excitement for harvest.
I can still hear the metal pot lids
clanging in my memory of going
to the field in the late ‘50s with
my mom and our 1957 lime-green
Chevy station wagon. I was trained
to deliver healthy warm meals at a
young age!
11. Warm meals are worth the
effort. Food is a key source of energy
and nourishment to weary bodies.
Hot food staying hot and delivered
straight to the machinery operators
is key to enjoying the journey of
harvest and staying productive and
safe. Hungry, tired people tend to
be cranky and accident prone in my
opinion… don’t go there. †
Elaine Froese drives combine near Boissevain,
Manitoba where she is thankful for decent
crops in 2015 and a great farm team. Visit
www.elainefroese.com for her resources.
Invite her to speak at your next ag event. Buy
her books to encourage farm families.
from the farm
Eating pickled pods? Using lovage in recipes?
BY DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY
T
his summer we didn’t
really plant a garden but
we did grow some very
interesting vegetables
and weeds. The season started
as usual. In March we planted
Cherry Belle red radishes in recycled lick tubs. Placing recycled
windows over the tubs acted like
a greenhouse and they were growing very well. Then on March 18
we got so much snow. The temperatures dropped well below 0 C
and I got a little concerned; but
they survived well. The first harvest was done by the beginning
of May and was delicious. Our
family enjoyed the whole radish
plant chopped fine and stir-fried
with garlic for a side dish. We
reseeded to see if we could get
another crop.
At the same time we seeded
lettuce from three different varieties and had zero germination.
The fourth time something grew
but not lettuce. (We still don’t
know what kind of plant it was.)
The radishes grew tall, but still
no balls under them when they
started to bloom. Being very
pretty, we left them, then forgot
about them. One day we noticed
odd pods growing on them. A
Filipino friend told us they were
edible, and in the Philippines are
a favourite dish.
They would be radish beans or
rat-tail radishes that were in the
packages we sowed the second time.
They grow no real bulb and lots of
flowers that turn into delicious pods
that have a radish/bean flavour and
are of the cruciferous family. They
can be eaten pickled or parboiled
and topped with butter.
PICKLED RAT-TAIL RADISHES
2-1/2 cups radish pods
2 dried red chili peppers
6 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon sea salt
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
Combine water, vinegar, salt,
and sugar in a stainless steel pot
and stir until everything is dissolved. Pack the washed radish
pods in jar. Add the spices, and
pour the water-vinegar mix over
the pods. Let them sit for about
two weeks before eating.
The other plant that has outdone
itself is our lovage. It grew over six
feet tall and bloomed and we have
had fun learning how to use it.
I find its flavour very strong —
strong enough to make my tongue
tingle — whereas my daughter can
eat it by the fistful with no discomfort. So we compromise and
use one leaf per pot of bone broth.
The recommendation is to use half
lovage for the celery in a recipe,
and research showed that it was a
staple in pioneering gardens.
There are recipes to candy the
stems, the seeds can be substituted
for celery seeds in recipes, and both
leaves and stems can be dried for
winter use. To prepare the foliage
for your spice shelf, just swish the
stems in water, clip off the leaflets
and spread them out on a tray or
newspaper until ready to be stored
in airtight containers. The seed
heads (which mature in August)
should be laid out flat to dry, then
put in a large bag and shaken
to remove the hulls. Medicinally,
lovage was used to settle stomachs,
and we have found that chewing
on a leaf is helpful to settle a nervous stomach.
We have had a lot of flowers
popping up this year that also
were not planted, and an amazing crop of nettles spontaneously
growing in the middle of our cow
pasture. My husband is convinced
that all the birds we are attracting to our farmyard are making
a difference. His theory is that
the birds are bringing seeds with
them. Me? Well, I’m not so sure,
but I’m not complaining either. I
just like the surprises! †
Debbie Chikousky farms at Narcisse, Man.
y! .
da e d
to it
er lim
st s
gi g i
Re atin
Se
“If it weren’t for the messages from some of the leaders
I connected with, I wouldn’t have this clear vision nor the
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- Jen C., Ontario, 2014 AWC Delegate
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44
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Home Quarter Farm Life
Changing perceptions of modern-day veterans
Horseback riding across Canada to reach people one kilometre at a time
By Christalee Froese
P
aul Nichols is out to change how
people view modern-day veterans
one kilometre at a time.
His cross-Canada horseback ride
started in Victoria, B.C. on April 13 and
he hopes that by the time he reaches
Canada’s East Coast in November, the
word veteran will have a new meaning.
“People in Canada love and support
their troops, but they don’t know who we
are,” said the 46-year-old veteran as he
pointed out the common perception that
true veterans were those who fought in
the world wars.
On his travels, Nichols said he has heard
story after story from fellow modern-day
veterans about how they have been unrecognized and disrespected.
Murray Allan from Vibank, Sask., a
veteran with a 36-year service history,
joined Nichols for two days of the ride.
He agreed that contemporary veterans
are often not given acknowledgment of
their service.
“A year ago I was sitting with a fellow
and we talked about how incredible the
Second World War veterans were and how
much they did for the country, then he
said, ‘I guess our generation missed out on
that,’” said Allan.
Allan said modern-day veterans have
fought overseas in wars as well, and people need to realize what a significant contribution they have made to the security
of Canadians and the safety of people
around the globe.
Nichols spent his early life in the
infantry, being deployed to the former
Yugoslavia for a six-month tour in the
early 1990s. He left the military in order
to settle into civilian life with his wife and
two daughters in Quesnel, B.C.
“I struggled to find my way because
there was no support and no one understood what I had experienced,” said
Nichols.
His world changed when a woman in
a Vancouver store recognized Nichol’s
military crest one day and confided in
him that she was a survivor of the
Bosnian war and her life had been saved
by Canadian soldiers.
“She said they were starving and facing daily sniper fire and then Canadian
troops broke the siege and got her out.
She was crying, I was crying and the
people all around us were crying, and I
realized in that moment that what the
military had done was making a difference and there was power in that story,”
said Nichols.
The encounter with the Bosnian survivor
prompted him to begin planning a crossCanada trip to raise awareness about the
value of the modern-day soldier. He left his
Quesnel ranch in the care of his 20-yearold daughter and headed out on the road
with his wife and 18-year-old daughter in
the spring.
With seven horses in tow, he rides 30 to
40 kilometres per day and invites veterans
along the way to join him.
“We have had about 100 veterans riding with us and by the end of the ride
we’ll have about 700. Our goal is to
change the face of Canadian veterans,”
said Nichols.
For more information, or to donate or
host a stop, visit communitiesforveterans.
com or email [email protected] or call
250-668-3338. †
Christalee Froese writes from Montmartre, Sask.
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> Empty Pesticide Container Recycling Program
There are many
reasons to rinse.
#1
Only rinsed containers can be recycled
#2
Helps keep collection sites clean
#3
Use all the chemicals you purchase
#4
Keeps collection sites safe for workers
#5
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Now, take your empty fertilizer
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10901A-CFM-5Reasons-1/8Page-Grainews.indd 1
4/2/14 11:37 AM
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 grainews.ca /
45
Home Quarter Farm Life
PRAIRIE PALATE
In search of apples — anything with apples
APPLE KUCHEN
For the cake:
1 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1-3/4 cup flour
2 lbs. apples, peeled
and sliced
This fruit brings back fond memories of growing up on the farm
Amy Jo
Ehman
I
n Berlin, I left the hotel early
one morning in search of coffee and apples. Anything with
apples. Wandering the neighbourhood, I found a sunny little
bakery on a leafy street near the
Brandenburg Gate. It had a tiny
sidewalk patio with four tables and
a plethora of potted plants.
Best of all, a sign on the sidewalk said the bakery specialized
in fruit kuchen. Sure enough,
there on the glass countertop
were two large round fruitcakes,
one plum and the other apple.
But don’t imagine the kind of
fruitcake your grandmother
made at Christmastime. They
were what we here on the Prairies
might call “coffee cake” with a
cake base, a layer of fruit and
a crumble topping. In German,
the apple version is called apfelstreuselkuchen. It was delicious,
or lecker.
Ever since I was a child, I’ve
loved anything with apples. We
had two kinds of apple trees on
our farm: a couple of big old crabs
and a “pie” tree with large yellow
apples, the variety of which no one
recalled. We children were allowed
to climb the crabapple trees and
eat as many as we liked. But we
were forbidden to climb the “pie”
tree or eat any of its apples without
permission. They were seriously
earmarked for baking.
When my mother came to the
farm as a young bride, she knew
very little about cooking. Her
mother (my grandmother) was a
fabulous cook but she failed to pass
on this knowledge to my mom.
So my mom learned to cook
from her mother-in-law. My
Grandma Ehman was not a fancy
cook but a good farm cook —
hearty wholesome meals with produce from her own gardens, rich
in cream and butter, from simple
recipes that reflected her Prairie
roots and German heritage. This
included apple kuchen, applesauce
cookies and apple pie. Her apple
jelly was fantastic on toast, with
pork chops and sandwiched in the
centre of jam-jams. I’m quite sure
I was weaned on her applesauce. I
have loved anything with apples
ever since.
In the early pioneer days, apples
were a rare treat. Dried apples
were available in country stores,
but fresh apples arrived by rail
from Ontario. In 1914, pioneer
Julie Feilberg, whose family homesteaded at Nokomis, Sask., recorded
that a barrel of apples cost $4.25.
She bought them as a special treat
with Christmas money sent by her
grandfather in Denmark.
Many farmers planted apple
trees on the home quarter and, by
the 1920s, some had opened their
orchards for U-pick excursions.
This coincided with the spread
of automobiles and apple picking
became a pleasant family outing.
Then came the legendary winter
of 1942, which was so harsh that
most of the apple trees on the
northern Prairies perished in the
cold. Work began in earnest to
breed new varieties of apples better suited to the Prairie climate,
based on experiments already
underway at orchards such as
those at the Seager Wheeler farm
at Rosthern, Sask., and the Morden
Experimental Farm at Morden,
Man. Thanks to their passion for
apples, I was able to climb a big old
crabapple tree in my youth and fall
in love with my grandma’s handpicked apple kuchen.
I was thinking of my grandma
that day in Berlin when a little bird
landed on my table, brazenly eyeing
my cake. I put a crumb on the far
corner of the table and we enjoyed
our apfelstreuselkuchen together in
the morning sunshine. †
Amy Jo Ehman is the author of Prairie Feast:
A Writer’s Journey Home for Dinner, and, Out
of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens. She hails from
Craik, Saskatchewan.
Cream butter and
sugar well. Beat in
eggs. Stir in vanilla,
salt, baking powder
and flour. Remove
2/3 cup and reserve
for the topping. Press
remaining dough
into a greased 9x12inch pan. Cover with
sliced apples.
For the topping:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup cake dough
2/3 cup flour
photo: amy jo ehman
Enjoying apfelstreuselkuchen
in a café in Berlin.
Sprinkle apples
evenly with sugar
and cinnamon. Mix
reserved cake dough
with flour until
crumbly. Spread over
apples. Bake at 350
F for 40-45 minutes,
until the top is lightly
browned and the
apples are soft.
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Consumer Benefits from Genomics
Rob Eirich talking with Tom Lynch-Staunton of Livestock
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benefits of animal genomics for consumers.
Brought
to you by
46
/ grainews.ca SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Home Quarter Farm Life
SINGING GARDENER
Ted talks about tomatoes
Plus, Butcher’s Broom, witch’s broom, and big-batch bran muffins
HISTORY, TRADITIONS
AND FOLKLORE
ted
meseyton
W
elcome to the
Grainews Singing
Gardener˜page.
Seems the subject
of tomatoes is never far away,
so I’ll be doing some Ted Talk in
that connection. We’ve all heard
of Flin Flon, Manitoba, border
city to immediately adjacent
Creighton, Saskatchewan.
I, Ted, wrote a song called “Flin
Flon’s Rock Garden” and the late
Irvin Freese wrote and recorded
“The Flin Flon Song” in his living room at Mafeking, Man., and
I played the big bass fiddle. It was
released on the Quality record label.
Flin Flon tomato is one of four
heritage varieties drawn for in
my tomato seeds promotion this
past spring. Yet surprisingly, after
speaking to a few folks from Flin
Flon, each told me they had never
heard about the tomato named
after their city.
Well, Jennie Van Straalen grew
this historical variety after she won
a packet of Flin Flon tomato seeds.
I’ve since heard from Jennie who
lives about 15 kilometres SE of
Coaldale, Alberta.
Then we’ll hop, skip and jump
from Jennie’s garden to a second email. After that I’ll share a
farmer wife’s bran muffin recipe.
It makes a big batch and the batter keeps a full month or more
in the fridge. These muffins are
a quick energy picker-upper for
workers in the harvest fields and
for kids after school before the
evening meal is ready.
Now it’s a hello with tip o’ my
hat to readers in B.C., across the
Prairies and into Ontario; even
New Brunswick and beyond.
Seems to me Grainews is read up
there in the Yukon and places
in Canada’s Arctic too. Hey you
northerners! — If you get time to
write, please do so.
AN EMAIL FROM WILD
ROSE PROVINCE
I, Ted, kind of think Alberta is
the only province without a front
licence plate on motor vehicles and
yes — there is an image of a rose on
the rear plate.
Hi Ted:
I would like to thank you for the
Flin Flon tomato seeds. I planted
a few and one I planted in my
greenhouse in the ground. It is
now six feet tall and still growing.
My first tomato weighed 15.8 ozs.,
the next one 15.2 and my third
one 24 ozs. Best of all is the TASTE.
They are awesome.
Later, I heard from Jennie
again. She wrote: Ted, I surpassed
my last record of 24 ozs. and got
one yesterday of 28.8 ozs. It was
a whopper. I don’t know how the
plant holds them up.
— Jennie from Coaldale, Alta.
(Ted says: see pictures on this page.)
photo: courtesy jennie van straalen
This is a colourful view of Jennie Van Straalen’s enormous mass-planted impatiens floral bed containing over
500 plants.
A shelterbelt of trees, a nicely maintained lawn, a meandering
sidewalk, a glimpse of the garden, a sturdy wheelbarrow
and a watering hose leading to the greenhouse with
storage shed at the rear, are some of the attractions in the
Van Straalen yard.
Jennie goes on to say:
I had an abundance of cherries this year so I have been busy
putting them up. I live about 15
km SE of Coaldale, Alberta. I am
the only gardener here with the
odd bit of help from my husband
and son. This fall we hope to celebrate our 45th anniversary. Of
all those years, only two of them
I have not had a garden. As kids
we always had to help Mom and
Dad in the garden.
I have a small greenhouse and
grow most of my veggies and
flowers from seed. I usually seed
about 500 impatiens plus marigolds, petunias, asters, lobelia,
dusty millers, tomatoes, lettuce,
cauliflower, broccoli, celeriac,
celery and corn. The corn was
two feet tall when it went outside and most of the cobs are off
the stalks.
This is my hobby and I look
forward each winter to starting
all over again. I usually start to
seed in early February. I hope
to try the weed killer spray this
week. Keep up your informative
column.
— Jennie Van Straalen,
Coaldale, Alta.
Ted says: Thank you so much
Jennie for pictures featured on
this page. They are a delight to
share with Grainews readers and
gardeners. The weed killer control
recipe can be seen on page 42 in
June 9, 2015 Grainews.
FROM DUNCAN, B.C.
June 28/15. Ted, Love your articles! Re oldest gardener – my
father-in-law — 93 and still tilling despite health issues. Drought
in our area on Vancouver Island.
We recycle water and are coping
so far. Do you have any remedies
for broom? Hope you’re having a
great summer.
— (From) Beth McKeown
Jennie Van Straalen who gardens near Coaldale,
Alberta calls this Flin Flon tomato in hand her
24-ouncer, but later she harvested a heavier one
that weighed 28.8 ounces. She describes the variety
as whopper size with authentic tomato taste.
BROOM FROM ANOTHER
PERSPECTIVE
A witch’s broom or witches’
broom is a disease or deformity in a
woody plant, typically a tree. It happens when the natural structure of
the plant is changed by appearing
as a dense cluster of twigs and short
thickened stems on branches. This
mass of shoots grows from a single
point, with the resulting structure
resembling a broom or a bird’s nest.
Witch’s broom can be caused
by many different types of organisms including fungi, powdery
mildew, rusts, mites and other
insects, nematodes, or viruses.
Broom growths can last for many
years, usually for the life of the
host shrub or tree. Human activity is sometimes blamed for introduction of these organisms by
failing to observe hygienic practices and thereby infecting the
tree with the causative organism,
or by improper pruning.
FARMER WIFE’S BRAN
MUFFINS
cups all-bran cereal
2
4 cups bran flakes cereal
(OR natural bran,
OR a combo of both)
2 cups boiling water
1 cup softened butter
(OR 1/2 cup butter
AND 3/4 cup apple sauce)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 free-range eggs
1/2 cup fancy cooking molasses
4 cups buttermilk
5 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups raisins (OR a choice
of other fruit such as dried
cranberries, drained thawed
blueberries, chopped prunes,
chopped dried apricots, chopped
dates OR a combo of these)
Method:
Place bran cereals in a large
bowl; pour boiling water over
top, stir and let stand. In a second mixing bowl cream butter
and sugars together then add
eggs one at a time, mixing well
after each. Add molasses then
stir in buttermilk and mix well,
followed by the cooled bran
cereal mixture.
In a third bowl thoroughly
combine the dry ingredients of
flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and raisins or dried fruit
of choice, then add to the prepared batter and stir, but do not
overmix.
Fill oiled muffin tins 3/4 full
and bake at 375 F (190 C) about
20 or a few minutes more. Store
any leftover batter up to a month
or longer in a covered container
in the fridge. This is a recipe you
can tweak or experiment with.
Some bakers turn muffin tins
upside down for 5 minutes after
removal from oven and say it
helps release the muffins. † This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener
and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie,
Man. There are countless good things that
can be attributed to onions and here’s
a different one. Clean off the barbecue
while the cooking surface is still hot using
half a large raw onion horizontally cut
and pierced on the outside with a longhandled fork. Scrub the grill with the cut
side down to remove grime and greasy
black substance. You should also wear
an oven mitt with high heat resistance
while holding the fork. My email address is
[email protected].
Besides
Butcher’s
Broom (Ruscus aculeatus)
other common names
are Jew’s Myrtle, Sweet
Broom and Scotch Broom.
It belongs to the Liliaceae
plant family. Until the
20th century matured
branches were bound
together into bundles
and sold to butchers and
meat cutters for sweeping
wooden countertops and
chopping blocks throughout Europe. Hence the
common name Butcher’s
Broom.
Both
aerial
(above-ground) parts and
root of the plant, mostly
grown in Mediterranean
climatic zones are gathered in summer when in
bloom.
In folk medicine and
current European herbal
medicine,
Butcher’s
Broom has a long history of use as a blood
vessel toner. Herbalists of
the past used this potent
plant in the treatment of
poor circulation, irregular
heart rhythm, and other
related heart problems.
’Tis said to possess cleansing and diuretic properties
to reduce water retention
and for treating bladder
infections. Broom root
tea taken consistently
was said to help reverse
chronic dark circles under
the eyes. Got me to wondering whether a poultice
of this herb when applied
over the eyes might also
be of benefit?
A way back in 1653 herbalist Nicholas Culpeper
described broom as “a gallant cleansing and quality
plant. A decoction of roots
made with wine was said
to open obstructions, promote urine flow and help
expel gravel and stones.”
Culpeper also mentions
broom tea as an aid for
headache, leg cramps, leg
pain, leg swelling, varicose veins, itching and as
an aid to speed healing of
fractures. Of course you
must remember I’m drawing from long past historical significance and can’t
vouch for any of this.
If you have serious
health concerns or before
considering a course of
centuries’ old herbal
broom medicine, it’s absolutely essential to first
consult with a qualified
herbalist, naturopathic
doctor, or other healthcare provider knowledgeable in its uses. (Note
that Dyer’s Broom and
Spanish Broom seeds are
available from Richters in
Goodwood, Ont., phone
1-800-668-4372.) †
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Elephant in the Field.
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8/17/15 10:38 AM