AgriPost March 25 2016

March 25, 2016 1The Agri Post

By Les Kletke

Canola is steeling a pagefrom the book of wine orchocolate by differentiatingthe resulting oil grown fromarea to area. “It is just like with grapesthe resulting products have adifferent taste because of theenvironment it is grown in,”said Megan Ellis an educationstudent at the University ofManitoba who is looking for-ward to returning to theCanola Learning Center atKelburn Farms this summer. The three oils she offeredvisitors to the booth at Agri-culture Comes to the Citywere from the same variety ofcanola but grown inGrandview, East Selkirk andWinkler. Just as with wine, thedifference is referred to asTerroir. “The difference comesfrom different weather condi-tions, soil types and a num-ber of other factors,” saidEllis. The three oils werecrushed in Manitoba at a coldpress process plant. “Visitors ask about the coldcrush process and like the dif-ference in taste,” said Ellis.“They see that they might beused for different uses fromsalad dressing to dipping for

Canola Grown andProcessed Like a Fine Wine

bread when mixed with somebalsamic vinegar.” She said there are no plansfrom the Canola Growers tomarket a Christmas basket ofthe various oils but it is some-thing a number of visitorshave mentioned. “It is a bitlike wine but different in thatcanola oil is not carried overfrom year to year, so we don’tsee there being a specific vin-tage from year to year, but forspecial occasions consumersmight enjoy the difference inoil and have a preference forone produced in a specificarea,” said Ellis. She said that visitors werealso interested in the recipecards available at the booththat included an easy way toprepare fresh salad dressing.The three oils with distinctivelabels are being carried by RedRiver Co-op stores and themarketing potential will beevaluated later. Ellis has not had many con-sumer questions aboutGMOs this year. “I had morequestions about GMO pro-duction last year,” said Ellis.“This year the emphasis wasmuch more on nutrition andthe cold crush process.” “The fact that these oilswere entirely produced in

Manitoba made them moreattractive, they were grown,crushed and bottled here wassomething visitors reallyliked.” The approval by theHeart and Stroke Foundation

has aided in canola oil ap-proval from consumers aswell. “We have been workingwith them and it is somethingthat visitors ask about.”

Megan Ellis explains the significance of subtle changes in Canolatastes due to the regional topography.

By Dan Guetre

Creating a better beef herd which in turn creates morevalue for ranchers in both domestic and export markets isthe goal of a $1 million investment from the federal gov-ernment to the Canadian Beef Breeds Council. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food LawrenceMacAulay recently announced the $1 million investmentby the Government of Canada to increase adoption ofgenomic technologies in Canada’s cattle sector. The Canadian Beef Breeds Council hopes to demon-strate to producers the use and value of improving beefherds through genotyping. The project will make genomictesting available for the various breeds at a reduced cost,increasing adoption by producers. Determining the rightgenetic mix in their herds will allow producers to increasetheir return on investment, while accurately predicting traitsthat benefit consumers and the environment. Improving the genetic beef seed stock sector could be akey factor in domestic and international competitivenessto an industry that is already worth $33 billion to the Ca-nadian economy. “Canada produces some of the best genetics in the worldand this is recognized around the globe,” said DavidBolduc, President of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council.“It is important that we continue to invest in research inemerging technologies such as genomics so we can main-tain this pole position and to give producers here in Canadatools with which they can accurately improve the efficien-cies of their production.”

Canada’s Angus breeders will benefit from the Govern-ment of Canada’s investment of $1 million to increaseadoption of genomic technologies in Canada’s cattle sec-tor according to their national association. Determining the right genetic mix in their herds will al-low Canadian Angus producers to increase their returnon investment, while accurately predicting traits that ben-efit consumers and the environment. As of April 1, the Canadian Angus Association will

Promoting GenomicTechnology inCattle Sector

Federal Funding Enables CanadianAngus Association to Offer Members

Reduced Genetic Testing Fee

Continued on page 2

Photo by Les Kletke

March 25, 20162 The Agri Post

March 25, 2016 The Agri Post2

offer its members the Zoetis i50K genomic test which in-cludes SNP parentage verification and a prediction of ge-netic merit for numerous traits at a reduced rate of $40 pertest. Genomic information from the Zoetis i50K test is incorpo-rated into animals’ Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) tocalculate more accurate EPDs for them. This is typically valu-able on younger animals that have low accuracy EPDs. EPDsare expressions of the relative genetic merit of beef cattle forvarious traits. EPDs are used to compare the predicted prog-eny performance between two bulls (or females) within abreed, regardless of age or herd location. “The Canadian Angus Association is thrilled with how ourmembers benefit from this funding,” says Kajal Devani, Di-rector of Breed Development. “Genomic marker panels areused to increase the accuracies for EPDs on animals withlittle performance data. We are grateful to have governmentsupport to offer our members increased access to tools thatcan help them to make informed breeding decisions.” “We are always grateful to have government support to-wards the adoption of new technology,” adds CEO RobSmith. “Reducing the rate of the Zoetis i50K test makes thetest available to members who could not otherwise afford totest their young animals as well as allowing members to testmore of their herd. Increased genetic testing and the result-ing genetic improvements will help Canadian Angus Asso-ciation members maintain or increase their competiveness inboth the domestic and international seedstock markets.

Continued from page 1

Angus continued...

By Les Kletke

Marcia Deneke is a Conservation Agronomist withthe United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)based in South Dakota working mainly with covercrops but at this time of year her work expands toinclude the overall health of soils. Deneke stresses that soil health is not a short-term

issue. “Soil health is anongoing process,” shesaid. “It is not a matter ofa onetime tune up andthen forgetting about it.” She said that at thistime of year producersconcentrate on seedselection and choose thebest varieties to maximize

production on their farm but the best crops beginbefore that. “It is about putting that good seed in ahealthy soil, a soil that contains living organisms andhas the structure to allow for proper drainage andmovement of nutrients in the soil,” she explained. Deneke uses two soil samples in a demonstrationaccompanying her talk, one from a zero till farm and onefrom conventionally tilled soil that has a much greatdegree of compaction. She places clods from both soils

Flax in Rotation Serves Well for Soil Healthin cylinders of water at the beginning of her presenta-tion. The compacted solid breaks down and dissolvesmuch more quickly. The minimum tilled soil clod keepsits shape for the half hour talk. “That is what we want,”she said. “It shows the soil has structure that isholding it together; a soil that has binders in it is ahealthy soil.” Deneke said that increasing organic matter and livingorganisms in the soil cannot be achieved overnight orin one growing season but plans should be considerednow for improving the health of the soil along with thecrops produced and the tillage practices. Her recommendations are to consider crop rotationsthat will increase the organic matter as well as the livingbeings in the soil. “We sometimes count on commercialfertilizer to eat up crop residue, but if we have enoughliving beings in the soil that will happen naturally,” shesaid. She is not an opponent of commercial fertilizersbut advocates for an overall program that includes areturn of as much trash to the soil as possible and stillhaving good conditions to plant in. She has done work with planting of cover crops seedat a lower rate to help hold snow on the field throughthe winter. One of the crops she said shows greatpromise, flax. “It is seeded at a low rate so you don’thave a lot of fibre to deal with in the spring but it doesstand up tall and holds the snow well.

“...a soil thathas binders

in it is ahealthy soil.”


By Harry Siemens

February 29, 2016, saw farm-ers on a field from the Co-opin Mitchell, 3 miles northdown Centre Street, and 1 3/4miles west on road 39N pro-testing, blocking ManitobaHydro contractors’ equip-ment from moving from fieldto field. The Manitoban farmers cre-ated a human chain to blockManitoba Hydro from onesite of Bipole III constructionthat weekend, arguing thework threatens their crops andlivestock. The farm in ques-tion belongs to Tim Wiensand his father Alvin who arevery much concerned aboutthe spread of disease in cropsand livestock operations. At issue for farmers arebiosecurity protocols. Whilethe protesters eventually lefttheir posts, the protests con-tinue. Jurgen Kohler, a farmer andChair of the Manitoba BipoleIII Landowners Committeesaid the reason for the pro-test is that Manitoba Hydrocontractors are not living upto their own biosecurity pro-tocol. “We’re trying to en-force the much higher stan-dards than that, a negotiatedbiosecurity protocol stan-dard. That is what we want to

Biosecurity Has Farmers Concerned

negotiate with Manitoba Hy-dro at the table, and we arestill asking for that, to get to anegotiation table, but in themeantime we’re holding Hy-dro accountable for their ownbiosecurity rules,” saidKohler. What upsets him is the con-tractors are not even follow-ing Manitoba Hydro andgovernment’s protocols. “Itshouldn’t be our responsibil-ity to enforce their contrac-tors that is Manitoba Hydro’sresponsibility,” said Kohler.“That is the big issue and thatis what started the standoff.As you know that area has alarge concentration of live-stock, hog barns especially,and in this field that they’veentered. Alvin Wiens senior

has confirmed that manurewas applied in the fall, so thespread of the PEDv is a hugeconcern.” Farmers were appalled andconcerned, especially on theFriday of that weekend,when the machines drove inthe wet conditions as theycrossed from field to field.Manitoba Hydro’s actionsneed addressing by apply-ing rigorous cleaning proce-dures and the contractorsare not doing all three clean-ing steps. “They’re skippingsometimes the middle step,sometimes the first step, andjust applying disinfectantand if you apply the disin-fectant onto something thatstill has soil on it, that is nogood and won’t be effective

at all,” he said. “That is ourmain objective right now tomake sure they follow theirown rules.” On Saturday night, the groupof farmers blocked them fromcoming in because they re-fused to wash the drill bit mov-ing from field to field. On Sat-urday, the group’s goal was tomake sure the contractors’wire-brush and cleaned the bitand equipment to remove themain dirt, then pressure washit down, and then apply thedisinfectant, he added. The contractors are not will-ing to do that so the bit justsat there resulting in no work.“They are causing their ownproblems, we’re just holdingthem accountable, there is noone else to hold them ac-countable because we don’thave a third party to do that,”said Kohler. Dan Mazier, President ofKeystone Agricultural Pro-ducers, who farms near Bran-don, said the wholebiosecurity issue is what con-cerns everybody right from thestart. As Bipole III, develop-ments came down the line,probably up north there werenot as many livestock opera-tions. At first, they talked aboutclub root, always present, mak-ing that the main concern as

far as spreading the disease.“Getting into intensive or anylivestock operation for thatmatter, you’re starting to talkabout spreading diseases,”said Mazier. “That is where itgets pretty tricky. You haveto do the right thing; there areno ands, ifs, or buts about it.” Mazier said consumers andprocessors alike are asking

these industries to have avery high standard ofbiosecurity. Bipole III Landowners Com-mittee Chair Kohler said it wassupposed to be part of thenegotiation, to have some-body independent monitoringthis so the contractors are do-ing what they are supposedto do.

The contractor’sequipment hiredby ManitobaHydro whichfarmers say arenot gettingcleaned byfollowingbiosecurityprotocol.

Group of farmers protesting and blocking equipment frommoving onto their field until Manitoba Hydro’s governmentcontractors follow properly negotiated biosecurity protocols.


While farmers in the Mitchell area spent around the clock standing out intheir field protecting their livelihood and farming from diseases because ofbad biosecurity protocols the last weekend in February, another groupwas announcing the winners of Manitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmers inWinnipeg. Jason and Laura Kehler of Carman, potato and grain farmers from theCarman area are Manitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmers.

The other two nominated couplesincluded Paige and Marcus Dueck ofKleefeld and Ben and Lisa Heide ofBoissevain. The Kehlers say much ofthe passion on their farm focusesaround family, referring to the workof past generations and the hope fortheir two children in the future. It is so good to see these young

couples, most whose parents are my age or younger to see them carryingthe farming and food production torch on and on, involving their childrentoday, so they can feed those of tomorrow. At the same time, the other article about the peaceful protest nearMitchell in southeast Manitoba, the Alvin and Tim Wiens farm gettingsupport from other farmers to help protect their soil and hog farms fromgetting contaminated with disease because government isn’t following thebiosecurity protocol. It is sad when people in authority, on one hand would stand up onsoapboxes, shouting loudly about safety, screaming about poor methodsraising food, threatening court action so their contractors can dig basesfor Bipole III hydro line, power from which isn’t to serve Manitobans, butsold maybe at discount rates to American interests. I asked for some pictures from Tim Wiens in this case, and received aresponse from his wife Roxanne. “I’m trying to support and help where Ican but mostly I’m home with our 4 children aged 4, 2, 1 and 1 month old.So I’m up in the middle of the night still feeding the baby and lack sleeptoo. This morning [Monday] is because Tim was in and out of the houseand all the interviews and he had to clear snow and his phone is alwaysbuzzing as he is trying to coordinate everything. Normally he is with us atbreakfast lunch and supper and of course, these last 3 days he hasn’t

How do you see other people in the same business as yourself? I attended the Love Manitoba Food event this past week and found itinteresting that the event was organized by two of the provinces food pro-cessors. While talking about the event they indicated that it was not a greatmoneymaker, though they did charge vendors for the privilege of displaying

and they did charge a $20 entrance fee for the 400 or so who choose to come and sample the wares. Pete indicated that it was mostly a break-even and the money if any left at the end provided a poor hourly wage. Bessie was honest and said it was about seeing the people again, and she viewed it has a house party that hadgotten too big for her basement. Both agreed the group benefitted from working together and having a platform topromote and sell their products. How do you view those in the same business? I have been a member of a dozen or so professional organizationsover the years, Broadcasters, Writers, Speakers and a few more. Many times, we have been bidding for the same jobsand in serious competition but nearly always, I have met great people and gained from the association. It became clearer to me when the president of the Speakers Association said the group was like a family and hadsome great people and some who were CENSORED. “Choose the ones you like and work with them learn from them,help them,” she said. It is great advice. The business of agriculture is getting smaller and smaller, we need to work together to tell our story, and there aregreat examples of that throughout this issue. Farmers have long viewed each other as the greatest source of information, and no one can deny watching whathappens on the other side of the road and using it on your own farm. The best research is local research and whatthe neighbour does is as local as can be. We are also in competition with that guy across the road. If you ever doubt it, visit your real estate office and seewhat the price of land has done. Land prices are the input that has risen the most in cost in the last 40 years and the only one farmers are responsiblefor. You can’t blame the multinational seed companies for that. But when the bidding for land is over we have to worktogether to tell the story of this industry. The guy across the road really is our ally and a great source of information, although he may be tough to take atsome times, like when spring run-off drains our way, but we do need to work together because a house dividedcannot stand in these times.

Competitors or Co-operators

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is receiv-ing $4 million from the federal government for three inno-vative projects. The funds are intended to support a Canadian industrythat is the world’s seventh largest beef exporter and thesecond largest exporter of grain-fed beef, with beef exportsvalued at $2.2 billion in 2015. The three projects include $2,601,500 million from theAgriMarketing Assurance Stream toward the developmentof tools to enable end-users (packers, retail food service),consumers and the industry to have easy access to beefproduct information. Under AgriRisk Initiatives, fundingof $380,834 will be used for a feasibility study into the useof satellite-based technology to track and measure forageand pasture production for cattle producers. This studywill lay the basis for developing field-level production-based forage insurance for producers. An additional $1,045,510 under Agrilnnovation’s Researchand Development (R&D) Stream will be used to work withAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists to enhancethe quality of Canadian beef using Computer Vision Sys-tems (CVS) measurements. The CVS will image beef car-casses to predict and measure the tenderness, dark cut-ting, lean yield, bruising, and fat colour of beef. “Innovation drives continuous improvement in the beefindustry and funding forward-thinking projects like theseensures continued progress in key areas of sustainableproduction, quality, and business risk management to thebenefit of the entire value chain, including consumers,”said CCA President, Dave Solverson.

Going Hand-in-Hand But in Opposite Directionsbeen. The kids miss him, he misses them too, and I see that and feelthat. I know the kids don’t understand and this is just something weneed to deal with now. We are doing this for them, their future. Eventhough I understand, it’s difficult for me too. I am thankful for thehelp of my mother in law and sister in law and my mom with the kidsand thankful for all the supporters.” Let me take you back to only a few short years ago, when the firstPED virus case broke out in Ontario, following shortly after that inManitoba. Every hog producer and their next of kin, suppliers, andprocessors all kept their fingers crossed, praying if you like, thatwhen you walk into your hog barn in the morning, there isn’t a virusoutbreak. A horrible feeling, I’m sure, and then the industry mounts acombined effort, with the provincial NDP government to make surethe producers and industry alike, the transportation people, and pighandlers all design a biosecurity system, second to none, implement-ing that at all, levels and places you didn’t know existed. In fact, my daughter asked me on the weekend, dad when can yougo to a pig farm so my boys can see the baby pgs like I did growingup. I say, I’m sorry because the days of me going into a pig barn aregone, for the most part. Then along comes Manitoba Hydro/NDP government with theircontractors putting up this power line, designed to carry power tothe United States, but crossing some of the best farmland in theworld, reducing land values and the like. However, that isn’t so muchthe issue of this family protecting their land. The issue is the fact thecontractors aren’t following their own biosecurity rules to make sureclub root infecting canola, and PEDv affecting pigs isn’t transferredfrom one field to another. Jurgen Kohler, Chair of the Bipole Landowners Committee sayswhen we asked the contractors for the cleaning records for thisequipment, they said well we have them. “We said we want to see them and make sure you’re cleaning theequipment properly, well they tell us our standard operating proce-dures don’t require us to do that,” he says. On one hand, we celebrate the positive side, and we should, on theother hand, we’re fighting those same people on the other side. Gofigure!

Cattlemen RCattlemen RCattlemen RCattlemen RCattlemen Receive Feceive Feceive Feceive Feceive FundingundingundingundingundingSupport for PSupport for PSupport for PSupport for PSupport for Projectsrojectsrojectsrojectsrojects


by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected] Raising cattle in Canada is challenging. On some daysthe troubles producers face seem endless. But two par-ticular problems in the industry – a shortage of both labour and labour mobility – havecaught the eye of Saskatchewan’s Carrie Kotylak. In a recent Ag-Econ thesis paper, she outlines the issue and predicts serious long-termconsequences if the problem is not addressed. With her husband, Clayton, Ms. Kotylakhas been an active partner in a mixed grain and cattle operation for 20 years. A misconception in the mind of the public and particularly policy makers leads them tothink that unskilled labour can get the job done. Historically, because of the isolatednature of the way cattle production developed in western Canada, the required skill setsand knowledge were passed down from family members rather than through a more normal“employer-employee relationship”. Kotylak postulates that because of this people andpoliticians either “forgot” that skilled labour was required for cow-calf operations or maybenever realized it in the first place.She makes a good point and drives it home. “Working with and handling large livestockthat have innate maternal and herding instincts and doing so under harsh and sometimescatastrophic conditions, requires specialized skills that are no longer in great supply onthe Canadian Prairies.” Another misconception is that this labour shortage can be dealt with domestically. Thatwould be nice, but it’s hard to find young people who want to work anywhere in ruralCanada, regardless of whether or not they are skilled. The thesis paper points out, “Inwestern Canada we have seen a consistent pull on our labour force from rural communitiesto resource-rich areas.” And let’s not forget about the pull from urban areas as well. Kotylak concludes that, “The domestic Canadian labour market simply cannot fulfill theneed for the skilled and knowledgeable workers that are required in this sector.” Exacerbating this are both federal and provincial barriers to the movement of labour.Laws and regulations are generally set up, “In order to encourage local development andto protect the domestic labour markets.” The thesis proposes a sensible alternative. “Ratherthan ‘jurisdictional’ rights being enacted to regulate labour mobility, what is actuallyneeded is ‘sector’ rights in order to compel labour mobility.” So what about immigration and foreign workers? Immigration built Canadian agriculturein the first place, but that was a long time ago. Simply put, current government policies arejust not doing the job. As the Canadian Meat Council said in 2015, we need an, “Immigra-tion program that permits access to foreigners who possess specialized knowledge andskills when there is a clear and chronic shortage of Canadians with the requisite knowl-edge and skills.” Rather than quick “knee-jerk” reactions, we need a long-term approach to tackle theproblem.This presents both a problem and an opportunity. To satisfy both domestic and interna-tional consumption, the cattle industry in Canada has all sorts of potential for growth. It’sa hungry world. Kotylak believes that “There is virtually unlimited potential for Canada inthis export market. This unrealized capacity and the accompanying inability to realizelabour requirements, as it applies to the cow-calf production sector, is actually skewing theperception of the industry’s potential.” She’s probably right. In her concluding remarks, Carrie Kotylak makes an astute obser-vation. In this problem, “We see a clear example once again of Canada’s agriculturalindustry being defined by non-farmers.” She is absolutely correct here, and the conse-quences go well beyond cattle. “This not only leads to faulty and misconceived defini-tions of the industry’s requirements, but it also leads to the unfair negative impact uponthe development and competitive ability that this sector can achieve in both the domesticand international markets.”

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is adding $500 million to its ongoing commitment to a loanprogram aimed at helping young farmers become established in the industry. Launched in March 2012, FCC’s commitment to the Young Farmer Loan has grown to $2billion over four years, with almost 6,000 loans worth more than $1.3 billion approved, as ofDecember 31, 2015. “FCC is proud to support the next generation of farmers through every stage of theircareer,” said FCC President and CEO Michael Hoffort. “Products like the Young FarmerLoan can make a real difference for producers looking to enter the industry or grow theirbusiness.” The Young Farmer Loan provides qualified producers, under age 40, with loans of up to$500,000 to purchase or improve farmland and buildings. The loan includes variable lend-ing rates at prime plus 0.5 per cent, a special fixed rate if producers choose that avenue ofrepayment and no loan processing fees. Enabling young producers to borrow with no fees at affordable interest rates helps themdevelop a solid credit history and build their business. “The long-term success of Canadian agriculture relies heavily on our ability to attractand retain young, innovative people to the business of agriculture,” said LawrenceMacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “By helping the next genera-tion become established in this vital industry, FCC is fulfilling an important part of itsmandate and a key commitment of this government.” In 2014-15, FCC approved more than $2.4 billion in financing to farmers under age 40,representing more than one-quarter of the $8.6 billion in disbursements last year. For more information on the FCC Young Farmer Loan, visit fcc.ca/youngfarmerloan orproducers can call the local FCC office at 1-800-387-3232.

Cattle’s

FCC Adds $500 million toYoung Farmer Loan

People Problem


By Harry Siemens

Suncrest Colony nearSteinbach celebrated theopening of the first newbarn in Manitoba in the lastseven years on March 4. Jim Long, the President ofGenesus Genetics saidwhat makes the openingtruly extraordinary is thefact the new Suncrest sowbarn is the first new sowbarn in Manitoba in sevenyears. “Seven years is along time and it reflectssome of the dynamics af-fecting the Manitoba in-dustry, the US-Canada dol-lar exchange rate, M-COOL, industry low mar-gins, and a moratorium onnew sow barns imposed bythe Manitoba govern-ment,” said Long. “Thesefour points combined withgeneral lack of enthusiasmin the Manitoba swine in-dustry has led to next to nonew barn infrastructure in-vestment for the last de-cade.” He said this in itself leadsto an aging barn and equip-ment inventory and if thereis no new investment, it willnaturally lower productionas facilities go out of busi-ness. The price of newbarns is going up as new

Hog Barn Open House

Producers enjoyed touring the new sow barn withits new technology and equipment.

Bob Kleinsasser, Suncrest Colony Hog Boss, JasonManness, Director of Procurement Maple Leaf Foods,and Jim Long President of Genesus Genetics atSuncrest Colony sow barn open house.

building codes, animal wel-fare, and environmentalregulations, continue toadd costs. Bob Kleinsasser, the HogBoss at Suncrest, said theybuilt the new barn with thelatest technologies, BigDutchman ESF system,Gestal-feeding system inlactation and the latestequipment and feedersfrom Crystal Springs, aclose neighbour ofSuncrest. Several hundred peoplecame to the opening to seethe latest in sow barn tech-nology. “By nature, most ifnot all of us in the swineindustry are optimisticpeople,” said Long. “Wesaw a new barn built to lastwith the best technologydesigned by people whoknow pigs. It was fantasticto be with the SuncrestColony people as they cel-ebrated a big investment inthe future. Faith in them-selves and in the swine in-dustry.” Claude Vielfaure, theChief Operating Officerwith Hylife said, to main-tain the viability ofManitoba’s pork produc-tion and processing indus-tries, there is a need to re-place older hog finishing

barns and add new ones. Vielfaure said Maple Leafis running well below fullcapacity and, while Hylifeis running close to capac-ity, it could also use morepigs, and with an aging in-frastructure, maintainingthose barns costs moremoney. ”It’s been quite afew years that we haven’tbeen able to build barns inManitoba and so our facili-ties today are actually get-ting old,” he said. “Youneed to be replacing a cer-tain portion of your facul-ties on a yearly basis sowe’re way behind the 8-ballon that one.” Industry people at theOpen House kept talkingabout the importance of fi-nally getting a new barnbuilt and operating, but onein seven years is a far cryfrom what one person saidthe province needs, whichis more like 100, or even 200new barns just to stay upwith current production. Vielfaure said ManitobaPork’s research on the costof finishing barns showsit’s certainly at a biggerprice than it was 10 yearsago, because of cost ofconcrete, construction,wood and competitivenessout there on the construc-

tion side. “Cost of a finish-ing bam is probably closeto double in the last 10 to15 years and it’s a fairly sig-nificant number and so youneed to be able to pay itoff,” he said. “It’s not onlyabout building a barn butbeing competitive and be-ing able to pay for that fa-cility.” While good to see a new

sow barn, and inSuncrest’s case, theydidn’t have an option, butVielfaure said it’s not somuch about building sowbarns or nurseries, it’sabout finishing barns. Jason Manness, procure-ment manager of MapleLeaf Foods agrees with him.Building sow barns andshipping Isoweans, baby

piglets and 50 and 80pounds south, does noth-ing for the processing in-dustry in Manitoba. “Wehave over 3 million pigs ayear that go across the bor-der to the US that couldcertainly be finished inManitoba and make this in-dustry a lot more sustain-able and viable long term,”said Vielfaure.


By Joan Airey

More and more bull salesare accessible live on-linewith such companies asDirect Livestock Marketing(DLMS) that bases theirauction business on thetechnology and uses it tohelp both buyers and sell-ers connect. Many bulls are beingvideoed in the corral so pro-spective buyers can studythem on-line. As a result,sales are becoming morehigh tech making it easierfor cattlemen across thecountry to find the bull tosuit their breeding opera-tion. The 21st Cattleman’sConnection Black AngusBull sale in Brandon wasdedicated to the memory ofJack Hart who lost hisbattle with cancer recently.Jack and his wife Barbstarted the Cattleman’sConnection Bull saletwenty-one years ago andhave been the backbone ofthe sale producing topquality bulls. “I’m honoured to havehad the opportunity to get

Bull Sale Prices inAll Breeds Strong

to know Jack. In the fewshort years I have been ac-quainted with Jack; I haveknown him as a great cattle-man, a mentor and a veryspecial friend. Shall wehave a moment of silencein his memory,” said BarbAirey when opening thesale for the Hart family. A huge crowd attendedthe sale of one hundredand twenty three bulls with

an average price of $6,013and a sale gross of$739,600. Lot 61 ARY ClassicRemitall Rage son sold toMerit Cattle Company for$16,000. Lot 83 HBHCormac 33C Double Visionson sold to A & L Robbinsfor $15,000 and Lot 97 HBHCasino 8C Fortitude sonsold to Triple J Farms for$14,000.

A group of uniform bulls were available to buyers at theCattleman Connection Bull Sale in Brandon on March 4.

Photo by Joan Airey


By Les Kletke

Janet Irwin has a very di-rect strategy when speak-ing to consumers and rep-resenting the Egg Produc-ers of Manitoba. “We try to engage themin a game where they areanswering questions, andthen they are more comfort-able and begin to ask theirown questions.” Irwin isthe Marketing Specialistwith the producer groupand was staffing a displayat Agriculture in the City. She said that consumershave questions about thenutritional value of eggsand how they are pro-duced. “I did not encoun-ter any confrontationalpeople,” she said. “It wasquestions about how thehens are treated and peoplewere willing to listen andhad more questions.” She explained that thereis an advantage to havinga display in a place like theForks where consumers aremore at home. “They arecomfortable in their sur-roundings and feel betterasking questions,” shesaid. “It is not likely thatthey would visit a farm, orbe familiar with productionmethods.” She also had a large car-ton of eggs that had ques-tion on the back about eggsand their nutritional value.

Egg ProducersEducate at Forks

Janet Irwin engages consumers with a game to test their knowledge of eggs.

Photo by Les Kletke

“Questions like. ‘Is there adifference in the nutritionalvalue of brown eggs andwhite eggs’? I had one ladytell me she had never seenbrown eggs,” said Irwinwith a smile. Another ques-tion asked about differentfeeds affecting the colourof the yolk of an egg. Thosewith correct answers got asmall foam egg as prize. They were popular withyoung and not so youngvisitors. “We had a HighSchool come through thefirst day and they had pass-ports that had to be singedby the booths they visited,it was almost like a scaven-ger hunt,” said Irwin. “Andthey had very good ques-tions.” She puts great value inestablishing a relationshipwith the consumers of to-morrow. “It is good to getthem thinking about pro-duction methods becausethey are our clients of to-morrow and we have tohave their confidence.” According to Irwin whenproducer groups pay tohave a display space in ashopping centre, it may beone of the best and mostcost effective ways of get-ting the message of today’sagricultural productionmethods to a consumer. Shepointed out that now is thetime, especially as consum-ers are becoming less trust-

ing and more concernedabout the nutrient value oftheir food. Irwin said that she foundconsumers who were alsoconcerned about the trace-ability of their food. “Theyknow that eggs are not laidwith numbers on them butthey are aware of the trace-ability that process pro-vides, and the consumer oftoday is much more con-cerned about possibleproblems with their food.”

The European Union (EU) has voted in favor ofexpanding the current scope of the Canada-EU Or-ganic Equivalency Arrangement. Canadian certifiedorganic processed products that include importedingredients will now also be covered by the arrange-ment and will no longer require costly and time-con-suming double certification. Once certified theseimported products may bear the Canada OrganicLogo. The expanded scope of the arrangement will alsoinclude mutual recognition of EU and Canadian or-ganic wine standards as being equivalent. Some administrative steps remain before theamended EU regulation comes into force. It is antici-pated that the regulation will be published in the EUOfficial Journal by the end of March 2016. The EUregulation enters into force seven days after its offi-cial publication, at which time the revised Canada-EU Equivalency Arrangement will also come intoforce. Other country equivalency arrangements that arecurrently in place are with Costa Rica, Japan, Swit-zerland and the US.

Canada to Benefitfrom Expanded

Canada-EU OrganicEquivalency

Arrangement


By Les Kletke

Manitoba’s small food pro-cessors are finding they cando things together. “There is a feeling of work-ing together and seeing moreefforts from the marketing,rather than seeing each otheras competition,” said PeteFehr who operates GourmetInspirations a company thatsell sauces of his creation. “I love seeing these peopleagain,” said BessieHatizitrifonos who along withFehr organized the third an-nual Love Local Food eventheld at the Polo Park Inn onMarch 19. The two organizethe event that attracts 40Manitoba food processors and400 attendees. Those attending the eventpay $20 at the door to wanderthrough the ballroom, samplethe wares of the exhibitors,and enjoy a glass of wine. Hatizitrifonos said that shehas met many of the people at

Food Processors Better Together

By Dan Guetre

2015 was the busiest yearon record for Plant Breeders’Rights (PBR) related activitiesaccording to Todd Hyra,SeCan Business Manager forwestern Canada. SeCan works as a memberof the Canadian Plant Tech-nology Agency (CPTA), es-tablished to protect intellec-tual property rights pertain-ing to crop development. According to Hyra, last yearCPTA found over 400 adver-tisements for selling seed onboth online sites and printedpublications that required in-vestigation and follow-up toensure the seller had legal rightsto sell the seed. “SeCan alone had 40 casesthat resulted in legal action andto date 20 of these cases havebeen completed,” explainedHyra. The balance of the casesare still in the process ofawaiting a ruling. It takes from6 months to over a year de-pending on the complexity. Financial penalties can bestiff. The largest case to date(in 2016) was settled for$150,000. With governments backingaway from developing newseed varieties, private invest-ment dollars are needed to im-prove seed stock, advance-ments in hardier breeds andimproved crop yields. Re-search is expensive and thedollars will dry up if the fi-nancial return is eroded. While SeCan is taking en-forcement seriously, educatingthe farming community onwhy it is a priority and itseems to be successful. “Feed-back, by and large, has beenpositive,” said Hyra. Fromtradeshow booths to farmers’

Pete Fehr and Bessie Hatizitrifonos put the final touches to Love Manitoba Foods entrance at thePolo Park Inn. The event attracted 400 to sample and visit with processors of Manitoba foodproducts.

Photo by Les Kletke

Farmer’s Markets and similarevents over the past couple ofyears and there is a feeling ofcommunity in the group. Shemet Fehr at the St. NorbertMarket 4 years ago, and de-cided to do something to-gether. “He liked my energy,”she said with a chuckle.” Andwanted to do something to-gether so we decide to do anevent that would help thesmall producers of Manitobafoods and this is what came ofit.” They are both members ofFood Matters Manitoba andcontributors to the blog aboutthe industry and what is newin Manitoba Food Processing.Both credit the Manitoba De-partment of Agriculture Foodand Rural Development withhelping them and many of theirexhibitors get started. They both laugh at the namechanges the Department hasgone through with inclusion ofRural Development as well as

adding food, but they do notmake light of the help they havegotten from people in the De-partment. “As well as theUniversity of Manitoba,” saidHatizitrifonos. “I haveworked with the Departmentof Food Science there and theyhave been great in helping meget a new product to marketand having a kitchen to pre-pare it in.” While both have back-grounds in the restaurant busi-ness, it is very different. Fehrwho competed the culinaryarts program at W.C. MillerCollegiate in Altona went onto work at the St. CharlesCountry Club, “I was alwaysback of the house, and Bessiewas front of the house.” “I spent more than 20 yearsin the restaurant business as ahostess and manager,” saidHatizitrifonos who grew upand worked in Toronto beforerelocating to Manitoba andstarting Bessie’s Best.

Seed Companies TSeed Companies TSeed Companies TSeed Companies TSeed Companies Taking PBRaking PBRaking PBRaking PBRaking PBREnforcement SeriousEnforcement SeriousEnforcement SeriousEnforcement SeriousEnforcement Serious

yards, Hyra said the majorityof producers understand thevalue of respecting intellectualrights. “There are some outthere profiting on the backs ofothers and, generally, produc-ers believe this to be unfair.” SeCan is a consortium ofover 700 independent Cana-dian seed businesses engagedin seed production, process-ing and marketing. Hyra ex-plains that about 650 of theseare family owned seed opera-tions.

“The goal of Plant Breed-ers’ Rights is to encourage in-vestment in plant breeding inCanada. If farmers want ac-cess to the best varieties in theworld, we need to rewardbreeders’ time and invest-ment,” said Hyra. PBR is critically importantfor public breeders, includinguniversities and smaller pri-vate breeders who may nothave the resources or traitsnecessary to utilize otherforms of protection.”


By Joan Airey

Everyone is thinking springand gardening. Our snow haddisappeared but overnight wereceived a fresh blanket of it.I’m not complaining becausewe will need the moisture atsome point. Has anyone checked outGrowVeg an English website Ifound on Facebook? Mycousin tried one of the tips bycutting off the bottom of greenonions and planting the roots,sounds like he got carried awayand now his wife calls it hisjungle, they have an endlesssupply of green onions to addto salads. I have started multiplier on-ions under grow lights using a3’ by 3’ planter to grow them.I also decided to try growinggreen onions from the roots ofones I purchased in the storeand it is working but minearen’t as advanced as his are. Another idea I found on thesite is growing potatoes inblack tubs that trees come infrom the nursery. Since I had,a few tubs around I decided totry it and they sprouted in thecold room. I couldn’t believehow quickly they grew. I purchased Commercial T5EnviroGro lights last yearfrom Vesey seeds to start mybedding plants. They are ex-pensive to buy but I enjoy

Time to Think Gardening!

Green onions grown from green onion roots purchased in agrocery store, some already over five inches tall.

growing plants and openingmy greenhouse in March al-though most years it meansan expensive heating bill. SunBlaster lights are cheaper andyou can grow plants underthem, they are available locallyat garden centres or throughseed catalogues. Numerous seed companies

have websites where you canfind their catalogues on-lineand they have a wealth of in-formation on gardening foranyone who visits theirwebsite. The new Prairie Gar-den is available now and I

bought a copy at LindenbergSeeds in Brandon. It is chalkfull of fruit tree and berry in-formation plus numerous reci-pes for prairie fruits. Last yearI lost most of my fruit to a lateJune frost so I’m hoping

Mother Nature is kinder to usthis year and gives us a boun-tiful crop of apples, cherries,pears and maybe a few apri-cots and saskatoons. Mygrandchildren enjoy eatingraspberries and strawberriesstraight from the garden. This year I plan to try grow-ing a fruit new to me, aSunberry that I found the seedfor in Vesey Seeds. It is sup-posed to be sweeter than aHuckleberry and good in pies.Rain Treasure is a strawberryyou start it from seed that I’mtrying to plant in containersand give some plants to mygrandchildren to have on theirdecks. Lindenberg’s has a large va-riety of grapes this year intheir catalogue I’m hoping totry the Concord and Sover-eign Coronation. Last year mygrapes produced a small croponce again because of the latefrost.

Cantaloupe and Honeydewcan be grown in Manitoba andtaste so delicious ripened onthe vine. They are easy tostart indoors at the beginningof May. A gardening friendthinks it is economical to buya couple at your local green-house to plant outdoors whenany chance of frost has past. Hope everyone encouragestheir children and grandchil-dren to garden. The youngesttwo of our grandchildren whowere five and two grew pump-kins and giant flowers in ourgarden last year. Every timethey were in the garden theywould count how manypumpkins they had on theplants and how much taller thegiant sunflowers were. Thisyear they are trying their handat growing watermelon too. May everyone’s garden bebountiful this year.

Potatoes planted in the first week of March growing underlights in a black nursery pot on March 17 take over the planter.

By Joan Airey

“I write under the pen name Winnie and formed the com-pany ‘Winnie’s Winning Ways’ because my love of cookingstarted in my grandmother’s kitchen. We often made bread,buns and donuts together. On occasion, I remember going todeliver baking to less fortunate neighbours. Mom sensed mylove of cooking and gave me plenty of opportunities to ex-periment with different recipes and ingredients. Those earlypositive experiences in the kitchen gave me a lifelong passionfor cooking and sharing my knowledge of the art,” said ElaineEdel. Living on a farm gave Edel the space to grow a large gardenwhen feeding her family of seven. From time to time, whenstruggling with floods Edel sold her baking at the FarmersMarket and catered small groups. “When the drought of 1988hit it was the beginning of my website “Winnie’s WinningWays” and publishing cookbooks containing recipes I hadcreated over the years. When our granddaughter developeddiabetes at age thirteen I started creating recipes she could eat.Over the years I have published seven cookbooks,” said Edel. A new venture for Edel is selling one of her cookbooks toraise funds to help her niece and her husband who are helpingwith a sawmill going into Fiji so people can rebuild their

FFFFFarm Warm Warm Warm Warm Woman Helps Others with Poman Helps Others with Poman Helps Others with Poman Helps Others with Poman Helps Others with Profit from Cookbooksrofit from Cookbooksrofit from Cookbooksrofit from Cookbooksrofit from Cookbookshomes which were destroyed by a cyclone. “As there is no school near them, my niece, Brooke had tobring her oldest child back to Canada to attend grade two.While here she has decided to get all the material together forkindergarten to grade three and will home school her childrenwhen Zoola has finished grade two here. The village childrenin Fiji are always at their place playing with her children soshe asked the government of Fiji if she could start an Englishschool when they return to Fiji. They agreed to let her dothis. In order to help Brooke move forward with her plans Ihave told her if she helps me promote the cookbooks I willgive her the profit from the sales of the Soy Satisfied cook-book to help start the school. The village they live in is verypoor and has no electricity so Brooke and Soni have beenbringing in solar panels to run the sawmill and they have beenliving with the villagers. The mill was donated by a Canadianand is ready to go but the man who is planning to run it losthis house in the cyclone, too. There are many trees down sothe wood is there and Soni is pulling it towards the village andgetting it ready for cutting. And they have learned that every-thing is very slow happening to improve things there,” saidElaine Edel. You can learn more about the cookbooks and her blog atwinnieswinningways.ca or contact her at 204-746-8162.

Elaine Edel and her WinningWays cookbooks.

Photo by Joan Airey

Photos by Joan Airey


By Les Kletke

Philip Fenez is clear thatShared Agriculture is not for ev-eryone. “We have customers who thinkthey like vegetables and try it fora year, and find that they don’tlike vegetables as much as theythought, or as much vegetablesas they thought,” he said with asmile. Fenez and his wife Leanne op-erate Fenez Follies Farm at LaBarriere southeast of Winnipegand have nearly 2 acres of gardenon which they produce veg-etables for the clients who buyinto the shared agriculture pro-gram. For $450, the client gets abox of vegetables delivered totheir home weekly for 12 weeks.“It starts out quiet light with theleafy vegetables and gets heavier,finishing with potatoes andsquash,” he said. “It changesthrough the season and somepeople aren’t ready for that.” The shared agriculture programnot only gives clients a change inproduce but returns them to the days of seasonality. “When cucumbers are in season you get a lotof cucumbers,” he said. “You have to be ready for that.” It also opens them to the vagaries of the business, including weather. “When we have a hail stormthe clients feel the impact,” he said. “One year when we got hail the melons had some dents in thembut people understand that.” “They also learn what to do with new vegetables, some people are not familiar with eggplant sowhen they get a few of them they need to find recipes that include eggplant and they do.” The farmnot only produces vegetables but has free-range chickens and goats. “The animals are there for meat and also for fertilizer,” said Fenez. “We are not certified organicbut try to be as natural in our production methods as possible so we use the manure for fertilizer.” Fenez has about 35 families that are part of the Community Shared Agriculture Program and somehave been with him since the start, 7 years ago. “Others drop off because they find the box is morethan they expected and nobody wants to waste food. So we have about a 50% turn over.” He said people are very understanding about the challenges of the weather and accept that it canchange the contents of the weekly box. Good weather means the box contains more veggies everyweek as clients share in the bounty as well as the seasonality. It is just like real agriculture on thetable.

By Les Kletke

Consumers want to know the pork theyare eating was from happy pigs. Theywant to know the animals were raised inhumane sustainable conditions. That is what Laurel Lyons who is thespecial events coordinator with ManitobaPork found from staffing the ManitobaPork display at Agriculture in the City, atwo-day event held in mid March at theForks in Winnipeg. Lyons said that visitors had questionsabout production method and in somecases; she was dispelling myths aboutanimals being raised in individual cageswith little room to move. “People haveheard of the gestation stalls and some howproject that the animal spends its entirelife standing in a small cage,” she said.“When we show them the conditions thathogs are raised in and that they have roomto move they are quiet happy and move on to questions about recipes and how to cook the product.” “People love the recipes from Manitoba Pork and want more information and recipes,” she saidwith a smile, “We get more questions about cooking than anything else.” One thing that she does caution consumers on is that pork of today is a very lean product and canbe over cooked, which results in a dry hard product. “Pork today is leaner than it was even a fewyears ago,” she said. “That requires different cooking methods and times than it did before.” Cultural difference and expanding diets have meant that pork is included in more recipes anddifferent foods than consumers were used to. “They want to try new things and they want informa-tion,” she said. “The consumer today wants more information on the nutritional value of their foodas well.” She is armed for those questions too. “It is about engaging in a discussion with the consumer and if we can help them with someinformation about our product they are more inclined to include it in their diet.” The display backdrop features a large picture of pork cuts that might appear in a grocer’s cooler.“We emphasize that pork is fresh and high quality,” she said. “The consumer has to trust that theyare getting a healthy product that came from a happy pig.” She reported no confrontational events where the visitor was challenging the production methodsbut rather people asking about how pork was produced.

Fresh Veggies to the Door

Philip and Leanne Fenez produce vegetables for about 35clients through the Community Shared AgricultureProgram.

Photo by Les Kletke

Pass the Pork Please

Laurel Lyons assures consumers that pork comesfrom happy pigs during this year’s Agriculture in theCity event in Winnipeg.


By Les Kletke

James Aitkenhead doesnot rank with the major po-tato processors when itcomes to the volume hebuys but he is a significantuser of Manitoba potatoesnone the less. Aitkenhead operates Per-fect Perogies at Garson andbuys from 2,500 to 3,500 lbs.of potatoes every week forhis production. That goesup to 5,000 at Christmas. “We have a great demandat Christmas time,” he said.“So we are buying morepotatoes and have morepeople working at thattime.” He employs the latest intechnology and his produc-tion machinery measuresdough to the 1/1000 of aninch. “To get the moststuffing we can in them.”He has converted theformer Garson School to aproduction facility and em-ploys from 16-18 peopledepending on the season. The business began as anoffshoot of his mother’s ca-tering business. “I have afellow who was not happywith the frozen perogies hecould get so he asked meto make some like my momdid for events that she ca-tered, with another inves-tor they partnered and westarted the business. Thatwas 10 years ago and to-day we sell both fresh andfrozen perogies to storesacross the province.” When it comes to pota-toes, he varies the variet-ies through the year usingmostly Yukon Gold but

Garson Perogie MakerBuys Local for Freshness

moving to a red varietylater in the year. Aitkenhead believes thatthe secret recipe has to usefresh ingredients to makehis Perfect Perogies. “Wedon’t use any additives, weuse the real thing. Onionsare cooked in the facility,we don’t use garlic flakes.We use as much fresh prod-uct as we can,” he saidsmiling. “Just like grandmaused to.” He adds there aresome secrets that grandmapassed on that he cannotshare but does say thatthere is sour cream in thedough. While his recipe is tradi-tional, he has added somenew flavours that are nottraditional perogie

flavours. “We have a fetaand spinach one for thevegans, and I developedmy favourite, a chilli andpepper one to kick it up anotch,” he said. The spicy chilli cameabout when he received anorder of spicy chilli lightjack cheese from the plantin New Bothell. “Was it amistake or good marketingon their part?” he laughs.“But now we use it in thechilli and pepper perogies.” He plans to continue hisbusiness carrying on thetradition of using as muchfresh product as he canget, and he said Manitobaproducers are doing a goodjob of that.

James Aitkenhead says there are some secrets he cannotreveal about the family recipe for his Perfect Perogies.

Photo by Les Kletke

Pulse Growers Unleash Kid Bean

To celebrate the 2016 International Year of Pulses, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers’Debuted Kid Bean with friends at Parkland Elementary in Winkler, Manitoba.

A six-foot tall kidney bean wearing sneakers and a baseball cap is now touring Manitobawith the message that pulses are good for people and good for the planet. Kid Bean is the new mascot for Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG). Over thenext six months, Kid Bean and the MPSG Bean Team will meet with school kids andcommunity groups throughout the province, as part of the 2016 International Year ofPulses.


Recently, I attended the 2016 Western Canadian Dairy Seminar and took in severalexcellent presentations. One of the talks discussed the mixing of the milk cow’s TMR byTom Oelberg as well as some of the improper diets that are often put down in the feed-bunk. This lecture made me think that we should always implement good mixing andfeeding practices to prevent lactating cows from sorting out their diets. This is good pertinent TMR information, because I find that given the chance, lactatingdairy cows can become skilled masters at sorting their rations. For example, I have literarilyseen cows lay their heads flat against the concrete bunk floor and pick out the more tastygrain/concentrate particles and leave the rest of the diet. Unfortunately, when they gobble up this part of the diet, it tends to be low in effectivefibre making them susceptible to subclinicalacidosis or SARA. If left unchecked, SARAwill eventually compromise their milk perfor-mance and health. From a dairy nutritionist’s standpoint, Ibelieve that if I can reduce the conditionsthat cause cows to sort their bunk ration;SARA and other related feed problems arenot likely to become a significant issue. Consequently, I find that there are two majorreasons, which makes some TMR diets easier to sort than others by dairy cows: (1) a“dry” dairy diet and/or (2) large particle size variation amongst added feedstuffs. In the first case, an excessively dry TMR has a low physical density. This allows dairycattle with a shake of their head, separate the finer grain and protein supplement materialfrom coarser forage fibres. Subsequently, it is much harder for them to separate out a well-mixed lactating TMR that is about 50% moisture. In order to achieve this goal, dairyproducers can add up to 7 kg (15 lbs) of water per lactating head into a TMR diet in orderbring moisture content into this optimum range. Again, a dairy diet with various feed particle sizes makes it easy for cows to sort out dairydiets because they can literary “un-mix” their diet. One way to stop them is to add forageswith a modest particle length of 4 – 7.5 cm (1.5 – 3.0”). The idea being that cows tend to sortand reject long particles, but are willing to eat medium-sized ones; those often long enoughto help meet forage-fibre requirements. Given these two underlying reasons for sorting, most people either have a generalsorting problem in the milking barn or one pops up on occasion (re: hot weather). There-fore, I have five associated suggestions that help us mix up a proper TMR and are harderfor dairy cows to sort:1. Moisture testing - It is a good idea to test the dry matter content of the major silages (re:corn and/or barley silage) and the other added wet by-products (re: wet distillers grains)added to the TMR and of the entire bunk ration fed to the cows. If water is added to thediet, the amount should be recorded. Such information is useful when future moistureadjustments are made.2. Particle testing - Use the Penn State Particle separator to determine particle variationswithin the diet. A sample of the daily mix should be taken, separated out, and fractionscalculated. Between 6 – 10% of the sample weight should lay on the top of the screen. Itshould also be something that the cows like to eat; not cobs or woody alfalfa stems. Ifmore than 15% of the ration remains on the top screen, the chances are good that cows willsort this ration.3. Grind forages - Long-stem hays should be coarse ground (ahead of time) to match theparticle size of the other feed components of the TMR. This is most important when morethan 2.0 kg of hay per head is fed.4. Manage the Mixer - Many typical TMRs require about 3 – 6 minutes of actual mixing timeto make a consistent uniform diet. Furthermore, dairy producers should make sure thattheir mixer-wagons are in good working order and consider a checklist for scheduledmaintenance (Tom Oelberg, 2016 WCDS).5. Measure Feed Refusal - Take a sample of the feed refused by the cows. As part of goodbunk management practices, dairy cows should leave about 2 – 3% of the original feed putdown. Although, it could be picked through, daily feed refusal should be similar in appear-ance to the fresh TMR. If particle profile of a sample is tested, the amount left on the topscreen should not be greater than 10-points compared to the original TMR. It’s anybody’s guess why many cows sort TMR rations. Maybe it’s part of their naturalgrazing nature or a modern opportunity to eat the tasty treats in their feed. Regardless,dairy producers should follow these few practical steps when mixing up a dairy TMR,which should be eaten in its entirety by all cows coming up to the feed bunk.

By Les Kletke

Bessie Hatzitrifonos creditsher parents garden with get-ting her started on the road tocreating new flavours and pro-ducing the best food she can.Ironic since she grew up inToronto but that is what theowner of Bessie’s Best saidgot her hooked on the flavoursof fresh food. She spent more than twodecades in the restaurant tradein Toronto and travelled ex-tensively always with an eyeto new foods and now from

By Elmer Heinrichs

While a little snow lastweek may have put adamper on any quickmoves to the fields, farm-

Manitoba Opens Doors forLocal Food Processors

her kitchen in St. Adolphe sheprepares the foods marketunder the Bessie’s Best label. Hatzitrifonos has the high-est regard for her adoptedprovince and credits the infra-structure here with giving herthe opportunity to commer-cialize her Tapenades andTzatziki. “The people at theDepartment of Agriculture andRural Development have beengreat,” she said. “The helpwith the process and with get-ting into commercial kitchensso that I could take it to thenext step.” She has twice been a SilverMedal winner at the GreatManitoba Food Fight, credit-ing the competition with open-ing doors to other food pro-cessors and the industry. “Theprize money also helpedmove my products to thecommercial level,” she said. She also worked with theDairy Science Department atthe University of Manitoba.“Arnie [Hydameka] has beenvery helpful and the wholestaff has been great to workwith,” she said. “There are somany things that need to bedone, and so much informa-tion that these people provideit allows me to concentrate on

the production and the devel-opment of new recipes. Hatzitrifonos sources asmuch of her product as shecan locally. “Of course the ol-ives have to come from out-side of Manitoba,” she said.“But quality of food productshere is so good I wish that Icould source more ingredientsfrom Manitoba.” She sourcesher chickpeas, garlic and dillfrom local producers. She is a co-organizer of theLove Manitoba Food eventsand counts many of the ex-hibitors as her person friends.“These are my people,” saidHatzitrifonos waving at theexhibit floor that featured 40Manitoba food processors.“We have met at local farmersmarkets and have becomefriends.” While her products are car-ried by some specialty stores,Hatzitrifonos said that attend-ing farmers markets is a partof her business and personallife. “For me it is about meet-ing the people who buy myproduct and talking with themabout food, yes, I need a prod-uct to sell but the actual manu-facturing is hard work. Themeeting people and discuss-ing food is what drives us.”

EarlyEarlyEarlyEarlyEarlySeedingSeedingSeedingSeedingSeeding

Seen QuiteSeen QuiteSeen QuiteSeen QuiteSeen QuiteLikLikLikLikLikelyelyelyelyely

ers in southwesternManitoba have been wel-coming the warm weatherwith open arms. Pam de Rocquigny, a pro-vincial cereal crops special-ist, said, “I’m thinking thatbased on the recent precipi-tation and cooler tempera-tures forecasted for at leastthe next few days that therewon’t be any wheat seededbefore April 1.” “It’s not that bad a timeof year to have things dryup,” said Dan Mazier, Presi-dent of Keystone Agricul-tural Producers (KAP) anda farmer near Justice,

Manitoba. Mazier predictsproducers in the south-west will be getting out abit earlier than usual thisyear preparing fields forseeding. Typically, seeding occursaround the beginning ofMay, with fieldwork begin-ning in April after theground thaws out. Even though fieldworkmight start earlier this year,Mazier does not think manywill actually start seedinguntil around the beginningof May, even if the weathercontinues with the warmtrend.

Sorting Diets by LactatingDairy Cows Can be Prevented


Today’s volumes of pes-ticides, fuel and manurecombined with the ever-in-creasing environmentalregulations and sensitivityto these issues makes thisan important consideration.A hazardous materialscleanup crew, the long tailof environmental monitor-ing and environmentalfines can really add up. Legal Liability coverageis readily available for littleto no extra cost for suddenand accidental losses. Thisis for when you are beingsued by another party forpollutants that damageproperty of others. How-ever, fines and the costsrelated to cleaning up spillsthat affect only your prop-erty is not covered on thetypical farm policy. On-Sitepollutants coverage is aless common type of cov-erage to purchase. The best way to avoid

The Cost of PollutantLosses Can Escalate

problems is to have a goodunderstanding of your in-surance policy. Here are some questionsthat you could ask your in-surance broker:- What is the extent of cov-erage for pollutantscleanup?- How much cleanup cov-erage do I have?- Am I covered for spillsfrom off-the-farm transpor-tation accidents?- What is required of me ifthere is a chemical, fuel ormanure spill?- Are there any actions Imight take that would voidcoverage on my policy? There are insurance poli-cies that do not cover anypollutants losses at all. Isyours one of them? Be sure to seek adviceand purchase insurancefrom those who understandyour business!

Bees need better homes. As such, the University ofManitoba is currently hosting an international design com-petition challenging people to re-think houses for nestingbees. The competition aims to take action on a pressing eco-logical issue, the decline of bee populations. Bee houseswere chosen as the focus of the competition because theyoffer an easy way for the bee-loving public to help bolsterbee populations. “Around the world, pollinator insects are under threatfrom unintended consequences of parasites and patho-gens, pesticide use, habitat loss and climate change, espe-cially in urban areas,” said Robert Currie, Professor of En-tomology at the U of M. “Bees play a critical role in eco-systems, including pollination of many food crops we relyon. In urban areas, creating artificial habitats like bee housesthat are appealing to the public, easy to use and attractive

Andy Anderson is an Associate Insurance Broker spe-cializing in General, Life and Group Benefits for Farmand Business P 204-746-5589, F [email protected] / rempelinsurance.com /valleyfinancial.ca.

Building a Better Bee House Competition Underwayto bees can help support healthy and resilient pollinatorcommunities.” The competition challenges participants to create a beehouse for 80-100 solitary nesting bees. There are severalspecies of these bees, which are different from honeybees,and the houses must accommodate these various species. “This project may sound simple because it is small, butentrants will be challenged to understand the needs of thehome’s residents and then deliver excellent design in verytight space constraints,” said Jae-Sung Chon, competitioncoordinator and Instructor in environmental design in theFaculty of Architecture. Jurors Joyce Hwang, Associate Professor of architectureat the University at Buffalo, and Michael Loverich, Co-Director of a design farm in New York, will assess submis-sions, looking for function, innovation, excellence in de-sign and constructability. The Faculty of Architecture’s FABLab will fabricate topsubmissions chosen for a field test, and real-world perfor-mance will be studied by the university’s department ofentomology by installing more than 100 of the houses onthe university campus through a partnership with the U ofM Parks Canada Club student group. “The competition is an opportunity to highlight the rolethat universities and design can have in creating knowl-edge to address sustainability challenges,” said Ian Hall,Director of Sustainability at the U of M. “Engaging stu-dents, professionals and the community in creating solu-tions is exciting and empowering, and we are looking for-ward to some creative contest entries.” Full details about the competition are available at onlineat umanitoba.ca/sustainability/BeeHouseLab. Contest sub-missions are welcomed from March 31 to April 20, 2016,and winners will be announced on April 25.


By Les Kletke

Consumers have not lostfaith in Canadian beef andthe demand continues asalways. Chad Saxon is the Com-munications Officer forManitoba Beef Producersand after staffing theorganization’s booth at Ag-riculture Comes to the City,he said most questions hefielded were about the reci-pes that the organizationprovides. He said the organizationhas not seen a backlashbecause of beef prices in-creasing dramatically overthe last year. “Consumersare happy with the productand they may be eatingsmaller cuts but they arenot eliminating it from theirdiets,” said Saxon. The booth also had infor-mation about the use ofhormones in cattle and an-other on antibiotic use.“We get people picking thebrochures up and askingabout information. During the time, this re-porter visited the booth;one visitor said she hasstopped eating meat be-

By Les Kletke

Rana Bokhari said grow-ing up on a farm is the bestthing that happened to her. As leader of the LiberalParty Bokhari’s schedule isnot overrun with, ruralevents or those concen-trated on, agriculture butshe did take time to visitAgriculture in the City atthe Forks on March 18. Bokhari grew up on a farmat Anola and counts thosedays as very important inshaping her. “We had a lay-ing hen operation and itwas a family operation,”she said. “Everyone [in thefamily] was a part of it andwe all had our jobs.” “Living on the farm youlearn so much more thanjust the day to day tasks,”she said. “You learn re-sourcefulness and you geta work ethic. I think thathelped me in every aspectof my life.” Bokhari said the walkthrough Agriculture in theCity served to remind herof the great food that is pro-duced in Manitoba. “Weneed to tell the story offood production, and theavailability of great foodthat we too often take forgranted.”

It is baffling. Egypt is a county facing food shortages yetthey are blocking wheat shipments from around the world.Their quarantine agency has decided to impose a zero tol-erance for ergot. This is despite the fact that the contractssigned by Egypt’s central buying agency recognize theinternational, science-based tolerance of 0.05 per cent. Some may think that 0.05 per cent is a pretty small num-ber and not really a whole lot different from zero. “Some”would be wrong. Zero tolerance brings us into the realm ofparts per billion and parts per trillion. A part per trillion isequivalent to one second in 32,000 years – a small numberbut one still bigger than zero. Why is this important? For Egyptians it might very wellresult in bread lines, since countries will simply not bewilling to take the risk of arbitrary decisions by regulatorsand imperfect testing systems that can kick out false posi-tives almost randomly when looking for such minuteamounts. There are implications for Canadian farmers too. This isnot just a “one off” event but also a symptom of a largerand growing problem. As tariff barriers fall some countries,use non science-based grain safety excuses blocking tradein an attempt to drive down prices or to prop up their ownagriculture industry. The result is the same even if the application of arbitraryrules is well intentioned but misguided. Unscientific rulesof trade impede or even stop the flow of grain. Canada has a strong reputation for consistently deliver-ing safe, high quality grains, oilseeds and special crops toour domestic and international customers. The foundationof this reputation is our science based regulatory system.Our approach reduces the risk that exports will be blockedby sanitary and phyto-sanitary regulations. Maintaining “science-based” is not just a job for regula-tors and chemical companies. Farmers have responsibili-ties too. For example, the label on every crop protectionproduct is determined by the Pest Management. Regula-tory Agency based on in-depth research. Not followingthe label can result in increased residues. This puts ourexports at greater risk from arbitrary decisions like the onewe saw in Egypt because residues just might give somegovernment an excuse to keep our grain out. Not following the label may also generate residues andcould even bump residue levels above the science-basedmaximum residue limit, in which case importers have legiti-mate food safety concerns. The risk of these incidents is growing. It is not valid tothink “they will never test” or “grain from my farm won’tmake a difference”. They may test and when measurementsare in parts per trillion, just a few farmers not following therules may result in rejected shipments. Some basic things to ask before applying any crop pro-tection product:- Am I applying at the rate indicated by the label?- Is the crop covered by the label?- Are there restrictions on when the product can be applied(too green, too late, etc.)?- Am I respecting the “swath to harvest” interval?- Have major markets approved this product (if you don’tknow, ask your agri-retailer and grain buyer)? Following these rules will not eliminate risk. There is noth-ing that farmers could have done to prevent the arbitrarydecisions by Egypt. But following the label, knowing ifthere are market risks from particular products, using bestmanagement practices to minimize disease infection all re-duce market risk. As any marketer will tell you, risk comeswith a cost and everything we can do to reduce costsimproves our international competitiveness. Cam Dahl is President of Cereals Canada.

Ergot in Egypt –One Event or

Symptom?

Leader’s Farm Roots TaughtResourcefulness and Work Ethics

Rana Bokhari Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party attended the Agriculture in the City event atthe Forks on March 18. Photo by Les Kletke

When asked, if in a posi-tion of power what shewould do to help ruralManitoba she replied, “Wehave said that our policywould be that the extramoney for the PST wouldgo directly to Municipali-ties to aid in development,”said Bokhari. “We havetalked about economic andsocial policies with AMMand see the value of work-

ing with them in the fu-ture.” She downplays the ruralurban differences. “I seethat growing up on a farm Ilearned more than farming,I learned about the socialaspects and being a part ofthe community, as well asthe business aspects ofoperating a farm. We needto keep those opportunitiesavailable to people.

What the future holds forthe next farming generationconcerns Bokhari. “I haveconcerns for the next gen-eration, for the people thatwant to go into farming,”said Bokhari. “Will theyhave the opportunity totake over a farm and pro-vide the opportunities fortheir family?” Bokhari had the opportu-nity to visit many of thebooths in the event at theForks and did not face thesecurity issues or crowdsasking for selfies that herFederal Liberal counterpartdoes, but perhaps after thenext provincial election itwill be another matter.

MB Beef… Educating the Publiccause animals were fedGMO grains. “They havenot been tested properly,”she said. “We don’t knowabout the impacts they willhave. It is like smoking atone time everyone smokedand now we know the harm-ful effects.” When posed the ques-tion, “Would a hundredyears of no harmful effectsbe enough to satisfy yourconcerns to prove there areno harmful effects? Theanswer was, “No probablynot.” and “They are justnot good for us.” Her partner then offered,“Farmers use much morepesticide on GMO plants,it is a well known fact.” Hewent on to explain that hedid not eat meat raised on acommercial farm but was ahunter and ate the meat ofwild animals he killed.“They are much healthierthan the animals raised oncommercial farms,” he ex-plained. Saxon explained thecouple was more of the ex-ception than the typicalvisitor to the booth at theForks during Agriculturecomes to the City. “We get

most people asking aboutrecipes and the cuts ofmeat,” he said. “We dohave a board that tries todispel many of the mythsabout the beef industryand people are quiet inter-ested in the facts about theindustry. Saxon said that last yearthere seemed to be morequestions about the use ofhormones in production ofcattle. “Consumers seem tohave confidence in theproduct and are looking formore about cooking, andthat is a good thing. We arehere to provide it,” saidSaxon.


By Les Kletke

Peter Fehr grew up in afood conservative part ofthe province but is nowready to take on the worldwith his personally devel-oped sauces. Fehr grew up south ofWinkler and readily admitsthat the Mennonite ap-proach is not the fusionthat he brings to mixing andblending tastes. However,the background is heavy inrich sauces, which is whathis Gourmet Inspirationsbrings to the market. Fehr is a graduate of theCulinary Arts program inW.C. Miller in Altona andspeaks highly of his in-structors and the influencethey provided. He thenmoved on to work at the St.Charles Country Club inWinnipeg. Today his sauces are mar-keted throughout the prov-ince in Co-op stores andspecialty food markets. Heis also working on agree-ments to get his productsinto stores in Vancouverand Toronto. “They aresauces that would fit bestin fine food stores andbutcher shops,” he said.“They have been well re-ceived in Manitoba but I By Elmer Heinrichs

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in its March cropoutlook report, says that while total crop production willincrease slightly, grains and oilseeds will decrease some-what, while the production of pulses and special cropsshould increase significantly. For 2016-17, the area seeded to wheat is forecast to de-crease by 2% as a 24% increase in winter wheat is mostlyoffset by a 4% decline in spring wheat acres. The increase in seeded area for winter wheat was inOntario where seeding conditions in the fall of 2015 weremuch better than in the previous year. Winter wheat seededarea in western Canada was nearly the same as for 2015-16. In western Canada, the outlook predicts competition forspring wheat from durum, oilseeds and pulses, which isexpected to limit the seeded area. Area seeded to canola, flaxseed and soybeans are allexpected to increase with the latter expected to rise by 4%to 2.3 million hectares on expected attractive returns com-pared to alternate crops. Domestic usage of soybeans is forecast to increase onhigher US biodiesel production and livestock consump-tion of soy meal. In general, world grain prices are expected to be pres-sured downward by abundant supplies of grain at the glo-bal level. The impact on grain prices in Canada, however,will be mitigated by the low value of the Canadian dollar,which is forecast at about C$1.35 per US dollar.

Manitoba is 150 days away from adding to their growinglist of world records. Harvesting Hope: a World Record to Help the Hungry isofficially registered to break the current Guinness WorldRecords for the “most threshing machines operating simul-taneously” held by Francois Latour of St. Albert, Ontario.Harvesting Hope plans to have at least 125 threshing ma-chines at its event, operated by over 600 volunteers. “Harvesting Hope is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity totake a step back in time, and see how people grew food overa hundred years ago,” said Ayn Wilcox, spokesperson forHarvesting Hope. “What makes it even more special is thatit’s an opportunity to help make a difference for some ofthe millions of people around the world who are hungry.” To set the new record, all threshing machines must oper-ate simultaneously for at least 5 minutes. Harvesting Hope’sorganizing committee plans to run all threshing machinesfor at least 20 minutes and thresh 75 acres of wheat. A steamengine, tractor or stationary engine built between 1890 and1950 will drive each machine. When operating, the machineswill require over four football fields of space. Prior to last year’s new record of 111 machines, the 2013Olde Tyme Harvest event in Langenburg, Saskatchewanheld the record with 41 threshing machines. TheSaskatchewan event also raised funds for the FoodgrainsBank. For information on Harvesting Hope, including details onhow to attend the event, participate in the harvest, sponsora piece of equipment, or make a general donation, pleasevisit harvestinghope.ca.

Winkler Sauces to the World

need to get into the largermarkets to make the busi-ness viable. That comes in

cities like Vancouver orToronto.” He said it took encourage-

ment to make the leap fromcreativity in the kitchen tocommercialization “I wasworking at a fishing campin Northern Manitoba andhad a client that loved oneof my sauces tell me that Ishould put it in a bottle andsell it,” said Fehr. “She wasfrom Texas and encouragedme to make the jump tocommercialization.” He said it has been a pro-cess that involved a lot ofeducation. “I learned aboutthe process of taking aproduct to the market placeand I had to educatepeople that it was a sauceto drizzle on meat or des-serts not a salad dressing,”said Fehr. The meat sauceis a rich and creamy prod-uct that might have someinfluence from the creamgravy of his youth but hasan ingredient not used inmost Mennonite homes ofthe time, an alcohol flavour.He is working on a Whis-key Fight salad dressingthat has no less than threealcohols in it. Fehr is committed to us-ing as much Manitobaproduct as he can in hissauces. “Of course I can’tget Manitoba lemons formy Sweet and Spicy LemonSauce but I try to use asmuch Manitoba product asI can. The quality ofManitoba products is verygood and with productionhere it is fresh so that is abig factor.” He plans to expand hisline to include a series ofproducts marketed in jars.“That will appeal to a dif-ferent market segment.”

Peter Fehr of Gourmet Inspirations credits the encouragementfrom a Texas woman visiting the fishing camp he wasworking in as the inspiration to commercializing his sauces.

Photo by Les Kletke

Guinness World RecordsOfficially Registers

Harvesting Hope Event

Increases Forecasted for Canola,Increases Forecasted for Canola,Increases Forecasted for Canola,Increases Forecasted for Canola,Increases Forecasted for Canola,Flaxseed, Soybean AcresFlaxseed, Soybean AcresFlaxseed, Soybean AcresFlaxseed, Soybean AcresFlaxseed, Soybean Acres


By Peter Vitti

Just after the New Year,a rancher that runs a fewhundred late-spring cowscalled me. He was havingdifficulty getting hisweaned calves onbackground feed andwere just not doing“good”. Although, he dewormedthese calves once off-pasture with a commercialpour-on, I told him thatthey might still havestomach worms. So heagreed to treat them,

Deworming CattleMakes Big Difference

again. This time using adrench dewormercontaining a differentactive dewormingmedication. I saw the same calves inmiddle of February andthey were eating withvigour and growing,which I like to say, “Likeweeds”. This little storyis a good reminder thatcattle are very susceptibleto stomach worms andthere should always be agood program in place tocontrol worms at all times. Whether these cattle

worms had resistanceagainst the first dewormeris unknown. It’s mysnapshot of the roundstomach worm’s detrimen-tal effects upon cattleperformance such asreduced feed intakes,poor feed efficiencies andinferior weight gains. Ithas also been proven thateven a modest worminfestation in young stockcan compromise theirimmune system. Maturebeef cows are affected buthave some acquiredimmunity.

Except for severediarrhea and anaemiashowing up in someanimals, many producersmay not realize theircowherd is infected withworms. I believe that it’sdue to the opportunisticsubtlety of the stomachworms or Ostertagiaostertagi life cycle. Thecontamination of pasturesby these stomach wormsparallels the grazingseason by the cowherd. Itoften leads to an initialincrease of worms duringthe first couple springmonths, followed by a dipin mid-summer andliterally ending in apopulation explosionduring late summer orearly fall. We explain this roller

coaster effect upon cowsthat shed eggs fromoverwintering adultworms, which develop aslarvae and contaminateeither the cowherd or die-off. Meanwhile, newcalves are starting to pickup contaminated grass,acquiring worms anddepositing them back asshed eggs, whichtherefore contributes tothe majority of late-pasture contamination. Effective chemicalcontrol of worm eggs onpasture (and in dry lot)has been around since theearly 1980s with thedevelopment of a newclass of dewormers,known as theanthemintics. This classcan be divided into manychemical groups, but theavermectins (ivermectinand dormectin) andbenzimidazoles(fenbendazole) are someof the leading dewormersagainst stomach worms incattle. Avermectin dewormersare not only effectiveagainst the latter larvae/adult stages of thestomach worm living incattle, but it can eliminateworms hibernating in theirabomasum as well as hasweeks of residual power.Producers also like theavermectin such asivermectin, because itcontrols other external aswell as other internalparasites. In comparison,fenbendazole haseffective control againststomach worms, but is noteffective against otherparasites and has littlelasting control. Like me, when produc-ers make their ownpersonal dewormerchoice, they often findthat the accompaniedadvice often varies as towhen and how many

times to treat cattle andalso how to prevent wormbuild-up on pasture.Tradition dictates to treatcattle when the greatestnumber of worms are stilldeveloping in overwin-tered beef cows and notyet shed on the ground.This means to me, thatcow-calf operators shoulddeworm cows just prior totheir release on pasture. In contrast, a newprotocol says it is notnecessary to treat grazingcattle right away and theycan wait up to six weekson pasture before beingdewormed. The idea beingis to deworm calves afterthe first few weeks onpasture and then processthe mature cows a coupleof weeks, afterwards.These worm specialistsbelieve this allows aneffective dewormer toclean up the overwinteredcattle as well as stop eggshedding for the next fourto six weeks. The benefitbeing is that there is nobuild-up of worms onpasture at the end of thegrazing season. Nobody will disagreethat a high worm load willeventually cause apotential loss of revenue.However, many producersask, “Does it pay todeworm cattle”? Let’s illustrate a typicalsituation – one US gallonof Safeguard(fenbendazole) @ $400(CDN) is used at the rateof 2.3 ml/100 lbsbodyweight. It is recom-mended that cows betreated prior to beingreleased on pasture andcow-calf pairs be treatedafter six weeks. As aresult, some Canadianresearch shows an 18 lbpound weaning weightadvantage due todeworming. Therefore, myinput cost (cow + calf) =$5.84/calf and estimatedrevenue = 18 lb x $2.00/lb= $36/calf; net return =$30.16/treated calf. For a350 cow/calf operation,that is an extra $10,000 inrevenue. This is good news!Deworming cattle shows aclear economic advan-tage, this has beenrealized on many realcattle operations as wellas the reduction of sickcows and calves orlowered death loss due toworms. It’s unrealistic tothink we can rid our cattleentirely of stomachworms, yet I believe weshould take this approachto control them.

AgriPost March 25 2016

Documents

Transcript of AgriPost March 25 2016