W

Volume 40, Number 9 | APRIL 8, 2014
$4.25
PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER
www.grainews.ca
Manage wild oats
with these five tools
Wild oats are a serious, ongoing problem for Prairie farmers.
Keep them in check to prevent development of glyphosate resistance
PHOTOS: MAFRD
BY ANDREA HILDERMAN
W
ild oats continue
to be one of the
top five weeds in
Western Canada.
Controlling wild oats costs western
Canadian growers about $500 million annually.
When Grainews looked at the
wild oat situation in 2011, Nasir
Shaikh, provincial weed specialist
with Manitoba Agriculture, Food
and Rural Development, viewed
wild oat management as an important ongoing process, especially in
Manitoba where the frequency of
herbicide resistance is higher than
in Saskatchewan. Now, Shaik’s biggest fear is that wild oats may
develop resistance to glyphosate.
“Wild oat resistance to glyphosate has not yet been documented
anywhere in the world,” says
Shaikh. “However, looking at how
extensively glyphosate is used in
pre-seeding burn down, pre-harvest applications and in-crop with
Roundup Ready varieties, it can’t be
long in happening.” If farmers lose
the ability to control wild oats with
glyphosate, costs will skyrocket.
Research conducted by Hugh
Beckie and his team at Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon
shows that two out of three fields
have some level of Group 1 resistant wild oats. Beckie has also shown
through modeling that, in forecasting which weeds might develop
resistance in the future, wild oats
ranks second behind kochia, which
Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240
has been found to be resistant to
glyphosate in Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Manitoba.
“Although we conduct various
weed surveys, the most likely indication that we are going to get that
wild oats has developed resistance
to glyphosate is when a farmer or
farmers notice that glyphosate has
‘failed,’” says Clark Brenzil, provincial weed control specialist with
Saskatchewan Agriculture. “Then
we’ll hear about it soon enough.”
Managing wild oats continues to
be key in the business of farming
field crops. Experts agree there are
some important tools in farmers’
tool boxes that must be used judiciously to control wild oats and
minimize the risk of developing or
building numbers of resistant populations of wild oats. “Integrated
weed management is what farmers
need to be thinking about,” says
Shaikh. “In other words, bringing
to bear all the options, agronomic
and chemical, to combat this serious weed problem.”
Here are five tools that will help
control wild oats on your farm.
1. DIVERSE CROP ROTATIONS
“First and foremost, plan crop
rotations,” says Brenzil. “Growers
need diverse crop rotations to keep
weed populations from building
up to high densities in preference
for a particular crop or narrow
selection of crops. Increase the
density of any one weed species
and you increase the risk of it
becoming resistant to the herbicide or herbicides you use.”
In years past, crop rotations were
more about agronomy than profits.
Before growers had a large selection
of herbicide to choose from, crop
rotations were an important tool
for managing weeds. Now, crop
selection is more about maximizing
short-term economic returns. That
often means the rotation shrinks
to one or two very profitable crops.
This can result in over-reliance on
a narrow selection of herbicides
and herbicide groups. “The real
danger wild oats presents is that
it is in almost every field in high
numbers,” says Brenzil. “This is a
classic recipe for the selection of
resistance, because resistance is a
numbers game. The more weeds
you have in a field before the
herbicide is applied, the greater
the likelihood that there is a rare
mutant out in that field that is able
to survive the herbicide treatment.”
Ideally, crop rotations should
include winter and spring crops,
broadleaf and grass crops as well
as perennial forages. “If wild oats
are really thick, consider perennial
alfalfa as an option for control,”
says Shaikh. “The regular cuttings
over the summer for forage will
reduce the wild oats seed bank
significantly.” Brenzil advises a
minimum of a three-year crop rotation, preferably four, and ideally an
eight- to 10-year rotation with the
inclusion of three to four years of
perennial forages.
“The seed bank is the driver of
resistance,” says Brenzil. “Research
shows a 95 per cent reduction
in the density of wild oats and
other troublesome weeds in crops
seeded into fields broken out of a
three-year alfalfa stand.”
2. WELL-TIMED PRE-SEED
BURN-OFF
Getting into the field and getting a pre-seed burn-off completed
as close as possible to seeding is
key. “Adjust seeding time if possible to be as close to the pre-seed
glyphosate application as possible,” says Shaikh. “Growers want
to get the crop established to be
competitive against a second flush
of wild oats.”
Brenzil also suggests growers
consider the idea of two glyphosate applications in the spring, an
early application for perennials
and then another just prior to
seeding that includes a mix with
a herbicide with another mode of
action for emerged annual weeds.
3. HIGH SEEDING RATES
Research conducted by Charles
Mohler at Cornell University in
weed ecology and management
indicated a 50 per cent increase in
seeding rate had a substantial effect
on weeds without any adverse
impact on crop quality. The real
key is to get the crop to cover over
the ground ahead of weeds emerging, and allowing the crop to control late emerging weeds.
In This Issue
“The gradual widening of row
spacing on seeders is also concerning,” says Brenzil. “Row spacings are getting wider, and mainly
for engineering efficiencies.
Equipment manufacturers promote research that shows no yield
losses and are now even promoting
using less seed as a way to cut input
costs — but this assumes perfect
weed control is a given. With wider
rows and lower crop plant densities, there is more open ground
available for weeds to establish and
colonize, and there is more competition between individual crop
plants within the row. I liken wide
rows and lower plant densities to
walking a tightrope with no safety
net below. If something doesn’t go
just right it could be disastrous.”
4. GOOD CROP
ESTABLISHMENT
Do everything under your control to maximize the ability of the
crop to get established, and emerge
quickly, evenly and vigorously to
close the canopy. “Fertilizer should
be properly banded close to the
seed,” says Shaikh. “Otherwise the
wild oats will benefit.”
Seed quality is critical. “If you
are not using your own seed, then
use certified seed,” says Brenzil.
“Certified seed has to meet certain
specifications for weed seed content. But even with certified seed,
request the certificate of analysis
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Wheat & Chaff ..................
2
Features ............................
5
Crop Advisor’s Casebook
7
Columns ........................... 14
Machinery & Shop ............ 24
Cattleman’s Corner .......... 31
Getting the timing right
for pre-seed burn-off
KARI BELANGER PAGE 8
John Deere’s new
high-speed planter
SCOTT GARVEY PAGE 28
FarmLife ............................ 36
2
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APRIL 8, 2014
Wheat & Chaff
STAMPEDE
BY JERRY PALEN
LEEANN
MINOGUE
S
“OK, then two out of three to see who breaks ice!”
CONTACT US
Write, Email or Fax
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U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568
or email: [email protected]
If you have story ideas, call us. You can write
the article and we’d pay you, or we can write it.
Phone Leeann Minogue at 306-861-2678
Fax to 204-944-5416
Email [email protected]
Write to Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave.,
Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1
HEARTS
Ask for hearts
When you renew your subscription to
Grainews, be sure to ask for six Please
Be Careful, We Love You hearts. Then
stick them onto equipment that you,
your loved ones and your employees
operate. That important message could
save an arm, a leg or a life.
pring was in the air. Snow
was melting, trees were
starting to bud and the
municipality had pounded
road ban signs into the ground at
either end of the grid road that
runs by our farm. This added one
more complication to converting
the grain in our bins into cash in
our bank account.
“Maybe the elevator won’t call
that canola in before the end of
March,” my husband said, as he
looked out the window at the
road. “Maybe road bans will be off
by the time we have to move it.”
“Isn’t it a March delivery contract?” I asked.
He just looked at me, as if to
say, “What does that have to do
with it?”
As Grainews readers know, this
past winter, signing a March canola delivery contract did not necessarily mean hauling canola to
town in March. Unless, of course,
the company wanted it in March.
If not, we’d have to wait, and figure out how to find the trucker or
the time to move that canola in
April, or maybe in the middle of
May. Either way, we’d be waiting
by the phone for the grain company to call.
We can all be hopeful that following the federal government’s
March 26 introduction of Bill
C-30, our days of waiting by the
phone will be over. Or, at least, we
can hope to be compensated while
we wait.
The delivery problem hasn’t
been limited to one specific area,
or one specific grain company. Yes,
grain companies have been having
trouble moving grain. Yes, there are
other problems in our grain transportation system. But when we
can’t deliver grain we’ve agreed to
sell, we have cash flow uncertainty,
time management issues and an
increase in our general stress levels.
Marketing experts urge us to time
our grain sales to meet our cash
flow needs. This is great advice,
but impossible to implement when
contract dates don’t match actual
delivery and payment dates.
Imagine reversed situations.
What if farmers booked fertilizer
for February pickup, then didn’t
actually pick it up or pay for it in
February? Penalties would vary,
but you can bet it wouldn’t end
well for the farmers. Input supply
companies couldn’t operate like
this — how would they control
inventory? How would they manage their cash flow?
Or, can you imagine going to a
car dealership, negotiating on a car,
signing a contract and then telling
the sales guy you’ll pay for the car
and pick it up in a few months,
when you really need to take that
trip to Edmonton? Car companies
could never stay in business if all of
their customers did that.
And yet, during the transportation problems this winter, Prairie
farmers accepted inventory risk,
paid storage costs and covered
interest costs for much of the
product that grain companies ultimately sold to their end customers.
Hopefully, Bill C-30, the Fair
Rail for Grain Farmers Act, will
bring an end to this situation.
The bill is reported to give the
Presents
My Favourite
Farm Machine
Grainews invites you to nominate
your all-time favourite piece of
farming equipment! You name it —
whatever your all-time favourite
rig is, we want to know!
Like us on Facebook!
Any model not currently in production in the
following 3 categories: tractors, combines,
other farm machinery.
Grainews has
a Facebook page.
A list of finalists will be announced.
Farmers can cast their votes at this year’s
Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina.
Find, read and comment on blog
posts easily and with a thumbs up!
Watch upcoming issues of
Grainews for more information.
Find us on Twitter:
To nominate your favourite
farm machine email us at:
Leeann Minogue is @grainmuse
Lisa Guenther is @LtoG
Lee Hart is @hartattacks
Scott Garvey is @machineryeditor
Canadian Grain Commission the
authority to regulate compensation when elevator companies
don’t honour contract delivery dates. Arbitration may be
involved.
It would be ideal if the grain commission took a proactive approach
— setting standard interest and storage compensation rates and requiring farmer compensation for every
late delivery. We can hope that
actually collecting compensation
for interest and storage won’t be
a difficult, expensive process. Or a
process that farmers are afraid to
go through, for fear that local grain
buyers will punish them with lower
grades or lower prices in the future
if they seek compensation for late
delivery once. What we don’t need
is a system where grain companies
don’t have to pay compensation
for missed contract dates if they
can prove that grain transportation problems were beyond their
control.
Assuming Bill C-30 is passed, it
won’t be helpful to farmers unless
compensation is automatic — not
something each farmer has to
fight for with each late delivery.
To deal with multinational grain
companies that wield ever-increasing market power, we need a fair
foothold. Our best solution would
be enforceable, standardized contracts that require companies to
pay fair storage and interest costs
every time they don’t take delivery
within the contract month. We’re
not looking for taxpayer dollars or
unreasonable legal privileges, just
fair contracts that require both
parties to actually do what they
said they were going to do. Is that
too much to ask?
Leeann
?
?
?
[email protected]
DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS IS APRIL 30th
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
3
Wheat & Chaff
FARM SAFETY
Keeping kids safe
Y
ou would probably do
just about anything to
keep your kids safe on the
farm. That’s what over 90
per cent of Canada’s farmers said
in a farm safety attitudinal survey
conducted by Farm Credit Canada
in 2011. But how do you know
what to do?
From 1990 to 2008, Canadian
Agricultural Reporting (CAIR)
recorded 248 agricultural fatalities
of children under 15 years of age.
That’s an average of 13 deaths a year.
Approximately 44 per cent of those
fatalities involved children under
the age of five. The most common
causes of fatalities included being
run over by equipment, drowning,
or equipment rollovers. In many
cases, these fatalities were workrelated, though the child wasn’t
necessarily performing the agricultural task at the time of the injury.
So what can you do to raise your
children to celebrate farm life, while
keeping them safe? You’ll need to
have a really good handle on child
development levels, abilities and
limitations, as well as when and
how to set clear rules and boundaries, so that everyone stays happy,
healthy and safe.
While you can’t completely
child-proof your farm, creating a
safe play area can limit their exposure to hazards including traffic,
agricultural production and environmental concerns. A safe play
area is a carefully planned location with safe, age-appropriate play
equipment designated by physical
boundaries such as fences, gates or
shrubs. Establish any necessary play
rules and supervise your children
appropriately.
Next, identify areas on your operation that are off-limits to children,
such as confined spaces including
grain bins or silos, pesticide or fertilizer storage facilities, bodies of
water, and manure pits. Can a fence
be installed to barricade a hazardous area? Can materials be stored
inside locked cupboards or locked
buildings? Do it. When it comes to
visiting the barn, storage buildings
or bin yards, establish age limits
for entry. For example, if a child is
younger than 10 years old, establish
a rule that they have to stay in the
fenced yard area; if a child is 10 to
13 years old, they can enter these
areas if they are accompanied by
an adult.
When it comes to farm chores,
the ability of a child to carry out an
agricultural task is dependent on
several factors, including age, motor
skills, cognitive function and awareness of the world around them.
Children under seven years of age
are dependent on adults to provide
them with a safe environment and
should not be engaged in agricultural tasks. A seven- to nine-year-old
child generally doesn’t have good
hand-eye coordination. They have
a short attention span and need
parents to demonstrate a task each
time. For this age group, short tasks
that don’t require a great deal of
accuracy such as yard and garden
work or feeding the animals would
probably be okay, as long as they
are under constant supervision.
Contrast this with 16- to 18-yearold youths, who can usually begin
adult tasks, but may have a tendency to be a bit reckless and easily
distracted. However, every child is
different, so be vigilant and adjust
tasks based on your day-to-day
assessment of their abilities. And
when it comes to youth employment, whether you are hiring your
own child or another youth, be sure
to check legislative requirements to
WEATHER LORE
ensure you are operating within the
legal parameters of your area.
Guide your child through the
farm workplace and protect them
from the obvious, often overlooked, hazards on the farm. It
will help keep them safe while
setting them on a path to become
a safety-conscious farmer in the
future.
For more information on talking to your kids about safety, visit
agsafetyweek.ca/producer-tools
and browse through over 20 free
resources designed to help producers make their farms safer. †
Glen Blahey, Canadian Agricultural Safety
Association. This article was produced in
support of the Canadian Agricultural Safety
Week 2014 Let’s Talk About It! campaign, which
encourages farmers to engage in conversations
about safety. CASW is brought to you by the
Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and
the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, with
support from the Government of Canada through
Growing Forward 2, long-time corporate
sponsor Farm Credit Canada, Ag for Life,
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development,
CHS, Imperial Oil and Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited.
PHOTO CONTEST
Squeaky snow
You might be from the Prairies if...
By Carson Demmans and Jason Sylvestre
A
The squeak of the snow will the temperature show.
t around -10 C, snow begins to squeak
underfoot. Why?
There are two reasons: Pressure and
temperature, says Paul Huttner chief
meteorologist for Minnesota Public Radio.
When you step on snow the pressure of your
foot on the snow crystals causes some of them
to melt. This has a lubricating effect and the tiny
crystals slide quietly by each other as they are
compacted beneath your foot.
But when the snow temperature is below
about -10 C the pressure applied by your foot
is not great enough to cause melting, and the
snow crystals break and crash into each other as
you step on them. We hear it as a squeak. A kajillion tiny snow crystals, hollering, “Ouch!” †
Shirley Byers’ book, Never Sell Your Hen on a Rainy Day explores
over 100 weather rhymes and sayings. It is available from McNally
Robinson at: www.mcnallyrobinson.com.
GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT
Remi Gregoire sent us this photo, taken on his family farm at
St Pierre, Manitoba. Remi found this hive in his machine shed.
It measured 12 inches long, eight inches wide and five inches
in diameter.
When our little boy was three, he found one of these under
our deck. He found it the hard way. I’ve never seen a small kid
run so fast. Remi, we’ll send you a cheque for $25. Hopefully
you don’t need to use it to buy AfterBite — that’s what we used!
Send your best shot to leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.
com. Please send only one or two photos at a time and
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 have a drawn a provincial map in under three seconds.
AGRONOMY TIPS… FROM THE FIELD
Right reasons to use seed treatments
G
rowers are doing their own on-farm trials
with seed treatments, and they’ve shared
the reasons they continue to see value in
treating their seed prior to planting. In this
column, I offer the two primary reasons why producers continue to invest in these products.
First, growers have found that treated seeds
produce a vigorous, uniform crop stand from the
moment they germinate. And, as we know, you
can’t have a good harvest without a strong start.
Second, seeding conditions are not always
favourable for young seedlings. Cool soil conditions in the spring carry greater risks for disease
and insects. Given the protection they provide,
seed treatments can help counteract these risks,
allowing for timely seeding.
Modern production practices can also increase
pest pressure. Today there’s more crop residue
that can harbour diseases and insects. Tighter
crop rotations mean that crop-specific diseases
can get a toehold in the field and cause significant
damping-off, resulting in poor crop stands — all
the more reason to use seed care products. †
This agronomy tip is brought to you by Ted Labun, technical lead for seedcare with Syngenta Canada Inc. Ted has worked for Syngenta since 1981,
and has focused on seed treatment technology for the last 13 years.
Avadex® is a registered trademark used under license by Gowan Company, L.L.C.
PMRA Reg. No. is 25112. Always read and follow label directions. 12002 09.12
Un-sow
your
Wild
Oats
For more information call:
Cory Bourdeaud’hui 1.204.390.2340 Javan Davis 1.306.590.8600
Jim Vancha 1.306.951.7008
UAP at 1.800.561.5444
www.gowanco.com
4
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Cover Stories
CROP PRODUCTION
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
MANAGE WILD OATS
WITH THESE FIVE TOOLS
from your seed supplier that will
list every weed seed found in the
sample. Compare this to the weed
control legislation for your province and do not purchase seed that
contains weeds regulated at the provincial level or has weeds that you
don’t already have on your fields.”
Randy Court of Court Seeds &
Greenhouses at Plumas, Man.,
explained that wild oats is considered to be a secondary noxious
weed under the Canada Seeds Act,
the legislation that governs seed
growers and their practises. “There
are no wild oat seeds allowed
in Certified No. 1 wheat seed,”
explains Court. “The presence of a
single wild oat in the sample will
result in downgrading. This is the
same for all primary and secondary noxious weed seeds in wheat.”
The exceptions are for barley
and oats. The official table for
secondary noxious weed seed in
oats and barley has zero wild oat
seeds allowed per kilogram of sample, however, there is an exemption that allows for one secondary
noxious weed seed per five kilogram sample of barley and up to
one secondary noxious weed seed
per two kilogram sample of oats.
“Certified seed is well within the
tolerances outlined in the Act,”
says Court. “Or considerably better. Reputable seed growers do not
cut corners on seed quality.”
5. VARYING HERBICIDES
Farmers have a range of herbicide options ranging from preseeding and post-harvest burn-off
applications, to in-crop applications with a range of active ingredients from herbicide Groups 1, 2
and 8 in cereals as well as Group
3 for several broadleaf crops and
Groups 9 and to some degree
Group 10 in canola.
“In an ideal world, we don’t
want farmers to have to rely on
in-crop options, especially as the
wild oat resistance problem is
so serious and prevalent,” says
Shaikh. “Farmers should view
these options as supplementary to
agronomy and cultural practices.”
Brenzil advises using more than
one herbicide group/mode of action
in a tank mix. By using two herbi-
cides with different modes of action
at the same time for the same weed,
the odds (prior to heavy selection
with herbicide) of an individual
weed carrying two mutations for
resistance to both modes of action
is infinitesimally small.
Shaikh advises farmers to invest
in testing for resistance problems
on an ongoing basis. “A resistant population doesn’t happen
overnight,” he explains. “Most
farmers are unaware they actually
have a problem until the problem
exists in about 30 per cent or
more of the field. Given this is
a growing issue, annual testing
should be considered. Think of it
as an investment in your overall
management strategy.”
The sum total effect of the
above five tools should mean the
minimum amount of seeds being
returned to the soil every year.
Wild oat seeds are not as persistent
in the soil as might be believed.
For instance, compared to wild
mustard or pigweed seeds, which
can survive in the soil for decades,
wild oat seeds are relatively short
lived — a maximum of five years
in loam to sandy soils and nine
years in clay soil.
RECOGNIZING AND
MANAGING RESISTANCE
Ty p i c a l l y, r e s i s t a n c e f i r s t
appears as individual plants
escaping control that gradually
form into patches. “Is the patch
an escape or a resistant population? Growers need to answer this
question quickly,” says Brenzil.
“When the grower is scouting,
find out, ‘is it a single species
escape?’ If yes, then it is more
likely to be resistance, not a problem with herbicide efficacy. If two
or three weeds escaped, then it’s
likely a miss or the herbicide used
didn’t perform the way it should
have for another reason.”
If you suspect a resistant wild
oat population has developed in
your field, have samples tested at a
provincial laboratory. The key is to
actively start managing that resistant population before it’s identified. “Some growers are in denial
about the problem, I think,” says
Brenzil. “But it is crucial to act
quickly and decisively. Don’t
ignore individuals that survive.”
The goal in managing escapes is
to prevent further spread of seed.
Modern technology is very helpful
in marking areas with suspected
1 6 6 6 D U B L I N AV E N U E ,
WINNIPEG, MB R3H 0H1
w w w. g r a i n e w s . c a
PUBLISHER
Lynda Tityk
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
John Morriss
EDITOR
Leeann Minogue
FIELD EDITOR
Lisa Guenther
CATTLEMAN’S CORNER EDITOR
Lee Hart
FARMLIFE EDITOR
Sue Armstrong
MACHINERY EDITOR
Scott Garvey
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Shawna Gibson
DESIGNER
Steven Cote
MARKETING/CIRCULATION
DIRECTOR
Lynda Tityk
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Heather Anderson
Ensure you can recognize this serious grassy weed earlier in the season.
Wild oats is easy to recognize when headed out. It has a distinctive ligule
at the collar.
resistance so repeated tillage or
mowing can be conducted over
the season to prevent the wild oats
heading out and going to seed.
Continue monitoring the area in
future years and give it special
attention.
“Although we don’t have resistance yet in wild oat glyphosate,”
says Brenzil, “we know what it
would be like from the Australian
experience with rigid ryegrass,
which is now resistant to every
herbicide that used to control it.
And we don’t want to get it to get
to that point.”
Australian growers plagued with
rigid ryegrass resistant to several herbicide groups are resorting to using technologies like the
Harrington Seed Destructor — a
pull-behind 200-plus horsepower
implement that pulverizes everything coming out the back of the
combine, doubling fuel consumption in the process. Australian
growers have also outfitted their
combines with fins to concentrate
everything into a two-foot row,
instead of blowing it across the
field. Those same rows are travelled every year using on-board
guidance systems. The result is
that weed seeds build up in that
two-foot path; weeds emerging in
that area are less vigorous since
they are competing with each
other. Additionally, some growers
burn these rows after harvest to
kill the seeds and reduce the numbers returning to the seed bank.
The lesson for wild oat management is to diversify now rather
than face the proverbial death by
a thousand cuts. “There are only
so many ways to kill a plant,”
says Brenzil. “While there may be
new active ingredients that come
along, we should be managing
what we have now very carefully
so we don’t lose these tools for
the management of important
weeds in the future to resistance.
Growers need to be using every
tool in the wild oat control toolbox to its fullest extent.”
Shaikh agrees, stressing that an
integrated management strategy
is the only way to keep as many
options on the table as possible
and to delay the onset of resistance to glyphosate. †
Andrea Hilderman has her master’s degree
in weed science and is a member of the
Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. She writes
from Winnipeg, Man.
PRESIDENT
GLACIER FARMMEDIA
Bob Willcox
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Don’t ignore patches of wild oats. Map the spot and pay special attention to the area with tillage and mowing to prevent seed rain.
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cereal crops
6
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Features
Columnist update
A visit with
Lyle Walker
Milk River resident Elise Walker
took time to check in with long
time Grainews columnist Lyle Walker
By Elise Walker
A
fter receiving a few phone
calls from farmers across
the Prairies wondering
if I know Lyle Walker, I
decided to stop in to chat with Lyle
at his home in Milk River. Here is an
update for all you Grainews readers
wondering how Lyle is doing.
At the age of 84, Lyle Walker
says he is doing well. Back in 2008
he suffered a severe hip injury
that has required many surgeries, which left him crippled. He
also says one surgery impaired his
hearing badly. Lyle has also battled cancer in recent years.
Lyle still has his own farm. He
likes to work in his shop, keeps the
gopher population down with his
.22 and helps at harvest. He still
likes to do machine work especially when someone says it can’t
be done — Lyle likes to show them
he can do it!
Lyle’s family is doing fine: no
drugs, no booze, no jail, which
makes him proud. His son lives
on a farm in the Milk River area
with his wife and family. Lyle’s
daughter is a doctor in North
Dakota. Lyle’s mother passed
away just over a year ago at the
age of 100.
Lyle is very happy that farmers
are making their own decisions on
marketing their grain. He chuckles
that the Canadian Wheat Board’s
gross incompetence finally did it
in. Lyle still has no patience for the
Alberta Government although “pernicious prevaricators” of bygone
years are just ordinary liars now.
These are just a few of the things
we talked about. He will see this article as he still subscribes to Grainews
and enjoys reading. If anyone
would like to contact Lyle, it is best
to reach him by mail. His mailing
address is: Lyle K. Walker, Box 262,
Milk River, Alta., T0K 1M0. †
Former Grainews columnist Lyle Walker still enjoys reading and is happy that farmers are now marketing
their own grain.
Elise Walker is no relation to Lyle Walker, but
is a neighbour in the Milk River area.
Risk management
Lower-priced
hail insurance
A
G Direct Hail
Insurance Ltd., established by Bruce Lowe,
will be providing
online hail insurance to farmers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta at premiums it says
will be up to 15 per cent less
than the policies offered by its
competitors.
“The main difference,” says
Bruce Lowe, “is that we won’t be
using brokers or agents. Farmers
will apply for their coverage
needs directly on our secure
website and that alone will save
about 10 per cent on costs.”
Costs will be further reduced
through streamlining loss adjustments and minimizing their
advertising and promotion.
“Loss awards will be on par
with industry standards and
farmers can be assured that we’re
providing a secure product,” says
Lowe. “We’re exclusively backed
by Allianz Global Corporate &
Specialty; the second largest
insurance company in the world
and a leader in cutting edge
insurance products.”
Working with
provincial programs
In Manitoba and Alberta,
producers can apply for an AG
Direct Hail policy only after
they have secured coverage
with their government crop
hail insurance provider. “I
want to complement and not
compete with MASC and AFSC.
They have solid hail insurance
programs and I want to be
the price competitive, second
layer of coverage for farmers
in those two provinces” Lowe
says. In Manitoba, producers
must first purchase $200 an
acre in hail insurance from
Manitoba Agricultural Services
Corporation (MASC) before
buying from AG Direct Hail.
In Alberta, $150 an acre is
required from Agriculture
Financial Services Corporation
(AFSC).
Unlike Manitoba and Alberta,
Saskatchewan farmers will not
be required to purchase crop
hail insurance before applying
for an AG Direct Hail policy.
“We anticipate our rates to be
very competitive compared to
Saskatchewan Municipal Hail
Insurance (SMHI) and the private crop hail insurance providers in Saskatchewan.
Farmers will be able to
purchase up to $200 an acre
in coverage from AG Direct
Hail. However, the amount
of insurance liability will be
limited in each township, so
producers are advised to apply
early to avoid disappointment. By completing a simple, no obligation registration
now at www.agdirecthail.com,
producers will receive a priority rate availability email near
the end of April. Applications
will be accepted beginning in
May. †
www.agdirecthail.com
TOUGHER.
EASIER.
TANDEMTM IS THE ONE.
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
7
Features
Crop production
MYSTERY OF THE STUNTED SOYBEANS
Crop Advisor’s casebook
By Dan Friesen
Casebook winner
B
The older plants in Ricky’s field were short and spindly with a dark bluish
appearance and necrotic spots on the leaves.
ack in early July I got a
phone call from Ricky, a
soybean farmer located
near Headingley in
Manitoba’s Red River Valley. Ricky
was calling about the sorry state
of his soybeans — the crop in one
of his fields was stunted, and he
was worried a bad batch of seed
was to blame.
“I must have received some
poor seed with low germination
percentage when I was planting,”
he said. “It’s the only thing I can
think of to explain such a short
plant stand as this.”
I told Ricky I’d come out right
away to have a look. When I
arrived at the affected field, I
could see right away that Ricky’s
soybean crop was struggling. The
older plants in the field were
short and spindly with a dark
bluish appearance and necrotic
spots on the leaves. The crop
appeared to have the appropriate
plant density, but was generally
shorter than other fields close by
that had been planted with the
same soybean variety.
I asked Ricky about planting
T
Dan Friesen is a sales agronomist
with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at
Starbuck, Man.
conditions and his crop inputs, to
try to narrow in on the cause of
the problem. Soil conditions had
been cool and wet when the field
was seeded in mid-May, he said,
adding that no fertilizer had been
applied at planting. Ricky had
used dual inoculants and a seed
treatment to enhance nitrogen
fixation and control diseases and
insects. No residual chemical had
been used on the oat crop planted
in that field the previous year.
Ricky said he’d first noticed the
symptoms, which included some
patchiness across the field, when
the crop was nearing knee height.
Was bad seed to blame for
Ricky’s stunted soybeans? I didn’t
believe that was likely, but I needed soil and tissue tests done in
order to confirm my suspicions
and provide a proper diagnosis.
Do you know the reason for
he Casebook winner
for this issue is Joe
Waldner, from Prairie
Home Colony at
Wrentham Alberta. Thanks for
entering, Joe! We’ll renew your
Grainews subscription for a year
and send you a Grainews cap
Also, thanks to Joe for pointing out that we ran the wrong
fax number in the last issue. It’s
fixed now, so if you’re using a
fax machine, go ahead and hit
“send” to enter your analysis of
this issue’s case. †
Leeann Minogue
Ricky’s soybean sorrows? If you
think you do, 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. Best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to
win a Grainews cap and a one-year
subscription to the magazine. The
answer, along with reasoning that
solved the mystery, will appear in
the next Crop Advisor’s Solution
File. †
Dan Friesen is a sales agronomist with
Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Starbuck, Man.
Crop Advisor’s Solution
WEATHER TO BLAME FOR PURPLING WHEAT CROP
By Kim Brown-Livingston
D
The easy, total-acre solution for key problem grasses
and broadleafs in wheat.
• Ease, convenience and flexibility in one-pass
• Confidence in complete, total-acre weed control
• Wild oats, kochia, cleavers, chickweed, hemp-nettle, more
• Tandem is the tougher, easier choice
Go to cerealsolutions.ca or call 1.800.667.3852.
Download the 2014
Field Guide App from
the iPhone App Store
or at Google Play.
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Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company
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0314-22013-02_35808-02 GN
uring the first week
of July I got a call
from Donald, who
has a 1,800-acre
farm just west of Dauphin,
Man., where he grows wheat,
canola and some ryegrass.
Donald said his wheat crop
just didn’t look right, and he
needed my help to figure out
what was causing it.
Donald said the problem was
discolouration in the wheat
leaves. Initially, he thought
herbicide drift originating
from a different crop might be
to blame, but since the field
was surrounded by wheat on
all sides, things didn’t really
add up.
“It’s odd,” Donald said.
“It looks like it might be
herbicide drift, but not sure
where it could come since the
field is surrounded by wheat
on all sides. But what else
could it be?”
When I came out to
Donald’s farm to inspect the
wheat crop, I could clearly
see most of the plants had
some kind of purpling, giving the whole field an offcolour appearance. The purpling plants were now turning
brown, indicating dead tissue,
and they were all damaged
in exactly the same spot on
their flag leaves, which were
all bent in the same direction.
There were no signs of any
diseases present and previous
soil tests had ruled out a nutrient
imbalance, so I decided to ask
Donald: “What has the weather
been like lately?” When he
answered, I began to zero in on
the source of the problem.
Donald said the weather had
been really hot with bright,
sunny days all the previous
week. These weather conditions
had caused environmental
damage, not just on Donald’s
farm, but also throughout
the region — a fact that was
confirmed in a subsequent
conversation with Manitoba
Agriculture, Food and Rural
Development officials.
The bad news was there
was nothing to be done that
would immediately help
Donald’s purpling wheat crop
— it was simply a case of the
plants having to grow out of
it (which they did — Donald
ended up having a bumper
wheat crop). The only thing
farmers can do to minimize
environmental damage like
this is to ensure their crops
are as healthy as possible during the year, so they are better
equipped to withstand environmental stresses.
The good news? Fortunately,
there are lots of steps farmers
can take to get their crops off
to a healthy start, such as good
crop rotation, a strong fertility program and proper seedbed preparation, seeding rates
and seed treatment. Timely
weed and disease control when
necessary also contribute to a
healthy crop. †
By Kim Brown-Livingston is a regional
agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd.
at Dauphin, Man.
8
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Features
CROP PROTECTION
Make pre-seed burn-off a top priority
Canola fields that have had
a pre-seed burn-off produce
higher yields than fields
that have not
BY KARI BELANGER
I
t’s a tough call Prairie
producers
must
make
each spring — to start
seeding or wait and spray
first. Sometimes the elements
leave little choice but to seed;
however, when conditions
allow, farmers who burn-off
early weeds ahead of canola
reap the rewards at harvest.
“There is evidence that producers could see a yield increase
upwards of 15 per cent when
comparing a field that has been
given a pre-seed burn-off with
one that has had no burn-off in
direct seeding situations,” says
Angela Brackenreed, a Canola
Council of Canada agronomy
specialist. “Even if it means the
crop is not seeded until later,
there is evidence of a greater
yield advantage to completing
a pre-seed burn-off.”
Early weed management
before seeding canola is particularly important due to canola’s vulnerability during initial
growth stages. “Canola can be
a little wimpy early in the season. It’s really important it’s not
competing with weeds for nutrients and moisture, and that it
gets off to a good start,” says
Brackenreed.
“The more weeds you have
competing with your canola,
the more yield they’re going
to rob from it at the end of the
day. Often, at the beginning
of the season, we can forget
about the yield goal. Right from
spring through fall these things
affect canola’s yield potential,”
she says.
A clean field puts canola at
a distinct advantage. However,
before spraying it is essential for
producers to assess weed types
— annuals, winter annuals and/
or perennials — every year,
field by field, to determine the
length of time required between
spraying and seeding as well as
chemistry options.
Glyphosate may be the No.
1 product used for a pre-seed
burn-off, says Brackenreed,
but producers must still check
labels for control of the specific
weeds in their fields as well as
to determine whether or not
another chemistry should be
added to the tank, such as a
product with residual control.
TIMING IS KEY
Canola can be seeded 24 hours
after spraying annuals and winter annuals with glyphosate,
which is the time it takes the
chemical to reach the weed’s
growing point.
For perennials, which are
harder to control, it takes three
to five days for glyphosate
to reach the growing point,
depending on the conditions
at the time of spraying. When
conditions are sunny and warm,
canola can be seeded three days
after glyphosate application.
During cool or cloudy weather,
translocation of glyphosate
within perennials is slower and
could take up to five days.
“It’s important to know what’s
out there. If you were to spray
and you had mostly perennials and you started seeding 24
hours later, you probably didn’t
give enough time for the plant
to take in that product and control it,” says Brackenreed.
Specifically, sunny conditions and daytime temperatures between 12 C and 15 C
and night time lows above 4
C will provide optimal glyphosate activity on annuals, winter
annuals and perennials.
Frost can throw a monkey
wrench into pre-seed burn-off
plans. If temperatures below 5
C are forecast, farmers should
hold off spraying perennials.
“All of these things can stack up
against you and make it harder
to find the time to spray…
If there’s frost, the plant is
not actively growing and not
taking in the herbicide,” says
Brackenreed.
B:13.167”
Angela Brackenreed is an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada.
PHOTO: CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA
T:13.167”
S:13.167”
“Know what’s
out there.”
— Angela Brackenreed
CHOOSE THE RIGHT PRODUCT
Volunteer canola is another
weed that should be controlled during a pre-seed burn-off.
The type of canola volunteer —
Roundup Ready, Clearfield or
LibertyLink — will influence product choice to control the weed.
CleanStart, Amitrol 240 and
bromoxynil are also registered
for pre-seed burn-off ahead of
canola, and are the only options
for control of volunteer Roundup
Ready canola. Targeting volunteer
canola while it is small is key to
the efficacy of these products.
Crop safety and the use of
registered products ahead of
canola is especially important
due to the plant’s initial fragility. “Crop safety is so important
— you don’t want to hurt your
canola at the beginning of the
season and put it off to a bad
start,” says Brackenreed.
BayerCropScience.ca/Varro or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative.
Always read and follow label directions. Varro™ is a trademark of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.
OTHER TIMING OPTIONS
There are some years, like last
spring for example, where the
window of opportunity to burn
off early weeds prior to seeding is
too narrow or non-existent. But
to roll the dice on a post-seed or
pre-emergent herbicide application is also not a good bet.
“I don’t like recommending
a post-seed/pre-emergent spray
because in good conditions,
canola can come out of the
ground much faster than you
would expect. It can sneak up
on you, and then you never
get it done… and you have to
wait for your first in-crop herbi-
FS:6.3335”
cide. By that time, those weeds
could have robbed your canola
of quite a bit of much needed
moisture and nutrients,” says
Brackenreed.
Ground crack is also of concern when applying a post-seed
or pre-emergent herbicide as
emerging cotyledons are hard
to spot and will be damaged by
spraying.
Farmers rely heavily each
spring on glyphosate for early
weed control. As glyphosateresistant weeds continue to
advance in Western Canada,
taking measures
to protect and is in your fields and to make
F:6.5835”
prolong glyphosate’s efficacy is early weed removal a priority.
paramount. “In the long run, Sometimes you have to make
the economics of dealing with a decision, and sometimes that
glyphosate-resistant
weeds decision is to get out and seed.
in your fields are really going Last year, there wasn’t
a lot
BCS.10182718.Varro.1
2:10 PM
to exceed the cost of 2-13-2014
adding
of pre-seed herbicide activity
Magenta,
in a tank-mix partner to CALMCL-DMX7993
your going on because Cyan,
we had
two Yellow, Bla
Marsha Walters
glyphosate,” says Brackenreed.
feet of snow in the fields at the
SPEC ORIGINALLY GENERATED: Oli
None
100%
Farmers may be at the mercy beginning of May, but that’s
13.167” x 8”
SAFETY: None TRIM: 13.167” x
of Mother Nature’s whims each just an example that every year
Helvetica Neue (Bold; True Type), Helvetica Neu
spring, but a pre-seed burn-off is different and you have to
ahead of canola reduces the work with what you’re given,”
odds of weeds getting the better says Brackenreed. †
of their yields.
Kari Belanger is a Winnipeg-based writer
“The key is knowing what and editor.
.167”
167”
.167”
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
9
Features
DIGITAL MANAGEMENT TOOLS
Farm Dock
app launches
Free web-based app helps
streamline day-to-day farm
management tasks
BY SCOTT GARVEY
“
T
he idea (to try and find
a good farm management app) originally
came to me in 2011,”
says Scott Andrew, who farms
near Morden, Manitoba. But his
in November of 2011 to see
if anyone was interested in
creating it. He approached
Farm Business Communications
in Winnipeg (a division of
Glacier FarmMedia and the
publisher of Grainews), and
management there decided to
The farm management app Farm Dock has just been introduced and is designed to help producers track field
operations, costs, inventory and customizable types of additional data.
“And not just tracking jobs but
tracking everything that goes
into them, where that work was
done, who was doing it, what
inventory was used or created,
what equipment was used.
“It will keep running totals of
everything,” he continues. “You
can see, at any point in time,
things like your bin capacity.
You can see what’s in them, so
it helps you track inventory on
the farm. You can also record
supplementary information.
For example, if you were spraying you can record what the
T:8”
search back then for one that work with
Andrew to create an
F:6.5835”
suited his farming operation app intended to meet both his
didn’t turn up anything that needs and those of most Prairie
exactly met his needs.
farmers.
“In November of 2011 there
Roughly two years later, the
BCS.10182718.
were only two,” he continlaunch of the new FarmDock
rro.104REV1.indd
ues. “One was Brazilian and Grainews
app is the result of those develInsertion Date: February 25, 2014
,
Black
the other was Australian. The opment efforts.
Bayer CropScience
Brazilian one was ridiculously
“The main purpose (of
PAGE: 1
10182718
expensive and the Australian FarmDock) is to help the
3.167” x 8” Bleed: None
one was glitchy and didn’t do farmer manage all the activitica Neue LT Std (65 Medium; OpenType)
what I wanted.”
ties that are going on, on the
Knowing exactly what he farm, including assignment of
Contact
wanted but unable Production
to find
itNumbers:
jobs,” says John Bauer, Glacier
7161
403 261 7152
in an existing app, 403
he261began
FarmMedia’s
senior director
speaking to web developers of technology and operations.
C-78-02/14-10168062-E
B:8”
Varro™ herbicide for wheat.
Freedom from Group 1 herbicide resistance.
Freedom to select your preferred broadleaf partner.
Freedom to re-crop back to sensitive crops like lentils.
S:8”
Freedom from wild oats.
windspeed and direction was.”
“As farms get bigger you have
to be more efficient,” adds
Andrew. “The idea of this app
is to make things easier for the
main farmer.”
A big part of making things
easier means eliminating the
need to keep volumes of handwritten records.
“(FarmDock) makes those
things you have to do for crop
insurance easy,” Andrew says.
“Up until this point I had to
take binders in, do Excel sheets
and make a report out of it. It
took a lot of time and a lot of
effort. I wanted to find a different way that allows you to do it
once, not four times.”
“The concept behind this
whole thing is we understand
a lot of farmers record all this
information and carry it around
in a black book in their back
pocket,” says Bauer. “This is
a way to capture everything
seamlessly as you’re running
the farm.”
Keep a
handle on
costs
The app also allows farm managers to supervise one or more
equipment operators. Multiple
users can sign into the system
and a manger can assign different field operations simultaneously. A manager can also see
when employees log the jobs as
completed along with the other
related data.
“Instead of having a binder
of paper in each tractor to track
everything and every operation,
it’s a lot simpler to have it in
one area,” says Andrews. “If you
have three or four guys working, it’s all instantly there.”
“I think it has a very powerful dashboard that others don’t
have,” says Bauer. “It gives you
all the latest jobs and all the
work activity that’s going on.
You can see it at a glance, based
on jobs, inventory, work equipment activity. You can have all
that stuff at your fingertips.
If you have a lot of people
involved in work activity in a
day you can see what’s being
done as it’s being done.”
Aside from tracking of field
operations, operators can use
FarmDock to manage costs.
“You can keep track of what it’s
costing to farm that particular
piece of land or that crop,” he
adds. “It’s a place to record that
information.”
Getting
started
with
FarmDock doesn’t require a lot
of set up time. A farmer can
initially input only as much
information as is necessary to
get started on one field operation. Other equipment, fields,
inventory and job activity types
can be added throughout the
season as the need arises.
“What makes it (FarmDock)
different is we really tried to
streamline the app so you can
use it without spending hours
setting it up,” Bauer says. “You
can do that on the fly. In 30 seconds you can set up your first
job. It allows you to build your
configuration as you’re using it.
“The other thing is we tried
to make it as simple as possible.
When you look at the app you
don’t see a bunch of useless or
complicated stuff.”
And Bauer believes FarmDock
can be just as valuable to a
small farmer as a large corporate operation. “It’s really flexible,” he says. “It will accommodate everything from the
largest, most complicated farm
operation to the single, coupleof-hundred-acre farmer. You
can have one operation or multiple operations, like grain and
dairy, together. You can also
have multiple farms.”
Andrew says he’s happy with
how FarmDock has evolved. “It
fits my farm perfectly, because
it’s exactly what I wanted,”
he explains. “There are some
things we discussed and want
to add to it as well, which will
only make it more attractive.”
Producers can now use the
full-featured app for free.
Eventually, , Bauer says there
will be two versions, the free
one and a pay-for-use version.
Exactly which features will
remain free hasn’t yet been
established.
“We’re going to have a freeforever version,” he says. “(The
paid-subscription version) is
going to be priced competitively and be affordable for any
size farm operation.”
For more information visit
www.farmdock.com.
Editor’s note: The FarmDock
app is a product of Glacier
FarmMedia, owner of Grainews
and
other
Farm
Business
Communications publications and
the Western Producer. †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
10
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Features
CROP PRODUCTION
Volunteer canola in
Roundup Ready soybeans
As soybean acreage increases, growers will have to find ways to manage volunteer canola
BY JULIENNE ISAACS
T
he last time a weed survey
was done in Manitoba
— more than five years
ago — there was no need
to collect data on the impact of
volunteer canola on soybean
yields, as there weren’t enough
soybean acres to justify the work.
Just a few years later, soybeans
are a major crop in Western
Canada, often grown in rotation with canola, and growers are
noticing more of an issue with
volunteer canola in their Roundup
Ready soybean fields.
ECONOMIC THRESHOLDS
According to Rob Gulden,
a weed specialist in the Weed
Ecology and Management Lab at
the University of Manitoba, there
is virtually no data yet on the
problem of volunteer canola in
Roundup Ready soybeans. “Things
can look pretty bad at times,
but we don’t have numbers,” he
says. “Last time (the weed survey
was done in Manitoba) we didn’t
have enough acres to survey
soybeans, so I suspect that this
time around, because soybeans
are our third biggest crop, they
will be surveyed. We do need the
numbers on this.”
Gulden and his students are
two years into a four-year study
focusing on the impact of volunteer canola on Roundup Ready
soybeans. The first stage, according to Gulden, involved collecting
threshold data — in other words,
assessing the environmental and
economic action thresholds that
should be reached before growers
begin spraying.
Paul Gregoire, a student involved
in Gulden’s project, has generated
initial estimates of thresholds,
although final numbers are not yet
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one plant per square metre and
10 plants per square metre,” says
Gulden, “So an average of two to
eight, depending.
“If you assume five per cent
yield losses in soybeans will pay
for your herbicide, that’s where
it becomes economically viable
to spray.”
Gulden’s
student
Charles
Geddes is studying cultural methods of controlling volunteer canola, work which will continue
for the next year or two. “Canola
is a fast crop out of the ground
and soybean is slow. So Charles
is looking at planting density and
row spacing — wide row soybean
and inter-row tillage. It seems
to work quite well, in terms of
controlling volunteer canola,
when you narrow the row spacing
to 15-inch rows,” says Gulden.
“That makes sense — you want
the crop to occupy as much space
as you can as quickly as you can.
Increasing the seeding rates, in
comparison, had relatively little
impact.”
This year, the team begins studying herbicides, and they’ll continue
collecting data for the next two or
three years. “Hopefully we’ll get
some survey data in the meantime,
and that will help a lot in giving
meaning to the parts we’re doing,”
says Gulden.
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Gulden’s project is primarily sponsored by the Manitoba
Pulse Growers Association and
ARDI, but other sponsors such as
Monsanto are also involved. Sean
Dilk, a technology development
manager for Monsanto, says growers have been focused on the management of volunteer canola in
their soybean acres for years and
already have a handle on effective
control methods. When volunteer
canola is controlled properly there
is virtually no impact to yields,
he says.
However, this also depends on
the volunteer canola. “There are
quite a few factors that come
into play,” Dilk says. “How many
weeds there are, what stage they
emerge in relation to the crop,
and whether they are up before
or after the crop.
“But the fact is that growers
want to control the volunteer
canola that’s in their Roundup
Ready soybeans. They want a
proactive strategy. They don’t
want it to go to seed and shatter and return to the weed seed
bank,” he says.
According to Dilk, the industry has been doing an excellent
job disseminating information
on how best to control the
weed, promoting tank mixes,
pre-mixes and the use of multiple modes of action. He believes
growers are using every strategy
they can to prevent volunteer
canola from impacting soybean
yields.
Target volunteers
before the
four-leaf stage
“Even if they see a few volunteer canola plants they’re
throwing in a tank mix partner, because they want to control that volunteer canola,” he
says. “Adding that additional
mode of action to glyphosate
is an excellent way to protect
glyphosate as an effective weed
management tool.”
Dilk recommends that growers target volunteers before they
reach the four-leaf stage, because
if canola plants are allowed to
go to seed, they shatter and the
seeds return to the weed seed
bank. Based on the data collected
in field-scale trials, he says that
applying Heat or Valtera herbicides, prior to planting, is growers’ best bet.
Usually, this will help prevent
any issues with volunteers, but
if growers notice a second flush
in-crop, they can follow up with
Viper or Odyssey. “After that
your soybean crop will canopy
and you won’t see any weeds,”
he says. †
Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance
writer and editor. Contact her at julienne.
[email protected].
14-02-19 11:32 AM
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APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
11
Features
CROP PRODUCTION
Controlling downy brome
This aggressive weed can be confused with fall rye. Luckily,
there are several ways to keep it under control
BY MELANIE EPP
D
owny brome is a winter
annual grass that is
a problem in every
Canadian province
except Newfoundland. A prolific
seed producer, it germinates in
the fall and overwinters as a
seedling. Come spring, it resumes
growth rapidly.
Generally, downy brome starts
heading in late April to early May.
By late April, it has an extensive,
fibrous root system that is hard
to control with tillage, making it
especially problematic in no-till
or minimum till systems.
An aggressive grassy weed,
downy brome is a threat to winter
and spring cereals, pastures and
rangeland and dry hayfields. In
both Saskatchewan and Alberta,
it is considered a noxious weed.
“It’s the lower category of the
two,” says Nicole Kimmel, weed
specialist with Alberta Agriculture
and Rural Development. “If you
do have downy brome you are
obligated to control it so that it
does not spread.”
bringing in a certified crop advisor or someone with expertise
in grasses.
CONTROLLING
DOWNY BROME
Josh Fankhauser farms some
7,000 acres of cropland in
Claresholm, Alta. Growing a wide
range of crops — winter and spring
wheat, yellow peas, canola, flax
and barley — Fankhauser says
downy brome has been a problem
on his farm, especially in winter
cereals and forage production. For
control, Fankhauser has tried products like Simplicity and Everest,
with a preference for Simplicity.
“In the fall cereals — because
they germinate at the same time
and the way you’re spraying —
you don’t really have a chance to
whack it with glyphosate before
you seed, so it’s been pretty
hard,” he says. “In the spring
crops, it hasn’t been such a big
problem, especially since you can
spray glyphosate and set it back
enough that it doesn’t rear its
head until late fall.”
Downy brome is one of the
earliest plants to get going in
the spring, says Neeser, which
makes it a particular challenge in winter wheat. Control
options, he says, are limited,
but he agrees that Simplicity
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IDENTIFYING DOWNY BROME
BY DAN PIRARO
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Melanie Epp is a freelance writer who
specializes in writing web copy for small
businesses. She is based in Guelph, Ont., and
can be found online at melanierepp.com.
Make these
guys your first
pick this season
Good rotations
are key
In the seedling stage, downy
brome can be confused with fall
rye. While both are purplish in
colour, downy brome does not
have auricles (those small hooks
that encircle the stem at the base
of the leaf blade). Once fully
grown, the plant has densely
hairy leaves and sheaths, a soft,
drooping panicle and long, thin
awned spikelets.
A lot of producers don’t notice
it until it’s too late, says Neeser.
“It sort of has a fuzzy appearance and you don’t notice it until
there’s a solid stand.”
Kimmel agrees that identification is difficult. “You’re looking
for a grass in a grass. It’s not
being found very easily or fast
enough, so it’s getting out of control before it’s being recognized as
a problem.”
When producers suspect they
may have a problem with downy
brome, Kimmel recommends
does a fairly good job. Another
option is a grass herbicide called
Assure II. Its active ingredient is
quizalofop. With Northstar winter wheat growers have another
option, Sencor.
The seed survives for up to
three years, making good control
extremely important, says Neeser.
And it can creep into fields from
the margins along the roadside.
“A farmer should keep a close
eye on the field margins and if
downy brome is there then action
is required,” he says.
Where possible, a pre-seed
burn down herbicide is recommended; usually something mixed
with glyphosate, like florasulam,
says Neeser. “Glyphosate controls
downy brome quite well, and so
does florasulam.”
Fankhauser says that while
products do work, good rotations are key when managing for
downy brome.
“Our general attitude is if you’ve
got too much of one weed it’s
probably because your cultural
practice or your rotations are out
of whack,” says Fankhauser. “So
if one weed starts to look worse
than all of the others and starts to
become a problem you better start
thinking about your rotations and
adjust it to combat that problem.”
According to a report issued
by Alberta Agriculture, in minimum or no-till systems, glyphosate
applied in late fall or early spring
does provide better control than
tillage, especially in cool, wet conditions. After heading, higher rates
of glyphosate will be required. †
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1/30/14 10:26 AM
12
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Features
CROP PRODUCTION
Managing oat fertility
If you’re growing oats, here are five nutrients to watch
BY LISA GUENTHER
W
hen it comes to oat
fertility, soil testing
is key, Thom Weir
told CropSphere
delegates in Saskatoon this past
January. Weir is a senior agronomist
with Farmers Edge at Yorkton, Sask.
Here are five nutrients oat
growers should keep an eye on.
1. NITROGEN
“It takes about a pound of nitrogen to grow a bushel of oats,” said
Weir.
Soils lose nitrogen through crop
removal, residue removal, denitrification, leaching and volatile loss.
Nitrogen is socked away through
fertilizer application, lightning
strikes, fixation by rhizobium bacteria and fixation by other living
organisms in the soil. In his book
Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,
Les Henry notes little nitrogen is
added by lightning or fixation by
soil organisms other than rhizobium bacteria.
“Most people I think assume
that their nitrogen is virtually all
available. It’s actually only 50 per
cent available for the current crop,
or 50 per cent removed by the current crop,” said Weir.
That doesn’t mean the system
is bleeding a lot of nitrogen. Some
goes into straw, roots and weeds,
Weir said. “In a no-till scenario
we’re about 85 to 95 per cent effective efficiencies on nitrogen.”
Knowing how much organic
matter soils contain is also useful,
as “organic matter is a sponge that
holds a lot of nutrients,” said Weir.
Black soil with five per cent
organic matter will hold about
5,000 lbs./ac. of nitrogen in the
first six inches, Henry writes. Crops
will access a small percentage of
that total each year through
mineralization.
Varying levels of organic matter can account for the fluctuating yield monitor, especially on
sloping land. “It’s not necessarily
the fertilizer you put on. It’s the
nitrogen that’s released from the
mineralization of the organic matter in the soil,” said Weir.
2. PHOSPHATE
As farmers have pushed yields,
phosphate rates haven’t increased,
Weir said. Peas often don’t see
any phosphate, and many farmers dial back the phosphate with
flax, too, he added. And farmers
can only apply limited amounts
of phosphate in the seed row with
canola because of toxicity.
“And so we’re shorting the system,” said Weir.
Weir compared the soil’s ability to hold phosphate to a bank.
“The whole story is you only use
20 per cent of what you put on.
The other 80 per cent goes in the
bank account.”
Cereals give farmers a chance to
bank phosphate for future crops.
Weir suggested oat growers bump
phosphate applications to 30 or
40 pounds to balance the rotation.
Henry writes the phosphate soil
test works well if farmers and
agronomists know what to look
for. If a huge deficiency is shown,
farmers should apply phosphate
fertilizer. If the test shows a huge
surplus, such as 65 lbs./ac. in the
first six inches, phosphate fertilizer probably isn’t needed. With
a soil test showing between 15
and 40 lbs./ac., a crop response is
a coin toss, Henry writes.
3. POTASH
“If you’re going to use potash,
you’ve got to get serious about it,”
said Weir.
“Putting on five or six pounds
of potash is the equivalent of
putting on five or six pounds
of nitrogen,” he added. “When
we’re talking a crop needing 100
to 150 lbs./ac., putting on that
little amount in a bank that you
probably have 200, 300 pounds
or more in the soil is really not
worth doing.”
Weir said there are two reasons
farmers might apply potash. One
is to boost early crop growth in
cold, wet weather, which would
require 15 to 20 pounds in the
seedrow.
Anything less than 15 pounds
isn’t going to trigger a crop
response, Weir said, and will
cause problems. “Potash has
sharp edges and tends to break
off pieces of sulphur which turns
into dust that picks up moisture
that gums up your drill.”
If soil tests reveal potassiumdeficient soils, broadcasting is
just as effective as seedrow application. Weir suggested broadcasting 40 to 60 pounds to build
deficient soils.
Potassium deficiencies will
show up in the lower leaves,
Henry notes. Leaves will look
scorched and dead. Soil tests
showing less than 120 pounds of
potassium in the first six inches should spur farmers to apply
plenty of fertilizer. Anything
between 121 and 180 pounds
means farmers can probably get
by with lower rates of seed placed
fertilizer, Henry writes.
Most Prairie soils have plenty
of potassium. Weir noted that
peat soils can be deficient. Henry
writes that soils around Carrot
River, Sask, and Manitoba’s
Almassippi soils are known to be
deficient.
4. COPPER
“If you’ve got peat on the
quarter, there’s definitely a good
chance that it’s going to respond
to copper,” said Weir. High organic
matter sands are also likely to
show a copper deficiency.
To correct the deficiency, Weir
suggested applying a foliar copper
product to half the field with the
fungicide at the flag leaf stage,
leaving half of the field as a check.
5. SULPHUR
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Some soils, such as Grey
Wooded, are notorious for being
short on sulphur. But continuous cropping, canola’s popularity and higher yields add up to
more sulphur deficiencies, Henry
notes. And while soil tests will
reveal sulphur deficiencies, tests
showing plenty of sulphur can be
off. Henry writes a little gypsum
anywhere in a quarter can skew
sulphur soil test results.
Weir suggested oat growers
apply five to 15 pounds of sulphur with oats.
“For the most part sulphur’s not
going to go anywhere. So putting
on 15 pounds of sulphur in your
oats will mean that you may be
able to back off five pounds when
you go to your canola crop.” †
Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews
based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.
[email protected].
2014-03-24 12:01 PM
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
13
Features
GRAIN TRANSPORTATION
Brazil invests in rail transportation
Like Canada, Brazil is experiencing transportation troubles.
New investment and a revised system may resolve these issues
BY LISA GUENTHER
C
anadian farmers aren’t
the only ones wrestling
with transportation
logistics. Brazil has
its own transportation woes, a
soybean industry executive told
delegates at the Commodity Classic
in San Antonio, Texas, in February.
“We do a pretty good job within our farmgate. Our farmers are
really as efficient as an American
farmer, as farmers here in the
mid-west,” said Marcelo Duarte
Monteiro, executive director of
APROSOJA, the soybean producers
association in Brazil.
“But outside the farmgate,
even though we’ve made a lot
of progress in the last two years,
there’s still a long way to go.”
Brazil’s main soybean region sits
in Mato Grosso, which is a long
way from export terminals. Trucks
do most of the hauling, which
costs four or five times what it
would to use waterways, Duarte
Monteiro said.
And high transportation costs
wreak havoc with the basis, he
added. “I mean, we were talking
about $3.50 a bushel corn. And
that’s exactly the negative basis
we have in the middle of the state
of Mato Grosso with our logistics.
It means corn is worth nothing in
that market if it hits $3.50.”
The bidding process was
delayed, but bidding on the first
railway should wrap this year,
Duarte Monteiro said. This first
railway will run east from Mato
Grosso, connecting the soybean
state to the coast.
A north-south railroad is being
built as well and Duarte Monteiro
told delegates it should be ready
within five years.
Right now only one company can use a rail line, creating
monopolies on each line, Duarte
Monteiro said.
But the Brazilian government
is trying to change the system so
that one company would control the track. That company
wouldn’t be able to haul freight.
Instead, it would charge other
companies to ship freight on
its lines, much like a toll road.
Several companies would haul
freight on the same line.
The company charging the toll
would have to invest in the tracks.
To offset risk, the government is
trying to guarantee a minimum
freight volume. “And if they don’t
get that volume, the government
would pay them for the difference,” Duarte Monteiro explained.
Duarte Monteiro said the new
model “seems quite smart.”
“That brings competition to the
same rail line. But it’s a new model
so that comes with a lot of challenges as well that we’re getting
right now.”
ROADS UPGRADED
Brazil’s government has also
tagged nine main roads for private
sector investment. Companies
that win the bids must widen and
maintain the roads, in exchange
for charging tolls for 30 years,
Duarte Monteiro explained.
The main soybean route,
BR-163, connects Mato Grosso to
the northern port of Santarem.
The company that won the bid to
upgrade that road has five years
to add two lanes to the road, said
Duarte Monteiro. He said the road
should be finished next year, and
more roads are expected to be in
place in the next few years, too.
Railways and roads aren’t the
only parts of the logistics system seeing investment. There are
also six trans-loading terminals
going up along the Tapagos River,
at the port of Miritituba, said
Duarte Monteiro. Soybeans will
be trucked from Mato Grosso to
Miritituba. Some will flow north
on the Tapagos to the Amazon,
while others may sail to the east
coast.
Duarte Monteiro acknowledged
Brazil faces plenty of infrastructure
challenges.
“But we have a stable situation.
We have a stable democracy,” he
said. †
Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews
based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.
[email protected]. With files from Reuters.
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Cargill operates grain terminals in
Santarem, which sits at the junction
of the Tapagos and Amazon Rivers,
north of Mato Grosso. The company used to truck all its soy 1,500
kilometres west from Mato Grosso
to Porto Velho. From there it was
loaded on river barges, floated up to
Santarem, and then on to the coast.
Duarte Monteiro said although
there are 44,000 kilometres of potential waterways in Brazil, only 13,000
kilometres are being used. “There is
no investment at all in our waterways and that is something we’re
trying to change as well,” he said.
Part of the problem was the
government’s poor administration of PAC, Brazil’s transportation infrastructure program, Duarte
Monteiro told delegates. “Between
2007 and 2012, only 60 per cent of
the entire budget was actually put
into works, which means that they
were not efficient enough to get on
the ground.”
But Brazil’s federal government
is now bringing in private sector investment into infrastructure,
said Duarte Monteiro. And the
country is revamping the very way
railways operate.
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Duarte Monteiro told delegates
the private sector plans to invest
US$40 billion into 10,000 km of
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2014-01-08 4:18 PM
14
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Columns
MANAGEMENT MINUTE
Success or mess
Setting clear goals is an important part of
successful farm succession. It could mean the
difference between success and mess
pendently of other areas within a
successful business transition. We
liken a successful business transition to an operating planetary
gear. Our aim is to share the successful traits and habits in each of
these components that we have
seen to be crucial in a successful
business transition.
ANDREW
DERUYCK
MARK
SLOANE
GOALS
T
his is the second article
in our series on succession. You may recall from
our introductory article
that we looked back over the last
10 years identifying successes and
messes in business transitions that
we’ve witnessed. We’ve developed
an extensive list of reasons why
those transitions were successful
or what caused them to go off
the rails. We grouped this list
into categories and eventually we
ended up with five key areas that
captured our list.
It was obvious to us at that
point that none of these five key
areas or components operate inde-
The first gear we want to green
light or pro check is “goals” at the
centre of our planetary. Goals are
one of those soft squishy areas that
many hard-handed farmers don’t
really want to spend a lot of time
thinking about or discussing. For
retiring generations, the acceptance of our own mortality really
isn’t exciting or encouraging.
One has to appreciate that the
“goals” gear is at the center of
our planetary model for a reason.
Goals overlap with respect to family, business and asset ownership.
If they are ignored, the mess may
be waiting around the corner.
As we write this article, the
Canadian Olympic team is up two
to nothing and we wonder, what
would hockey look like without
any thought towards strategy.
How would the game be played
if all 12 guys on the ice were just
doing their own thing without
any understanding of what they
were hoping to accomplish as a
team. The game would be so poor
that next thing you know we’d be
watching Duck Dynasty reruns or,
worse yet, Olympic figure skating.
So, the first step to a success is
setting goals
Poor goals are barely better than
no goals at all. In our dissection of
successful transitions, we found
the goals were SMART (Specific,
Measureable, Attainable, Realistic,
and Time-Framed). Goals that
meet these criteria are easy for
everyone involved and responsible to sink their teeth into and
clearly commit to achievement.
For example, we worked with a
large family farm with tremendous
wealth — large enough that the
entire generation that was still in
elementary school could have a
place there. One of their clearly
defined business goals was net
income growth of 10 per cent per
year. The value of this goal wasn’t
necessarily the 10 per cent extra
net income as much as the focus
that it provided to their planning.
It pushed management and
ownership to think of new revenue
streams and rethink existing ones
such that efficiency and returns
were always planned for and
frequently achieved.
TWO COMMON
RETIREMENT GOALS
Goals need to be clear and
understood by both generations.
We have seen great success when
the retiring generation chooses
one of two priorities.
The first is to retire with plans
and goals outside of the farm
business, such as travel, hobbies,
investments or other activities. The
resources they don’t need to fulfill
their retirement goals often remain
to support the farm business. Harry
Fosdick, a well-known preacher in
the early 1900’s and the author of
some 47 books once said, “Don’t
simply retire from something,
have something to retire to.”
The other priority we encounter is one where the retiring generation is absolutely committed
to providing support to the farm
business through succession, and
willing to retire on whatever
means necessary or available.
Neither approach is wrong but
not clearly setting a priority can
result in both generations floundering without focus until someone either loses their mind or
someone loses interest.
A “mess” can result from goals
that are non-existent, not written,
vague, always changing, unmeasureable, or more dreams than goals.
Sometimes, when we come
onto the scene, each generation
seems to be waiting to set their
goals in anticipation or assumption of what they would like the
other generation to do. SMART
goals force each of us to focus on
what we can control. Goals for the
older generation are important as
they often revolve around capital
and equity. The younger generation’s goals are equally important
— they revolve around commitment to labour, energy and vision.
Goals don’t just provide you
with an agreed upon end point to
get everyone working together but
also a measuring stick and evaluation tool that allows you to look
back and evaluate your approach
or better yet, learn a lesson.
My grandfather always said,
“None of life’s lessons are free.”
It’s easy to tell when we are working with an operation that has
discussed and set some goals. The
process of discussing and setting
goals is not easy, but farm businesses that develop good habits
reap the rewards. †
Andrew DeRuyck and Mark Sloane
manage two farming operations in southern
Manitoba and are partners in Right Choice
Management Consulting. With over 25 years
of cumulative experience, they offer support
in farm management, financial management,
strategic planning and mediation services.
They can be reached at [email protected]
and [email protected] or 204-8257392 and 204-825-8443.
Lead by
Example
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APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
15
Columns
Hart Attacks
Dinner times — they are a changin’
If adding “gluten free” to the label of Lee Hart’s ham is a good marketing tactic, it can’t hurt Grainews
By Lee Hart
I
believe with this issue, Grainews
is now officially gluten free.
You can now read it and not get
wheat belly, or otherwise gain
weight from a carb overload.
I made the decision to declare
Grainews gluten free after opening
a package of Maple Leaf ham for
lunch the other day and noticing
one of the red letter claims regarding the health benefits of this ham
is that it was in fact gluten free.
Initially I was very excited, but
then being a skeptic I had to
wonder why would any ham, pure
and natural, ever contain gluten
to begin with? I can’t wait to find
watermelons that are gluten free,
grown with no growth hormones
and no antibiotics.
I figured if gluten free marketing
worked for ham, it could work for
a farm magazine.
This whole healthy eating thing
is getting out of hand. Especially
when it affects my dinner table.
When our small family all gathers
for a Sunday dinner it becomes a
culinary challenge to get everyone
happily fed — especially me.
My wife is going on holidays
soon and wants to lose five
pounds. She has been avoiding
carbohydrates like bread and potatoes. I live on carbs.
To my right, our daughter has
recently been on a gluten free,
no dairy, no eggs diet. She had
a few health concerns and her
naturopath suggested this diet.
Talk about limiting.
On the other side of the table,
my son’s girlfriend is lactose intolerant — so again no dairy there.
My son, who is tall and trim has
no limitations really, other than
there are certain foods he doesn’t
like — and if there happens to be
gluten and dairy-free cake and ice
cream for dessert the two food items
just can’t touch each other on the
same plate. Touching food doesn’t
work for him.
My son-in-law is pretty well a
general-purpose eater and likes
just about everything, and is willing to try most. His only limitation is he prefers meat to be
cooked well done, which is something I have to keep in mind
when I’m at the barbecue. That
moment between medium rare
and leather isn’t very forgiving.
No one in the above crowd likes
liver, except me.
So any meal that works for
everyone has to free of any grain
products, no dairy, no eggs, no
starch, nothing deep fried, not
include turkey or fish (because
someone doesn’t like those), needs
to be well cooked and eaten off
separate plates because different
foods can’t touch.
The only thing that comes right
down the middle and might work
for everyone is a bowl of chickpeas, but then you’re getting into
those pulse crops and let’s not
forget the always looming concern
over gas.
My Mom use to fry fat-lined
pork chops served with mashed
potatoes and gravy, a bowl of peas
dressed up with a bit of flour, butter and mint, accompanied by
plain white bread and real butter,
and often one or two kinds of pie
or chocolate cake for dessert. And
if you wanted a drink you had a
glass of 100 per cent whole, unpasteurized milk. And amazingly no
one at that table ate that meal
(and many similar ones) and died.
Granted the odd person got a little
heavier, but otherwise they left the
table full and feeling content.
I am not sure what has happened in the world!
The other day I was having
lunch with some people at a
work conference in Banff and
the young couple sitting across
from me were gluten free folks.
They both ordered some specialty
burger, but without the bun.
Salad instead of fries.
The young man said he had been
gluten free for several weeks. He
said he felt a lot better, no aches and
pains, and he B:10.25”
had lost 27 pounds.
T:10.25”
That weight loss
part caught my
Grainews and ham — two fine gluten free products that should keep you
healthier and smarter.
attention. But… a burger without a
bun, and no fries… that is a pretty
drastic move.
I guess I could eat mine with a
gluten-free bun, but we bought
some of those a while ago and
get this, we bought them in
September 2013 and the bestbest-before date was September
2014 — what’s in there?
My wife worked with a gal who
would only eat “happy meat.”
That’s certified organic, humanely
raised, hormone- and antibioticfree, and is so thrilled to be of
service to humans it runs to the
packing plant. Our tribe hasn’t
gone that route yet, we’re still
enjoying conventionally-tortured
animal products. For now.
And if the table ever goes nonGMO, I may just have to sit in my
truck and eat a properly buttered,
white bread, liver and onion sandwich by myself. Maybe I can convert the storage console between
the seats into a canola oil deep
fryer to whip up fries and corn
fritters. †
Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in
Calgary, Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by
email at [email protected].
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16
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Columns
CAN’T TAKE THE FARM FROM THE BOY
From sod houses
to brain games
For early Prairie settlers, life and expectations were
very different than they are for today’s farmers
TOBAN
DYCK
O
n January 14, 1879
it was -32 C, without
wind chill. And on the
Prairies in winter, there
is always a wind chill. “Intrepid”
describes only a few people — and
possibly no one who is alive today.
Jacob Banman was a real per-
son. He was intrepid. The Banmans
braved the harsh, Prairie winters,
surviving its severities decades
before motors, snowblowers and
HBO. And it’s likely they didn’t
have the time or feel entitled
enough to complain about the conditions. The promise of a new life,
distant from Russian oppression,
only strengthened their resolve.
Let’s not blame ourselves for the
battery of far-from-intrepid traits
that separate us from Mr. Banman
and other Prairie settlers. We did
not ask for them, and to say things
have changed — that people have
changed — since the 1870s is not
a rationalization.
The juxtaposition is stark.
And it’s a leap to make it, a leap
that clears all that has changed
between the late 1800s and 2014.
To mention Lumosity.com sits at
odds with the telling of the Prairie
settler experience. But doing so
also highlights one specific and
somewhat humiliating difference
between those who believe they
need the luxury of brain training
offered through the website and
Pictured is the wood house the Banmans built around 1900. Family and
crews are pictured in this mid-century photo moving the house to make
way for a newer one.
those who are perhaps more like
Mr. Banman.
“I work out my body, but it’s
harder to work out my brain,” the
company’s TV spot informs viewers.
“Lumosity.com is based on neuroscience, and it just feels like games,
but it’s serious brain training.”
The company’s existence and
presumed success speaks to an
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embarrassing fragility — to be dissatisfied with one’s brain. Those
who settled the Canadian Prairies
did not play brain games.
THE STORY
Imagine the following less a
collection of historical facts, and
more a series of moves that actually happened. It’s a history worth
preserving in an academic library.
This is a story, to be read by readers and told by storytellers.
You are now with Jacob Banman
in Russia. You observe in him the
dream, the hope that from nothing, from this fresh start, will come
freedom and eventually prosperity.
Mr. Banman arrived in Manitoba
with about 7,999 other Mennonites
between 1873 and 1884. Moving is
difficult. Moving to a new land, full
of promise and unknowns, would
be even more so. But such a risk
must have seemed the best course.
“The first thing you’d do was
figure out where you were going
to put your sod house. Then you’d
plow out that. Maybe 16 by 24.
That is feet. You could make it
any size. You see, what you were
working with was the native soil
and it was tough,” an excerpt from
Memories of Settlers Who Opened the
West by Barry Broadfoot.
The decision of where to dig
must have felt arbitrary in 1878.
Mr. Banman chose a spot, an area,
dug it out, and stacked the sod
needed to build the first house on
what is now a Heritage Farm.
The Dominion Lands Act was a
golden ticket for the settlers who
could hack it. Many died trying
to farm, and many moved further
west or east to Ontario, giving up
the acres they purchased for the
token fee of $10 per 160 acres.
Surveyed plots closest to towns
and railways were chosen first,
forcing later settlers further from
towns, supplies and closer to
scarcity. Mr. Banman’s plot was a
couple miles from town, a distance
that on January 14, 1879 will have
seemed a world away.
Most homesteaders lived in tents
while they built their sod houses. It
makes sense that the Banmans did
the same. It had two bedrooms by
the time it was finished. “Sod” conjures misleading images, keep in
mind. Many plastered the interior
walls of their houses. And many
such homes had smart-looking
interiors. Style wasn’t completely
abandoned to survival.
The Banmans will have needed
a garden for vegetables, a cow for
milk, wood for heat, and the ability to hunt and process wild game.
Adversity and the shared goal of
survival bound most homesteaders to their neighbours. Doors
were kept unlocked, and lanterns
were kept burning as guides for
those travelling at night. These
bonds built communities, and the
fun that was once confined to
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
17
Columns
Kelly’s AgExpert tips and hints
Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new
farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter
@tobandyck or email [email protected].
Get the most from AgExpert Analyst
For better farm management, get the most out of your farm accounting software
Editor’s note: We realize that not all Grainews readers use FCC’s
AgExpert software for their farm accounting, but it is a very commonly used program. We’ve added Kelly to our columnist line up in
hopes that her accounting tips and tricks can save everyone a little
time, and hopefully some money.
— Leeann
By Kelly Airey
A
gricultural is an evolving industry. Only a
few generations back
we were working a few
small acres with the horse and
plough; now we run big equipment on large pieces of land.
With industry changes come
changes in paperwork requirements.
One of the keys to being
a successful farmer is being
a strong manager and having the appropriate information at your fingertips to make
management decisions. Farm
C r e d i t C a n a d a ’s A g E x p e r t
Analyst Accounting Software
helps all types of agricultural
producers manage their farm
finances, and organize the
information needed to know
your bottom line.
I am glad to have this oppor-
tunity to introduce myself as an
AgExpert Certified Advisor who
has worked with the AgExpert
Analyst Software for a number
of years. I love using the program. My family runs a grain
farm, a feedlot and cow-calf
operation, and we raise registered quarter horses in western
Manitoba. AgExpert Analyst has
been the key to our maintaining a successful operation! I
currently work through my Ag
Consulting business to assist fellow farmers get setup and using
the software. As well, I teach
AgExpert courses in everything
from setting up a new data file
to using the inventory, payroll,
and management tools.
I’m excited to have the
opportunity to reach out
to fellow farmers across
the Prairies, and offer you
monthly hints and tips for
using this software! I will
bring your attention to new
features, timesavers and tips
for making the most out of
the program. Next month I
will be giving you some great
tips on effectively working
with payables and receivables,
including ways to avoid some
common errors. †
Kelly Airey is a farmer and ag consultant at
Strathclair, Manitoba. If you’re interested
in purchasing AgExpert software, she can
help you receive $25 off your purchase.
Contact Kelly at kelly.agconsulting@gmail.
com or (204) 365-2442.
T:8.125”
T:10”
a single homestead soon became
neighbourhood events.
Many farms failed within the
first few years, according to records
of the time. There were “disastrous
attempts” at homesteading and
high levels of transiency.
For those with an appreciation
of the everyday, prosperity probably meant surviving. It’s likely one
poor yield, a failed plow or a death
in his herd could have ended his
career and made his a “disastrous
attempt” statistic. Wheat prices
were low, and must have forced
second thoughts. But Mr. Banman
and his family survived.
Commodity prices were low
at the start. It’s unclear how this
affected him, as his beginning years
were spent working as a farmhand
in exchange for the use of horses
to break his own land. If he farmed
his own land before 1890, he would
have been forced to deal with the
poor wheat prices, a result, in part,
of high shipping costs.
In the early 1890s, that changed.
Wheat prices began to rise, as
transportation costs decreased
after a deal was reached between
the Canadian government and the
Canadian Pacific Railway. The rail
company received government
funding to allow them to extend
their lines into the newly discovered mineral-rich zones of British
Columbia via the Crowsnest Pass
in exchange for eastbound and
westbound rate reductions.
Conditions were ripe for Mr.
Banman to start building a successful farm. In the early 1900s, he
moved his family out of the sod
and into a two-story, wood house.
Sheds and barns were built.
Steam, gang plows and threshing machines allowed agriculture
production to surge. When wheat
prices skyrocketed during WWI,
it’s even more likely Mr. Banman,
or his son, Abram, would have
purchased more land. Between
1901 and 1931, the amount of
worked land in the Prairies leaped
from 1.5 to 16.4 million hectares.
Mr. Banman’s farm built
endured the Depression. His
choices amid the advent of new
technologies were smart and farsighted enough to see the farm
through the droughts and dismal
commodity prices of the 1930s.
Mr. Banman had the right stuff,
starting a farm that now spans
1,200 acres and is still in the family.
It’s only a dimple now, but it’s clear
where that first house was. There
are apple trees nearby, and the site
is only a 100 or so metres from the
farm’s current main house.
The farm no longer requires
horses. Its machinery would be
unrecognizable to Mr. Banman.
The mechanized harvester waiting in the machine shed for fall
is roughly twice as big as that first
sod house. And surviving winter is
no longer a goal reserved for the
intrepid few. The farm now has
motors, snowblowers, and HBO.
The farm’s family name has
changed since Mr. Banman broke its
ground. Jacob’s son, Abram, married
widower Helen Dyck and passed the
farm to her son, my grandpa, John
Dyck. The farm survived and grew.
There’s a weight to taking up
such a mantle, a weight that
demands less fragility, fewer brain
games, and more time spent
breaking new ground, appreciating the everyday, the simple, a
good laugh. It started in 1878, and
the 2014 seeding season is a couple months away. †
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18
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Columns
SOILS AND CROPS
Potassium fertilization
Some argue that farmers don’t need potash fertilizer
and potassium soil tests are useless; Les Henry disagrees
LES
HENRY
S
ome recent press has suggested that:
1. Potash fertilizer is a
waste of money; and,
2. The potassium soil test is
useless.
Saskatchewan is the hotbed of
potash mining. It pays good coin
to our provincial coffers so we
take it seriously.
Work on potash fertilizers in
Saskatchewan started in the 40s
and 50s with little or no yield
response to potassium. The con-
clusion was that our soils were
well supplied. We did not need the
good potash that rests comfortably 1,000 metres below our soils.
The first potash mine did not
come on stream until the 1960s.
A curious and experienced
Elephant Brand (then CM&S,
later Cominco, now Agrium)
fertilizer dealer from Nipawin
begged to differ. Roy Lanz said
he had farmers who were getting great responses to potassium fertilizer. So, in the late 50s
the Soil Science Department at
the University of Saskatchewan
did more potassium field experiments west of Nipawin and still
found no response.
Then came 1966. Don Rennie
convinced Saskatchewan
Agriculture to pony up enough
coin to set up and start operating
the Saskatchewan Soil Testing Lab.
He hired Ed Halstead as the first
director. Ed was sporting a fresh
PhD from Purdue University under
the famous Stan Barber.
When Ed was planning the
lab he said he was going to run
available potassium tests on all
samples. Lesser lights like Les
Henry argued strongly that it
was a waste of time. Any number
of experiments had shown our
soils were well supplied and we
did not need it. Thank goodness
Ed was way too smart to listen to
me and potassium tests were run.
Guess what? The Carrot River
soils east of Nipawin were as
potassium deficient as any
This photo was taken in 1968, of barley growing near Carrot River, Sask.
The centre three rows had no potassium, and grew almost no barley.
Adding potassium took yields from 10 to 60 bushels per acre.
known in the world. The 1966
farm soil tests showed it up. So,
in 1967 Ed started simple field
strip tests to check out the soil
test. I was in charge of field work
then so did the experiments that
Ed designed.
The Saskatchewan Potash
industry was just getting going,
so were anxious to see more plots
and helped with the funding.
Many years of Potassium Soil
Test Calibration work was done
and a reliable set of potassium
soil test benchmarks were set up.
I did much of that work and was
very involved in extending the
information to farmers. Many
thought I was responsible, but
all credit is due to Ed Halstead
(1933-2008), a Nokomis farm
boy.
THE TRUTCH
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Back to our original two points.
1. Yes, it is true that many
farmers can get by very well
without potassium. On my
Dundurn farm I have yet to use
a pound of it.
The most potassium deficient
soils are the Carrot River soils
of Sask. and the Almassippi soils
of Manitoba. Sandy and peaty
soils across the north of all three
provinces can have potassium
deficiency.
A few years ago when potassium fertilizer prices went through
the roof and some were encouraging buying before it went even
higher, I said “wait, prices will
come down.” And they did.
2. The potassium soil test is the
best soil test we have. If a zero to
six inch soil sample shows less
than 100 pounds of potassium
per acre, you’d better be using
potassium, or you won’t be farming long. When the zero to six
inch soil test potassium is more
than 250 lbs./ac., potassium will
not be a big issue on your farm.
Those that say the potassium
test does not work are dealing
with a range of high potassium
soils that are not deficient.
There may be medium- to highpotassium soils where an occasional small response is obtained
—perhaps as much due to the
chloride as the K. If grain prices
are high and fertilizer prices low, a
small response can make money.
But the big money is made where
real deficiencies occur.
Author’s note: After 37 years you
can well imagine that some topics
are dealt with more than once — this
one several times. For another look
at the same topic see “Grainews”
page 13, June 4, 2012. †
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.
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
19
Columns
GUARDING WEALTH
Find a safe shelter in bonds
Take shelter in bonds as stocks hit highs and the world sweats out the Ukraine crisis
BY ANDREW ALLENTUCK
M
aking off-farm
investments is
tough these days.
Stocks are trading
at their highs with barely a step
backwards since 2011. Investment
grade bonds pay very little interest. House prices are forecast to
tumble after a big run up since
2009. What’s a farmer to do with
off-farm investments?
The problem in part is looking at markets with a long-range
view and using the right strategies and tactics for what many
would say is a recovery that is
already long in the tooth.
The dilemma investors face is
that the recovery appears to be
fizzling out. The recovery problem, specifically its weakness, is
manifest in the lack of inflation.
Unemployment has declined in
both Canada and the U.S. to
acceptable levels consistent with
growing Gross Domestic Product,
but inflation is far below the
mid-target range of two per cent
in each country.
Stocks return more than bonds
over periods of 20 or more years.
Moreover, we are at the end of
a massive and prolonged bull
market in bonds. However, interest rates are rising. Bond investments are at risk in this environment, but there are low risk ways
to make them work.
It is wise
to seek haven
BACK TO BONDS
In stocks, there is no getting
away from market risk. But let’s
go back to bonds. Ten-year U.S.
Treasury bonds and Government
of Canada bonds are trading in a
range in which yields are 2.4 to
2.8 per cent. Prices, which move
opposite to yields, are seemingly
range bound. You will not get rich
investing for such returns and,
after inflation and tax, there will
be barely anything left. But trade
the range and you can do very
nicely indeed. Here’s how.
The concept is to buy an 2.37 per cent. When the yield on
investment grade corporate bond the Canada bond rises to 2.7 per
with very little default risk and cent, the price would be $90.25.
match it to a short sale of a The short would thus pay the difgovernment bond. The corporate ference, $2.58. You can sell and
bond yields a good deal more pocket your profit. The same trade
than a government bond. It is would work on U.S. corporates
not default proof, but it is invest- matched to U.S. Treasuries of the
ment grade and you should not same term. The trick is to keep
go out more than 10 years, just maturities fairly well matched.
to reduce default risk. After all, as
If straddling bond prices seems
time increases, even the biggest complex, then you can still buy
companies can have trouble.
U.S. Treasuries as actual bonds or
For example, you can buy a as units of exchange traded funds
Loblaw 4.86 per cent bond due with low management fees as a
Sept. 12, 2023 recently priced hedge against stock market mayto yield 3.97 per cent. At the hem that may be caused by tumult
same time, you sell a Government in the Ukraine and the question
of Canada bond with a 1.5 per of who governs the Crimea. Every
time the Kremlin rattles its sword,
cent coupon due June 1, 2023
T:8.125”
recently priced at $92.83 to yield stocks swoon. U.S. Treasuries offer
safe haven and the possibility of
taking profits on geopolitical jitters. This tactic will work with
any U.S. Treasury bond and, to a
lesser extent, with Government of
Canada bonds.
It is wise to seek haven, but foolish to go far into the future. The
worst case is that the move into
government bonds does not work
out. A 10n-year bond may drop in
price if interest rates soar in a recovery. At least with the 10-year bond,
you’d get your money back in a
reasonable period of time. If you
want that period to be even more
reasonable, keep your term down
to no more than five years. †
Andrew Allentuck’s latest book, “When Can I
Retire? Planning Your Financial Life After Work,”
was published in 2011 by Penguin Canada.
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T:10”
Stocks as an alternative to
bonds are a very mixed bag
of the good, the bad and the
ugly. The Standard & Poor’s
Composite Index of the 500 largest American public companies
has been hitting new highs. The
S&P’s multiple of price to expected annual earnings is now about
16. That means it will take 16
years to earn back an investment
in the index.
When investors worry about
the market as a whole, they shop
for defensive stocks. Typically,
that means industries driven
by things other than macroeconomic forces. Drugs and pharmaceuticals are candidates, for
they are less correlated with the
broad stock market than are
financial services and materials.
Trouble is, each pharmaceutical company has its own issues
of expiring patents, new drugs
in or not in development, and,
hanging over the whole industry,
the potential of massive lawsuits
for harm drugs may do. Labeled
by some fund managers as “the
next tobacco,” drugs can make or
break investment plans.
There’s also alternative energy
in the form of solar panel production, though much of that
is offshore or small cap. There is
uranium mining, which has yet
to recover from the March 2011
Fukashima disaster. Finally, for
non-macro investments, there
are fashion companies driven by
trends in ladies ready to wear
and purses, among others. As a
mere numbers guy, I would not
personally try forecasting trends
in frocks and bags.
20
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Columns
OPEN FIELD
Seed, treat, repeat
With a new grain cart and a Storm seed treater, Sarah
Weigum’s farm is ready for spring
SARAH
WEIGUM
H
opefully by the time
you read this our grain
cart is ready to go.
Typically, farmers give
their tractors, sprayers and seeding
equipment a final tune up this time
of year, and we’re doing that too;
however, we also finished modifying a 1,000-bushel grain cart that
will be pressed into service for seed
distribution any day now.
We have been using a 400-bushel
gravity wagon with load cells to
tender seed to our customers for
15 years. My dad added the scale
to the wagon himself, as well as an
auger and treating system, and it
has served Alect Seeds well. Many
seed growers time their augers and
then weigh at the scale. This system works, but it sometimes means
more than one trip under the auger
and over the scale to get the right
amount of seed. The accuracy
of the wagon saves us having to
weigh twice and I believe has been
valued by our customers.
However, as my dad points out,
farmers used to come for seed in
single-axle trucks and now they
come with super B-trains. It takes
four fills and a lot of time to load
out our bigger customers. Since
last fall we’ve been discussing what
piece of equipment would best
serve our seed operation for the
next era. The options were a larger
gravity wagon or a grain cart.
A 750-bushel gravity wagon was
initially attractive because we are
familiar with it and because gravity
wagons are easier to clean out than
the grain cart with the auger. A new
gravity wagon would require modifications, including an auger and
load cells, but my dad had experience from the previous wagon.
The bigger challenge for us was
modifying the axles to put bigger
tires underneath. We have a very
high water table in our yard and
when the frost comes out of the
ground, the loaded wagon probably
sink up to its belly, so the solution
was to put larger tires underneath.
However, we talked to another
farmer who had a 750-bushel gravity wagon that he used for feeding
cattle and he complained that the
large wagon was top heavy and
tipsy. Higher tires combined with
our uneven yard would probably
only exacerbate the problem.
Once we started looking inside
the large wagons we saw that
they had a lot more cross bracing
and ledges where grain could get
caught than our small wagon. We
looked inside a few 1,000-bushel
grain carts, and besides the auger,
they actually didn’t have a lot
more places to trap grain than
the largest wagons. The pros of
the cart: it comes with big tires,
a scale (though still not legal for
tender), and an auger (which we
likely we won’t use much, but
more on that later).
In the end, we settled on a Brandt
1020 cart because it looked the easiest to clean. The slide that covers the
intake end of the auger goes completely outside the cart, rather than
being sheathed inside more metal
and Brandt capped the square tubing braces inside the cart with angle
iron so they should shed grain.
While we’ve never used a grain cart
before in our harvest operation, we
now have that option.
My dad estimates that the gravity wagon, even with the modifications would have cost only about
60 per cent of the cart, so we have
a higher upfront cost. But, ever the
strategist, my dad pointed out that
a grain cart would be a lot easier to
sell at an auction sale. Besides his
potential auction, another principle
that guides my dad’s decision making on the farm is making sure that
everyone who needs to can operate
the equipment. Since my mom and
I load a lot of the seed, it’s been
a family discussion about how to
improve on the existing engineering. Because we climb in and out
of the cart a lot to clean it out, we
built a better ladder and put air lines
into the cart so we can hook up to
the compressor on the outside and
just take the wand inside with us to
blow the grain out the bottom.
volume treated and can be used to
reconcile inventory at the end of
the day or the end of the treating
season.
One feature that we might not
use a lot, but other farmers might
find helpful is the “batch” setting which allows the user to set
the machine to treat a specific
amount of seed, whether it’s 20
bushels or 2,000 bushels. They
say the metering is accurate to
within +/- two per cent.
The Storm uses a peristaltic pump
that can pull directly from bulk
drums of treatment. These pumps
are similar to the ones used in hospitals for administering fluids intravenously. These pumps push the
treatment towards the nozzles, by
squeezing the tube that contains
the fluid, meaning there is never a
messy diaphragm pump that can
plug or needs cleaning. The peristaltic pump can also reverse, leaving the lines clear in between treating sessions if necessary.
Two clean out areas on the Storm treater can be seen here.
Something that at least one
seed treatment company — Bayer
CropSciences — is doing to make
things a little easier on custom
treatment applicators is accepting drum containers back without being rinsed. They will be
returned to Bayer’s facilities and
refilled. This sounds like a little thing, but represents a huge
amount of rinsewater that farmers and small custom applicators will no longer have to worry
about dealing with in an environmentally responsible way.
At $50,000 the Storm treater isn’t
cheap, but it’s also about half the
price of drum treaters which are
harder to clean out and in some
cases are less mobile, requiring the
grain to be brought to a central
treating location, rather than moving the treater from bin to bin.
Is the Storm treater perfect? No.
I know people in the seed applied
technology industry who say diaphragm pumps and drum treaters
are better applicators. There are
big questions at stake about application efficacy and the ramifications of below dose application on
some seeds. I may take up these
issues in a future column, but for
now, this is what we feel is the best
solution available on the market,
both for our seed operation and
for our customers. †
Sarah Weigum grows pedigreed seed and
writes at Three Hills, Alta. Follow her on
Twitter: @sweigum.
OUR TREAT
We also added a Storm seed treater
to our seed distribution system this
year. My dad had built a treating
system on our old wagon, but we
needed something that would
work with the new grain cart. The
Storm treater, manufactured by Ag
Growth International, is designed
to take grain from a hoppered
bin using a metered conveyor. It
delivers the grain to a treatment
application chamber where nozzles
spray both sides of the curtain of
grain. The treated grain then falls
into a 40 foot by 10 inch auger
which both mixes the seed so the
treatment is evenly distributed and
allows the treatment to dry on the
grain before going into the truck.
If our customers don’t want their
seed treated it will go into their
truck using the grain cart auger,
but if they want the seed treated
(as most do) we will position the
hopper of the Storm treater under
the sliding door at the bottom of
the cart’s auger sump.
To accommodate this new
treater, we had to undertake our
biggest modification on the grain
cart: raising it up by 10 inches to
make enough clearance under the
bottom hatch for the treater hopper.
I won’t go into the details, since
these kind of projects fall into the
“not my department” category on
the farm. Suffice to say that plenty
of iron, bolts, calls to the engineers
and blue paint were required. The
modification is reversible, should
we wish to return the axle to its
original position for harvest use.
Looking at the Storm treater itself,
there were a number of features
that appealed to us. The treater has
electronic controls where the user
inputs the actual bushel weight of
the grain being treated (not standard bushel weight) as well as the
amount of treatment to be applied
per unit of weight. The speed of the
conveyor can be changed on the
go and because of the cleats, the
software knows how much grain
is being delivered and adjusts the
treatment rates accordingly. The
software logs the chemical used and
ANOTHER
STELLAR
TM
PERFORMANCE.
PHOTO: AGI
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
21
Columns
10" auger mixes the grain and treatment and allows treatment to dry.
The Westfield or Wheathart auger has been slowed to about half speed
to allow the proper time for these processes.
Canvas hopper must
be flooded for grain to
metre properly.
Cleated belt delivers grain from hopper to treating
area, where two nozzles spray a curtain of grain.
Peristaltic pumps knead
product through tubes
and can be run in
reverse to allow for-up
after treating.
photo: agi;
Captions : Sarah Weigum
Seed will flow out of the bottom hatch on grain cart into Storm treater.
photos: sarah weigum
Two peristaltic pumps can move product into treating chamber through kneading action on the hose. Beside
the pumps is the electronic screen where we will enter data for specific seed treating operations.
The wheels are off. My dad is raising the cart 10 inches so we can get the
Storm treater under the bottom hatch. A desk and extra ladder rungs are
also being added.
One small reason for going with the Brandt cart was the bracing capped
with angle iron to make clean out on the cart easier.
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This is my dad, Garry, and cousin, Jason, working on lifting the grain cart.
This picture shows the extra beam with axle receiver below the original
position of the axle.
22
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Columns
OFF-FARM INVESTING
Two sides to stocks
Focus on the best time to sell as well as to buy stocks
ANDY
SIRSKI
I
f you are a true blue buy
and hold investor you
might not agree with most
of this article. Farmers
understand there are two sides to
farming — grow the stuff and sell
it. Sometimes people who buy
stocks forget there are two sides
to owning stocks.
Over the years, stocks have
sorted themselves into four
groups. One group is up quite
a bit from the high in 2007.
Another group had stocks drop
and recover and make some
new highs since the bear market of 2008. Many stocks have
dropped and not recovered.
And the fourth group has deads
such as Nortel and Enron that
have disappeared off the face of
the earth.
Why am I saying this? Because
investors who understood the
two sides to stocks sold stocks
as the last bear market started
and then bought those same
good shares back near the bottom. In most cases they have
made lot more money than
investors who kept their stocks
right through the bear and bull
markets.
Yes, die-hard buy and hold
investors will argue the point
but when I study stocks and the
stock market, a little knowledge
and a little work the past 10
or 20 years would have made
an investor a lot more money
than simply buying and holding most stocks.
Recall most stocks dropped
from late October 2007 to March
6, 2009. Even good solid stocks
like Berkshire, Coke and Heinz
dropped a lot. Balanced portfolios
usually dropped a third. Portfolios
of small caps likely dropped by 70
per cent and maybe have not
recovered yet.
The big names have recovered
but many are not worth much
more than they were before
November 2007. Yes, they paid
dividends and have gone up
some since October 2007 but the
really good money was made by
anyone who used a half decent
selling rule in November 2007
and a half decent buying rule in
early 2009. Neither selling nor
buying needed to be perfect to
work well.
Some argue that we cannot
time the market. But a lot of
sellers had to be timing the
market (selling) in late 2007,
otherwise stocks would not
have dropped in price. And a lot
of buyers had to be timing the
market (buying) after March 6,
2009 or stocks would not have
gone up as they have.
Since I started to run our portfolios in 1995 I have been in
the middle of two bear markets.
One started in March 2000 when
the techie boom went bust. The
first sell signal was when stocks
dropped through the 10-day
moving average (10 dma). The
next sell signal was when the
10 dma dropped through the 30
dma. Techies crashed. I got out
with more money than I started
and learned stuff.
In the bear market of 2007 to
March 2009 I was selling covered
calls on my 12 stocks and ended
2008 down one per cent. Yes,
the shares were down a lot but
the account was down one per
cent because I was selling calls.
And the portfolio started to gain
after that.
SELLING WEEKLY
COVERED CALLS
These days I don’t count on
much capital gain from my
stocks. I choose to make cash by
owning half decent stocks that
let me sell covered calls week by
week. Yes I do have to work a few
hours on Thursday and or Friday
to get ready for the next week
and I do have to think and work
on Monday as I sell covered calls
for the upcoming Friday. But I
get paid well.
My goal is to bring in about
$1,000 a week by selling weekly
calls on three to five stocks. I
top it up by doing two or three
spreads, if I can find good ones.
I usually beat my goal of $1,000
a week.
With the spreads, I did try to
make as much money as possible but it was far too busy for
me. Now I do fewer spreads, I’m
more cautious and I find it’s
easier on the brain to make $600
a week and keep all of it than to
try make $2,000 a week and lose
most of it now and then.
I usually beat
my goal of
$1,000 a week
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With the covered calls I try
to follow what I call my above
and below rule. If the charts
look like the stock wants to
drop I will sell a call below the
price of the day, which gives
me downside protection. If the
charts look like the stock wants
to go up I will not sell a call
right away or I will sell the call
above the price of the day and
give the shares a bit of room to
make capital gain for us.
I find that if a stock drops
through the 10-day moving
average the price often falls
more. Then I have to decide if
I will sell a call well below that
daily price or buy the calls back
and sell the shares.
Since I stopped trying to
“make as much money as possible” I find I can run a routine,
have a life, free up time to
talk to more readers, play with
granddaughters, blow snow,
work on income tax, go out
for lunch and have a nap. I am
richly blessed. And I help readers learn. Some learn faster than
others but pretty well everybody is capable of learning this
stuff. †
Andy is mostly retired. He plays with
granddaughters, gardens in summer, talks to
readers and publishes an electronic newsletter
called StocksTalk where he tells what he does
with his portfolio. You can read it free for a
month by sending an email to [email protected].
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
23
Columns
UNDERSTANDING MARKET BULLS AND BEARS
Change in the blink of an eye
When political unrest leads to market swings, the value of having
a solid marketing plan in place hits home
BRIAN
WITTAL
T
he past month has been
a classic example of how
quickly grain markets
can be affected by world
events.
Unrest in the Ukraine and
Russia’s moves to reestablish its
hold on the region have ramped up
world tensions and caused major
market uncertainty. Stock markets,
currency markets and commodity
markets have all reacted swiftly to
this uncertainty.
Add to this recent world weather
uncertainties and you have the
start of another commodity
market roller coaster ride. Where’s
the top or the bottom? When will
this ride be over?
Buyers, sellers and speculators
are trying to determine where they
should be positioned in these markets in an effort to either protect
themselves or to try to make some
profits in these volatile times.
The reality as to how quickly
things can change brings with it a
sense of urgency that pushes most
to overreact, “before it’s too late.”
That is the fundamental reason
why the futures markets work.
There are two sides to every trade,
with someone on either side at any
time. Add speculators who play on
the panic in the markets to make
profits and you have over-reactive
markets that cause confusion and
uncertainty that continues to feed
the frenzy and move the markets
even more dramatically.
are all what I would classify as
“what if” and or “hope or maybe”
scenarios. It would sure be nice
for something like that to happen
that would help improve grain
prices but you cannot predict
when, if ever, these events may
occur. You can’t risk your farm
business’s future hoping for some
event to take place to improve
prices. You need to react to the
situation at hand and determine
the most likely outcome based
on as much factual information
as you can find. Then, make marketing decisions based on that
information and your situation
to ensure your farm’s profitability
and growth.
Too many producers I talked
to this winter are running
scared and don’t know what
to do when it comes to pricing their grain. Without fail,
each of those did not have a
marketing plan in place. This
leaves them exposed and open
to panic marketing or the do
nothing plan. The do nothing, stick you head in the sand
“ostrich syndrome” leaves you
with your backside sticking up
waiting for a good kicking.
These producers who didn’t
price their grain last fall had a
common response: “Prices were
falling and I was hoping they
would come back up, and now
that they have continued to fall I
don’t know what to do.”
This goes back to knowing your
costs and breakeven numbers, setting pricing targets to ensure profitability and acting on those targets
when the opportunity is there.
Last fall, prices were still at very
profitable levels and should have
been locked in.
What is worse? The fear of locking in a price at a profit and then
having the prices go higher, or the
fear of not locking in a price because
you think the price will go higher
and then having markets crash?
Locking in a profit is always good.
Not locking in a price because you
want to wait for futures to bounce
back is putting your farm’s profitability and future at risk.
Take the uncertainty and fear
out of your marketing. Know your
numbers, set your price targets
and execute your marketing plan.
Keep emotions out of the equation or you will end up back in
panic mode marketing.
A secure profitable future is far
better than the gamble and risk
scenario. You will sleep better at
night knowing you’ve protected
your farm for the future. †
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).
Let your flag leaf fly.
Set your
price targets
So how do you know when to
price your grain?
Over the past couple of months
we have been discussing the need
for planning and preparation for
the coming spring seeding season,
and setting a marketing plan to
establish and protect your farm’s
profitability. Some of you may
have decided to pre-price some
of your grains over the past two
months to protect the slim profit
margins projected at that time.
Based on the situation at the time,
that was the right thing to do.
To all who did some pre-pricing:
good for you! You were following
your plan and making solid business decisions that weren’t based
on hopes, what if’s or “maybe”
situations. You used the information you had to make the best
marketing decisions at the time.
Now that markets have moved
higher, you have an opportunity
to lock in prices that will help up
your average price and allow you
to be even more profitable.
Events such as political unrest in
the Ukraine, extreme cold weather
across North America, excessive
rains in parts of South America
and the U.K. and drought in parts
of Australia and the United States
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2/5/14 12:04 PM
24
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Machinery & Shop
New equipment
AGCO introduces new tractors
New models unveiled at U.S. farm shows in February
By Scott Garvey
A
Eight new 800 and 900 Series models raise the already high
features bar Fendt is known for.
t farm shows in Kentucky
and California, AGCO
pulled the wraps off new
tractor models in all
three of its North American brands:
Massey Ferguson, Challenger and
Fendt. The all-new 8700 Series
Masseys, which will replace the
existing 8600s, made their debut
at the World Ag Expo in Tulare,
California.
The new five-model line
will span the same 270 to 370
engine horsepower range looked
after by the 8600s, but the new
tractors offer a range of updated
specifications. All will use the
AGCO Power 8.4-litre diesels that
deliver 900 to 1,136 foot-pounds
of torque. These engines use twin
turbochargers and the company’s
new Engine Power Management
(EPM) ECU, which maximizes the
engine’s efficiency by controlling
the electronic fuel injection and
coordinated transmission features.
That helps bring down fuel
consumption numbers.
To keep the engines cool, a new
CYCLAIR cooling system is more
efficient without using larger
components. The hood and grill
have been modified to increase
intake airflow, while additional
vents on the side panels let warm
air out much faster. A bypass system manages airflow to the intercooler while maintaining airflow
to the radiator.
To deliver all the power from
the Tier 4 Final-compliant diesels,
all 8700s come standard with the
As a farmer, I expect…
 10-section automatic overlap control
that saves money by eliminating
double seed and fertilizer application.
 Knowledgeable support staff who can
trouble-shoot remotely via my in-cab
monitor while I am in the field.
 Gentle metering and distribution that
lets me reduce seeding rates while
maintaining target plant populations.
 To apply granular fertilizer at rates of up
to 400 lbs/acre on my 100’ drill with no
plugging.
 Hydraulic, ground-following openers
 Variable rate capability for up to five
that give me uniform seed and fertilizer
products at one time.
placement, excellent emergence,
 A ruggedly reliable system that can
strong growth and even maturity.
seed thousands of acres with no
 Stress-free, in-cab automatic calibration
breakdowns and minimal maintenance.
that’s based on actual product usage
 A light-pulling drill with a lift-kit that
thanks to weigh cells on each tank and
seeds through muddy fields without
a user-friendly monitor.
getting stuck.
“
Zone Command saves me
about $57,000 per year or 5% of
my input costs on dry years and
probably twice that in wet years.
I wouldn’t farm without it.
Franck Groeneweg
Edgeley, SK
”
SeedMaster gives me all of this in one seeding system with advanced technologies that make money for my farm –
like Auto Zone Command™, Auto Calibration™, the UltraPro Canola Meter™, the Nova Smart Cart™, and
SafeSeed Individual Row Metering™.
SeedMaster’s cost savings and efficiencies are the new normal on my farm.
The Leader. By Design.
™
1.888.721.3001
™

www.seedmaster.ca
advanced version of MF’s DynaVT continuously variable transmission.
“The 8700 Series tractors deliver
all the power and capability our
customers demand with advanced
features that boost fuel economy
and enhance operator comfort
for longer, more productive days
in the field,” says Conor Bergin,
product marketing manager, High
Horsepower Tractors. “And, these
tractors are built with pride in
Jackson, Minnesota.
“We have more horsepower,
more torque and better fuel consumption,” adds Ash Alt, field
marketing manager for high horsepower tractors at AGCO. “(The
8700s) get quite a few new features
and upgrades.”
Hydraulic capacity is one of
those upgrades. It gets bumped
up to a new high of 54 gallons
per minute. And a front, 21-spline
PTO shaft is now available as a factory option.
The cabs on the 8700s get a
more ergonomic layout with a
new gauge and control arrangement, with all of the commonly
used controls in one area.
A new SIS (Set up and
Information Screen) is now colour
and 50 per cent larger and includes
new software that provides more
data on tractor functions.
All 8700s come equipped with
the new Auto-Guide 3000 precision farming software fully integrated into the cab.
The sister line to the MF 8700
Series, the Challenger MT600E,
made its debut at the National
Farm Machinery Show in
Louisville, Kentucky. These tractors offer the same specifications
in five similar models that wear
Challenger yellow.
AGCO also had other tractors to introduce in Louisville.
Eight updated models in the 800
and 900 Series of the company’s
German-built Fendt tractors made
their North American debut. The
newest offerings span the 220 to
360 horsepower range.
Fendt is often referred to as
the Cadillac of tractors, particularly in Europe (replace Cadillac
with BMW there), because it
offers some very high-end features. But marketers say those
features do much more than
improve operator comfort, they
offer systems that enhance overall efficiency.
“The 800 and 900 lines represent the latest generation of
Fendt high-horsepower tractors
featuring cutting-edge technology and attention to ease of use
and efficiency in the field,” says
Bergin. “The new six-cylinder Tier
4 Final engines in these lines offer
growers more horsepower, better
torque curves and improved fuel
efficiency.”
Fendt remains the only brand
under the AGCO umbrella that
doesn’t use AGCO Power engines.
Instead they have Deutz-Fahr-built
diesels under the hood. During
an interview at the company’s
Bavarian assembly plant in
2012, Reid Hamre, Fendt brand
marketing manager, said Fendt
and DF engineers have worked
closely to match the performance
of the engines with the
transmissions they’re coupled to.
That has allowed them to achieve
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
25
Machinery & Shop
1
3
2
PHOTOS: AGCO
1: The new 8700 Series MF tractors replace the existing 8600 models and offer updated
specifications along with cab improvements. 2: The MT600E Series Challengers are a
sister line to the 8700 Masseys and share the same specifications. 3: AGCO has stuffed
its new 16.8-litre AGCO Power diesels under the hoods of the three new four-wheel drive
Challengers in the MT900E Series.
impressive fuel efficiency ratings,
something the brand isn’t shy
about mentioning.
Those diesels now feature twin
turbochargers, too, and a threepump fuel system that uses a
29,000 p.s.i. common rail. The
injectors are capable of multiple discharges during each power
stroke. To meet Tier 4 Final emissions levels, these tractors use a
combination of selective catalytic reduction, cooled exhaust
gas recirculation and a coated
soot filter.
The Fendts also get a new engine
cooling system that includes an
electronically-controlled
variable pitch cooling fan that can be
reversed to blow debris out of the
radiator and coolers.
The new VarioGrip feature
allows operators to adjust pressure
in all four tires right from the cab.
That allows operators to reduce
pressure in the field or raise it for
road travel, all of which maximizes traction and bumps up fuel
efficiency even further.
The enhanced X5 cab gets a
new 10.4-inch Varioterminal,
which has its software set up
to look like apps on a smartphone. The Varioterminal can
also stream images from up to
two video cameras.
And like the MF and Challenger
models, the Fendt, too, gets a redesigned dash, making for a more
ergonomic layout.
At the top end of the horsepower scale, AGCO’s flagship fourwheel drive Challengers also get
an update and a new designation
as the MT900E line. They shared
the spotlight in Louisville, also
making their debut there.
No longer will you find a
Caterpillar engine under the hood,
instead these tractors now use the
company’s own, newly-developed
16.8-litre AGCO Power diesels.
“Unlike competitive models that
rely on modified over-the-road
engines, all MT900E Series tractors feature AP168-4 diesel engines
built just for agriculture,” says
Bergin.
The three MT900E models offer
490 to 590 engine horsepower.
And yet again, these diesels rely
on twin turbocharger technology.
Hydraulic capacity gets bumped
up to a 58 gpm, with a high-flow
option lifting that to a maximum
of 85 gpm. †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for
Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@
fbcpublishing.com.
Outback MAX™ with
ISOBUS Capability
Outback MAX™ continues to redefine
simplicity with its introduction of ISOBUS
Universal Terminal and task controller
functionality for automated section
control, data management, and rate
control with variable rate capabilities.
Connect to ISO ready implements
regardless of brand/color for display and
control purposes. The system features
section and variable rate control within
the rugged, high-definition console.
Seamlessly transition from
guidance to planting with
Outback MAX™ with ISO
We’ve also enhanced the
industry’s best steering solution.
In another industry exclusive, Outback
eDriveX™ with eTurns™ has been taken to a
whole new level with the ability to initiate
a turn based upon the headland or a field
boundary.
www.AgJunction.com
326 Saulteaux Crescent
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3J 3T2
Phone: (204) 888-4472
Toll Free: (866) 888-4472
Fax: (204) 888-0991
For the latest innovations in hay tools,
go to nhsmart.com/hay
©2014 CNH Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. New Holland is a trademark
registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to
CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates. NH04149141HT
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
27
Machinery & Shop
NEW EQUIPMENT
Versatile debuts
new SP sprayers
Two all-new models replace the SX275, which
the company introduced in 2009
BY SCOTT GARVEY
I
n 2009 Versatile unveiled
its first-ever, self-propelled
sprayer, the SX275, at a dealer
convention in Las Vegas.
At the time, Versatile had
recently acquired the U.S. sprayer
manufacturer Redball, and the
SX275 was a modified version
of the design that company
had manufactured. The basic
rear-wheel drive concept with
a mechanical driveline configuration made it a perfect fit
for Versatile’s simple and efficient design philosophy. And,
of course, there was a Cummins
under the hood, Versatile’s traditional engine of choice.
In February of this year the
brand used the Commodity Classic
farm show in San Antonio, Texas,
as the venue to introduce the public to two new successors that will
replace the SX275, the SX240 and
SX280. In a press release, Versatile
says the two new models “represent an evolution on the current
sprayer design.”
Now with five years of field
experience under its belt in SP
sprayer production, the company
says it has accumulated and a lot
of customer feedback and integrated it into the updated design
1
4
used on the SX240 and SX280.
The first thing you notice with
these machines is there are some
styling changes to the body and
a completely new cab entrance,
with the steps relocated to the
machine’s front.
Climbing those steps gets you
into what Versatile claims is
the largest cab in the SP sprayer
industry. The “HQ cab” has
over 140 cubic feet of interior
space wrapped with 77 square
feet of glass. Interior design also
takes a giant step forward with
all controls now mounted on a
large armrest.
Up front is a 6.7 litre Cummins
putting out 240 or 280 horses,
depending on which model you
choose. Both engine versions use
a variable geometry turbocharger,
diesel particulate filter and EGR
to meet emissions standards, so
they don’t require additional
DEF fluid. The new sprayers stick
to the same mechanical driveline
concept used on the SX275. So
the Cummins engines are mated
to an Allison five-speed automatic transmission capable of 57
km/h on the road.
Behind the cab, the SX240 gets
a 1,000 gallon (3,785 litre) poly
main tank with a 100 gallon rinse
tank. The SX280 is available with
that same-sized poly tank or a
1,200 gallon (4,540 litre), stainless
steel option, which gets a 150 gallon rinse tank.
Boom widths stretch to 90 or
100 feet (27.4 and 30.5 metres)
in either model. The chassis rides
on an air bag suspension with
auto height adjust and sway control, along with four-wheel disc
brakes. The axle track width can
be adjusted manually or hydraulically from 120 to 152 inches (3.04
to 3.86 metres).
To make things simpler for the
operator, the new machines use
a redesigned fill station. Control
valves are oriented so that all
handles are in the “up” position
when the machine is ready for
the field, which serves as a quickglance indicator for the operator.
The company adds that the overall plumbing on the machine is
designed to be easy to service.
Both the SX240 and SX280
have already gone into production at Versatile’s assembly plant
in Willmar, Minnesota, and are
available in limited quantities for
the 2014 season.
Base price for the SX240 is
$291,168 and the SX280 starts at
$304,863. †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
2
3
For the latest innovations
in hay tools, go to
nhsmart.com/hay
PHOTOS: VERSATILE
1: Two all-new, self-propelled sprayers from Versatile for 2014 offer upgrades in design and operator
comfort. 2: The new sprayers get a significantly improved cab with a much more comfortable interior design
and larger square footage. 3: The fill station layout has been changed to simplify operation. 4: The SX240
and SX280 are each available with 90 and 100-foot boom widths.
©2014 CNH Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. New Holland is a trademark
registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed
to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates. NHHT04149141FT
28
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Machinery & Shop
New equipment
Running like a Deere
John Deere’s new high-speed planter maintains
placement accuracy at 10 m.p.h.
By Scott Garvey
“
J
ohn Deere is breaking the
planting speed and accuracy
barriers of traditional
row-crop planting with
the introduction of a
revolutionary new seed delivery
system,” reads the opening line
on the company’s press release
announcing the launch of the
ExactEmerge row unit. At the same
time, the brand also introduced
the MaxEmerge five-row row units
capable of highly efficient operation
at more traditional planting speeds.
Deere used the National Farm
Machinery Show in Louisville,
Kentucky, in February as the venue
to unveil the new planter technology to farmers.
When operated at high speeds,
the ability of many planters to
singulate seed and place it accurately within the seed trench suffers. Deere’s ExactEmerge row unit
uses a completely new metering
and seed delivery system to ensure
both of those critical elements
remain consistant at field speeds
of up to 10 m.p.h.
To achieve that, ExactEmerge
row units use a new, rigid bowlshaped metre and brush-style doubles eliminator that require no
adjustment. They work together
to provide a reliable seed handoff
to the all-new and pretty innovative brush belt, which replaces
the traditional free-fall seed tube
found on many planters. Instead
of just dropping seeds from the
metre into the seed trench, the
brush belt carries them down and
drops them just above the ground,
which significantly reduces seed
bounce and improves placement
accuracy, giving the ExactEmerge
its high-speed capability.
“This new design eliminates the
long gravity drop and retains the
seeds in the brush,” says Kelby
Krueger a product specialist at John
Deere’s Seeding Group. “This careful controlling of each seed from
the metre to the trench and then
releasing it at the correct rearward
photos: lisa guenther
The innovative brush belt used on
the ExactEmerge row unit carries
seeds down to the trench rather
than dropping them down a seed
delivery tube.
velocity allows the gentle placement of each seed in the trench
without the normal bounce and
roll that would otherwise happen
at the higher speeds. We can do
this with both corn and even with
high-rate soybeans. And because
we never let go of the seed until
each one is in the trench, we’ve
drastically reduced the ill effects
of rougher planting conditions.”
According to the company,
ExactEmerge units handle all seed
shapes and sizes, achieving a 99
per cent singulation rate with no
mechanical adjustments when
switching between seed types —
even over terrain with slopes up
to 15 degrees.
“Another
important
feature is that our new brush belt
does not have to be synchronized with finite metre speeds,”
Krueger adds. “The systems are
completely independent of each
other, allowing the metre to turn
at the right speed for the desired
seed population, while the delivery system exactly matches
ground speed.”
If it’s necessary to stop in the
field and start again, the new seed
delivery system prevents any gaps.
The combination of seeds retained
in the brush and the new Fast Start
feature eliminates skips. Operators
don’t have to back up to restart
planting in the middle of a row.
To keep the row units correctly
positioned, the new planters use
an active Pneumatic downforce
system. “Active pneumatic downforce means all row units maintain
the required ground contact, even
at higher speeds,” adds Krueger.
“The operator easily sets the
downforce pressure and the brush
belt delivery system delivers the
seed accurately to the bottom of
the trench at the desired depth.”
ExactEmerge row units are
compatible with 1775NT and
1795 model planters with central
commodity systems in 15-, 20-,
and 30-inch row spacings for corn
and soybeans.
But if you’re not into speed or
you need more versatility from a
row unit, the MaxEmerge five-row
units may be the ones for you.
“For traditional planter customers, John Deere is also introducing
an entirely new line of MaxEmerge
row units, the MaxEmerge 5,” says
Krueger. “These row units combine the best features of the existing MaxEmerge XP and Pro-Series
XP units, which they replace. The
MaxEmerge 5 features one common vacuum metre... And it offers
the greatest versatility to customers
needing a variety of different configurations.”
“These field-proven units have
double eliminator adjustments,
three times longer-life gauge wheel
arms and easy-to-adjust downforce
capabilities (spring, heavy duty or
pneumatic) for more uniform seed
depth control, regardless of field
conditions. All adjustments and
seed clean out functions are now
much easier to access and faster to
accomplish because of the improved
design of the row units.” †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
photo: john deere
John Deere released two new row units for its planters. The ExactEmerge
version is capable of highly accurate seed placement at speeds up to 10 mph.
The new, rigid bowl-shaped meter and brush-style doubles eliminator on
the ExactEmerge row unit doesn’t require any adjustment.
A John Deere planter equipped with the brand’s new ExactEmerge
row units was on display at the Commodity Classic farm show in San
Antonio, Texas, in February.
Elevate your uptime
You can rest assured that when you run a reliable, all-crop, all-condition
John Deere baler, that you’ll keep baling long after other balers have called it quits.
How do we do it? The 9 Series feature roller shafts that are a 1/4 inch larger and
bearings that are 1 1/2 inches larger than those found on the 8 Series. With an
increased shaft size the baler can now handle even heavier loads in the toughest
conditions. And the bigger bearings run cooler, last longer, and are more reliable.
Everything about a John Deere 9 Series Round Baler has been designed to raise
performance to all new levels, while greatly reducing the chances of downtime.
That’s why more and more hay producers run John Deere Round Balers than any other
color baler. And should your baler ever need service, it’s good to know that there’s
a local John Deere dealer standing behind you who will get you back up and running.
See your John Deere dealer today about a new 9 Series Baler – and elevate your uptime.
JohnDeere.com/Hay
58000-14_10.125x15.5.indd 1
3/5/14 8:15 PM
30
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Machinery & Shop
Canada’s Farm Progress Show
Bourgault expands its 7000 Series cart line
The tow-between L7800 becomes the third air cart added to the relatively new 7000 Series
By Scott Garvey
B
ourgault has expanded
its 7000 Series line of air
carts, which it launched
with the introduction
of the high-capacity 7950 model
in 2012. This year, the company
added two additional models.
During the winter, the company announced the introduction of the 7700, which was
meant to replace the previous
6700 model. At Canada’s Farm
Progress Show in Regina in June,
Bourgault expanded the Series
again and debuted the L7800
tow-between version.
The L7800 boasts an 800-bushel capacity split between four
compartments, plus an optional
40-bushel small product saddle
tank. Beside the saddle tank is a
pallet storage area to keep additional canola bags stored and
ready to add.
This cart is the first in what
Bourgault is calling its “Leading”
design. Translation: tow-between
configuration. The L7800 gets the
“L” in its model number to indicate that. “This is the first ‘Leading’
cart design in the 7000 Series,” says
Bourgault’s Haydon Rice.
The L7800’s uses the company’s flex-tank design, which
means the contents of one its
compartments can be metered
out with the product in either
adjacent tank and increase working time between fills. That also
gives growers some flexibility,
allowing them to get just the
right mix of inputs on board.
Those inputs get metered out
using Bourgault’s newest meter-
ing system, the PDM Pro, which
is available on all the 7000
Series models. The L7800 can be
equipped with up to five different metering augers and seeding
rate control comes from a Topcon
X-30 monitor. “It (the monitor)
is laid out very well,” says Rice.
“Switching from single shoot to
double shoot is the same as you’d
expect from any other Bourgault
system with our Class A distribution system. You can put any
product down any line.”
The L7800 also offers some
design improvements intended
to help make life a little easier
for tractor operators. To start
with, hitching up to this cart
should be a breeze. A hydraulic hitch jack connects to the
tractor remotes and adjusts the
hitch height from the tractor
seat, which eliminates the need
for manual jacking.
Getting access to the tanks’
loading hatches is now easier,
too. A stairway directly above
the hitch means operators don’t
have to walk around a drill or
the tractor to get up on the cart.
The stairs are just a few steps
away from the cab door. “There’s
no more climbing ladders,” says
Rice. “You get to walk up stairs. It
makes it easier for carrying pails.”
And the L7800 rides on 850
80R38 tires. That keeps its footprint relatively light and helps
minimize compaction in the
field. “They’re the same size
as the tires on our 7950 tow
behind,” explains Rice. “So we’re
able to keep our tire pressure and
ground pressure to 18 PSI. We’re
able to carry a lot of weight, a lot
photos: scott garvey
Bourgault’s new 800-bushel, tow-between cart, the L7800, includes an easy-access stairway above the hitch,
making climbing up to load hatches safer and easier.
of product, and keep our ground
pressure down.”
The L7800 also uses 7-inch distribution lines. “It’s for increased
capacity, pushing product out for
the large drills we’re producing
these days,” he adds. To get product
in, the L7800 comes with a standard, remote controlled, 12-inch
loading auger. “It’s very handy and
user friendly,” says Rice.
Bourgault also joins the ranks of
seeding equipment manufacturers
now offering sectional control technology. The company just introduced its new system at the Regina
show. Like the L7800 cart, sectional
control will be available in limited
quantities for the 2014 season and
in full production for 2015.
For a video look at the L7800
cart and Bourgault’s new sectional control system, watch
the E-QuipTV episode at www.
grainews.ca/videos. †
Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.
Contact him at [email protected].
Presents
My Favourite
Farm Machine
Grainews invites you to nominate
your all-time favourite piece of
farming equipment! You name it —
whatever your all-time favourite
rig is, we want to know!
Any model not currently in production in the
following 3 categories: tractors, combines,
other farm machinery.
A list of finalists will be announced.
Farmers can cast their votes at this year’s
Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina.
Watch upcoming issues of
Grainews for more information.
To nominate your favourite
farm machine email us at:
?
?
?
[email protected]
DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS IS APRIL 30th
By tapping into a tractor’s remote hydraulic valves, hitch height can be
easily adjusted to make connecting a tractor to the L7800 fast and easy.
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. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory
systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or
sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national
and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where
import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their
buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence
Through Stewardship.
ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE 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®, Monsanto and Vine Design®, Roundup Ready® and Roundup® are trademarks of
Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada, Inc. licensee.
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
31
Cattleman’s Corner
ANIMAL HEALTH
Bull health is a year-round concern
ROY
LEWIS
ANIMAL
HEALTH
T
he herd bull is often the
most neglected animal in
most cattle operations.
Great emphasis is put on
them just before and during the
breeding season but the rest of the
year bulls are often not thought
of at all.
But the reality is producers need
to be mindful of not neglecting
the huge genetic potential bulls
have on their herds. It is important
to protect your investment and
help maximize fertility to maximize that genetic potential. Proper
management should include bull
health and management procedures over the full year.
The easiest way to adopt a program is to be thinking of your
herd bulls every time you process the cows and deciding then
whether any treatment is needed.
People often shy away from handling bulls as they are larger and can
raise havoc with even sturdy corrals. There is also the issue of every
time bulls are moved the fighting resumes and the pecking order
must be re-established. This can be
minimized with good facilities and
returning bulls to a large pen or
pasture after processing. Sufficient
physical exercise at all times of the
year keeps the bull’s fitter and the
feet and legs in much better shape.
BULL VACCINATION
A vaccination program for
bulls should correspond to what
is provided to cows. All respiratory and reproductive vaccines
as well as multivalent clostridials
(blackleg) are valuable to bulls,
as well as cows. Bulls can be the
source or spread of disease especially the reproductive ones like
vibrio, leptospirosis, or trichomoniasis if they are a problem in
your area.
Our clinic further recommends
a foot rot vaccination for bulls.
A lame bull at breeding season is
not desirable. This vaccine only
protects for one cause of lameness in bulls but the foot rot
organism can gain entry through
cracks in the bull’s feet. It is a
small investment considering the
bull is half the breeding equation. We administer the vaccine
at semen-evaluation time, as bulls
are already being handled.
Deworming and delousing
should be done in the fall with a
pour on endectocide plus a drench
dewormer such as safeguard.
Internal parasites are becoming
more of an issue and can build up
especially in rundown breeding
bulls. Use the proper dosage for
the weight of the bull and don’t
skimp. The bulls always are the
sentinel animals when it comes
to lice. Hair loss may indicate lice
but often lots of scurf will lead to
scratching especially on hot days.
With spring-calving herds,
semen evaluations most often are
preformed after winter and before
breeding. Producers want them
done before bull sales in case decisions have to be made as to new
purchases. If bulls are insured it
is a very wise to adjust the test
date to before the policy expiration date, in case something has
happened over the winter. If a
bull has been sick, had swellings
develop in the sheath or testicles,
or had cows returning to heat it
is important to check the bull’s
fertility and find a replacement
if needed.
Older bulls (five years or greater)
have an increasing likelihood
of becoming infertile because of
things like testicular degeneration.
Do as many procedures as possible
at semen-evaluating time such as
ear tagging if necessary, taking a
hair sample in case genetic testing
is necessary or checking the eyes for
scarring. Get all lumps and bumps
and scuttle lameness checked out
as well. There is never a more ideal
time and tagging is made much
easier by doing it at the same time
as electroejaculation.
FILE PHOTO
FEET AND LEGS
The bull pen represents 50 per cent of the genetics in your beef herd,
which should mean that bulls deserve as much animal health attention
as the cows.
Many bulls are culled because
of feet and leg problems. As bulls
mature and grow bigger tremendous pressure is put on their feet
and legs, especially in the breeding
season. Preventive maintenance
such as trimming feet may extend
their useful life as well as prevent
lameness problems during the
breeding season.
Again, lots of exercise on hard
terrain (not peat moss) goes a
long way towards keeping the
toes short. Many hereditary conditions involving the feet can be
selected against, such as corns,
spiral and corkscrew claws. Even
when young bulls with great feet
are selected it may be necessary
to trim them in their later years.
Look very closely at your bull’s feet
every year. Trimming one to two
months before breeding season is
ideal. The trimmer can then be
more aggressive knowing the bull
has several weeks to recover before
being turned out.
Fly control is imperative for bulls
over the summer. If not treated you
will notice hundreds of horn flies
feeding on the backs of your bulls.
Flies have more of a predilection
for the bulls so in order to reduce
irritation, blood loss and gadding
provide fly control. A pour on product cy-lence is quite effective against
flies for 60 days. Otherwise fly tags
or back rubbers may be used.
Nutritionally, again, treat the
bulls like your cows with trace minerals. Maintain a condition score of
2.5-3.5. A rising plain of nutrition
prior to the breeding season is a
good idea. A crude protein level
of 12 per cent or higher in their
diets is ideal. A leaner bull is more
desirable than a fat bull at breeding season. Fat, especially in the
scrotum, can impair fertility for a
considerable time. Remember after
breeding season, when bulls are
pulled, their nutritional requirements decrease substantially.
Since a good breeding bull is
always a good investment he is
one worth protecting. If breeding
pastures have a lot of bush make
sure bull nose rings are removed.
If hardware (peritonitis) is a potential problem, as soon as the bull
arrives on the farm, placing a good
quality magnet in their stomach
(reticulum) can be good insurance.
Most illnesses with bulls appear
subtly and weight loss is often the
first sign.
When checking bulls during
breeding season pay particular
attention to their walk or gait.
Wobbliness or knuckling may
be the sign of a back problem.
Swelling on the sheath from cuts
or a broken penis require immediate bull replacement.
By implementing the above
strategies hopefully a long reproductive life can be attained from
your bulls. Always buy bulls from
reputable purebred breeders and
make sure they have had their
initial breeding soundness evaluation done and are up to date on
vaccines. Over the years many
a breeding bull has died from a
clostridial disease because vaccinating had been missed. †
Roy Lewis is a Westlock, Alberta-based
veterinarian specializing in large-animal
practice. He is also a part-time technical
services vet for Merck Animal Health.
THE MARKETS
More demand, cheaper
feed keeps cattle prices firm
JERRY
KLASSEN
MARKET
UPDATE
F
ed and feeder cattle markets continue to trade near
historical highs as the market adjusts to lower beef
production and steady consumer
demand. In mid-March, Alberta
packers were buying fed cattle in the
$138/cwt to $140/cwt range, which
is about $15/cwt above break-even
prices for pen closeouts.
Healthy feedlot margins have
translated into record-high feeder
cattle prices while feed barley
continues to trade near three-year
lows. Feeder cattle in the 550- to
600-pound weight range are readily
trading above $200/cwt while 800to 850-pound steers sell for between
$165/cwt to $175/cwt.
Stronger feeder cattle values
have encouraged herd expansion
in the U.S. and Canada resulting in fewer heifers moving into
feedlots. Now supplies of quality
replacement cattle start to wane
and feedlot operators are paying
up for feeders that will perform
well into the summer.
Consumers are spending more on
food and despite the higher prices
and colder winter, there appears to
be pent-up demand as warmer temperatures are developing. Overall
economic data favours an increase
in spending patterns moving forward which should sustain the
price structure in the beef complex. However, there are a number
of risks that should be taken into
account for the summer months.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Cattle on feed for slaughter in the
U.S. as of Feb. 1 were down five per
cent in comparison to February 1
of 2013 while January placements
were up nine per cent over year-ago
levels. The year-over-year decline
in on-feed numbers has resulted in
tighter available supplies for slaughter. U.S. year-to-date beef production for the week ending March
15 was down seven per cent in
comparison to the same timeframe
of 2013. The weekly slaughter pace
has been lagging year-ago levels and
the total number of cattle slaughtered so far in 2014 is down 7.5
per cent. Higher cattle prices have
encouraged feedlots to market cattle
sooner than anticipated, which has
resulted in lower carcass weights.
Alberta and Saskatchewan inventories have been running 10 to 12
per cent above last year during the
winter. For the week ending March
8, year-to-date Canadian beef production was up four per cent in
comparison to 2013 while the
number of cattle slaughtered was
up seven per cent. Carcass weights
in Alberta are down a whopping 50
pounds in comparison to 2013. This
is having a major impact on the
supply equation. In addition to the
larger domestic Canadian slaughter,
fed cattle exports to the U.S. are
running six per cent above last year
as U.S. packers struggle to fill their
nearby requirements.
CONSUMER SPENDING
U.S. at-home food expenditures
in 2014 have been 5.8 per cent
above 2013 while away-from-home
food spending is up 7.8 per cent.
Average disposable income in the
U.S. is only up four per cent so consumers are clearly spending more
on food and less on other products. The overall economy looks
quite positive over the next four to
U.S. QUARTERLY BEEF PRODUCTION (MILLION POUNDS)
Quarter
2011
2012
Est 2013
Est 2014
1
6,411
6,283
6,172
5,935
2
6,559
6,475
6,517
6,280
3
6,737
6,584
6,608
6,265
4
6,492
6,571
6,420
6,060
Total
26,199
25,913
25,717
24,540
six months. Unemployment numbers continue to trend lower while
consumer spending is expected to
increase each quarter by approximately two per cent. This should
bode well for beef consumption.
KEY FACTORS
As of mid-March, the feeder cattle
market remains in an upward trend
due to record-high fed cattle values
and low barley prices. The breakeven price on 850-pound steers
going into the feedlot in March
will be in the range of $130/cwt
to $132/cwt; therefore, the feeder
market has some breathing room to
move higher given current fed cattle
values. However, the June live cattle
futures are trading at a $7 inverse to
the April contract as the market factors in the quarterly increase in production and slightly softer demand.
This may weigh on the feeder market in late spring and summer; however, most of the quality feeder cattle
will have moved through the auction ring by this time.
The second factor is the price
of feed grains. Canadian barley acreage is expected to be
down 10 per cent this spring.
The barley market is expected
to go through a fundamental
shift from burdensome supplies in 2013-14 to a relatively
tight fundamental structure for
2014-15. This will increase the
cost per-pound gain and feedlot
managers will have to factor this
into account when purchasing
replacement cattle.
Old-crop barley prices have
potential to be pulled higher
by new-crop values due to the
anticipation of lower production.
We saw how the feeder market
responded in 2012 when barley
prices moved over $300 per mt
and new crop barley production
will have a major influence on
feeder cattle prices. †
Gerald Klassen analyzes cattle and hog markets
in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in
the family feedlot in Southern Alberta. For
comments or speaking engagements, he can
be reached at [email protected] or call
204 899 8268.
32
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Keepers & Culls
Disappearing sage grouse
puts stress on ranchers
LEE
HART
I
f they hired me to hunt
greater sage grouse, the
population would not only
be maintained but no doubt
flourish. My track record of successful bird hunting — pheasant
hunting in particular — has contributed greatly to the survival of
that species.
Let’s just say I scare a few birds
(I like to think of it as improving their distribution), but beyond
the momentary adrenalin rush
for both man and bird, pheasants
have been quite safe for some time.
Someone suggested target practice
might help but that seems to be a
highly over rated solution and a lot
of work. It is sort of like that wornout recommendation to “eat right
and exercise” for losing weight.
Surely someone can come up with
a more imaginative option.
To pull a Bart Simpson — if the
greater sage grouse population is
disappearing “you can’t blame me.”
All smart comments aside, it is
fair to say the bird is in deep trouble. According to a recent Calgary
Zoo report (the Calgary Zoo is
planning to mount a $4 million
captive breeding program to save
the grouse), but according to their
news release there are only 138
greater sage grouse left in Western
Canada. And they can be found in
two isolated pockets in the southeast corner of Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan.
That’s not very many birds. If
they were to band these things
they could name them rather than
number them.
The zoo estimates the birds could
be extinct within two to five years.
Along with this captive breeding
program, the federal Environment
Canada last December (after legal
action by environmental groups)
imposed “the first ever Emergency
Order under the Species at Risk Act
to protect the greater sage grouse on
Crown lands.”
The order prohibits activities
that are known to be harmful to
sage-grouse and their habitat. The
emergency order will achieve the
best protection for the grouse while
minimizing impacts on landowners
and agricultural producers, says a
release. “It will not restrict activities
on private lands.” (The order covers
about 1,700 square kilometres — see
accompanying map.)
That seems to be a bit of a
“closing the barn door” move, but
in any event now ranchers and
oil and gas companies working in
the affected area, are concerned
about the economic impact of
this emergency order. The order
doesn’t apply to private land, but
does apply to any government land
under lease to ranchers.
The government estimated when
it imposed the order that it could
cost oil and gas activity in the area
about $10 million over the coming
years. They estimated there would
be little impact on ranching.
However, the ranchers who use
this land fear the order could have
a significant impact by either eliminating or reducing the ability to
graze lease land. More published
reports suggest about 200 landowners in the designated area plan to
form an association to mount a
legal challenge to have the emergency order reversed.
In reports I have read ranchers
have made two interesting points.
Some say it isn’t ranching (or even
oil and gas activity) that has decimated sage grouse numbers — there
are two many predators. Another
producer pointed out, in the vast
open native prairie grassland there
are fairly large tracks with no cattle
and no oil and gas activity and the
bird didn’t survive there either. So
you wonder what is going on.
I doubt that ranchers want to
see the greater sage grouse become
extinct either, but you have to
wonder even if cattle where raised
in feedlots for the next 10 years,
would that help sage grouse numbers to recover?
There will be more as this story
unfolds over the coming months.
But it is an example of the how the
public and environmental spotlight
again is focused on the agriculture
industry. There has been considerable talk of ecological goods and
service programs or an environmental tax, well the sage grouse issue
seems to be an excellent example
of where one could be applied.
Ranchers are out doing their ranching thing as they have for decades
— applying the best practices they
can. Now if the public wants lands
protected for some specific reason,
the affected land users should be
properly compensated.
Lee Hart is editor of Cattleman’s
Corner based in Calgary. Contact him
at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@
fbcpublishing.com.
WATCH THOSE FRIDGE DOORS
Charlie Main, who farms near
Virden, Manitoba made a good
point if anyone is planning to use
an old refrigerator or freezer for
any non-typical application on the
farm — remove the latches. Main
was commenting on an article in a
recent Cattleman’s Corner where beef
producers were using an old nonworking fridge beside the squeeze
to hold medications when cattle are
being processed. It is a handy idea
for keeping vaccines from freezing
when being used in cold weather.
However, as Main pointed out an
old self-locking fridge or freezer can
be a death trap for kids playing and
looking for place to hide. If an old
fridge is being used, make sure any
locking latch has been removed,
and perhaps attach an exterior hasp
to keep the door shut.
CWA FOUNDER PASSES
A founder of the Canadian
Western Agribition in Regina,
and a long-time promoter of the
Hereford beef industry has died.
Chris Sutter, who was born and
raised and farmed most of his life
on the family farm at Redvers,
Saskatchewan, passed away in midMarch at the age of 94.
After serving in the Second
World War, Sutter returned to the
farm at Redvers where he raised
Hereford cattle and went onto to
become active in the Saskatchewan
Hereford Association and the
Canadian Hereford Association.
He was named Salesman of the
Year by the Sales and Marketing
Executive Association of Regina,
was inducted into the Northern
International Livestock Exposition
Hall of Fame, the Saskatchewan
Agricultural Hall of Fame and
the Canadian Agricultural Hall
of Fame.
Always a strong advocate of
the agriculture industry he was
instrumental in launching the
first Canadian Western Agribition
and served as it’s first president
in 1971.
He is survived by his wife of 68
years, Vera, their five children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
BETTER BUNKS AND PASTURES
Seven tips for reducing risk of pasture bloat
PETER
VITTI
E
ven in the last remaining
snow mounds, green grass
will start to sprout. It then
doesn’t take long for pastures to grow quickly and easily support many of the nutrient requirements freshened beef cows need to
nurse growing calves and get ready
themselves for rebreeding.
Unfortunately, much of this
nutrition is locked away in luscious alfalfa plants, that may cause
fatal bloat. Therefore, beef producers should take bloat-precautionary
steps to introduce their cow herd to
alfalfa pastures, so a safe and productive grazing season is assured.
Cattle that are not prepared for
grazing alfalfa pasture and as a
result bloat is easy to see. In mild
bloat cases, the left side of the
animal is modestly distended and
the animal might graze without
incident. However, in more severe
bloat cases, both sides balloon
out and the animal appears to
be in distress. If left untreated, a
seriously bloated animal may die,
because this gut distention interferes with its breathing and the
animal suffocates. Approximately
two per cent of all recorded cattle
mortalities in Western Canada are
attributed to bloat.
TYPES OF BLOAT
There are two main types of
bloat that can be fatal to beef cows
and their calves. The first is “freegas” bloat which is a straightforward accumulation of gas in the
rumen. It occurs in about 10 per
cent of all bloat cases. It is thought
to be predominant among chronic
bloaters (cattle that have re-occurring bloat) that have physical
damaged rumen gas receptors (re:
an ingested piece of metal). Freegas bloat is rare in pasture cattle.
Alfalfa grazing cattle often suffer
from a second common type of
bloat, known as “frothy bloat.”
Frothy bloat occurs when the
rate of forage consumption and
digestion is so rapid fermentation gases mix with the rumen
fluid into slimy foam. Natural gas
release is slow, because gases are
trapped inside small emulsified
bubbles as well as this gaseous
foam interferes with the rumen
receptors that open up the esophagus for its gas expulsion.
Cattle are more susceptible to
frothy bloat when grazing alfalfa
pastures compared to other types
of legume and grass pastures, due
to alfalfa’s: (1) relative low fibre
content that allow greater consumption in a short period of
time, (2) a rumen digestion rate
that is five to 10 times greater than
most grasses that produces lots of
gas (carbon dioxide and methane),
and (3) a high level of soluble protein that increases the viscosity of
rumen fluid, which can easily trap
fermentative gas bubbles and may
prevent natural expulsion.
Therefore, the potential for
frothy bloat production in cows
(and their calves) grazing alfalfa
pastures is greatest when alfalfa
is in its vegetative to early-bloom
stages of growth. As the grazing
season progress, alfalfa grasses like
other pasture plants matures as it
enters its bloom stage; fibre levels
in its stems increase substantially
and soluble protein levels in leaves
decrease. This natural maturation
PHOTO: FILE
As alfalfa matures it becomes a much safer bet for pasturing cattle, with a
lower risk of bloat, but it is the early, lush, first-flush crop that really needs
to be properly managed.
of alfalfa plants lead to a slower rate
of digestion when consume by cattle and then digested in the rumen;
lessening its overall bloat risk.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Since it is not always practical
to wait toward the middle of the
grazing season to allow cattle to
graze alfalfa pastures, many cowcalf operators implement good
pasture management techniques
to prepare cattle to adapt, reducing the chance of alfalfa bloat.
The following recommendations
are some sound bloat preventative
and cautionary guidelines:
• Plan out new alfalfa fields —
These pastures should contain no
more than 50 per cent alfalfa.
Select companion plant species
that have low bloat-risk properties
(such as more fibrous grasses) that
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF
the promise of a new beef year
Thoughts from beef producers to renew energy and ideals
No time of year represents the hope of the
beef industry like the arrival of young calves
each spring on Canadian beef farms and ranches. It’s a powerful time, with emotional, personal moments that can find producers thinking
about what’s really important.
One of the things that Verified Beef Production
(VBP) program provides is an opportunity to
learn directly with those beef producers. It’s a
privilege to be able to hear that feedback.
Here are some of their best thoughts about success and how producers can contribute to the end
product regardless of size or scale of operation.
Credibility starts at the beginning. It all starts
with the cow-calf industry. Credibility begins
here and producers want to contribute to a
wholesome, healthy food product.
Do what’s right for your industry. People are
watching and expect the best. Don’t let them
down. Lead through behaviour. Leading by
example helps and modelling industry practices
can help others do the right thing.
Think like a consumer. How would you feel if
you think someone is breaking the rules? They
likely feel the same, so don’t push limits without
being able to react to consequences. Think about
how someone else would react.
Records anchor trust. Keep the important information. It helps you identify trends and it provides
a backup if something unexpected comes up.
Many animals will have three owners in their lifetime and records can link them together.
You don’t have to be big to be good. It’s proven
every day across this country in the beef business. The most passionate and successful players are not always expansive operations. Cattle
quality is not necessarily a function of herd size.
Get involved. Industry programs aren’t perfect
but participation builds reputation and tells
others our industry is strong. It also helps demonstrate to customers what matters.
Build your own reputation. Leaving it to
someone else to enhance your reputation doesn’t
work in the real world. It starts at home.
Producers care. It’s about proving that in real
time. Stay in the game and like the Olympics,
showcase your best for all to see.
Programming is low cost or no cost. Take a
close look. The VBP program is designed to be
built into your daily routine. Practices need not
be complicated. Taking notice of a few key ones
means one is ready in case something needs to
be tweaked slightly. These actions are entry-level
building blocks of a bigger opportunity.
Leadership means everything
As producers get their calves on the ground
this year, there’s promise of a new year and
another production cycle. Whether it is food
safety, animal care or environmental stewardship, the ball is in our court.
We can play the “A” game ourselves or sit on
the bench and let others determine the score.
There’s a renewed interest in the power of positive actions. Help your industry thrive.
Ask for a VBP pocket record book, a great tool to capture important information at calving time.
DEVELOPED BY PRODUCERS. DEVELOPED FOR CONSUMERS
One implant. That’s it. You’re done!
Avoid the inconvenience
and stress of re-implanting.
Do it right. Do it once.
® Registered trademark of Intervet International B.V. Used under license.
For more information, talk to your veterinarian
or call our technical service at 1-866-683-7838.
Merck Animal Health, operating in Canada as Intervet Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA.
MERCK is a trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA.
Copyright © 2011 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.
REV-XS Grain News QSHere.indd 1
13-06-13 16:26
34
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Cattleman’s Corner
ANYONE CAN START FARMING
Scheduling is key to diversified operation
DEBBIE
CHIKOUSKY
A
s spring approaches cattle breeding starts to niggle in our minds. It is
also time to look over
our baby season and evaluate
things. Our biggest problem for a
long time has been providing shelter space for cattle, goats and sheep
to have their babies. So our family
has spent time lately discussing if
we want to remain so diversified.
We have decided for now it is best
we do but we need to be mindful of
when our next baby season starts.
Each species we raise has a special
job on our farm. Each species compliments the other in their grazing
styles so we get more out of our
land. If my husband had to pick a
favourite it would be the beef cows.
Overall they require the least attention and the least housing but we
will never forget that throughout
the BSE crisis, the goats and sheep
held their value and helped keep us
going. The other issue is having an
adequate land and pasture base. The
last few years our small livestock
numbers have risen and our cattle
have greatly diminished so we need
to reorganize again.
REVIEW THE RECORDS
To formulate our new plan we
examined our notes from this
year while they are still fresh
in our minds. We utilize one
barn at the yard site where we
live to calve, kid and lamb. This
means we have to organize their
“delivery” dates so there is room
throughout the season. Spreading
the seasons out as much as we
have seems to be the main problem with our three-species system. It is very hard to maintain
night checks and tend to animals
for months at a time. So we are
trying to streamline and utilize
space better.
Our baby season stretches from
about mid-January (cows first)
to mid-June (goats last), which
is too long. By the time we were
finished everyone involved is
exhausted and haying is ready
to start but the machinery isn’t.
We have also found by kidding
and lambing this late in the
season we have to keep the kids
and lambs over winter. This uses
more pens, more shelters and
more hay and our young females
are often too young to breed
till the following season. This
schedule is costing us money and
needs to be changed.
We’ve decided to move calving ahead to March. This will
help with warmer weather overnight and hopefully we will be
finished before the really wet
spring weather arrives. Over
the years the only times we’ve
ever had navel ill or scours was
when we calved in the wet.
Those health issues haven’t
been a problem with the small
stock. Lambing in late January
to February worked well the last
two years. This leaves the goats
kidding for April.
PHOTOS: DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY
There are some important economics in having a diversified livestock operation, but when you have limited
facilities it becomes a challenge to give each species the space and attention it needs.
REMODEL, REPURPOSE
This scheduling will work as
long as the goats and cows can
share the barn. We have been
utilizing the existing quonset in
the yard, which was remodelled as
a winter shelter for goats and we
can use it for some kidding. This
doesn’t add to capital expenses
and will allow us to overlap part
of the kidding and calving seasons. With January calving all
cows spend a few days in the barn
with their calves. Once the calf is
completely dry, including umbilical cord, they go back outside,
weather permitting. For some reason our cows like to lick the ears of
these little guys when they go outside and that is when they freeze.
This could change with calving in
March if the weather co-operates.
The last few years we have tried
kidding and lambing in the warmer
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months so we weren’t as stressed
about keeping the babies from
freezing in the colder weather. We
found however the little goats born
in May/June don’t grow as well.
Instead of being out of the yard
before November when the prices
drop we are feeding them for the
winter. This puts an extra strain
on pen space and our alwayslimited hay supply. By kidding in
February/March they were always
market weight by September.
April kidding should be a safe
bet. September market prices are
usually higher for kids and lambs
due to Muslim celebrations.
This new plan will require careful management of our animal’s
post-partum this year. According
to our vet, we need to ensure we
give all our females vitamin shots
and be vigilant they maintain
body condition. This also means
keeping them in a constant sup-
ply of salt/mineral. We will also
have to plan now, before haying
and other field works gets us sidetracked, to be prepared for goats/
sheep breeding in the fall.
If these changes work we will be
able to avoid spending money on
more buildings for a few years. It
should be easier too for our sheep/
goats to be pasturing earlier in
the season thereby better utilizing
their brush-cleaning capabilities.
By implementing this breeding/
baby season schedule we hope to
utilize our work force, buildings
and feed much better. This in turn
will result in higher profits per
head. It will also help free up time
to get important spring jobs done
such as fencing, machinery preparation and field maintenance. †
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32
tools — Provide cattle molasses- or
corn distillers-based blocks or tubs
in different areas of pasture. If you
want cattle to graze a particular
piece of pasture; place cattle blocks
in those areas to attract and congregate cows. The licking action will
also assist with efficient digestion of
grazed alfalfa.
• Observe the beef herd —
During the first few weeks of
grazing, observe any signs of
bloating. Some animals will
experience some mild bloating,
despite all precautions. Most
of this gas buildup is natural
and should dissipate as cattle
walk around grazing. Remove all
chronic bloaters.
• Av o i d f r e q u e n t p a s t u r e
changes — Once cattle are established on alfalfa pastures without
significant problem; do not remove
them or make them go both and
forth to different pastures. Such
irregularity prevents them from
adapting to alfalfa pastures.
• Observe the pastures — It is
a good idea to take an inventory
of your pastures for rapid changes
of growth during weeks of cloudy
wet periods in the spring or after a
stressful period, where rapid alfalfa
growth may occur.
It’s interesting that such common pasture bloat has been
recorded since cattle became
domesticated. While its risk cannot be entirely eliminated, bloat
can be significantly deflated with
preventative management, prior
to and when cows and calves step
foot on an alfalfa field. †
SEVEN TIPS FOR
REDUCING RISK OF
PASTURE BLOAT
are easily established and grow at
the same rate of the pasture alfalfa.
• Feed dry roughage prior to cow
herd release — Fill cows on grass hay
before being turned out to alfalfa
pastures. On pasture introduction,
adjust to higher than normal stocking rates in order to increase competition among cattle. Consider
dosing all adult beef cattle with
CRC Rumensin boluses beforehand
in order to help decrease the risk of
bloat on pasture.
• First graze your grassy pastures — During the first few
weeks of the pasture season allow
cows and calves to continuously graze older pastures with
a high proportion of grass and
then move them onto pastures
with a higher concentration of
alfalfa. On some alfalfa fields it
might be preferable to wait until
the majority of alfalfa plants are
past their early/lush vegetative
stage. Avoid grazing areas of pure
alfalfa stands, especially upon
cattle introduction.
• Use other pasture management
More on the web
those s”
“famou
plainjans.com
Roper
620-872-5777
gloves m: p l a i nj a n s
f ro
Debbie Chikousky farms with her family at
Narcisse, Manitoba. Visitors are always
welcome. Contact Debbie at debbie@
chikouskyfarms.com.
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].
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
35
Cattleman’s Corner
RANCHER’S DIARY
Surprise calvers needed some shelter
HEATHER
SMITH
THOMAS
FEBRUARY 25
A
fter the rescued calf and
its mama had been in the
barn a week, and the calf
was getting around OK
on its frostbitten feet, Michael and
Carolyn shovelled snow out of the
windbreak corners of the pen below
the barn. They put hay down for
bedding for the cow and calf. It was
nice to have Michael home from
North Dakota for a few days, and he
enjoyed a break from steady truckdriving in the severe winter weather.
We thought there would be
only one “surprise” calf, but on
Valentine’s Day the skinniest, oldest
cow of Michael and Carolyn’s was
calving when we fed the cows that
morning. After she had it, Michael
pulled the calf down through the
fields in a sled, with the cow following. We put them in the barn, out of
the wind and snow.
That Sunday Michael, Carolyn
and Heather helped Lynn and me
vaccinate and delouse the bulls and
yearlings, and tagged the yearling
heifers (brisket tags) with their permanent cow numbers. Then we
moved the old cow and her calf
from the barn into the pen with
Heather’s pair. Those two calves
were sired by the precocious bull
calf last spring, but there won’t
be any more surprises because the
rest of their cows had barely calved
when Michael and Carolyn weaned
that little bull and removed him
from the herd. The calf we rescued
three weeks ago — with frozen ears
and feet — is losing the skin off
her nose, and ears, but she seems
healthy otherwise.
Andrea had some tests on her
throat; she has permanent damage
from 14 years ago when she was
intubated for so long in the ICU
after her burn injuries. She has to go
to a specialist for more tests.
The yard light in our barnyard
and calving area quit working, so
Michael helped Lynn replace it.
They put a long extension ladder up
the pole and Lynn steadied it while
Michael climbed up to replace the
light and timer. I’m glad Michael
was able to do this before he went
back to North Dakota. Lynn and I
are not very steady on ladders!
Emily played in the state hockey
tournament in Idaho Falls, the last
games of the season. Her team was
doing well, but in the third game
she and another girl were racing for
the puck and Em slammed into the
wall full speed and broke her leg.
MARCH 9
Emily had another leg x-ray. The
doctor won’t be able to put a cast on
until after it is surgically repaired.
The tendons are pulled loose from
the bone and the break is separating.
I’ve been working on edits and
page proofs of my next book,
which is coming out in late April.
It’s called Good Horse, Bad Habits,
published by Trafalgar. This book
is a collection of tips on retraining
problem horses.
We had warmer weather last week;
the snow is melting. On Wednesday
Emily had surgery on her leg to
reattach the tendons and stabilize
the fracture with a metal plate. She
has to stay off the leg for two weeks,
keep it iced and elevated, and then
have stitches taken out before a cast
can be put on.
With the warmer weather we’ve
had snow slides closing several
roads. Thursday water was running
down our road and across the fields.
Water coming down a draw by the
upper place nearly washed out the
road; the county crew brought a
road grader up that evening and
got the flood diverted. The next day
brought two truckloads of gravel to
fix the washout.
MARCH 18
Andrea’s kids have two new
puppies. A friend’s dog had a
litter they needed to give away.
These puppies are border collie
and Brittany spaniel. They will
help entertain Emily while she is
recuperating.
Our holding pen has thawed —
getting boggy — so Lynn moved
the rest of the stacked big straw
bales into the hay yard. We need
to clean out the barn stalls where
the cows with surprise babies
spent time, so we can get ready
for calving.
Saturday morning we fed the
cows at the lower end of the field by
the gate, and sorted off five that are
starting to get udders. We put them
in the horse pasture and orchard
where we can watch them.
I’ve been writing the life story for
a rancher friend in Oregon who is 86
years old. He wants it written for his
children and grandchildren. I tape
our conversations on the phone as
he tells me his stories about his life
and then I type them up. It’s been a
very interesting project. †
Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her
husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact
her at 208-756-2841.
------
PHOTO: HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
Other than losing skin on its nose and ears due to frostbite, this early
unexpected calf appears to be doing well.
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36
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Home Quarter Farm Life
SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
An Easter of love
What would it look like if we paid attention
to the true meaning of Easter?
Lucado in his book Live Loved. I
take great comfort in the words
of encouragement that Lucado
writes, but more so in God’s word:
“A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another;
as I have loved you that you also
love one another” (John 13:34).
“And let us consider one another
to stir up love and good works”
(Hebrews 10:24).
Coaching farm families in transition is challenging. Many times
I offer folks to consider a change
in their approach to stop exhausting each other with conflict, and
move toward love and respect.
As I was driving on the TransCanada Highway to a family meeting, I spotted a rail car with a
huge graffiti message which read
“Jesus loves you!” That one can
stay on that train forever as it
crosses the country. Later I was in
Langenburg, Sask. where the “Save
Room for Dessert” Café offered me
steel-lasered magnets with great
Easter messages: Rejoice!, Spirit!,
Give! and even Kiss! These treasures were far more valuable to me
than the 16 different rabbit statues
in a popular home décor store that
don’t represent the true meaning
of Easter to me.
Rabbits are part of the spring
fertility rites of the old-country cultures, and eggs are part of the same
ELAINE
FROESE
E
aster Sunday is April 20. It
is my favourite Sunday of
the entire year because it
is the day I celebrate God’s
deep love for me with the resurrection of Jesus. In our Sunday school
group we are studying the book of
Romans where it is made very clear
how our faith in Christ gives us
new life and the hope of heaven.
It’s no surprise Easter is a “quiet”
holiday compared to hectic activities of Christmas preparation.
What would it look like to pay
more attention to the true message of Easter this year? How could
we show more folks the love of
God in practical ways? When can
we take an opportunity to explain
that Christ rose from the dead
and was seen by more than 500
people? They saw him physically.
That’s why Christians have no fear
of death, and that is an amazing
reason to celebrate!
This past winter has been a hard
journey. “People can exhaust you.
And there are times when all we
can do is not enough. The best of
love can go unrequited,” says Max
vein of thinking when they used
to roll eggs over the land to “make
it fertile” in the spring. Regardless,
hunting for Easter eggs can be a
fun family tradition, and one that
our neighbourhood used to love
to share.
When a young woman marries
a farmer she brings with her the
traditions of Easter that her family found important. The young
farmer also likely has less love for
the rituals than his new wife does,
and this can cause conflict. The joy
and adventure of marriage is carving out new traditions and meaning
for your new family unit. This is just
one example of the types of adjustments that daughters-in-law need
to make when they become part of
a farm family team. She also may
value celebrating faith, so she packs
up the children for church faithfully each Sunday while her hubby
attends to the endless chores of the
farm. Here is another conflict, trading time for family, faith and letting
go of work. This life/work balance
as it is commonly called, is not ever
balance. It is an ongoing polarity or
unresolvable issue that just needs
to be managed, because it is never
checked off the “to do” list.
Very soon our new book, Farming’s
In-Law Factor will be printed, and
we are excited to share practical
tools for all in-laws to have more
PHOTO: ELAINE FROESE
harmony and less conflict on family
farms. Forgiveness is a key issue. The
model of forgiveness that Jesus gave
us helps families let go of past hurt,
and embrace a new start or chapter.
The families that I coach who have
a model of forgiveness that they
employ and a way to make “quick
repair” are much better off than the
families that continue to offend,
hurt and frustrate one another.
As of March 15, 2014, I have been
writing in this paper for 19 years.
The babies who tore the pages of
Grainews apart on the floor are now
tearing up the gravel roads in their
pickups. They are also the ones calling me for new insights on how to
have their folks say “I love you son,
and I am proud of you.” Ten years
later they are back asking how to
get some equity. Twenty years later
they are asking what control looks
like. Seasons of the year mirror the
seasons of life. What is going to be
different for you this Easter compared to the many Easters you have
already witnessed?
Do you have energy to get up
early for the sunrise service? Can
you add a few special touches to
your dinner table to make everyone
who gathers around it glad that
they came? Do you have the courage to invite the family members
who have distanced themselves, yet
really need to be loved unconditionally?
Easter calls us to look at renewal
and resurrection. We are given new
life in Christ when we accept his gift
of forgiveness for us. We are given
the comfort, wisdom and counsel
of the Holy Spirit when we become
believers. God loves you more than
you will ever know, and now is the
time to embrace His unending love
to energize your life, and give your
farm family the best legacy ever: the
legacy of richness in relationship
towards God, and richness in relationship with each other.
I would like to know what changes
you have made since you’ve been
reading this column over the years.
Send me encouragement; address
mail to Box 957, Boissevain, Man.
R0K 0E0.
Have a wonderful Easter ! †
Elaine Froese, CAFA, CHICoach has been called
“Canada’s Farm Whisperer” by Faith Today
magazine. Engage her resources to empower
your farm team. Visit www.elainefroese.com
or call 1-866-848-8311. Buy her new book for
Mother’s Day!
EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES
Weather Forecast for the period of March 30 to April 26, 2014
Southern Alberta
Peace River Region
March 30 - April 5
Variable freeze/thaw cycle and
often cool and windy. Fair, but
snow or rain on 2 to 3 days,
heavy in places.
April 6 - 12
Weather conditions and
temperatures vary, as fair sunny
days and mild temperatures
interchange with cool, wet days.
April 13 - 19
Sunny and windy but look for a
couple off cooler days with rain,
and snow in places. Chance of
heavy precipitation.
April 20 - 26
Sunny with seasonal to mild
temperatures, but expect
periodic rain with a chance
of heavier snow.
-3 / 9
Grande Prairie
19.8 mms
Manitoba
March 30 - April 5
Variable freeze/thaw cycle and
often cool and windy. Fair, but
snow or rain on 2 to 3 days,
heavy in places.
March 30 - April 5
Cool but with occasional thawing.
Windy. Sunny apart from snow or
rain on 2 or 3 days, chance of
heavy in places.
March 30 - April 5
Cool but with occasional thawing.
Windy, sunny days alternate with
rain or snow, chance of heavy in
some regions.
April 6 - 12
Weather conditions and
temperatures vary, as fair sunny
days and mild temperatures
interchange with cool, wet days.
April 6 - 12
Mainly sunny and milder aside
from a couple of wet, cool days
with rain or heavier snow. Blustery
at times.
April 13 - 19
Sunny and windy but look for a
couple off cooler days with rain,
and snow in places. Chance of
heavy precipitation.
April 13 - 19
Highs reach the teens with a few
frosty nights. Fair, windy days
exchange with cool, wet days.
Chance of heavy snow.
April 6 - 12
Sunny, other than a couple of days
with rain or snow in the south, and
heavier snow in the north. Windy.
Mild days exchange with frosty
nights.
April 20 - 26
Sunny with seasonal to mild
temperatures, but expect
periodic rain with a chance
of heavier snow on 1 or 2 days
this week. Blustery at times.
April 20 - 26
Often sunny, mild and windy but
expect scattered rain or snow on
2 to 3 days this week, possibly
heavy in places.
April 13 - 19
Unsettled, windy and changeable
this week as sunshine alternates
with rain and a chance of heavy
snow. Frosty nights.
April 20 - 26
Variable from mild to cool with
some frost. Sunny, but with
scattered rain or snow on 2 or 3
days.
Precipitation Forecast
-3 / 10
Edmonton
22.1 mms
-2 / 9
North Battleford
-3 / 10
Jasper
21.2 mms
ABOVE
NORMAL
Forecasts should be 80%
accurate, but expect
variations by a day or two
because of changeable
speed of weather systems.
Saskatchewan
-3 / 9
32.4 mms
Banff
-3 / 10
Red Deer
22.9 mms
-2 / 11
Calgary
25.1 mms
0 / 13
Medicine Hat
19mms
cms
Lethbridge 26.0
35.9 mms
26 cms
-1 / 12
-5 / 6
The Pas
-4 / 8
Prince Albert
21.7 mms
-3 / 9
Saskatoon
19.7 mms
22.2 mms
27.4 mms
NEAR
NORMAL
-3 / 9
Yorkton
-4 / 9
Dauphin
-4 / 7
-2 / 11 20.3 mms 31.7 mms
Gimli
-2 / 11
Regina
-2 / 10 Moose Jaw 20.4 mms
39.2 mms
Swift 24.3 mms
-2 / 10
-3 / 9
Current
Portage -2 / 10
-2 / 11
Brandon 40.4 mms Winnipeg
24.7 mms
Weyburn
35.4 mms
35.9 mms
28.9 mms -2 / 11
Estevan Melita -4 / 10
33.3 mms
33.5 mms
Precipitation Outlook
For April
Much Above Normal Below Much
above normal
normal below
normal
normal
Temperatures are normals
for April 15th averaged
over 30 years.
Precipitation
(water equivalent)
normals for April in mms.
©2014 WeatherTec Services
www.weathertec.mb.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
37
Home Quarter Farm Life
FROM THE FARM
Think you don’t like to eat liver?
Try these recipes and you just might change your mind
350 F oven, in an ovenproof
baking dish, for about one hour.
DEBBIE
CHIKOUSKY
Another idea for chicken livers would be this recipe that
can be found at http://www.
theclothesmakethegirl.com.
T
he most unpleasant
dinner memories of
my childhood are liver.
Hated it. I know that
is a strong sentiment but I can
still feel the mushiness of it
when I chewed. I couldn’t camouflage that away no matter
how much ketchup we were
allowed to pour onto it.
Then I grew up and got pregnant and absolutely couldn’t
take pregnancy vitamins without being very ill. So, the doctor
and I had to come to an agreement. The worst part of it was
that I had to, no getting around
it, consume liver once a week. I
am happy to say that once we
started raising our own grassfinished beef, liver has become
one of our favourite meals. My
children even enjoy it.
Organ meats have gotten a
bad reputation for cholesterol
but for a healthy person organ
meats in moderation can be a
healthy addition to their diet.
Of course people have to follow their doctors’ recommendations. Our family isn’t overly
adventurous with organs but we
do very much enjoy liver and
will tolerate heart now. Organ
meats are highly nutritious.
Liver is a fantastic source of
copper, zinc, iron and vitamins A
and D in abundance, and is also
a rich source of antioxidants. It
is an organ that is used by the
body to filter toxins, therefore, it
is best to know your source.
Heart is a muscle so it is
predisposed to having a nice
firm texture. Beef heart has very
concentrated levels of CoQ10, B
vitamins, folic acid, selenium,
phosphorus, zinc and amino
acids that help burn fat, store
energy and boost stamina and
endurance. CoQ10 is speculated
to be highly protective against
cancer and is found only in
animal foods, and its function
is to protect the heart. Beef
heart contains 40 per cent of
our daily requirements per serving, and also has twice as much
collagen and elastin. Our family
enjoys chicken hearts as well
as beef.
CRISPY SPICED
CHICKEN LIVERS
1 to 1-1/2 lbs. chicken livers
2/3 c. coconut flour (we use
spelt)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cloves
2-4 tbsp. coconut oil
Fresh lemon and chopped fresh
herbs (parsley, cilantro or mint)
for garnish
PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
Knowing why it was important to eat these meats did help
me to overcome the gag reflex
and learn to love them.
The first dish that made liver
tolerable was stir-fry.
LIVER STIR-FRY
2 lbs. liver
Onions
Garlic
Ginger root (about 1/2 tsp.
chopped)
Carrots
Celery
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Bean sprouts
1 c. beef broth
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 tbsp. cornstarch (dissolved in
the soy sauce)
Coconut oil for frying
While the liver is still slightly
frozen chop it into bite-size
pieces. The narrower the strips
the less the mushy texture
is noticed. Soak the liver in
water with a sprinkle of salt in
it to help remove the excess
blood while the vegetables are
prepared. Cut up the vegetables
in a method pleasing to your
family feeling free to change
the assortment. Drain the liver
and dry on a clean dish towel.
Season the liver with salt,
pepper and garlic powder. In the
melted coconut oil simmer the
garlic but don’t brown it, then
add the liver. Cook till it loses
its pink. Remove from pan. Fry
vegetables, adding more coconut
oil if needed. When they reach
the desired texture remove and
add beef broth and soy sauce.
Stir to thicken then add the liver
and vegetables. Toss them well
to coat. Serve with rice. Serves 6.
When this method was well
tolerated we added the option
of Fried Liver to our menu. It
can be used for any species of
liver/heart that happens to find
its way into a farmer’s freezer.
FRIED LIVER/HEART
4 ozs. liver/heart per person
Onions
Freezer bag
Whole grain flour (we use spelt)
Salt
Pepper
Turmeric (just a sprinkle)
Garlic powder
Coconut oil
Slice the liver, while still a
bit frozen, into very thin slices.
Put the flour and spices into a
freezer bag that will allow you
to shake the pieces of meat,
a few at a time, comfortably.
Brown the meat in the coconut
oil and place in a baking pan.
Cover with sliced onions and
bake till it is cooked through,
adding a bit of water if needed.
Sometimes the flour and meat
juices will make gravy on their
own which is very tasty over
mashed potatoes.
Another way to prepare heart
that is very flavourful is to stuff it.
STUFFED HEART
1 cow heart (usually feeds four)
3 c. bread crumbs
1 onion
1/2 c. butter
Wash the heart and remove
any fat along the top edge.
Combine bread crumbs, onions,
salt and pepper and butter very
well. Stuff this mixture into the
heart chambers. Grease a piece
of aluminum foil big enough
to wrap the heart in. Wrap the
heart and place in a preheated
Cut chicken livers into 2-inch
pieces and pat dry with paper
towels. In a small bowl, mix
flour, paprika, garlic powder,
cumin, salt, pepper, and cloves
with a fork until blended. Pour
the seasoned flour into a large
zip-lock bag, add the chicken
livers, and shake gently until
coated evenly. In a large sauté
pan, heat 2 tablespoons coconut
oil over medium high until hot,
about 3 minutes. Add about half
the chicken livers in a single
layer — try to arrange them so
they don’t touch. Allow the bottom to brown well and form a
crisp crust, about 3-5 minutes.
Using tongs, flip the livers, and
brown the other side. Set aside
to drain on paper towels while
you cook the second batch. You
may need to add more coconut
oil to the pan. Place the livers
on a serving plate and garnish
with a squeeze of fresh lemon
juice and a sprinkle of chopped
fresh herbs.
Prep 10 min.
Cook 15 min.
Serves 2-4
With these new recipes and
the knowledge that organs
really are a nutritious and
usually economical meal choice
feel free to be adventurous.
Imagine how surprised my mom
was to find out that I actually
enjoy eating liver now and my
children ask for it! †
Debbie Chikousky farms at Narcisse, Manitoba.
y! .
da ed
to it
er im
st s l
gi g i
Re atin
Se
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38
/ grainews.ca
APRIL 8, 2014
Home Quarter Farm Life
POSTCARDS FROM THE PRAIRIES
Life’s secrets, according to you…
People of the world, tell me this — what’s the one thing you wish
you’d spend less time worrying about? Part Two
JANITA
VAN DE VELDE
A
s human beings, we’re
all very different, and yet
our worries are remarkably similar — we worry
about our finances, mortality, what
we look like, what other people
think, what (we think) they’ll say
about us, often focusing more on
keeping everyone else satisfied,
rather than concentrating on our
own happiness. We worry about
being the best we can be for our
families, and in the process, many
of us live our lives solely to please
others. Sometimes I think it all
comes down to just wanting to
be liked… feeling good enough,
valued and appreciated for who we
are. And if we don’t feel that, then
we try to be someone else. What
a world this would be if we all felt
that we’re good enough and totally
lovable, just the way we are… inherently knowing and trusting that
those who come through us and
after us would truly understand that
we gave it our all, that we fought
hard, and loved hard. I worry a lot
about not being good enough — I
feel stretched in so many different
directions that I often don’t even
know which way I’m looking, or if
I’m even standing anymore. I worry
a lot about mortality — about the
end and not having done enough. I
worry that I’ll be lying on my deathbed with regrets about not being a
better mother, wife, sister, daughter,
friend, and that fills me with a sense
of angst that can consume me if I
let it.
Maybe there’s a real beauty in
the collective similarities of our
worries… perhaps this very flaw
in the human condition is exactly
what binds us all together. I don’t
have a tattoo, but at the ripe old
age of 39, pardon me, 29, I’d like
to get the following quote inked
on my body. (Incidentally, my
mother would faint if I got a tattoo. But not before issuing an oral
dissertation on how silly a tattoo
will look when I’m 80. Guess
what, Mom? If I make it to 80, I’ll
likely start smoking again to kick
off my octogenarian celebrations,
so the appearance of a wrinkled
tattoo will likely be the least of
my concerns.)
“Men are haunted by the vastness
of eternity. And so we ask ourselves,
will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names
long after we’re gone and wonder who
we were? How bravely we fought…
how fiercely we loved…”
— from Homer’s Odyssey
Here’s what I know: In the end,
all material and ego-related issues
will be laid to waste; our pride, our
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What other people think or say
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I wish I spent less time worrying
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people will think I’m stupid.
I should worry less about pleasing others.
What I look like.
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Things getting worse again.
Everyone else’s happiness. I’d
love to spend less time trying to
make other people happy; I’d love
to resign from this neurotic career.
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This one’s easy. I wish I would
quit worrying about my weight
and body size, but I fear that if I
did that and really let go, I would
quickly weigh 300+ pounds.
Luckily I am not a big worrier.
I take after my dad, thank God.
In fact, I should probably worry
more. Oh great, now I’m worried
that I don’t worry enough!
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50% Complete
Assigned to John
Due March 6, 2014
Here forthwith are the remaining
responses to what you wish you’d
spend less time worrying about.
I wish I spent less time worrying
about my biggest regret.
Spray Field SW2
Due March 6, 2014
✔
quest to be perfect, our attempts to
hide our weaknesses, our worries,
our fear of someone not liking us or
thinking we’re not smart enough or
good enough, our desire to be liked.
In the end, none of this will matter.
I’d like to think all that’ll matter is
how deeply we loved.
>
Transfer Barley to Bin 2
0% Complete
Assigned to John
Due Sept 26 , 2014
✔
Fertilize Field SE3
✔
Service Sprayer 3432
100% Complete,
Assigned to Frank
Done Sept 26 , 2014
100% Complete,
Assigned to David
Done Sept 25, 2014
>
>
I wish I spent less time worrying
about keeping the farm together,
the pressure to be fair and yet
keep it together as a functioning
unit. Although I think that’s my
job to do.
My grandchildren’s health.
I wish I spent less time worrying
about being wrong or unliked.
If the work will ever get done on
time. †
>
Ag tools from
Available for iPhone and Android Mobile Phones.
Janita Van de Velde grew up on a farm near
Mariapolis, Man. She holds a bachelor of
science degree in agricultural economics
from the University of Manitoba, and has
worked for a financial institution since
graduating. She lives in Regina, Sask., with
her husband Roddy and their children Jack,
Isla and James. Her first novel, Postcards
Never Written, was the recipient of the
Saskatchewan Reader’s Choice Award and
also listed by CBC as one of the top funny
books in 2009. She donates a portion of
proceeds from the sale of her book to World
Vision to help those less fortunate. For more
information, or to order her book, visit her
website at www.janita.ca.
APRIL 8, 2014
grainews.ca /
39
Home Quarter Farm Life
SINGING GARDENER
Sharing tomato and RLS emails
Plus, a reader wants to know where to get Ogallala strawberry plants
TED
MESEYTON
H
owdy again good people and thanks for
landing on the Singing
Gardener page. No
matter where you are on your
journey as a gardener you’re
always welcome on my runway.
Fruits of the vine are certainly the
essence of summer and I’ll share
emails with more tomato talk.
First though — a request from
a strawberry grower and another
reader’s experience with restless
leg syndrome.
QUESTION?
Is there anyone out there among
our family of Grainews readers
with Ogallala strawberry plants
for sale, for barter or exchange for
something else? Clark Reed writes
in his email:
Hi Ted, We enjoy your page
in Grainews! We are looking for
an older strawberry plant called
Ogallala and can’t find a dealer,
so do you know of any nurseries
that sell Ogallala plants or maybe
some of your readers have plants
they would be able to spare.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Clark.
We live in Trochu, Alta. which
is 45 min. east of Olds, Alta.
We’re on the open prairie near
the Red Deer River. We’re home
gardeners working in raised
beds mostly. We are suffering
from the seed catalogue’s habit
of always turfing out the old
favourites for some new seed
that doesn’t taste as good to us.
We have lost our favourite pea,
Improved Stratagem and our
best canning bean, the original
Roma. The Roma II had no flavour for us. Well, enough complaining. Thanks again, Clark
and Marilyn Reed in Trochu,
Alta. Phone 403-442-2889.
SUE
ARMSTRONG
LOVE HEARING
FROM YOU
Do you have a story about a
farm or home-based business?
How about some household
management tips? Does
someone in the family have a
special-diet need? Share some
of your meal ideas.
Send them to FarmLife,
1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg,
Man. R3H 0H1. Phone 1-800665-0502 or email susan@
fbcpublishing.com. Please
remember we can no longer
return photos or material. †
Sue Armstrong
STRAWBERRY ROAN
... recorded by Canada’s great,
late Wilf Carter also comes to
mind. The song is about a horse
of a roan colour having a mixture
of bay, chestnut or sorrel shades
with spots of grey or white interspersed on its coat. Now back to
the request at hand.
If any gardener can help out
the Reeds please give them a call.
Ogallala is a cross between a hybrid
and a wild Rocky Mountain berry,
making it very cold tolerant with
blossoms that are fairly frost resistant. Ogallala is especially recommended for northern-tier gardeners.
Meanwhile, I, Ted, had a chance
to speak with a representative at
T&T Seeds in Winnipeg who indicated Ogallala strawberry plants are
not available this year. However,
T&T does have Fort Laramie,
another everbearing strawberry
described as extremely hardy with
excellent vigour, a heavy fruiter of
large, scarlet-red berries and excellent runner production.
Regardless of variety, strawberries
are traditionally started from bare
root plants that should be set out
as soon as soil can be worked in
early spring. It’s recommended to
pinch off all flowers during the first
growing season, allowing plants to
build strong roots. The exception is
flowers on newly planted everbearing varieties. A few blossoms can be
left on after Canada Day for a fall
crop, but harvest is usually sparse
the first year. Well there you have it
Grainews readers. Let’s move from
the strawberry patch to the next
email.
FROM THE QUEEN CITY
A Regina reader writes:
Enjoy your page — all is of much
interest. In reference to your Feb.
11, 2014 column pertaining to restless legs. My aunt to no end had
restless legs. She was prescribed
a medication that is reserved for
people with malaria that really did
work. I think restless leg syndrome
is caused by mosquito bites. This
became evident after a very busy
bunch of insects made life anything
but enjoyable, therefore, malaria
medication. It was prescribed by a
general practitioner. The druggist
asked the patient when she got
malaria, to which she replied that
indeed she did not have malaria
and the druggist told her this is the
medication prescribed for malaria.
She passed away a number of years
ago, so cannot give name of med.
Perhaps a druggist can be of some
assistance. I find that by raising
my feet at bedtime I can get some
relief. My discomfort has decreased
in the past year.
Did you know that there are
about 23 types of moss? I just
loved walking down the back road
and along fencelines and checking
stones, and the north side of trees.
At one time, the early pioneer
women used moss on baby’s butt,
but also was a method of direction
if you were lost. Moss grows on the
north side. I had moss at the back
of my farmhouse. It was a fantastic colour of green that would
change as it matured. It only grew
where there were ideal conditions.
Despite that brutal March cold,
new calves dared brave the snow
and cold. A lot of extra work, but
PHOTO: RICHTERS HERBS
This may come as a surprise but low-growing dill varieties make excellent companion plants dispersed here
and there among nearby tomatoes. Shown is Ella dill that is densely leafy, bushier and short enough to even
grow in pots. Other dwarf varieties include Fernleaf dill and Monia dill. Check for these at local garden centres
and seed displays in your area or phone Richters Herbs at 1-800-668-4372; www.Richters.com.
then, what is challenging and not
enjoyable except of course farming. The tragic loss of bees both
domestic and now the native species gives cause for concern. No
insects, no cross-pollination, and
then what will mankind do? I
thoroughly enjoy your column.
Enjoy your week. (name withheld by request)
MORE ON THE SUBJECT OF RLS
Researchers have puzzled for
decades over this curious condition called restless legs syndrome
and offered little explanation why
some folks have difficulty keeping
still at night. More recent studies
suggest that RLS may be triggered
by immune system disorders associated with excessive inflammation
in the body. Based on that theory,
episodes of inflammation and RLS
may be helped, reduced or controlled by avoiding and/or eliminating
sources of inflammation from certain foods and medications. Follow
guidelines prescribed by your physician and dietitian. Inflammatory
contributors include processed
foods, cured meats, refined carbohydrates and sugar. Ask your
health-care provider about taking anti-inflammatory and calming supplements such as calcium
and magnesium, herbal valerian,
ginger, curcumin, omega-3s and
B vitamins especially 6, 9 and 12.
Besides fish and walnuts, antiinflammatory vegetables to include
in your diet are beets, carrots, leafy
greens, peppers, tomatoes and all
kinds of berries and cherries.
Speaking of cherries, the
University of Saskatchewan has pioneered and introduced an amazing
group of Prairie-hardy cherry trees
such as Carmine Jewel, Crimson
Passion, Cupid, Juliet and Romeo.
These are available at nurseries
across the Prairies and elsewhere
in Canada. All the more reason to
have your own home orchard and
garden. There’s nothing finer nor
more pure than homegrown.
CURCUMIN BRIEFLY EXPLAINED
It’s a substance in turmeric
and both words are often interchanged. In India especially, turmeric is used to treat many health
conditions. It is believed to have
anti-inflammatory, antioxidant
and perhaps even anti-cancer
properties. Keep in mind that
most studies are done in the laboratory. It’s too early to draw final
conclusions although ongoing
research continues to confirm turmeric’s health benefits. Turmeric
does have years of traditional use
and some preliminary research is
convincing. There’s a tremendous
revival of interest in old folk remedies especially when a person is
ailing now.
FAITHFUL READERS
… help lead me in the direction
of things that I write about. Louise
Plante emailed the following in
early March:
Hi Ted — I am from St. Paul,
Alberta, which is two hours north
of Edmonton — one hour south
of Cold Lake — and 1-1/2 hours
northwest of Lloydminster. My
all-time favourite tomato is the
Hy-Beef 9904 VFT, then the Jetsetter
is very good and another old-timer
is the Big Beef Hybrid. Have had
good results with the Sun King but
seeds are not available now. The
Debut was another good tomato
with the smaller vines loaded with
large fruit but the seeds are not in
the catalogues this year.
I have been growing the big Beefs
and 9904s for well over 30 years
(probably 40). I have been gardening since 1957 when we first married. I have the perfect garden for
tomatoes — bush on the north
side so they get sunshine and no
winds from the north and west. I
start them at the end of March —
and plant them deep. I even use a
posthole auger to dig the holes. I
break off the bottom leaves and in
the ground they go when there is
no more risk of frost — usually close
to Farmer’s Day. In Alberta, this
was always on the second Friday in
June. Schools were closed and it was
picnic time for farmers. Back when
my children were growing up in the
’60s and ’70s we often transplanted
the tomatoes in the garden in the
forenoon then off we’d go to a local
lake to join in with friends for a
wiener roast. Now the holiday has
been lost. Agriculture has taken the
back seat of the economy.
Next email comes from Barbara
Kaiser, Thorhild, Alberta. She writes:
Hi Ted: There is always news
about tomatoes and here I have
a little tidbit of my own experiments. Last year I planted one
extra beefsteak tomato plant in a
bucket. I wanted to see if I could
get the plant to overwinter. You
know how it is in the Prairies. At
end of summer if the plant is frozen, you cannot take cuttings anymore. There’s just one night with
a little frost and then plants buckle
all over — afterwards weeks of fine
and warm weather. This plant I
rescued before the cold. It came
in the house and over the winter
grew slowly, but continuously.
Last week I trimmed the big
plant back and had some wonderful cuttings, all approx. 10 inches
long. I left only a small crown
of leaves on them and put them
up to the neck in water. Rooting
started over the whole length of
stem after two days. After further
root development I will transplant
them in one-gallon pots and hope
I’m some weeks ahead, especially
after we seem to be so late this
year. The long rooted stem will
grow to a big root ball.
If you hold it worthwhile go
ahead. Share with your readers!
You really should think about the
possibility to put all your garden
tips of the past on a CD. Take
care of your green thumb. Have a
great day. Barbara Kaiser, Thorhild,
Alberta, one hour north-northeast
of Edmonton. †
This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener
and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie,
Man. Again: Thank you for stopping by. You
are just what the garden doctor ordered.
The next best dates for seeding flowering
annuals and tomatoes are April 13, 14, 15, 16,
May 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 2014. When it’s
Grainews renewal time you can reach one
of our friendly receptionists on the other end
of the line by dialing 1-800-665-0502. It’s one
sure way for us to stay connected. My email
address is [email protected].
B:10.25”
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More power to you.