AgriPost October 25 2013

October 25, 2013 1The Agri Post

October 25, 20132 The Agri Post


By Les Kletke

The President of Manitoba’sgeneral farm group said it is ironicthat while both provincial andfederal governments say thatjobs are a high priority they don’tpay more attention to a sectorthat provides a significant num-ber of well paying jobs. KAP held an event in late Sep-tember to highlight its contribu-tion to the provincial economyand recognize the arrival of “anew kid on the block.” “Soybean acres topped a mil-lion this year and that is signifi-

By Les Kletke

The president of KAP admits that the organizations wish list is a bit like “having your cake andeating it too.” Doug Chorney was on his way to a CFA meeting when he stopped to discuss the recent thronespeech. He acknowledges the position of his organization is not easy for the government of the day todeal with but that is reality. “We are pleased for the market access of the new trade agreement,” he says. “We have long beenasking for greater market access for our beef and pork sectors. That is what they need to survive.” “At the same time I was please to hear Steven Harper promising compensation for the dairy farmersof this country for the additional cheese that will be allowed into our country. I am concerned when Ihear the president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada saying that is total unacceptable, I think compen-sation is the best we can hope for as negotiations move ahead.” Isn’t it somewhat inconsistent asking for market access while wanting to maintain the status quo ofsupply management? “It is a tough job,” says Chorney, “but that is what you get when you run for Prime Minister orMinister of Trade. Those are our positions and we need someone who can make them work, that iswhat negotiations are about.” Chorney continued on to say that he understands it is not a matter ofbargain chips and giving away supply management in return for a favour someplace else. “That is the view put forward by those opposed to the lessening of trade barriers but my under-standing is that it is not a matterof tit-for-tat at the negotiatingtable,” explains Chorney. “Thechicken people have madeprogress and opened up trade butthat is something that is not talkedabout, there are cases where thenegotiations have worked.” Chorney says he was with AgMinister Ritz in Halifax in Julyand there was no mention of therecent advances in trade. “Either these people are notaware or they chose not to involveus, but CFA has regular boardmeetings and we were not awareof the situation. I think the play-ers involved and impacted shouldbe consulted on the process.” He acknowledges that there isconcern from supply managedsectors particularly in dairy. “I have been in contact with thefinancial sector and there is a sig-nificant portfolio of money loanedfor quota,” he says. “You cannotexpect these people to fall on thesword and have the system wipedout overnight. There needs to besome compensation if the systemis changed or removed. For now,we do not expect it removed, weare working to have it maintainedwhile other sectors see increasedaccess.”

You Want Jobs? We Got Jobs.

Manitoba farmers planted a record 1 million plus acres ofsoybeans this year and plan to plant more next year becausethe plants lower nitrogen cost. Photo by Les Kletke

cant,” said Doug Chorney. “It isestimated that will generate over$360 million, a significant por-tion of the over $4 billion in cashreceipts from farm supplies.” Chorney said that soybeanshave become a regular part of hiscrop rotation, “I know whatyields are for this year and weare approaching 40 bushels anacre. We had some at 35 and somehigher, but we can count on 37bushels an acre and without thecost of nitrogen that works wellin the budget.” The September event also fea-tured equipment manufactured in

Winnipeg including MacDon acompany employing 1,500people in Manitoba. “It was a good fit. The farmthat hosted the event has aMacDon header on one of theircombines,” said Chorney. “Thatis technology that goes aroundthe world.” He went on to saythat, the industry provides jobsfor 62,000 Manitobans. The annual event is intendedto raise the profile of agricul-ture in the province and last yearfocused on the GDP contribu-tion of agriculture, but this yearthe topic chosen was jobs.

“Both governments are sayingthat jobs are important,” saidChorney. “We believe that ourindustry provides a significantnumber of jobs and should be rec-ognized for that.” While the event took place at atime when the soybean harvestwas just getting under way,Chorney later joked that his friendRob Brunel has combined 2,000acres of soybeans at St. Rose, “Ifhe can do that, I think it is safe tosay that the crop is a part of theManitoba landscape and here tostay.” He said the option in traits andvarieties of the crop continue toexpand making it even more at-tractive to Manitoba farmers, “Itried some new varieties this yearand will try some more next year.There are a lot of options withthe crop and they continue to ex-pand.”

Tough Message From KAPBy Harry Siemens

David and Charles Wiens operate Skyline Dairies of Grunthal, milking 200 cows and cropping1,800 acres of land. That would keep most people busy, but David also chairs the Dairy Farmers ofManitoba (DFM) and is a Vice-President for the national body Dairy Farmers of Canada. Recently David talked about how things have changed in their supply-managed system. “Ever since the beginning of supply management things keep changing and evolving,” says Wiens.“Change is dynamic. There was a time everything was more or less provincial, including all marketsfor dairy farmers.” Since then, processing and retailing occurs nationally with three large companies processing 80percent of all the milk. According to dairy industry statistics, in 1965 Canada had 1,413 dairy processing establishments,963 more than in 2006. The three large companies that process most of the milk are Agropur, acooperative in Quebec, Parmalat and Saputo, two private companies doing business right across thecountry. Wiens says, despite the three giants, many medium to small processors make up the other 20percent. The DFM Chair explained how the allocation system works. When the processors make contactwith their customers, it is no longer the case where a retailer says he needs the processor to supplycertain stores. Today the processor contracts to supply the company across western Canada. “The market has evolved to where we have the western milk pool where the western Canadiandairy farmers share all the western Canadian fluid milk market,” he says. “If Saputo, for example,needs to fill a fluid milk demand, they can access it from any of the provinces and that is fine. Itworks well for us, too.” The industry is looking at ways they can work closer together at the national level, meaning easternand western Canada. “We do already on the industrial side, cheese, yogurt and butter production,” Wiens said. “Themore we can operate nationally, the more dynamic we become.” At the national level, the dairy industry has some great innovation programs that encourageprocessors to come up with a new product selected by a national committee on behalf of theCanadian Milk Supply Management committee. Any processor that comes up with a new productnot available in Canada today gets the milk allocation to cover the product. Wiens says fluid milk is on demand but industrial milk is on allocation, meaning fluid milk ondemand is the first priority, providing a fresh product with just-in-time service. “We will deliver that milk and that means that during a period of very strong fluid demand, theindustrial plants, while still getting their allocations, there could be some delays,” he says. Manitoba has 340 dairy farmers in Manitoba, but the drop in the number of farmers has levelled offsome in the last several years. Wiens says Manitoba’s new entrants program encourages new producers to start up, not anintergenerational transfer but someone not in the dairy industry today may apply for this program. “It helps producers to start from scratch, so to speak,” he says. “As part of the business plan thenew producer would buy a 20 kg quota and the DFM board would grant them 20 kg’s of quota fortheir use and the use of another 10 kg for up to 20 years, based on a quality incentive.” That producer will do their absolute best at getting the milk quality right up there and be part of amentoring program to enhance chances at success. The additional 10kg that producer can use for ten years is reduced by one kg per year by the DFMboard. The 20 kg from the DFM board is not a saleable quota and the producer may use it for as long asthey farm or when they move past 60 kg in total quota. Whatever amount of quota they go over the60 kg limit, that portion the producer returns back to the board. If they sell the farm, or at least thedairy quota, the 20 they bought from DFM goes back to the board. “I’m quite impressed with how supportive producers are to get this program going,” says Wiens.“It comes off all the farms in the province. It is significant because Manitoba producers in total geta certain amount of quota allocation for production.” While the average dairy farm size in Manitoba is about 107 to 108 cows, 70 percent of the farmersare smaller, with many still at 50 and 60 cows per farm. Without checking the actual stats, Wiens says it’s safe to say immigrants own about one third ofthe dairy farms and cows in Manitoba. “However, the immigrant movement has slowed to a trickle, but [it is] not uncommon to seeproducers from another province come to Manitoba,” he says. “From BC, Ontario, and even Alberta.Take, for example, the Fraser Valley where land costs $70,000 to $80,000. This looks prettyattractive here. [It is] $2,000 to $3,000 an acre.”

Wiens Discusses Quotasand the Role of DairyFarmers of Manitoba


by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected]

With all the smoke fromAg Minister Ritz, it isgetting hard to breathe inhere. Now the appointedboard of Ritz’s CWB(formerly the CanadianWheat Board) has finallymade a move in this sagaknown as “a transitiontowards privatization”.They say they will givefarmers a $5 stake in the“new company” for everytonne of wheat they sellthrough the CWB in the2013-14 season. As a farmer, I have tosay that I am captivatedby the idea that perhaps Iwill once more be alloweda voice in the say of thestate of the CWB, which Ihad, only two years agowhen democraticallyfarmer-elected representa-tives still ran the formerCWB. Does this five-dollar fix mean that theRitz appointees will finallyput control back into thehands of farmers byturning it into a coopera-tive? After all, the FederalMinister Gerry Ritz also

To be successful, a farm needs many elements. While every operation is unique, sometrends and common denominators for success can guide a grower in the right direction.The Conference Board of Canada, in a study released this June, titled “Seeds for Success,”has identified a number of these. The size of farm, while important, is not as big a factor as most people think. What you dowith what you’ve got is far more important. The study found a great amount of profitvariability across the board in farm sizes, and that good management had more to do withtheir chances of success. Having said that, they did find a “sweet spot” when it comes to revenue. Farms thatgross between $250,000 and $499,000 are statistically the most likely to be successful.Farms outside this range, on both ends, seemed to have a more difficult time remainingprofitable on a regular basis. Higher overall revenue does not always mean higher overallprofitability, and long-term profitability was identified as being the most important thingfor the viability of any particular enterprise. It was interesting to see the study say that “farms that operate in more open and com-petitive markets (such as oilseed and grain farming) have the potential to be as profitableas, and even more profitable than, those in supply managed sub sectors.” This fact runscounter to the supply management narrative we often hear. Similarly, when it comes to ownership, we have been told time and again that the familyfarm is going the way of the dodo bird. The data shows otherwise. Whether its big farmsor small ones, the vast majority of them are family owned. Due to the unique nature of thebusiness and its history, this is unlikely to change. Areas that require more focus, skill and attention include capital management, marketing,people management, and relationships. Should you buy more land or maybe rent some more? Maybe you should rent some of

Getting It Rightyour own land out. The same goes for machinery. Do you buy or lease or, maybe youshould hire more custom services to do the work? This leads to the question of how muchhired help you should engage, versus doing more yourself. There is no one right answer,but successful farms figure out how to make best use of all of these options in order tomaximize their overall enterprise. Another way of looking at this is to “seek optimal farming scale” as a strategy forobtaining capital efficiencies. Scale is normally thought about as just getting bigger. Thisis a misnomer. It can also mean being as efficient as possible at a certain size. There is anoptimal size that your farm should be. If it’s too small, you can have problems, but the samecan be said about being too big. You may have too much equipment for the land base thatyou’ve got, or it could be that you don’t have enough. Either one can be a problem foryour bottom line. It’s like a good cocktail, if you don’t have the right mix of ingredients, theresult is not going to be pleasant. To drive the point home, a survey of farmers showed that, while the majority of thembelieve it is critical to lower input costs, only 18 percent think it’s important to invest inbetter processes. How these inputs are used is just as important as how much they cost.You may get a great deal on fertilizer, but if you use more than you need those savings goout the window. The report tells the same story for marketing, “Some people spend all theirtime trying to gain 5 per cent on yield, but lose 20 percent on price, because they aren’tpaying attention to the markets.” It’s a timely message, particularly timely, as the report points out, because farm incomeshave not kept pace with rising asset (re: land) prices. As a result, more capital is nowrequired to generate the same amount of profit. Nevertheless, the bottom line for a farm is still the same as it is for an automobile, themost vital car part will always be the “nut” that’s behind the wheel.

Dean Allen Harder

Is Farmer Ownership of the CWB...a Reality or Another Smokescreen?

“Farmers want a ‘dual market.’” – SMOKESCREEN.Removing the single desk “drives the price up”. – SMOKESCREEN.“I’ve never been allowed to attend a board meeting” of the farmer-elected directors - SMOKESCREEN.My party “respects the vote” of farmers” – SMOKESCREEN

stated, “[The new CWB]could be a businesscorporation, a producerco-op, or a not-for-profitcorporation. Thebusiness model will be forthe board and farmers todecide.” On the other hand, wasthis another smokescreenby our Ag Minister? When you look at it, a$5 share for an entiretonne of grain gives afarmer as much control asplaying ‘Roll up the Rim’at Tim’s. Sources are saying theCWB board is onlyinterested in givingfarmers minority controlof the organization whilestill seeking majority‘private’ control toincrease their war chest.Of course if they usedtheir imaginations, theycould find a strongamount of capital througha ‘new generation’ co-operative model wherefarmers take equalmajority control andinvestor shares are keptseparate. Instead, thisfeels like another example

of the big boys makingsure the ‘farmers workingtogether’ thing does notget out of hand. We cannot forget thatthis 5-person board is nota group of electedfarmers, as was the casebefore Bill C-18; “The Billto kill the CWB and giveprivate companies morecontrol of the FoodChain”, was rushedthrough parliament. Thisboard is appointed by andsolely accountable to theFederal AgricultureMinister, Mr. Gerry Ritz.That’s right, the sameGerry Ritz who has beenorchestrating these‘SMOKESCREENS’. Thesame man who said he‘respects the vote’ offarmers but then ignoredthe 62 percent whowished to keep the singledesk intact, as a farmer-controlled entity. So why would the CWBbring in equity shares if itisn’t moving towards aco-operative model?Some possibilities:a) They need morefarmers to sign up in order

to pay the bills.b) The $17.5 billion farmerdriven class actionlawsuit is still goingthrough the courts.Harper and Ritz want toblow as much smoke asthey can over the realitythat farmers have lost bigmoney with the federaldecapitation of the CWB.c) Partnerships with graincompanies aren’t workingout as planned.d) Pinup girls, ignoringthe support base,advertising ploys, andfootball pools just aren’tattracting business.e) When the CWB buysgrain at port from graincompanies and then triesto sell it for a higher priceacross the ocean justlooks bad to farmers ifthey don’t have anyownership in the process.f) Giving private compa-nies ALL the earnings andassets of the CWB mightbe hard for the Competi-tion Bureau to swallow allat once. At the end of the day,we’re getting a sense fromGerry Ritz and his 5

stooges that they thinkfarmers do not have themental capacity to begiven majority or co-operative control of agrain company or, evenworse, that he’s takingdirection from the privategrain companies anddoesn’t want to rufflethose major Conservativesupporters. It’s time for the Ritzappointed CWB boardand the Conservatives tochange face and stopoffering up the CWB as agolden calf to privatecompanies as was done inAustralia. That is a recipefor failure. It hurts on-farmsustainability and itweakens long-term ruralcommunity developmentby handing control overto international players. Stop the smokescreensMr. Ritz. It’s time to clearthe air. Dean Harder is a grainand oilseeds farmer inLowe Farm, Manitoba.He is the Manitoba youthadvisor for the NationalFarmers Union.


There appears to be much rhetoric about the Canadian Food Inspection Agency(CFIA), moving from Ag Minister Gerry Ritz’s department to the Ministry of Health. In a government release, titled Canadian Food Inspection Agency joins HealthPortfolio, the government says its commitment remains firm to supporting Canadianfamilies by continuing to take action to strengthen and build upon our world-class foodsafety system. “As a government, we are always looking for ways to improve how we regulate, shareinformation, and communicate with Canadians when it comes to food safety,” said therelease. In May 2013, Ritz unveiled the Safe Food for Canadians Action Plan, a framework hesaid will improve Canada’s food safety system by strengthening food safety rules,ensuring a more effective inspection regime, and enhancing communication withconsumers. Canada’s food safety regime is comprised of three federal authorities: Health Canadaand the Public Health Agency of Canada, which report to the Minister of Health and theCanadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which reports to the Minister of Agricultureand Agri-Food. “Today, we are taking an additional step to further strengthen food safety for Canadi-ans. The CFIA is now part of Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada inreporting to the Minister of Health, Rona Ambrose,” says the release. “This reorganiza-tion will strengthen Canada’s food safety system by bringing all three authoritiesresponsible for food safety under one Minister. This will ensure clear focus, easycollaboration, and timely communication with Canadians when it comes to food safety.This change also further underscores the CFIA’s commitment to food safety as a toppriority.” Further, the government says the Ag Minister, will continue his responsibilities for theCFIA’s non-food safety agricultural activities, including economic and trade issues, aswell as important animal health and plant protection work. The CFIA will continue tosupport the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in exercising these responsibilitiesand will ensure a continued focus on government policies, programs, and services thatwill help drive the economic prosperity of Canada’sagricultural sector. The Canadian Consumers’ Association (CAC) jumpedin to congratulate the Harper Government on making thistransfer. “We at the CAC believe this to be a positive step forCanadian Consumers and look forward to working withMinister Ambrose,” said President Bruce Cran. Of course, the federal NDP party felt it their duty to saythis is a clear indication the Prime Minister has lostconfidence in one of his most senior ministers. NDP Ag Critic, Malcom Allen said the Prime Ministerhas clearly said with his actions that his minister isincapable of handling the job. He has literally taken awaya major piece of his portfolio, which is a scathingindictment of the minister’s ability to do his job. Well, I don’t know ifthat is the case or not,but to me it makes somesense to move the foodsafety issues to Health,and leave Ritz with thenon-food safety issues. I think Ritz needs abreak from many of theCFIA union people andso-called inspectors. Dealing with theradicals on food safetyissues is a bit like dealingwith the animal welfareradicals and the radicalenvironmental issues.You give them an inch,they take a foot, givethem a foot and they takea mile, give them whatthey want and they takethe country. Ritz, relax and focus onkeeping farmers farmingacross this countrybecause without them,food safety issues don’tmatter. Every one ofthose complainingradicals representing theirbailiwick are often oneand the same and haveno problem crossing thelines and thereby keepingthem fussy.

About 15 years ago, I came home from a NuffieldScholarship and told a few stories about my travelsin Europe. The talk was called Elephants in yourCoffee and was based on a conversation that wenton around a big round table like those in every farmcommunity. The group was composed of farmers fromfive countries and the boys were telling stories abouthow tough farming was where they lived. The conversation carried on about extremes of

flood and drought and all sort of pestilence but Trevor Gifford put an end to it with hiscomment, “You have not seen problems till you have elephants in your coffee. That is amess.” Trevor farmed in Zimbabwe and went on to say that the radio actually carriedreports of where the herds were and which direction they were headed. Trevor’s story wasa showstopper, so we called it a night and went to bed. Trevor was selected to represent his country at the Global Farmers Roundtable in DesMoines, held this past week in conjunction with World Food Day. I thought it a greatopportunity to catch up with an old friend and made the journey to Iowa. We shared a fewstories at a big round table as boys are apt to do, and Trevor, always a gentleman, let me gofirst because after his stories there is no one-up-man-ship. When he related their shaky economy and hyperinflation had taken his mother’s pen-sion to the point it would not buy a loaf of bread every month I was shocked, and he pulledout a $50 trillion bank note and gave it to me to prove what his country had gone through. “Actually there should be another 26 zeroes on that but they discounted all the notes by10 times 26 so the numbers would be manageable, and that to a dollar, that used to be onpar with the American,” he said. We discussed running a business in a country that did nothave a respected monetary unit. It was a short discussion to the conclusion it cannot bedone. I asked about his farm and he told me about the day that “The thugs came and evictedhim.” He and his wife had four hours to leave with what they could get in their car and therest is gone. He has the paperwork from the highest court in the land saying he still ownsthe farm but the police won’t act on it, and he now lives in a city an hour away and his wifemakes a living as a teacher. Trevor Gifford was the President of the country’s Coffee Growers. He spent four years asthe head of the national farm organization and now works to bring some compensation tothe white farmers who lost their land. Just as 15 years ago Trevor Gifford gave me an appreciation for how good things are inour country, where rule of law and a stable dollar are things we expect and are surprisedwhen they do not occur. “Do you think anyone would be interested in my story?” he asked. “I’ve been thinkingof writing a book. Would anyone want to know what we have gone through?” Yes, Trevor, we need to hear this, just to help us appreciate what we have.

Elephants in Your Coffee Ritz Takes theFarmers Portfolio


Good mixing and feeding directions are found on most commercial calf milk replacer bags and theyshould be followed. A final batch of milk replacer properly mixed into water should be a homogenoussolution, similar to the look and smell of natural whole milk, white and creamy and ready for feedinghungry calves. Whether dairy producers are mixing up a pail or batch of milk replacer for one or many calves, thecorrect concentration of milk powder in water is literary assured by following a single rule, whichshould be written (preferable in bold lettering) on all milk replacer feed label mixing instructions: Directions for use: Weigh out milk replacer that is being fed to calves on a tare weight-scale andmeasure out the final volume of water to be used. On a practical basis, such directions for use should be followed on the first usage of any commercialmilk replacer and afterwards might be modified as such. An allotment of milk replacer powder isinitially weighed out in a container or scoop and a permanent black pen marks off the correct amountof milk powder to be used in subsequent single or multiple feedings. Similarly, containers for watershould clearly indicate how much added water and/or the final mixed up solution that they can hold(i.e.: 20 litre plastic pail), respectively. Subsequently, most milk replacer recommendations are based on the premise that the customershould add 125-150 grams of milk replacer powder to each final litre of warm water (38 C, 100 F) tomake up a 12.5-15.0% final solution (re: the former concentration is similar to dry matter content ofwhole cow’s milk). For a one-calf example: weigh out a morning-feeding allotment of 150 grams (2 x 150 g) of milkreplacer powder for one newborn calf, then add it to a 2 litre calf-feeding bottle. Next, add the waterto fill the bottle. Once thoroughly mixed (in this case, vigorously shaking the bottle), cap it with therubber nipple and allow the individual calf to nurse the entire mixture. Whether feeding one calf or mixing up more milk replacer into a 20-litre pail to feed several calves,producers should avoid using the plastic cups supplied in many commercial milk replacer bags.Nobody will debate the convenience and time saved by scooping out one or two cups of milk replacerpowder and without weighing it. Mix the allotment into a pail of water and feed it to baby calves. However, such expedience often leads to large errors in mixing up milk replacer solution in theproper concentration. This mistake may be compounded when two or more peoples’ job is to feedpre-weaned calves on the farm because one person’s idea of a “full-cup” often differs from anotherperson’s as well as errors in adding exactly 125-150 grams of milk powder per litre of water in the firstplace. In actual mixing practice, it is also best to avoid starting out with the final volume of water andadding in your pre-weighed amount of milk replacer. One might run out of room and end up with ahigher dilution of milk replacer to water compared to the desired final solution of 12.5-15.0% con-sumed by baby calves. This common error is not particularly significant when feeding one or twocalves but could compromise the daily amount of milk replacer intake of pre-weaned calves fed inlarger groups. In order to avoid such common mistakes and others, an easy-to-mix procedure for mixing up milkreplacer solution for more than one calf is illustrated as follows:1. Weigh out (first time) or scoop (with measured ink-markings for subsequent times) the desiredamount of milk replacer powder.2. Fill the pail (with known volume) with about half the allotment of water.3. Add the measured amount of milk replacer powder to the half volume of water.4. Vigorously and thoroughly stir milk replacer powder into this half volume water allotment.5. Add more water up to the final volume needed.6. Again, vigorously stir to produce a homogenous white and creamy solution. Once a person has measured out the correct amount of milk replacer in step #1, a good mix shouldbecome a matter of spending a few minutes to complete steps #2-6. Regardless of the technique usedin completing these mixing steps (re: whisk or paint mixer on a high-speed drill) dairy producersshould always make sure that any milk replacer lumps created when the powder is added to the waterare thoroughly broken down. As mentioned above, the final mixture should look like cow’s milk. Now we are ready to feed this reconstituted milk replacer to pre-weaned dairy calves as part of awell-balanced feeding program, which includes: (1) the first colostrum feeding is given within a coupleof hours of birth and again at 6 hours, (2) our properly mixed-up milk replacer is fed from day 4 of lifeto about 6-8 weeks of age, and (3) a high quality calf starter is introduced at 2 weeks of age. Pre-weaned calves should always have access to clean fresh water, and once they are about 6-8 weeks ofage and are consuming about a kilogram of calf starter, it is time to wean them off from milk replacermixtures. Despite that, feeding milk replacer is only part of any such successful pre-weaned calf feedingprograms; it underlies getting newborn calves off to a good start once colostrum feeding is completedand before calf starter consumption by calves takes-off. As a result, most pre-weaned dairy calvesthat receive a consistent and nutritious liquid-milk replacer meal, which contains a measured and thuscorrect amount of milk replacer powder at each morning- and night- feedings should thrive.

Measure the BenefitsMeasure the BenefitsMeasure the BenefitsMeasure the BenefitsMeasure the Benefitsof Wof Wof Wof Wof Weighing Outeighing Outeighing Outeighing Outeighing OutDairy Calf MilkDairy Calf MilkDairy Calf MilkDairy Calf MilkDairy Calf Milk

RRRRReplacereplacereplacereplacereplacer

By Angela Lovell

From Farm to Fork toFacebook is the theme for the2013 Manitoba Farm Women’sConference to be held at theCanad Inns in Portage la PrairieNovember 17 - 19. Now in its27th year this signature event forfarm and rural women of all agesis a great opportunity to learnsomething new, expand your net-work of friends and farming col-leagues and have a lot of fun do-ing both. This year’s event will explorewhat’s new in social media andwhat it can offer for the farm anda panel of successful Manitoba

Farm to Fork to Facebook Conferencewomen will explain how theyhave used social media to helppromote their businesses. At-tendees can even learn how toset up, write and publish a blog. Speakers include Deri Latimerwho will help teach attendeeshow to shift their emotions andenjoy positive mental health intheir everyday lives. GerryFriesen “the recovering farmer”will share his life experiencesas a farmer and counsellor andshare some tips about how notto be “sleepless in Manitoba.”Kalynn Spain on a quest toknow where her food is com-ing from is building an onlinedirectory.

The Manitoba Canola Grow-ers will host a cooking demoand eight select-a-sessions willanswer questions like howmuch can you afford to pay forland or how much do you needfor your retirement? There’llbe tips on managing price riskon the farm, developing a hu-man resource plan and a psy-chological strength training ses-sion. Registration deadline is Nov.11. To register go to website at

manitobafarmwomensconference.caor at facebook.com/

ManitobaFarmWomensConference.A detailed program is on pages

11-13 of this AgriPost.


By Les Kletke

Dwight Wolfe operates Pe-rimeter Alpacas at Headingly.While he appreciates theseanimals and how easy they areto work with, Wolfe has noillusions of turning the agri-cultural community on its earwith a new type of livestock. Wolfe, who was involved inthe ostrich business, recog-nizes that there was a changeof specialty livestock fromhedgehogs, to ostriches andemus and a few other speciesin between. Industries thrivedon the high priced breedingstock but had little real sub-stance for the long term. “Alpacas are an animal thatare easy to work with and Iappreciate having them aroundthe farm,” he said. “We sellsome animals to people whohave had horses and wantsomething smaller now. Thealpaca is a good fit.” He has had alpacas for fiveyears and currently has 25 onhis farm. He sells a few ani-mals each year for breedingstock and shears his flock forfibre. The prime fibre from thebody of the animal or blanketcan fetch up to $10 per poundand the less desirable fibrefrom the neck or legs is dis-counted accordingly. Each areagenerates about five poundsof fibre per animal. He has his animals shearedin the spring and sells the fi-bre to a co-operative in theU.S. that credits him for thevalue of the product, whichhe takes in return in eitherwool or finished garments. Atthe recent Manitoba FibreFestival in St. Norbert, Wolfwas a vendor and said interestwas good in the fibre. “We had lots of people go-ing through and buying thesocks or yarn,” he said. “Theyarn is attractive in socks be-cause it is warm and absorbsmoisture. It is good for peoplewith poor circulation.” He said a new crowd of knit-ters is also interested in thefibre, “There were a goodnumber of younger people in-terested in the fibre and thefact it was produced inManitoba.” The co-operativethat he is a member of doesnot return his specific fibrebut some do, so the knitterknows the farm that producedthe product. Wolfe said the animals have

Alpacas are EasyHandling on

Small Acreages

the ability to handle Manitobawinters, “They need a threesided shelter and a roof to keepthe snow off, the cold doesnot bother them.” He does not expect a dra-matic upswing in the marketbut sees interest continuing inthe animals because of the easeof handing and how they workwell on small acreages.

Chabot Implements of Elie has beenawarded the 2013 Long Term Achieve-ment Business – Rural Award by theManitoba Chambers of Commerce. The Manitoba Chambers of Commercecelebrated the best of the business com-munity and more than 300 guests gath-ered inside the Fairmont Hotel on Oc-tober 17 for the awards event. The Chamber noted Chabot’s goalsof providing excellent customer serviceand excellent career opportunities. “We have been successful becauseof our loyal and dedicated employeeswho work hard every day to make uswhat were are,” said Bernie Chabot. “It’sbeen our many loyal customers whohave made it possible for us to surviveand thrive all of these years.” Chabot Implements started at theChabot Farm in St. Eustache, Manitobaby Charlie Chabot. Years later, the busi-ness was moved to Elie and passed onto his son Maurice and wife Eveline. Today, three generations later, Bernie and Gilles Chabot have expanded the business,adding three more stores in Steinbach, Portage la Prairie and Neepawa. Chabot Implements is Manitoba’s oldest Case IHdealer and currently employs 80 people at its four locations. Hylife received the award for Outstanding Large Business making this a banner year for agriculture related business.

Chabot Implements Named as 2013 LongTerm Achievement Business – Rural Award


By Elmer Heinrichs

Five combines workingon the CHUM project har-vest in the Plum Coulee-Altona area took off 150acres of spring wheat onOctober 9 according to rep-resentative Doug Dyck. Itwas CHUM’s only field thisyear. Due to a lack of eleva-tor space, the grain wentinto temporary storage, andwhile the exact yield is notyet known, Dyck feels theyield is very close to 56bushels per acre. “Since the price has al-ready been established, webelieve we will gross about$57,000 for the project. Ithas been a great year,”concluded Dyck. “This has been a wonder-ful [harvest]. It’s also beenexciting to find a few more30-acre donations from in-dividuals. It seems that thewonderful crop has made itpossible for people to bemore generous that theyhad thought earlier,” saidHarold Penner, ManitobaProject Co-ordinator.“Farmers still have the op-tion to donate a load ofgrain, or to add the equiva-lent of 30 acres of a crop to

Many Good CFGB Crops“in the Bin”

an existing project and in-crease the total number ofacres dedicated to CFGB inthis, our 30th anniversaryyear.” “So far we’re at 5,735acres!” added Penner.“There have been three tofour CFGB fields harvestedalmost each day. One fea-ture at the last three har-

vests was the number ofschoolchildren who cameto be a part of the day. Thechildren had done somefundraising and contrib-uted to the projects, andwere very attentive as weshared about why this cropwas special, and howpeople would be helpedthrough difficult times.”

Combine on CHUM project’s wheat crop unloads grain into agrain wagon at the community harvest on October 9.

Photo by Elmer Heinrichs


By Les Kletke

“This year we might haveto make 3 passes but fellowsdon’t mind for the crop theygot this year,” said VicZacharias as the implement hecalls a Trash Cutter makes thesecond pass over a cornfield. Zacharias, who operatesTormaster Manufacturing atAltona, has spent three yearsdeveloping the machine thatmakes short work of cornstalks or any other crop resi-due. He insisted on perfectingthe machine before commer-cializing it and now feels it isready to take on the world’scrop residue. “Normally two passes inthe fall and another in thespring and the land is readyfor edible beans,” saidZacharias. “That is what mostfellows used to follow theircorn with but now there aremore soybeans and corn is fol-lowed by soybeans; neithercan handle a lot of trash. Thisyear with 180 bushel cornthere is more material to cutup and it takes 3 passes.”Typically, the machine makestwo passes at 35-degree anglesto the rows in the oppositedirection. Peter Klassen of KlassenInternational, who is market-ing the machine, said that hehas had interest from Africa,Australia and Kazakhstan inthe machine that fits into thevertical tillage category withtwo rows of offset discs set

Bigger Crops Mean More Trashahead of the rolling baskets. Zacharias said finding theright material with for theblades of the baskets was thekey to perfecting the machine. “We found the right steel forthe blades. That machine hasdone 8,000 acres and the bladesare sharp as new,” saidZacharias. The steel bladeshave a Rockwell rating of 58-60 and they have enoughspring to bounce back to origi-nal shape, “We twisted them90 degrees on a five foot lengthand they came back to withina degree. Ordinary steel staysat 80 degrees.” Currently the Trash Cutteris manufactured in 40 ft lengthsbut plans are to offer it insmaller widths. The machineweighs roughly 1,000 lbs perlineal foot. The Trash Cutteris balanced to employ someof the weight of the tractor onthe hitch and aid in the soilpenetration. It requires a 300plus horsepower tractor tooperate effectively.

“We will be looking atsmaller machines for othermarkets,” said Klassen, “TheAfrican market requires asmaller machine as would theEuropean market.” The cur-rent machine retails for justunder $120,000.

The Trash Cutter is manufacture by Tormaster at Altona, andVic Zacharias says this years stubble may take an extra passbut producers are happy to do that for the yields theyreceived.

The Trash Cutter usesspecial steel that holds anedge but also a memory. Ifthe blade does hit a rock itreturns to it original shape.


The sixteenth annualpresentations of theManitoba 4-H YoungHorse DevelopmentProject (YHDP) wereheld September 2 at theWestoba AgriculturalCentre of Excellence, inBrandon. The projectprovides a venue forsenior 4-H members todemonstrate theirknowledge gainedthrough the 4-H EquineProgram, as well as tohighlight the stockbeing bred and raisedon Manitoba’s equineranches.

Development PDevelopment PDevelopment PDevelopment PDevelopment Project Project Project Project Project PresentationsresentationsresentationsresentationsresentationsHighly SuccessfulHighly SuccessfulHighly SuccessfulHighly SuccessfulHighly Successful

Yearling presenters: (l tor) Karleigh Lewis, DestinySawatzky, Esther Funk,Elaine Hyde, KaelynDreger, and Sara Meisner

Two-year-oldpresenters: (l to r):Thomas Coffey,Jenilyn Hyde, KatieHunter, Elaine Hyde,Kassidy Petruk andLisa Coffey

Photographs byWilf Davis

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Min-ister Ed Fast are pleased with the establishment of a World TradeOrganization (WTO) compliance panel on U.S. Country of Ori-gin Labelling (COOL) on September 25, in Geneva. “Following through on our commitment to stand up for Cana-dian livestock producers by pursuing all options available toresolve this dispute, our Government requested and obtained theestablishment of a World Trade Organization compliance panelon U.S. Country of Origin Labelling,” said Ritz. “Our Govern-ment continues to aggressively lobby the U.S. Government tomake a legislative change to finally put an end to mandatoryCountry of Origin Labelling that hurts producers on both sides ofthe border.” “Our Government understands the importance of global mar-kets to the families that rely on our world-class Canadian live-stock producers for their livelihood,” said Fast. “That’s whywe’re standing up for producers and processors on both sides ofthe border by establishing a WTO compliance panel and why wecontinue to ask the United States to respect its internationaltrade obligations and put an end to mandatory Country of OriginLabelling.” Canada maintains that the U.S. has failed to bring its COOLmeasure into conformity with its WTO obligations. It believesthat the recent amendments to the COOL regulations will furtherhinder the ability of Canadian cattle and hog producers to freelycompete in the U.S. The purpose of a WTO compliance panel is to determinewhether measures found to violate WTO obligations have beenbrought into conformity with WTO obligations. The panel iscomposed of all original members of the WTO panel establishedin 2009 on the same issue, which will accelerate the process. If Canada prevails in the compliance proceedings, which mayinclude an appeal to the WTO Appellate Body, Canada couldseek authorization from the WTO to impose retaliatory tariffson U.S. imports. A list of possible target products was released ina statement issued on June 7, 2013. Canada will continue toconsult with stakeholders as it pursues a fair resolution of thisissue through the WTO over the next 15 to 18 months. Mexico,the other complainant in the dispute, has also initiated compli-ance proceedings with the WTO. The COOL legislation’s expanded labelling requirements willresult in increased segregation of livestock and increased costs forfirms using livestock, or the meat produced from such livestock,that are born or raised outside the U.S. The COOL measure hassignificantly disrupted the North American supply chain, cre-ated unpredictability in the market and imposed additional costson producers on both sides of the border. Canada continues tolobby all levels of the U.S. Government to make a legislativechange in the Farm Bill to put a definitive end to mandatoryCOOL.

WTO EstablishesCOOL Compliance

Panel

Bison producers will ben-efit from federal funding formarket development thatwill lead to new export op-portunities for the bisonsector. This $225,000 fund willhelp the Canadian BisonAssociation (CBA) createdemand in new markets,such as Mexico and China,where they will promote Ca-nadian bison as a unique,high-quality meat product.The CBA will also under-take industry-to-industryadvocacy activities withthe U.S., strengtheningtheir trade relationship inthe process and ensuringlong-term prosperity for the

Bison Industry Targets Exports withIncreased Marketing Strategy

industry. “This investment in mar-ket development makes abig difference for a grow-ing industry like ours,” saidMark Silzer, President of theCanadian Bison Associa-tion. “When these fundsare matched by our produc-ers and marketers, it resultsin an investment of almosthalf a million dollars overfive years to grow and di-versify our markets glo-bally.” The CBA works with amembership of approxi-mately 600 producers, whorepresent close to 90 per-cent of the bison produc-tion in Canada, to promote

bison products in the inter-national and domestic mar-kets. In 2012, the Canadian

bison industry generatedmore than $32 million in bi-son and live animal exports.


By Les Kletke

Seine River Shepherds are in the business ofsheep, all aspects of it. “We could not make a living on just thelambs,” said owner Randy Eros. “We rely onthe value added portion of the animal as well.” It was the value added portion of the sheepbusiness that had Seine River Shepherds asone of the vendors at the Manitoba Fibre Fes-tival held recently at St. Norbert Farmer’sMarket. Eros is a regular vendor at the market.The fibre festival brought special attention tothe province’s wool and fibre industry. Eros has 175 ewes in his flock and expectsto have about 400 lambs next April, “We lambin April and this year, that brought some chal-lenges with the weather but, Mother Naturealso gave us some timely rains and we had agood hay crop so we have lots of feed for thisyear.” He is candid that not everyone can ex-pect an over 200 percent lamb crop, especially with ewes purchased from a market. He has spent years developing a cross between a Canadian breed, Rideau Arcott, and Isle de Francebreeds. He keeps a small nucleus flock of each breed that is used to develop the crossbred animals inhis commercial flock. “We are a totally closed flock and I might buy in some rams, but we have not purchased any ewessince 1990. We raise all of our own replacements and use a pasture system so the animals are onpasture May to October.” Eros is in the sheep business full time, not cropping and brings in somegrain for feed, concentrating his time on the animals and pasture management. Eros said the Fibre Festival was an additional marketing opportunity for him in addition to theregular farmers market where he markets his frozen lamb. “There were a lot of new people,” he said, “We had the regulars who have purchased our garmentsbefore but we had new people who are getting involved in spinning and knitting. It was good to seemore people interested in the products and becoming aware of what is available in Manitoba. He said the manufacture of felt and garments is a year-round process for the family at Ste. Anne.His wife, Solange Dusablon, and son are involved in the operation and work on the products yearround. “We could not make a living with 200 lambs in the commercial market, so we have chosen todiversify into the value added instead of just getting bigger,” said Eros.

Total Package MakesSheep Farming Work


The greatest risk to the long run sustainability of agriculture associa-tions is not flawed government policy or a cataclysmic event in the indus-try. No, the greatest threat to the longevity of associations like ManitobaBeef Producers (MBP) is a loss of connection and relevancy to its mem-bership. It is not difficult to see why farm groups lose touch with their members.Both board and staff can be caught up in the day-to-day struggle with illconceived or absent government policy. We spend a lot of time designingand re-designing government programs, industry initiatives, market devel-opment, research and the latest trends in both the electronic and tradi-tional media. We must never forget that serving producers is our numberone priority-and the reason we are busy with governments, customers,researchers and others in the industry. If you raise beef in Manitoba, MBP is your voice and your organiza-tion. If we are going to be a successful organization, we need to heardirectly from our members. What are we doing right? What key policyareas might not be getting enough attention? Is the organization off trackon some matters? This conversation with producers must be renewed on a regular basis ifwe, as an association, are to be successful in both the short term and thelong term. So what are MBP’s priority areas? How have we been spending ourtime and efforts? We communicate and work with governments on almosta daily basis. I believe government has a role to play in ensuring theongoing stability and viability of agriculture because it is so important toboth urban and rural Manitoba. For example, governments should be therewhen natural disasters threaten to drive producers off the land. The 2011flood is just one example of a case where it is in society’s best interest forgovernment to step in to ensure that this critical industry can thrive in thefuture. We are still working on that issue. I also strongly support government investment in research. This isbecause taxpayers get a very high rate of return when government dollarsare invested in agriculture research. For example, an academic report I readrecently found that there were $48.3 dollars generated for every federaldollar invested in beef research. Governments also have a role to play in insurance programs like effec-tive forage insurance or a livestock price insurance program. These twoareas in particular have been a focus for MBP. Governments also have a responsibility to help Canadians secure accessto international markets and to protect our industry from protectionistmeasures like U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) orpseudo-health concerns that are only thinly veiled attempts to blocktrade. All levels of government have a role to play in the management ofdisease; bovine tuberculosis in the Riding Mountain National Park area isan example. Disaster relief, investment in research, insurance programs and ensuringaccess to markets are all priority areas where MBP is lobbying govern-ments on your behalf. But ensuring the viability of beef production inManitoba is not just governments’ job, the industry itself has key roles toplay as well. Your check-off dollars go towards research, often triggering a matchinginvestment from governments to help ensure a maximum return on yourinvestment. Producer funds are also used in the promotion of the Cana-dian beef brand, both internationally as well as here at home. Canada and the U.S. are still our biggest markets. We are striving toincrease the sale of Canadian beef outside of North America, but wecannot forget our best customers. How is the beef industry responding toemerging trends in the domestic market? For example, how do we answerthat question “Where does my food come from?” This is why MBP, and our sister organizations across Canada, continueto develop and promote the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program.VBP allows producers to quantitatively demonstrate that they are fol-lowing the best practices on their ranch. Two-thirds of Canada’s beef nowcomes from cattle operations that have been trained under VBP. The program is in early stages of exploring add-on modules for biosecurity,animal care, and environmental stewardship. The addition of these mod-ules will help those producers who want a further opportunity to differ-entiate Canadian beef from the rest of the world. So how is MBP doing? Hearing from producers is a key reason why Ialways look forward to my annual trek across Manitoba to attend each ofthe 14 district meetings held by MBP. This direct contact with producershelps keep the whole association, including me, grounded on the issuesthat matter most to the people who matter most: the beef producers ofManitoba. Come out. Tell us how we are doing and where we can im-prove. See the meeting schedule at mbbeef.ca or call the MBP office at 1-800-772-0458. Agriculture is a key driver for the Manitoba economy and large chunk ofour GDP. Agriculture is also a key driver of innovation and technologyinnovation-developments that are often adapted by society. The industrysupports thousands of jobs in our urban centres, such as Winnipeg, Bran-don and Portage la Prairie. Agriculture is the backbone of our rural commu-nities. We need to work together to ensure that this critical primaryindustry remains headed in the right direction.

By Les Kletke

The corn silage crop is set to deliver both record qual-ity and quantity. Marcus Dueck, who spreads his time between his owndairy and Marc Hutlet Seeds, said that the crop had ben-efited from the heat of August and could deliver a recordtonnage but also will have high grain corn content, whichwill improve the feed quality as well. Dueck said the height of the corn, which was over eightfeet in some of the plots featured at the Hutlet Field Day,would deliver good tonnage. “And has some producerslooking at fields they might harvest because they haveenough feed put up.” Many times the corn crop in Manitoba goes the otherway with grain corn not maturing and being relegated tosilage. “This year will allow most fellows to put up all thefeed they want and store a little extra,” said Dueck, whoestimates that yields could reach 17-20 tonnes an acrecompared to the average of 12-18 tonnes. “If the fellows are cutting silage with a high grain con-tent it will save on their feed budget because they will nothave to add as much grain to the ration,” said Dueck.“And if they are able to harvest some of their acres forgrain that could be a real bonus.” Dueck said that, in recent years, management of silagecorn has increased and producers have been choosingvarieties that are suited to silage that produces high qual-ity feed suited to the dairy industry. “But if they are ableto let some of them mature and harvest grain corn thatwill be a real advantage.” He said the grain content iswhat separates corn from sorghum as a feed, “If it weren’tfor the grain they could grow sorghum for the tonnes butthis year they will get the extra grain as well.” Dueck said a crop that looked slightly below average atthe end of June progressed well with the heat of earlyJuly and late August. “A couple weeks in there made a big difference and thecrop came along well. It will provide guys with a bit of acushion in their feed supply.” Corn acreage across theprovince continues to climb and, while the majority isintended for grain, a significant increase has come in si-lage acres as well. “More producers are set up to handle silage and we areseeing more custom choppers that can handle the in-creased acres,” said Dueck.

By Les Kletke

Corn producers in Manitoba need to be aware thatGoss’s Wilt is a reality and could affect their crop. J.P. Hunt told producers attending the Marc HutletSeeds Field Day that the disease had appeared in fieldsthroughout Manitoba but had not become a serious prob-lem. The disease is a problem in the southern US and hasbegun to appear in Manitoba recently with increasedcorn acres. Longer season varieties had a resistance tothe disease bred into them but the smaller acreage of thecrop in northern regions has meant breeding programshave lagged behind. There are some varieties with resis-tance suited to Manitoba production and he advisesproducers to be diligent in their variety selection be-cause of the possible danger of the disease. “The disease enters the plant where there is sometype of mechanical injury to the plant,” said J.P. Hunt.“We have a plot where we mechanically damage theplant and try to introduce the disease to measure theimpact it has, but at this point it has not impacted theyield of Manitoba corn.” The spores of Goss’s Wilt over winter on corn stubble.If the spores can be removed or destroyed the betterchances for disease reduction. If the disease hits early inthe growing season it, can shrink the cob and reduce thecob size by 50 percent. He stressed that residue management is the only con-trol measure at this time and even that is not sure firebecause the spores can blow in from other fields. Sev-eral tillage machines are appearing on the market andpromoting the benefit of proper trash management. Itcan start as early as the combine header and carry throughwith a treatment of vertical tillage equipment that willreduce the amount of trash on the field and speed thedecay of product over the winter. The tour also demonstrated the value of a properlymaintained planter by showing what gaps in plantingwould look like at harvest time and how great an impact

KKKKKeeping Feeping Feeping Feeping Feeping Farm Groups Rarm Groups Rarm Groups Rarm Groups Rarm Groups Relevantelevantelevantelevantelevant

It’s Real but NotDevastating

J P Hunt tells those attending a field day that there is little theycan do to prevent Goss’s Wilt, but destroying corn stubble isone step. Photo by Les Kletke

they could have on yield. For not only a lack of plant stand butalso where two plants could germinate too close to each othercompeting for nutrients so that neither plant achieve their poten-tial. Hunt indicated that there was a good possibility of varietiesbeing bred with resistance in the future but for now, the greatestthreat to enter the plant is the mechanical damage to the plantfrom this disease. Growers will need to be vigilant in monitoringcrops.

Increased Corn Quality and Quantity

Marcus Dueck tells those attending the Marc Hutlet Seeds FieldDay that silage corn should be above average quality andquantity this year, the additional mature kernels will help feedvalue.

Photo by Les Kletke


By Peter Vitti

According to Statistics Canada, western grain farmers and justabout anyone who drives across the prairies have expressed thatthis year’s harvest of cereal crops is phenomenal. With millionsof bushels of grain being picked up by thousands of combines,tonnes of straw are being thrown out their back-ends. Whether itis baled in round or big square bales, a bountiful crop of grainstraw can be easily used as an alternative and economical foragegrass hay for over wintering beef cows. The best candidates for feeding straw as the main forage inwinter diets are mature early to mid-gestation beef cows, whichonly need to maintain a post-weaning body condition of 2.5-3.0(re: 1= thin, 5=obese). These pregnant cows have respectivefirst- and second-trimester nutrient requirements of about 50-53percent TDN dietary energy, 9-10 percent protein, 0.25 percentcalcium, 0.20 percent phosphorus and a good compliment ofessential trace minerals and vitamins. Such requirements are onlyachievable with well-balanced straw diets until the last threemonths before calving or the onset of colder winter temperatureswhen significantly more nutrients (i.e. energy) are needed. That’s because straw’s first limiting factor to good dry matterintake by beef cows is straw’s high fibre content that quickly fillsup the cows’ rumen and is slowly digested by ruminal microbes. For example, cereal straws (re: barley, wheat and oats) containabout 70-85 percent NDF-fibre (44-48 percent TDN energy)and 4-6 percent protein compared to fair quality mixed-grass hayof 55-65 percent NDF-fibre (52- TDN energy) and 11-12 per-cent protein. The implication of feeding such low-energy and low-proteinstraw to beef cows measured against finding better quality grasshay is two-fold: 1. a big beef cow is only able to consume about25-30 lbs of straw (gut-fill), and 2. their resident rumen microbescan only digest 60-65 percent of that amount of straw per day.As a result, big pregnant beef cows with some fat-cover canhandle about 50 percent of their dry matter consumption fromstraw and the other 50 percent of the diet should be complimentedwith more supplements that are nutritious. Here are samples of well-balanced straw-based diets for 1,200-1,400 lb pregnant beef cows that might be fed from late Octoberto end of December:

By Harry Siemens

The 2013 corn crop maywell go down in history as, insome cases, unbelievable andin other cases, simply awe-some. Talking to producers atthe end of September, manywondered whether indeed thecorn would totally make it be-fore a killing frost. Speakingwith producers now, it seemsin many instances they report

All business owners have Group Benefit Plans available to them. Yes, a Group Plan of “1”is a Group Plan. When talking to clients about Group Benefit Plans, the conversation often goes to ques-tions on root canals, travel insurance and massage therapy. All are important points but notall employers want to spend much time discussing what I believe to be the most important- Disability Coverage. If you were not able to work and earn an income because of an illnessor accident, what would you do? Type of dental plan will not seem so important at thispoint. If this happened while you were not at work, workers compensation would not pay.Employment insurance will pay but only for 15 weeks. This is assuming that you and youremployees are covered by Workers Compensation and Employment Insurances. So, when the conversation gets back to disability coverage, some business owners nodcautiously saying that they would want to continue paying their employees salary even ifthey could not work but also are quick to point out that it is not sustainable and they wouldnot do this for long. You really need to take care of the big picture before you deal with the other coverage. Onebasic question to ask is will the disability benefits pay for 2 years, 5 years or to age 65? Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from those who understand your business! Andy Anderson is an Associate Insurance Broker specializing in General, Life and GroupBenefits for Farm, Commercial/Agri-business T: 204-746-5589 F: 866 765 [email protected] /rempelinsurance.com /valleyfinancial.ca.

Group BenefitGroup BenefitGroup BenefitGroup BenefitGroup BenefitPlansPlansPlansPlansPlans

Make Use of a Bountiful Straw Cropfor Over Wintering Beef Cows

The feeding costs ($/hd/d) of most of these straw-based rationsfall slightly below $1.50 per cow per day, and some of them areslightly more costly than the predominant grass hay diet (#6).The actual feed ingredient prices of these diets may vary fromfarm-to-farm, but the point of this exercise is to illustrate what

feedstuffs are used in a complete mid-gestation beef cow straw-diet as well as demonstrate many similarities in feeding costs. As shown above, barley is the main grain used as a source ofsupplemental energy for many straw-based cow winter diets. Itsquality is often based upon kernel plumpness, bushel-weight andthe occasional laboratory protein analysis. When barley is fed inany beef cattle diet, the common recommendation is to grind itinto coarse hammered kernels to improve its digestibility. In the last few years, commercial screening-pellets and corndistillers’ grains have also been used as barley substitutes, par-ticularly when barley prices are relatively high. In doing so, oneshould realize that not all grain screenings are created equal andmay consist of various levels of actual grain kernels, oilseeds(such as canola), weed seeds and also cereal stems, pods, chaff anddust. Fortunately, most of these ingredients that constitute screen-ing pellets are ground up and go through a heat treatment (weedseed viability is destroyed), before the feed is made into pellets.Corn distillers’ grains have many similar quality issues comparedto grain screenings when used as a barley substitute or proteinsupplement in over-wintering straw-based cow diets. Failure to use this grain and grain by-products concentrate op-tions in order to balance off the respective lower nutrient profileof straw can lead to some dire consequences, such as abomasumimpaction. Severely “plugged up” cattle can die within a weekwithout any treatment (re: dose of mineral oil). It can largely beavoided by assuring that the straw-fed beef cows are meeting theirenergy and protein requirements as well as have access to anadequate amount of fresh clean water at all times. Most people that have the experience of feeding cereal straw tobeef cows avoid such trouble. They realize that no matter howmuch straw is available, it does not provide the same nutrition asgrass hay. It must be supplemented with the right type and amountof other nutritious feedstuffs so all the beef cow nutrient early andmid-gestation requirements are met. Furthermore, when their cowsare a few months away from a successful calving, these peoplealready know that it is time to put their cowherd on an even higherplane of nutrition.

Record Corn Yieldsin Manitoba

record yields for Manitoba. Compared to 2012 the cornyields were also good to excel-lent but for many areas, mois-ture was in short supply. Ian Forrester, of Emerson,said, “My corn yield was bet-ter than average and we re-ceived about an inch of rain.” This year, if moisture was anissue, it was too much in manyareas, but the frost stayed awayand the heat units piled on pro-ducing yet another fantasticcrop, in many cases recordyields. Kevin Yuhl, of Portage la Prai-rie, had one field go to 140 driedand delivered while anotherfield was going over 200 bush-els an acre. In Hank Enns’ case of Altona,his corn yield in 2012 was alittle higher than this year byabout 20 to 30 bushels an acredue to corn borer problems andGoss’s wilt. With the arrival of the cornborer-resistant geneticallymodified Bt Corn, farmers didnot have to spray to controlcorn borer. In Enns’ case, realizing Goss’sWilt has caused problems forat least two years so it forcedhim to use a non-Bt corn seedvariety. “The corn borer did moredamage than I realized,” he said.“I didn’t spray for it becausemy advice was the thresholddidn’t warrant spraying. Ididn’t, but I should have, thatcost me a little bit of yield.” While the Bt corn variety re-sists corn borer, he chose to

grow a non-Bt variety resis-tant to Goss’s Wilt. “The Goss’s Wilt we havein our area comes here fromthe U.S. I’m right in the heavypocket,” Enns said. “I chosea non-Bt variety but moreresistant to Goss’s Wilt.” Enns started seeing Goss’sWilt last year and some theprevious year. He stated thatthere is a lot more Goss’s Wiltthan people may realize. In the U.S., the industry hasbred Bt corn varieties resis-tant to Goss’s Wilt. InCanada, the urgency was notapparent and it doesn’t payfor companies to breed thosevarieties here yet. Other factors affectingEnns’ yield in his 700 acresof corn was hail that camethrough not only once buttwice and one field lackedsome germination. While not a banner year, hefinished his harvest and ex-pects his average at 125 bush-els an acre plus, good byManitoba standards but notquite as good as the big yieldsof 160 plus in 2012.

“It is funny how natureworks in a dry year like 2012to get that kind of a yield. butthe disease also stayed awayin that dry year,” he said.“This year lots of rain, but thecorn borer was inside the plantdoing its thing.” Leonard Wiebe of Carman,who grew 110 acres of cornthis year, hadn’t started hisharvest when contacted onOctober 18, but he was look-ing forward to a good crop. “Moisture is anywhere from21 to 28 percent with initialyields of 130 to 140 bushelsan acre,” is what Wiebe hadheard from some of hisneighbours. Manitoba Agriculture, in itslatest crop report for the cen-tral region, said the grain cornharvest continues, just start-ing for some, to as much as 65percent complete in western areas. Yields range from 90to 160 bushels an acre withaverage yields to date in the100 to 110 range. Moisturelevels range from the mid 20percent to over 30 percent, butare declining.

Case 32-110s today are probably the most recognizablesteam engine between its size and cab. The 32-110 is one ofthe very few steam engines that came from the factory with acab. Standard equipment also included the bunkers for fuel. 32-110s were not very common in the steam era as theseengines were large, heavy and less than nimble. If this enginewas stuck, you were in for a few days of digging and blockingto get the engine out. Being so powerful, the engine was bestmatched with big ploughs and threshing machines. As a result,more men were then needed to supply water and fuel. When

threshing, the engine could burn straw but when ploughing,straw was usually not an option so coal had to be obtainedand hauled on a regular basis. For many farmers, smallerengines were more suitable. Certainly, in the ManitobaAgricultural Museum collection there are a number of 25-75Case steam engines and only one 32-110. The bulk of thesteam engines in the collection are of the 25-75 size range. A dedicated tank wagon would be needed for water as a largesteam engine would need a large amount of water in a workingday. Wagons would also be needed to haul coal from thenearest source, probably the nearest town on the rail line. The Museum’s Case 32-110 steam engine was purchasedfrom the Western Development Museum in Saskatchewan inthe early 1960s. However, nothing more is known of thisparticular engine’s history. The Museum is open year round and operates a website atag-museum.mb.ca, which gives visitors more information onhours of operation, where to find us and other usefulinformation.

Steam PloughingOutfit Had Muscle


By Elmer Heinrichs

Provincially, harvest of spring cereals is estimated at 95 per-cent complete, canola 85 to 90 percent complete, flax 50 to 60percent complete, edible beans 100 percent complete, soybeans90 percent complete, sunflowers 25 percent complete and graincorn is now 15 to 20 percent done. Crop yields in Manitoba were generally above average in 2013largely due to timely precipitation during the growing season,moderate temperatures during flowering, and low levels of dis-ease pressure. However, lower yields were reported in areasimpacted by extreme weather events during the growing season,such as high rainfall amounts and hail. Crop quality for the majority of crop types is average to aboveaverage due to good harvest conditions. Fields harvested later inthe season are seeing a decrease in quality due to weathering. The number of winter wheat acres seeded in fall of 2013 isexpected to be down from 2012 due to a delayed harvest, whichreduced stubble availability for seeding winter wheat into, aboveaverage yields and quality of spring wheat, and changes in Agri-insurance coverage. Fall fieldwork including tillage, post-harvest weed control andfertilizer applications of anhydrous ammonia is on going. In its final report of the season on October 14, Manitoba Agri-culture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) also briefly sum-marized the year along with some average yields along with qual-ity of various crops, including special crops across the regions. Central region winter wheat yields averaged in the 65 to 75bushel range, protein from 10.5 to 13.5 percent, with higherproteins in the lower yielding fields. The crop graded at No. 2CWRW or better. Most spring wheat averaged 60 to 65 bushels an acre, with amajority of the crop grading No. 2 CW or better. Quality is goodto excellent for the most part. Protein levels were down from lastyear. Barley yields ranged from 70 to 120 bu/acre, averaging 85 bu/

Canadian mustard seed growers will benefit from importantnew research with Federal Government funding to Mustard 21Canada for research and development that will help producersincrease their competitiveness and profitability. The investment of $4.9 million will enable Mustard 21 CanadaInc. to raise the bar for quality and supply in the mustard sector.Research will focus on developing new and higher yielding variet-ies of condiment mustard through traditional and molecular breed-ing applications, as well as industrial mustard for use in thee m e r g i n gbiofuel sector. Agricultureand Agri-FoodC a n a d a(AAFC) re-searchers willcollaborate onmany of theseprojects, in-cluding devel-oping condi-ment mustardwith a higherprotein and mu-cilage content(yellow mustard) as well as improved disease resistance. Newindustrial oilseed varieties will include high oil and protein con-tent, early maturing properties and disease resistance. In addi-tion, research will focus on improving production of industrialoilseeds for growers, specifically concentrating on rotational ben-efits, water use efficiency, and fertilizer and weed management. “Mustard 21 Canada is very pleased to have this renewedcommitment to mustard research under the Growing Forward 2program,” said Baine Fritzler, Chair of Mustard 21. “This willenable mustard producers and the mustard processing and han-dling system in Canada to maintain their position as world lead-ers in supplying mustard to national and international markets.” This builds on a previous investment of $4 million from theDeveloping Innovative Agri-Products (DIAP) initiative underGrowing Forward, to develop new varieties of mustard seed andnew market opportunities for farmers. Mustard 21 Canada Inc. (M21) is a non-profit corporationinitiated by the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commis-sion (SMDC) and the Canadian Mustard Association (CMA).

Harvest inHome Stretch

acre. Oat yields ranged widely from 70 to 200 bu/acre, averaging85 to 110 bu/acre, and most graded No. 2 CW. Canola yields were excellent, benefiting from the extended flow-ering period due to cooler July temperatures. Many farmers re-ported breaking the 50 or 60 bu/acre mark for the first time. Whilethe crop struggled early on, highly variable yields still averagedaround 40-45 bu/acre. Quality was excellent. Also in central areas, flax averaged 30-35 bu/acre and peas.When all done, averages of 40 to 50 bu/acre. Altona-based farm production advisor Dennis Lange said thesoybean harvest is almost wrapped up, and it was a good year foredible beans, “Quite a few growers reported yields of 1,900 to2,000 pounds an acre and Pintos especially have been going evenhigher.” It was a good edible bean harvest, yields averaged 1,900 to2,000 lbs/acre, with some reports, as high as 3,000 lbs/acre andthe quality is good, reported central regions. Soybean harvest also is almost complete, averaging 40 bu/acre.Higher yields were obtained in areas receiving timely rains andwhite mould had a minimal impact on yield and quality. The sunflower harvest is just starting and the crop looks good.The grain corn harvest continues and just starting for some, to asmuch as 65 percent complete in western Central. Yields rangefrom 90 to 160 bu/acre with average yields to date in the 100-110bu/acre range. Moisture levels are declining. Eastern region reports average yields as follows: winter wheat,70 to 80 bu/acre; spring wheat, 45 to 60 bu/acre; barley, 80 to 90bu/acre; oats 100 to 125 bu/acre, canola, 40 to 60 bu/acre; soy-beans 40 to 50 bu/acre, and corn is averaging between 120 to 160bu/acre. Average crop quality for the region is winter wheat, No. 2 CW;spring wheat No. 2 CW; barley No. 2 CW; oats No. 2 CW; canolaNo. 2 Canada; soybeans No. 2 Canada; and corn No. 2 CW. Disease levels in eastern areas had generally lower impact oncrop quality. The exception was where hail occurred, causingplant injury and opening the way for pathogens. Overall cropquality is high. Lower protein levels were recorded in hard red wheat. Therewas no downgrading due to weathering as a majority of the har-vest occurred in good harvest conditions. August hailstorms insome areas impacted yield and quality of cereals, canola andsoybeans in those areas. Wheat and canola showed greater yieldloss than quality loss from those hailstorms.

Mustard Seed IndustryGets Research Boost

AgriPost October 25 2013

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Transcript of AgriPost October 25 2013