AgriPost August 28 2015

August 28, 2015 1The Agri Post

By Harry Siemens

Setting a world record, involving many volunteers fromdifferent and far-reaching communities and clubs, bringingout the old, and raising money for good causes is a giantformula for success. While still almost a year away, set for July 31, 2016 over 112old-fashioned farm threshing machines will come from all

Setting World Records andRaising Money to End Hunger

over and hook up to tractors with large belts to break a worldrecord with proceeds to help end global hunger. Harvesting Hope, will host over 500 volunteers from 100communities across Canada as they operate vintage thresh-ing machines from the early 20th century to harvest a crop ofwheat. The equipment will require over four football fields ofspace.

Continued on page 3

Lisa Roy and Erron Leafloor demonstrate at a recent event to promote the potential world record goal using 112 plus threshingmachines to harvest a field of wheat in July 2016.

Manitoba’s harvest has begun and will soon be in fullswing as farmers work to bring in the 2015 crop. Farmers must use roads and highways to get large farmequipment to their fields, and Keystone Agricultural Pro-ducers (KAP) urges motorists to take precautions whenapproaching such equipment.Slow down to determine how fast the equipment is go-ing, then follow at a safe distance until you can pass.Also, ensure the equipment is not turning or changinglanes before you pass and make a wide pass only when itis safe to do so. KAP also urges farmers to clearly mark their equipmentand use appropriate lighting to alert motorists. “Safe driving, consideration and patience by all willavoid accidents,” said KAP President Dan Mazier.

The Agassiz Soil & Crop Improvement Associa-tion (ASCIA) is hosting a Soybean Research Tourin Beausejour on Thursday, September 3 starting at9:30 am. The Beausejour Soybean Research Site is locatedfrom junction of Hwys 44 and 12N, travel four milesWest on Hwy 44, then turn south on Rd 38E, travel a¼ mile to trials located on west side of Rd 38E. Topics include a Mini Soybean Diagnostic FieldSchool, Conventional Short Season SoybeanMCVET, Soybean Phosphorus Rate and PlacementTrial, Industry Soybean Variety Demonstrations andShort Season Roundup Ready Soybean MCVET. At the end of the tour there will be a free lunchprovided by Crop Production Services with guestspeakers Kristen Podolsky – MPSG Production Spe-cialist, Dennis Lange- MAFRD FPA – Crops/Pro-vincial Pulse Specialist, John Heard – MAFRD Pro-vincial Crop Nutrition Specialistand Terry Buss- MAFRD FPA – Crops. If you are interested in optimizing soybean pro-duction, this morning tour promises to be time verywell spent.

Jump Aboard theSoybean Research Tour

Take Care AroundHarvesting

Equipment onRural Roads

August 28, 20152 The Agri Post


Ayn Wilcox, a volunteer spokesperson with the Manitoba Agricultural Threshermen’sMuseum at Austin said the volunteers would be operating over 112 vintage threshingmachines to harvest that crop of wheat. “The machines need to operate continuously forat least 15 minutes powered by steam engines, tractors and stationary engines built be-tween 1890 and 1950,” said Wilcox. “We are confident this will happen.” She said the idea came from a world record set in Saskatchewan in a similar partnershipwith the Canadian FoodGrains Bank operating 41 threshing machines. They felt they couldsmash that record given the extensive collection at the museum at Austin as well as thecollectors and other museums they could partner with. On August 15, the goal changed slightly because of a similar event with 111 threshingmachines dating between the 1920s and 1950s which had lined up in a field at the St. AlbertCurd Festival in Ontario, each with an accompanying tractor setting the new world record. “We need to step it up just a little bit but our goal was already set at just over 100machines and so we need to get out there and get a few more operating and we will be goodto go,” said Wilcox. She said machines will definitely be coming from all over the place and anticipates using25 to 30 from the museum’s collection at Austin. There are a number of other museums thathave offered to loan their machines to this event. “We also have a number of privatecollectors looking all across Canada and into the US. Even people from Minneapolis tobring theirs in also,” said Wilcox. All of the money raised will go to preserving their local heritage and the CanadianFoodGrains Bank she explained. One example of a Canadian Foodgrains Bank-supportedproject is in Zimbabwe, where 17,000 children between the ages of five and 12 are receivinga nutritious school meal five days a week. “The outpouring of support for this event isoverwhelming,” said Wilcox. “Even though it’s almost a year before our record attempt,volunteers, contributors and threshing equipment owners are already registering from asfar away as Edmonton and Southern Ontario to be part of this special event.” John Longhurst, who directs communications and marketing for the Foodgrains Banksaid it is exciting to partner with the Museum. “As an organization with deep roots in ruralCanada, we are pleased to be part of an event that celebrates farming history and generos-ity.”

Colin Farquhar, a steam engine operator, stokes the firebox to demonstrate the technology thatwill be used to attempt a world record next year.

World Recordcontinued...

Continued from page 1

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) representing farmers and farm organi-zations will be reaching out to candidates across the country. In September, the CFA willalso be hosting a televised all-party National Agriculture Debate in the weeks leadingup to the election. “We urge all parties to show Canadians the importance they place on investing inCanada’s food and farm future by reflecting Canadian farmers’ priorities in their plat-forms. We encourage candidates to meet with farmers and hear about the realities in thefood and agriculture industry first hand,” said Ron Bonnett, CFA President. “While the farmer constituency is relatively small, the economic activity they gener-ate is significant, approximately $106.9 billion annually and not to mention, they arelargely responsible for putting food on Canadians’ plates each day. Our issues are notjust farmer issues. What affects our industry, affects all of Canada,” Bonnett added. CFA has three main policy areas it would like to see addressed by all political parties. The first priority is maintaining a skilled and adequate workforce to keep operationsrunning has been identified as chronic problem and critical labour shortages is one ofthe most pressing risks facing agriculture. The lack of workers is a major constraint onboth agricultural growth and global competitiveness. The agriculture industry facesunique workforce challenges due to rural depopulation and seasonal production ofhighly perishable products. In response to these challenges, the Canadian agricultureand agri-food industries have come together as a complete value chain to develop apermanent solution to this pervasive and urgent challenge under the Canadian Agricul-ture and Agri- Food Workforce Action Plan. Managing risks in agriculture is unique in the set of high risks it faces with volatileprices, unpredictable weather, and a global market influenced by government supportsto producers in competing countries. For risks that cannot be addressed through on-farm management practices, producers require access to effective risk managementprograms to limit fluctuations in income that limit their ability to further invest in theirfarms and grow the Canadian brand at home and abroad. Problems and the issues surrounding trade negotiations is also a priority amongst allfarm organizations and farmers. Clear and effective rules governing international tradewill result in better functioning international and domestic markets, a win-win situationfor our economy, producers and communities across the country, and an increasingglobal population. The Canadian government must approach all trade negotiations,including the current Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, with the objectiveof achieving positive results for Canada’s farm and food future. Specifically, the CFA has outlined that considerations under three main areas, marketaccess, supply management and non-tariff barriers should be part of all trade negotia-tions. To hear what Canada’s political decision makers have to say about these issues andmore, tune in to the Agriculture Leaders Debate on September 30, to be held at theChateau Laurier in Ottawa and webcast nation-wide.

National Election AgDebate Focuses on Your

Food, Your Farmer

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) has released its Federal ElectionPriorities document with information for all candidates running for Parliament in theupcoming 42nd General Election on October 19. Generating $9.7 billion in farm cash receipts, the sale of cattle and calves was thelargest single sector in Canadian agriculture in 2014. With 68,500 beef farms in the2011 census, beef producers are both major drivers of the rural economy and canhave a significant influence on the outcome on the election of Members to the 42ndParliament. “Cattle producers continue to receive excellent prices for their cattle due to a tightglobal beef supplies and open markets,” said CCA President Dave Solverson. “Asmuch as producers would like to respond to this clear market signal and expandtheir herds and take advantage of these current market opportunities, other factorscan negatively impact their ability to do so. This underscores the importance of acompetitive industry supported by a science-based regulatory environment forCanada’s beef cattle sector.” The election priorities document outlines a number of issues that can help createthe operating environment for beef cattle herd expansion in Canada, such as fullyfunding programs that help producers manage risk and investing in infrastructure. Once expansion takes place, secure access to high value and growing marketsand policies that ensure the competitiveness of Canadian producers are the key tokeeping the good times rolling. Investment in research and sustainable practicesare major priorities for the Canadian beef sector. Access to sufficient labour to work on farms and to process the meat is a criticalissue that needs to be alleviated. With insufficient numbers of Canadians willing totake these jobs and insufficient access to immigration, increasing numbers of livecattle will leave for processing in the US and Canada will need to import more food. The CCA will be sending its election priorities to all the national parties along witha questionnaire seeking feedback on how they intend to address the various chal-lenges for beef producers. As the responses are received, the CCA will post them,verbatim, on its website, cattle.ca, for cattle producers to assess for themselves.

Beef PBeef PBeef PBeef PBeef Producers Outline Election Producers Outline Election Producers Outline Election Producers Outline Election Producers Outline Election Prioritiesrioritiesrioritiesrioritiesriorities


by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected]

The dollar sliding, crops shrinking a little in western Canada, oilprices tanking and the Chinese stock market making a correctionis all in a day’s action, or is it? Errol Anderson, President of ProMarket Communications Inc.in Calgary said oil prices in the $50 to $55 range is a huge adjust-ment that’s not going particularly well in Alberta, and more spe-cifically in Calgary. The key is that the oil sands are a high costproducing aspect of the oil market. The oil sands will have to cuttheir costs. “What we are noticing is that a lot of the oil sand projects now

have shut down andrepresent about a thirdof the global projectssuspended or cancelleddue to the low oilprices,” said Anderson.“Really we do have ashock that is goingthrough Alberta, into

Saskatchewan and certainly it is affecting Canada sending oureconomy into a recession. Government data may not catch up fora few months yet, but it is clear to me we’ve gone into a reces-sion.” He believes the US economy is also slowing regardless of whatthe media is portraying for the American economy, aka the Fed-

It is decision time and this one is not going to be easy, beef producers need to decide whetherto take advantage of the high cow prices and sell the herd, or buy some more cows and try toget another calf crop to market while the prices hold. All indications are that the beef market will stay strong for at least a year probably two while

the mother cowherd is being rebuilt although feedprices are strong as well and margins have improved.But are they really that much better? This is one of those times that some people aregoing to make decisions with their mind and pocketthe money, others will decide with their heart andsay, “We should’ve…”. That is the way our busi-ness is. Always has been, always will be. I remember a decade or more ago when cow priceswere strong and an experienced ‘cow man’ showedme a cheque on Farm Credit stock for a large amount

of money. “Sold all my cows,” he said, “When the banks are loaning money to guys for cows,it is the time to sell.” I was shocked; I could not imagine this gentleman without cows on his yard, in his pasture oron his truck. “You without cows?” I stuttered. “Is the world ending?” “I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again,” he said. “I will buy those cows back at half price ina year or two. I feel sorry for the guy, but I’m going to cash the cheque,” he chuckled. Thechuckle of a man who had learned the lesson from both sides. I have had the pleasure during a couple of visits to Alberta over the last month, and on one,sat beside a fellow from just south of Calgary on the plane ride home. He told me of his strategy. “I have 650 cows and they will go to town this fall, at $3,500 a piece it is time to cash in,” hesaid. “I can fix up the place and get ready to buy some cows, but not at these prices.” I also had the pleasure of meeting with a father and son team at Saddle Hills. “Don’t tell himto sell the cows,” said Dad, with the look of a father who wanted to farm with his son on anoperation he had built. “I can’t see the cows making money at these prices especially feed,”said the son, who was holding the hand of his fiancée. Both were weathered and muscled, notafraid of a bit of cowboy work. I was careful not to step into the fray, and offer too muchadvice. I know that Dad will win that one, he controls the cheque book and will help that youngcouple get started with a load of debt that could last a decade or two. Business decisions are tough, especially when our heart and family are involved but as a longtime cow man told me, “They are making new cows everyday, I’m not married to those.”

Chicken Little isn’t dead, he’s just changed his clothes. In his last incarnation, the public panic he generated inthe farming industry had to do with “Frankenfoods”, ge-netically modified crops (GMOs) posed a threat to humanhealth. Despite all of the evidence from many learned societies to the contrary, millions of peopleprotested in hundreds of cities, anarchist vigilantes trashed GMO labs and the whole continent ofEurope refused to import the slandered food. The usual suspects have also mounted a scare campaign about “superweeds,” plant species thathave developed resistance to the most successful herbicide, glysophate. It’s really nothing more thana back-door attack on GMOs. The narrative goes something like this, if we hadn’t created crops that would tolerate herbicides,then we wouldn’t have used so many chemical strategies to control weeds, and “superweeds” wouldnever have existed. And maybe the built-in resistance in GMOs has magically hopped over toweeds, didn’t you know? Are the scaremongers preparing their pitchforks for another assault on companies like Monsantoand Dow, easy targets in their perpetual campaign against progress? Let’s hope not. The voices ofcommon sense are responding to this wave of panic, notable among them the Weed Science Societyof America (WSSA), which late last fall published a great fact sheet on “superweeds.” First, the claim that herbicide resistance has jumped from GMOs to common weeds like Palmeramaranth pigweed. “There is no evidence,” reads the fact sheet. “That gene transfer is a major factorin the development of herbicide resistance. . . The transfer of resistance traits from geneticallymodified crops to weeds growing in the field is rare, and the occurrences observed and reported todate have had minimal impact.” In fact, as farmers are well aware of the adaptability of weeds. It’s old news to them, as are thecompetitive characteristics of weeds. Although the number of acres affected by resistant weeds hasincreased over the last decade as more growers have come to rely solely on herbicides with a singlemechanism of action for weed control, weeds have exhibited resistance to many types of herbicidesover the past 40 years.” Therein lies the real problem, says the WSSA, the sole reliance on herbicides with a singlemechanism of action. “What’s going on is natural selection,” explained Justin Gardner, a professorof agribusiness at Middle Tennessee State University, in a report aired by NBC News. “Weeds wereresistant before GMOs. The best way around this is to use different weed killers instead of the sameone all the time.” “Herbicide resistance is an important, costly and escalating issue, especially as growers have cometo rely more than ever on a single class of herbicides that targets weeds in the same way, concludes

the WSSA. “It is more critical than ever for a variety of carefullyintegrated weed management strategies to be used so weeds resis-tant to one method can be controlled in other ways before theyhave an opportunity to spread. This includes nonchemical meansof weed control, such as crop rotation, tillage, cultivation, handhoeing, seed capture, etc.” In short, farmers can beat the danger posed by superweedswith simple common sense. Just use smarter, less lazy strategiesthan simply spraying Roundup year after year. Rotate your her-bicides the same way you do your crops and it’s really not muchof an issue at all. Maybe they need to be reminded of that fromtime to time but that’s a more reasonable position than the onemounted by the anti-GMO scaremongers. The sky is not falling,folks.

Tackling theSuperweeds The Tug Between

Hearts or Minds

Where is the Roller CoasterEconomy Headed?

eral Reserve’s hike in the interest rate. “Personally, I don’t believe them for one moment. I believethe US will show some cracks, and I don’t think there will be a rate hike in September. I’m certainlyfeeling that there maybe no rate hike in the US through 2015,” said Anderson. When asked how this influences the farm commodity’s roller coaster ride, he said the big thing isChina. The stock market correction in early July wiped out about 3 trillion dollars, although still upsince January 10 to 14 percent. What occurred is many of the Chinese investors invested near thetop creating some havoc in the Chinese market. The Chinese government has really moved in to tryto support and stabilize it. The reason he raises the Chinese action is that it has a direct impact on Canada, Australia andBrazil because these all feed directly into the Chinese pipeline. A shake in China will shake Canadi-ans. The Bank of Canada dropping its rate recently a quarter percent down to a half percentsurprised him, especially the timing. “That just goes to show the Canadian economy is slowing.With China slowing down, the Globe slows down, including the US,” he said. “So we will go throughsome difficulties on these commodity markets I believe through 2016, into 2017. Oil prices willcertainly stay in the range between $40 to $60 a barrel.” The Calgary businessman feels there will be rallies in the grain markets, but it will not hold. “I’mreally promoting the idea of a strong marketing plan and hit those targets and take those profits whenyou see them as a producer.” He thinks the cattle market although red hot for some time now, beef prices are going to come downbecause the meat glut in the US is pushing the cattle market lower into the fall market. The canola market has also shrunk. While the crop will be less due to the lack of moisture inAlberta and Saskatchewan, Anderson said the canola crop would be well down with the availablecrush capacity in western Canada. He believes the domestic market is going to buy the crop, leavingthe export market with some difficulties. “China and Japan, I think their volumes for CanadianCanola will be well down,” said Anderson. “The bottom line is our production is coming down andour demand is coming down so the whole canola engine is coming down and shrinking in size overall.This is the adjustment we will have.” He noted that while canola is well supported, the whole engineshrinks and there will be times the canola prices will drop even though the supplies are down,because the demand side is falling too. In summary, Anderson said there is going to be more pressure on commodities based on the Chinafallout, the US will have to think twice about rate hikes, because they cannot swim in this globalmarket on their own. The drop in the Canadian dollar is good news for Canadian commodities butstrong demand must follow it. “It is the case of where a commodity market price is only as good as its demand. In my viewdemand is king, not supply and as a result things will head lower and not necessarily translate intohigher prices on the Canadian side,” he added.


Trade Agreements – As encouraging as tariff reductionsounds. Recent Trade Agreements have also become an in-roads for private corporate control. We need to fight againstrequirements that tie the hands of publicly elected govern-ments.

- Pre-emptive Seizure – CETA (yet to be ratified)includes Section 22, Article 16 which allows a judge to orderseizure of assets, equipment, inventory and freezing of bankaccounts if a company believes you are - or may - abusetheir Intellectual Property rights. Protected Seeds are oneitem that can allow a private entity this access BEFORE youare proven guilty.

- Supply Management – Under TPP Major pressurehas been placed on Canada to end Supply Management.

Canadians have benefited from quality food. Canadian milk products do not include rBSTan artificial growth hormone included in American dairy. Even though the Conservativeshave said they will keep this sustainable form of agriculture intact in recent years, theyhave been pressured through TPP to end or greatly curtail it. History gives cause toquestion their sincerity.

CWB – In the 2011 election, Conservative Ag Minister Gerry Ritz said he would respecta vote on whether to keep the CWB. When a vote was held and 62% voted in favour ofkeeping wheat under the CWB he ignored it. He also said he wanted to see a dual market(not possible), he tried to defame former farmer elected directors of the CWB and on Nov.2, 2011 (Hansard) promised that farmers would “run it” after the privatization. A possiblefarmer run bid by Farmers of North America was rejected whole heartedly and in the end itwas given away to a partnership between Bunge and a national Saudi Arabian ownedSALIC with a 49.9% buy in potential for farmers who deliver to the company with nochance to gain “ownership” but a likeliness to be bought out in seven years. Democracieswithin our democracy need to be respected with issues addressed not dismantled.

Rail Transportation – On Nov 2, 2011 (Hansard) former CWB director Ian McCrearymade it clear: without orderly marketing and logistics oversight (under CWB), when anabundance of grain exists across the prairies, railroads and terminals will get clogged upeasily as shippers will want to get grain to the west coast all at once. Sadly in 2013 ithappened. The Ag minister was short to react with an Order in Council to railroads in Feb.2014. 6 months after the single-desk CWB would have recognized the problem. Policymakerswho simply think the market in these instances will decide best are leaving it up to thosewith the most private power and not the greater good. We need to fix the mess.

Plant Breeders Rights – With the passing of UPOV’91 through an omnibus bill “TheAgriculture Growth Act farmers and citizens need to be concerned with End Point Royal-ties (EPR’s) charged on their crops when hauling to the elevator. We know that over 110MP’s (including Conservative ridings) registered petitions against the bill, but little changewas made to the actual law which could prevent a seed from going into the public domainafter its new 20 year registration period is up.

Public Plant Breeding – A 40% funding cut to our public plant breeding programswas substantial for research that has put our nation on the leading edge in plant research.There is hope that private companies can take over what was lost but Federal researchinstitutes in Brandon and Morden have made some amazing finds in their long historythrough collaborative efforts not restrictive ones. A loss of funds means less qualityshared knowledge, which takes away a leading edge for our food production.

Growing Forward 2 & 3 – Agristability under growing Forward 2 (2012) has provenineffective for most farmers. Currently a farm can receive program payments if they movebeyond 70% of reference margins. In the original Growing Forward it was 85%. This 15%difference takes a major toll on profits margins before activating. It also does not accountfor mixed farming practices nor is it effective in helping those that have seen disasters inconsecutive years.

New Farmers Policy – A staggering ag census statistic in 2011 exposed only 8.2% offarm operators were under the age of 35. Recently a study of 1300+ farmers done throughthe newly formed National New Farmers Coalition exposed that 68% of those surveyeddesired to farm but currently are not farming. A renaissance in farmers markets, CSA’s andlocal food movements will help give new farmers a fighting chance but policy must bepursued that offers them a strong introductory playing field to multi-generational farmswho have strong collateral. With high land prices and lack of political motivation severalnew farmers say the federally funded Farm Credit Corporation was unable to help them intheir impassioned pursuit to become farmers.

Climate Change – Manitoba acts as a giant drain for 2 major watersheds. FederalGovernments must be willing to move fast in response to natural disasters. It also musthelp with substantial funding to help mitigate the risk via proper water diversion andretention. But above all we need policies that move us towards a green energy revolutionquicker. More floods and droughts are likely and farmers shouldn’t be playing the lotteryon who gets them by accepting the status quo of our pollution heavy climate changepolicy. Dean Harder is a farmer and member of NFU-MB, KAP and an elected director on theMWBGA.

By Dean Harder

Agriculture Concernsfor Election 2015

Manitoba Plowing Daysis scheduled for October 3-4 this year in Boissevain, (2miles south of town, then 5miles east on highway #3).10 am daily will feature Nov-ice and Junior Classes,Horse Walking and ModernSulky Class and a Special‘how it’s done’ Class. From12 noon daily there will beSenior Sulky and TractorClasses. Spectators are freeto attend.

Canadian agriculturehas a well deservedreputation for consis-tently delivering highquality safe food. CerealsCanada is proud toannounce the launch ofthe Keep it Clean –Cereals campaign. Keepit Clean – Cereals isdesigned to preserve andbuild upon this strongbrand. “There is a growingfocus, both withinCanada as well as in keyexport markets, on grainsafety”, noted Cam Dahl,President of CerealsCanada. “Canadianfarmers consistentlydeliver high quality safefood to consumersaround the world. Thereare a few steps thatproducers can take toensure that Canadapreserves and builds onthis brand reputation.” Keep it Clean –Cereals is an informa-tional campaign aimed atreminding producersabout the best manage-ment practices needed to

Keep It Clean - CerealsLaunched

preserve Canada’s place inworld markets. Key focalpoints for the campaigninclude:- Knowing the marketimplication of all cropproduction products;- Always following thelabel when applying cropproduction products; and- Following best practicesto avoid mycotoxingrowth. “Harvest is a criticallyimportant time for theseissues. Now is the timewhen producers aremaking decisions on pre-harvest applications andstorage. Care andattention during fall willmake a difference when itcomes time to marketCanada’s grain.” Keep it Clean –Cereals builds uponongoing efforts by theCanola Council of Canada.“Rather than creating astand-alone but similarbrand, Cereals Canada hasworked with the CanolaCouncil of Canada topresent a consistentmessage to producers

across commodities”,continued Dahl. “CerealsCanada thanks the CanolaCouncil for their open-ness to the idea of asingle platform for thesekey messages. This is anexample of industrycooperation that benefitsevery part of the valuechain,” concluded Dahl.

BoissevainBoissevainBoissevainBoissevainBoissevainto Hostto Hostto Hostto Hostto Host

Plowing DaysPlowing DaysPlowing DaysPlowing DaysPlowing Days


By Les Kletke

Not many teenagers’ sights are set on carving anAngus bull with a chain saw to enter a national competi-tion. However, that is exactly what Chris Jeremy of Asherndid attaining second place in the artistic component ofthe Junior Angus Competition in Olds Alberta. “I hadcarved a sign last year and donated it to the auction,” hesaid. “It sold well so I thought I would carve a bull forthe competition and it was well received.” He was alsoawarded the overall Reserve Champion in the Intermedi-ate Class. The 16 year old will be entering grade 12 this fall andalready has plans to carry on in school after that. “Myplans are to become a veterinarian,” he said. “So I planon going to the U of M and eventually Saskatoon.” Jeremy is involved in the day to day operation ofSpruce Ridge Stock Farm at Ashern that keeps 100purebred Angus cows. “We have been building the herdafter BSE,” he said. “So we keep about 25 good heifersand we sell about 35 bulls each year. We sell the bulls astwo year olds.” He said that most of the bulls go to local producers andthe rough terrain the bulls cover requires a more matureanimal. Most are used by commercial cattle men whohave the bulls on pasture and the high mileage they haveto cover takes it’s toll. “We used to sell the bullsyounger but found by the end of the breeding seasonthey were worn out, so now we sell them at 2 years ofage and they provide better service,” he said. The farmnormally has a bull sale but the demand was strong thisyear and they marketed the bulls directly from the farmand through the Ashern Livestock Market. Jeremy rates the hay crop as mixed. “Our tame hay washurt by a late frost and then the dry conditions,” he said.“The native hay was able to benefit from the rain later onand will make up for the shortage; the green feed wasgood so our hay supply is good.”

Delicate Touch with the Chain Saw

Chris Jermey of Ashern wasReserve Champion at theJunior Angus event in Olds,Alberta. The completionincluded 14 events and Chrisentered a chain saw carvingin the artistic competition.

By Harry Siemens

There is research from Swine Innova-tion Porc that shows with the inclusionof canola presscake or canola expeller inthe diets of early-weaned pigs that it isan economically viable alternative forhog feeders. Unlike canola meal, canola presscakeand canola expeller occurs without thefinal step of solvent extraction of oil anddesolventization toasting, resulting in much more residual oil remaining in these feedstuffs. Dr. Ruurd Zijlstra, the Chair of the Department of Agricultural, Food and NutritionalSciences with the University of Alberta, explained how 15 to 20 percent of residual oilcould remain in canola presscake or about 10 percent in canola expeller compared to about2 percent in canola meal. The residual oils make these products particularly attractive forhog producers to include in the diets of young pigs with a high-energy demand. “In the young pigs we’re quite surprised how well pigs can tolerate these novel feedstuffs.We’ve gone as high as 20 percent in diets for pigs 1 or 2 weeks after weaning,” said Dr.Zijlstra. “I would not recommend to do this at weaning but, once the pigs eat, 1 or 2 weekslater, you could switch actually to substantial levels of these canola co-products and stillmaintain animal performance.” He said in grown pigs, it is really the finances that will determine how much of these co-products the producer will include. Generally, in the energy dependant phase of growth,up to 50 to 60 kilograms, it is likely cost advantageous to add more of these co-productsinto the diets because you provide a lot of energy. According to his research, it depends on the price the producer pays for the products.He recommends the use of these dietary co-products for latter stage nursery and finishpigs. Dr. Zijlstra said for markets that have concerns about the fat quality of the pork, aproducer would not want to add a lot of plant based oils to the diets for finisher pigs.

16 Year Old ProvesYoung Age Shouldn’tHinder Knowledge of

Farm Operation

No hint yet on what heplans to do for next year’scompetition at the JuniorAngus Show but youknow that he will startplanning soon for his firstyear in the seniorcategory.

CanolaPresscake

andExpellerViableFeed

Alternativefor Young

Pigs



By Harry Siemens

Tom Teichroeb, Chair ofthe Manitoba LakeRehabilitation Committeeis confident this time boththe Federal and Provincialgovernments will makesure this programhappens despite whichparty comes into power. The Federal andProvincial governmentsassured residents of five

Flood Proofing Projects Get Green LightManitoba communitiesrecently they can lookforward to improved floodprotection for theirfamilies and propertiesthanks to a joint fundingprogram from the Commu-nity Dikes Initiativethrough the Provincial-Territorial Base Fund. The five projectsinclude upgraded floodprotection in the ruralmunicipalities of Cartier,

Tache, Wallace-Woodworth, Deloraine-Winchester andGrahamdale. In total,these projects will helpprotect more than 280properties in the fivemunicipalities. Fundingprovided is up to $9.27million and the municipal-ity contribution for all fiveprojects will amount to$1.03 million. To facilitate the flood

mitigation around LakeManitoba, the LMFRCproposed that municipali-ties surrounding LakeManitoba form a unifiedvoice by passing aresolution regarding floodmitigation works for LakeManitoba, Lake St. Martinand the surroundingareas. This he said is toendorse, the proposedconceptual design of theAssiniboine River andLake Manitoba BasinsFlood Mitigation Study,presented on December10, 2014. The conceptualdesign details a Manitobaflood control system thatincludes flood mitigationworks for Lake Manitoba,Lake St. Martin and thesurrounding areas andprotection works for theLower Assiniboine Riverand the City of Winnipeg.“That would be atremendous contributionif we could get all thoseflood works implementedin due time,” saidTeichroeb who is a cattlerancher and knows all toowell the suffering the

people around LakeManitoba have enduredsince the big flood in2011. While Teichroeb ispositive, he is also arealist but he thinks thistime around it will reallyhappen. “I believe thishas finally become areality. I know we stillhave some challenges.Just last week, the FirstNations folks from LakeSt. Martin say they stillneed some settlements tohappen from theirperspective,” he said.“We need to do morework there and I think it’srelevant and needs tohappen because theyhave suffered for a very,very long time.” Teichroeb knows theyare apprehensive aboutthe project and canunderstand because ofthe previous 30 years ofbeing flooded repeatedly.The project needs to makesure everybody is lookedafter. “In this case, as faras it becoming a reality, Itruly believe it will,” hesaid. “The Federal

government has come in,and they made thatannouncement, and fromthe province’s side, wehave a very good feelingfrom both the oppositionand NDP government. Nomatter who comes in, thiswill become a reality fromthe provincial side. I’mvery, very optimistic.” He said the status of thelake, of farmers in the areaand the harvest istolerable. Lake Manitobais approximately 812.4 feetabove sea level at themaximum level of theoperating range, which isbetween 810.5 to 812.5feet above sea level.Being at the upperoperating level, it has notaffected the harvest,whatever farmers seededafter that one big windevent this spring, seemsto have survived. “Butthere still remains atremendous amount ofreclamation work thatneeds to happen in thenext four to five years,”said Teichroeb. “Espe-cially where the condi-tions trapped the waterforcing salinity to becomethe big issue.”


By Elmer Heinrichs

With above normal tem-peratures through the firsthalf of August, Manitobacrops are maturing rapidlyand farmers are movingcombines about quickly toharvest this year’s bounti-ful crop. Harvesting of winterwheat and rye began in thelatter days of July, andweather conditions haveallowed for excellent har-vest progress with graincoming off in good condi-tion. According to the August17 crop report, harvest ofwinter wheat is almostdone, spring wheat, barleyand oats continues, and inCentral regions earlycanola yields range from 30-50 bu. an acre. Reported winter wheatyields range from 50-90 bu.per acre, red spring wheatyields 50-70 bu. per acre,general purpose and feedwheat yields 80-90 bu. anacre, and barley yields 70-80 bu. per acre. Spring wheat quality hasbeen good to date, al-though smaller size seedhas been noted. Pre-har-vest applications andswathing of canola andother grain crops is near-ing completion. The Central region re-ported high humidex valuesapproaching 40C as tem-peratures soared with littleor no precipitation. How-ever, most areas have ad-equate moisture. Lodged cereal fieldsmade for poor drying con-ditions on the clay soiltypes, and extremely hotweather created some chal-lenges with several reportsof equipment overheating. Harvest of canola hasstarted in central areas, withearly yields ranging from30-50 bu. an acre. Pea fieldsare maturing; some areready to harvest, but beingdelayed by wet field condi-tions. Overall most fieldslook good. Fusarium head blight lev-els appear to be much lowerthan last year in both win-ter and spring wheat, andearly reports indicate redspring wheat proteins rang-ing from 12-15%. Across Eastern regions,rainfall amounts rangedfrom 12-35 mm in the sec-ond full week of Augustwith hot humid conditionsand occasional rainfall andsome isolated hail in the Vitaand Menisino areas. Three-quarters of winterwheat and at least 10% of

Harvesting winter wheat at the Steve Siemens farm nearAltona on July 30.

Central, Eastern Crops Average to Above Average

Photo by Elmer Heinrichs

spring wheat was com-bined to August 17. About30% of the canola isswathed, or received a pre-harvest spray application. The dry edible bean cropin Manitoba is movingquickly. The crop is begin-ning to yellow over as itreaches maturity, and someproducers have started un-dercutting and thinkingabout desiccation. Muchof the remaining crop isbeing swathed as it’s ma-turing quickly, and harvest-ing is underway. Altona Farm ProductionAdvisor Dennis Lange saidfarmers are harvesting anaverage to above averagecrop this year, with a goodharvest of soybeans likelyaround month-end. Reportsof building soybean aphidpopulations continue, andsome fields warranted

spraying. Most Eastern pasturesare in good condition withhay supply and qualityrated good. In Central re-gions, the second cut ofalfalfa hay is almost com-plete with good yield andquality.

Saskatchewan agriculturerecently reported a smallbut quite significant im-provement in crop condi-tions from recent rains. Itsaid a majority of cropswere now in good or excel-lent condition.


By Les Kletke

It sounds like an old timecountry dance, “Grab yourpartner” with the align-ments in the Canadian seedtrade that are much more se-riously considered and in-tended to last a lot longerthan a few turns on thedance floor. Earlier this year CanterraSeeds announced a part-nership with Limagrain, aFrance-based company, toestablish a new indepen-dent company, LimagrainCereals Research Canada(LCRC), which will bebased in Saskatoon. Erin Armstrong is the CEOof the new company andsaid the firm is activelyseeking a senior breeder forthe program that will bebased in Saskatoon.“Limagrain is the 4th larg-est wheat breeder in theworld with breeding pro-grams around the world,”said Armstrong. “LCRC willpartner with the otherLimagrain cereal breedingprograms as well as withpublic and other privatebreeding programs.” Armstrong said LCRCwould concentrate on newwheat varieties initially,with a look to expand toother cereals in the future.Armstrong herself has abackground in the malt bar-ley and seed industries. The company will empha-size specific traits in theirbreeding programs she ex-plained. “It is always a bal-ancing act between theagronomy and diseasepackages that aid farmersand the traits that the end-users are looking for,” shesaid. “We will target devel-opment of varieties that willperform well for both farm-ers and end-users.” She cites her backgroundin malt barley as an example.“There are certain varietiespreferred by some compa-nies and we see some ofthat in wheat as well, so wewill be paying attention toboth sides of the equation.”She said that quality is al-ways a consideration forany crop type and depend-ing on the sector of the in-dustry, quality is deter-mined differently. Canterra has also an-nounced a partnership withAgriculture and Agri-FoodCanada (AAFC) and theAlberta Wheat Commis-sion, to support AAFC’sCanadian Prairie SpringRed (CPSR) breeding pro-gram based at the

New PartnershipsAligning inSeed Trade

Lethbridge Research Cen-tre. Armstrong, in her role asDirector, Industry & Regu-latory Affairs for CanterraSeeds, said the partnershipis the first of its type forthe Federal Departmentand allows each partner tobring their strength to thetable. “The program is be-ing headed by an AgCanada breeder. TheAlberta Wheat Commis-sion is providing funding,and we [Canterra Seeds]are providing some fund-ing, field testing in the east-ern prairies and links toend-use markets, and willbe involved with the com-mercialization of a stream ofthe resultant varieties. Wealready have trials in oneof our major test sites inManitoba.”


When I balance a lactating dairy TMR, I first use available forages as a base, then addgrains and fats, then add in protein sources, macro-, trace minerals and fat-solublevitamins. I might finish off with a smallamount of pro-biotics and other spe-cialty feed ingredients. My final dairy diet should containenough essential nutrients in the rightproportions to meet the essential nutri-ent requirements of dairy cows that pro-duce large volumes of milk and milk fatas well as maintain healthy body condi-tion. Oddly enough, I ignore formulat-ing B-vitamins such as choline (B4), niacin (B3), biotin (B8), and thiamine (B1) intolactation diets. That’s because the National Research Council (2001) from which I draw informationfor lactating cow nutrient requirements, dictates: “B-Vitamins requirements of lactatingdairy cows can be met through synthesis by ruminal microorganisms and escape ofdietary sources from the rumen.” Furthermore, it has been my experience that aside fromthe occasionally polio case in bulls (caused by a B12 deficiency), actual B-vitamin arerare in dairy cattle. Some university dairy nutritionists do not agree with NRC’s B-vitamin assessment.They believe that the genetic pedigree of today’s high producing dairy cow calls forroutine supplementation, because the modern cow’s requirement for B-vitamins ex-ceeds what amounts that rumen microbes can normally supply. Here is a brief overviewof their positive B-vitamin research:- Penn State fed 6 grams of supplemental niacin to early lactating dairy cows a typicallactation diet consisting of; either corn silage, or corn silage and hay, or pasture. Theresearchers found that cows producing at least 35 kg of milk produced about 2.5 kg moremilk with supplemental niacin.- University of Maryland study, the researchers infused choline directly into the smallintestine of early lactating dairy cows and successfully exhibited a 1.9 kg per head perday increase in milk production. The general consensus among the studies is that acholine supplement needs to be “protected” to bypass the rumen to provide any benefitto the animal.- University of Florida fed mature dairy cows 0 or 20 mg; 16 d pre-calving and 0 or 30 mgof biotin; 70 days post-calving. The researchers found that milk production increasedabout 1.0 kg per head per day on the biotin treatments.- Dr. Randy Shaver from University of Wisconsin (2000) fed 150 – 300 mg per head perday of rumen-unprotected thiamine (B1) to lactating dairy cows fed low fibre/high NFCdiets. The results showed a nominal increase in dry matter intake, milk production andmilk components. The biological mechanism for any of these positive B-vitamin responses is largelyunknown, yet ruminant scientists believe that many B-vitamins such as niacin, biotinand thiamine play important roles as enzyme co-factors in turning gross feed nutrientsof the lactating cow’s diet into useable energy at the cellular level to drive vital functionsand performance. Choline, which is not part of any particular enzyme system, like theseother B-vitamins also plays an active role in carbohydrate and fat metabolism. For example, whether we are feeding health or metabolically challenged dairy cows,dietary carbohydrates (containing glucose) are often in short supply for early milkproduction. The dairy cow must then burn her own body fat to produce immediateenergy or non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), which are later transformed back intoenergy-rich glucose or provide fatty acids for butterfat. However, when too many NEFAsare produced for glucose transformation, a good portion of these NEFAs end up aspoisonous ketones. It is these circulating ketone bodies that lead to toxicity associatedwith ketosis in early lactating dairy cows. Since these B-vitamins are significantly involved in the bio-chemical reactions thatdrive efficient carbohydrate and fat metabolism, it is likely that they help drive thebiochemical reactions that produce more energy (glucose), which is ultimately moreavailable to the early lactation cow and thus help prevent such dangerous ketosis. A common recommendation is to add each of these B-vitamins to a transition cow diet,which is fed three weeks before calving and three weeks into early lactation; 6 – 12grams of niacin per head, or 60 grams of choline (in a rumen-protected form), and biotinadded at 20 mg per head, daily. The respective costs per head per day are also as follows: niacin at 8.5 – 17 cents,rumen-protected choline at 60 cents, and biotin at 3 cents. Lastly, I recommend addingthiamine at no more than 10 cents per head per day to help stimulate appetite. Oneshould realize that there is no substantial proof that adding any of these B-vitaminstogether yields a cumulative response. Nor is there any conclusive evidence that the entire lactating cow population needsadded B-vitamins to all lactating dairy diets. Rather, existing research and my experiencetells me that the best potential for dietary B-vitamin supplementation is: (1) pre-calving/early lactation cows in negative energy balance, (2) 1st calf lactating heifers to stimulatefeed intake and (3) cows suffering from significant digestive upsets. Otherwise, I formu-late a well-balanced nutritious dairy diet that ultimately promotes good rumen function,in which the “rumen bugs” should produce sufficient B-vitamins for healthy and pro-ductive dairy cows.

Do Lactating DairyCows Need B-vitamins

Supplements? By Les Kletke

Sandra Gobeil is a veteran of Farmer’s Markets and laughs when asked how long she hasbeen coming to the South Junction Market. “Oh, it has been a while,” she chuckled. “About 15 years.” Her table features vegetablesand home baking, her counterpart at the other end of the table features wood work andsome rugs. “I do wood work as well,” said Gobeil. “I didn’t bring any today because I had too muchwith the vegetables and baking.” She said that things have changed over the years that she has been attending the marketon the north side of Highway 12 just before the resorts of Moose Lake and Buffalo Point.“We used to get more people stopping for vegetables,” she said of the market held Fridayafternoons, “Then sometimes we would not have anything left by the time the lake trafficcame by, so they tend not to stop. Now we have more vegetables so it is building again.” The Friday night lake traffic is stopping and people are buying Sandra’s homemadebaking as well as a bag of vegetables. Even at the Farmer’s Market, eating is not all abouthealthy and her plates of doughnuts were popular. “I have some yeast and some cakedoughnuts,” she said. “The yeast doughnuts are more of the traditional recipe that peopleremember from home.” Gobiel said that recently American visitors have discovered the South Junction marketand are making the trip from Rousseau and Warroad, Minnesota to do some shopping.“We have had several people from Roseau but this last week we had a lady who had heardabout the homemade baking and came from Warroad. She bought some vegetables to,”said Gobeil. One booth further down, Mitch and Patty Gobeil features what Patty calls “magic beans”.The beans in the plastic basket are a deep purple. “They turn green when cooked,” shesaid with a smile that tempts you to try them just to see if they do. Her table also featuresan array of pickles. She said people like the ease of selecting a jar of readymade picklesover home canning. Patty is responsible for the vegetables, in the couples garden, Mitch said, “If I can’t doit with a tractor, I don’t do it. Patty does the vegetables.” The couple moved back to South Junction after retirement and took over Mitch’s familyhome which is a four acre site. It allows not only a spacious vegetable garden but room forperennials as well. On her table, there is an order form for flowers. “I used to bring the potsbut it was too much work, now people order and I get them ready for pick-up,” she added.

International Farmer’sMarket in South Junction


By Les Kletke

If anyone has the right to say, “I told you so,” lookingback on the last 40 years in agriculture it would be PatMooney, but the phrase never enters his conversation.Instead, he quietly points to the concentration in compa-nies that control the agriculture seed and chemicalbusiness and voices concern for the future. A 1986 feature article in Harrowsmith magazine that washardly viewed as serious by mainstream agriculture at thetime, Mooney pointed to the possibilities of chemicalsbeing developed that could be used on specific planttypes, which carried the resistance genes in their seed.Mooney predicted Roundup Ready crops a decade beforethey appeared on the market and twenty years beforeGMOs became common place. His insight to predict the future was found during hismany trips abroad. “I had just returned from backpackingaround the world and had been told by a rice farmer in SirLanka that he could not access the old varieties he wishedto use and a wheat farmer in Kenya told me that geneticsfrom his country were being used in Canadian breedingprograms. When I looked into it they were right,” saidMooney. At the time of his call to put a stop to plantbreeder’s rights, he was based in Brandon. “Eugene Whelan was the Minister of Agriculture andsaid he was going to introducer plant breeder’s rights tobeautify the country side and feed the hungry. I could notsee the two being furthered by legislation providing plantbreeder’s rights.”

He said he and two of his counter parts in the US sawjust the opposite. “The agricultural companies weresmaller sisters of pharmaceutical companies and used tooperating under patents. They knew how much moneythey could make with them,” said Mooney. “We saw thatpatents stifled innovation.” He said conversations with Kerry Fowler and HopeShandon both from the US led to conclusions that if

ConcernedAbout GeneticConcentrations

Pat Mooney fears a concentration of seed companies will meanhigher costs and fewer choices for farmers.

Harrowsmith cover from 1986 predicting the merger of chemicaland seed companies.

companies owned the seeds and the weed control productsit would lead to them developing plant varieties that wouldbe resistant to their products. “It was driven by econom-ics,” he said. “It was cheaper to develop new seed varietiesthan a new agricultural chemical.” That is still the case and he said a new seed variety couldbe developed for about $136 million US while a newpesticide costs in the range of $260 million dollars. Mooney does not say he saw today’s market placecoming 4 decades ago; rather he focuses his concern onthe concentration that is going on in the industry. “Wehave 6 companies controlling about 75% of the world’sgenetics and about 45% of that is in corn. My concern isthe genetic band is getting to narrow and concentrating ontoo few crops.” Mooney said work done by the FAO shows that there hasbeen a 1/3 decline in the number of species used for cropproduction from 1961 to 2008. “We don’t know what climatechange do, and what impact that will might have on thetype of crops we can produce,” said Mooney. “That is myconcern today.”

“We have 6 companiescontrolling about 75%

of the world’s genetics...”


By Harry Siemens

With so much of what Canadian farmers, produce goingfor export, trade agreements become more and more vitalto the long-term viability for those who directly make theirliving off the farm whether it is livestock or grain and spe-cial products. George Matheson, Chair of Manitoba Pork remains con-fident Canada will be a full participant in the Trans-PacificPartnership (TPP). Despite representatives of the 12 na-tions involved in negotiations aimed at securing a Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement in Hawaii sev-eral weeks ago, failing to finalize a deal. The countries areexpected to meet again this fall. Matheson said the stakes for Manitoba’s pork industryare high, and given the progress they made, he remainsconfident. While one sector of the livestock industry looks forwardto this trade agreement, those in the dairy and poultryindustry are adamant that the Federal government shouldnot place the supply management system on the altar ofso-called free trade. These producers have questionedwhether the government will continue its support throughthe longer than normal election campaign because the pres-sure is on from other countries for Canada to give them up. “I think we’re still fully optimistic that our Trade MinisterEd Fast will make sure that we’re fully participating mem-bers in this deal, just because we know that the Canadiangovernment has worked very hard so far to get us this far.So I don’t think they’ll be taking the foot off the gas yet,”he said. “They’ll make sure that they’re fully participatingand that, when this deal is finished, they will be on theinside.” Matheson said they would like to see the discussionscompleted but, at the same time, are fully cognizant it ismore important they complete the negotiations satisfacto-rily. “In the end, really what we want, at the very least, arethe same tariffs on our exports that the US has,” he said.“The US is the world’s largest pork exporter. We’re numberthree behind the European Union, so we do not want to bein any way disadvantaged in regards to these other mainexporters.” Martin Rice, the Executive Director of the Canadian PorkCouncil is confident completion of a Trans-Pacific Partner-ship free trade agreement is close at hand. Rice, in Maui

TPP Optimism Prevails DespiteSeveral Key Issues at Stake

during the most recent discussions, remains optimistic. “Itwas disappointing to not see the agreement completed lastweek,” he said. “Clearly the negotiators and the ministerscame with the idea of bringing it to a close. It is not a casethough of us being left out of a deal that others were goingto join and that was something that many participants inthe agri-food exporters sector were concerned about.” Rice said, while not in the negotiating rooms, he had a

sense the people involved were quite confident that it wasgoing to finish.” Certainly, they would have finished thedeal in Hawaii, had there not been some opposition to oursupply management system, he explained. Rice felt that Canada was ready to end the negotiationsand sign the trade deal. “I think there were some othercountries that didn’t seem to have the mandate for thenegotiators to finish up in some key areas,” he said.

CFCFCFCFCFA Disappointed with TPP Meeting RA Disappointed with TPP Meeting RA Disappointed with TPP Meeting RA Disappointed with TPP Meeting RA Disappointed with TPP Meeting Resultsesultsesultsesultsesults Following the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Ministerial meeting recently, the Canadian Federa-tion of Agriculture (CFA) finds it unfortunate the countries were unable to reach an agreement, leaving manycountries and sectors without a clear roadmap forward. “We hope negotiators return to the table quickly and can continue to negotiate a trade agreement that recog-nizes the needs of all Canadian farmers,” said CFA President Ron Bonnett. The CFA believes a delayed conclusion leads to uncertainty for all Canadian farmers. For the supply managedsector, farmers face uncertainty surrounding business decisions on their farms. For the export-oriented farmers,it leaves them facing inequity of rules and treatment between ourselves and our competitors. There are several outstanding issues including intellectual property rights and market access issues for agricul-ture and several other industries. Within agriculture, there seems to be a stalemate between a number of countries. CFA’s delegation in Hawaii met regularly with Canadian officials. Canada’s negotiating team continued toemphasized they were seeking aggressive market access for export dependent commodities, while protecting thesupply managed sectors.



The 2015 Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede hasended with Georgette Hutlet, the Chief Museum Officer,reporting that the event saw very good attendance byvisitors. Saturday saw a particularly heavy turnout withthe grandstand being full for the machinery parade andafternoon arena events. The evening rodeo not only sawthe grandstand filled but the bleachers as well. Glen Lennox, Museum Director in charge of theCockshutt Expo reports that the Expo was well attendedby collectors who brought many Cockshutt items to addto the Museum collection. On behalf of the Museum Lennox would like to thankthe Cockshutt collectors as the number and quality ofthe outside items added greatly to the Expo. With the Museum’s grain crop not being ripe, themachinery displays did not include demonstrations ofgrain binding however, demonstrations of horse andtractor plowing along with the horse sweep in operationpowering a stationary baler did take place. A special treat was the Museum’s Marshall Model FColonial tractor plowing with the Avery power lift enginegang plow, which was purchased along with the Model F

Great Turnout forThreshermen’s Reunion

in 1914 by the Bain Family of Grosse Isle, Manitoba. The people carts were back in use with the horse drawnriding plows resulting in visitors lining up to take a ridebehind the plows. The sawmill was operating andpowered by a Garr Scott steam engine. In addition,various tractors tried out the dynamometer. The threshing competition was a particularly hardfought competition this year with both the steam and gasoutfits having their outfits in top-notch conditionresulting in no breakdowns marring the competition. Ayoung team of horses pulling one of the sheaf racksprovided some excitement as they caught the spirit of thecompetition, providing an extra turn of speed, whichalmost upset a loaded rack in the arena. For many threshing outfits the need for teams was sogreat that horses that had done nothing since lastthreshing season were pressed into service along withpartially trained horses which resulted in teams runningaway, racks being smashed, winding up in creeks andsloughs, and fences being torn down as the crew gotteams used to working around machinery again. A perennial crowd favorite at the afternoon grandstand

show, the tug of war between the steam engine and thecrowd, ran again with the crowd winning on Friday withthe help of members of the Canadian Horse Artillery guncrew who were at the Reunion displaying their equip-ment. According to the military representatives, they enjoyedthe 2014 Reunion very much and returned for a secondyear. The Royal Canadian Artillery Museum brought tothe Reunion a display of artifacts including a WWIIvintage 25-pounder artillery piece along with its towtractor.

The Marshall and Sons Model F Colonial tractor teamed up with its old running mate the Avery power lift engine gang plow. Both theplow and tractor were originally purchased together in 1914 by the Bain Family of Grosse Isle, Manitoba. The tractor was given acomplete overhaul several years ago.


By Les Kletke

Pam Pugh wants the Manitoba govern-ment to change the route of Bipole III. “We would like to see the routechanged or the line put underground,”she said. Pam along with her husbandoperates Pugh Seed Farms at Portage laPrairie. She raises the point that the linecurrent comes dangerously close tofacilities that have been noted as possibleterrorist threats. “No one has made the point about thesefacilities and that they have beendesignated as possible terrorist threats,”she said. “The hospital at Portage hasalso said they could not handle thenumber of people who might be injured ifsomething were to go wrong.” The first facility that she sites is theAgrium fertilizer site at Blum, the secondis the CWB, now the G3 elevator that isunder construction and the third is themail rail line, which is critical to theoperation of the other two facilities.“These have all been designated aspossible terrorist threat by CSIS but yetthe Manitoba government pays noattention to the concerns. There is also acommunication tower in the area thatcould be impacted if a tower was to godown and the lines come in contact withthe tower,” said Pugh. While some may dismiss her concernsas over zealous she makes her point withpictures of leaning hydro poles carryinglive wires through a busy harvest season.“We had to deal with these conditionsfrom a previous flood,” she said. “Weknow that these things can happen. Allwe are asking is the government payattention to the concerns of CSIS. On a practical note, she said thatfarmers in the area are aware that thetowers will mean aerial application ofpesticides will not be possible. “We knowthat the aerial applicators will not fly closeto these towers and that puts morepressure on us as farmers to deal with theissues in the field.” Said Pugh. While she is hoping to get the routechanged, she also prepares for theinevitable. “The government is notrecognizing the value of the land they areexpropriating for these towers,” saidPugh. “They don’t recognize any of theextra value that we as pedigree seedgrowers put into our land.” She estimates that the years of inspec-

Consider Secure, Strategic andCost Effective Bipole III Route

Farmers in thePortage area saythey were forcedto harvest arounddangerouslyleaning live wiresafter the last floodand don’t wantBipole III toendanger theiroperators.

tion and weed control add $1,000 to $2,000 an acre to the value of theland they farm. “We are not seeing that in the offer to purchase, theydon’t recognize the value of the land and what we as seed growers gothrough to produce a crop.”


By John McGregor

This year across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, we are looking at areas that have a shortage of forage and areas thathave the opportunity to sell surplus. Given these two scenarios, many alfalfa growers may be looking at taking a final cutthis fall to maximize the amount of forage they will have on hand. Depending on the amount of growth we see this fall it may be tempting to take a final cut but growers need to considerthe possible affect this may have on the plant’s natural winterization process and survival. Traditionally, the recommen-dation has been not to harvest alfalfa 4-6 weeks before the first killing frost. For alfalfa a killing frost is -5C and that is stillvery safe advice. This is known as the Critical Harvest Period, generally starts in the 3rd week of August, and runs until close to the endof September. This period is necessary for the alfalfa to store adequate energy in the crown and roots to survive winterand initiate growth in the spring until the new growth takes over and starts to feed the plant. This past spring we had a number of reports of alfalfa fields where an early fall cutting resulted in slow growth thisspring. Not having a history on these fields makes it hard to determine the reason for the slow start in the spring butknowing that alfalfa requires between 450 and 500 growing degree days (GDD) in the fall after the last cut to fully chargeits roots can sometimes help us understand why some fields do better than others in the spring. Interrupting this processby cutting carries the risk of the plants having inadequate energy and protein reserves to make it through the winter andfor initiating vigorous re-growth next spring. It also may interrupt the cold acclimation process. However, poor hay making weather throughout the year, hay shortages and or the opportunity to market surplusforage may have some producers rethinking this old advice. Perhaps the risk of a cutting during that “critical period” isoutweighed by potential increased profits. If you are considering an early fall cutting, look at your harvesting frequency. In other words, the cutting frequencyduring the growing season can affect the energy status of the plant going into the fall. Frequent cutting (30-day intervalsor less) results in the plant never reaching full energy reserve status during the growing season. This makes the criticalfall rest period more necessary for plants to accumulate adequate reserves before winter. Looking at the graph below you can see that for this location (St. Adolphe) to reach 450 GDD’s (blue line), you wouldnormally need to take your last cut by August 19 so that the crop can have time to accumulate adequate stores in its rootsand crown. Of course every year is different, such as in 2014 (red line), and this is the risk.

Alfalfa’s Critical Harvest Period

One final note, if you are considering taking a final cutduring this critical period and it is young stand, be sure ithas been allowed to flower at least once during the sea-son and has adequate fertility, P and K. Taking a cut whenthere is the possibility of less than 200 GDD’s accumulat-ing lessen the risk of the alfalfa drawing down the rootreserves, may help reduce the risk of winterkill and helpsmaintain some of the spring vigor. John McGregor is with the Manitoba Forage & Grass-lands Association.

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development(MAFRD) reminds producers who choose to burn crop resi-due that authorization is required from now until November15. Authorizations are issued daily by 11 am based onweather, moisture and favourable smoke dispersion condi-tions. Night burning is banned year-round. Producers may also require a burning permit, if locatedwithin the City of Winnipeg or in a burning permit area.Permit application forms and information are available bycalling the toll-free information line at 1-800-265-1233. Infor-mation is also available from MAFRD GO offices and onlineat gov.mb.ca/agriculture under Quick Links. Manitoba’s controlled burning program is part of the Burn-ing of Crop Residue and Non-crop Herbage Regulation. Theprogram was introduced to protect public health and safetywhile allowing farmers to deal with difficult straw manage-ment problems. Stubble burning regulations are enforced by environmentofficers and the RCMP. Failure to follow the regulations couldresult in fines of up to $50,000. Many producers use alternative methods of dealing withcrop residue such as chopping and spreading the straw orlisting straw they have for sale on the Manitoba Hay ListingService. More information on these and other alternativemethods of dealing with crop residue is available onMAFRD’s website.

Crop Residue BurningAuthorization

Required


It is impossible to preserve all the quality found in a standing hay crop. The impact of metabolic and weathering losses can significantly affect crop qual-ity. The faster hay can be cured and put up, the higher the quality. One of the mostrecent quality haymaking developments has been the study of swath width andcrop drying rates. The hay crop drying process has three phases. In the first phase, moisture loss isthrough open stomata (little cells that act as doors). The second drying phase ismoisture loss from plant surfaces. At this point, plant moisture is at or below 60%and the stomata have closed. The third and most critical drying stage is the loss of tightly-held moisture, trappedin the stems and plant structures. Wide swathing exposes the maximum surface area of a hay crop to the sun tospeed up these three drying phases. The quality of hay and silage crops is deter-mined by what happens immediately after cutting.

Advantages ofWide Swathing

By Elmer Heinrichs

Just as with other crops, the harvests of crops grown forthe Canadian Foodgrains projects across the province arecoming off steadily. Harold Penner, Regional Coordinator for Manitoba, re-ported most crops look quite good, though some areas inthe northwest have not received as much rain as neededand crops did suffer. Overall, said Penner, things look positive, with acreagesimilar to last year when some 5,000 acres were harvestedwith proceeds donated to the Foodgrains Bank. “A lot of the crops are doing very well, while those atRoblin and Swan River were a bit too dry, and at Mordenand elsewhere some crops were affected by hail. The Foodgrains Bank projects have several crop typesplanted in Manitoba, including barley, spring and winterwheat, canola, soybeans and corn. Fields harvested in August included 80 acres of winterwheat at Swan River, with spring wheat being combined atDomain (Chip-In), for Gardenland at Winkler, for HELP atSt. Pierre-Jolys, and for HOPE at Ste. Elizabeth. The Common Ground project at Rosenfeld, CHUM nearPlum Coulee, and Louise along with a BBQ were planningharvests in the latter half of August. Penner has also been busy with preparations for a Har-vesting Hope event at Austin next year when volunteerswill attempt to set a world record with the most-ever an-tique threshing machines harvesting a crop of wheat.

Harvesting for FoodAid Projects Off to

a Good Start


Fifty-five enthusiastic Manitoba and SaskatchewanJunior Cattle Producers attended the 8th annualManitoba Youth Beef Roundup July 31 - August 2 inNeepawa. Excitement in the cattle industry brought out atop notch group of interested cattle producers and 88head of cattle. This is not just a cattle show, it is an all around eventto promote and educate youth to continue in thelivestock industry. The show would not happen without dedicatedsponsors who have stood behind this Junior All Breedsshow and helped to make it a success said a ManitobaYouth Beef Roundup spokesperson. The weekend started with the Ag Challenge, which is atimed competition with some hands on knowledge of theLivestock industry. The Juniors enjoyed the challengesand tasks they were given like halter making, verifiedbeef, parts of the animal and tattooing an animal. The winning team was Raina Syrnyk, Nolan Glover,Harleigh Carlson, Emily Speers, Sierra Inglis and CodyCarson.

Neepawa’s Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup

Team Grooming at the Beef Roundup.

Agribition Judging Team - L to R; Taylor Carvey, Raina Syrnyk, Laura Tolton and committeemember Andrea Bertholet.

T Bar C Invitational Showmanship - Judges Cody Allison, Chad Haaland.Kolton McIntosh, Justin Kristjansson, Naomi Best, Justin Carvey, Wyatt Inglis, Colter Sprung, KatieFalconer and Carson Baker.

Ag Challenge Winners- Emily Speers,Cody Carson, Harleigh Carlson, Nolan Glover and Raina Syrnyk.


By Les Kletke

Manitoba may be set to lose a demand industry it neverreally fully developed. Jan Slaski is with Alberta Innovates and he sees realpotential of hemp production in Alberta, and is aware ofthe fledgling industry in Manitoba. “I have worked withboth of the processors in Manitoba and we know that theyhave developed a market for the product,” he said. “But wesee the potential for growth of the industry and the pro-duction in Alberta.” Slaski has demonstration plots in Mackenzie County inNorthern Alberta with good potential. “The long daylighthours here make it quiet feasible,” he said. “There is a greatdeal of interest in the crop and growers are trying it.” He noted one of the reasons that areas like MackenzieCounty are attractive for production is the amount of soilthat would qualify for organic production. “There is a de-mand for organic production and much of the soil in thisarea qualifies because it has never been used for commer-cial production,” said Slaski. “There is virgin soil and newland being broken that would be excellent for organic hempproduction.” He said that his trials showed promise this year but thedevastating drought took its toll on all crops. While hempis a deep rooted plant and can last through dry spells thereis a limit to what any plant can handle. Slaski said there are groups looking to establish a fibreindustry in the southern part of the province as well as aseed industry processor in the north. The organic produc-tion is a much greater concern for seed processors thatfibre production. He said that while the working relationship is good withManitoba processors the cost of moving seed from north-ern Alberta to Manitoba becomes a factor. “Everything

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association supports the move by the Cana-dian Grain Commission (CGC) to tighten the quality parameters of the Canada WesternRed Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat classes. “The Wheat Growers support the move by the Commission to restore the quality andintegrity of the top milling classes of wheat,” said Levi Wood, President of the WheatGrowers. “This move should address concerns expressed by customers in the past sev-eral years regarding the low gluten strength in Canadian wheat shipments.” The Wheat Growers base their decision on the principle that farmers should be paid fortheir wheat according to its intrinsic value. Varieties with high gluten-strength are morevalued in the marketplace and the price farmers receive for deliveries of these varietiesshould reflect that. “Ideally, there would be a driveway test that could test the gluten strength of eachwheat delivery and farmers would be paid on that basis,” said Wood. “However such atest is not yet available on a cost-effective basis and so segregating value on the basis ofvariety is the only feasible alternative.” The Wheat Growers also support the establishment of the new interim milling wheatclass and recommend that it become a permanent class. The strong growth in the pastthree years in the acreage of varieties Faller and Prosper suggests there is strong demandfrom farmers and customers for this type of wheat. It is expected that all 29 varietiesremoved from the CWRS and CPSR on account of low gluten strength would fit into thisnew milling class. The Wheat Growers note that any company not wanting to buy or sellthese low gluten strength varieties on the basis of this new class will be under noobligation to do so. If they wish instead to buy or sell these (or any other) varieties on thebasis of specs, they are perfectly free to do so. The Wheat Growers are also satisfied with the proposal by the CGC to extend thetransition date by one year, to August 1, 2017, to give sufficient time for farmers and thetrade to adjust to the new market reality. “The Wheat Growers recognize that segregating on the basis of variety is not ideal,”said Wood. We support efforts that are geared toward buying grain on the basis of specs,so that visual grading or valuing on the basis of variety is no longer the norm.” As much as possible, the Wheat Growers encourage farmers to obtain independenttests on their samples, so they have a better understanding of the quality of grain theyhave, and can market it to maximize its value.

Manitoba Canola Growers is proud to announce their 2015 scholarship winners.Five $1,000 scholarships have been awarded to deserving high school studentsacross Manitoba. This year’s provincial recipients are Kalen Dunn, (Hartney) plans to attend theUniversity of Saskatchewan, Agriculture and Bioresources, Tara Frisch (Manitou),is planning to attend the University of Manitoba to take Pre-Veterinary Studies,Nikoda Holopina (Rivers) will attend the University of Manitoba, the Asper SchoolCommerce Program, Renate Jochum (St. Francois Xavier), is planning to attend theUniversity of Manitoba to take Agriculture and Halle Thomas, (Hartney), plans toattend the University of British Columbia Okanagan to take Nursing. The $1,000 scholarships are available to students who are from a farm that is amember of the Manitoba Canola Growers and are planning to attend post second-ary education in any field within two years of graduating. Students submitted theirapplications, which were judged by an independent panel, based on academicstanding, canola connection, references, essay submission and school and com-munity involvement.

Losing an Industry Before it Develops

Jan Slaski says northern Alberta is the idea place to produce organic because much of the land has never been sprayed orcommercially fertilized. This year’s drought took its toll on all crops.

has to be moved out by truck,” he said. “It makes moresense to process the seed here and move a high valueproduct from the area.” He voices cautious optimism about the crop, not touting

it as the next Cinderella crop. “We need to continue trialswith the crop and have producers familiar with it,” he em-phasized. “There is a lot of work being done with varietiesand producers need to learn how to grow the crop first.”

Wheat GrowersSupports WheatRe-classification

Manitoba Canola GrowerScholarship Winners

Top Row Left to Right:Kalen Dunn, (Hartney),Tara Frisch (Manitou),Nikoda Holopina(Rivers), Bottom RowLeft to Right: RenateJochum (St. FrancoisXavier), Halle Thomas,(Hartney).


We know canola lossesoccur out the back of thecombine. The questionthat you should ask, arethe losses high enough towarrant the time spent toreduce them. They certainly will befor some combines and insome conditions. “Com-bines could be throwingover 5 bu. /ac. andgrowers may not even

By Caitlin Carver

Did you hear the one about the farmer who drove threehours for a part, only to forget the serial number? It mightsound like a joke, but for Kim Keller, co-founder of Farm atHand, it was real; as in, real opportunity. “Farm At Hand is a farm management platform that keepsyou organized, efficient and productive by capturing keyfield data,” said Anastasia Hambali, Head of Communityfor the company. “It lets you track all field activities likeplanting, spraying, scouting and harvesting with yoursmartphone, tablet device or computer.” Most importantly, Farm at Hand never sells or sharesuser data, so ownership remains with the customer. They say the best things in life are free, but they also sayyou get what you pay for, so what do “they”know? According to Hambali, Farm at Hand is that rarebreed, free, yet priceless. “We believe that every farmershould have access to the best farm management toolsregardless of their operation size.” If you’d rather avoid your own version of the fruitlessthree hour drive, Farm at Hand has you covered. “You can track your equipment, serial/part numbers, pur-chase price and maintenance records in case you re-sellitems in the future.” Since they’re all about helping you mind your business,they offer a hand in that regard. “If you’ve contracted toprovide ‘x’ amount of barley or wheat by a certain date at acertain price, you can keep that information in one placeand access it anytime.” A big focus for co-founder Kim Keller and partnerHimanshu Singh is listening to their users, so when cus-tomers wanted a website, they got it.

“Farm at Hand” a One-Stop Service App for Farmers

“It lets clients access their information, download reportsand check their inventory on a bigger screen than an iPhoneor android,” said Hambali. “The data you enter is automati-cally synced across your computer, smartphone and tab-let.” The site also houses their blog and “meet the farmer”campaign that puts a face to farming and gives producers a“megaphone to tell their stories”. More than 21,000 farmers across North America have usedFarm At Hand since the company started in 2012. You can sign up for Farm At Hand on their websitefarmathand.com or download the app from the App Store orGoogle Play. You can contact them via Twitter@FarmAtHand or email [email protected]. No doubt the guy at the desk had a chuckle when Kimshowed up without the part number. But given the impactof Farm At Hand on all aspects of farm management, it maybe her fellow producers who have the last laugh.

“It lets you track all field activitieslike planting, spraying,scouting and harvestingwith your smartphone,

tablet device or computer.”

Founders of Farm at Hand app - Saskatchewan Farmer KimKeller (right) and Himanshu Singh.

Lower HarvestLosses Start with

a Drop Panrealize it because thoseseeds are so difficult tosee once they hit theground,” said AngelaBrackenreed, AgronomySpecialist for the CanolaCouncil of Canada. “Apan is the best way to seethese losses.” Growers have a fewoptions with pros andcons to every style, butany one of them is betterthan not measuring at all.Some of the optionsinclude building a one-foot-square pan to mounton a stick held under theback of the combine.Deep sides will limit seedbounce out of the pan.Another option is to tossa wide flat pan under thecombine as it goes by. Orthey can buy a moreelaborate pan thatattaches to the belly ofthe combine and can be

dropped from the cab.The advantage with thispan is that the combineoperator can also measureharvest losses. Brackenreed bought oneof these to try out thisfall. “It works off anelectromagnet bolted tothe underside of thecombine. It runs off thecigarette lighter receptaclein the cab, and to drop thepan you just unplug thecord,” she said. The first step whenusing any style of pan isto disengage the chaffspreader and strawchopper and move themout of the way. Thisallows straw, chaff andthrown-over seeds todrop straight down overthe pan. Once the combine isfully engaged andworking through a typical

stretch of crop, drop thepan. When using the panon a stick, move the paninto position upside downso it doesn’t gather anylosses ahead of time. Thenquickly flip it over andstop walking. Thisprocedure provides thesame result as throwingthe pan. Remove straw and chafffrom the sample, preserv-ing only the seed. Mea-sure the seed in the pan byweight or volume. Calculate the loss basedon one square foot. If thepan is two square feet, forexample, divide the weightor volume by two to getthe total for one squarefoot. Here are a few scenarios:- If the cut width (straightcut or swathed) is 30 ft.,

the combine’s dischargewidth is 5 ft., and thecanola seed loss persquare foot is 5 grams,the yield loss out theback of the combine is1.5-2 bu. /ac.- If the loss for that same

combine is 10 grams persq. ft., the yield loss isover 3 bu. /ac.- If the same combine hasa 40 ft. header and thedrop pan has 10 grams persq. ft., the yield loss iscloser to 2.5 bu. /ac.


By Harry Siemens

In late July, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announcedthat the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) commercializationdeal with G3 Global Grain Group has been completed. In an earlier interview, Ritz said the deal was out of theirhands, but government had made the deal possible byclearing the way, removing the CWB monopoly and intro-ducing the Marketing Freedom legislation. The commercialization of CWB is part of the Federalgovernment’s broader modernization of Canada’s grainsector to stimulate investment, create jobs and economicgrowth for farmers and Canadians. It includes an aggres-sive trade and market access agenda, grain transportationand supply chain improvements and investments in sci-ence and research. On April 15, the Government of Canada had approvedthe deal reached between the CWB and G3 Global GrainGroup, which included a G3 investment of $250 million inthe CWB, subject to closing adjustments. Since 70%e ofwestern Canadian grain exports flow through the west coastG3 Global Holdings, an affiliate of G3 Global Grain Group, isalso examining the feasibility of developing a new portfacility in Vancouver that would greatly increase Canada’sexport capacity. This would be the first new port facility forgrain in Canada’s busiest port in nearly 50 years. “Canada’s farmers depend on an efficient gateway to gettheir top quality products to the world. Today, we see howMarketing Freedom continues to open the way for invest-ments in the grain industry leading to jobs and growth forfarmers and Canadians,” said Ritz. “In Altona, the company has spent upwards of $250million on a new canola crushing plant,” said Altona MayorMel Klassen. “A great addition I might add to the immedi-ate community, and that of the farmers who benefit greatlyfrom this great new plant.”

By Les Kletke

Chris Kletke terms the weather of 2015 as, “Good forgrowing hay and that is not always the best for makinghay,” he noted. “The adequate moisture made for goodgrowth but there was not enough time in between rains toput up quality hay. Kletke makes hay on 800 acres at Brunkild and said thatthe age of the field and the rain made for a mixture of crop-ping this year. “We have some fields where we are lookingat a third cut and we have some in the first year that be-cause of the rain we are going to get the first cut off in lateAugust,” said Kletke. He targets the Wisconsin dairy market and prices it ac-cordingly so it is competitive on the farm in Wisconsin andthere will be benefit from the hay shortage in westernCanada. “We have some hay that is not the quality neededfor the dairy industry and it will fit in the Alberta market,”he said. “I had a lot of enquiries early and things haveslowed down a bit. Fellows are looking to see what kind ofproduction, they get and if they might be cutting down onthe herd. He said cattle men who acted early will not be stuck pay-ing the high prices rumoured coming this fall. Predictionsare that hay could hit $350 a tonne in northern Alberta thisfall. “Some producers might end up paying that, but thegood managers saw the shortage coming in May and priceda lot of their hay in June,” he said. “Some of the fellowswho did not act soon enough will pay those prices.” When asked if he will have hay to sell at those prices hesaid, “Sure we will have some. It is like grain, farmers sellcorn at $4 a bushel and they find more at $7. When it hits$8, they sweep out the corners of the bin. The hay marketis the same thing some of our not as good a quality hay willfind its way west.” Kletke said that while the above normal precipitationadded challenges to his haying operation it did produce agood cereal crop. “We had some high yielding winter wheatand some good spring wheat,” he said. “We will see howthe beans do. They looked good all summer but are start-ing to go down now.”

For the fifth year in a row, the Provincial Exhibition haspartnered with six Manitoba Co-op’s and five local meatprocessors to deliver 2,000 lbs of pork from the RoyalManitoba Winter Fair to several Westman food banks. Provincial Exhibition volunteer Chris Arthur and his fam-ily at Gentrice Farms of Brandon, volunteered to care forthe pigs from the pig scrambles at the Royal ManitobaWinter Fair using feed donated by Co-op Feeds includingHeritage Co-op Brandon, Neepawa Gladstone Co-op,Valleyview Co-op, Kenton Consumers Co-op and Bound-ary Co-op. The Arthur family had 12 school groups tourtheir farm and learn about farming and raising pigs. This week, the pigs were delivered to Renard’s Meat Ser-vices at Virden, Prairie Rose Meats at Souris, Henry Meatsin Brandon, Jarvis Meats at Gladstone, and DAL Meats inKillarney. These local meat processors have donated allthe processing costs and make sure the meat is deliveredto food banks in their own area. “We have made an effort to donate meat in the areaswhere the feed and processing sponsors are located tocreate a direct connection between the feed suppliers, meatprocessors and the area where the meat is donated,” saidRon Kristjansson, General Manager at the Provincial Exhi-bition of Manitoba. “We have been able to support foodbanks from Portage la Prairie up through Minnedosa, Souris,Brandon, Killarney, Boissevain, Virden and right out to-wards Moosomin, Saskatchewan.” The Provincial Exhibition is proud to give back to thecommunity in this manner. Support from partners that in-cludes the Co-ops, the Spruce Woods Colony for offeringa very reasonable price for the pigs and all the meat pro-cessors, allow them the opportunity to use the pigs duringthe Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and for agricultural educa-tion, as well as give a valuable food donation to theWestman area.

The Canadian Space Agency has announced the se-lection of the University of Manitoba as one of fiveCanadian universities to receive a total of $1.4 millionto participate in the scientific validation of NASA’sSoil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. Soil sciences professor and head, Paul Bullock, inthe Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences is head-ing the U of M project titled Manitoba Validation ofSatellite-derived Soil Moisture Products for OperationalUse. The U of M project will receive $161,584. “The project will use ground measurements to vali-date the data produced by the SMAP satellite,” saidBullock. “We will undertake a field campaign in south-eastern Manitoba in 2016 (SMAPVEX16) to collect soilmoisture observations by hand as well as readingsfrom nine permanent soil sites in the Elm Creek-Carmenarea of Manitoba.” “This is an exciting announcement for us here at theUniversity of Manitoba,” said Digvir Jayas, Vice-Presi-dent, Research and International. “We have more than200 industry sponsored research collaborations un-derway at the present time. This collaboration throughthe Canadian Space Agency and NASA, expands ourreach around the globe, literally.” Although the soil holds only a small percentage ofthe total global water supply, soil moistures plays animportant role in the global water cycle. Soil moistureaffects field access for farmers, crop yield, quality, andinsect and disease risk. As soil moisture increases, sodoes the amount of rainfall that runs off that surface.High soil moisture is associated with increased floodrisk. “Information on the current state of soil moisture islimited,” said Bullock. “The data we will gather on theground will be used to validate the sensor readingsfrom the SMAP satellite.” These projects serve to validate measurements ofthe soil moisture and seasonal freeze/thaw cycle, withthe use of instruments collecting data on the ground,in the air and in space. This is an important step to-wards SMAP’s objective to provide high fidelity mea-surements and high-resolution global maps of theEarth’s soil moisture and freeze/thaw state. As part of a complex but essential validation cam-paign, the field data of each site are compared withmeasurements obtained by an aircraft instrument andby the SMAP satellite. This is an immensely complexendeavor since the measurements must be validated inaccordance with the very diverse soil types, land cover,topography, weather and other atmospheric conditionsthat occur over our vast country and which are subjectto changes over the seasons.

CWB and G3 FinalizeCommercialization

MeasuringSoil MoistureFrom Space

Provincial ExhibitionPartners Donate to

Westman Food banks

Potential HayCrops Wonderful ifYou Can Get Them

Off The Field“We have some fields where we

are looking at a third cutand we have some in the firstyear that because of the rain

we are going to get thefirst cut off in late August.”


By Peter Vitti

Recently, I drove down some back roads and took a picture of this herd of BlackAngus cattle with a few of the cows and calves with a rough red hair coat or a red sheento them. I was taught in university that a red coat color was a classic sign of a copperdeficiency. Whether, any ofthese cattle sufferfrom poor copperstatus or somethingelse like sunburn ishard to say, yet anactual copperdeficiency mightexplain severalincidences of poorhealth and inadequatevaccination in manyspring calves thatsome producers haveexpressed to me sincethe calving season,ending months ago. In this regard, weshould move forwardand make sure thatspring calves are fed a good beef mineral (and vitamins) program (along with thecowherd) in order to build up their good mineral status for better immunity againstdisease. That’s because good mineral status primarily underlies all weaning and pre-condition-ing programs coming up this fall, because a deficiency of one (or more) essential traceminerals in pre-weaned calves derails otherwise good immune function. This phenom-enon occurs even before calf growth is affected and well before any visible signs suchas a red coats on black calves appear. Furthermore, much of this impending damage totheir immunity is often hidden, where calves may not reveal that anything is wrong withtheir health and/or performance at the moment. For example, a Colorado study showed that about one-third of pre-conditioned calvesthat received vaccinations as part of their prime saleability were still getting sick afterthey were shipped to feedlots, which the researchers speculated was due to a poormineral supplementation starting with their originating cow-calf herds. I speculate that these calves had poor “vaccination take” (antibody titers) againstdisease, because under adequate mineral supplementation, essential minerals work“behind the scenes” where normal immune function/response is triggered either by aninvading disease or by vaccination. One scientific theory suggest that such essentialtrace minerals act as “on/off switches” in metabolic enzymes that drive biochemicalreactions working within the immune system. Specifically, a good balanced pre-weanedor pre-conditioned diet should contain adequate levels of biologically available copper,zinc and selenium, which leads to good health. Luckily, we still have about 60 – 90 days to build up spring calves’ mineral status offcopper, zinc, and selenium (and vitamin E), before they are weaned and some animals aremoved onto further pre-conditioning/vaccination programs in autumn and early winter.Subsequently, I advocate feeding them commercial cattle mineral at the rate of 70 – 112 gper head per day (3 – 4 ounces), either fed loose (accessible to the cows) or mixed intoan available calf creep diet. The actual formulation of such a well-balanced cattle mineral should first containcomplimentary levels (to forages, grains and other feedstuffs) of macro-minerals such ascalcium, phosphorus, salt (sodium chloride), magnesium and potassium. Then, it shouldcontain adequate levels of copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, iodine and selenium basedupon NRC cattle requirements (2001), which prevents basic or “primary trace mineraldeficiencies”. Some of these trace mineral levels should be fortified even further, suchas copper to correct possible “secondary” mineral deficiencies caused by a host ofantagonistic dietary factors. Case-in-point: high levels of molybdenum and/or sulphurbind copper in forages and grains, which makes it metabolically unavailable to beefcalves. As further assurance against these trace mineral deficiencies, some research suggestspre-weaned and pre-conditioned calves be fed “organic or chelated” trace minerals (i.e.mineral-proteins), which respond more favourably to disease challenges or stressfulconditions due to assured good trace mineral status of a strong immune system. Thisclass of specialized trace minerals offer the advantages of superior absorption, retentionand metabolism in the cow’s body compared to respective inorganic trace minerals. Aside from the above trace minerals put into the feeding programs Vitamins A, D and Eare often included to meet the calves’ own respective requirements. In particular, VitaminA is involved in the immune response against pathogens, where it is required for theproduction of white blood cells to fight disease. Vitamin E (along with selenium) playsan anti-oxidant role in animal cells, which again is associated with a strong immunesystem. Whether inorganic or organic zinc, copper, and selenium (along with vitamin E) areroutinely fed, the current immunological proof points out that no immune function inbeef calves exists or no vaccine works if their trace mineral nutrition is poor. It is afundamental and repetitive rule of all successful beef calf feeding and managementprograms that help keep cow-calf revenues out of the red and into the black.

Building Trace Mineral Status inBeef Calves for Better Immunity


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AgriPost August 28 2015