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OCTOBER 2, 2014 SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | VOL. 72, NO. 40 | $1.75 MANITOBACOOPERATOR.CA Beef producers ask province for help with feed Sale of MCEC property shortage Wet, cold weather stunts raising questions forage production yields The provincial government says the MCEC failed because federal funding never By Meghan Mast CO-OPERATOR STAFF materialized, but it isn’t releasing details of a recent property transaction any beef producers in the province are strug- Mgling to find enough feed for their cattle this winter, according to the Manitoba Beef Producers. Ranchers in flood-affected areas, including the areas flooded by the Portage Diversion, the northwest and southwest corners of the prov- ince are facing poor-quality for- age and feed shortages after a cold, wet summer. “It’s going to be a tough go for a lot of people,” Heinz Reimer, president of the Manitoba Beef Producers, said in a telephone interview. The organization issued a statement Sept. 25 renewing its plea for government assistance to help producers acquire and transport forage. The MBP has been in ongoing discussions with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn. “We’ve been pushing the prov- ince since July 1 or whenever the flood happened,” said Reimer. “Trying to get something done and there seems to be nothing. We haven’t gotten any answers yet.” In an emailed statement Kostyshyn said the province is See BEEF HELP on page 7 » The site for a proposed federally inspected beef slaughter facility in St. Boniface was recently sold for half the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council’s asking price. PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES By Shannon VanRaes The provincial government wouldn’t “That’s been our concern all along, we CO-OPERATOR STAFF confirm that figure when contacted last haven’t gotten full disclosure on where week. that money went,” said Reimer. “And t was supposed to be the site of a new, “At the purchaser’s request, the that has been a concern for Manitoba federally inspected cattle slaughter sale price has been kept confidential beef producers because we put a fair Ifacility — one that would buoy a flag- until the sale in finalized, and there- amount of money into it and we’ve ging industry in the wake of BSE. fore we cannot comment directly about never been privy to where that money But now Manitoba’s opposition Tories the numbers,” said a spokesman for went to.” say a property at 663 Marion Street in Manitoba’s minister of Agriculture, Food After purchasing the defunct pork- Winnipeg has been sold for half its value and Rural Development. processing plant six years ago, the as the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement MCEC began to redesign it for cattle. Council winds down its operations. Questions Media reports at that time indicated it “Our information says that they sold Where money from the sale ends up was expected to employ approximately it for about $650,000 unconditionally,” is of particular interest to Heinz 80 people by 2010. said Blaine Pedersen, MLA for Midlands. Reimer, president of the Manitoba That never happened. He added that the asking price had been Beef Producers, who has more than a “They purchased the property at 663 $1.2 million — the same amount as the few questions about where producers’ property was purchased for in 2008. checkoff dollars went. See MCEC on page 7 » PEDv: A FOURTH MANITOBA BARN INFECTED » PAGE 34 Publication Mail Agreement 40069240 2 The Manitoba Co-operator | October 2, 2014 INE SiD Di D you know? L iVESToCk Climate change doesn’t A grassy solution follow the rules Annual forages could New research suggests the drier-gets-drier and be the way of the future in livestock production 33 wet-becomes-wetter rule of thumb is broken Staff ew research is chal- CRoPS lenging the theory N that climate change will cause drier areas to get drier and wetter areas to Pulling out become wetter. The simplified formula, the old guns based on models and obser- Pre-emergent vations, is inaccurate most herbicides enlisted in of the time, a team of cli- the resistant weed fight 17 mate researchers suggests in Nature Geoscience. An evaluation of trends in specific regions’ humid- ity and dryness by research- ers with the Zurich-based Areas that have traditionally been considered drought prone could FEATuRE Institute for Atmospheric actually become wetter under climate change. FiLe photo and Climate Science found no clear trends towards a Leave PEDv drier or wetter climate across Central America, tropical indications in the Sahel three-quarters of the land Africa and Asia. On the other region, the Arabian Peninsula at the gate area studied. There were hand, there are dry areas that and parts of Central Asia and solid trends in the remaining have become wetter: parts of Australia. Pork producers aren’t quarter. However, only half of Patagonia, central Australia “Our results emphasize doing enough to 4 that surface area followed the and the Midwestern United how we should not overly rely ensure biosecurity DDWW principle. States. on simplifying principles to Some regions which should The ‘wet-gets-wetter’ assess past developments in have become wetter, accord- rule is largely confirmed for dryness and humidity,” said ing to the simple DDWW for- the Eastern United States, lead author Peter Greve. This mula, have actually become Northern Australia and can be misleading, as it can- CRoSSRoADS drier in the past — this northern Eurasia. ‘Dry gets not do justice to the complex- includes parts of the Amazon, drier’ also corresponds to ity of the underlying systems. School’s in Argyle’s community school celebrates READER’S PHOTO a century 37 Editorials 4 Grain Markets 13 Comments 5 Weather Vane 16 What’s Up 8 Classifieds 41 Livestock Markets 12 Sudoku 46 ONn Li E Visit www.manitobacooperator.ca for daily news and features and our digital edition. (Click on “Digital Edition” in the top right corner.) At our sister site, AGCanada.com, you can use the “Search the AGCanada.com Network” function at top right to find recent Co-operator articles. Select “Manitoba Co-operator” in the pull-down menu when running your search. photo: suzanne paddock www.manitobacooperator.ca Publi Sher Lynda tityk N f eWS StAf Reporters A dVertiSiNg SerViceS Sb u ScriPtioN SerViceS [email protected] Allan dawson c alassified dvertising: t oll-Free 1-800-782-0794 204-944-5755 [email protected] Monday to Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. u.s. subscribers call: 1-204-944-5568 ASSociAte PubliSher/ 204-435-2392 phone (204) 954-1415 e-mail: [email protected] subscription rates (Gst Registration #85161 6185 Rt0001) editoriAl director John Morriss Shannon Vanraes toll-free 1-800-782-0794 Fo R ManitoBa FaRMeRs since 1927 [email protected] Canada [email protected] AdVertiSiNg co-ordiNAtor 204-944-5754 12 months – $58.00 (incl. Gst) 1666d ublin avenue 204-954-1413 arlene Bomback Winnipeg,B M R3h 0h1 editor Laura Rance 24 months – $99.00 (incl. Gst) lorraine Stevenson [email protected] 36 months – $124.00 (incl. 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ProductioN director shawna Gibson Glacier FarmMedia canadian postmaster: Return undeliverable canadian addresses TM 204-981-3730 [email protected] [email protected] (covers only) to: CANOLA INK 204-944-5763 204-944-5751 c dirculation ept., 1666 dublin ave., Winnipeg, MB. R3h 0h1 The Manitoba Co-operator | October 2, 2014 3 Will railways be fined $100,000 a week instead of daily? Ottawa isn’t saying, but the Canada Transportation Act states fines apply ‘per violation’ By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF N Rail is facing federal fines for failing to meet C legislated weekly targets for moving grain — this much is known. But the big question in the grain industry last week was whether those $100,000 fines will be levied per day — as fed- eral officials indicated in press statements last winter — or whether the penalty has quietly been changed to per week. “If the government changes the fine to $100,000 a week there won’t be as much teeth in the legislation and that will be a major concern to us,” Western Grain Elevator Association executive director Wade Sobkowich, said in an interview Sept. 24. Keystone Agricultural Producers president Doug Chorney said reduced railway The federal government hasn’t clarified whether railway fines first announced as $100,000 per day will switch to weekly.