Agripost November 27 2015

November 27, 2015 1The Agri Post

By Les Kletke

Lawrence MacAulay maynot be a name familiar to west-ern Canadian farmers but thenew Minister of Agriculturebrings a wealth of experiencein agriculture both in and outof the political arena. He asbeen a Member of Parliamentsince 1988 and with that lon-gevity is the longest servingMember of Parliament in thehistory of PEI. Before being elected to Par-liament MacAulay operateda dairy and potato farm bring-ing with him some practicalexperience. It has been a whilesince the country had an Ag-ricultural Minister that grewup on and operated a farm,and he is the first MaritimeMinister of Agriculture sincethe 19th century. He holds a high profile inthe Liberal caucus and hasserved as a senior Cabinetminister in previous Liberalgovernments. He is listed assecond in line behind onlyRalph Goodale to succeed thePrime Minister if Trudeauwere unable to finish his termof office. Farm groups are ready togive the new Minister an op-portunity before judging him

Lots of Practical ExperienceBehind New Ministerial Face

or the administration. TheBarley Council of Canada(BCC) offered congratula-tions to the new minister butwants to get down to busi-ness. “On behalf of BCC, Iwould like to congratulate the

newly elected governmentand look forward to workingclosely to advance the inter-ests of everyone in the agri-food value chain,” said BCCChairman Brian Otto. “Our board is eager to de-

velop strong relationshipswith Minister MacAulayalong with the HonourableMarc Garneau, Minister ofTransport and theHonourable Chrystia

Prime Minister Trudeau has trusted Lawrence MacAulay with the Ag portfolio.

Continued on page 3

By Les Kletke

Harold Froese has been involved with trade issues for a longtime, the self-described trade junkie said he got started withthe World Trade Organization talks in 2000. “When I started to read the documents in an effort to findout what was in them and what trade involved,” he said.Fifteen years later, and he does not claim to be an expert oninternational trade, but he does have a better understanding ofthese agreements and what they will mean to farmers thanmost people. Since 1983, he has been an egg and pullet producer afterpurchasing a layer farm from his parents. He has also been agrain farmer and is in the process of wrapping up his opera-tions and transitioning to retirement. Froese provided an overview of the Trans-Pacific Partner-ship (TPP) agreement for the Canadian Association of FarmAdvisors annual meeting in Niverville. He said the agreementbetween 12 countries including Canada was 5 years in theprocess and includes a combined GDP of $28.5 trillion dol-lars. “While it was not ideal to have it conclude during anelection campaign in our country,” he said. “It is too big a dealfor our government to now back out, the agreement will goahead but it is far for over.” Froese then outlined the process for negation. “It startsfrom the outside with the easy points and then moves to themore contentions points and gets higher ups involved,” hesaid. He went on to say that with his involvement in theagricultural sector and making recommendations to formerAgricultural Minister Jerry Ritz, he did not get the feelingthat Ritz was a strong supporter of supply management.“But he was a hard negotiator and not going to give it awaywithout getting something major from the other people at thetable. He was not one to give things away.” Froese also explained, “That while agreements are reachedover the 5 year period and escalate to more complex issues,nothing is done until the whole agreement is reached and if itfalls apart in the finals stages everything is off the table.” He acknowledged that the access to commodities under sup-ply management is significant but not as large as people mightthink. He said the opening of Canadian borders to an addi-tional 15 million eggs over the next 20 years is significant butthen pointed out it is roughly the same number of eggsMcDonald’s restaurants buy in a year in Canada. “And halfof those come from Manitoba. When McDonalds said theywill buy only eggs produced from hens not in cages that canhave a great impact in a shorter period. Not to down play thetrade agreement but there are many other factors impactingour industry at this time.” “The agreement has been reached but it is far from over andeach country needs to do its due diligence but consumers havethe greatest impact on our business,” he added.

TPP FTPP FTPP FTPP FTPP Far from Donear from Donear from Donear from Donear from Done

November 27, 20152 The Agri Post


Freeland, Minister of International Trade,” said Otto. “Given the challenges faced bygrowers, handlers and industry we plan to continue working closely with the federalgovernment to create an efficient, predictable and reliable rail transportation system.” The BCC will also be advocating that the government recognize the merits foragriculture of the newly negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement andwill encourage them to support and seek ratification. “For the barley industry and ourmembers, the TPP is a big deal and one that we need,” said Otto. “We remain optimis-tic that this new government will support this trade agreement.” The National Farmers Union (NFU) welcomed the new minister and could not resista shot at the previous government. “We look forward to working with the new federalgovernment and our new Minister,” said Jan Slomp, NFU President. “We hope thatwith greater openness and transparency along with meaningful public engagement,Canada’s agricultural policy will move in a direction that is more helpful to farmfamilies than what we have seen over the past decade.” The letter of engagement for the position, which was released by the Department ofAgriculture, contains several key action points for the new minister. The Minister’s mandate will be to invest in an Agri-Food Value Added InvestmentFund to help attract investment and create jobs in food processing, providing techni-cal and marketing assistance in the process. The agricultural department will need to develop a food policy that promotes healthyliving and safe food by putting more Canadian-produced food on tables across thecountry along with investing in agricultural research to support science and innova-tion in the industry, and involve food producers in the process. Work with producersand provincial governments to determine whether the farm income safety nets areenough to support Canadian farmers and implement a new multi-year policy to replaceGrowing Forward 2. Internationally the Minister has a mandate to promote Canadian agricultural inter-ests during trade negotiations and work with all willing partners to help the industryadapt to climate change, address water and soil conservation and development is-sues. MacAulay is also tasked to support the Minister of Transport in reviewing theCanadian grain transportation system and the Minister of Infrastructure and Commu-nities to ensure investments in transportation infrastructure including short-line railspurs and port loading terminals. The industry is willing to give Minister MacAulay a chance but the honeymoon willnot last long and they will be making demands on his department and the budget.

New Ag Minister continued...Continued from page 1

By Joan Airey

At this year’s annualManitoba Farm Women’sConference held in Winkler, JillOfficer inspired all attendeesas a keynote speaker. Jill Officer is a householdname in curling circles and wellknown to everyone inManitoba. She is described ashaving a down to earth man-ner and has exceptionalstamina in training to be oneof the best curlers in the world.She is a ten-time ProvincialChampion, five-time CanadianScotties Tournament of HeartsChampion and a three-timeWorld Medallist includinggold in 2008, silver in 2015, andbronze in 2010. Officer and herteam skipped by JenniferJones, represented Canada atthe 2014 Sochi Olympic Win-ter Games, where they cap-tured Olympic Gold and werethe first ever team to go unde-feated in Women’s OlympicCurling. “Jill Officer inspired us allwith her message that youneed to ‘go your own way’ andalways do the best that youcan while keeping things inperspective in terms of balanc-ing your life, health, a career

Jill Officer Motivates Manitoba FarmWomen’s Conference Attendees

Jill Officer gave everyone a chance to have their photographtaken with her after her motivational talk. Starting at back rowfrom left to right: Jody Klassen, Ann Mandzuik, Catherine Jorden,Cindy Klassen, Jill Officer, Gloria Nimchuk, Angela Lovell, JoanneBaker, and Lori Froese. Front row: Carol Dalgarno and DonnaLee Brown. Missing is Jory Jury.

Photo by Joan Airey

and family,” said AngelaLovell. During her highly motiva-tional address to the attend-ees, Officer recalled how sheaccompanied her brother Roband his fiancée on a 27-daytrek to the base camp ofMount Everest in May 2006.

“The trek was extremely diffi-cult beyond what I couldimagine. I was glad of mybrother’s encouraging wordsand that I was able to pushmyself to complete the climb.The 360 degree view at thetop was unbelievable,” saidOfficer.

“The 360 degree view atthe top was unbelievable.”


by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected] My goal and my message to farmers, farm organi-zations on both sides of the 49th parallel, and I speak

to both audiences is why do we sometimes shoot at each other, when the enemy is muchgreater and we need to turn our collective guns on them. Well, this also holds true thinking of how one sector, sometimes thinks if governmentschange the rules, it will help our people get a higher price for their product. Case in point. The whole country of origin labelling fiasco has some people on theAmerican side of the equation thinking if we make packers label their products a little morespecific, consumers will like us, and the live animals will stay out from Canada and Mexico.That is exactly what happened. Same meat, same product, same animals, just a differentlabel. Why? Simple straight out greed and protectionism. It has cost both sides of theborder, in our case the farmers and farm organizations and government billions, and thesame holds true in the US, but there it is more or less; the government footing the costsdealing with the WTO. Now to my point because a headline caught my attention, and almost made my bloodboil... Processed meat can cause cancer, red meat probably can: WHO. My initial reaction and I posted it on Twitter; I wonder what those who keep bashingeach other in the meat industry now have to say? I maintain we need to focus our attentionon those who want to destroy the meat industry, not keep shooting across the bow ofthose raising the same produce as the next person. An article by the CNBC website states eating processed meat can lead to bowel cancer inhumans while red meat is a likely cause of the disease according to the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) so-called experts. These findings could sharpen debate over themerits of a meat-based diet. The article goes on to say the France-based International Agency for Research onCancer (IARC), part of the WHO, put processed meat such as hot dogs and ham in itsgroup 1 list, which already includes tobacco, asbestos and diesel fumes, for which there is“sufficient evidence” of cancer links. Yes, I know there is processed meat and then there is good old-fashioned deli meat,actual meat in most cases and no additives. Yet, to put that in the same class as asbestos and smoking, come on, give me a break. AsI said earlier, for this one we may have some of the anti-Canadian meat producers having

to admit we’re on the same side. Then again maybe not.This kind of damage to the meat producing industry, andagain most people can see through this as propagandabecause the word ‘probably’ gets used too often. Let me show you, while not probably here, they use thewords ‘the risks are small’. The article quotes Dr. KurtStraif of the IARC in a statement, not in an interview, anews release, from an individual, the risk of developingcolorectal (bowel) cancer because of processed meat con-sumption remains small, but this risk increases with theamount of meat consumed. I once attended a finance and credit conference in Chi-cago where a renowned economist talked about how peopledo surveys and even take them seriously. One study fed abunch of cheese to mice to see how it would affect them.They found out of you feed the mouse too much cheese itmight actually explode. The same scenario, in 1993 whenthe then CWB didn’t know what to do with the horrendousamount of vomitoxin infected wheat. Then CWB MinisterCharlie Mayer at a meeting of irate farmers in Selkirk whocouldn’t sell their wheat because of this, had a good an-swer for one farmer who asked what happens if I shouldingest some of this poisonous wheat? “Well,” says Charlie.“You eat a boxcar full of it, I know you will explode.” Yes, if you eat a tonne of processed meat and anothertonne of steak and eggs, your bowels may not be able tohandle it either. I forgot to tell you the article in my opinion becomesalmost laughable if it wasn’t so serious by saying, “Redmeat, under which the IARC includes beef, lamb and pork,was classified as a ‘probable’ carcinogen in its group 2Alist that also contains glyphosate, the active ingredient inmany weed killers. The lower classification for red meatreflected ‘limited evidence’ that it causes cancer. The IARCfound links mainly with bowel cancer, as was the case forprocessed meat, but it also observed associations withpancreatic and prostate cancer.” There you go… Remember the headline, ‘Processed meatcan cause cancer, red meat probably can: WHO’!

Dear Editor: During a recent Agriculture Committee meeting at the Legislature, Ron Kostyshyn, Min-ister of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD), revealed somestartling information. Despite ballooning government debts and deficits under the NDP, MAFRD has contin-ued to see its budget shrink for the past five years. The job vacancy rate in MAFRD iscurrently at 25 per cent, with rural offices forced to take the brunt of the vacant positions. Also, the Minister promised one year ago to release new regulations to enhance the localfood movement. Not only have these regulations not been released, but also the Ministerhad no clue as to when this will happen. This is broken trust in a broken government. Manitobans are tired of the same NDPbroken promises and want a change for the better. The next provincial election is April 19, 2016. With your help, a change for the better iscoming.Blaine Pedersen,Opposition critic for Agriculture, Food and Rural DevelopmentProgressive Conservative MLA for Midland

Even though economists have shown that it is nottrue, an old idea persists among many. It’s called thelabour theory of value; it argues that the value ofgoods is derived from the amount of work that wentinto making them. At best, this theory muddies ourthinking. At worst, it points us in the wrong direc-tion. The value of a good or service is actually quite subjective. It has more to do withsomeone’s perception of its usefulness for a particular end at a particular point in time.In other words, what something costs reflects what people are willing to pay, not howmuch time others spend making it. Like most people, farmers will contradict themselves and, depending on the situa-tion, go back and forth between both of these arguments. We hear a common com-plaint, for instance, that commodity prices do not reflect the cost of production –including how much labour was involved in producing, say, a tonne of canola. Noticethat this argument goes away every time the price of canola, or per acre yields, wellexceeds production costs, at least from the farmer’s perspective. Those buying itwould have something else to say. Land prices are probably the easiest example to illustrate the subjective theory ofvalue. Again, the common complaint is that land prices rarely seem to be related towhat can actually be produced on it. But it’s easy to see why this may be the case. Youmay be willing to pay more for a piece of land that’s right next to your home base, ormaybe next to another piece you already own. One’s overall debt and cash flowsituations can also be factors; the less debt you have, the more you may be willing tobid up the price. Or look at it the other way; if you have a lot of debt and distant landis for sale, you may still be interested if you can get a deal. The final price is really asubjective matter. None of this is unique to farmers. Students will argue that their papers should begraded higher based on how much time they put into researching and writing them.Teachers generally mark them solely based on the quality of the end product. Behavioural economist Dan Ariely likes to talk about a locksmith who, as he gotbetter at his work, started getting fewer tips, and more complaints about his prices.Each job took him so little time or effort that customers felt cheated—even thoughbeing super-fast is an asset in a locksmith, not a fault. Economics Professor Steve Horowitz goes deeper into the theory. “Rather thanseeing the value of outputs being determined by the value of the inputs like labour,the subjective theory of value shows that it’s the other way around. The value ofinputs like labour were determined by the value of the outputs they helped to pro-duce.” Horowitz explains in this example, “The high market value of well-prepared food isnot the result of the value of the chef’s labour. Rather, the chef’s labour is valuableprecisely because he is able to produce food that the public finds especially tasty,beautiful, or healthy.” If you look at this on a bigger scale, you come to understand that free exchange orcapitalism is at its core a means of communication. In the process, we try to sort outhow best to make use of limited resources to satisfy our most urgent wants. Econo-mist Ryan McMaken puts it this way. “Exchange and market prices are how we makeour subjective perceptions of value accessible to others so they can figure out howbest to provide us with the things we value most.” This also helps to explain the folly of central planning. People invariably valueeverything in many different, sometimes unexpected, and even bizarre ways. It is justsimply impossible for some central group to predict people’s wants and needs andthen somehow organize the world to fulfill them. The labour theory of value just gets in the way of our understanding of how theworld of free exchange really works. It’s time we stopped thinking in such antiquatedand disproven terms.

Beware of‘Probably’ Causing

Cancer….

The Value of Work

Manitobans PManitobans PManitobans PManitobans PManitobans Paying More andaying More andaying More andaying More andaying More andGetting Less ServiceGetting Less ServiceGetting Less ServiceGetting Less ServiceGetting Less Service


Another year draws toa close and a new onewill begin. It is a processthat continues whetheryou make a big deal ofstarting a new calendaror just consider itanother day. We are adecade and a half intothe new century, theGreeks called it aQuindecinnial, butthings haven’t reallychanged or have they. Remember when wewere going to be castinto utter chaos whenthe calendar turned from1999 to 2000? Tell kidsthat today and they

By Sylvain Charlebois

The food industry is showing signs it canchange, and the timing couldn’t be better.Animal proteins have been a dietary mainstayin much of the western world for thousands ofyears. But demand for processed and red meatshas been declining for a number of years now,for a variety of reasons. The arguments againstanimal protein consumption continue to pileup, among them, higher prices, health concerns,animal welfare and sustainability. And recently the World Health Organization

announced that ba-con, sausages andother processedmeats could causecancer, making thecase for eating animalprotein in generalweaker. However,the food industryhas started to dem-onstrate its willing-ness to adapt tochanging market de-mands. Take McDonald’s

Restaurants of Canada’s recent decision in theface of consumers’ growing wariness about theuse of antibiotics on animal farms, to procureantibiotic-free chicken. The non-therapeutic useof antibiotics in farm animals encourages anti-biotic-resistant germs that ultimately threatenhumans. Last March, McDonald’s US arm grabbedheadlines by announcing that over the next twoyears it will phase out serving chicken treatedwith some antibiotics. McDonald’s US has thecorporate muscle to do practically anything itfeels is right for its business and this movemakes sense in an era marked by supply chaintransparency. In Canada, though, things are very different,and so McDonald’s Canada’s approach wasmore guarded. McDonald’s is one of Canadianchicken farmers’ largest customers. It is esti-mated that more than 400 million McNuggetsare consumed annually in Canada alone.McDonald’s said it wanted to evaluate pur-chasing chickens raised without antibiotics be-fore making a decision since Canada’s farminglandscape is strictly regulated by the CanadianFood Inspection Agency. Then, after some months of investigation,McDonald’s Canada decided to go antibiotic-free. In a supply management system likeCanada’s, recognized farming practices helpmarketing boards set farm gate prices so thatfarmers are assured of a decent living. By limit-ing imports with high tariffs and controllingproduction through quotas, the system createsequilibrium between supply and demand thatwould be much more difficult to achieve in anopen market. However, altering codes of practice is alwayschallenging in Canada since farmers are con-cerned about how markets will react to poten-tially higher prices caused by any change. Weshouldn’t forget that chicken competes in thesupermarket and on restaurant menus withother animal proteins like pork or beef. Pricepoints are therefore carefully managed acrossthe food chain. And for the most part, the ex-isting system has served chicken farmers verywell for decades. Antibiotics have been used in chicken farm-ing since the end of the Second World War,when protein production became a priority inNorth America. Their use was encouraged toprevent and treat diseases, keeping animalshealthy and managing losses on farms. Antibi-otics enhanced production and kept pricesstable for consumers. So for years, the economic rationale for usingantibiotics was justifiable. But times are chang-

Another Year of Changesthink it ancienthistory, some wouldask if you thoughtthe dinosaurswould eat theclocks. It is not thechanging of thecalendar that markshuge events. A generation ago

things were marked bywhere you were November22,1963, then 911 replacedthat and now we haveParis to define anotherperiod and yes thoseevents all matter butreality is that in thisbusiness we go aboutproducing food as wehave and as we will. I heard the projectionsfor markets for theupcoming year, and in aphrase, it could besummed up as more of thesame. That meansuncertainty, wild priceswings on both inputsand the goods we sell.Things have gotten to thepoint that when you buyyour fuel can have as bigan impact on your bottomline as any other singlefactor. It was 3 years ago thatDr. David Kohl said wewould see crude oil prices

from $50 to $100 dollars abarrel in a single year. Heerred on the side ofcaution, swings havebeen far greater. We usedto believe we had a stablecurrency and wonder howpeople in South Americancountries functioned withthose wild rides in theircurrency, ours swung by35 cents this year and weare not sure it has settledyet. The key to surviving inthis business is beingable to weather thestorms, to have enoughput away for a rainy day,or a two-bit drop in yourdollar. The most valuableview of the future comesfrom those that tell us tobe ready for the gyrationsof the next year. Theyhave given up on going 5years out. Funny thing about that,it is the exact same thingmy Dad told me 40 yearsago, it was something hehad learned from farmingthrough the 1920s and thenext decade called theGreat Depression. Themore things change themore they stay the same. Merry Christmas and allthe best in 2016, hold onfor the ride.

Food Industry Demonstrates Willingnessto Adapt to Changing Markets

ing. We now know more about the impactof farm antibiotic use on consumers and thatadjustments are necessary. So it’s “Back tothe Future” in chicken farming. While changing the code of practice inCanada for supply-managed commoditieslike chicken is difficult and slow, the indus-try can and should align itself with con-sumer expectations. The same thing can be said about egg farm-ers. They decided to partner withMcDonald’s Canada a few weeks ago tosupply cage-free chicken eggs over the nextdecade. Addressing consumers’ concernsabout animal welfare and their own healthwas simply the right thing to do. Because of McDonald’s clout and marketpower, it will be easier for other restaurantchains to follow suit and work on new part-nerships with farmers. Some have been ask-ing in vain for such a change for years. McDonald’s Canada and Canadian chickenfarmers and egg producers should be laudedfor building partnerships that work for all,especially for consumers. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor atthe Food Institute at the University ofGuelph. He is currently on leave at the Uni-versity of Innsbruck in Austria.


Each year, I see hundreds of pre-weaned dairy calves overwintered inoutdoor calf hutches. Most perform well,but there are also more “poor doers”,than I care to see. I find that each poorcalf tells a similar story. Some of these mediocre calves areshivering, others are skinny, a few calves are coughing (with nasal discharge), whileothers are scouring. These are familiar signs of cold-stress, which lead to a high degreeof morbidity (sickness) and mortality in calves raised in hutches during the winter.Therefore, I recommend dairy producers should take a brisk walk along a row or groupof their hutches; and reduce any signs of cold-stress in calves with a good winteraction plan. Environmental research studying cold-stress in dairy calves has demonstrated that forevery drop of the thermometer by 1 °F below 50 °F (10°C), a calf requires 1% moreenergy (excluding other environmental factors such as wind-chill and wet weather).Back on the dairy farm, it means; dairy calves overwintered in outside hutches on abrisk winter day of -15 °F (-25°C) require at least 65% more dietary energy compared totheir counterparts raised in a heated calf barn.

Dairy Calves Raised in HutchesNeed a Good Winter Action Plan

To cover off this extra dietary energy, there are many simple things that dairy produc-ers can do in order to implement a good winter action plan, so winter nutritional statusof pre-weaned dairy calves is achieved. Adjust hutch placement - A row of hutches should be positioned on the farmyard thatis not in the direct path of cold north-west winds, such as near a row of trees, fence orother suitable windbreaks. Individual hutches should also be positioned such that colddrafts and snow are prevented from circulating around or inside each hutch, and a fewhours in direct sunlight does not hurt, either. Elevate dietary energy intake – Feed whole milk or high-fat (20 – 25%) all-milk milkreplacer. Increase the amount of milk or milk replacer fed by 2% for every 1°C, thetemperature drops below 10°C (re: 1% for every 1°F below 50 °F). This advice means if5 litres of whole milk or milk replacer are routinely fed to each calf and the temperaturedrops from 10 °C to 0 °C (re: 5 litres x 2% x 10 degrees drop = +1.0 litre), then a total of 6litres of milk or milk replacer should be put in front of each calf. I would implement athird feeding, if this amount is too much for baby calves to consume in two meals. Maintain a good calf starter program - Calf starter should also be introduced tooutside dairy calves just as those calves fed at any other time of the year. Two-week oldcalves won’t eat a significant amount of calf starter to receive much dietary energy, butthey will nibble on it. In contrast, when they become 5 - 6 weeks old, one calf shouldconsume up to a kilo of calf starter per day and then can be weaned. Keep calves clean – It might be hard to clean dirty hutches during the winter. How-ever, removal of wet soiled bedding and providing a good layer of fluffy straw effec-tively insulates calves from the cold. It also acts as a moisture barrier to keep them dry.One winter guideline for bedding suggests that enough clean straw should be provided,so one cannot see the animals’ feet when they stand up. Provide more TLC – From the start, people who use blankets on their calves in thehutches seem to have better winter-adjusted calves. I have also seen people that checkon the condition of their calves in hutches more frequently, seem to catch the ones thatare struggling (re: gaunt, have runny noses or loose manure) and treat them faster for amore effective recovery. It has been my own personal experience that these five practical recommendationslead to better quality dairy calves raised in hutches over the winter. To me, it’s a tale oftwo dairy farms that I presently visit on occasion. The first dairy farm lays a row of dairy hutches, just outside of the milking barn in thepath of a direct arctic airflow with little bedding provided in the hutches. These calvesare fed twice a day, a medium-fat milk replacer and calf starter buckets are filled everythird day. The second dairy farm has a row of calf hutches placed away from buildingsnear a long portable windbreak. Their calves are always bedded with lots of clean straw.They are fed a high-fat milk replacer, three times a day and a high quality calf starter,which is provided every day. Compared to the first dairy farm, the second dairy barn is well known for producinghealthy and frisky calves all year round.


By Joan Airey

Bailey Gitzel didn’t plan on becoming a businesswomanat thirteen when she saved her lunch money to buy twentyhens and fixed up an old granary for their living quarters. “Soon after I bought twenty hens I realized that I mayhave miscalculated how many hens a family of five needed.Our fridge was brimming with eggs and we were givingeggs away to anyone who wanted them. That is when Istarted peddling eggs to my teachers at school and I gotmy mom to sell eggs to the nurses at work,” said Gitzel. In grade nine Gitzel read a book about beekeeping andthat sparked an interest. She researched every thing shecould about the honeybee and beekeeping. In 2013, shepurchased her first hive and another beekeeper gave hersome old equipment. “Bees fascinated me. I would sit by the hive and justwatch the worker bees come and go. The next spring Iwanted to purchase two more hives from a beekeeper atMorden. I was lucky he took me under his wing and showedme the ropes of beekeeping. He even let me use his equip-ment to extract honey. This was my third year beekeepingand I currently have seven hives. I extracted close to eighthundred pounds of honey this year. At 64, my grandpa hasalso become involved in beekeeping. He’s helped me a lotand thinks it’s really neat that his granddaughter has taughthim something totally new,” said Gitzel. Every fall the Canadian Seed Trade Association picksgrade eleven and twelve students to attend the GrowCanada Conference as future influencers. Last fall Gitzelwas picked to attend the 2014 Grow Canada conference inOttawa. “After attending the conference I decided I wantedto study biotechnology at university instead of medicineand I realized after I could study science at a high level andstill be part of agriculture,” said Gitzel. In October 2015, Gitzel was chosen as one of two stu-dents to attend World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowaalong with two hundred student delegates from aroundthe world. “I attended sessions at the Borlaug Dialogue Interna-tional Symposium for three days and heard many interna-tional experts explain how it is possible to feed nine billion

Research and Networking Lead to Success for Young Entrepreneur

people. I had the chance to personally meet experts suchas Robb Fraley of Monsanto and watch Sir Fazle HasanAbed of BRAC in Bangladesh accept the 2015 World FoodPrize. Also I attended sessions on precision agricultureand aquaculture,” continued Gitzel. “One of the highlights of the experience came during theOxfam Hunger Banquet. In the past, when I’ve read statis-tics about hunger, they had little meaning to me. But dur-ing the banquet, participants were asked to step into someelse’s shoes for one meal. I was part of the poorest of poor.All I got to eat was a handful of rice from a bowl in whichmore than seventy-five people were sharing. I sat on the floor eating this rice as others served them-selves rice and chickpeas. The wealthiest participants inthis excise enjoyed a three-course meal. As I sat, there myview on life changed. I gained a new perspective and thehunger statistics I’ve read were no longer words to me. Irealized how privileged I am as I have never gone hungryin my life and how others struggle to get enough to eatevery day,” recounted Gitzel. “I might be a farm kid from Manitoba but I had an amaz-ing experience connecting with leaders from round the

world who have helped, and continue to help make a posi-tive impact on global food security. It was invaluable tohear so many stories on how one person can help changeso many lives,” added Gitzel. Bailey Gitzel is a grade twelve student at Carmen Colle-giate. Bailey started a farm based on selling eggs and hasbranched out in the honey business and has gone theroute of adding value by selling baking using her eggs andhoney at Carman Farmers Market. “Two of my greatest mentors besides my family havebeen Bruce Smirl a retired beekeeper who is always just aphone call or e-mail away and my Biology teacher Ms.Massinon has been a great support. She attended GrowCanada and World Food Prize with me,” said Gitzel. On how to succeed as an entrepreneur Giztel advised, “Ithink events like Open Farm Day and social media can givethe consumer an experience of seeing where their foodcomes from. I recommend to other people, research whatyou want to do, don’t just jump into something. If youcome to a bump in the road, don’t give up, focus on yourgoal.”

Photo by Joan Airey

Bailey Gitzel added value to her farming enterprise with baking,lip balm and honey offered at Carmen Farmer’s Market.

Bailey Gitzel participating in a Panel Discussion of Entrepre-neurs at Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference.

Tie One On: An Exhibit of Heritage Linen and Aprons isa special exhibition of aprons and heritage lines that will beon display at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, untilspring 2016. All items on display have been donated, orborrowed from Museum members and volunteers. The aprons have been made and embellished in a varietyof styles; which will delight and inspire visitors. While thepurpose of some aprons is functional, others representfashion, and many have a fanciful side. Over time, the apronbecame a type of uniform, performing a functional role, yetalso a symbol of pride in a job well done. Also on display is the ever-important handkerchief, aswell as beautifully embroidered tablecloths. Before the in-vention of the tissue, handkerchiefs were a very importantpiece of one’s wardrobe; carried by everyone. Visitors willsee children’s handkerchiefs with cute poems on them, aswell as very ornate handkerchiefs. Lovely tableclothsadorned with hand-stitched embroidery are also on dis-play. The Manitoba Agricultural Museum is located three ki-lometers south of the junction of the Trans-Canada and#34 Highways, 125 km west of Winnipeg and 90 km east ofBrandon. The Museum is open 9 am - 4:30 pm, Monday toFriday during the winter months.

Tie One On Exhibit OpensTie One On Exhibit OpensTie One On Exhibit OpensTie One On Exhibit OpensTie One On Exhibit Opensat Agricultural Museumat Agricultural Museumat Agricultural Museumat Agricultural Museumat Agricultural Museum


Directors and Officers of a corporation are responsiblefor their actions, the actions of the corporation and in someinstances the actions of other directors. The courts haveassessed damages against directors of corporations for wrong-ful actions. While some people believe that, a ‘LTD.’ or ‘INC.’ com-pany creates a legal veil leaving limited liability behind. Thisis not true. Directors and officers can be held liable for improper con-duct to shareholders or members for the management offunds, creditors for breach of trust and misappropriation offunds, knowledge of illegal or improper acts, making im-proper loans, fraudulent acts and transactions or decisionswhich are not authorized by the bylaws of the corporation,employees and volunteers for unpaid wages and unsafeworking conditions. The D&O policy is designed so that the insurance com-pany is responsible to defend the directors and officersfrom legal action due to a wrongful act and to pay the costsand damages including the cost to defend. The D&O policycan be compared to an errors and omissions policy thatprotects the business, except in this case the directors andofficers’ liability insurance protects the directors. Remember, the allegations do not have to be true. Themere fact that allegations exist will result in significant de-fense costs on the part of the director.Some questions to ask yourself:- Are you following the provincial and federal legislation?- Are your premises well protected from burglary or theftby dead bolt locks, and alarms? - Are your procedures suchthat they will discourage, prevent or reduce the possibilityof fraud, errors and mismanagement?- Do you avoid conflict of interest situations?- Do you hire competent experts?- Do you have clearly defined job descriptions? Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from thosewho understand your business! Andy Anderson is an Associate Insurance Broker special-izing in General, Life and Group Benefits for Farm andBusiness P: 204-746-5589, F: 866-765-3351,[email protected] / rempelinsurance.com/ valleyfinancial.ca.

By Joan Airey

Award winning Manitoba journalistLaura Rance, a keynote speaker at the No-vember Manitoba Farm Women’s Confer-ence brought to life how African Farmersare rising to the challenge of winning theHunger Games. Recently Rance visited Africa on specialassignment supported by the CanadianFoodgrains Bank where she researched thelinks between agriculture and developmentin Malawi, Zambia and Ethiopia. She said eighty percent of Africans de-pend on farming while only two percent ofCanadians live on farms. Growth in theagricultural sector in these countries isabout feeding a rising population and togrow their economies. “The hunger months are also the verycold season making it the most challeng-ing period for families in Africa especiallyin relation to diseases such as HIV/AIDSthat suppress people’s immunity. Theyneed better nutrition at this time when abalanced diet is not available. Children areoften the last to eat when food is shortthis time of the year. You often see a lot offatalities because the adults need morefood when working in the fields,” saidRance.

Directors & Officers’Insurance

Winning the Hunger Games

Laura Rance speaking at the 2015 FarmWomen’s Conference in Winkler, Manitobaabout her visit to Africa.

Photo by Joan Airey

Rance told attendees that when in Malawi she met with a local farmerThomas Nkhunda who had made great improvements in his farm’s perfor-mance by adopting conservation agriculture offered by the NGO TotalLand Care with technical support from the international Maize and WheatImprovement Centre helping improve cereal varieties and sustainable farm-ing practices. She noticed when it started to rain on his field that the water did not formpuddles and run away in torrents like further south but soaked into theground. His new way of farming his land has transformed his farm into asmall-scale commercial operation and made his routinely hungry familyfood secure. Rance showed slides on how most of the farmers in Malawi typically farmwith a hoe. Planting crops into rows and then pulling those rows intoridges just as we would hill potatoes, sometimes foot high, leaving deepgullies between rows. This is backbreaking work. When there are no ridges farmers can instead plant their rows closertogether, which increases ground cover thus higher yields. The extra rainsoaking into the ground and organic matter have doubled the yields of hismaize crop. Now Nkhunda grows a range of crops and he has a higher yielding seed.In addition to maize, he has a fruit tree nursery and a small grain buyingbusiness. Through this hard work, Nahunta’s family is able to save money. Conference attendees also learned that families have to pay for theirchildren to go to school. Rance told of us of a girl called Juliette in Zambiawho forced her parents to pay her school fees. It became possible whenher mother was selected by the Zambian government to receive training incrop rotation, crop diversification, gardening and poultry production. The program is made possible by the Reformed Church of Zambia withsupport from World Renew and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The farm-ers who have received training in soil education for healthy farming haveembraced the concepts and are reaping the benefits. In a village in Malawi, Rance said she thought children were playing at agrown up game as they raced from spot to spot using a hoe bigger thanthey were to dig holes through the mulch in a maize patch. Then one boypushed his hand deep into the freshly hoed earth and emerged trium-phantly holding a 10 centimetre long insect that was buzzing. As it turnsout young children hunt for crickets that burrow into the moist, mulchedsoil in a conservation agriculture field. Roast crickets are a delicacy inMalawi Rance told us. Rance explained food production is done by women and the men raisethe cash crops like tobacco while the women like to look after theirfamilies. The tobacco industry started contracting with small farmers in theearly two thousands when large commercial tobacco producing compa-nies went bankrupt. Everyone’s eyes were opened by Rance on how important it is to lookafter our soil. Ingrid Kristjanson gave a presentation “Healthy Crops Begin withHealthy Soils” and Maria Reikman a presentation “From the Earth Beneathour Feet to the Dirt Under our Fingernails Discover the Hidden Gem of Soil! These presentations were closer to home as they covered farmland in ourprovince. As it is the International Year of Soils, the conference theme“From the Ground Up” was a fitting one.


By Les Kletke

When it comes to succession planning there is one bit ofadvice consultants agree on, communication is key. Mike Bossy is President of BNG and has assisted morethan 200 family businesses through growth and succes-sion planning, he told the Canadian Association of FarmAdvisors (CAFA) members at their annual meeting. He stressed it is critical to get the families talking. “Wehave too many people who are afraid to give up controland they don’t talk about a plan,” said Bossy. “They con-tinue to operate as if they will be there forever and cannottrust anyone else to take over.” He said it is the uncertainty that causes more problemsthan the condition of the succession. “The next genera-tion doesn’t know what is happening and cannot make

Do Not Leave Succession Planning a Surprise

Mike Bossy says communication is the key to any successfulsuccession plan.

Photo by Les Kletke

plans for their lives. That gets even more complicated whenthere are in-laws involved.” He strongly suggests, “Hav-ing all the family members present and informing them aboutwhat the plan for the future is.” “There is nothing worse than having a daughter-in-lawnot be informed and getting her information second hand,”said Bossy. “It goes through another filter and the son, herhusband might not have heard things exactly as they weresaid and certainly might not convey the message as in-tended.” Bossy who grew up on a farm at Tillsonburg, Ontariosaid his father was the ‘Tobacco Whisper” and it is skill henever had. “My dad could drive onto a yard and just bythe smell coming from the kiln know what was wrong andright about the tobacco. He could tell what needed to bedone, all of his neighbours respected him for his expertiseand while he tried to teach me, it was not a skill I acquired.He could not understand that,” said Bossy. He recalled that he realised tobacco farming was not forhim and chose to attend college where he played basket-ball until a career ending injury in his first month. “Dadsaid be an accountant, they don’t work much and theymake lots of money so I became an accountant,” said Bossy.“I found out how much they work and I didn’t like it.” He said working with farmers and their families allowshim to include both his farm and accounting background.“People can avoid so many problems if they just talk aboutthe plan and make people aware.” Graig Swiston who works with CC & L in planning phil-anthropic giving strategies agreed with Bossy that com-munication is the key. “We see people establishing foun-dations that will be passed on to their children and dealwith causes the children are not dedicated to, they find therole a nuisance,” he said. He suggested a plan for charitable giving that allowspeople to change their recipient if they choose. “We havepeople who if a disease hits one of them change their mindabout the cause they want to support and are locked in ifthey make one large donation,” he said. “We suggest someflexibility.”

“There is nothing worse thanhaving a daughter-in-law not be

informed and getting herinformation second hand.”


By Harry Siemens

Farm organizationsoutline their own specificsector needs goingforward as a new FederalLiberal government takesover. “We look forward toworking with the Liberalsin advancing the interestsof prairie farmers,” saidLevi Wood, President ofthe Wheat Growers. “TheLiberal election platformcontains several positiveelements for Canadianagriculture.” The Wheat Growers likethat Trudeau signalledearly on his support forinternational trade,strongly suggesting thatCanada will ratify theTrans-Pacific Partnershipagreement. “Strengthen-ing market access forCanadian grain andlivestock producers iscritically important for thefarm economy,” saidWood. “The Liberal’s pastsupport of trade agree-ments gives us everyreason to be optimistic onthe trade front.” George Matheson, Chairof Manitoba Pork Council(MPC) said internationaltrade, human resourcesand business riskmanagement are amongthe key issues they will befocus on as Canadatransitions to a new

Agriculture Looks Forward withNew Liberal Government

Manitoba Pork Council Chair George Matheson sees interna-tional trade, human resources and business risk managementas the key issues they will focus on as Canada transitions to anew Federal Liberal government.

federal government.“Number one, interna-tional trade. Of course weare definitely an exportingnation of pork,” saidMatheson. “The secondone, human resources,very important to us ofcourse. We take a lot oflabour and that’s hard tocome by of late, and thethird would be businessrisk management. Ourindustry takes lots of risk,fluctuating commodityprices primarily and wewould like to see someinsurances that wouldlevel that for us.” Matheson said the porkindustry in this country isa great economic engineemploying many peopleand consuming a lot offeed grains, which wouldbe expensive to export. Itadds a lot of value toother aspects of agricul-ture. “Its value every yearis in the neighbourhoodof $5 billion and exportsamount to approximately$3 billion a year,” saidMatheson. “In a countryof 35 million people thoseare impressive figures andwe would like to impressupon Canadians ingeneral that the porkindustry is important tothe gross nationalproduct and the generalwell being of all Canadi-ans.” Rick Bergmann of

Steinbach, Chair of theCanadian Pork Councilsaid market access,availability of labour,business risk managementand competitiveness willbe among the key issuesCanada’s pork industrywill be focusing on asCanada transitions into anew federal administra-tion. Bergmann expressedthat to move forward thepork industry’s messageto the new administrationwould continue to focuson priorities that arecritical to the success ofpork producers includingthings like market access,availability of labour,business risk manage-

ment, competitivenessand on the contribution,the industry makes to theeconomy. “We have a significanteconomic activity here inCanada of over $13 billion,a major employer of over100,000 jobs, we createsignificant wages, there’ssignificant taxes gener-ated by all of this,” hesaid. “We certainly wantto carry the message onthat we’re a significantpart of the Canadianeconomy and that ourneeds would need to belooked after so we cancontinue to stay strong inour position here andsustainable.”

Fields on Wheels Conference –On Wednesday, December 2 begins at 8 am at theDelta in Winnipeg, 350 St. Mary Ave.Theme: “Grain exports to 2035: Is Western Canadaready?” — “Higher prices and larger marketscould be in store for western Canadian farmersand the grain supply chain. Is the infrastructuresufficient to meet the challenge of moving moregrain?

Hog Days –On Wednesday, December 2 from 10 am - 4:30 pmat the Keystone Centre, Brandon. Contact Everlito Mendoza 204-346-6080or e-mail [email protected] 150 exhibits, Pork Quality Competition,Bake off Competition.Luncheon $12/person 12 -1 pm.

Prairie Fruit Growers Assoc.AGM and Berry ProductionSeminars –On Saturday, December 5 from 9 am – 12:30 pm atthe Ambassador A Room, Canad Inns Fort Garry,1824 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg.PFGA AGM and seminars on Berry Pollination,Spotted Winged Drosophila (SWD),Raspberry Fireblight.Contact [email protected].

Developing Food SafetyPolicies, Proceduresand Records Training –On Thursday, December 10 from 9 – 11:30 am atRm 104 - 1000 Waverley St. Winnipeg.Contact to register Maria Krawec at 204-391-3064,[email protected].

Events...


By Harry Siemens

Swine Innovation Porc, anational organization cre-ated to facilitate research onbehalf of Canada’s pork in-dustry has released its2014-2015 annual report.The organization conductsresearch through a nationalpartnership involving thepork industry, government,and researchers is focusingon ensuring consumers willcontinue to choose pork. While funded in part by

The United Nations (UN) officially launched the Interna-tional Year of Pulses 2016 in Rome, Italy. This Year ofPulses is a coordinated effort among nations, growers groups,scientists and health experts to encourage people to eatpulses. “We are excited to be a part of this global initiative,” saidFrancois Labelle, Executive Director of the Manitoba Pulseand Soybean Growers (MPSG). “Pulses produced in ourprovince are enjoyed locally and internationally, and welook forward to new opportunities to spread the messagethat pulses are good for people and good for the planet.” Manitoba pulse growers produced approximately $100million in 2015. These dried seeds of legume crops includeddry beans, dry peas, chickpeas and lentils which are sold inbulk or found in prepared soups, snacks and flours. Pulsesare high in protein, fibre and various vitamins, and havebeen linked to a decreased risk of heart attack and stroke. With over 800 million people around the world sufferingfrom acute or chronic undernourishment and a rising tide ofhealth problems linked to poor diets, the International Yearof Pulses 2016 aims to demonstrate the integral role thesenutrient-dense foods have in global food security and nutri-tion. “Pulses have great potential to help eradicate hunger, plustackle many chronic health conditions, such as obesity anddiabetes,” said Huseyin Arslan, President of the Global PulseConfederation (GPC), a global not-for-profit trade organi-zation. “We congratulate the UN on its focus on pulses andtheir importance to global food security and nutrition.” In January, MPSG will launch a consumer awareness cam-paign to encourage more Manitobans to eat pulses. “Pulsesare considered the food of the future,” said Labelle. “Be-cause they provide excellent nutrition and require much lessenergy to produce than other crops. That sustainability iskey in feeding our families and the world.”

Telling the Food Story with Properly Funded Researchthe Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in partnershipwith the pork industry, pro-ducers are also paying forthis research. Swine Inno-vation Porc Chair StewartCressman said the main fo-cus is to reduce productionand feed costs, improveproduct attributes andprices, and enhance theadaptability andsustainability of the sector. Cressman said the basefunding comes from pro-ducers through a research

levy collected on every in-dividual hog marketedalong with other partners.“The nutrition work, wewould argue that it benefitsthe producer and there’ssome best managementpractices looking at a morerobust healthy pig in thenursery that requires lessor no intervention with an-tibiotics,” he said. “As wellthere’s work with the pro-cessors, so looking at tech-nologies that they can usein their plants to look at

pork quality and attributesand then passing that onto further processors andretailers trying to betteridentify the attributes thatthey would like to have intheir product that they putin the meat case and ulti-mately supply to the con-sumers.” Cressman stresses thatthe consumer has choicesand does not have to buypork so the industry has tokeep the end view in sightby improving the quality,

the taste experience andthe healthfulness of theproduct to maintain repeatcustomers at a competitiveprice point. Keeping the commentsabout that producer and in-dustry funded research atthe forefront, a food scien-tist with the University ofManitoba suggests today’sconsumers are better in-formed than ever about thehealth and nutritional as-pects of the foods they eat. A report released by thecancer agency of the WorldHealth Organization, whichlabelled processed meat ascarcinogenic, resulted inwidespread media atten-tion. Dr. Rick Holley, a foodsafety and food microbiol-ogy professor with theUniversity of Manitobasaid earlier reports weresomewhat misleading draw-ing parallels between smok-ing and eating bacon, whenthe risks associated withsmoking are something like2,500 percent greater. “Consumers are in a verygood position today bycomparison with 20 yearsago because the baselinelevels of understandingand availability of credibleinformation I think is farbetter today than it ever hasbeen and so we’re in a rela-tively good position to be

able to make informed judg-ments,” he said. “Certainlythe information that healthprofessionals have andcontinue to provide withregard to dietary habits,recommendations for eat-ing a balanced diet coupledwith adequate exercise Idon’t think has fallen ondeaf ears.” While many accept thefact that processed meatsare not the healthiestfoods, moderation is cer-tainly an element thatneeds to be taken into con-sideration in terms of theconsumption of both pro-cessed meats and redmeats too. Dr. Holley said he is im-pressed the media keepstaking a balanced approachtoward evaluating risks as-sociated with the hazardsthat were brought forwardto consumers’ attention. Hesuggests the media lost afew points when the storyoriginally broke but gainedthem back during thecourse of reporting the is-sue. He said there was recog-nition that the agency mak-ing those claims did notconsider new evidence andthat this is a new opinionrather than results of newresearch, which has im-pacted the acceptance ofthe report.

Manitoba Celebrates GlobalManitoba Celebrates GlobalManitoba Celebrates GlobalManitoba Celebrates GlobalManitoba Celebrates GlobalLaunch of YLaunch of YLaunch of YLaunch of YLaunch of Year of Pear of Pear of Pear of Pear of Pulsesulsesulsesulsesulses


By Les Kletke

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business hasreleased a report stating its members lack confidence in thevision of the provincial Department of Agriculture. Thereport also said that things change drastically at theManitoba Saskatchewan border. “At their heart, both Saskatchewan and Manitoba areagricultural provinces. Yet, when it comes to leadership onthe agriculture file, Saskatchewan stands out with CFIBfarm members giving a thumb up to their Ministry of Agri-culture. For Manitoba farmers, the grass is certainly greeneron the other side,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s Vice-President Prairie and Agri-business. “It is evidentSaskatchewan farmers support the vision and policies theprovincial Ministry of Agriculture has introduced to date.However, we all know good is the enemy of great. Continu-ing to create the conditions for farmers to grow and expandshould be a top priority.” “This study demonstrates that MAFRD and the Manitobagovernment are going in a direction that Manitoba farmerssimply don’t support,” said Elliot Sims, CFIB’s Director,Provincial Affairs, Manitoba. “At almost every turn theprovincial government adds to the total tax burden of farm-ers and buries them in red tape, which limits their ability tocompete with producers in other provinces and across theglobe. Until we see common sense return to regulationmaking and a reduction in the heavy tax burden imposedon producers, we’ll continue to see dismal confidence inthe government.” Sims said that many of the members surveyed are agri-cultural producers. “We have agribusiness members butmany of the members in this survey are independent pro-ducers.” He cites environmental regulations as one of the keyareas where producers feel handcuffed by government regu-lations. “Producers feel that too often the regulations areput in place and then it is a matter of lobbying and trying toget them changed to fit practical applications,” he said.“Road restrictions and manure application would be twoexamples the rules are written with specific dates and thenonly after a long process does reason come to play and thedates adjust upon weather conditions. Why could the regu-

By Joan Airey

Leanne Campbell andRoberta Galbraith fromManitoba Canola Growersheld an interactive presen-tation at the ManitobaFarm Women’s Conferencein Winkler on how to useTwitter. Participants learned howto prepare and craft tweetsduring the session tellingtheir stories about agricul-ture and tweet about themwith their connections atCanola Growers and be-yond. Campbell provided a listof questions to ask your-self before tweeting. “Whatare your limits tweeting? Isit okay if absolutely any-one sees this post? WouldI say this to someone faceto face? Am I being reac-tive? Is this post well

Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship ad-vise the winter nutrient application ban has been imple-mented effective immediately given recent snowfall ac-cumulations throughout Manitoba. The winter nutri-ent application ban continues until midnight on April10 and applies to all forms of nutrients including live-stock manure and inorganic fertilizer. A previous variance that extended the window onnutrient application has been rescinded. Producers are reminded that additional informationon nutrient application restrictions can be accessedonline at manitoba.ca/nutrientdates. Restrictions are designed to ensure nutrients are notapplied when the ground is frozen and/or snow-cov-ered and to protect the water quality of Manitoba’slakes and rivers by reducing nutrient loading to water-ways.

Winter NutrientWinter NutrientWinter NutrientWinter NutrientWinter NutrientApplication Ban in EffectApplication Ban in EffectApplication Ban in EffectApplication Ban in EffectApplication Ban in Effect

Survey: MB Farmers Do NotSupport MAFRD Vision

Elliot Sims of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesssays its members are not entirely happy with ManitobaAgriculture Food and Rural Development.

lations not have been written like that to begin with?” The addition of tax on purple fuel is another sore spot.“The addition of tax on purple fuel erodes the advantagefarms have,” said Sims. “It was tax free but now has 3 centsa litre tax imposed and that can move up.” Sims said Saskatchewan has a distinct policy of reducingred tape and he does not see a similar move in Manitobaand neither do the members surveyed for the report. He is quick to point out that Ag Minister Kostyshen hasmet with the CFIB and provided a listening ear. “But weknow that the Agriculture Department is not the only oneinfluencing legislation and we would like to see a strongvoice when dealing with other departments writing legisla-tion that impacts farmers.”

“This study demonstrates thatMAFRD and the Manitobagovernment are going in a

direction that Manitoba farmerssimply don’t support.”

Seven Seconds and140 Characters to

Make an Impression

Leanne Campbell helps a conference attendee with her firsttweet. Photo by Joan Airey

thought out? How muchinformation am I willing toreveal about my family? DoI have permission to shareinfo/pictures that are notmy own? How many postshave I sent today? Do Ihave a limit?” she posed tothe group. Social Media such asFacebook and Twitter aregreat ways to promote ag-riculture, your business orfollow yourgrandchildren’s hockeygames. We are never tooold to learn from a friend,acquaintance or grandchil-dren they explained. “Twitter is a powerful toolthat the farm communitycan use, not only reach outand stay connected withfellow farmers but also, tobuild relationships andconnect with the generalconsumer. Social media

tools like this open dia-logue with consumers andput out a face to the jour-ney food takes from thefarm to their tables,” saidCampbell.

They provided words ofcaution while using socialmedia, “Think before youtweet or post on Facebookor any other form of socialmedia.”


Trading relationships are a conversation. A conversation that requires listening aswell as talking. Canada’s wheat industry is having that conversation with customers around theworld right now. New Crop Missions will visit twenty countries in Asia, West Africa,Mid-East and North Africa, Europe, South America, in addition to customers inCanada and the US. We have two primary goals; first, we aim to promote the quali-ties of Canadian wheat and durum to every region of the world. Second, we arebringing feedback from our customers to help ensure that Canadian wheat anddurum are the preferred choice for customers around the world. The New Crop Missions are a coordinated team approach to supporting our cus-tomers around the world. The missions are a collaboration between Cereals Canada,the Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI) the Canadian Grain Commission(CGC), provincial crop commissions and Canadian exporters. Seminars are providing customers with a comprehensive overview of how the2015 Canadian crop will perform in their mills and high quality breads, steamed bunsand noodles that will be made from every class of Canadian wheat and durum. Customers are welcoming the good quality of the 2015 crop. The majority of bothCanadian Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canadian Amber Durum (Celp WAD) isin the top two grades. Protein levels exceed the long-term averages. This is goodnews for the Canadian industry. What else are our customers talking about? Grain safety issues are at the top ofthe list in many markets. There is greater scrutiny of issues arising from mycotoxinslike Ochratoxin A (OTA), Deoxynivalenol (DON) and crop input residues. Canadahas a stellar grain safety record. But we can’t take our reputation for granted. Theindustry needs to continue to listen to our customers and ensure that we are takingthe steps to keep our grain clean from residues and mycotoxins. Customers are also welcoming the modernization of Canada’s wheat classificationsystem. The changes will ensure that the gluten strength of Canada Western RedSpring (CWRS) remains at the levels customers have come to expect and will con-tinue to meet customers’ needs going forward. The new team approach to the New Crop Missions allows the Canadian valuechain to provide important support as well as receive feedback from customers.Both “talking” and “listening” are critical to maintaining Canada’s competitive ad-vantage on the world stage. Everyone involved in the industry will benefit. Anyone interested can review the technical information presented through theNew Crop Missions by visiting any of the websites of the principle organizationsinvolved, CerealsCanada.ca, grainscanada.ca and cigi.ca. Cam Dahl is President of Cereals Canada.

By Les Kletke

Craig Klemmer said thatif you want to know whatis going to happen to Ca-nadian agriculture marketsyou need to watch theAmerican markets. Klemmer is the SeniorAgricultural Economist atFarm Credit Canada (FCC)and told the annual meet-ing of Canadian Farm Ad-visors that Canadian mar-kets tend to follow theAmerican markets for sev-eral reasons. “Corn is stillking and what happens tocorn determines a lot ofwhat happens to othergrain markets,” saidKlemmer. “US corn stocksare rebuilding and thatcould put downward pres-sure on the corn price in thenext year.”

Trade – It’s a Two WayConversation

Canadian Agriculture in Good Position for Exports

Craig Klemmer of FCC says producers can expect more of thesame for commodity prices in 2016.

Photo by Les Kletke

Longer term he sees po-tential in the expansion ofother economies that willbe in the market for Cana-dian grain. “The UN is ex-pecting the middle class inthe world to double from 2billion in 2013 to 4 billion in2020,” he said. “That is theUN standard for middleclass which is well belowthe Canadian standard.” He added that, “Canadawill remain one of the fewexporting countries overthat time and stands ingood position to take ad-vantage of the developingmarkets, but the loonie isthe wild card in all of thisand we need to have a dol-lar that is attractive to worldmarkets.” He said that slide of thedollar began before thedrop in oil prices but oil is

certainly a contributing fac-tor to a lower dollar and willcontinue to be so over thenext two years. Klemmer said the bumpercrop and livestock ‘dreamprices’ made for record in-comes in 2014 and wasdoubtful that 2015 wouldtop it when all the figureswere in. He is even moredoubtful looking to 2016but is hopeful that hogprices have bottomed out.“We are seeing some inter-est in expansion in the hogindustry from our clients,”said Klemmer. “We don’tknow whether they are justkicking tires or if they areserious but the indicationsare that interest is return-ing in the hog industry. On the beef side heprojects that profitabilitywill last into 2016 but did

not offer opinions pastthat. He is hopeful that thelower margins in the hogindustry will end as pricesbottom out and begin torebound. On the crop side,his projections showed thegreatest margins for lentilswith canola coming in sec-ond. Klemmer noted there ispotential for soybeanprices to slide consideringthe crop in the US and inBrazil.


By Harry Siemens

Even though hog production has dropped substantially in Manitoba, there is still difficulty in finding qualified peopleto work in barns. Because of job vacancies, Manitoba Pork Council (MPC) has sponsored a survey they will use to develop programsand strategies designed to help pork producers address the challenges they face in accessing and retaining labour. As part of its effort to develop an independent labour strategy, MPC is completing a survey of approximately 30 privatepork producers from across the province to gain knowledge on the challenges they face in accessing labour and createstrategies to address those challenges. Miles Beaudin the Manager of Quality Assurance and labour programs with MPC, said the survey focuses on thelabour challenges. “Some examples would be how many employees do you have in your barn to get a sense of the sizeof the operation,” said Beaudin. “Then how many people have you hired locally, how many people have you hired fromabroad and so on. There’s also a set of questions revolving around retention.” Other questions look at how staff is retained by quantifying the producer’s turn over rate, pay structures, bonusstructure to see if there is any linkages between that and turn over. “The other area is that we are asking questions

regarding training and education,” saidBeaudin. “Are you offering education andtraining on the farm, because there is link-ages between that and turn over possiblyand is there any human resources pro-grams in place for training the owners, theoperators and also the people on farm.” Another survey category includes feed-back on where they advertise, does it work,and what other services would they likefrom Manitoba Pork Council. Beaudin said the final report would sum-marize the information gathered, and use itto devise programs and services to helpproducers address their human resourcesproblems.

By John McGregor

A grass plant is a collection of plant parts, made up ofgrowth units called tillers. Each tiller produces roots andleaves. Vegetative tillers consist primarily of leaves,whereas reproductive tillers produce a stem, seed head,roots and leaves. The basal area of the stem, whereroots often arise, is the crown. The crown usually has a number of buds (growingpoints) that produce new tillers and roots. New tillersare anatomically and physiologically connected to oldertillers. Therefore, several connected tillers may all liveand share water, carbohydrates and nutrients. If onetiller dies, an adjacent tiller with established roots andleaves usually lives. In the fall, if there is adequate moisture new tillers startfrom auxiliary buds. These tillers overwinter in the 1-3leaf stage. Grass growth begins in spring when airtemperatures increase (growing degree-days) and thesoil warms. Early in the growing season, because the growingpoint is located at, or close to the soil surface, it isprotected from large grazing animals. Grazing removesleaf tissue but in most cases will not harm the growingpoint that produces new leaves. As spring growthbegins, the apical meristem (growing point) which isinside the stem, near the base of the plant is responsiblefor leaf formation. Each leaf is rolled into a tube likeformation and as new leaves push up from the centre ofthe tube they unfurl and expand. At the base of eachleaf and sheath is the intercalary meristem that isresponsible for this expansion. The apical meristem onthe tiller continues to grow and produce more interca-lary meristem (leaves) as long as it remains in thevegetative state. Some tillers stay vegetative, while others becomereproductive and produce seed heads. Whether a tillerbecomes reproductive depends on environment andhormones produced in the plant. The apical meristemproduces the seed head, which is triggered by increas-ing day length. As seed heads develop they produceplant hormones that retard the development of the othervegetative tillers. Once the plant becomes reproductive(boot stage) it is committed to reproduction and itsability to produce new leaves starts to decline.

A reproductivegrass tiller. Thistiller has a stem (orculm) and seedhead that differsfrom the tiller inFigure 1. Interca-lary meristematictissue at the baseof the leaf blade,near the ligule(insert), allows forleaf expansion.

Growth and Development of Grasses for Better Grazing The reproductive apical meristem elevates duringgrowth of reproductive structures. This is different fromthe vegetative meristem, where leaves form at the baseof the plant and the apical meristem remains at, or nearthe soil surface. Grazing can remove the reproductiveapical meristem and halt seed head production. For seedproduction, avoid grazing during this period. However,you can manage grazing to reduce the seed crop andstimulate future tiller production. Seed production is notalways essential for stand maintenance, as manygrasses reproduce by vegetative means such astillering, rhizomes or stolons. The type of grass determines when the apical meristemis elevated. Once the apical meristem is elevated, it issusceptible to removal by grazing or mowing. If thegrowing point is removed, that tiller cannot grow andnew growth must come from auxiliary buds on thecrown. Similarly, if it becomes reproductive, vegetativegrowth can only occur from the immature intercalarymeristem or from auxiliary buds. Removing the seedhead by grazing or clipping will promote development ofvegetative tillers Because most cool season grassesrequire cool temperatures and long nights to once againdevelop reproductive tillers, after seed heads areremoved, vegetative growth is produced for theremainder of the year. When grazing, ideally, you would like to have within 3days following grazing, photosynthesis provided from88% to 99% of the regrowth, the remainder suppliedfrom carbohydrate pools (stored food). The carbohy-drate pools should be considered small buffers forregrowth, not a large reserve. The most critical factoraffecting regrowth is the amount of green leaf and stemtissue remaining after grazing. The greater the green leafarea remaining after a grazing period, the greater thepotential for regrowth. Remember it takes leaves toproduce leaves therefore a good rule of thumb is to takehalf and leave half. Favourable growing conditions are required forcontinued growth. Under certain range, conditions theremay not be enough moisture for auxiliary buds to initiatenew tillers therefore the quickest regrowth comes fromleaves and stems on existing tillers. John McGregor is with Manitoba Forage andGrasslands Association Extension Support.

Above: A vegetative grass tiller. Leaf 1 is oldest and leaf 8 is justbeing exerted. The enlarged area of the crown shows the apicalmeristem that produces the leaves.

MPC Designs Survey to Look atHog Industry Labour Problems

Miles Beaudin, the Manager of Quality Assurance and LabourPrograms with Manitoba Pork Council sees labour as an ongoingchallenge, which is the focus of the labour survey.


By Les Kletke

A Senior Economist withFarm Credit Canadaprojects the increases inland price is definitely slow-ing and prices might be infor what he calls a soft land-ing. Craig Klemmer told theAGM of the Canadian As-sociation of Farm Advisorsthat the increase in landprices has slowed from 2013when it topped 25%. His

By Elmer Heinrichs

Even as farmers here in Manitoba harvested at least anaverage crop, there continues to be a growing need forcommunity food banks. Students at Ecole Parkside School in Altona learned inOctober that food is not something that should be takenfor granted. The school partnered with Rhineland Car Co.in its “We Scare Hunger” food drive, a joint effort betweenFord dealers and Free the Children, an aid agency. Stu-dents at Ecole Parkside collected almost 500 items and de-livered them to the Rhineland Area Food Bank in Altona. Rhineland Car Co. President Jim Dick said the dealership

Farmers at Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) gen-eral council meeting recently supported a resolution call-ing on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) tohalt a plan that pork producers believe will put their indus-try back at risk for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv). The CFIA intends to eliminate its requirement that alltrucks and trailers entering Manitoba from the US must bewashed in the province. Instead, it will allow vehicles to bewashed in the US, something the Manitoba Pork Councilsays is not adequate because only heat will kill the virus,and there are no US facilities that use this method. Meanwhile, in Manitoba, there are facilities at Blumenortand Brandon that not only wash the vehicles, but alsoexpose them to high temperatures for an hour. “This basically cooks the vehicle, and that’s what’sneeded to prevent the spread of the virus,” said KAP Presi-dent Dan Mazier. “The industry only recently received theall-clear from last year’s PEDv outbreak, a disease that camefrom the US, and producers are worried relaxing the rulewill put their barns at risk once again.” The next opportunity for KAP members to come togetherand put forward resolutions addressing current issues inthe agriculture industry and rural Manitoba will be at theirannual meeting, January 27 and 28, in Winnipeg.

Land Prices Softening

Craig Klemmer expects land price increases to soften in thenew year.

Photo by Les Kletke

expectation for land pricesto be in the 6% range for2015 and soften even morenext year. Even with a slowdown he does no see a de-cline in land prices and sitedthe reason of the smallamount of land that tradeshands annually. “We only see about 2%of Manitoba farm landchanging hands annually,”said Klemmer. “So it is notentirely reactive to marketconditions.” The small amount of land

trading also means thatother factors influence theprice. A farmer who has aparcel of land near himcome up for sale is quietwilling to bid over whatmarket prices are at that timeto make sure he acquiresthe piece close to his homefarm situation. “He is paying a premiumand that makes sense forthe convenience of havingthe land next to his,” saidKlemmer. “But it has notestablished a price at thehigher level and that maynot be the true marketprice.” There are other factorsaffecting the price of landand they are not huge in-vestors with sums ofmoney from retirementfunds. “I want to make itvery clear, outside inves-tors that are coming frompension plans, they are re-sponding to the market,they are not pushing the

market,” said GordonDaman, President of RedRiver Group in Niverville.“The Ontario TeachersPension Fund or CPP arevery, very shrewd individu-als. They will only go in andpurchase a property oncethey see what that marketvalue is.” He said local farmers havea far greater impact. He callsthe bidding high on landnear an existing farm “as-semblage” and points to itas a far greater factor thanfunds. The concentration ofa few farmers looking toexpand their acreage canhave the effect of pushingprices higher but it can alsohave the opposite effect ifthey agree to hold pricesbelow a predeterminedlevel or engage in tradingland with other large pro-ducers to concentrate theirholdings in a small area. He said another problemarises when large farms sell

out and no one can affordto buy them. The solutionhe suggests is to sell landin smaller parcels over anumber of years. Klemmer suggests thatlower interest rates in re-

cent years have contributedto the increase in landprices and if interest rateswere to increase, the costof buying land wouldsoften even more or de-cline.

Students Take Action to Aid Food Bankwas able to collect almost a truckload of food, and re-ceived another $310 in cash donations. Sun Valley Co-op food store also collected $492, which was thenmatched by the co-op. Homeroom teacher Andrea Neufeld said, “We wantedstudents to be aware of what’s going on in the commu-nity and we want them to realize that they have a voicein their community and that their actions can make adifference.”

PED VirusRisks Raised atKAP Meeting


By Les Kletke

The future of taxation legislation is as uncertain as theagricultural markets or the movement of the Canadiandollar and all will have a dramatic impact on farmers’bottom lines in 2016. Victor Bergmann is a partner with Deloitte LLP inWinnipeg and he told the annual meeting of the Cana-dian Association of Farm Advisors in Niverville that it istoo early in the administration of the Liberal governmentto know exactly where taxation changes will go but itwould be a good idea to top up any donations to TaxFree Savings Accounts that are available before changescome about. “They might be gone in 2016 so it would be a goodtime to make the contributions in 2015 if you have room,”

By Peter Vitti

For years, I have seen cornfields popping up over the prairies. Much of this crop isharvested for corn silage, but significant acres are picked for grain. When corncobs are combined, there is a tremendous amount of residue left over. This isan abundance of forage that can be used by early gestating cows after weaning. I recom-mend that cow-calf operators with access to corn residue, don’t let it go to waste. Graze itas part of your cowherd’s overwinter feeding program as a low-cost feed. Information put out by the North Dakota State University extension service says thatabout 50 lbs. of total residue for grazing beef cows is left behind per bushel of cornharvested. The edible amount is about 25% useable feed due to weather and cattle degra-dation. This means that if a producer grows a 100 bushel per acre corn crop; it yields approxi-mately 1,250 lbs. of consumable forage by grazing beef cows. Given that a beef cow has adaily dry matter intake of about 25 lbs. corn residue has the potential to support a substan-tial portion of her nutrient requirements for approximately 50 days (re: 100 x 50 x 0.25 =1,250, 1,250/25 = 50). Consequently, most 50-day grazing plans should start within days of corn ears beingharvested from the crop. This period coincides with the best nutrition provided by cornresidues for early to mid-gestation cows as outlined:

Corn stover is very comparable to wheat or barley straw and can over-winter early tomid-gestation beef cows with the right amount and type of nutrient supplements. Specifically, these cows need to consume about 52 -55% TDN and 8 – 9 % crude proteinfeed on a daily basis for body maintenance, to keep warm and to support an early-termfetus. Fortunately, there are many energy and/or protein feed supplements available, whichshould complement overwintering cow feeding programs based on grazing corn stover.For example, many producers across western Canada have access to dried distillers’ grains(DDG) (75% TDN and 28% crude protein), so it’s as simple as adding 3.5 lbs. of DDGs thatcan raise a diet of 23 lbs. of corn residue from 5 to 8% protein. Other producers rely upon commercial 18 – 30% protein range cubes or pellets, com-monly made from the same distillers’ grains and other by-products such as wheat shorts orcanola meal. Although, they tend to be more costly, distillers’ grains or molasses-basedlick blocks (70% TDN and range from 20 – 40% crude protein) are often placed in the cornresidues awaiting grazing cows. Along with these energy/protein supplements, it’s also important to put cows on a well-balanced mineral program either incorporated in these feeds or fed in loose form. Like othercorn-based feeds, corn stover is low in calcium and phosphorus and deficient in manytrace elements such as copper, zinc and selenium.

Corn Residue Cuts Down OverwinterFeed Costs for Beef Cows

Photo by Peter Vitti

It is my personal preference to balance corn stover and independent of added supple-ments with a loose-fed 2:1 or 18% calcium/9% phosphorus cattle mineral with adequatelevels of trace minerals as well as fortified levels of vitamins A, D and E; fed at 85 – 112 gper head per day. Loose salt can be mixed in with mineral or fed as blocks. With a complete 50-day grazing program in place, the universal question, arises, “Howmuch money does grazing corn stover save on overwintering feed costs?” Let us consider a practical example:

1. Conventional grass hay & minerals - 4 cents/lb. x 25 lb. hay + 12 cents of 2:1 mineral and salt + 30 cents/head/d yardage = $ 1.42 per head per day.2. Corn Stover, DDGs & minerals - 1.5 kg of DDGs at 0.25 + 12 cents of 2:1 mineral and salt + 30 cents/head/d yardage = $ 0.79 per head per day.3. Savings (1) – (2) = $0.63 or 44%.

Keep in mind that I quickly penciled out the feed cost-savings, given a typical beefcowherd grazing corn stover by determining the cost of conventional feeds (1) and sub-tracting any purchased feeds (2) to supplement any lacking nutrients that the grazingcows may need. However, I did not include in my calculation, the initial set-up non-feed costs of possiblyproviding a new water source, or running an electric fence throughout the cornfield (con-trol grazing activities) and yardage to periodically move this fence. For more detailedinformation, beef producers might download the Corn Stalk Grazing Calculator (excel spread-sheet) from the University of Nebraska website beef.unl.edu. Despite how one’s budget turns out, the consensus is that corn residues are viable low-cost forage for overwintering early gestation beef cows. It is also viewed as feed thatmight otherwise go to waste. Since corn acreage in western Canada continues to increase,I believe there is potential for its use in other beef feeding programs.

Top Up Those TFSAs

Victor Bergmann says it is too early to predict the tax changesthat will impact farmers under the new Liberal government.

said Bergmann. He acknowledged that at this timeeverything is speculation as the Liberal government hasnot tipped its hand as to how large and when thechanges promised during the election will be made. Bergmann also outlined the changes that had expandedthe Capital Gains exemption early in the year. “That mightbe advantageous considering the increase in value andsize of farms today.” He provided a look at the tax situation in Manitoba thatat first glance appears to put Manitoban’s at a consider-able disadvantage compared to their Alberta counterparts but considering changes in the Alberta situationthat difference is disappearing. “Alberta is increasing itsprovincial tax rate and it will not nearly provide theadvantage it did before,” he said. “In the end whatmatters is how much is left in your pocket when youconsider both the Federal and Provincial tax and thatamount is moving closer together in both provinces.” He pointed out that Manitoban has hit the maximum taxbracket much sooner than in other jurisdictions. “InManitoba an individual is paying the highest rate of taxwhen their income reaches $67,000 while it is muchhigher in other provinces,” he explained on incomethreshold. Bergmann noted that the campaign promises of theLiberal government also included a promise to tightenthe tax regulation on small all business. “And that couldinclude individuals who operate a corporation employing

themselves. That could impact farmers who are in thatposition.” Manitoba currently does have one of the lowest taxrates on earnings in a business, “But you pay thehighest on the income when you take it out.”


The Canola Council ofCanada (CCC) is re-issuingan alert after some canolagrowers have reportedrising temperatures in theircanola bins. The alert encouragesgrowers to check all canolabins as soon as possible asheating can start small andgo unnoticed for days andperhaps weeks. Coolingthe bin and stopping thisearly heating now can savea lot of money in lost gradeand lost delivery options. Reasons for the increasein heated canola are wideranging. They include hot

RRRRReports of Suddeneports of Suddeneports of Suddeneports of Suddeneports of SuddenRise in Heated CanolaRise in Heated CanolaRise in Heated CanolaRise in Heated CanolaRise in Heated Canola

harvest in August, highmoisture at binning,green weed seeds andgreen canola seeds. Cooltemperatures, rainfall orhumid conditions atharvest will increase riskfactors. Canola tempera-tures can jump from 30°Cto 50°C and beyond intwo weeks or less. CCC recommends theuse of temperaturecables to monitor wholebins. The cables may notalways detect initial hotspots, but they will showtemperature increasesthat suggest a whole bin

is at risk. Bins withoutcables will need to beprobed, or turned over withthe truck and auger tocheck temperature. Evenwith a properly calibratedmetre and working cables,monitoring is still highlyrecommended. Without cables, accurateassessment requires aphysical transfer of canolafrom one bin to another.Hand probing throughdoors or roof hatches isunreliable for finding hotspots near the core of thebin. When transferring,move at least one third ofthe canola out of a bin. Ifgreen counts, moisture,weeds or dockage are high,in short, anything that mayincrease the storage risk,transferring the whole binmay be safest. Feel and smell the canolaas it comes out of the bin.If canola has started tospoil, start looking fordelivery options.


By Harry Siemens

Many schools in Manitobateach farming and agricultureto various students, most of-ten as an elective under SocialStudies and sometimes simplyinclude the farming lessonsunder a compulsory course. In a recent visit to RosenortHigh School, a teacher de-scribed the addition of agricul-ture curriculum in a SocialStudies class that includes ba-sic farming and agricultural. “We have completed a verybasic overview of agriculturein Manitoba looking briefly atdiversification in agriculture,the production, processing,marketing steps of food get-ting from the farm to the table,and the physical and climaticfeatures of Manitoba,” saidArlin Scharfenberg, whoteaches the course to studentsfrom Grades 9 to 12 class asan elective. “We have alsotalked briefly about water andsoil management as well as abrief overview of the transpor-tation of grain. The studentshave started a growing projectand researching technology inagriculture. Our next unit issoil science, talking about com-position and nutrition. I thinkif you talked about some ofthe new ventures, technolo-gies, programs, etc., affectingfarmers, especially in this area,the students would find thatinteresting.” Scharfenberg said that stu-dents do a very quick run downof topics such as how manyfarms are in Manitoba, whatis the average farmer’s age, andsome of the gross incomes offarmers. “Where are farms lo-cated and which climates arereally good for agriculture, isjust an overview. Then wemove into soil science, we’lldo some soil testing, break soildown into its components, us-ing the triangle of soil samples,is it a loam, clay, or silty soil,”he added. “We look at plantscience including a little bit ofbiology and what is happen-ing in germination. Like whatis the one leaf stage, two leafstage and then end up in thesection on animal science andlooking at the different live-stock?” The Rosenort High Schooloffers the course as an elec-tive. “So students who havean interest and would like tobe involved in this kind of acourse apply for it and basi-cally we just let who everwants, to come in. Grades 9through twelve students areeligible, but a grade eleven 30credit course,” he said. When asked who is takingthe course, Scharfenberg saidthat is interesting as there isquite a mix of students includ-ing students who do have abackground in agriculture anda few which do not, even in acommunity that is predomi-nantly agricultural. There are

Students Learn Agstudents who are interested injust advancing their social stud-ies credit. “It is my first year in thecourse. I find it fascinating andthe whole area of agriculture Ithink students are warming upto it. It takes a while to getinto this course,” he said.“While some of that overviewstuff gets kind of laborious be-

cause there isn’t a lot of con-nection, but twice he’s takenstudents out just across theschoolyard to a field nearbyand looked at soybean plantsand what soil is made up of.” Recently they visited a lo-cal egg producer, and wereplanning to visit a dairy farmthat uses robotics to milk itscows in late November.


By Les Kletke

“Remember using yourphone only for phonecalls?” Brunel Sabourinchuckled when he saidthat. Now only about 15%of the usage of mobilephones is for calls.Sabourin who has spent20 years as a producerand consultant of cropproduction now oper-ates Antara Agronomybased in St. Jean Baptisteand said the Smartphonehas become a manage-ment tool. Sabourin outlined howwireless technology ischanging the way wefarm to AGM members ofthe Canadian Associa-tion of Farm Advisorsand walked through theprograms that he alreadyuses before giving aglimpse of what is com-ing down the pipe.“Twenty five years agowho would havethought that we wouldhave access to theknowledge of the worldin something, this size,something we can put inour pocket?” he asksholding up his phone. He said that not onlyhas the technologychanged the access toinformation for farmmanagers but also for

By Amanda Thorsteinsson

Over 200,000 people in seven countries will benefitfrom 10 projects totaling $4 million committed byCanadian Foodgrains Bank in October. The projects are being implemented by FoodgrainsBank members Canadian Catholic Organization forDevelopment and Peace, Evangelical Missionary Churchof Canada, Emergency Relief & development Overseas(ERDO), Mennonite Central Committee Canada, WorldRelief Canada, and World Renew with financial supportfrom the United Church of Canada and Canadian BaptistMinistries in collaboration with their local partners. One project, through Foodgrains Bank member WorldRenew, is responding to the needs of displaced peoplewithin Syria. As the Syrian conflict continues, millions of peoplehave been forced from their homes to other parts of Syriaand neighbouring countries in search of safety. Even forthose who have not been displaced, livelihoods havebeen disrupted, and households are hosting familymembers from other parts of the country. Many peopleare struggling to get by and as savings are depleted,families are becoming increasingly desperate. In response, through their partner Lebanese Society forEducational and Social Development, World Renew isproviding 2,000 families, about 12,000 people withemergency food baskets on a monthly basis for sixmonths. The project total is $676,000. Another project in the Democratic Republic of Congo,through World Relief Canada with financial support fromThe United Church of Canada, is helping communities inNorth Kivu recover after years of devastating conflict.Farmers face many challenges, including a lack of qualityseed, a lack of farm training, crop diseases, and changingweather patterns. To help with agricultural training the World ReliefCanada’s local partner Communauté Baptiste au Centrede l’Afrique, is training 600 farmers in conservationagriculture, a farming approach that uses minimal soildisturbance, crop rotations, and cover crops to improvesoil health and fertility and increase production. Other projects committed to in October include foodassistance and agriculture and livelihoods projects. In Ethiopia through World Renew, with $538,000 willhelp 1,500 people and a project through the EvangelicalMissionary Church of Canada at $59,000 will benefit1,038 people. A food assistance project in Kenya through ERDOtotaling $178,000 will assist 3,400. An agriculture andlivelihoods project in Cambodia through MennoniteCentral Committee, totaling $147,000 will help 10,500. An agriculture and livelihoods project in Nicaraguathrough World Renew with financial support fromCanadian Baptist Ministries totaling $282,000 will service7,200 people. In addition, a food assistance project inSomalia through World Renew, with financial supportfrom Canadian Baptist Ministries and Primate’s WorldRelief & Development Fund, totaling $739,000 will benefit14,000. A food assistance project in Syria through CanadianCatholic Organization for Development and Peace,totaling $932,000 will see 78,000 people assisted. Also,the organization is providing food assistance in Syriathat totals $250,000 targets 19,000 in need and anagriculture and livelihoods project in Zimbabwe totaling$146,000 will help 450 people. Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of 15churches and church agencies working together to endglobal hunger. In the 2014-15 budget year, theFoodgrains Bank provided over $41 million of assistancefor 1.1 million people in 39 countries. CanadianFoodgrains Bank projects are undertaken with matchingsupport from the Government of Canada. Assistancefrom the Foodgrains Bank is provided through itsmember agencies, which work with local partners in thedeveloping world. Amanda Thorsteinsson is a Communications Officerwith the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

CFGB Commitsto Ten Projects

Remember When thePhone was for Talking?

Brunel Saborin says mobile phones are only used for callsabout 15% of their usage today.

Photo by Les Kletke

him as a crop consultant.“With the use of drones wecan map a field and it is nota matter of having to walkto the other end of thefield,” he said. “I can mapthe field and have a muchmore accurate picture than

if I was walking the field.”He said it has changedsome of the menial tasks aswell. “This fall while I wastaking soil samples I wasalso taking a course onAgricultural Statistics on awebinar in my truck.”

The increase in tech-nology has not made hisjob easier rather it hastaken the level of man-agement to anotherlevel. “We now have ac-curate maps of a fieldand when we pair themwith yield maps we havea better idea of what isgoing on in the field.When we match thatwith variable rate appli-cations we are able tobreak the field down intosmall areas and treatthem differently.” He likens it a bit “backto the future”. “We usedto look at a field andwonder why a farmerbroke his land into somany different fields butnow we are able to dothe same thing while stillgrowing the same cropon a larger area,” saidSabourin. He said the new tech-nology also allows farm-ers to interact and shareknowledge betweeneach other without thedrive to the coffee shop.“I have a client whoposted on twitter askingabout wheat varieties inhis area, and the amountof responses he got isamazing,” notedSabourin. “Now he hasto sort that and decidewhat is best for him onhis land.”


By Harry Siemens

The hog industry keepsfeeling the pinch of supplydemand swings and if itwere not for the strong USdollar, many producers inCanada would find it finan-cially difficult to continue. Tyler Fulton, Director ofRisk Management withh@ms Marketing Servicesis crediting the continuedstrong performance of porkin the domestic market tothe growing popularityamong consumers of ba-con. Over the last 5 months,the wholesale price ofchicken in the US droppedby about 30% while thewholesale price of beef fell20% and wholesale porkprices remained relativelystable. Fulton said pork has veryeffectively grown its do-mestic market. “One of themajor factors contributingto pork’s success over thelast six months or so is howeffective the industry ismarketing bacon and howwell North America’s con-

By Harry Siemens

Manitoba Pork Council ishopeful the first applicationsfor permits to build new orexpand existing hog barnsunder a new pilot project willcome in this fall. In April, the Manitoba gov-ernment approved the “PigProduction Special PilotProject Evaluation Protocol”under which pork producerscan apply to build new orexpand existing swine barns. Mike Teillet, the Managerof sustainable developmentprograms with ManitobaPork, told those at this year’s2015 fall producer meetings,since no barns were built inthe last six or 7 years in Manitoba, production has fallen. As a result, the Maple Leaf plant inBrandon in particular is faced with a shortage of pigs and it is critical to get those pig numbersback up. “There was always a long list of regulatory requirements to construct a barn and certainly tooperate a hog farm in Manitoba,” said Teillet. “Under the new protocol, the new pilot project,we agreed to a number of different things in order to allow barns to be built, that’s over andabove the existing requirements. They include new soil phosphorus limits of 60 parts permillion. It includes manure having to be injected or incorporated within 48 hours; no new barnconstruction in the RM’s of Hanover and La Broquerie. There could be new barn constructionand expansion west of the Red River, but east of the Red River, other than those 2 municipali-ties, producers can expand but not build new.” However, Teillet advised anyone interested in building new or expanding existing swinebarns to get help from a professional consultant to help navigate the complex approvalprocess. “As a part of the new protocol we’ve agreed, or the government has required us to nowbecome a part of the approval process,” he said. “One of the very first steps that a farmer mustdo now in order to build a new barn is they have to submit a letter to Manitoba Pork asking usin effect, if they meet the terms of the protocol. We will evaluate that proposal and determinewhether or not it looks like it meets the criteria of the protocol. Then we’ll let the farmer knowand then he takes that letter and then moves forward with his approval process. The overallgroup of approval processes, we estimate will take probably a minimum of 6 months andcould be as long as 9, 10 months or more.”

Bacon and Pork Bellies DrivesMarket While Lean Keeps it Back

Winnipeg is home to the largest bacon processing facility inCanada. The 270,000 sq. ft. Maple Leaf Foods plant onLagimodière produces more than 25 million kg of bacon eachyear. This is enough to fill more than 13 Olympic-size swimmingpools.

sumers are receiving it,” hesaid. “In fact bacon prices,or the wholesale productthat bacon is derived from,which would be pork bel-lies, nearly tripled theirvalue since May of thisyear.” Fulton said the phenom-enal increase over a rela-tively short period is oneof the factors that has keptthat wholesale price for allpork relatively stable whilethe other competing meatshave declined. “I’m notsure I would bet against itright now, even as some ofthose competing meats arereally coming on strong,”he said. “I would say, ingeneral, I’m pretty optimis-tic about the demand sce-nario and its impact on hogproducer profitability inwestern Canada.” Fulton said, while growthof domestic consumptionof pork is positive, exportdemand for North Americanpork, whether it be from theUS or Canada, has been alot flatter. While the Cana-dian pork producer benefitsfrom the exchange rate,

Fulton said not so for NorthAmerican pork on the ex-port market. Jim Long, hog commen-tator, while looking at morefrom the US perspectivewonders why the industrydoes not focus more on theeating qualities of the USand Canadian productsuch as flavour and mar-bling that drives consumerdemand. Bacon and ribs arenot lean products he noted.“In early November, bellies[bacon] were $1.82/lb, hams65¢. Fifteen years ago,hams were selling for morethan bellies.” asked Long.“Did we get pork too lean?Hams are lean but belliesare not, no matter how youlook at it. People are votingwith their money that theylike bacon while hamstruggles.” He recounted a discus-sion 20 years ago with alarge hog packer who waslamenting that bellies were28¢ lb. The packer said ifthey get to .20¢ lb., theywould go into dog food.His question at the timewas what are we going to

do with bellies? “But thepoint we wonder about is,has the push to lean tosome extent destroyed theflavour of loin and hams,”Long wondered aloud.“Taste matters, that’s whybacon sells. Angus beef ispopular. We know the real-ity; we sometimes are para-lyzed for the solution. Asan industry we need to re-visit balance between leanand flavour, taste.”

New Hog Barn Building PermitsWill be Lengthy and Complex

This eleven-step program outlines the requirements forproducers to expand hog production in Manitoba.

Agripost November 27 2015

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