The Next Wave of Canola Research Western Canadian Researchers Hope to Give New Canola Cultivars a Shot in the Peduncle by Introducing Genes from Other Plants

Volume 39, Number 15 | OCTOBER 7, 2013 $4.25

PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER www.grainews.ca The next wave of canola research Western Canadian researchers hope to give new canola cultivars a shot in the peduncle by introducing genes from other plants

LISA GUENTHER

ntroducing genes from other plants into canola cultivars will do everything from bump up yields to fend off flea bee- tlesI to impart disease resistance. Dr. Habibur Rahman, a canola researcher with the University of Alberta, is working on several projects to improve future canola cultivars. In one project, he and his research team are introducing genes from related crops such as cauliflower, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, rutabagas, and Chinese kale to improve agronomics. “The main (goal) is to increase yield and to increase resistance to diseases like clubroot,” says Rahman. He also aims to improve other agronomic traits by diversifying canola’s germplasm. Right now Rahman is developing germplasm in greenhouses and conducting field trials. In two or three years they will be testing some of the hybrids. If a particularly promising hybrid comes along, it might move into commercial development, but right now the goal is to simply broaden the genetic basis of the canola germplasm. Viterra is contributing $1.6 million to the research in cash and in kind. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council is

throwing in another $1.5 million. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA The University of Alberta and Dr. Habibur Rahman is a canola researcher at the University of Alberta working to improve canola’s agronomic traits by diversifying the germplasm. Viterra will share ownership of new cultivars emerging from this Rahman hopes to transfer this like plants with hair. Instead of and stems of the plants after the governments. She says they now program. resistance into canola. But first he feeding, the pests jumped off the cotyledon stage. Although the have plants and seed ready for any Rahman is also working on needs to pinpoint exactly where plants, leaving them undamaged. cotyledons are hairless, they also companies that want to pick up another project to produce earlier in the chromosomes the resistance Dr. Margaret Gruber and her repel flea beetles. the germplasm. But so far none flowering canola. Once again, he genes are found. colleagues isolated genes respon- “We’re trying to understand have come forward to carry the is pulling in genes from cabbage Rahman also has additional sible for hair growth from canola why, when they’re smooth, they’re research to the commercial arena. and cauliflower type plant species. projects involving clubroot resist- and a plant called Arabidopsis, resistant,” says Gruber. “They may not pick it up because The genes cause canola to flower ance and molecular mapping of which is related to canola. By Gruber’s not yet sure whether a it’s transgenic and it would require three or four days earlier in the the resistance genes. inserting these genes into canola, refuge system would be needed in quite a lot of funds to take it field. “Now we are mapping the they created a hairy canola plant commercial varieties. “But we’re through the Canadian regulatory gene to find out where the genes FIGHTING FLEA BEETLES WITH that seems to repel flea beetles. starting to do those experiments system,” says Gruber. are located (in the genome) and HAIRY CANOLA Gruber says there is no yield and trying to get a sense if there Gruber and her colleagues are then trying to identify if the genes penalty with the hairy canola was a large field of hairy canola, now looking at how all genes have any negative effect on yield,” Researchers with Agriculture and plants they’ve developed. Seed what would happen.” involved in hair development says Rahman. Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon quality and oil profile are well Gruber’s research has been express themselves in canola and Brassica carinata has excellent were studying flea beetle behav- within the limits prescribed for supported by Western Canada’s a broader range of species related resistance to all known virulent iour on different plants when they canola as well. canola producers associations, blackleg strains in North America. noticed that flea beetles didn’t The hair appears on the leaves plus the Alberta and Saskatchewan » CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240 In This Issue Wheat & Chaff ...... 2 Features ...... 5 Crop Advisor’s Casebook 25 Columns ...... 28 Machinery & Shop ...... 36 Cattleman’s Corner ...... 43 John Deere introduces A 5,600-km fence FarmLife ...... 52 new equipment to control wild dogs SCOTT GARVEY PAGE 36 LEE HART PAGE 43 2 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Wheat & Chaff

STAMPEDE BY JERRY PALEN LEEANN MINOGUE

f you let this issue of Grainews sit in a pile on your coffee table for a few weeks before you opened it up, we’reI probably still working on harvest here at our farm in southeast Saskatchewan. Things have just been slow this season. We seeded late, and now we’re harvesting late. This is even true for the half of our crop that didn’t see hail damage. And you know how it is — once things get late, the days get shorter, and the whole harvest project seems to go on forever. It seems very wrong to have to climb out of the swather early so I can take our little boy to skating practice! I just hope I don’t PHOTO: BRAD BARLOW wind up taking Christmas dinner The new combine is performing well in the field. out to the combine. It’s a bit disappointing, hearing reports of 100-bushel wheat crops He spent some time working on IN THIS ISSUE when so many of our fields were farms in Australia, and has writ- taken out by a July hailstorm. First, here’s what’s not in this ten a great article explaining how But on the bright side, the wheat issue: A subscriber phoned in to you can do this too (or at least that wasn’t hail damaged and that let us know that in the September send one of your kids to do it). “That was fun! I invited them all back we’ve managed to get into the issue, we ran the weather map Find this on Page 18. tomorrow for leftovers” bin has been some of the best for July/August. Oops. We’re very One of my cousins worked on crops my husband has seen on his sorry. There’s a more current map a harvesting crew in Australia one farm. Unfortunately we barely got this time. winter (summer in Australia). He CONTACT US things started when a bunch of Now, for this issue. I considered came home with an outrageously dark clouds settled in for a three- calling this “The Sirski Edition.” disgusting story about putting a day rain. Not only do we have Andy Sirski’s small kangaroo through a combine. Write, Email or Fax Earlier this year I wrote about regular Off-Farm Income column I don’t know if this could actually SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES: our trip to the factory in Nebraska in the Columns section (Page happen or not (Steven didn’t men- to watch our new Case IH com- 34), but Andy has also written a tion if this happened to him). I do Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) 1-800-665-0502 bine roll off the assembly line. short piece on an old-time thresh- know that most of my relatives U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 Now it’s out in the field. With a ing fundraiser for the Canada never like to let the truth get in the or email: [email protected] few minor kinks out of the way, all Foodgrains Bank (Page 24). And, way of a good story, so I’ll probably systems are go. The high-yielding I’m very pleased to tell you that never know for sure. wheat crop was a great way to this issue also includes an arti- Enjoy this issue. If you have story ideas, call us. You can write the article and we’d break it in. cle by Andy Sirski’s son, Steven. Leeann pay you, or we can write it. Phone Leeann Minogue at 306-861-2678 Fax to 204-944-5416 Moonlighting Grainews staff Email [email protected] rainews field editor have been a terrible pioneer — I Write to Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 Lisa Guenther has complain when the WiFi in our been using her free house goes down for half an HEARTS time to write a book. hour. But the men and women It’sG a mystery novel, set in small- who first worked this soil lived town Saskatchewan. She’s fin- through hardships I can bare- Ask for hearts ished a draft, printed it out, and ly imagine. And most of them When you renew your subscription to now she’s been awarded sec- didn’t even have smart phones. Grainews, be sure to ask for six Please ond place in the Saskatchewan The main character of Dollybird, Be Careful, We Love You hearts. Then Writers Guild’s annual John V. Moira, came to Saskatchewan in stick them onto equipment that you, Hicks contest. 1906. All alone. Then she became your loved ones and your employees If you’re not a Saskatchewan a “dollybird.” operate. That important message could writer, you won’t know what In those days, dollybird was a save an arm, a leg or a life. this is. But trust me: it’s a big slang term for women who kept deal. There is fierce competi- house for homesteading men. tion from across Saskatchewan, And some also provided… other a cash prize and a formal dress services. banquet. And the best part is Anne says, “Housekeeper or Like us on Facebook! that the winning manuscripts covert whore? A dollybird can be generally tend to wind up as either or both, in the vocabulary Grainews has a published books (finding a pub- of the times, leaving the commu- lisher is a big hurdle for fiction Anne Lazurko’s first novel nity to draw its own conclusions Facebook page. writers these days.) Dollybird was recently published about who or what Moira is in I’ll keep an eye on this, and by Coteau Books. that settler’s soddy. Determined Find, read and comment on blog posts let you know when Lisa finds a to find redemption in the midst easily and with a thumbs up! publisher and we can all read her Lazurko’s first novel Dollybird of their derision, and to find joy book. Until then, we’ll keep her has just been published. I may be despite uncertainty, Moira faces busy writing articles for Grainews biased (Anne is a friend, and I’m impossible choices with conse- like “10 best places to hide a on the board of the publishing quences beyond anything she body on your farm” and “How company), but I love this book. ever imagined.” Find us on Twitter: decomposing human corpses Dollybird is historical fiction, a Anne’s book is published Leeann Minogue is @grainmuse will affect your canola crop’s book about the very beginning by Coteau Books. Find it in Lisa Guenther is @LtoG nitrogen needs.” of farming in this country. It’s your favourite bookstore or Lee Hart is @hartattacks Congratulations Lisa! a story about the type of life online. † Scott Garvey is @machineryeditor On a related note, occasional some of my ancestors lived when Grainews contributor Anne they first came here. I would Leeann Minogue OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 3 Wheat & Chaff Farm safety Power line safety risks ince 2010, there have been five farm fatalities in Alberta as a result of farmers moving equipment into energized power lines. SThe majority of farm power line inci- dents occur during the busy spring seeding and fall harvesting seasons. As such, Alberta’s Joint Utility Safety Team (JUST) wants to remind farmers to exercise extra caution during the hectic harvest season. Allan Kurtz, a third-generation farmer, ing 14,000 volts of electricity coursing height of power lines has remained the farm, field and travel routes, so there has an important message for other through his body. same. Because of the increased size of farm is no guesswork involved. Equipment farmers following his on-the-job incident. Farming is exempt from Occupational equipment, farmers should consider both should always be lowered prior to mov- “Before my accident, I was always careful Health and Safety legislation, so farmers the width and the height of equipment ing it, and when folding or unfolding around electricity — but I didn’t know are less likely to have taken power line during field use and when moving or wings or extensions, always allow seven power could jump. My accident was a safety training than workers in other transporting equipment. They should also metres of clearance between equipment wake-up call,” says Kurtz, who lost both industries. Also, given that at certain be aware that some lines can be as low as and power lines. Transporting equipment legs as a result of his incident. times of year farmers are faced with 3.7 metres, and severe weather can cause 4.15 metres or higher down any public In preparing to move a grain bin, Kurtz many competing priorities around the power lines to sag even lower. road or highway requires a permit from believed he was taking the right precau- farm and home, safety may not be top A number of safety precautions can Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation. tions by measuring what he thought was of mind. help farmers avoid contact with a power If equipment or load is 5.3 metres or high- a safe distance between the bin and an Kurtz believes many farmers simply line. “Plan ahead” and “Always ask your- er, your local electrical utility must be con- overhead power line before proceeding. don’t understand all the risks, just as self, “Where’s the line?” are the guid- tacted at least seven days in advance. † However, once on top of the bin, a blind- he didn’t. For example, the size of farm ing principles. This includes having your JUST (Joint Utility Safety Team) is committed to helping ing flash of electricity arced from the equipment — like seeders and sprayers — local electrical utility determine the height foster a long-term “culture of power line safety” in line to Kurtz’s metal tape measure, send- has doubled since the 1950’s, while the of equipment and all power lines on a Alberta. Learn more at wherestheline.ca.

Y ou might be from the prairies if... A gronomy tips from the field A gronomy tip: seeding rate rowers are picking up on the sity in plants/square foot x TKW in grams x practice of using higher seed- 10.4 ÷ (% germination – % mortality). ing rates in wheat. The resulting So with a recommended stand density of 25 stands are more dense, and can plants/square foot, a TKW of 35, a germination competeG better against pests while exhibit- rate of 95 per cent and a mortality rate of five ing more uniform crop development with per cent, here’s a sample calculation: less tillering. Optimum seeding rate = 25 x 35 x 10.4 ÷ To take full advantage of this best practice, (95 – 5) you’ll need to translate the recommended plant = 101 lb./acre stand density (for instance, Alberta Agriculture (The 10.4 value is a conversion factor, translat- recommends from 18 to 30 plants per square ing grams into pounds and squre feet into acres). foot for CPS varieties) into an optimum seeding After you’ve made your seed selection, use rate. To do this, you’ll need to account for the this calculation to help make sure you order the varying seed sizes in different seed lots using right amount of seed. Don’t let low crop density the thousand-kernel-weight (TKW). And you’ll undermine good genetics. † need to factor in the selected seed germination and mortality rates as well. This agronomy tip is brought to you by Christine Spasoff, Agronomic Service Representative for Syngenta Canada Inc. Christine holds This may sound complicated. Here is the a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Y ou have petitioned the winter formula to use: Saskatchewan. She’s worked in the crop protection industry for 20 years, including 18 with Syngenta. Olympics to have a poker derby. Optimum seeding rate = Recommended den-

Weather Lore photo contest Mackerel sky GIVE US YOUR ackerel sky, mackerel sky; Never long wet, BEST SHOT never long dry. MA mackerel sky is clouded by rounded, isolated cirrocu- Fifth-generation farmers mulus clouds that look like mackerel scales or herring Kassandra Russell sent this gorgeous photo of one of her flax fields bones. They are made up of this summer near Drumheller, Alta. Kassandra and Calvin Russell have ice crystals and may travel three daughters, (from left to right) Elyse (3), Emilia (4) and Everly (18 at speeds up to 160 km per months). The girls will be the fifth generation on the farm. hour, six to 11 km above the Kassandra wrote, “The coulee in the background is Drumheller, we earth. A mackerel sky often farm just to the northeast. Our main crops are wheat, canola, barley, forms in thundery weather peas and flax. This field is right beside the girls’ Nana and Papa’s house which is neither wet or dry (Craig and Janice Russell). We thought we’d snap a quick picture while for very long. A variation of the flowers were out before going for a visit.” the proverb is: Mackerel sky, Thank you for sharing this, Kassandra! We’ll mail you a cheque 24 hours dry. for $25. Because of the conditions Send your best shot to [email protected]. Please that accompany a mackerel send only one or two photos at a time and include your name and sky, we often see rain the day address, the names of anyone in the photo, where the photo was after its appearance. † taken and a bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that images are of high Shirley Byers’ book “Never Sell Your resolution (1 MB is preferred), and if the image includes a person, we Hen on a Rainy Day” explores over need to be able to see their face clearly. 100 weather rhymes and sayings. It is available from McNally Robinson at: www.mcnallyrobinson.com. Leeann 4 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Cover Stories Crop varieties

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1666 Dublin Avenue, The next wave of Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 canola research www.grainews.ca

PUBLIH S ER to the crop, such as mustards. Lynda Tityk They hope to use this informa- As s ociate Publisher/ Editorial director tion to develop a hairy canola John Morriss variety without using transgenics by switching the right genes on Ed itor or off. Leeann Minogue They’ve already found some Brassica napus plants that are field d E itor naturally hairy, though not Lisa Guenther nearly as hairy as the transgenic Ca a ttlem n’s Corner Editor plants they’ve already developed. Lee Hart Gruber says they’ll probably field Farm life Editor test the non-transgenic plants Sue Armstrong next summer. M achinery EDITOR Gruber and her colleagues are Scott Garvey also looking at Brassica villosa, Pr oduction Director an extremely hairy plant native Shawna Gibson to Sicily and more closely related De signer to broccoli and Brussels sprouts Steven Cote than canola. MARK Eting/CIRCULATION “Hairy canola has about a Director Lynda Tityk thousand times the number of C irculation manager hairs of a regular canola plant. photos: aafc Heather Anderson This one has maybe 4,000 times On the left is a hairy canola seedling, on the right is an unmodified canola seedling, in a greenhouse setting. (the hair of regular canola),” says p resident of Glacier Agricultural Gruber. Information Group Researchers have plucked five Bob Willcox genes that control hair develop- H e a d O f f i c e ment from Brassica villosa and 1666 Dublin Avenue, inserted the genes into arabidop- Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 sis and canola. The genes don’t Phone: (204) 944-5568 behave exactly the same in differ- Fax: (204) 944-5562 ent plants. Aei dv rt sing Sales “In arabidopsis they seem to Cory Bourdeaud’hui Phone: (204) 954-1414 behave very similarly to the arabi- Fax: (204) 944-5562 dopsis gene. But these other genes Email: [email protected] are behaving a little bit differently Aei dv rt sing Services in canola. There is one gene that Co-ordinator has increased the hair in canola,” Arlene Bomback Gruber says. † Phone: (204) 944-5765 This photo shows extreme flea beetle damage in a Fax: (204) 944-5562 Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews Email: [email protected] based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. This picture shows seedling damage by flea beetles in a field plant. Researchers have found that flea beetles [email protected]. lab-based feeding damage bioassay. don’t like plants with hair. Printed in Canada by Transcontinental LGM-Coronet Winnipeg, Man. Si o l management Grainews is published by Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0H1. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Tillage radish report Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department This summer we planted tillage radish on a few acres of wet soil. of Canadian Heritage. Subscription prices: This is what’s happening so far For Canadian farmers, $49.35 per year or $79.00 for 2 years (includes GST) or $99.00 for 3 years (includes GST). Man. Leeann Minogue residents add 8% PST to above prices. U.S: $43.00 per year (U.S. Funds). Outside Canada & U.S.: $79 per year. ince the 2011 flood that ISSN 0229-8090. left us with no crop to Call 1-800-665-0502 for subscriptions. harvest from our farm in Fax (204) 954-1422. southeast Saskatchewan, Canadian Postmaster: Send address weS are still a little nervous changes and undeliverable copies about excess moisture. This was (covers only) to PO Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man. R3C 3K7. another wet spring, although not as wet as 2011. U.S. Postmaster: Send address changes and Because it was so wet, in mid- undeliverable copies (covers only) to 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1. July my husband Brad though he’d try something new. He Grainews is printed on recyclable paper with bought enough tillage radish linseed oil-based inks. seed to cover 80 acres. (The seed Published 18 times a year. cost about $22 per acre.) Subscription inquiries: The plan was for the plants Call toll free 1-800-665-0502 to soak up some excess mois- U.S. subscribers call ture, so we would can seed 1-204-944-5568 or email: that land next year. And, we [email protected] hoped the roots might break Y our next issue! through compaction in the Y ou can expect your next issue in your wet soil. mailbox about October 31, 2013 These photos show how our tillage radish had fared in the field by early September, five This plant seems to have hit either a rock in the field, This photo shows two of the plants in our field. So The editors and journalists who write, weeks after seeding. † contribute and provide opinions to Grainews or compacted soil. You can see that the root stopped far, most of our plants are still small and thin, more and Farm Business Communications attempt Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews. growing straight down and split off sideways. like the one on the left than on the right. to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Grainews and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Grainews proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer and Farm Business Communications assume no Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 responsibility for any actions or decisions taken Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address by any reader for this publication based on any in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-665-0502. and all information provided. OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 5 Features WEED CONTROL Managing wild oats Controlling wild oats is not an easy task. But researchers hope a six-year study will reveal a recipe to manage wild oats with fewer herbicides

BY LISA GUENTHER are encouraging, but not surpris- Next year all the plots from the ing. The Scott Research Farm has six-year study will be seeded to “ ild oats is one of an 18-year alternative cropping canola, and researchers will be able our most common study that includes three years of to analyze results. But Johnson w e e d s a n d t h e alfalfa in the rotation. said so far they’ve been able to weed we spend the In annual cropping systems and manage the wild oats in some mostW money on in terms of her- other treatments where research- cases by using the right combina- bicides every year. And of course ers have applied Group 1 herbi- tion of management practices. resistance is building up,” said cides regularly, about half the wild Along with perennial and winter PHOTO: LISA GUENTHER Eric Johnson, weed biologist with oats are Group 1 resistant, said cereal crops, higher plant popula- Eric Johnson, AAFC weed biologist, is working on a project using Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Johnson of the 18 year study. tions help the crop out-compete management practices to reduce wild oat populations. Johnson said that there aren’t “And in the plots that include wild oats. And cutting barley silage many herbicide groups avail- perennial forages, it’s less than 10 at the early milk instead of soft practice is going to solve their wild prehensive study over a number of able to control wild oats. Group per cent,” Johnson said, adding dough stage prevents wild oats oat problem or manage their wild years,” said Johnson. † 1 and Group 2 herbicides are Dr. Hugh Beckie is examining the from going to seed and improves oat problem. It’s a combination of Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews most commonly used, but there preliminary results from the 18 silage quality. all these practices, and that’s what based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. is a quite a bit of resistance to year study now. “Not just one management we’re hoping to show in this com- [email protected]. Group 1s. “There is a possibility that we could be using Group 2s more often, but we have cases of Group 2 resistance and we also have cases of multiple resistance,” said Johnson. Johnson is working on a project, led by Dr. Neil Harker, looking at using management practices to PERFORMANCE reduce wild oat populations. “Or, if the day comes that we have no wild oat herbicides available to us, that it’s resistant to everything, is there a way we can still manage CEREALS wild oats?” HIGH

MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Researchers are currently in the fifth year of the six-year study, The new High Performance leader across so they haven’t had a chance to Part of your the prairies, CDC Stanley scores high points analyze all the results yet. But with western Canadian growers. With the highest they have seen benefits from some yield results, excellent standability, and a great management practices, such as well-balanced disease package, CDC Stanley redefines genetic diversifying the rotation. potential, giving growers the power to grow. For example, they added winter cereals, such as winter triti- farm business. cale, winter wheat and fall rye, to some rotations. A typical rotation in the study would include winter wheat, followed by winter triticale. At the annual Scott Field Day last July, Harker explained that summer annual weeds, such as wild oats, are becoming more common partly because farmers grow summer annual crops. Winter annual crops break that cycle. “We know they’re very competitive with wild oats because of their growth habit and the fact that they start growing earlier in the spring and compete very well,” said Johnson. Harker said the rotations that were herbicide-free for three years and included winter wheat and winter triticale sometimes controlled wild oats as well as the canola-wheat rotation. Full herbicide rates were applied to the canola-wheat rotation. Johnson said including a winter cereal only once in a four-year rotation doesn’t seem to have a big impact on wild oats over the long term. But “if you get a good stand of winter Contact your local CPS retail to learn more about cereal, you might not have to the exclusive line-up of High Performance Cereals ® use a (wild oat) herbicide that from Proven Seed. particular year. So that reduces the selection pressure.” And including alfalfa in rotation drives the seed bank down, cpsagu.ca reducing wild oat populations to the same levels as the canola- ® wheat check. CDC Stanley and CDC VR Morris were bred at the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan. Proven Seed is a registered trademark of Crop Production Services, Inc. Johnson said the alfalfa results 6 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features Seed varieties Flax after the reboot The flax industry is ready to get back to business after the GM seed incidenct of 2009

By Leeann Minogue

he flax industry has been in turmoil since the fall of 2009, when genetically modified flax seeds Twere unexpectedly discovered in Canadian flax shipments to the European Union. Although the GM variety, Triffid, had been deregistered in 2001 and all Triffid seed was supposed to have been destroyed, Triffid seeds have been lingering in the system. The EU will not accept flax imports with genetically modified content, and the EU measures with a tough yardstick. Canadian exports must contain less than 0.01 per cent GM content — that’s less than one seed in 10,000 seeds. Since 2009, the Canadian flax industry has co-operated to calm this turmoil and get Canadian exports flowing to European buyers again. The main push has been the testing of pedigreed seed, farm- saved seed and on-farm produc- photo: flax council of canada tion for the presence of Triffid. Flax acreage declined rapidly after GM seed was found in exports in 2009. Now, acreage is climbing again. Since this program started, the percentage of farmer deliveries testing in 2014: CDC Sanctuary and CDC out, I’m sure,” he says. “The sup- and were never contaminated “Any The amazing thing is, the whole positive for Triffid contamination Glas. plies are better on Sorrel.” certified seed from any of those industry’s been really cooperative has fallen from 10 per cent in In order to ensure that these “All of these have been in tests other sources was fine. They’ve on this one.” 2009-10 to around four per cent in new varieties have not been con- for the last while. In terms of overall always tested negative,” Braun says. To make sure the system can the summer of 2013. And, the level taminated by Triffid at any point yield, they’re very similar. Each one SaskFlax is confident that seed be successfully rebooted, Hyra says, of Triffid in the positive tests has in the system, seed growers multi- offers a slightly different benefit.” supplies will be strong for 2014, “everybody along the way has taken fallen to close to the allowable level plying the new varieties for SeCan “Sorrel has the largest seed. That and that there will be enough seed their lumps.” This included seed of 0.01 per cent. had to sign stringent agreements. makes harvest easier. But Sanctuary available for the organization to growers and farmers who had saved When farmers are talking to SeCan will fit in the drier areas.” meet its goal of one million acres flax seed for their own use. “SeCan C DC Varieties seed growers about these new vari- Glas is a higher yielder overall, of flax seeded in Saskatchewan seedgrowers had to dump seed stock eties, Hyra recommends that they with strong straw. However, it has next spring. of old supply and old breeder seed.” Researchers at the Crop “ask about the process the grower a bit smaller seed. Braun says SaskFlax was happy To make sure that no Triffid- Development Centre have spent went through.” There were strict “Each one’s got it’s fit,” says Hyra. with the way the industry co- infected seed finds it’s way into the long hours in the lab to reconsti- rules about the distance between operated in the wake of the system, Hyra says, “the final push tute two of the flax varieties that the seed flax and commercial flax O ther varieties 2009 GM incident. “We’re quite has got to be farmer-to-farmer.” have been the most popular in crops and the number of years happy,” Braun says. “It’s been a For 2014, Braun says, “the farm the past: CDC Bethune and CDC that the land where the seed flax Not all flax seed varieties needed long process.” stewardship program will still take Sorrel. (Originally, there had been was grown had been flax-free. to be reconstituted. effect. We still have to test that plans to add “14” after the names “The distance and the time away “The Crop Development Centre Prol b em solved? flax before going into the ground of these two varieties next year to from older production is an impor- varieties are the ones that were if you’re not using certified seed.” indicate that they’ve been recon- tant part of that. That’s something reconstituted,” says Linda Braun, With the EU’s tolerance level This program will be in place for at stituted. That plan has gone by the we incorporated into the steward- executive director of SaskFlax. Seed set near zero, ensuring that all least another couple of years, Braun wayside.) ship protocol,” Hyra says. from Agriculture and Agri-Food traces of Triffid flax are completely says, “to ensure our buyers that the Both Bethune and Sorrel vari- Hyra is not yet sure which of Canada (AAFC) and Viterra breed- removed from the system will be protocol is being followed.” † eties are distributed by SeCan. these four varieties will be farming programs didn’t come down a challenge. Hyra believes it’s a Before the Triffid issue, says Todd ers’ best bet. “A lot will depend on through the same breeding pool, challenge the industry can meet. Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews. Hyra, SeCan’s business manager what the trials show,” he says. Trial for Western Canada, “Bethune and information will be available later Sorrel were the two market leaders.” in the fall. Together, these two varieties made With Sanctuary and Glas being up about 75 per cent of the market. new varieties, Hyra expects that SeCan will also have two new they will be picked up quickly. N ew Viterra varieties GM-free varieties on the market “They’ll be the first ones to sell iterra will have two Viterra is also continuing “Early maturity is one of new traditional brown to offer its identity preserved the focuses, but not forgetting flax varieties on the yellow seed flax, NuLin VT50. about increasing yields as well,” Millions of acres of flax seeded in Canada market in 2014. This variety offers high omega- McCann says. “We’ve got testing VWestLin 70 is a traditional 3 content — 25 per cent higher happening in the northern parts Other provinces Saskatchewan brown seed flax variety. Its yield than CDC Bethune. For farm- of Western Canada to find varie- 1.8 is similar to Bethune. Ryan ers, McCann says, “its claim to ties for that fit.” McCann, Viterra Generics’ seed fame is the premiums attached Many flax varieties will stay 1.6 commercialization manager, says to it, as well as the yield over green for a long time, or the “it has a larger seed size compared Bethune.” Farmers can only bolls will ripen before the stems. 1.4 to other varieties.” WestLin 70 will grow this variety though closed- Beaith is trying to find a solution be available from seed growers, or loop contracts with Viterra. for farmers. “She’s trying to find 1.2 Viterra retails. McCann says there is increased varieties that have good stem dry- WestLin 71 is also a tradi- end-use demand for NuLin. For down as well as the bolls.” 1 tional brown seed flax variety. 2014, he says, “we’re looking While aspects of this work McCann says WestLin 71 “was at substantial growth on the have found their way into cur- 0.8 yielding about 103 per cent of NuLin product.” rent offerings from Viterra, and Bethune last year.” However, he For future years, Viterra is McCann says they have some 0.6 says, “it’s a little bit shorter than working on northern adapted varieties in co-op selection, he Bethune. Obviously, for guys flax varieties. McCann says says, “We still have some work to 0.4 that don’t like dealing with flax Viterra’s flax breeder, Michelle really get that early, early matur- 0.2 straw, that would be an advan- Beaith, is focused on expand- ing type.” tage.” WestLin 71 will be avail- ing the traditional flax-grow- As for Triffid, none of the varie- 0 able from seed growers. ing area, so Viterra will one ties from the Viterra breeding pro- Seed supplies of both WestLin day be able to offer farmers gram have had GM issues. “None 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 varieties should be very good, outside of these areas another of our varieties had to be reconsti- McCann says, “based on what oilseed option to fit into their tuted,” McCann says. † Source: Statistics Canada, Field and Special Crops, Sept. 6, 2013; we know today.” rotations. Leeann Minogue Saskatchewan Agriculture, 2013 July Estimate of Production OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 7 Features CROP DEVELOPMENT Bringing soybeans to the field Soybean acreage in Manitoba and Saskatchewan has rocketed up in recent years. Most of this growth is due to Ron Gendzelevich

BY MELANIE EPP After testing them for three where most Canadian soybeans years, he finally settled on soy- are grown, declined by 1.5 per f you ask western Canadian beans and canary seed. At that cent to 2.6 million acres. The most farmers when soybeans were time, Gendzelevich’s 40 acres substantial increase was seen in first commercially grown in of soybeans represented half of Manitoba, where acreage is up Manitoba, most would prob- Manitoba’s entire market. 35.6 per cent. In fact, it is the sixth ablyI guess sometime around 1998. “I believe I was 50 per cent of consecutive increase in soybean But soybeans have actually been the market share for soybeans,” area for Manitoba. grown in Manitoba for much longer says Gendzelevich. “There were than that — since 1992. Their num- approximately 80 acres growing AGRONOMICS bers have increased dramatically that year, and I had 40 acres with thanks almost entirely to one of it. So it gives you an idea of Back in 1992, Manitoba soy- man, Ron Gendzelevich, owner and where we were.” beans amounted to a shock- President of Quarry Seeds. ingly low 80 acres in total. Why weren’t Manitobans embracing BUILDING A DREAM soybeans the way farmers out east were? Although Gendzelevich It comes down to agronomics, comes from a farming back- “Agronomy is says Gendzelevich. Manitoba’s ground, he did not inherit his the big driver highly calcareous colder soils family farm. Instead, he built were inhibiting inoculant devel- his own dream, starting from for yields.” opment on soybean plants. On nothing. After graduating with — Rod Gendzelevich top of that, Manitoba soil tends a degree in plant science from to be very moist in the spring, the University of Manitoba in which is not desirable for soybean 1981, he worked for a number Since that time, soybean acres rhizobium development. It means of agri-businesses, including have exploded in Manitoba. less nodulation, and therefore, Cargill. Eventually, in 1989, he According to Statistics Canada, on lower yields. bought a small farm northeast the national level, soybean area “I was very much strug- of Stonewall, Man., and started rose 10.5 per cent from 2012 to gling with how to properly get Ron Gendzelevich, founder of Quarry Seeds, once grew 50 per cent of the experimenting with cash crops, 2013, reaching a record area of 4.6 these beans to nodulate,” says soybeans in Manitoba. Now soybeans are a major part of the provincial including corn, soybeans, navy million acres in 2013. Interestingly, farm economy. beans, canary seed and lentils. though, soybean acres in Ontario, » CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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» CONTINUED FROM Previous PAGE ers started to introduce better matters into his own hands says there were very few issues agronomic practices, such as and invested in putting up rep- when it came to marketing. Gendzelevich. “It took several granular inoculants with liq- licated agronomic trials on a “Back then, because beans were years to catch on.” uid, but they were still nowhere five-acre site at Oakville, Man. new, the existing grain compa- While Gendzelevich was get- near perfect. Soybean area in Wi t h o u t th i s in f o r m a t i o n , nies didn’t want to tie up bins in ting advice “from all over the Manitoba at the time was just making recommendations to their elevator facilities, so a lot place,” none of it truly addressed breaking the 100,000-acre mark. Manitoba farmers was nearly of the soybeans ended up get- his needs, until someone out “There was a lot of success in impossible. ting directly shipped down into of Ontario suggested he use a the late 1990s and early 2000s Gendzelevich invited farmers the States,” says Gendzelevich. liquid and peat combination. where the beans were yielding to come and see the results of Later, elevator companies “Finally, after a lot of frustra- just below 32, maybe as high as the trials for themselves at an started to get involved, but tion — using liquids, liquids and 40 bushels, and that was good,” event he calls the Valley Soybean they graded the beans very cau- peats, doubling up the liquids, says Gendzelevich. “The variety Expo. Hosted by Quarry Seed, tiously, creating a new for small and doubling up the liquids and selection had something to do each year, some 200 to 250 farm- independent grain buyers to peats — it got a little bit better, with that too. Instead of having ers visit the Expo to learn more get involved to help that proc- but it still wasn’t quite there. maybe one or two varieties to about growing soybeans success- ess. Soybeans are still shipped It wasn’t until about five years choose from, you had a half a fully. “Now we taken it even directly to the U.S., but close to later that finally I stumbled onto dozen or better that were good, further where we have approxi- half are now shipped by rail out the fact that there was another viable varieties.” mately six to eight other repli- west to Vancouver and Portland formulation of inoculant. It was I n 2 0 0 2 , G e n d z e l e v i c h cated sites throughout Manitoba for export, as well. called granular inoculant.” decided to quit working for and Saskatchewan where we Gendzelevich is positive That was in 1996. With gran- other people and started his continue to do the fine-tuning about the future of soybeans Ron Gendzelevich is positive about ular inoculant, yields bumped own company: Quarry Seed. the future of soybeans in Western where there are regional dif- in Western Canada. He believes from 24 to 28 bushels per acre “It wasn’t until about 2004 Canada. ferences with regards to best that Manitoba will eventual- to about 38 bu./acre. “The key — and in that time period of agronomic practices that should ly level off at the two mil- thing we noticed is that the time, I was actively looking for Finally, after several meet- be adopted by farmers,” says lion acre mark, while acres will nodulation was intense. It was better ideas and also a chance ings with key individuals in Gendzelevich. “We’ve found, in continue to increase in both just loaded with so many nod- to somehow redefine our com- the U.S., Quarry, in conjunc- most cases, that agronomy is Saskatchewan and Alberta, ules that you couldn’t count pany. And one of the things tion with Thunder Seeds out of the big driver for yields.” Quarry although Alberta’s cooler over- them. And it was reflected in I noticed was that there were Fargo, North Dakota, succeeded Seed’s replicated trials can be night temperatures make grow- the plant growth and the plant Roundup Ready soybeans in the in getting a license to market found in Niverville, Stonewall, ing soybeans there more chal- health and development.” States being grown.” Roundup Ready soybeans from Beausejeur, Morris and Altona, lenging. Gendzelevich says that weed Monsanto in 2005. At the time, Man., as well as Saltcoats, Regina As for Quarry Seed, they cur- Promotion control was soybeans’ other though, there was a major lack and Halbrite, Sask. rently have 10 full-time staff and weakness. “Conventional chem- of information from extension show no signs of slowing down. All along, as Gendzelevich istry had a tendency to be a lit- organizations — a source of M arketing soybeans Gendzelevich hopes to increase worked for other companies, he tle weak at best. And soybeans constant frustration for grow- his reach, ever so slowly, into was promoting the possibility were notorious for being a little ers. “There was no real perti- While one would think that the neighbouring provinces, and of soybean crops in Manitoba. dirty with weeds. I thought a nent information with regards the marketing side of things recently received his Roundup “It wasn’t until about 1998 or Roundup Ready package would to seeding rates and seeding would be more challeng- Ready corn license. † 1999 that the seed growers in make growing soybeans more dates, fertility and fungicides ing than the agronomic side, Melanie Epp is a freelance writer who the local area started to embrace attractive because beans are rela- and all that kind of stuff,” says the opposite is true when it specializes in writing web copy for small it,” says Gendzelevich. tively non-competitive at the Gendzelevich. comes to soybean production in businesses. She is based in Guelph, Ont., and By 2002, farmers and deal- early stages of its development.” In 2006, Gendzelevich took Manitoba. In fact, Gendzelevich can be found online at melanierepp.com.

EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES Weather Forecast for the period of September 29 to October 26, 2013

Peace River Region Southern Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba

Sept. 29 - Oct. 5 Sept. 29 - Oct. 5 Sept. 29 - Oct. 5 Sept. 29 - Oct. 5 Fair, seasonal to mild. A couple of Fair, seasonal to mild. A couple of Mainly fair with seasonable Highs often in the teens under frosty nights. Look for one or two frosty nights. Look for one or two temperatures, but expect fair skies, but expect rain and days with rain mixed at times with days with rain mixed at times with intermittent rain on a couple of windy conditions on 2 or 3 snow. snow, mostly west and north. days. Chance wet snow north. days. Windy. Windy at times. Oct. 6 - 12 Oct. 6 - 12 Oct. 6 - 12 Often fair and seasonable, but Often fair and seasonable, but Oct. 6 - 12 Unsettled as mild and dry days cooler outbreaks bring intermittent cooler outbreaks bring intermittent Often fair, seasonal in the south alternate with cool, wet days. rain, except wet snow at higher rain, except wet snow at higher but unsettled on 2 or 3 days with Windy from time to time. Frost. levels. levels and north. Frosty nights. cool, wet and blustery periods. Periodic snow, frost north. Oct. 13 - 19 Oct. 13 - 19 Oct. 13 - 19 Mostly fair, but periodic heavier Temperatures vary but will average Temperatures vary but average Oct. 13 - 19 rain on a couple of days in the near normal. Expect variable near normal. Variable weather from Look for changeable weather and south, with seasonal to weather from fair and mild to wet fair and mild to wet and cool. temperatures from fair and mild to occasionally cool and cool. Blustery. Chance of wet Chance of wet snow mainly west wet and cool. Chance of heavy temperatures. snow. and north. rain. Windy. Oct. 20 - 26 Oct. 20 - 26 Oct. 20 - 26 Oct. 20 - 26 Weather and temperatures Fair overall, seasonable but cooler Fair overall, seasonable but cooler Variable from mild to cool under fluctuate from fair and seasonal spells bring rain on a couple of spells bring rain on a couple of windy conditions. Unsettled as fair to wet and cool. Chance of days, with a chance of heavier days, with a chance of heavier weather alternates with occasional heavy precipitation. Occasional snow. Windy at times. Cool. snow. Windy at times. rain. snow north.

Precipitation Forecast 2 / 13 Grande Prairie 3 / 11 21.7 mms 0 / 14 The Pas Edmonton 0 / 13 Precipitation Outlook Prince Albert 33.2 mms 17.3 mms For October 21.6 mms 2 / 14 NEAR 1 / 13 North Battleford NORMAL Jasper ABOVE 13.6 mms Much Above Normal Below Much 30.9 mms NORMAL 0 / 16 2 / 15 above normal normal below 2 / 15 Red Deer Saskatoon 2 / 14 normal normal 1 / 13 Dauphin 16.9 mms Yorkton 30.3 mms 20.2 mms 31.2 mms 2 / 14 Banff 1 / 15 24.5 mms Temperatures are normals 2 / 15 3 / 16 Regina Gimli 2 / 15 Moose Jaw for October 1st averaged Calgary 20.3 mms 39.8 mms Swift 18.3 mms over 30 years. 15.5 mms Current 2 / 16 Precipitation Forecasts should be 80% 3 / 17 1 / 15 1 / 15 Portage 3 / 15 accurate, but expect Medicine Hat 17.5 mms Weyburn Brandon 32.7 mms Winnipeg (water equivalent) Lethbridge 15.5 mms normals for Oct. in mms. variations by a day or two 19 cms 19.7 mms 2 / 15 22.2 mms 29.5 mms because of changeable 15.9 mms26 cms3 / 17 Estevan Melita 1 / 16 speed of weather systems. 21.3 mms 28.2 mms ©2013 WeatherTec Services www.weathertec.mb.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 9 Features C rop fertility Busting the soybean fertility myth An Illinois researcher says soybean crops don’t leave excess nitrogen in the soil for next year’s crop

By Scott Garvey nutrients absorbed and where they Second, is soil fertility. Belows gence and early season vigor is are required in the plant. “You’re believes the fertility regime used important. Young plants that “ think the way we’re fertilizing going to have to take advantage of by many farmers needs to be re- suffer early stress cannot make soybeans is atrocious,” said Dr. technology to feed the plant what evaluated, ensuring plants have up for that later in the season. Fred Belows, a professor and it needs when it needs it. I think access to adequate nitrogen and “Apparently plants sense their fer- researcher at the University you’re going to have to take a feed- phosphorus. tility earlier than we realized and Iof Illinois. “Soybean does not add the-plant approach.” Third, is crop variety. Belows’ they make irrevocable growth nitrogen to the soil. That’s another research has shown that yields can decisions,” said Belows. “It’s all one of those urban legends.” Six secrets to success vary by up to 20 bushels per acre on about rapid growth right from the Addressing those comments to the same fields simply because of start, because you can never make Dr. Fred Belows is a professor a group of farm journalists, Dr. Below’s research is aiming to variety selection. That is due mostly up for lost yield.” and researcher at the University Belows was a guest speaker at Case increase soybean yields in Illinois to varying disease resistance. Sixth, is row spacing. When of Illinois. IH’s 2014 model-line launch in by 25 per cent by the year 2020. Fourth, is applying fungicides planted at a reduced seeding rate, Denver, Colorado this past August. To achieve that, he has devel- when necessary. Keeping photo- rows of about 15-inches allow for For more information on Dr. He presented a summary of his oped a trial program he calls “Six synthetic activity going strong more space between plants with- Below’s research visit the web- extensive research into crop pro- secrets of soybean success.” Each in the plant’s leaves during pod in a row and increased branch- site http://cropphysiology.cropsci. duction and fertility. Although of those six secrets is a factor that filling is essential to maximiz- ing. However, placing rows that illinois.edu/research/six_secrets. all of his work has been done boosts — or limits — crop yields. ing yields. closely can also promote more html. † in Illinois, many of his findings First, is weather. But it’s some- Fifth, is applying seed treat- disease pressure due to reduced Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. are applicable to crop production, thing farmers can’t control. ments. Ensuring early emer- air circulation. Contact him at [email protected]. here, on the Canadian prairie. His most surprising statements were on soybeans and the apparent misconception held by many producers that those crops don’t need nitrogen fertilization. Soybean, like alfalfa and other legumes, develops nodules on its roots that can fix atmospheric nitrogen and supply some of the plant’s fertilizer needs. But unlike the expecta- tion with alfalfa, Belows said don’t expect soybean plants to produce an excess of nitrogen, let alone meet all their own needs. Flushing weed control Fertility management worth bragging about. “One of the reasons farmers don’t fertilize soybeans is because ( In moderation of course. ) it can get some of its nitrogen from the environment, from the nodules,” he said. “We used to think for every bushel of soybean we got a pound of nitrogen in the soil. It’s the other way around. For every bushel of soybean you produce, you remove a pound of nitrogen from the soil.” So, the reality, according to Belows, is farmers who want to maximize soybean yields will need to apply extra nitrogen. “Soybeans only get about 50 per cent of the nitrogen they need from the nodules,” he said. “The rest has to come from the soil. And soybeans is a crop that requires a large amount of nitrogen.” But applying too much can delay or even prevent the formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules, and producers will loose the benefit of plant-produced, free fertilizer. “It’s one of those cases when you can’t have your cake and eat it too,” he continued. “Because if you put too much nitrogen on those plants, it will prevent nodule development or shut them right down if they’ve already developed.” And Belows thinks overall fer- More and more people are talking about Ares™ herbicide for tility management on farms for ® all crop types may need to be Clearﬁ eld canola. And smart growers are listening. Because rethought. “Soil testing was cali- only Ares controls the toughest ushing weeds and keeps them brated to yield in the ’60s,” he from coming back. Which means you save time and money in explained. “They’ve used the same recommendations for the last 50 the process. So go ahead, and tell every canola grower you years. In the ’60s, in the U.S., the know. They’ll thank you for it, providing you don’t overdo it. average (corn) yield was 60 or 70 To nd out more visit agsolutions.ca/clearﬁ eldcanola or contact bushels per acre, 18,000 plants per ® acre. Now we’re growing double AgSolutions Customer Care at 1-877-371-BASF (2273). that yield with twice the plants.” Rather than rely on soil test data, Belows believes developing a bet- Always read and follow label directions. ter understanding of plants’ ferti- AgSolutions is a registered trade-mark of BASF Corporation; Clear eld and the unique Clear eld symbol are registered trade-marks and lizer needs and developing applica- ARES is a trade-mark of BASF Agrochemical Products B.V.; all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc. © 2013 BASF Canada. tion strategies to better suit them is what’s needed to boost future yields. That involves knowing when

110200853_CLC_Yard_GrainNews_v2.indd 1 2013-09-17 10:44 AM newsprint - 240 ink density

Client: BASFCAN Publication: Grain News . . . Jeannette File Name: CLC_Yard_GrainNews_v2 Page Position: JrPg Project Name: CLC Ads Live Area: n/a CMYK PMS ART DIR CREATIVE CLIENT MAC ARTIST V2 Docket Number: 110200853 Trim size: 8.125” x 10” . . . . 09/17/13 STUDIO AD#: kenna_JrP4C_GN_110200853_YardTalk Bleed: n/a PMS PMS COPYWRITER ACCT MGR SPELLCHECK STUDIO MGR PROOF # 10 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features NEW VARIETIES Barley bred in Alberta The first malting barley bred by the Alberta government was released to farmers in 2013

BY REBECA KUROPATWA While in Manitoba, she worked we saw it was a variety that always with Dr Metcalfe at the Winnipeg maintained its preset plump,” said entley barley, a variety Research Station, spurring her love Juskiw. “Back then, in 2003-04, we bred for its malting prop- of working with barley. Juskiw had drought years. And, for the erties, was introduced then took a job in Alberta, work- brewing industry, the seed plump into the marketplace this ing in agronomy, before return- is really important.” Byear after Canada Malting con- ing to her passion of working This was one of the main rea- tracted 30,000 tons of it to Alberta with barley and becoming a barely sons the researchers decided to and Saskatchewan farmers. breeder. continue advancing the variety in This is the first malt barley bred their trials. This barley was grown in Wawaneesa, Man. Juskiw believes Benltey will by Alberta Agriculture and Rural BENTLEY BARLEY “Going back the to the be a good fit for farmers across the Prairies. Development (AARD) to be com- predecessor variety, Harrington, mercially contracted for malt. Bentley barley is a two-row, plumpness was one of its greatest predecessor was AC Metcalfe five to 10 per cent higher yield Dr. Patricia Juskiw, Alberta hulled, malting barely, first regis- traits,” said Juskiw. “Even in which had better yields but than Harrington). Juskiw and Agriculture and Rural Development tered in 2008. It consists of a com- drought years, Harrington was sometimes lacked plumpness.” team maintained Bentley’s preset barley breeder with the Field Crop bination of high grain yield and able to maintain its preset plump, Bentley was found to have plumps and knew this was a great Development Centre at Lacombe, high biomass. although it didn’t have great five to 10 per cent higher yield replacement for Harrington. Alta., is originally from Manitoba. “When looking at it in our trials, yields. The other competing than AC Metcalfe (which has Other Bentley benefits are

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It’s all tied up. When it comes to yield supremacy, it’s six of one, half dozen of the other. It’s been talked about, debated, and argued amongst growers across the prairies. When it’s all said and done, according to yield trials, Genuity® Roundup Ready® hybrids yield on par with the competition.* Like all contests this close, the debate rages on... for now.

*Source: 2012 Field-Scale Canola Performance Trials Always follow grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication. ©2013 Monsanto Canada, Inc. OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 11 Features

how it modifies in the malt is what it’s all about. So, poten- house and its quality parameters BENTLEY FOR BEER tially, if you have a grain with the in the brew house, possessing Low protein is a critical trait perfect balance, you’d need less some really nice flavour charac- for malting purposes, and with of it to create the same amount teristics. Bentley, even if it is a moist year of alcohol. There is also potential Juskiw and team saw Bentley and you have a lot of nitrogen in to use more of it and have it as an as a great variety for the craft the soil, it is more likely to main- all-Bentley malt.” brewing process, and have also tain its protein content. Canada Malting has been inter- found great interest in Bentley In wheat, you want high pro- ested in Bentley for some time now, from Canada Malting. tein, as that is what holds it but within the last two years, they “When it comes to regions that together. But, in the malt indus- especially view the variety is really are quite warm, where you don’t try, you want just enough and fitting into this marketplace. S.A.B. want to be putting a really hot vari- the right protein for the enzymes, Miller is the second- or third-largest ety with the conversion time being so it will break down the grain’s brewing company in the world and quit rapid anyway, Bentley’s traits starches and protein. they, too, are very interested in PHOTOS: CANTERRA SEEDS look very good to the malting and “You want the right amount Bentley. Bentley barley growing in the Peace River region, just outside brewing industries,” said Juskiw. of enzymes, so they’ll break Canterra Seeds, the seed com- Beaverlodge, Alta. “Bentley is a great fit for down the starches and protein pany that has acquired the rights Prairie farmers, as it doesn’t mat- into Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN),” to market Bentley, is working as malting co-ops, for its huge rates. This would bring the total ter where you grow it. It can be said Juskiw. “Nitrogen is the most hard to get those acres up to biomass shields,” said Juskiw. “So, production to approximately in high-yielding soil, high-mois- important nutrient needed to provide the kind of quality that even if you lose a lot of yield due to 50,000 tons (1.5 tons per acre), ture conditions, or otherwise. carry out a successful fermenta- Canada Malting needs. As well, hail, it can still be used for silage.” with Canada Malting being the This is a variety that maintains tion that doesn’t end prior to the the Chinese market is interested According to Canterra Seeds’ main buyer and the rest sold via its yield, percent plump, and is intended point. in the variety. Brent Derkatch, the total acres other contracts or in the open great quality. It also maintains “This way, the yeast can go a “Something else quite unique seeded this past year should market. † low protein regardless of grow- lot faster in converting sugars and about Bentley is we actually put have been between 30,000 and Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in ing conditions.” amino acids into alcohol, which it into forage barley co-ops as well 35,000, depending on seeding Winnipeg, Man.

MONSANTO CANADA INC 10.000X8.00 000041604r1 4CPGE 10&11 REQUESTED

By Pat Beaujot placed fertilizer. A 35-bushel per acre canola crop takes up he cold, late spring this 46 to 57 pounds of phosphate y e a r b r o u g h t m a n y (P205) per acre. However, farmer questions regard- safe-rate guidelines published ing seed-placed fertilizer by Saskatchewan Agriculture andT how much starter fertilizer caution that only 25 pounds including phosphate (P) could be actual P205 per acre (divide by safely seed-placed. My answer is 0.51 to get pounds of 12-51-0 that with today’s seeding equip- per acre) can be safely applied ment and optimally placed side- in the seed row with a knife band fertilizer, any amount of opener with a one-inch spread seed-placed fertilizer is too much! on nine-inch row-spacing. These Why risk fertilizer toxicity and recommendations are for good jeopardize germination and emer- to excellent soil moisture and do gence when you don’t have to? not include other fertilizers like I think the right question to potassium or sulfur. ask is whether we need to risk In order to get the crop seedling germination with seed- out of the ground fast with placed starter fertilizer at all, or starter phosphorus and still can we put all the starter ferti- satisfy the crop’s nutritional lizer in the side band close to the requirements, the choice is to seed and still get the “pop-up either cut back on phosphorus effect.” Putting all the fertilizer fertilizer to meet safe seed- photo: chris bettschen in the side band simplifies seed- placed guidelines, which will Differences in canola growth due to topography and seed-placed starter fertilizer. (Far left — mid-slope. Middle ing logistics, speeds seeding and have negative implications on — knolls. Far right — flat ground.) can eliminate the risk of seed- long term fertility, or put some ling toxicity. or all of the starter fertilizer in the risk of seed-placed phos- of 10 to 20 pounds of P205 tion percentage dropped from a sideband. From the research I phorus on canola germina- reduced days to emergence and 100 per cent with no seed-placed I s safe really safe? have seen, and what I have seen tion and emergence. In the per acent emergence. Just 10 fertilizer to slightly over 80 per in the field, I believe that all of Canola Council of Canada’s pounds of seed-placed P205per cent with 10 pounds and to 60 B:22.5” In canola, the seed-placed the starter fertilizer can be put Growers Manual, research from acre increased days to emergence per cent with 20 pounds P205. T:22” challenge is especially difficult in a sideband if the sideband is Agriculture a n d A g r i - F o o d by five days, and 20 pounds But with dry soils, germination as it uses high rates of P but can optimally positioned. Canada at Beaverlodge, Alta. increased days to emergence by dropped to 40 per cent at the S:21.6” only tolerate low levels of seed- First, you need to look at showed that even small rates 10 days. In moist soils, germina- 20-pound P205 rate.

Runs in the family. Unsung hero. There’s no stronger tie than the family who Wife, mother, grandmother, CFO, counselor, B:8.75” S:7.75” works together on the same land. For them, life coach, parts person, communications T:8.25” farming’s a tradition. coordinator, accountant, nutritionist and And although each new generation has their motivator – besides being out there turning own ideas, there are some things they will wrenches, she does it all. be reluctant to change, the things that have InVigor® needs Liberty® the same way. consistently performed for them, the things Because powerful Liberty herbicide is the that aren’t broken. backbone of the LibertyLink® system and InVigor® – proud to be part of your family together, they’re partners. farm for over 17 years.

Prosko Family, Donna Prosko, ROSE VALLEY, SK ROSE VALLEY, SK

BayerCropScience.ca/InVigor or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative. BayerCropScience.ca/Liberty or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative. Always read and follow label directions. InVigor® is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada. C-66-09/13-BCS13097-E Always read and follow label directions. InVigor®, Liberty® and LibertyLink® are registered trademarks of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada. C-61-09/13-BCS13097-E

FS:10.425” FS:10.425” F:11” F:11”

SBC1312829.Dual.2.4C.indd SBC1312829.Dual.2.4C 9-13-2013 9:18 AM Grainews CALMCL-DMX7993 Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black Insertion Date: Oct 7 Marsha Walters Bayer Crop Science 100% None SPEC ORIGINALLY GENERATED: Oli PAGE: 1 BCS13097 BCS13105 22” x 8.25” SAFETY: 21.6” x 7.75” TRIM: 22” x 8.25” Bleed: 22.5” x 8.75” Helvetica Neue LT Std (65 Medium, 55 Roman, 77 Bold Condensed, 87 Heavy Condensed, 75 Bold; OpenType)

Production Contact Numbers: 403 261 7161 403 261 7152 OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 13 Features

E ffect of P Placement on Canola Yield 10 Optimum Phosphorus placement 8 ne of the pioneers of fertility research continued to rise with higher rates, providing 6 in Saskatchewan, Harry Ukrainetz about five bushels per acre more canola at 35 4 with Agriculture Canada and Agri- pounds and six bushels per acre more at 55 Food Canada at Saskatoon, looked at pounds P2O5 per acre. 2 Othe effect of phosphorus placement on canola In my experience, I think fertilizer place- yield in the ’70s. ment 1-1/2 inches to the side and 3/4 of an 0 Ukrainetz compared P placement one-inch inch below the seed is the sweet spot. This -2 below and one-inch to the side of the seed; placement helps to ensure that in any soil con- one inch below the seed; and with the seed. dition, you can get the seed on firm soil but -4 His research clearly showed that seed-placing still be close enough to the fertilizer band. If -6 phosphorus provided some benefit at lower you look at the research on how much fertilizer Yield increase in Bu./Ac. in increase Yield rates of 15 pounds P2O5 per acre, but yield phosphorus to put with the seed and how it -8 decreased at higher seed-placed phosphorus can affect the time of emergence and germina- -10 fertilizer rates. tion, it makes very little sense to me to put any P O Range However, when phosphorus fertilizer was significant amount of fertilizer with the seed if 2 5 banded below and to the side of the seed, yields you can place starter fertilizer in an optimum were about two bushels per acre higher than side-band position. † the seed-placed fertilizer caused seed-placed phosphorus fertilizer, and yields In the field Pat Beaujot germination and seedling damage I have seen the same results on the mid- to upper-slopes where in the field. One farmer trial at the organic matter was lower and Bradwell, Saskatchewan used a the soil drier. E ffect of Seed-Placed P Fertilizer starter blend for canola of 16-19- Another trial that we looked on Canola Emergence 0-19 at a rate of 106 pounds per at compared seed-placed and 120 30 acre. The field was split with side-banded P in a barley crop. the blend either seed-placed or Barley is more tolerant of seed- 100 25 side-banded three-quarters of an row fertilizer, and safe guide- inch below and 1.5 inches to the lines are set at 50 pounds actual 80 20 side of the seed. The field had P2O5 per acre. On this field received 100 pounds nitrogen as at Aylsebury, Saskatchewan, the 60 15 anhydrous ammonia the previ- barley crop was seeded on a ous fall. In this trial, no differ- sandy loam soil and both treat- 40 10 ences were observed between ments received 63 lbs of N and ys to emergence to ys % Germination % 20 5

the two treatments on overall 35 lbs of phosphorus. In this a yield, showing that starter ferti- trial, the side-banded phospho- 0 D lizer doesn’t necessarily have to rus produced a two-bushel per 0 B:22.5” be with the seed. acre advantage over the seed- 0 10 20 However, the same farmer used placed P treatment. The farmer T:22” the same fertilizer blend in a seed- has since moved to side-banding P2O5 Range S:21.6” placement on a different field with all of his nutrients. † rolling topography. On this field, Pat Beaujot is the president of Seed Hawk Inc.

Prosko Family, Donna Prosko, ROSE VALLEY, SK ROSE VALLEY, SK

FS:10.425” FS:10.425” F:11” F:11”

Production Contact Numbers: 403 261 7161 403 261 7152 14 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features CROP VARIETIES Growing carinata With new higher-yielding carinata varieties on the market, farmers have another oilseed to add to their rotations

BY LISA GUENTHER nata as a Palliser-type crop. cent range to 44 per cent. They Falk, a research scientist with also wanted to change the oil n the mid-19th century, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada profile. “We found by looking Captain John Palliser in Saskatoon, has been working at the germplasm that we actu- described the region that now with carinata since the mid-’90s. ally had a good number of lines includes southeastern Alberta “The idea was to develop another that had very high erucic acid. andI southwestern Saskatchewan oilseed or mustard for Western So we decided that would be the as a desert or semi-desert, and Canada to sort of broaden the scope route,” says Falk. deemed the area unsuitable for that farmers had access to in field “And that sort of lays the stage settlers. crops,” says Falk. “And it didn’t take for a number of industrial applica- Despite climatic limitations, long for us to realize that it was very tions it can go in, whether they be farmers have settled Palliser’s drought and heat tolerant.” fuel, bio-plastics, lubricants, and Triangle, and they now have those sorts of things.” another hardy oilseed to add to CHANGING THE PROFILE Agrisoma Biosciences Inc. has their rotations — carinata, also been working with Agriculture known as Ethiopian mustard. Researchers pushed the oil Canada, and has commercially PHOTOS: LISA GUENTHER Dr. Kevin Falk describes cari- content from the low 30 per launched two carinata varieties Carinata nursery plots at AAFC Research Farm in Saskatoon.

— Resonance AAC A100 and AAC A110. According to the latest carinata production manual, available online at Agrisoma. com, both varieties yield 18 per cent over the checks, which were AC Vulcan and Cutlass ori- ental mustard. Agrisoma rolled out AAC A110 this spring, and a media release states the newer variety yielded seven per cent more, on average, FINISH with a than the older carinata variety in performance trials. Falk says the varieties are quite similar. But the glucosinolate content is a little bit lower in A110, which opens up doors for meal utilization, says Falk. “The sTronGsTronG glucosinolates are an anti-nutri- tive when it comes to feeding. And the lower those are, the better off we are.” Researchers are already developing inbred lines, in preparation for sTarT developing hybrid varieties. They hope to be field testing hybrids in the next three years. “The future seems bright. I think there are a lot of uses for it. It fits nicely with the canola world because we’re not moving into the areas that are typically used for canola production,” says Falk.

GROWING AND HARVESTING CARINATA Carinata production isn’t restricted to the Palliser Triangle. It has been successfully grown as far east as the Maritimes. But Falk says Saskatoon is probably the northern fringe of where carinata should be grown, book your seeD ToDay To Lock in 2014 rewarDs as it needs plenty of heat to

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movinG TraDiTion forward Parrish & heimbecker LTD. est. 1909 OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 15 Features

Dr. Kevin Falk, AAFC Research Farm Researchers have pushed the oil content of carinata from the 30 per cent range in Saskatoon says carinata is grown to 44 per cent. much like Argentine canola. Carinata generally matures within a week of Argentine canola. mature. Maturation grinds to a halt during extended cool, wet periods, though desiccants are an option. Carinata generally matures within a week of Argentine canola. But with the heat that saturated Saskatchewan this summer, the carinata was two to three weeks Canada’s most ahead of where it typically is. “It takes advantage of the heat,” Falk said. Carinata seems to manage trusted sources with wet feet, too. The Saskatoon research farm was drenched in rain over two or three weeks this June. Falk says they lost a lot of for ag news and material from the various Brassica species, but the carinata fared better than most. information is now “We’re not quite sure why, but it seems to tolerate excess moisture and uses it,” says Falk. Falk says carinata is grown much fully searchable. like Argentine canola. “Seeding depth, all those sorts of things, are exactly the same.” Eric Johnson is currently working on a herbicide package at Agriculture Canada’s Scott Research Farm, Falk says. Meanwhile, the production manual suggests considering pre- seed burn-offs and crop rotations to manage weeds. Controlling weeds in crops preceding carinata is also SEARCH an important strategy. If stands are Network well-established, the oilseed should be able to contend with most weeds, the manual states. Researchers are also working on clubroot resistance. Sclerotinia hasn’t been a serious problem for Nobody has more daily news and carinata so far, but the production manual recommends proper up-to-the-minute ag information Look for the AgCanada Network crop rotations to disrupt disease than the AgCanada Network. Search button on the top right of cycles. Carinata is immune to the the AgCanada.com homepage blackleg races that are prevalent in Our respected titles cover all aspects Western Canada, Falk says. “We do have issues with alter- of the industry, with award-winning, naria, but we can select against it. in-depth local, national and We have quite a bit of variation,” international coverage. says Falk. When it comes to harvest, farm- Weather you’re looking for a ers should wait until the entire plant has dried down, even if comprehensive article on a specific the seeds seem ready. Combining crop, or a recipe for muffins, start your carinata with green stems will plug the combine, slow harvest, and search at the AgCanada Network. suck up power, the production manual explains. Carinata can be straight cut. “It doesn’t shell very easily. You need AgCanada.com Network Search pretty much a gale force wind to knock this material over or for it Search news. Read stories. Find insight. to shell out,” Falk says. † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. [email protected]. 16 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features FARM MARKETING Get free information The Canada Grain Commission offers free grading for farmers who take the time to send in a sample. Send yours in soon BY LEEANN MINOGUE Laboratory, says this can be very useful for farmers who are HARVEST SAMPLE PROGRAM DATA very year the Canadian “shopping around” for a buyer G r a i n C o m m i s s i o n for their grain. “We’re a third Farmers Sample packages Packages Number of farmers runs its Harvest Sample party, unbiased,” she says. And, signed up sent out Returned returning samples Program: a voluntary she says, “This is free.” 2010 6,585 29,100 9,394 2,546 Eprogram that gives farmers free, 2011 6,853 20,373 8,731 2,106 unofficial CGC grade and qual- WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT ity results, and gives marketers GIVING ME A FREE SERVICE? 2012 6,995 22,375 10,935 2,573 information they can use to sell Canadian grain. The CGC wants to use your 2013 7,347 26,255 749* 341 samples. * as of September 18, 2013. Source: Twylla McKendry, CGC WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? • They’ll use your samples to look at the effectiveness of cur- Submit your sample by rent grain grading factors, and top grades. But we still need samples of each type of crop for in many areas, and there is still November 1 and get back a sam- maybe make revisions to reflect these samples to ensure ade- fair representation. “As a rule plenty of time for farmers to ple report that includes: processors’ needs. quate representation for protein we don’t see enough mustard, participate. • For cereal grains and pulses: • They’ll use your samples to and quality assessment of the flax, soybeans, or the smaller protein content; research grading factors, and, new crop.” class wheat: red winter, Canada HOW DO I GET A KIT? • For canola: dockage assess- ultimately, find new markets for Prairie red and white, soft white ment (that’s new for this year), Canadian grain. spring, as well as pulse crops — Ideally, you should sign up for and oil, protein and chlorophyll • McKendry says the program peas, lentils, and chickpeas.” your kit by October 15 to ensure content; is also helpful for end users. “It’s McKendry says, “We always that you can get your sample in • For flax: oil and protein benefitting people in China, need more producers to sign up, by November 1. content and iodine value; Japan, or wherever. They’re “We always we lose some of our dedicated Online, at www.grainscanada. • For soybeans and mustard: going to our website.” There, producers each year, because gc.ca, use the search feature and oil and protein content. they’ll find information about need more they are no longer farming.” type “harvest sample kit.” You’ll You won’t get an official grade the quality of the Canadian producers to This year, she says, samples find a link to an online form. — the sample you send in won’t crop. With this information, she are trickling in more slowly than Once you get your kit, you’ll meet the minimum weight says, “they know they can get sign up.” usual. As of September 18, she have directions about where to requirement (1,000 grams), consistency from Canada.” — Twylla McKendry had only received 749 samples. send it. (Over the last three dockage isn’t retained and you Of these, only 300 are red spring years, less than half of the kits collect your own sample rather DO THEY REALLY NEED ME? wheat. “Last year at this time,” that were sent our were returned than a CGC grain inspector. The CGC hopes to get enough she says, “I had 2,000 samples with samples. Don’t be part of But even an unofficial grade McKendry says they always need samples to make sure all areas of red spring.” Without more this statistic.) can be useful when you’re all of the samples they can get. of the Prairies are fairly repre- samples, it will be difficult for Once your sample has been dealing with a buyer. Twylla In years when crops are gener- sented. But, McKendry says, “We the CGC to make an accurate evaluated, you can get the McKendry, program manager of ally good, she says, “producers always seem to struggle to get estimate of Prairie protein sam- results online, by phone, or by the analytical services crop sec- may not send in their samples enough samples from Alberta.” ples. This low submission level email. † tion at the CGC’s Grain Research because they know they have The CGC also needs enough is likely due to a late harvest Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

Breaking the yield Barrier 1-800-265-7403 www.hylandseeds.com and the Hyland Seeds logo are trademarks of Dow AgroSciences LLC. 09/13-20278-02 GN AgroSciences LLC. and the Hyland Seeds logo are trademarks of Dow TM Hyland OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 17 Features Si o l management

opportunity, and the other takes phate. There seems to be little the opportunity, and you end up benefit to applying phosphorus Diversity in the soil with a very different population.” fertilizer to flax unless the soil is Because soils are complex deficient. ecosystems, studying one spe- The soil ecosystem was a A teaspoon of soil might just look like dirt, but cies in isolation is ineffective. research focus in the 1980s and For example, one year Monreal 1990s, Monreal said. “There was a soil scientists see a complex ecosystem affected expected to see more mycor- lot of work done and people were rhizal activity in a zero tillage trying to explain these things in a field. But rain created the per- very rational, careful way.” by everything from crop rotations to fertilizer fect conditions for mites and Monreal said the John Innes other soil creatures that feed on Centre research is important and By Lisa Guenther sampling a few centimetres from mycorrhiza host, such as wheat, mycorrhizae spores, reining in comments the scientists are on the the roots, they have found micro- barley or a legume, ensures there’s mycorrhiza numbers. right track. “Diversity in the soil sing DNA technology, bial populations responding differ- plenty of mycorrhiza for the flax could provide a lot of answers.” researchers are finding ently to crop rotations. to work with. Si o l management But Monreal said researchers are that microbial diversity But Monreal said they haven’t Monreal said, based on her just scratching the surface in terms in the sea is huge, said seen clear results in how crop experience, a crop can affect the Farmers need to know how crop of understanding the soil ecosys- UDr. Marcia Monreal, soil micro- rotations affect specific soil spe- soil ecosystem even after one year rotations and other management tem and its population dynam- biology scientist with Agriculture cies, with the exception of myc- of a rotation. A consistent rota- practices, such as tillage and ferti- ics. What’s needed next is for and Agri-Food Canada. “But (their orrhizae. tion may yield more long-term lizer application, affect soil popu- researchers to not only look at the results) suggest the diversity in the Mycorrhizal fungus grafts onto changes that are slow to happen, lations, Monreal said. details but also the broad picture, soil is much larger.” flax roots and scavenges nutrients as microbe populations change “There are many management Monreal added. Monreal explained that there and water for the plant. Plants with time. techniques. For example, in flax “It’s a very complex, interesting is a food chain in the soil that such as canola and mustard don’t One population will benefit you may not need to apply phos- world. We haven’t been able to includes bacteria plus other crea- host mycorrhizae, and so plant- and grow very quickly on its phorus if the previous crop was tackle it (just yet).” † tures such as fungi, nematodes ing flax the following year cuts favourite substrate, but then it properly fertilized.” If micorrhizal Lisa Guether is a field editor with Grainews and micro arthropods. the flax’s ability to take in nutri- decays, Monreal explained. fungi are present, they will rum- based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. “It’s a very dynamic system,” ents. But preceding flax with a “And then another one takes the mage through the soil for phos- [email protected]. said Monreal. Plant roots discharge substances such as sugar, acid, polysaccharides and enzymes. Different plants release different materials into the soil, Monreal explained. These substances boost some populations over others. Pencil out a NexeraTM canola contract for at least “But that doesn’t mean the other populations aren’t there. 500 acres before November 29th – and get a $1000 They just go dormant.” Monreal Signing Bonus. Pencil it out anyway you want. nexera canola said some fungal spores, for exam- makes you more, thanks to healthier premiums, performance ple, can be dormant for 50 years before germinating. and demand for heart-healthy omega-9 oils. See your nexera The plant root itself also affects crusher or retailer. or visit healthierprofits.ca. soil ecosystems. “For example, legumes (roots) are soft and mushy Nexera RR Hybrids rank HigHest in grower satisfaction†. and others have far more fiber. So with fiber you would be stimulat- ing a different type of microbe, like fungi that could produce cel- lulose.”

U .K. research Recent research out of the United Kingdom gives us a glimpse into the soil ecosystem, and how agronomic practices affect it. Scientists with the John Innes Centre sampled soil from a Norfolk-area field. They then planted wheat, oats and peas in tM the field and took more samples Make it Nexera after four weeks. “The soil around the roots was similar before and after growing wheat, but peas and oats re-set the diversity of microbes,” said Dr. AnD MAke Philip Poole, in a media release from the John Innes Centre. The soil in the area where wheat More. was grown mostly contained bacteria. Oats and peas grown in the same area bumped up protozoa and nematode worm numbers. Peas grown alone increased fungi. Researchers also seeded an oat variety that doesn’t produce normal levels of avenacin, which protects roots from fungus. They thought there would be more fungi in the soil samples as a result. But the soil included a more diverse population of protozoa and other eukaryotes. Eukaryotes include plants, animals and fungi. Researchers at the John Innes Centre are also looking at how to develop cereals that form a rela- tionship with the same bacteria that allow peas to fix nitrogen. “Small changes in plant geno- type can have complex and unex- pected effects on soil microbes surrounding the roots,” said Poole. Monreal and her colleagues † According to Canola Evaluation and Intentions, ® TM Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow. have studied the effect of crop Canada, 2012, Stratus Agri-Marketing, Inc. 0813-21849-02 rotation on soil dwellers such as mycorrhiza and bacteria. By soil

21849 Nexera_MakeAd 8.125X10.indd 1 9/17/13 6:38 AM 18 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features International farming Lending a farm hand Steven Sirksi describes his working holiday in Australia, and tells you how you can get a job on a farm Down Under

Steven Sirski

he working holiday scheme demonstrates that it doesn’t take much to travel. Although you Twill have to front the cost of the visa and airfare, once you lock in your job, especially on a farm, you’ll find that you’re able to repay your debts fairly quickly. (The visa and the airfare are both tax deductible.) I worked a total of three jobs and travelled for a few weeks throughout Australia before flying over to the beaches of Bali, Indonesia. My first job was as a farm hand and chaser bin driver for the grape harvest. Unlike grain harvesters that carry their own hopper bin, the grape harvester does not. Instead, the grape harvester shakes the grape vines onto a series of conveyor belts, which drop them into a chaser bin one row over. Where grape harvest- The STX 375 pulled a DBS Auseeder bar with a three-compartment tank for seed, liquid and granular fertilizer. We seeded clover, canola, oats, barley, ing is similar to grain harvesting and wheat in West Australia. is the need to get the crop off in good time. Often the farmer is Prairies, you might want to get John Deere or New Holland and off-road driving to scuba and sky 1. Get a visa: You can apply given a specific time to deliver the some practice on hills before you came in all shapes and sizes. diving and numerous natural land- online for a visa that allows you to grapes to the winery. One load go — some of the hills in West Implements were usually from scapes from Ayers Rock to the Great enter and exit Australia as much (nine bins) can take two to three Australia can be pretty steep. Canada (Bourgault) or Australia Barrier Reef. If you find you’re as you like. http://www.immi.gov. hours to harvest before the truck Other than that, bring your mp3 (DBS Auseeder). Most were pur- spending too much day by day you au/visitors/working-holiday/417/ (semi) can depart. player because some fields can be chased within the last few years can always fly to Bali, Indonesia or apply-online.htm. This process only My second and third jobs quite large — several hundred hec- and it’s rare that you’ll be using anywhere else in Southeast Asia for works if you’re between 18 and 30. involved driving seeder rigs for tares long. Just remember to stay equipment much older than that. a few hundred dollars (Thailand Make sure you apply before the extensive cropping program alert for the one electrical pole in springs to mind). In Australia, you you turn 31. Once your visa has in West Australia. Seeding in the middle of the field. A ll work, no play? might spend about $100 a day; in been issued, you have one year to Australia is pretty similar to seed- Most of the machinery they most parts of southeast Asia you enter Australia. This means you ing in Canada, except it’s warmer use in Australia is imported from Australia offers plenty of attrac- will only spend about $30 to $50 a can apply before you turn 31 and in Australia. If you’re from the North America. The tractors were tions and activities, ranging from day, and that’s being adventurous. enter before you’re 32. Less if all you want to do is simply If you’ve already missed the lie on the beach all day. deadline, don’t worry. New Zealand But I’m not a under 31 any- will take you until you’re 35. more! That’s okay. New Zealand 2. Count your money: You will take you until you’re 35. may need to prove that you have a minimum of $5,000 P re-trip checklist AUD as you enter Australia. (This is about $4,800 Canadian There are a few things you’ll dollars.) Bring a bank statement need to do before you start running just in case. the tractor on an Australian farm. 3. Buy plane tickets: I use

Trait Stewardship Byi Dan P raro Responsibilities Bizarro Notice to Farmers Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for corn is a combination of four separate individually- registered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, and clothianidin. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for canola is a combination of two separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients difenoconazole, metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil, thiamethoxam, and bacillus subtilis. Acceleron and Design®, Acceleron®, DEKALB and Design®, DEKALB®, Genuity and Design®, Genuity Icons, Genuity®, RIB Complete and Design®, RIB Complete®, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and Design®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup Transorb®, Roundup WeatherMAX®, Roundup®, SmartStax and Design®, SmartStax®, Transorb®, VT Double PRO®, YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2®, YieldGard Corn Borer and Design and YieldGard VT Triple® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Used under license. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design are trademarks of Bayer. Used under license. Herculex® is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Used under license. Respect the Refuge and Design is a registered trademark of the Canadian Seed Trade Association. Used under license. ©2013 Monsanto Canada Inc.

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10801A-Gen Legal Trait Stewardship-Grainews.indd7/29/13 1 3:56 PM OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 19 Features

cheapoair.com or skyscanner. com to find a cheap ticket. Tickets usually remain cheap until three weeks before your planned departure. 4. Go to the bank: When you get there, you’ll need a tax file number (TFN) and a bank account. You can apply for the TFN online, but to get a bank account, you’ll have to apply in person with your passport and one other piece of identification. 5. Find a job: You can search the free, Australian government- published Harvest Trail that lists the various crops and their harvest times (find it online at jobsearch. gov.au/harvestrail). Or, search Australian newspapers such as Farm Weekly or The West Australian for job listings. 6. Prove your qualifications: You can use your Canadian driver’s license (including Class 1 or 3) for three months in one Australian state before you must apply for an Australian driver’s Left: A grape harvester and chaser bin come to the end of a vine row in South Australia. Top right: The grape harvester and chaser bin continue the license. Check the laws and reg- 3/2 pattern while the runner hitches a ride. Bottom right: Steven Sirski, in front of the Darling Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia. ulations on the Australia state licensing websites. Bring any other certificates you have. 7. Look at your wages: Food and accommodation are usu- Advertorial ally covered on the farm and you may be given a vehicle for farm use. Low season wages are around $20 per hour and you’ll usually work 40 hours per week. Anyway you pencil it out, Highest in grower High season wages increase to TM satisfaction, too $25 per hour and you’ll often Nexera canola hybrids equal be working 60+ hours per week These new hybrids are with one day off. Most, if not all, ideal for growers in the mid and employers will pay into what’s healthier profits. long-season zones who are called a “super fund.” That’s your pension, which you can In 2013, Nexera is expected looking for hybrid yields and higher claim when your visa expires or to return over $115 million over profit. They offer yield potential is cancelled. and above the value of commodity 8. Be ready to pay taxes: If you equivalent to any competitive work in one area for six months canola. Since its launch, Nexera canola hybrid, and result in you will become a resident for has returned over $426 million to profitability that’s higher than other tax purposes. That means you Western Canadian growers – with qualify for the $18,200 tax-free canola brands. In fact, Nexera RR threshold; anything above that more than half of that coming in the Hybrids rank highest in grower is taxed at 18 per cent. If you last three years. move around a lot (from city to Higher profitability starts satisfaction, according to Canola city) then you won’t qualify for “The higher returns are being with the proven performance Evaluation and Intentions, Canada, the tax-free threshold and will driven by a number of factors,” of Nexera canola hybrids 2012, Stratus Agri-Marketing, Inc. be taxed 32.5 per cent on your entire income. says Kerry Freeman, Nexera Product New Nexera canola hybrids The option of the Roundup 9. Choose the best time to Manager, Dow AgroSciences. Ready or Clearfield weed control go: The best time to go for increase the profitability equation, “Superior canola yields combined good wages and a lot of hours and the number of Nexera canola system allows Nexera canola are during the seeding and har- with the grower premiums and acres grown continues to increase growers to choose the system vest programs. May until July, incentives associated with Nexera then October until December year over year. The Nexera canola that works best for them. Either or January for cropping. Grape canola are increasing returns. Strong hybrid Roundup Ready® Series and way, growers get the advantages harvesting begins in February. market demand by new and growing Clearfield® Series each offer two of convenience, flexibility and Livestock work can be found end-use customers for heart-healthy year-round. high-performing hybrids that are superior weed control from a 10. Remember the weather: Omega-9 Oil is also a big factor.” changing canola. Their success production system designed to Australia’s seasons are opposite Freeman also points out that help them make the most of the Canada’s. Winter falls between is driven by a number of factors, June and September. Southern the heart-healthy Omega-9 Oil including: Nexera canola profit opportunity. Australia will get cold at night made from high-yielding Nexera • next-generation hybrid technology For more information on Nexera and hot during the day, while northern Australia gets really canola is the new standard in today’s • industry-leading hybrid yields canola, go to healthierprofits.ca. hot. Snow is rare Down Under, food industry. And the higher-value, • early- and late-season hybrid vigour Aussies come to Canada to ski end-use product translates into • excellent standability and snowboard! 11. Learn the language: Aust- higher profits at the farm level. • superior disease resistance ralians use a few different words than Canadians. A crescent wrench is a “shifter” and a wrench is a “spanner.” A combine is a “harvester.” A single semi-trailer is a “truck,” a two-trailer semi is a “B-double.” A Ford F-150, which we call a truck, is a “ute.” A tool is an “idiot.” Thank you is “ta” in some parts. “Root” doesn’t have anything to do with plants. Fields are “paddocks.” Hills are “undulations.” †

Steven Sirski is a working traveller who has worked on farms in Canada and Australia ® TM Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) and taught ESL in South Korea, Cambodia and or an affiliated company of Dow. Ukraine. You can read more about his travels 09/13-21923 on his website stevensirski.com.

21923 Nexera Advert_8.125X10.indd 1 9/17/13 7:16 AM 20 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features SOIL MANAGEMENT Frozen soils: life under the soil More of our nutrients are lost of snow melt run-off than rain. Researchers are working on ways to lower this loss

BY ANDREA HILDERMAN beyond traditional soil fertility, and their conservation and is part and includes nutrient transport of a Canada-wide Agriculture and r. Barbara Cade- from land to water. The focus Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) funded Dr. Barbara Cade-Menun, nutrient cycling research scientist at SPARC. Menun is a research of her research is to understand study that looks at protecting s c i e n t i s t a t t h e how nutrients cycle and move, and managing watersheds and Moosomin, in the Pipestone plants are actively growing and S e m i a r i d P r a i r i e particularly phosphorus, and to preventing excessive nutrient Creek watershed. nutrient run-off is negligible.” DAgricultural Research Centre minimize the impacts of agri- run-off. The Saskatchewan project “On the Prairies, most of the Many management practices (SPARC) at Swift Current, culture on the environment, started in 2009, and is testing a nutrients get washed off in snow have been developed to prevent Saskatchewan. A soil scientist especially with respect to water number of management practices melt run-off, not in rain events run-off as a result of summer by training, Cade-Menum is quality. that may help reduce nutrient as in other parts of Canada or storms. “In the case of sum- the “nutrient cycling” scientist C a d e - M e n u n h a s b e e n run-off during the spring snow the U.S.,” saysCade-Menun. mer storms, particulate matter at SPARC. This role moves her involved in the study of watersheds melt. Her study area is close to “Here rain events occur when is eroded, which you can see as soil or mud moving in runoff water, for example,” according to Dr. Cade-Menun. “Snow melt is different. In that case, the nutrients are mainly dissolved in the melt water and it’s a lot harder to stop or prevent.” If this project is successful in finding ways to reduce snow melt nutrient run-off, it will not only improve water quality but also reduce farmers’ costs by keeping nutrients on the land where they are needed.

PASTURE Restoring wetlands is one management practice that works particularly in the so- called Prairie Pothole Region of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and South and North Dakota. “These potholes are seasonal and show up as depressions that fill with melt water in the spring,” says Cade-Menun. “Generally farmers have to seed around these water-filled depressions in the spring, but by summer they dry out and show up as bare spots.” Dr. Cade-Menun and her team are only looking at restoring wetlands on pasture. “Although the What fertilizer are you using? wetlands would be beneficial for © 2013 The Mosaic Company. All rights reserved. Fusion is a trademark and MicroEssentials is a registered trademark of The Mosaic Company. MES-0595 About SPARC griculture and Agri- While every farmer dreams of amazing yields, not all realize the fertilizer they use Food Canada’s Sem- iarid Prairie Agr- icultural Research CentreA (SPARC) involves 19 is responsible for up to 60 percent of yield. So it makes sense to use the most scientists and a research land base of 2,300 hectares at Swift Current, Sask., and 1,300 hec- ® TM advanced fertilizer available. Choose MicroEssentials , with Fusion technology. tares at Indian Head, Sask. This research centre was first established in 1920 to Every granule offers perfect distribution of nutrients for uniform coverage, look at drought, erosion, frost, pests and other agricultural problems in the semi- and improved nutrient uptake. For more information, visit MicroEssentials.com, arid climate. Breeding is an important part of SPARC’s research pro- or speak with your local fertilizer retailer. gram. AAFC says wheat varieties developed at SPARC are grown on about half of Canada’s wheat acreage. SPARC’s durum wheat varie- The next generation of fertilizer. ties are make up more than 90 per cent of Canada’s total durum acreage. SPARC is just one of AAFC’s network of 19 research cen- innovation by tHE MoSaiC CoMPany tres. † Leeann Minogue

123 N. Third Street Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55401 P: 612-623-8000 www.broadheadco.com OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 21 Features

This map shows the Pipestone Creek watershed boundary and the location of the three farms that are cooperating in the studies. Farms M & B are involved in the pasture studies and Farm F in the cropland study. Snow melt water collecting in depressions in crop land. croplands, too, cropland farmers find managing around these seasonal potholes too time-con- suming, as well as creating other potential weedy issues later in DestineD for the season. In many cases, seasonal potholes have already been Excellent Harvestability drained on croplands.” Another management strategy greatness under study on pasture is infield winter bale grazing. Leaving the bales out on the pasture with the cattle is considered beneficial. The cattle would only be brought in 6060 RR if there is extreme weather. There are some savings: bales don’t have to be hauled in, manure does not have to be spread out of corrals after winter and cattle are healthier, not having been clustered together realize your yield potential with 6060 rr all winter. “In this case, we are In three seasons, 6060 RR has established itself as a yield-leading variety in any herbicide really comparing nutrient run-off system. 6060 RR has shown market leading performance and consistency of performance in the infield grazing situation in a variety of growing conditions. In addition to the BCT and CPT trials, in over 40 dealer to the situation where manure is and strip trials conducted between 2010 and 2012, 6060 RR out-yielded the competition spread in the fall against a sum- by 3%. for best mer-grazed pasture,” explains Dr. yield Cade-Menun. “In both cases — 6060 RR produces a heavily-podded impressive crop with excellent standability and is PerforMance bale-grazing and manure-spreading rated R for Blackleg. With an early seeding date and top tier fertility management, 6060 Plant Me — we see increased nutrient run-off RR shows how great your canola yields are destined to be. First versus a summer-grazed pasture. Although we have more work to In the end, it all comes down to performance and BrettYoung brings a new standard of do, we can say that farmers have to excellence to the field. be careful where they graze cattle and where they spread manure. If the run-off stays on the land, the • pastures will benefit from the nutri- brettyoung.ca 800-665-5015 ents in the runoff. If the run-off is likely to contaminate a domestic water source, a river, stream or lake, then that’s obviously not a good scenario.”

CROPLAND MANAGEMENT Turning to croplands, the team is looking at two management strategies. The first is a nutrient reduction strategy that has farmers getting fertilizer recommendations based on soil tests. “Instead of applying all this fertilizer at once, we are having the farmer reduce the recommended amount by one-third,” says Dr. Cade-Menun. “If the crop progresses well and conditions are favourable, a top-dressing can cHeering for be applied in-crop. However, we Jon in 2014 haven’t needed to do that yet, Jon MontgoMery mostly due to the weather condi- 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist – Skeleton tions of the past few years.” The results of this trial are just 2008 World Championship Silver Medalist being analyzed now as the site was not seeded in 2011 due to flooding. “This is a good example of why BrettYoung is a trademark of BrettYoung seeds Limited. ® ® multi-year experiments are so nec- genuity and roundup ready are registered trademarks and used under license from Monsanto Company. alwayslways follow grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Details of these requirements can be found in the trait stewardship responsibilities notice to farmers printed in this publication. 13022 09.13 » CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 22 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features

With infield bale grazing, the color of the run-off is decidedly darker that that coming from the summer- grazed pasture control. The colour of the water from the bale-grazing sites versus the pasture controls is Cattle grazing bales left out in the field as part of the study determining if something Cade-Menun’s group has seen consistently for the three years of this study, as well as from this practise will have a positive impact on nutrient run-off. another bale-grazing study they have at SPARC. They aren’t yet sure what causes the colour change.

» CONTINUED FROM Previous PAGE essary in agriculture,” explains Dr. Cade-Menun. “If we only looked at 2011, we would say it never stops raining in Saskatchewan and we should be growing rice. Well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but it does go to demonstrate we can’t ever rely on just one year of data.” The second cropland manage- Cereal seed from Syngenta helps you harvest opportunities ment practice under evaluation wherever they are. We’ve been breeding wheat in Canada involves seeding marginal land with salinity issues to perennial for four decades, setting unprecedented standards for yield, forage — a blend of alfalfa, tall quality and sustainability. The world depends on Canadian fescue, slender wheatgrass and tall grain, and Canadian growers count on Syngenta. wheatgrass. This may cut down on nutrient losses, compared to seeding fertilized crops that don’t grow well due to salinity. “There’s no guarantee that this will reduce nutrient losses,” says Dr. Cade-Menun. “A pasture is still living when it freezes compared to cropland where the crop is matured and removed. The pasture is still releasing nutrients.” This trial was Bred in Canada seeded in 2011 and the results are still being analysed. It will be studied for another two years. to feed the world. This is a very complex area of study. Cropland and pastures both release nutrients, in similar concentrations but in different forms. For instance, in the case of nitrogen, croplands release more organic nitrogen; pasture releases more dissolved ammonia. Then there is the weather to contend with, and the multitude of other variables come into play. It’s also important to understand the cost-benefits of the different practises. In order to try and cover all these different areas that impact this study, Dr. Cade-Menun and her team work cooperatively with the University of Regina, Saskatchewan Water Security Agency, Lower Souris Watershed Committee, the University of Alberta and others. “Our community of scientists involved in this work wants to come up with some management strategies, easily adopted by farmers, that can mitigate against nutrient loss in snow- melt runoff in most situations, keeping those nutrients in the fields where they can be used by producers” says Dr. Cade- Visit SyngentaFarm.ca or contact our Customer Resource Centre at 1-87-SYNGENTA (1-877-964-3682). Menun. † Always read and follow label directions. The Alliance Frame, the Purpose Icon and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. Andrea Hilderman has her master’s degree CASE IH is a registered trademark of CNH America LLC. © 2013 Syngenta. in weed science and is a member of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. She writes from Winnipeg, Man.

5906-1H-Syngenta-CerealSeedAd-DPS-Grainews.indd 1 13-09-10 1:45 PM

JOB ID: CLIENT: PUBLICATION: CLIENT SERVICE: ______5906-1 H SYNGENTA CANADA GRAINEWS PROOFREADING: ______DATE: PROJECT: DESIGNER: SEPT 17, 2013 CEREAL SEED DPS AD JIM GRAMOZIS ART DIRECTION: ______

MECHANICAL _____ PDFX ______FINAL SIZE: 17.4" X 10" UCR: 240% PRODUCTION: ______OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 23 Features Fr a m Safety Close call on the farm Machinery related accidents can make your life flash before your eyes

By Lisa Guenther parked the tractor a few feet from and began scooping oats into a five- report recently released by the “So I was hooped. All I could the metal granary, close enough to gallon pail. She’d poured about five Canadian Agricultural Safety hope for was that somebody was armers face risk on a regu- pour oats into the front-end loader. pails of oats into the loader when Association recorded 1,975 farm going to think, ‘Where’s Dorothy?’” lar basis. Routine tasks can She lowered the loader and set it at the accident happened. fatalities between 1990 and David wasn’t expecting to see quickly turn life-threaten- a 45-degree angle from the ground. “It rolled ahead because of the 2008. Machinery-related fatali- Dorothy for several hours because ing, as Dorothy Barr dis- The ground was fairly level, and weight (of the oats) in the (loader). I ties accounted for 70 per cent, she planned to go to 4-H in Edam Fcovered while loading grain to the loader was heavy, so she set the was able to pick one leg up in time, or 1,381, of the farm fatali- that evening. She realized she feed her cattle. brake and left the tractor running. but not the other,” says Dorothy. ties. Deaths as a result of being might not be missed until late that Dorothy and her husband, David Dorothy and David had cleaned Within three seconds, the front- pinned or struck by machinery night or even the next morning. Barr, farm just over 1,000 acres near bins this way many times, but as end loader had pinched Dorothy’s totalled 139. Though it was warm during the Mervin, Saskatchewan. David also Dorothy climbed from the tractor, right leg below the knee, pressing Dorothy cried and called for day, she worried about spending a holds a full-time job off the farm, she had an uneasy feeling. it against the steel granary. Her help for the first hour, but she was night trapped against the granary. making seeding and harvest hectic. “After I got out of the tractor, I other leg was safe, inside the bin. too isolated for anyone to hear. No “I was in a lot of pain, but I had May 29, 2009, was one of those looked at the tractor and thought, “I was pinned. My life flashed one lived in the nearby farmhouse my mind made up. I had to calm busy days. Dorothy’s afternoon ‘Everything is fine.’ It must have before my eyes, literally.” anymore. She had a radio in the down. I had to keep with it.” agenda included harrowing, plus been a sixth sense,” she says. tractor, and had been in contact After an hour, the pain faded, feeding her cattle. David was busy To this day, Dorothy’s not sure Most farm fatalities with her mother-in-law and hus- and Dorothy went into shock. seeding, so she spent the day if she did something differently, machinery related band shortly before being pinned. She sat in the tractor’s bucket working alone. such as not lowering the front-end But the radio was now beyond her and waited. Birds chirped nearby, Dorothy drove the tractor to loader all the way to the ground. Dorothy is far from the reach. She didn’t have a cell phone annoying Dorothy with their the neighbour’s farmyard, where Dorothy stepped between the only farmer to have an acci- on her, but even if she had, there apparent cheerfulness. A cheeky the Barrs were storing oats. She granary and the front-end loader dent involving machinery. A was no cell service at the grain bin. squirrel, raiding the grain bin, ran across her foot. Nearly three hours after Dorothy was pinned, a neighbour came into the yard. When he saw Dorothy, he wanted to back up the tractor. But he wasn’t familiar with the machine and Dorothy, fearing he might accidently put the tractor into first gear, gave him three or four phone numbers to call for help. David’s uncle arrived and backed the tractor, freeing Dorothy. Cereal seed from Syngenta helps you harvest opportunities After being trapped for about wherever they are. We’ve been breeding wheat in Canada three hours, Dorothy hobbled to the truck, and they rushed her to for four decades, setting unprecedented standards for yield, the emergency room in Turtleford. quality and sustainability. The world depends on Canadian After a two-day hospital stay, grain, and Canadian growers count on Syngenta. Dorothy was released. The tractor didn’t break any bones. But Dorothy still has no feeling in part of her right leg, and she is in constant pain. She went to physiotherapy for a year after the accident, and she credits her physi- otherapist for helping her regain mobility and manage the pain. “I can ignore the pain, but I can’t ignore the tractor (and loader). Life Bred in Canada could have passed me by.” Despite the pain and nerve damage, Dorothy is active on the farm. to feed the world. She runs machinery, takes care of her cattle, and even resumed horse- back riding last fall. Because she often works by herself, she now carries a cell phone, at her daugh- ter’s insistence. She doesn’t load grain into the front end loader anymore, either. But she worries more than she used to. “And now I’m terrified of the tractor. I’m terrified of hills. I make myself do it. Because you don’t want to give up on life that easy.” Augers and moving machinery also worry her, but the she tries to overcome her fear by thinking positively. She also thinks about the different factors that led to her accident. Part of the problem is some people tend to be in a hurry because they’re “working a full-time job to support their farming habit,” Dorothy says. Farming is risky, the machinery is big, and every farmer makes mistakes, Dorothy points out. Farmers need to slow down and think about what they’re doing, she says. “We always get in a hurry. Seeding and harvest are hurried modes for every farmer. Everybody. Take the Visit SyngentaFarm.ca or contact our Customer Resource Centre at 1-87-SYNGENTA (1-877-964-3682). extra five minutes in your life for that moment and maybe you’ll Always read and follow label directions. The Alliance Frame, the Purpose Icon and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. † CASE IH is a registered trademark of CNH America LLC. © 2013 Syngenta. have the extra 50 years.” Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. [email protected].

5906-1H-Syngenta-CerealSeedAd-DPS-Grainews.indd 1 13-09-10 1:45 PM

JOB ID: CLIENT: PUBLICATION: CLIENT SERVICE: ______5906-1 H SYNGENTA CANADA GRAINEWS PROOFREADING: ______DATE: PROJECT: DESIGNER: SEPT 17, 2013 CEREAL SEED DPS AD JIM GRAMOZIS ART DIRECTION: ______

MECHANICAL _____ PDFX ______FINAL SIZE: 17.4" X 10" UCR: 240% PRODUCTION: ______24 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features CROP PRODUCTION 41 threshing machines set new record Experienced threshing crews gathered at Langenburg, Sask., in August to set a new Guiness Record

BY ANDY SIRSKI time in one spot. The previous record was 29 threshing machines. orty two threshing crews The group raised over $60,000 for f r o m a c r o s s w e s t e r n the Foodgrains Bank. Canada and the U.S. gath- The event was organized and run

PHOTOS: HAROLD PENNER ered at Langenburg, Sask., by many volunteers, businesses Fin late August to help set a new and other supporters from far and Top: Roughly 5,000 people came out to watch the event. Bottom left: Forty-one threshers working in one place was enough to break the record. Bottom right: The goal was to have volunteers bring in sheaves and have each Guiness Record for the number wide. The goal was to bring in machine thresh at least 40 bushels of grain. of threshing machines run at one sheaves and have each machine thresh at least 40 bushels of grain. While 42 machines arrived, one had a breakdown that could not be repaired in the field. Gordon MacPhee, retired farmer from Dauphin, Man had his Massey thresher at Langenburg. He didn’t bring a tractor so a kind fellow from Russell, Manitoba lent him a Lanz one cylinder tractor to run the thresher. Gordon said they had extra volunteers on hand so CEREALS they helped feed sheaves into the threshers next to the Massey. In the photos you can spot the NorthAmerica 2 13 following from Dauphin: Raymond Rogerson, Lyle McNichol,Bert Fairmont Hotel, Winnipeg | 5-7 November 2013 Parsons, Ken Cooper and Gordon MacPhee. Some belong to the Heritage Association in Dauphin that meets regularly, maintains old equipment and shows it off at the Dauphin Ukrainian Festival held south of Dauphin on the Long weekend in August. Next year the Festival will celebrate its 49th anniversary of continuous yearly entertainment at what is now affectionately called “The Hill.” Many other volunteers came with the threshers; some others just showed up. Sheaves were brought in from the nearby field on hay racks, car trailers, sweeps and semi trailers — whatever was available. It was a bright sunny day and roughly 5,000 people showed up at the event. North American Ag and Grain Trade Conference The organizers didn’t charge admission but did pass a grain sack Attend the Cereals North America Conference in Speakers: around and collected over $45,000 • Dan Basse, President, AgResource Company in cash for the Foodgrains Bank. Winnipeg November 5-7. The Conference offers Another $25,000 was donated • Mr. Yang Weilu, CNGOIC economic insight for world agriculture for 2014 and from canola sold after the event. • Greg Kostal, Kostal Ag Consulting Harold Penner, who works for beyond. The brightest minds from China, Russia, the • Gavin Maguire, Reuters the Foodgrains Bank says this was EU, South America, US and Canada will present on a tremendous show of how peo- • Dr Bill Tierney, AgResource Company ple are getting together to raise the emerging opportunities in grains, oilseeds and • Dr Dmitri Rylko, IKAR money to feed others. Harold livestock. and the Foodgrains Bank also • Alex Bos, Louis Dreyfus Commodities help organize dozens of fields • Bruce Burnett, CWB around Manitoba where farmers For information on sponsorship or display booths donate land and equipment to • Scott Yuknis, Climate Impact Company please visit our website. seed, manage and harvest a crop • Bill Lapp, Advanced Economic Solutions that is donated to the Foodgrains • Noel Fryer, Fryer’s Reports Bank. This year farmers and their Subscribers of Grain News receive a reduced families donated 5,600 acres • Thomas Williamson, Trans. Consultants Co. worth of harvested grains and registration fee of $395. Enter the code “GNews” to oilseeds through 40 projects. receive the reduced rate. You can donate grain to the Canada Foodgrains Bank at your local elevator, or donate cash. www.cerealsnorthamerica.com You’ll get a tax receipt for the value of the grain or the cash For more information, contact Kaitlin Miller at (204) 984-0132 or Jean Basse at (312) 972-5858. you donate. The mission of the Canada Foodgrains Bank is to end global hunger. Learn more online at foodgrainsbank.ca. †

Andy Sirski is a regular Grainews columnist.

Grain News.indd 1 9/25/2013 10:21:06 AM OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 25 Features Crop production Crop Advisor’s casebook A TALE OF TWO SOILS

By Katlyn Galbraith It had rained two-tenths of an inch since the latest ferti- ne Manitoba farmer lizer application, which helped put the breaks on work the sulfur into the soil. a routine scout as John said the field looked less he approached his grey to him now, but that Ocanola fields at the end of last was the result of the flowers June. When John — who farms dropping off, leaving behind more than 1,300 acres of wheat, aborted pods. However, the canola, corn, soybeans and edible canola plants located outside beans near MacGregor, Man. — of the patches were still flower- pulled over to investigate what ing properly. looked to him like uneven canola The remaining flowers inside flowering, he found patches of the affected patches were lighter canola plants with grey flowers in colour compared with the in his fields. plants located in the unaffected “I think I may have a sulfur areas. I wondered if heat blast deficiency in my canola fields,” had played a role in the damage John told me. “I’ve topped up to the fields. Katlyn Galbraith with sulfur, but I’d feel better if Extreme heat can stress canola you had a look.” plants, which causes them to was taken from the sandy soil The canola plants in John’s abort their flowers. The area had and another from an unaffected fields were at the 20 to 40 per experienced high temperatures region, which was composed of cent bloom stage. In among for the past week; however, no clay loam soil. healthy flowering plants were other fields showed any signs of John compared the plants. patches containing grey flowers heat blast, so we abandoned this “Well, would you look at that,” with purple, cupped leaves. theory. he said. The fields had been seeded In my opinion, John had put “I think we’ve got to the root with an early maturing hybrid down plenty of sulfur, and even of the problem,” I said. variety and sprayed with an in- with the precipitation the fields What is causing the grey crop herbicide. In addition, a had received to date, the sulfur flowers and purple cupping broad-spectrum insecticide and should not have moved out of of leaves in John’s canola post-emergent herbicide for grass the root zone. fields? Send your diagnosis to weed control had been applied. With the possibilities nar- Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, John had also applied fertilizer rowing, examination of the soil MB, R3C 3K7; email leeann. at a rate of 120-33-0-20, with 90 profile revealed the patches of [email protected] pounds of nitrogen as a liquid unhealthy plants were found or fax 204-944-5416 c/o Crop pre-seed, 13 pounds of nitrogen exclusively on sandy soil at high Advisor’s Casebook. Best sug- with the seed as 13-33-0-15S and and low elevations. gestions will be pooled and one 17 pounds of nitrogen at 28-0-0 Although tissue and soil sam- winner will be drawn for a dribble banded beside the seed. ples would confirm exactly chance to win a Grainews cap When John discovered the what was going on in the fields, and a one-year subscription to grey flowers in his fields, he I was on to the problem before the magazine. † topped up his fertilizer with 15 the samples left the farm. I Katlyn Galbraith is a sales agronomist for pounds of liquid sulfur on the held up two groups of plants Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Dundonald in When John found patches of canola plants with grey flowers in advice of his seed rep. for John to examine: one group Westbourne, Man. his field, he suspected a sulfur deficiency.

Crop Advisor’s Solution WRESTLING WITH WEEVILS

By Charisse Garland leaf damage during a routine There had been reports of insect heat of the day, and that was ing beneficial insects in his scout of one of his pea fields, damage in surrounding areas, when I spotted a pea leaf weevil! field. After spraying, the feeding local farmer called me which was at the three- to four- and upon closer inspection of The weevil is among those ceased and no further damage when he noticed that node stage at the time. “There this particular field it was clear insects that hide from the sun was caused in the field. his emerging pea field are small notches on the outer that some kind of pest had on the undersides of plant leaves Fortunately, the damage to had plants with what edges of the plants,” explained taken quite a bite out of the and comes out to feed at dusk. Kelvin’s field was minimal since lookedA like bites taken out of Kelvin. “It appears to be damage crop. The most damage is caused when we caught the pest early enough their leaves. Kelvin, who farms from some type of bug.” The damage on the plants was larvae in the soil, hatched from to mitigate the problem. 4,500 acres of durum, wheat, Kelvin asked me to visit his typical of insect feeding, and the beetle eggs, feed upon the nod- Kelvin has a couple of options peas, lentils and flax southeast of farm and walk through his field field borders were the worst-hit ules. The visible feeding damage to consider for weevil manage- Swift Current, Sask., was provid- to help him find the insect caus- areas by far. From the size and is not what causes yield loss, but ment next year. He could apply ing details of his field manage- ing the problem since he was shape of the bite marks on the this nodule feeding. a seed treatment registered for ment practices for our records unable to spot the specific pest leaves, I had an idea of what pest Kelvin applied an in-crop weevil control or budget for the when he mentioned this unusual that could be responsible. After I was looking for. I waited until insecticide with his herbicide. use of an in-crop insecticide. † leaf damage. arriving at the field, I could dusk fell, a time when some He sprayed in the evening to Charisse Garland is a sales agronomist for Kelvin said he noticed the see the damage was extensive. insects prefer to feed out of the reduce the chances of harm- Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Swift Current, Sask.

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Insertion #: LCA00448 Ad #: 40482 905.403.0055 > [email protected] Headline: Trial Data Proves. This ad runs SECOND in the series. Client: DEKALB Docket #: 4048 Ad to run: Sep 9. Pub: Grainews Contact: [email protected] Banner: 11”x3.5” 4/CPrem • 0.25” Bleed 26 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Features SPECIAL CROPS New triticale varieties offer wheat alternative Researchers say triticale offers many advantages to farmers right across Western Canada

BY JULIENNE ISAACS

riticale, a human-made hybrid of wheat and rye, has never enjoyed the popularity of either of its Tparent crops in Canada. However, researchers have found that triticale varieties offer so many benefits to western Canadian farmers that it may soon be included in their ranks. And if it doesn’t, it should. Traditionally, farmers have avoided growing triticale for a variety of reasons, chief among them the difficulty of marketing, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) researcher Francois Eudes, a specialist in cereal biotechnology at Lethbridge, Alta. “Definitely the lack of clearly defined markets and big markets is an issue,” he says. “If you were to see a large demand for this particular grain, with clear and easily communi- From an agronomic standpoint, triticale is superior to many grains. However, marketing may be a challenge. cated messages of end-uses, that would trigger a response from similar yield improvement to that But the greatest benefit of grow- grain and biomass yield and its resistance. Brevis is very similar to farmers.” of winter wheat over spring wheat. ing triticale is all in the numbers. stability. “In the case of triticale the Pronghorn variety for fusarium Currently, the markets available “Some of those spring types Beres has done studies on the sta- we have this compelling data resistance, and an improvement to growers are limited: triticale will yield like crazy, but generally bility of soft white wheat versus set, and look what it shows in over other types. But the biggest can be used for feed grain, silage, speaking there is a yield advantage triticale across the prairies, assess- terms of stability! If you have improvement is in yield.” and ethanol or other bio-industri- with the winter triticale because ing the stability of grain yield good stability you have low Highlights of Sunray include al uses, with some limited poten- you’re splitting your workload. It also under different growing condi- risk,” he says. good ergot resistance, early matu- tial for development for use in shows better weed competitiveness tions. What he found was that in rity and high yields. “Sunray is food products. In general, it takes because the canopy closes off earlier most cases triticale shows greater NEW VARIETIES good agronomically, and better creativity and effort to find sure in the spring,” says Beres. “If you’re stability than other grains, includ- than AC Ultima, but slightly ear- markets for triticale, and growers in a livestock area, there’s even ing soft white spring wheat. One reason triticale has some- lier maturing,” says Randhawa. are more likely to choose cereals an opportunity for fall or spring times been seen as a risky crop is “And it shows quite a bit of with established markets. grazing.” its susceptibility to fusarium head improvement in ergot tolerance.” Another reason for farmers’ Triticale also does well under blight and ergot. Ergot had been an area of con- hesitation to incorporate triticale stress, showing good yields when However, two new spring triti- cern for triticale, says Eudes, as into their rotations is insurance, planted in marginal lands or bad cale varieties show extensive it has for rye, but major progress says Brian Beres, a biologist and soil, or even in drought condi- Two new spring improvements over older varieties has been made in varieties like specialist in life cycles of triti- tions. “It’s well adapted to Nordic triticale varieties such as AC Ultima and Prongorn. Sunray. Today, when he visits cale with AAFC. “You can’t insure environments,” says Eudes. “With Scientists at AAFC research cen- fields he sees more ergot in durum triticale at the same rate as soft a rye parent, it’s very rustic, so it show extensive tres in Lethbridge, Alta., and Swift wheat than in triticale. white spring wheat,” he says. “If does extremely well in our rather Current, Sask., have developed Eudes says both Sunray and you can’t [insure it at the same cold environments.” improvements two new varieties with improved Brevis have very interesting rate], it’s an easy decision not The benefits of triticale don’t disease resistance, higher starch attributes. “They have higher to adopt it, so triticale is really stop there. Beres says that the cur- “Even based on the [premise] content and increased yield yield than anything in commer- handcuffed.” rent trend toward tight canola of a stable consistent supply of potential. These new varieties, cial production,” he says. “These But from an agronomic stand- rotations or wheat-on-wheat in feedstock, triticale is, depending Sunray and Brevis, are expected two have up to 10 per cent more point, triticale is superior to many Western Canada is creating patho- on the region, more attractive to be available for general produc- yield than commercial varieties in other grains, such as wheat and gen buildup. What triticale brings than soft white spring wheat,” tion next spring. some particular regions.” barley. to the picture is diversity, along says Beres. “That comes back to According to Harpinder While farmers may still hesi- with some impressive disease- that old discussion of grain yield Randhawa, a wheat and triticale tate to incorporate triticale into HIGH YIELD POTENTIAL resistance. Most triticale varieties and how stable you can make breeder with AAFC who worked on their rotations, its improved agro- are resistant to stripe rust and fusar- that yield through zones across both varieties, Brevis, a medium- nomic characteristics and strong According to Beres, when com- ium head blight, and new varieties Canada. And triticale is up with height semi-dwarf type, shows the potential for bio-industrial appli- pared to a general purpose or feed show improved resistance to ergot. the top.” highest yield of any triticale vari- cations may open doors down wheat or barley, triticale shows This means farmers incorporating Beres’ data from the stability ety. In tests, he says, “It showed the road. It’s an alternative worth superior yields. And when com- triticale into their rotations can study shows that triticale could very good agronomic performance, considering. † paring spring triticale to winter rotate or even lighten their herbi- be highly competitive for bio- maturity, yield and test weight, with Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance triticale, winter triticale shows a cide usage. industrial uses due to its high a slight improvement in fusarium writer and editor.

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Insertion #: LCA00448 Ad #: 40481 905.403.0055 > [email protected] Headline: #1 Corn Seed This ad runs FIRST in the series. Client: DEKALB Docket #: 4048 Ad to run: Sep 9. Pub: Grainews Contact: [email protected] Banner: 11”x3.5” 4/CPrem • 0.25” Bleed OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 27 Features SPECIAL CROPS Bio-industrial markets an option for triticale The Canadian Triticale Biorefinery Initiative is out of funding, but research into bio-industrial uses for triticale is still underway BY JULIENNE ISAACS stock per unit of land from under the Agricultural Bioproduct though the researchers had triticale than wheat.” Initiative Program to provide sup- initially talked about 15 to riticale, a human-made Second, triticale is not subject port to management and research 20 years’ worth of funding to Triticale facts hybrid of wheat and to the stringent quality require- teams all across Canada — includ- develop the crop. rye, has never seen ments imposed on other cereals, ing the National Research Council ses: flour, breakfast the demand enjoyed such as wheat, says Eudes. This and AAFC, Alberta Agriculture, THE WAY FORWARD cereal, livestock Tby its cereal cousins in Canada. means that breeders can focus the University of McGill, the feed and forage Traditionally, western Canadian on yield and yield stability across University of Alberta, and other Even if the CTBI has run out First bred: 1876, farmers have largely avoided regions. “The same variety can universities and companies. In of funding, new opportunities in Uby Scottish breeders using triticale in their rotations easily be grown on all regions of total, 11 different institutions were industrial biorefining only show First North American due to limited marketing oppor- the Prairies. You won’t necessarily involved. signs of increasing. And while breeding program: 1953, at tunities. While triticale boasts see that with wheat or other crop With the funding and govern- there are elements of risk in grow- the Unversity of Manitoba high yields and high biomass, species, such as beans, which have mental support, triticale seemed ing triticale for these markets, it Name’s meaning: Com- along with added benefits such as very small regional adaptability,” poised to take the Canadian biore- may be a risk worth taking, says bination of the Latin words disease resistance and high toler- Eudes explains. “With one breed- Eudes. Triticum (wheat) and secale ance to environmental stresses ing program, you can serve the “One farmer in the Peace River cereal (rye) such as drought and poor soil, farming community all across the area has grown a lot of spring and Recent research: In a swath the lack of defined markets and provinces.” winter triticale, and he found a grazing trial at Lacombe, poor crop insurance have made Eudes says that as triticale is not market in eastern Canada,” he Alta., triticale for swath graz- triticale seem like a bad bet to an export commodity, it would “In very good says. “But he had to be more ing showed almost twice the most farmers. theoretically be easier to adopt soil, triticale out- adventurous. Rather than saying, carrying capacity of barley. That may soon change, as novel technologies to breed har- Well, we know that Canadian This was unusual, and related research has shown triticale to dier varieties of the crop, or to yields wheat.” wheat will be purchased some- to seeding dates. Research be an ideal crop for bio-industrial make processing it easier. “To where in the world, he took a risk in Saskatchewan has shown uses such as ethanol production improve the genetic characteris- — Francois Eudes planting, not knowing he would that when both crops are and even the production of bio- tics of triticale would be much be selling his grain — and found a seeded in mid-June, produc- industrial composites. New vari- easier than in wheat — you don’t fining industry by storm. very good market.” tion is about the same. † eties Sunray and Brevis, slated have to go through the qual- “And then, the drought! This According to Brian Beres, a biol- Leeann Minogue to become available for general ity registration process as with program has been discontinued,” ogist and specialist in life cycles of production in 2014, boast higher wheat,” says Eudes. says Eudes. “Under Growing triticale with AAFC, farmer who biomass and starch content than Forward 2, there are new clusters are considering including triticale herbicides, which may be lower older varieties. THE CANADIAN TRITICALE and target projects, and in all cases in their rotations should follow with newer varieties of triticale According to Francois Eudes, an BIOREFINERY INITIATIVE they call for industry matching, the same principals they’d follow such as Brevis and Sunray due to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada which is difficult to find for an with any other grain, beginning their improved disease resistance, (AAFC) cereal biotechnology spe- Eudes is a board member of emerging industry.” with an assessment of markets. and timely application, is recom- cialist at Lethbridge, Alta., there the Canadian Triticale Biorefinery All projects that were supported “Are you going for a feed, a mended. are two major reasons why triti- Initiative, an organization which by this program have disappeared, milling-type market, an ethanol Farmers in high-yielding pro- cale is an ideal crop for industrial intends, according to its website, but CTBI continues to exist with market, or something where you duction zones should focus on bio-refining purposes. to see “significant triticale acreage a core group of AAFC scientists want to produce lots of biomass? straw strength and shorter varie- First, triticale is highly com- grown in Western Canada, sup- who have pieced together enough Variety selection is important, ties, while those in lower-yielding petitive, out-performing other plying locally established, world- funding to keep minimal research along with knowledge of produc- production zones should select cereals under abiotic stresses, scale biorefineries that produce a going. “I have some money for tion constraints that might be taller varieties, as these are more says Eudes. “But also, in very range of products and co-products: programs using triticale species,” present in the coming year — competitive, says Beres. The most good soil, triticale out-yields renewable energy, platform chem- Eudes says. “So we have a little whether pests or nutrient deficien- important suggestion Beres can wheat. Per unit of land, you get icals, biomaterials, biocomposites activity but it has shrunk so much cies,” says Beres. “Choose your offer is that farmers should exploit more straw and more grain,” and more.” from the funding we got when the variety and then position it in a the yield potential and remove he says. “If you want to move Under the federal government’s program was in place.” way that allows you to maximize constraints as far as possible. † into the industrial biorefining Growing Forward 1, the CTBI was In total, the project had six yield as much as possible.” Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance industry, you get more feed- granted $15 million from Ottawa years’ worth of funding, even Assessment of the need for writer and editor.

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Insertion #: LCA00448 Ad #: 4048 905.403.0055 > [email protected] Headline: Outstanding Genetics. This ad runs LAST in the series. Client: DEKALB Docket #: 4048 Ad to run: Sep 9. Pub: Grainews Contact: [email protected] Banner: 11”x3.5” 4/CPrem • 0.25” Bleed 28 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Columns Soil s and crops Temperature and EC mapping Soil electrical conductivity (EC) maps are becoming more common as an aid to precision map preparation. Interpretation is required

By Les Henry INTERPRETING GENERAL EM 38 READINGS V Ertical EM38 READINGS OF U. OF S. GOODALE FARM NEAR SASKATOON

ield maps of soil electri- EM38 reading (mS/m) Interpretation Soil March 30 August 30 cal conductivity (EC) are < 30 Sandy soils or very dry loam soils Non-saline 30 40 becoming more common 30 to 100 General range for agricultural soils as an aid to preparing maps Severely saline 60 225 100 to 200 Salinity seriously limits crop growth Ffor Precision farming. This is a good addition to the information base. >200 Highly saline, annual crops barely grow INTERPRETING EM38 READINGS FOR MOIST, But, all the fancy equipment does Source: Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water, page 82. MEDIUM-TEXTURED SOILS AT SUMMER TEMPERATURES is give you a number. Interpretation Saturation Extract EM38 reading Rating is required. Soil and Water includes a detailed the readings mean. It is largely a soil EC (mS/cm) (mS/m) account of EM38 interpretation. I’ve salinity metre. In non-saline envi- Non-saline 0 to 2 0 to 50 EC measurements included a couple of the tables from ronments the EM38 can be used the book on this page. to make soil texture maps but not Slightly saline 2 to 4 50 to 75 First, remember that All EC without considerable knowledge Moderately saline 4 to 8 75 to 125 measurements are temperature Th e Summary and interpretation. dependent. Other things being So, caveat emptor — buyer beware. Severely saline 8 to 16 125 to 200 equal, high temperatures will give EM38 always gives the right Fancy technology requires interpre- high readings and low temperatures number. But, it is up to the person tation. † Very severely saline > 16 > 200 will give low readings. dragging it around to interpret what Les Henry Source: Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water, page 82. Veris and EM38 are the two technologies in use for EC measurements. Veris provides a direct soil EC measurement — soil contact is required. EM38 is non-contacting. EM stands for electromagnetic. The instrument produces an induced electromagnetic field, then measures the soils’ response to that field. EM38 readings read a depth of about zero to two feet in horizontal mode and about zero to four feet in vertical mode. I am partial to the EM38 as I have drug it along the surface of count- less pieces of ground. It is human nature to favour what you are most familiar with; I have no disparaging remarks about Veris.

M aking the maps There may be those who tell you that EM38 maps can be made in the dead of winter with a foot of snow on the ground. Read on and draw A LEADER IN SEED. your own conclusion. The table shows data from a Investment in innovations transect of non-saline to severely saline soils in one small field on the that are transforming the University of Saskatchewan Goodale farm just southeast of Saskatoon. landscape. Performance The soil in this field is medium textured dark brown soil on lake deposits — no stones. We measured that was unimaginable just soil salinity to a depth of 1.5 metres at several sites with widely different a few short years ago. That’s salinity. Then we took EM38 readings at each site every two weeks, business as usual for us, year around for two years. When doing soil salinity inves- because every seed matters tigations, the EM38 was our right hand. I would never investigate a soil without dragging an EM38 over to you. Fly with a Leader. it. But I never felt comfortable with the actual readings in early spring. It was usually late May or early June before the readings were normal. So, if you look at the table and Talk to your DEKALB dealer today, think that EM38 maps can me or visit DEKALB.ca made in winter — think again. In a January 2013 Agronomy Update Conference in Lethbridge, Shelley Woods of Alberta Ag gave an excellent presentation on all aspects of EC mapping with much more detail than is possible here. ® I have a copy of it on my desktop and am sure you can obtain a copy from Shelley (shelley.a.woods@gov. ab.ca). Her data was very similar to the data I’ve shown in this table, but ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Details of these requirements can she also included a very severely be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication saline soil which had vertical EM38 ©2013 Monsanto Canada, Inc. readings of 75 on March 6 and 400 on May 20. My book, Henry’s Handbook of

Ad #40261 Strong Past. Powerful Future. IO# LCA00448 905.403.0055 > [email protected] Client: DEKALB Docket #: 4026 To: Grainews Contact: [email protected] Dimensions: 17.4” W x 10” H Specs: 0.25” Bleed • 300 ppi. Center Spread Jr Tab DPS, 4/C To Run: Mon, Sep 9, 2013 OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 29 Columns Hart Attacks When an old dairy farm goes to the goats The Hart farm in Williamsburg Township has new owners, and that is a good thing

By Lee Hart late winter, a serious offer came barn and stable and some out forth in May and by late June the buildings. ven though I have never new people had moved in. After Dad bought a couple more pieces been a full time farmer, about 70 years, the Harts didn’t of land over the years, built a new and in fact I haven’t lived live there anymore. stable in 1963 and at its peak, he on the Eastern Ontario It had been a pretty typical was milking about 30 head. There Efamily farm where I was born and Eastern Ontario dairy farm. When was a fair bit of hardwood and raised for more than 40 years I felt I was a kid it totaled about 240 cedar bush on the place, but on a bit of a twinge earlier this year acres that ran in a fairly narrow the open land he produced hay, when family members were plan- strip from one concession road some oats and of course pasture for ning to sell the place. It was the back to the next. My grandfather the dairy cows. Most of the time right thing to do, but it was one and dad bought the first property there was also a flock of about 15 of those Kunta Kinte moments… in the early 1940s. That included chickens, and for many years Dad knowing I’d have to say goodbye some land, an old brick farm- also had a half dozen sows for a bit

photo: lee hart to my roots. house built by a William Kennedy of pork production. It was a pretty Boer goats have now moved into the long-time dairy barn. The farm was listed for sale in in 1860, along with the main hay typical operation for the day. It ran steady until the early 1990s. As Dad moved toward retirement years, the pigs went, then the dairy cows, and he sold a couple parcels of separate-titled land, so when the farm went up for sale in 2013 it consisted of the main house and farm buildings and 175 acres, including 58 acres of cropland. For the past 15 years or so Harts continued to live in the house, but the land was been rented out — soybeans were grown on some of the fields, and there were often a few beef cattle on pasture for the summer.

Going home

I have been in and out of the “lane” that leads to the farmhouse a million times, but on August 31 my sister and I drove in the lane toward the house for the first time in our lives as visitors. In the yard we were greeted by Bill and Tammy Irven, who along A LEADER IN SEED. with their two children Hailey and Matthew are now the new owners. Investment in innovations We met a hard working young couple who have a real love for that are transforming the the farm life. Due to scale and economics I landscape. Performance don’t see the place becoming a major commercial farm, but I can see the Irvens making it a good that was unimaginable just mixed farming operation. Bill is a service technician with Dundas a few short years ago. That’s Agri-Systems (Boumatic milking equipment) and Tammy is the business as usual for us, livestock person. They have a few beef cattle and a couple horses, but because every seed matters her main focus is a herd of about 90 Boer goats raised for meat production. to you. Fly with a Leader. I never thought I would see the old dairy stable filled with goats, but actually it was a pretty good fit. There’s also a new pup and a couple older ‘coon hounds, and Talk to your DEKALB dealer today, some cats with kittens. Looks like or visit DEKALB.ca they have all the essentials. It is good to see a hard working young family, with plans and dreams take over the place. Now all they need is to win the lottery and find more hours in the day. There may not be any Harts ® farming the old place anymore, but there is a young family with plenty of heart planning to farm. It is good to see the land being used and appreciated by a new family and another generation, not left idle to be reclaimed by ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication milkweed and goldenrod. It will be ©2013 Monsanto Canada, Inc. there anytime I want to visit. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary, Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at [email protected].

Ad #40261 Strong Past. Powerful Future. IO# LCA00448 905.403.0055 > [email protected] Client: DEKALB Docket #: 4026 To: Grainews Contact: [email protected] Dimensions: 17.4” W x 10” H Specs: 0.25” Bleed • 300 ppi. Center Spread Jr Tab DPS, 4/C To Run: Mon, Sep 9, 2013 30 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Columns UNDERSTANDING MARKET BULLS AND BEARS

will eventually need to sell grain only special crops but now also to sustain your farming operation. handle wheat and canola may not be. So be sure to ask to see the Contact choices INDUSTRY CONTRACTS company’s bond before you do any business with them. If you are not set up to, or If you are not prepared to sell There are several kinds of contracts available. comfortable with trading futures/ any grain because you believe the options contracts, there are other price is going to rise, that doesn’t Find out which one is the best for you contracts that offer pricing protec- mean you shouldn’t be doing any tion and flexibility together. marketing. You need to be watch- BY BRIAN WITTAL you can apply for the interest Different companies offer differ- ing basis levels regularly. When AN EXAMPLE free grain cash advance if you ent versions of a cash contract and/ you see an attractive basis, you hat is your storage You have ample storage to hold need money to cover the last of or a deferred delivery contract. They should consider locking it in for capacity? What your crop. You have no real cash your harvest expenses and or to may also include some kind of a a future delivery date that meets are your cash flow flow needs other than immedi- live on while you wait for prices floor price or minimum price guar- your cash flow needs. needs? Do you ate harvest related bills and you to improve. A cash advance is antee clause. You get a guaranteed By doing this you establish a haveW any income tax issues? believe the markets are going to not considered income when you floor price and the opportunity to delivery period plus you lock in a What crops did you grow and go up long term. You grew wheat, take out the loan, so it won’t play the markets and price your lower cost of doing business with what pricing options are avail- canola and barley. And, you don’t impact your income if you take futures at a later date; the grain that company. You still have the able for these grains? What is want a lot of income for the it out in the fall and pay it back company gets the grain when they ability to lock in the futures price the quality of your grain? What remainder of the year. with deliveries in the new year. need it to meet sales commitments. at a later date when you believe is the market outlook, short Let’s assume you did some pre- This would apply to wheat, barley You can always defer the mon- the time is right. term (three to six months) and sales and/or price protection with and canola. ies for tax purposes, but you need long term (six to 18 months) for options on limited tonnes earlier You may want to consider some to be careful. Some companies CWB POOLING each of these grains? in the growing season to cover possible price protection using are covered and secured against What type of contract will your anticipated harvest expens- options or futures contracts, just in insolvency while others are not. Those who would prefer a differ- best help you meet your needs es and not exceed your income case the markets don’t improve as The major grain companies are all ent method to price average and/or based on your answers to these threshold for tax purposes. you anticipated. (This would only bonded while some independent set a price guarantee for their grain NSG MB 2013 Print Ad Reston Grain News.pdf 1 2013-09-19 12:50 PM questions? Once the grain is in the bin, apply to wheat and canola.) You companies that used to handle will want to consider the revised CWB Pooling contracts available for wheat, durum, barley, canola and yellow peas. (Field peas have now been added to the list for the annual pool.) You can deliver into the early delivery pool, the annual pool or the winter pool. The difference between these pools is the length of time that the pool remains open for price averaging and the delivery period. You need to decide which pool will give you a better return. Are prices going to drop? If so, are you better to use the early pool to take advantage of earlier sales to help keep the overall price higher? Are prices going to hold and possibly improve over time? Then you are probably better to consider using the annual pool, as it price averages sales over a 12-month period, which would allow you to take advantage of any rise in the markets over that time. If you are not in a panic to sell grain, and you believe markets will increase then you may want to consider using the winter pool, which uses price averaging from sales dur- C ing the last six months of the crop year (Feb to July). M Once you sign tonnes into either Y of these pools you are relying on

CM the CWB to do your pricing for you based on its sales, unless you choose MY the “futures choice pricing option,”

CY which allows you to take more control of your own pricing. This pric- CMY ing option is available with all three K of the pool contracts. The CWB establishes a pooled basis, then you have the ability to lock in the futures price when you think the time is right, based on the futures month you choose to price on. The Act of God clause or Force Majure protects you so that if you sign up tonnes and then end up short due to production loss you do not have to buy out your shortfall. This clause is a good incentive to encourage you to sign up before the tonnage targets are filled. This helps the CWB know how many tonnes it has to sell, so it doesn’t miss out on any early sales opportunities. What combination of contracts is going to help you meet your marketing plan? Take some time to answer the original questions and you’ll be able to make better decisions about your needs the combination of contracts you should use †

Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. (www. procommarketingltd.com). OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 31 Columns FARM FINANCIAL PLANNER

possibly farm equipment. If the have paid rising dividends on time assets have been sold in full, the for at least a decade, and corporate corporation can be wound down. bonds with five year maturities at Selling the farm Then the couple will need to select the lower end of the investment financial assets to generate income grade range. At their ages, a 70 per and to diversify their portfolio. cent stock, 30 per cent bond ratio With no kids to take over, this couple needs would be appropriate. INVESTMENTS Stock picking for a portfolio a solid financial plan to close out their farm under $100,000 is hard, for it The proceeds of the first sale does not allow for a great deal of BY ANDREW ALLENTUCK would be a capital gain. By using year could add another $930 per of 320 acres of prime crop land diversification. In the alternative, a portion of the $800,000 life- month, bringing the total income should be split into three invest- they could use exchange traded n southwestern Manitoba, time capital gains exemption, they to $3,530 per month before neg- ment accounts, says Mr. Forbes. funds. If they do that, then the a couple we’ll call Martin would be able to avoid taxation. ligible taxes. The couple will have First, Martin and Louise should stock portion of their account and Louise, ages 57 and 50, $480,000 invested in financial met their early retirement target, set up Tax Free Savings Accounts should be equally-weighted ETFs farm 1,280 acres of oilseeds. assets to produce a five per cent Mr. Forbes says. and fill them to the current limit in which each company has TheI land, valued at $1,500 per return would produce $24,000 per In the alternative to renting out of $25,500. TFSAs take in tax-paid the same value. Equal weight- acre, helps generate total pre-tax year or $2,000 per month. the land, if Martin and Louise money and allow it to grow and ing avoids the characteristic of income of $84,570 per year. The If the sale closing coincides can get their full $1,500 per acre to be paid out with no tax owing. market-weighted ETFS in which couple has no debt, Louise has a with Martin’s sixtieth birthday, on the remaining land, it would The TFSAs can be used as cash recent winners tend to have high- small pension coming at age 60 his monthly CPP benefits of be useful to consider sale, Mr. reserves. er weights than average and the from her previous employment $400 would add to their $2,000 Forbes says. That sale would use Once the TFSA balances are recent laggards lower weights. with a farm supply company and income, bringing the total to up the remainder of the $800,000 topped up, the couple can put Buying winners heavily and lag- they have $103,000 of invest- $2,400 per month. Their RRIF capital gains exemption and pro- money into a joint fee for serv- gards lightly is the opposite of ments in their RRSPs and other could add another $200 per duce a larger amount of capital ice, taxable investment account. “buy low and sell high.” As they retirement accounts. month and sustain this payout from which to generate retirement Martin and Louise should work get older, they can slowly increase It’s a picture of a family with for 20 years, assuming a five per income. with a full service broker to create a bond weight. Government bonds tidy finances, but there are issues. cent return per year. Renting out The remaining assets in the cor- portfolio of so-called dividend aris- pay little and are subject to tran- They have no children but for their land at $35 per acre per poration may be livestock and tocrats, that is, companies which » CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 retirement and other purposes, they have a farming corporation which, in the absence of a genera- tional succession plan, will have the effect of postponing taxes and allowing capture of various credits, potentially including the $800,000 lifetime capital gains exemption. They want a $3,500 monthly after- tax income in retirement.

ASK THE EXPERT We asked Don Forbes, a farm financial planner who heads Don Forbes Associates/Armstrong & Quaile Associates Inc. in Carberry, Man., to work with the couple. His analysis shows that, to preserve their success in farming and make PROVEN an efficient transition to retirement, the couple will have to be attentive to capital gains rules and subsequent investment of funds VR 9559 G received from the sale of their farm land and equipment. Were there children or grand- children to whom to transfer the farming business, there could be a transfer at the deemed adjusted Maximum cost base and any gain on the property would be deferred. The YIELD , rule, which applies to these intra- family rollovers, creates a new cost base so that the person or persons receiving the farm get High it at the amount the transferor FERTILITY is deemed to have sold it. Any subsequent gain over the transfer price would thus be taxable in the hands of the recipients when they dispose of it. PERFORMANCE Martin and Louise’s corporation holds their 1,280 acres as well as machinery and a herd of 150 beef cows with a separate value of Get proven high performance $500,000. If the couple draws no salary from the farming corporation at the highest fertility rates. until 2014, the grain operation can be wound down, some of the herd Competitive with any hybrid, from any system over a wide range of retained and some new equipment conditions, VR 9559 G continues to produce high yields, even at maximum — perhaps a truck and a new tractor — charged to the corporation. fertility rates. With resistance to fusarium wilt and blackleg, this medium ® ® The goal is to make a smooth maturing Genuity Roundup Ready canola hybrid is a top performer financial transition to early inter- across the prairies. mediate retirement when Martin and Louise would be able to main- For more information, visit your Viterra ag retail or seed.viterra.ca tain their farm and still have capital required for permanent retirement and a possible relocation to town.

THE ACTION

To generate the pre-tax income Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with they’re looking for ($3,500 per Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international month), they will have to sell law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this two quarter sections of crop land. product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes If they can get $1,500 per acre, that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Genuity and Design®, ® ® ® they would have a gross sale of Genuity , Roundup Ready and Roundup are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada, Inc. licensee. ©2013 Monsanto Canada Inc. $480,000. Almost all of this sum 32 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Columns CAN’T TAKE THE FARM FROM THE BOY First harvest in the bag Former city slicker Toban Dyck found himself in bank in the combine cab after a long time away

of us were on our way to Big TOBAN Iron in Fargo, North Dakota. DYCK There’s too much residue from my past urban life to agree with his assessment. But harvest is a PHOTOS: TOBAN DYCK rewarding season, and operating The first time Toban climbed into the driver’s seat, he felt as if there was no doubt he was meant to be a farmer. our Case 8010 Axial Flow was “ engaged in one of the pretty close to what the Big Iron There have been whispers of a — or at least the first one in a long the potentially high levels of green ‘Sexiest activities in the backbencher was getting at. change, but you’ll have to hang time — we did not swath. The stocks in those low-lying clumps? world,’” said the man sit- tight for that conclusion. Carberry idea of straight-heading wheat that Do we keep header in fixed posi- ting in the rear passenger THE SEASON has been mentioned. was lying on the ground and had tion or in flex? side.I “I wish there was a way Harvest went well; yields were been for quite some time had us We increased our nitrogen to bottle that.” He was talking Domain Hard Red Spring wheat average to good. But we dealt with scratching our heads. Should we rates last fall, hoping to raise about combining, and the four is a stalwart variety on my farm. lodging, and for the first year ever swath? Should we desiccate due to protein levels. It worked. But it

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

SELLING THE FARM

sitional portfolio losses as interest rates rise. However, corporate bonds tend to gain market value as business conditions improve parallel with rising interest rates. By sticking to the lower end of investment grade bonds and limiting maturities to five years, the couple should have positive bond returns in the range of three to four per cent per year. If Martin and Louise do not want to use a full service investment dealer, they can invest themselves in studying capital markets. The effort will be interesting and rewarding. If they work toward become active investors with a discount online brokerage, they can save management fees and perhaps raise their returns, Mr. Forbes notes. In the year in which Martin and Louise finally sell their beef cows, they can add the proceeds to taxable income. This surge in taxable income would be the best time to use up RRSP space, which is currently $89,900, in order to reduce taxes. At 65, Martin can add Old Age Security at $550 per year in 2013 dollars to $3,530 retirement income. Louise will have a defined benefit pension that can be transferred into a retirement account that will pay her $400 per month at her age 60 in 10 years. At that time, she would also have $425 per month Canada Pension Plan benefits. At her age 67, she could receive $550 per month in Old Age Security in 2013 dollars. This would bring total retirement income to $5,455 per month. “Martin and Louise are in a healthy position for starting early retirement and carrying on their cattle farming business as a sideline,” Mr. Forbes says. “They will have sufficient income from land and other assets they accumulated from several decades of full time farming. It will be a tidy winding down of a successful grain and cattle operation where there are no children to take over.” † Andrew Allentuck’s book, “When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Life After Work,” was published in 2011 by Penguin Canada. OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 33 Columns

If you haven’t been in a combine for a while, the inside of the cab can seem entirely foreign. Harvest is the best of times, but can be the worst. also made our wheat stand very the auger on the header was giving quarter inch. This is a direction I bine. The ones with small children irrigation boom collapse to the dense, which, combined with a us grief. We longed for the ease didn’t see machinery going when have an excuse, but many don’t. ground in my rear-view mirror. The few windy days in early develop- of the pick-up header. Day 2 we I was a child, especially not com- And it’s just as hard to get them out. auger was pushed in, crimped, and ment, caused most of the field to took less of a hard line. The auger bines. The hydrostatic lever, ergo- It was new to the farm when the geometry of its pivot point on topple under its own weight. was working well, save for a few nomic and smooth, is also a marvel I moved back. And the first time the combine shifted. I kinked the There were hiccups at the start. clangy fingers. By Day 3, after every of technological complexity that for I was left alone to operate this irrigation boom. But there usually are, I understand. clang and clunk was fixed, we were some reason seems odd in such a mammoth thing, the combine, I Stepping out of the combine to Flex mode was the answer, we straight-heading boosters. large, brute machine; perhaps a bet- felt as if there was no doubt I was make the call was the hardest thing learned from other farmers. The ter fit for a sports car. Then there’s meant to be a farmer. I was on top I’ve had to do in a while. My dad header gently followed the contours MODERN DAY THRESHING the monitor. I’ve programmed my of the world. Until I wasn’t. understood, and wasn’t upset. of the field, leaving virtually no grandma’s remote before, but this The augers on most combines Harvest is the culmination of toil stubble and picking up sections we I used my thumb and index whole driving newer combines extend past the back of the machine and decisions made, good or bad. It had long given up on. And we soon finger to thresh wheat this year. thing is something entirely differ- a good distance. This is something is the best of times, and can be the realized there was no need to spray. The toggle, I think it’s yellow, that ent and foreign. I was warned about. Five minutes worst. But even then, even when it The sentiment on Day 1 was “we engages the largest and most expen- Adult friends, people in their 30s, of threshing left in the day, just a seemed like it couldn’t get worse, should have swathed.” This had sive machine I have ever driven is visit my wife and me on the farm. small test plot, when I turned to there is no season like harvest. † support from both my father and tiny. It’s about the diametre of a And these people — professionals, start last row. I backed up a touch Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new me. We capped at two and change soybean, less than an inch high, mature — want nothing more than to square up, and started driving farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter miles per hour on the combine and and only needs to move about a to sit in the driver’s seat of the com- forward. I watched an entire @tobandyck or email [email protected].

Growing together for generations.

For 100 years, generations of families like the Corfields have contributed to the success of Richardson Pioneer. With 114 years of combined experience, the Corfields have made working for Richardson Pioneer a family affair.

“From my grandfather to my niece, our family has been working for Richardson for four generations,” says oat merchant Debbie (Corfield) Wosminity. “At Richardson, there is a focus on long-term commitment to customers and employees. As a family, we’re proud to be part of that tradition.” www.richardson.ca 34 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Columns OFF-FARM INVESTING Rules for selling stocks It’s important to know when to buy, but if you’re going to get into the stock market, it may be more important to know when to sell

Investors using technical analy- Rule one is sell if a stock drops not so easy to do. Plus, generally, made 15 per cent on our money in sis lean towards being more active, eight per cent from the pur- such a big loss will discourage an the first three months of the year ANDY SIRSKI so let’s look at some selling rules or chase price. Jesse Livermore and investor (or his or her spouse) and you could take the rest of the year guidelines. Rothschild would sell when stocks give the stock market a bad name. off and likely beat the market. In my case, while I like capital dropped three per cent. Livermore O’Neil’s second rule is sell if a 3. Sell when the Moving gain, I don’t count on it with most would also sell if the stock or com- winner drops 12 to 15 per cent Average Convergence-Divergence of my stocks. So I like to sell covered modity did not perform the way from its top — unless of course (MACD) and Full Stochastic indi- calls and do spreads. Premiums are he expected it to, even if it was an rule one applies. cators flatten on top and start hile buying right is bigger for calls and puts on vola- hour after he bought. to roll over. Unfortunately the important, in the tile stocks, but volatile stocks can If you sell when a stock is down OTHER RULES MACD is a lagging indicator and type of market we also eat up equity and beat up an eight per cent, you only have to too slow to be a good selling indi- now have I think investor’s mind. I need selling rules. make 10 per cent to get back to 1. Sell when a stock stops cator in a volatile market. The Full learningW good selling rules and Maybe you do too, so here they are. breakeven. That’s quite easy to do. going up. Stochastic will give a sell signal using them is perhaps more impor- Plus, dropping 10 per cent likely 2. Sell when you’re up a pre- much sooner so I like to use it as tant. In fact, often selling can save TWO SELLING RULES won’t upset an investor’s mind decided amount, like 15 per cent. part of my selling strategy. us from a wrong buying decision. or spouse very much. If you sell Some will say that if you follow this 4. Sell when the price drops For example, investors who bought In his book How to Make Money when you’re down 50 per cent, rule you’ll never feel the thrill of through a trend line. If you set shares in Enron, Nortel, Sask Wheat in Stocks, author William J. O’Neil you have to double your money to doubling your money on a stock. up “price performance” on your Pool and even Bombardier some outlines two selling rules. get back to breakeven, and that’s Suit yourself. But think on it: if you chart, when the price perform- years ago suffered huge losses. But selling right would have saved those investors big bucks, preserved their portfolios and prevented a lot of mental grief. Here’s the background: From August 1982 until early 2000, North America was enjoying a bull market. Stocks were volatile, seasonality was likely an issue for some investors and there was no high frequency trading. Many investors bought on dips or when they had new money and held onto stocks for years. It worked Growing Confidence and, in most cases, worked well.

WHAT’S CHANGED? For one thing, high frequency trading can move stocks and indexes rapidly and often, with very little real news. These days many stocks are more volatile than they used to be, although the volatility index is quite tame. Seasonality has made its way A LEADER IN BREEDING. into books, newsletters and the news — and the minds of many investors. Investors have docu- Results matter. Our advanced mented why stocks move when they do and more and more inves- breeding techniques bring to tors are learning how to get in step with those seasonal moves. market canola hybrids that There is a lot of bad news going on in the world, but then there always was. I’m not so sure the represent unsurpassed yield gains bad news on its own causes volatility, but combine it with high year after year. That’s business as frequency trading and hair triggers on the sell button and stocks can drop a lot faster than they go up. usual for us, because every seed If you learn selling rules you can use them to help you sell your matters to you. Fly with a Leader. farm commodities. All you have to do is believe the sell signals. That usually takes some practice, and Talk to your DEKALB® dealer giving back some profit. today, or visit DEKALB.ca

BY DAN PIRARO Bizarro

ALWAYS FOLLOW IRM, GRAIN MARKETING AND ALL OTHER STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES AND PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication. ©2013 Monsanto Canada Inc. OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 35 Columns

ance chart stops going up, that’s research. Many fear being whip- When I sell out and I’m right, buy a call on a stock with a low RECENT INVESTING ACTIVITY a sell signal. The general rule is sawed if they sell at such a tight I like the strategy and the stock premium and sell a call on a share that as long as that chart is mov- sell signal and that could happen. market. If I sell out and I’m wrong I have been selling calls on of the same company and same ing up, hold the shares. When or However my counter argument is I can always buy the stock back or quite a few stocks. I bought West month but with a higher premi- if the daily price drops the price that if you sell early and you’re buy another one. But in the mean- Jet (WJA) shares and sold a call um. I keep the difference, unless performance will start to roll over wrong, at least you get the most of time I have the money. below my cost and picked up an the share price comes up to my and it will be time to think selling. your money. If you don’t sell early Taxes are certainly a factor and easy $500 or so in a couple of strike prices. 5. Use a buy/ sell service and fol- and you are wrong you risk losing beyond the scope of this presenta- weeks. The share prices went up, I think doing spreads is the final low it. One service I’ve heard about a lot more money or giving up a tion. However, we are in the busi- so I bought the call back, sold the skill I needed to learn about how to lately is called Parabolic. I will be lot more profit. Some prefer to sell ness of making money, and taxes shares and kept the $500. use options to bring in cash. The looking at it one of these days and when a stock drops to the 20 dma are something we have to deal My Bombardier shares are touch- sequence goes something like this: will write about it another time. — that should reduce the odds of with. These days we have RRSPs ing $5 as I write on September 9. Buy shares for dividends and capital 6. Some investors sell when being whipsawed so suit yourself. and Tax Free Saving Accounts that The company’s new plane, the C gain. Buy shares to sell calls on to they find a better stock. That But this business of losing 50 can help us deal with tax issues. series, is scheduled to have a test collect cash. Do not buy shares but was okay in the bull market from per cent on a stock is something We have a nice group of mem- flight any day now. I expect shares do spreads is likely the third part of 1982 on but these days I don’t we should all avoid. It gives stocks bers in our Technical Analyst will go up half a buck or so when my option strategy. You don’t own think I would follow that selling a bad name, it can discourage us Group in Winnipeg. We meet the the plane flies. Bombardier is pay- the shares to do this, but you do rule. There are many good stocks and it is very difficult to rebuild first Wednesday evening of each ing a 2.5 per cent dividend while I need to have buying power in your and after they drop in price they the portfolio. I know that when I month. There is a similar group in wait for the plane to fly. I have a lot trading account and be approved by become even better stocks if we lose big bucks on a stock I am not Calgary too. If you join the asso- of shares of Bombardier at an aver- the broker to do spreads. have money to buy them. very proud of myself, or the busi- ciation, you will be sent notices age cost of about $4.58 per share. My standout stock for doing My favorite sell signal: In ness of stocks. I don’t get discour- about many webinars that you I sold calls on quite a few shares spreads has been Green Mountain March 2012 I started to seriously aged easily but some investors do. can tune into. If you want to go of First Majestic and IMG gold. (GMCR). This stock has weekly track selling when the daily price Losing money also gives the stock to a meeting, email me for details. Too many to count at this time. options which come and go very of a commodity or my shares market a bad name. If we’re deal- Remember, the cost of belonging I continue to do spreads on a quickly, As of Friday, September dropped through the 10-day moving with stocks we really are work- to these technical groups is tax short list of stocks. Since we are 6, I had brought in something ing average (dma). I have to admit ing a business. We should take deductible just like the cost of in the period of “Sell in May and like $2,100 with that stock and I I have not followed it perfectly losing money seriously just like we belonging to a farm organization go away,” most of my spreads are don’t even own any shares. On and I won’t say that was part of the would in any other business. or an employees’ union. called bear call spreads, where I this stock it has been quite easy or me to pick up $200 to $400 or so per weekly spread. You can do the math, even if I don’t win 100 per cent of the time. Other stocks I do spreads on include Home Depot, Deere, Cat, Toyota, PotashCorp and Agrium. Potash bit me twice. The first time was my own oversight. The second time was when Russia’s potash miners ended the cartel and Potash shares dropped $10 overnight. But as of September 6, that account was within $1,500 of Growing Confidence making enough money to offset those losses. I think that is quite an accomplishment. By doing some weekly spreads, I might have anywhere from four to eight weekly spreads per month plus five or six monthly spreads, which means I do 10 to 14 spreads a month. If I can make just a few hundred dollars per spread, it can add up to a lot of money in a year — as long as I don’t give the prof- A LEADER IN BREEDING. its back through careless losses. Since this is in a trading account the profit would be taxed as capi- Results matter. Our advanced tal gain. I teach all this stuff in my newsletter StocksTalk. breeding techniques bring to On a personal note, I painted my 1979 Datsun the other day. market canola hybrids that The usual — half a litre of fire engine red Tremclad, a buck’s worth of masking tape and about represent unsurpassed yield gains three hours of work with a three- inch short hair roller. Looks great year after year. That’s business as at 50 feet. Actually, looks good close up too. † Andy Sirski is mostly retired. He gardens, usual for us, because every seed travels a bit, plays with his granddaughters and manages the family’s portfolio. Andy also publishes a newsletter called StocksTalk matters to you. Fly with a Leader. where he tells what he does with his stocks soon after he buys or sell or does covered calls or spreads. If you want to read ® StocksTalk free for a month send an email to Talk to your DEKALB dealer [email protected] and Andy will set you up for today, or visit DEKALB.ca the free month.

BY DAN PIRARO Bizarro

2014 model introductions John Deere unveils new equipment in Columbus, Ohio The green brand focuses on “delivering distinctive value” as the theme for its 2014 model-year lineupoffer new features

By Scott Garvey

“ his is all about addressing the three primary value drivers for our customers: performance, uptime and Tcost of operation,” Luke Gakstatter, John Deere’s vice president of agriculture and turf sales and marketing for the U.S. and Canada told an audience made up primarily of Deere dealers at the company’s Deere executives say the new products introduced in Columbus will add new product launch show in value to farmers’ bottom lines. Columbus, Ohio. “When you see what we’ve done today, you’ve got This year most new machines managers throughout the event. to be proud,” he added. from all the brands make the jump It refers to not only the consump- Following that address, a parade to Tier 4 Final-emissions compli- tion of diesel, but diesel exhaust of new Deere equipment made its ant diesel engines ahead of the fluid (DEF) as well. way across the stage accompanied looming January E.P.A./EU dead- Grainews was at the Ohio launch by a light and video show empha- line. Deere’s product reps claim and also managed to get behind sizing the improvements built into that the company’s new engine the wheel of some of the new each one. technology will not only produce models that debuted to check them While the event didn’t come cleaner emissions, but will save out for ourselves. In the following close to unleashing the record- producers a little money by being pages we take a look at some of the setting number of new products even thriftier with a litre of fuel. most notable new machines and Deere introduced in Indianapolis, And Deere believes its emissions features introduced for the upcom- Indiana, in 2011, it did include sev- reduction strategy puts it into the ing model year. † After watching a parade of new models, dealers make their way from eral machines that will be of inter- lead in “total fluid efficiency,” a Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. the stands to a viewing area behind the stage to see the new machines est to western Canadian farmers. term repeated often by marketing Contact him at [email protected]. up close.

2014 model introductions Deere revamps its 5E tractor line Six models in the 45- to 100-horsepower range offer new features

By Scott Garvey

ohn Deere has made major changes to its 5E line of utility tractors. Two new four- cylinder models, the 5085E J and 5100E, with 85 and 100 horsepower respectively, replace the 5083E, 5093E and 5101E. And the four smaller, three-cylinder models from 45 to 75 horsepower that make up the remainder of the line now offer a wider range of options. “With six models from 45 to 100 horsepower within the 5E Series, customers can choose the power and options they want that best fits their needs,” says Scott Schadler product marketing manager. “The 5E offers a basic level of features and options in transmission, operator stations, and front axles that allows a customer to find a configuration that is a perfect fit for their applications and budget. Customers will be very pleased at what they see up and down the entire 5E Series line.” Because of their lower horsepower rating, the two larger models comply with Interim Tier 4 engine emissions regulations rather than the Final Tier 4 standard required by equipment over 175 horsepower. These two models come standard with a 12/12 power reverser transmission and economy PTO option built into the base price. And while Deere is now making the largest 5E models available with an open operator’s station, the smaller models can now be ordered with a cab. † photos: scott garvey Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. The 5100E replaces the existing 5101E tractor. At 100 engine horsepower, it’s the largest model in the 5E line, which offers economy features that Contact him at [email protected]. make them the most affordable utility tractors Deere offers. OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 37 MachineryMachinery && ShopShop 2014 MODEL INTRODUCTIONS Deere introduces the W235 windrower A new 235 horsepower model available in hay and small grains configurations joins the company’s windrower lineup

BY SCOTT GARVEY

“ oes anyone notice anything similar between these swathers and that combine?” asked DJames Petersen, senior marketing manager for windrowers, as he stood between a group of farm writers and a row of machines in a field near Columbus, Ohio. “The cab,” he explained. “The S Series combines introduced this cab in 2012.” Partly to save R&D costs, the S Series combine cab has been grafted onto Deere’s brand new windrower, the W235. “It makes sense,” added Petersen. We have the same operators PHOTO: SCOTT GARVEY Launch of the newly-designed W235 coincides with the 50-year self-propelled windrower production milestone at John Deere. using both (the combine and the windrower). Using the same operator sta- www.farm-king.com tion brings a sense of familiarity to those running both an S Series combine and the new windrower. Inside the W235 cab, operators get a similar interior control arrangement — Deere’s CommandCenter display with all its functions, including integrated AutoTrac and JDLink telematics. Crucial details connecting UPDATES AND NEW DESIGN The updated hydraulic steer- ing system on the W235 better accommodates AutoTrac guid- your combine to the market ance than the mechanical system on existing models. “The windrower steers a lot differently than other vehicles (tractors and combines), so it’s a bit of a challenge to deliver accuracy with AutoTrac,” explained Petersen. “Our current solution today (on other windrowers) will get about seven or eight miles per hour before we start to see performance Grain Vac - PTO Model Grain Vac - Diesel Model Backsaver Auger 10/13/16 Backsaver Auger - Feterl Original 12/14 degrade because it’s a mechanical system. We’ve now replaced that with a hydraulic system which is much more accurate. We’re now seeing speeds up to 17 miles per hour.” Overall, the windrower is a completely new design. “This thing is all new from the ground up,” he Backsaver Auger - Feterl Original 12 Conventional Auger Conventional Auger - Feterl Original Drive-over Hopper added. The 6.8-litre, Tier 4 Final- compliant diesel offers 35 more horsepower than Deere’s previous flagship model. And a newly- designed intake draws air flow from the top of the hood rather than from the dusty environment closer to the ground, which minimizes chaff build up in the radiator and Utility Auger / Unloading Auger Rollermill / Hammermill Grain Cleaner Grain Cart - 1060/1360 cooling condensers. A 19 per cent larger fan screen also helps keep debris out. A new header drive system keeps power flowing to the header in tough conditions, and adjusts to meet demand when the engine starts to lug. “We have a feature called Constant Header Speed,” said Petersen. “When crop conditions change, we’re maintaining Higher input costs and tighter margins require a complete grain management Visit www.farm-king.com to find a that (header) speed and constant windrow formation.” system to make your operation as profitable as possible. The complete line of dealer near you. The W235 will be available in Farm King grain handling equipment ensures you get top dollar for your crop. two configurations, with a rotary With decades of grain handling experience, Farm King offers everything you header for hay crops or a draper need to get your grain to market after it leaves the combine. for grains and oilseeds. The rotary will be compatible with 994 and 995 hay cutting heads and the draper version will come equipped with a 600D head. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. ©2013 Buhler Trading Inc. | [email protected] | www.farm-king.com Contact him at [email protected]. 38 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 MachineryMachinery && ShopShop 2014 model introductions Two new sprayers from John Deere The company has updated its sprayer design, and a pair of new models is ready to join the Deere lineup for 2014

By Scott Garvey

“ his will be huge for us,” said a friend who is a salesman at a local John Deere dealership. We Twere talking about the all-new R4030 and R4038 sprayers Deere introduced at its product launch in Columbus in August. “They’ll sell out within a couple of days of starting to accept orders,” he added confidently. Brea Harms, John Deere’s product line manger for application equipment, shared his confidence in the new sprayers during a media briefing at the Columbus, Ohio, event. “What you’re going to say is ‘holy cow, you’ve changed those machines,’” she told a group of editors at the product launch. “It’s the first major redesign we’ve had for sprayers in 15 years, since we introduced the 4700 sprayer. We’ve redesigned these sprayers from the ground up. And we’ve redesigned the solution system from tank to tip.” The two new models find their place in the middle of the brand’s sprayer lineup, between the existing 4630, which is the smallest model in the line, and the flagship 4940. “We are going to continue forward with four models of sprayers, but we are replacing two this year,” she said. “The 4730 will be replaced with the R4030 and the 4830 will be replaced by the R4038.” If those new model numbers photos: scott garvey sound a little familiar, they R4030 and R4038 sprayers are an all-new design according to product marketing managers. They offer increased operating speeds and a should. The “R” indicates the improvements meant to provide efficiency gains for operators. specifications level, similar to how it’s used on tractors. And the 4000 Series becomes just the 4 Series. Deere wanted to stick with the four in the model numbers because the existing sprayer line has been pretty popular with farmers. “We did a lot of studies as we were trying to figure out our name and numbering,” explained Harms. “There’s a lot of brand equity in the 4000 Series sprayers, so we chose to keep the 4.” The 30 and 38 in the numbers represents the tank size divided by 100. So the R4030 has a 3000 litre tank (800 gallons) and R4038 has a 3,800 litre (1,000 gallons) capacity.

T he design

The two new models join the The John Deere GreenStar 2630 monitor is capable of controlling all Under the hood of the new sprayer models is a 6.8- or 9.0-litre Tier 4 4940 in offering integrated direct application functions including raw-chemical mixing rates without the Final-compliant diesel engine delivering 280 horsepower in the R4030 chemical injection systems to addition of another system controller. and 310 in the R4038. make blending tank mixes much easier. “Customers, in some cases, tion tank flows through another to allow chemical flow to keep up to 20 m.p.h. In the field, and PSS Tier 4 Final-compliant diesel can just run water in the solution lower-volume pump, so spray- up with higher field speeds. To the R4038 can hit 25 m.p.h. that puts out 280 horsepower. tank,” said Harms. ing tank mixes becomes a much help understand how much, the Behind the tanks, a newly- Its bigger brother gets a 9.0-litre “As we designed the R4030 and simpler process. Mixing rates new standard-flow pump now redesigned plumbing system sim- engine, capable of putting 310 R4038, we tried to think of ways can be controlled through the exceeds the capacity of the high- plifies the piping system while horses through to the four-wheel to help our customers overcome GreenStar 2630 in-cab display flow option on existing models. eliminating low spots that can hydrostatic drive. the challenges of glyphosate monitor. “We’ve partnered with “For that customer that knows trap air or hold chemical. Both And like all of Deere’s new resistance and really focus on try- Raven,” said Harms. “It’s totally he wants to apply high-rate liq- models can be fitted with 120- machines, there is an upgraded, ing to drive efficiency in sprayer integrated in the 2630 display. uid fertilizer, if he invests in an foot flat-fold booms that feature more comfortable cab to make operation,” she said. “One of the “You can calibrate it very easily.” R4038 with the high-flow solu- swing link suspension and tri- the work day a little more pleas- key ways we’re able to do that is That minimizes time spent on tion pump and high-flow plumb- direction break away for protec- ant for operators. with integrated direct injection.” tank clean outs while making ing he can go 18 miles an hour,” tion. The number of boom sec- “It (the new sprayers) is a pretty Raw chemical placed in either chemical change-overs faster and noted Harms. tions that can be shut off inde- big deal for us,” said Harms. “It’s of two 50-gallon tank injection easier. It also helps prevent wast- Overall, maximum working pendently has been increased to something our customers have tanks flows through the same ing chemicals. speeds have been bumped up sig- minimize overlap when spraying. been asking for.” † pump, while the contents of The pumping systems on the nificantly. Under the right condi- To power the two sprayers, the Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. an additional, 35-gallon injec- new models have been beefed up tions, the R4030 can operate at R4030 gets a 6.8-litre PowerTech Contact him at [email protected]. OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 39 MachineryMachinery && ShopShop AFTERMARKET TRACKS Soucy offers Deere tracks 9R John Deere tractors aren’t yet available with a factory track option, but now owners can equip their own machine with an aftermarket system

BY SCOTT GARVEY with lower speeds throughout the gear ranges in a 9R fitted with the “ oucy is an aftermarket Soucy system. “Since we are after- m a n u f a c t u r e r o f market, we cannot adjust any of t r a c k s , ” e x p l a i n s the gear ratios in the transmission,” Martin VanSteenbergen, noted VanSteenbergen. “That’s why westernS territory manager for we made the sprocket as big as pos- John Deere. “In Western Canada sible, to not lose (too much) speed. the four-wheel drive 9R is the But we’re still losing 25 per cent.” tractor that is mostly used. So, we The Soucy track system for the 9R wanted to come up with designs Deere offers some brand new fea- for that tractor. After making tracks tures, which the company has just for the 8R Series, the 9R’s tracks developed. “It’s completely new,” are very, very similar. We have he said. “It’s the next generation.” rigorously tested the 8R and now The company casts its own axle we’ve come out with the 9R.” and bogies which now incorporate Soucy International used the added strength. And the firm pro- 2013 Canadian Farm Progress duces its own rubber belts as well, Show to introduce its new track which now use four layers of steel offering for 9R tractors to Prairie belting for improved strength. farmers. And a lot of people Even the tread-bar pattern on the attending that event took notice. rubber belts is a little different “There’s been a lot of questions. A than the standard chevron design lot of interest in the tractor,” said farmers are used to seeing. VanSteenbergen during an inter- When it comes to maintenance, view at the Regina show. “John the mid-rollers and idlers use PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY Deere in Eastern Saskatchewan oil bath hubs that require only Quebec-based Soucy International introduced its new track system for 9R John Deere tractors at the Canadian definitely has a lot of market share annual or 250-hour oil changes. Farm Progress Show in Regina in August. with their four-wheel drive. For And there are eight 50-hour grease the die-hard John Deere farmers zerks on each module. supported by nitrogen accumula- set of Soucy tracks will set farm- the Rocky Mountain dealership this is definitely of interest.” “The big feature on the mid-roll- tors will also go back and forth. So ers back about $165,000, and network and other retailers in Although the track systems offer ers is they oscillate laterally and back it (the track) will follow the flow of expect to have a mechanic spend Western Canada. † advantages like a boost in floata- to front,” says VanSteenbergen. the roads a lot better.” about 32 hours installing them. Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. tion, farmers will have to be content “The dynamic tensioner, which is Equipping a 9R tractor with a Soucy products are sold through Contact him at [email protected].

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Texas Refinery Corp. For more information, visit TractorLife.com/authenticated 40 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 MachineryMachinery && ShopShop 2014 model introductions Tracks on Deere combines now an option John Deere brings tracked combines to North America, and announces other updates to the S Series combine lineup By Scott Garvey said Katie Dierker, division marketing manager at Deere’s Harvester t the 2011 Agritechnica Works. “The tracks can be ordered machinery show in as a factory-installed option or Germany, John Deere ordered separately for our model i n t r o d u c e d a t r a c k year 2014 S Series machines.” Aoption for S Series combines sold Nothing changes in the com- in Europe. When Grainews asked bine driveline to accommodate back then if tracks would be made the track systems, explained available here, Deere’s spokesper- Cramer. So, farmers can switch son said they eventually would, between tires and tracks on the but the track system design would same machine. One advantage of be different, because the company that is farmers could remove and didn’t think the European-style hold back their tracks, switching 36-inch-wide tracks fitted onto a track module met the needs of their trade in over to tires and high-idler module can be ordered farmers in North America. reinstalling the tracks on another as a factory option or interchanged At its product launch in new S Series machine when they photos: scott garvey with tires on the three largest 2014 Columbus, Ohio, in August, North update their fleet. Dealers had a chance to try out this S Series combine equipped with the S Series combines, the S670, S680 American tracked S Series com- “When that customer trades that new track option in a mud pit at Deere’s convention in Columbus, Ohio, and S690 when equipped with a bines were finally unveiled. And combine in, typically he’ll keep the and compare it to a wheeled version in wet conditions. ProDrive transmission. as Deere promised two years ago, tracks and the dealer can outfit his with a much different track system. used machine with tires or tracks,” of the Ohio product launch. “We the-go thresher settings. The sys- a grain tank or whatever (problem Canadian farmers paying for the said Cramer. “There’s nothing haven’t got pricing yet,” Cramer tem simplifies fine tuning the he wants to correct).” new option will get a track module unique about the tracked combine.” added. “It’ll be over $50,000. threshing mechanism to improve S Series models come with a new with a high-idler design for better Because the tracked versions use They’ll be comparably priced.” performance, which allows less Engine Speed Management System trash and obstacle clearance. the same driveline, the maximum experienced operators to do a har- which can reduce overall fuel con- “Tracks will be available for the ground speed of a tracked S Series I nteractive adjustment vesting better job. sumption, especially during road S670, S680 and S690 equipped machine will be slightly slower “It takes where we were with transport. They also offer a new Dual with a ProDrive transmission,” Kim than a wheeled model. There were other new S Series Automatic Combine Adjust (ACA) Adjust Chaffer, which is designed to Cramer of Deere’s Harvester Works Removing tracks and installing combine features for product one step further,” explained produce a cleaner grain tank sample. told a group of journalists at a brief- them on a replacement combine reps to talk about as well. Aside Cramer. “Now it interacts with Up front, buyers will notice ing during the Columbus event. could shave a bunch of money from a leather cab interior pack- him (the operator). It will ask another new option: “The 630 “When harvesting in tough con- off the cost of a new purchase, age, most notable was the new him questions, he can respond HydraFlex draper header is new,” ditions, operators will be able to although how much wasn’t quite Interactive Combine Adjustment to it and it will give him recom- added Cramer. † get in the fields earlier and harvest clear. Pricing had not yet been set system (ICA). mendations on how to improve a Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. longer with the new track option,” for the track systems at the time ICA allows for automated, on- situation, clean up the sample in Contact him at [email protected].

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Ask about the 2013 model and its many new features and schedule a free demo!

- Durable machines with chrome hardened blowers. - Suck from over 100’ away. - Industry leading features. - No moving parts in the bin. - Fill and empty bins & silos. - PTO or Diesel powered. - 600bph - 7500bph. 42 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 MachineryMachinery && ShopShop 2014 model introductions 7R and 8R tractors get new features A new transmission option and higher top-end horsepower ratings are on the list of improvements to Deere’s biggest MFWD models

By Scott Garvey tion of both fluids into account when talking about cost savings. 0 years ago, in 1963, John “We don’t want any of our cus- Deere introduced its first tomers to think all we did was powershift transmission, add SCR onto our engines,” said bolting it into the now- McGinnis. “We’ve done more than 5classic 4020 tractor. At its dealer that. What we’re trying to do is hit convention in Columbus, Ohio, what we call the sweet spot (of low- the brand celebrated that anniver- est diesel and DEF consumption).” sary by revealing its latest power- Rather than talk about only fuel shift design, the e23, which is now efficiency, Deere will be focusing available on the new, five-model on “total fluid efficiency” in its line of 7R tractors. marketing campaigns. The e23’s 23 forward gears To keep those Tier 4 Final (hence the name) have only a 15 engines cool, the 7R tractors get a per cent speed difference between redesigned hood arrangement that them to make for a smooth shift is now easier to open, something from one to another. The 11 a few owners criticized about the reverse gears have a 30 per cent existing design. The cooling pack- jump. age is also 15 per cent larger, “We’re really excited about which allows for a slower fan rota- that e23 transmission,” said Ryan tion that minimizes the parasitic Hough, product marketing man- engine power loss from turning it. ager for tractors. “It takes those 50 Inside the new CommandView years of (powershift) technology III cab, operators get lower noise and brings it forward.” levels and a seat that swivels 40 Although it’s still a mechanical degrees to the right to minimize transmission, Deere’s marketing neck strain when looking behind. photos: scott garvey reps say it offers the operator a The CommandArm gets some A new 8R tractor makes a dramatic entrance onto the stage at John Deere’s product launch in Columbus, Ohio. close second in capability and effi- improvements as well, with a rear- ciency when compared to an IVT ranged control cluster. (Infinitely Variable Transmission), A seven-inch 4100, Generation while still providing the simplicity 4, CommandCenter display or and reliability of a powershift. If, optional 10-inch 4600 version are however, you really do want an available. And working through IVT, all 7R models can be ordered the various digital screens becomes with one. The two smallest mod- more intuitive, with a new layout els, the 7210R and 7310R are also that makes the screen pages look a available with the CommandQuad lot like those on a smartphone app. Eco gearbox as well. “As we make this equipment To spin those transmissions, all more intuitive to use, that allows five 7R tractor models get a bump operators more flexibility in who in horsepower. The 6.8- or 9.0-litre they’re hiring to operate it,” said PowerTech PSS engines under the Holli Brokaw, AMS product manager. hoods, depending which model “Deere said we want to meet that you look at, now give the 7Rs 210 ISOBUS standard, but we also want to 290 engine horsepower. to provide a better user interface.” “We’ve increased the horse- The CommandCenter is also power by 10 across the board,” compatible with video streaming said Carleton Self, Deere’s product from remote cameras. manger for tractors. With Tier 4 Final emissions reg- 8 R tractors ulations coming into force this January for tractors in this horse- Just like the 7R line, the 8Rs get power class, Deere has opted to a jump in horsepower all across the Redesigned hoods on the 7R tractor combine a series of systems to get model range, too. For 2014, there line provide better air flow and are NOx and particulate matter levels will be nine 8R and 8RT tractors This mock-up shows the new CommandArm control arrangement and now simpler to open. The coolers down to where they need to be. with engine horsepower ratings CommandCenter display monitor. swing out for easier servicing. An improved, high-pressure, from 245 to 370. The four smaller common-rail fuel system and series versions are available with either a turbochargers now pack the cylin- 16-speed powershift or IVT trans- ders with air and fuel. Cooled EGR mission. Up from the 8345R, you’ll reduces the amount of NOx cre- have to be satisfied with an IVT. ated within the cylinders during “We’ve increased the engine combustion. Then, as the exhaust horsepower ratings of all the new 8R makes its way out, a diesel oxidiza- models and boosted the maximum tion catalyst and particulate filter hydraulic flow capacity by 41 per — along with the addition of a cent to 85 gallons per minute,” said selective catalytic reduction (SCR) McGinnis. “This 8R option allows system requiring the use of diesel customers to operate at reduced exhaust fluid (DEF) — scrub out engine speed while handling larger more pollutants. implements, such as planters, that “When you combine all of require high, constant flow rates.” those things together and then The new CommandView III add SCR, we believe we will have cabs on the 8Rs are available with the lowest total fluid consump- Active Hydro-Pneumatic Cab tion of any tractor out there,” Suspension Plus to help smooth said Jerrod McGinnis, division out the ride. Inside them you can marketing manager. “On the 7R, even opt for a built-in refrigerator. we anticipate total fluid con- For night operations, both the sumption will decrease about 2014 7R and 8R tractors get an two per cent.” optional LED light package that Although other brands will be provides 40 per cent more illumi- offering simpler emissions strate- nation than the HID variety. gies, Deere believes the combina- “These tractors push productiv- tion of treatments it’s chosen allows ity and comfort to a higher level its PSS engines to operate with the to provide greater value to our lowest level of diesel and DEF con- customers,” said McGinnis. † sumption. Marketing reps empha- Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Rolling across the stage during the launch show, the newest 7R tractors get a variety of upgrades and more size it’s important to take consump- Contact him at [email protected]. horsepower. OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 43 Cattleman’s Corner world agriculture Aussie farmers appreciate a good fence

BY KIM NIELSEN

he slogan “A good fence makes a good neighbour” applies as much to an Australian farmer as it Tdoes in Canada. Looking a little closer you will see Australian fence is built differently and also very well. Aussies must appreciate neigh- bourly relations but also believe a fence should be built properly from the onset and built to last. Building a good fence is one thing but some of the pioneer fences in Australia went beyond staying on good terms with the neighbour. As a country that is home to an ecosystem unique in flora and fauna and vulnerable to the impact of non-native plants and pest animals, some fences were designed purposely to keep pest animals out of the pasture as well as to keep livestock in. The famous dingo fence that was built over a few years and finished in 1885 spans 5,614 kms from the southern coast west of Adelaide to north of Brisbane on the east coast. It was built following an aggressive and effective dingo depopulation campaign to prevent further livestock preda- tion on the fertile sheep-grazing country of south east Australia. It is the longest fence in the world photo: kim nielsen and still does its job today with Kim Nielsen, left, with family members, takes a break during fencing operations in Australia. ongoing patrols and maintenance along its entirety. I crossed the dingo fence on the Sturt highway to the central Australia back in 2008 just north of Coober Pedy, South Australia where the picture (bottom right) is from. This national initiative is truly impressive with every foot of the fence made of chicken wire dug part way into the soil. It is built into the outback and through desert country. The grass is hardly greener on the other side and only the most perseverant dingo would take on the challenge to go through it. Some did make it across before the fence was built and have crossbred with domestic dogs. These hybrid dingos or wild dogs cause much grief in many parts of Victoria, mainly in the hard-to- access “high country” where they prey on sheep and young cattle.

B VUNNY IN ASION This map of Australia shows the 5,600 km route of the fence built to keep A simple fence of wooden posts and heavy duty chicken wire runs more than dingos out of farming areas. 5,600 kms across southeast Australia. Another introduced pest animal that have brought much grief is the with chicken wire forming the sile wire with one or two hot ularity. Often the negative experi- ity of a good Australian fence, but European rabbit, which began with bottom part of the fence and these lines, most often the top wire ence from the recoiling has turned some aspects are rubbing off after a small release of just 24 rabbits in are still seen on many farms. and the fourth. Simon’s new post people off of using high-tensile my fencing stint with Simon. Tips 1859 not far from where we live Kangaroo fences do pop pounder is an Australian Munro wire in favour of barbed wire. and designs have been noticed — in Dunkeld, Victoria. The rabbit up as well to fence out one of model using a small-diameter The Australian insulators and memorizing a proper figure-eight population exploded and in just 15 the native pests that also have hydraulic auger followed by a wire tighteners are not much dif- knot for splicing wires, memorizing years, feral populations had reached reached epidemic levels in many vibrating pad driving the non- ferent from Canadian brands but the wire wrapping around the end the border to New South Wales places including here in Dunkeld. sharpened posts down. New Zealand Gallagher materi- post from the front of the fence post well over 500 kms to the north, Multiple lines of high-tensile wire An end assembly consists of two als are obviously common here. (not the back) and then the wire and made another 1,000 kms to leaning out from the pasture with heavier eight-foot posts with an Simon uses Gallagher exclusively, going “down the rabbit hole, back Queensland in the next six years. several of them electrified have eight-foot top rail and two loops keeps the customer happy as the up and over” making the end knot The rabbits were truly let out successfully excluded the hopping of high-tensile diagonal tighten- alternative products are often infe- resistant to animal hits. before the hutch was closed and roos as they fear the height and ers. The high-tensile wire is blue in rior. The fence posts are com- Gate crossing using insulated a desperate attempt to build an the shock of the fence. colour and comes in a three-foot monly seven feet long and spaced underground hot wire should be 1,800-km rabbit fence in Western diametre roll that sits nicely in the around 30 feet using three poly laid in 1/2-inch poly hose for Australia in 1907 failed as the little A USEN A S I FENCE spinning jennys for easy unwind- droppers between the posts to increased shorting prevention bunnies were already well estab- ing. The blue wire is very nice to keep the wires spaced evenly and with the hose bent once out of lished in the areas to be excluded. Switching to something a little work with as it resists the recoiling avoid hot wires from shorting out. the ground to prevent water from The development of rabbit dis- more applicable to a Canadian — a poor feature of Canadian high- Internal fences are often built entering it. The 3-2-1 rule should eases and the release of two viruses farmer, the typical Australian live- tensile wire. with fewer wires and with the be used for fence energizer ground- from 1950 and onward have kept stock fence is very well built. I had All fences on 4-Clover ranch dry ground conditions during the ing; three ground rods, two metres the rabbit population manageable an opportunity to work with my up in Rocky Mountain House are summer it is common to have in the ground, one metre apart. although resistance has now built brother in-law on a few fencing made from that type of Canadian one of the tensile wires acting as a Needless to say a few updates were up in the current population call- jobs. Simon Mooney farms in the high-tensile wire and I have, as negative earth wire with the other made 4-Clover Ranch fences. † ing for new agent developments. Otways in the southern part of many others, swore and cussed at one or two wires hot. Kim Juul Nielsen, retired manager of Efforts to minimize the rabbit Victoria and runs a fencing con- the mess of tangled wires from the I spent part of the past summer agricultural services, Clearwater County, borrows and feed losses from tractor business on the side. recoiling. I have seen the blue wire repairing fence on 4-Clover Ranch Alta. is a summertime resident of Alcheringa, Dunkeld, Victoria, Australia and is Canadian the pest saw farmers build rabbit A multi-species fence will often promoted in Canada a couple of over the past grazing season. My summertime grazier of 4-Clover Ranch, Rocky fences not unlike the dingo fence, have seven strands of high-ten- years ago and hope it will gain pop- fences are nowhere near the qual- Mountain House, Alta. 44 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Keepers & Culls Healthy, natural, organic trend spreads

CONTACT US LEE HART Write, E-mail or Fax Contact Cattleman’s Corner with comments, ideas or suggestions for and on stories by mail, e-mail, phone or fax. n some respects the term Phone Lee Hart at 403-592-1964 “consumer demand” always Fax to 403-288-3162 seems a bit elusive because I am never sure when consum- Email [email protected] ersI organize to say we want this Write to CATTLEMAN’S CORNER, or that, but retailer and processor PO Box 71141 Silver Springs RPO, Calgary, Alta. T3B 5K2 demands are pretty real. Kirsten Kotelko heads up Spring Mike Kotelko, who along with his It was interesting to read Creek Premium Beef, based in brother Bernie operates Kotelko recently that A & W, the second- Vegreville, Alta. Farms. largest burger chain in Canada, is switching to only natural, And the NewStream Farm Care the most prominent activity is on hormone-free beef in all of it’s 790 newsletter reports: “While over 60 the cage-free eggs front. This is restaurants across Canada. major companies ranging from where Costco decided to go exclu- It doesn’t appear there is a need Safeway Canada to Kraft Foods have sively for its Costco private brand to rush to produce all-natural beef announced welfare-related shifts to eggs label (Kirkland). Wal-Mart has for A & W. The company has that come in the next decade, compa- adopted the same approach with base covered as it buys meat from nies right now leading the trend its “Great Value” eggs brand and a Alberta-based Spring Creek Ranch, include: number of other top world retail- which is owned by the Kotelko 1. Hellmann’s “Real Food ers appear are following suit with family at Vegreville. As well, A & W Movement.” Take a close look at least part of their egg offer- is also sourcing all-natural burger at your mayonnaise jar and you ings. All Costco-branded eggs are meat from Meyer Natural Foods in may see some new wording on caged free and organic with both A view of Christoph Weder’s new ranching operation near Hudson Hope Montana and Teys Australia, which the label: “Made with free-run attributes stated directly on the in the B.C. Peace River region. produces Grasslands cattle. eggs.” This is part of a “Real Food product label.” You can read more The move by A & W, which it Movement” the company first about this at www.meristem.com. that natural beef would catch on, Heritage Angus Beef has relocated says is supported by 89 per cent of introduced several years ago. It On the beef side I don’t often and now they supply large gro- to British Columbia. Weder, who its customers, is another example started with a focus on sourc- hear too much criticism of pro- cery retailers, many restaurants and was a long-time columnist for of how “the shoe does drop.” The ing and featuring local ingredients duction practices, but the natural, now A & W with their product. Grainews and Canadian Cattleman livestock industry has heard for and the new cage- free wording hormone-free status appears to be Further on the natural beef is leaving the Spirit View Ranch at the past 10 to 15 years, at least, represents the first foray into wel- a big selling feature. topic, I have to give credit to the Rycroft, Alberta and moving west to that consumers will call the shots fare-related branding under this Not to take anything anyway Angus people for great marketing. Hudson Hope area in the southwest on what and how meat products program from Spring Creek Ranch beef — If you see the name of a beef breed B.C. Peace River Region. Looks like are produced. It is not an immedi- 2. Ben & Jerry’s ‘”Caring Dairy.” the company produces a very nice associated with quality meat or a a very nice place. Heritage Angus ate thing, but then we start to see This iconic ice cream brand has Angus beef product — but I think healthy meat program it is 99.9 Beef has a network of producers examples of retailers or processors introduced a “Caring Dairy” logo to it is interesting that A & W has times out of 100, Angus beef. Has who produce all-natural Angus making announcements of the its label that signifies how the com- gone this route. If I am waddling anyone ever seen a menu that beef with the company tapping type of product they will handle. pany works with its farmer suppli- into an A & W for a Teenburger featured 100 per cent, Triple A, into restaurant and retail markets McDonald’s is very careful about ers to contribute to “ice cream with combo with fries, milkshake and Blonde d’Aquitaine T-bone steak? across Canada and in other parts of its reputation. One of its U.S. egg consciousness through sustainable side order of onion rings am I No. Occasionally Hereford may the world. Weder reports he even suppliers got some bad media on practices,” which include animal really concerned enough about get a mention — their biggest got the guesthouse moved to the an animal welfare issue, and they welfare approaches. my health to worry whether I have claim to fame is on canned corned new spread, so everyone is invited were dropped overnight. In the pig 3. Costco private brand eggs. hormone-free beef or not? beef. Whether it is better or not… over for a visit. † industry, pretty well all Canadian While pork and beef categories But that aside, good for A & Angus gets the billing. processors now are telling produc- are also seeing a rise in welfare- W, and good for Spring Creek And one more note on the Angus ers to switch over to loose-housing related branding, at the big main- Premium Beef. Spring Creek started and natural beef topic, I see recently systems for pig production. stream food product level by far the company in 2003 with a vision where Christoph Weder, CEO of

since 1984. During his career he trucking and other handling pres- research by Jared Taylor at has built a strong network of sures into the equation. Oklahoma State University, COMING EVENT industry contacts and well under- Edouard Timsit, a University of Pasteurella multocida, another stands industry challenges and Calgary veterinarian, says research bacterial pathogen in BRDC, seems CANFAX CATTLE MARKET opportunities. shows increased levels of bovine to be similarly opportunistic. FORUM: The second annual “For me the focus is always respiratory disease (BRD) can be Both researchers contend that Canfax Cattle Market Forum is the end customer and delivering traced back to a sick feeder calf, BRD due to M. haemolytica and set to run the evening of Nov. value to them,” says Peters. “That’s often caused by too many stresses P. multocida may not really be 26 and all day Nov. 27 at the something that doesn’t change. being placed on the animal at contagious. The stress on the calf’s Deerfoot Inn and Casino on I believe in the approach of CBS once. The research supports a immune system, along with these Deerfoot Trail in Calgary. Inc., its lineup of high-quality common recommendation that bacteria that normally inhabit the There are several good products and its commitment to calves should be weaned for at upper respiratory system, could be speakers lined up to give science and innovation.” least 30 to 45 days before heading all it takes to trigger a BRD event. an overview of beef mar- Canadian Bio-Systems Inc. is to a feedlot. Using DNA typing, While research is ongoing, the kets in Canada and other an innovation-focused company Timsit’s studies show that the initial findings point more to the parts of the world. Perhaps Mark Peters that manufactures a wide range most common and destructive sick calf itself and less to the pen one of the most interesting of products such as enzymes bacteria involved in the BRD mates. talks will be given by Colin NEW SALES MANAGER and other supplements used in complex (BRDC) — Mannheimia Studies show a calf weaned for Woodall, vice-president of Canadian Bio-Systems has feed, food, industrial and envi- haemolytica — are mostly not 30 days (45 days is better) is much the National Cattleman’s announced the addition of a new ronmental applications. CBS Inc. spread from calf to calf during BRD more tolerant to thrive in the Association in the U.S. manager of sales and marketing products cover all major live- outbreaks occurring at feedlots. feedlot environment than a calf who is speaking on “The to its growing team. Feed stock feed sector. More informa- This bacterium seems to attack that is unweaned. Vaccinating the Fallacy of COOL.” It will be industry veteran Mark Peters has tion on the company and its the calf’s lungs after some stressful calf before moving is also impor- interesting to hear what he accumulated extensive experience products is available at www. event, and it’s primarily the M. tant, but the work by Timsit and has to say about country- over three decades working canadianbio.com. haemolytica bacteria that live in Taylor shows by adding too many of-origin labelling issue. For directly with industry and the farm the upper respiratory tract as a part stressors, the bacteria will travel to more details or to register gate across livestock production WEANING IS ENOUGH of the calf’s “normal” bacterial the lungs and likely cause disease. go to the Canfax website sectors. Based out of Manitoba, FOR ONE DAY flora that do the damage. After With weaning being the biggest at: www.canfax.ca. Cost of Peters will focus initially on the some stressors, the calf’s immune stressor, there should be no other registration ranges from Canadian and U.S. markets. A University of Calgary Veterinary system is unable to fight off the stressors that day, or opportunistic $200 to $250 depending on Peters has been involved in Medicine researcher says weaning bacteria that have been residing in bacteria will likely storm down the whether you are a Canfax the feed industry in increasingly calves is enough of a stressor on its the calf’s nasopharyngeal area for trachea and set up shop, ready to member. † senior sales and marketing roles own at one time without adding months. According to preliminary cause disease. † BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN OCTOBERBEEF 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 45

Cattleman’s Corner

Beef biosecurity: Keep it simple Halt disease at the farm gate Few places in this world are more hospitable than Canada’s beef operations. Each season beef farmers and ranchers welcome visitors to see their industry first hand. Feedlots work hard to share their knowledge with industry groups, often with an initiation to visit personally. The bottom line is that what’s good for industry relations isn’t always so good for disease control. With every busload of industry visitors, every carload of customers, friends, relatives and international travellers, comes the threat of disease spread. At an industry level that translates into a renewed interest in beef biosecurity. In fact some people think biosecurity is actually a government program but it’s not. At a farm level, this boils down to simple, straightforward strategies to protect herd health status and prevent disease from gaining a foothold. Much of this is grounded in common sense.

UNDERSTAND RISK A key is to be able to identify the highest- risk visitors to the farm or feedlot. Low- risk visitors include urban dwellers who have no livestock contact. Medium-risk visitors would include people who may Keep disinfectant available, and note some products kill viruses whereas not all will. visit farms regularly but have no contact situation which involves a reportable Shower before you return, and scrub animal health treatment/vaccination with livestock. animal health problem in the past six and disinfect footwear. Upon returning records, and a record of animals sold, High-risk visitors include anyone months. wash all clothes and dry on high heat. purchased or died. with regular contact with livestock, If they answer yes to any of the above, Don’t travel with footwear normally Vaccination programs are important. such as veterinarians, livestock haulers, contact your vet. used around the farm. Cow-calf producers should be thinking and those coming from abroad. Keep basic cleaning tools handy, such Send outdoor wear to the dry cleaner. carefully about herd health status when as a scrub brush, tub and bleach or And wipe personal items such as rings, sourcing replacements. QUESTION VISITORS disinfectant. Have visitors leave their watches, glasses, cameras, smartphones AHEAD OF TIME name and contact information in a and suitcase exteriors with a solution of MORE INFORMATION Don’t hesitate to ask visitors if they are visitors’ log. Consider providing a pair vinegar or bleach. Canada now has a biosecurity from or have been outside Canada and of boots to wear upon arrival. Keep away from livestock including your standard for beef cattle, and the the U.S. in the previous two weeks. own for 24 to 72 hours after you return. industry will be developing specific Ask if they have been on a farm or ranch WHEN YOU TRAVEL information to apply on farm. Don’t or been exposed to livestock from outside If you travel yourself, take precautions VBP CAN HELP hesitate to ask for the latest. It’s a North America in the past two weeks before you visit other countries and VBP has components that can assist on- small investment with potentially big Ask if they have been exposed to a when returning. farm biosecurity efforts. That includes returns.

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REV-XS Canadian Cattlemen QSHere.indd 1 13-07-24 14:49 46 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Cattleman’s Corner ANYONE CAN START FARMING Our first run-in with water hemlock eat 11 pounds to die. But con- seizures, coma and death. It is also sidering I remembered learning associated with cattle birth defects DEBBIE that Socrates committed suicide and can pass in the milk of an CHIKOUSKY by drinking a glass of hemlock animal. Although there is some I encouraged my husband this documentation that the poisons plant deserved further research. dissipate, the longer it is dried We learned one root can kill a there is no real data to show when his summer during hay- 1,600-pound cow and that all it is safe to use. This is also a very ing my son noticed a parts of the plant are toxic. Proper deadly plant for humans. All parts questionable weed in the identification is crucial. of the plant are poisonous and it field he and his father Water hemlock has narrow closely resembles wild caraway so Twere haying. We have been read- leaves with sharp tooth-like mar- if it is in an area people should ing our Edible and Medicinal Plants gins. The flowers are small, white be very careful. Even ingesting a of Canada book a lot this summer and in umbrella-like clusters. The small part of the root can be fatal. trying to identify many wild flow- roots are very bulbous, which dis- Livestock poisonings from water ers growing in our area we have tinguishes it from look-alike plants hemlock generally occur in the never seen before. such as cow parsnip, which also early spring when cattle eat the This turned out to be a good has narrow leaves, but lacks tooth- young shoots, which appear before use of time since he was able to like margins and bulbous roots. much else is growing. Hemlock immediately spot outcroppings of Cow parsnip is also very com- likes wetter conditions so is often PHOTO: DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY a plant that looked suspiciously mon in our area, but it is generally found around dugouts, streams It only takes one bulb of the like water hemlock. There is also a larger plant and has very large and other water sources. It gener- This is a close-up of the spiked water-hemlock root to kill a full a weed in our area that again fan-like leaves. In drier conditions, ally does not like a lot of shade so leaves on a water-hemlock plant sized cow. is non-poisonous cow parsnips cattle and other livestock can is often in the open. Apparently a (Heracleum maximum) which is graze cow parsnip and it actually lot of the toxins found in the rest reproduces solely by seed, this will This will be our course of action what most of the locals believe has good feed value. In fact, there of the plant during the other parts make eradication interesting. along with having to purchase this weed to be. are areas where cow parsnips are of the year are more concentrated The recommendation from the replacement hay from an area that To be safe we conferred with the harvested for silage and the cows in the root in the fall. Therefore agriculture people is to plough it is not having a sudden problem local Manitoba Agriculture and have a greater milk yield then the late fall — when other vegeta- under this fall so that the plants with the weed. Rural Initiatives office to get a pos- cows fed on clover and timothy tion is sparse — is another criti- rot. At this time it is clearly vis- This problem made me think of itive identification of our hemlock grass silage. The cow parsnip silage cal time when poisonings occur ible due to the white flowers/seed stories my Gran told me as a child and were unpleasantly surprised to also provides a higher amount of from eating the bulbous roots. The heads and it is quite tall. In the about her husband walking his find out we were right. We in fact digestible protein, volatile fatty plant in its entirety can be pulled spring, once the area greens up, fields in the evening after supper are growing a bumper crop of this acid, and cellulolytic activity and out easily which is how livestock, we are supposed to disc it lightly. to pull offensive plants. Maybe weed. Their recommendation was carotene values. especially cattle, gain access to the The idea is to kill what might we all need to be spending a bit to cease all use of this land till we Water hemlock on the other roots. have grown without disturbing more time getting reacquainted can eradicate the hemlock. hand cannot be fed. It is deadly seeds which should be far enough with our land since we must have fresh or in dried hay. When CONTROL MEASURES underground as to not germinate. had this weed for a few years and HOW BAD IS IT? ingested, it attacks the central Then they said to reseed the area never noticed it till it was a large nervous system of the animal. Our farm pastures have not to hay and we should be fine. problem. † The next question had to be “so Salivation and frothing at the been contaminated but hayland What we may do is cover the area how poisonous is it?” Rhubarb mouth are often the first signs has. Since one plant can produce with rotted manure then disc fur- Debbie Chikousky farms with her family at Narcisse, Manitoba. Visitors are always leaves for example are poisonous of poisoning. This is promptly 30,000 seeds that remain viable ther reassuring ourselves that we welcome. Contact Debbie at debbie@ but a 145-pound mammal has to followed by muscle twitching, for three to six years, and it aren’t just replanting this weed. chikouskyfarms.com

ANIMAL HEALTH A poisonous weed that is rarely seen when picking and do not cut into poisonings can recover with no the bulbous roots. Protective eye- long-term effects. ROY wear would also be a wise precau- All species of animals could be LEWIS tion. The plant is a perennial so susceptible but cattle, sheep, goats ANIMAL try and pull the entire root out. and bison because of their graz- HEALTH This is generally easy, especially ing patterns are most susceptible. on the bigger plants, by grasping They are all less fussy grazers and right at the base of the plant. Any in conditions of low forage avail- ith the wetter small leaf shoots should also be ability will go after these less- spring and sum- removed. desirable plants. Cattle, especially mer, sightings of Dispose by incinerating, des- because of the pulling action of western water hem- iccating or composting. As with their grazing, are most susceptible. lockW have increased. Prior to 2006 all poisonings it is far better to Deaths in horses and swine have I personally had only seen one prevent rather than treat the dis- also been documented. occurrence of this highly toxic ease. Be vigilant in subsequent Fortunately poisonings are very plant in 25 years of practice. This years in case regrowth from a root rare because conditions must year in a short time several find- bulb can occur and check pastures be right between stage of plant ings with multiple plants in our before livestock are turned in. The growth and the lack of other avail- practice area a great distance apart seeds are not considered toxic but able pasture. Rotational grazing have been identified. This is one of removing before plants go to seed systems where large numbers of the most potent poisonous plants goes without saying. animals are forced onto a small known to cattle. One root bulb PHOTO: ROY LEWIS area could actually increase likeli- can kill a mature cow very quickly. This full-sized water-hemlock plant is often confused with cow parsnip. SUDDEN DEATH hood of exposure to hemlock if it It is important to be on the look- was present. out for this toxic plant and inform fan-like leaves. In drier condi- agricultural fieldman or crop Rarely are cattle suffering from When walking onto pastures your neighbours if it has been tions cattle and other livestock specialist is well versed in iden- hemlock poisoning found alive as be ever vigilant of what species sighted in the area. can graze cow parsnip. tification. It is important these death can occur within 15 min- of grasses, forbs and weeds are With the suspicion of any fieldmen also know this plant is utes. Most are reported as sud- present. This gives us clues as to toxic plant identification is criti- SPRING AND FALL HIGH RISK present in your geographic area. den deaths around water sources. the health of the pasture where cal. Water hemlock has narrow Sprayer operators are also excel- Here veterinarians must rule out production can be improved leaves with sharp tooth-like mar- Poisonings to water hemlock lent reference sources as that other causes of sudden death such where overgrazing has occurred gins. The flowers are small white will generally occur in the early is their job to identify weeds as blue-green algae poisoning, and if we can prevent poisonings and in umbrella-like clusters. The spring as the young shoots are in order to select appropriate anthrax, blackleg or bloat. Many of by removing some toxic plants roots are bulbous and this distin- among the first plants to green sprays. Veterinarians are well these toxins appear to be increas- in the process so much the bet- guishes it from look-alike plants. up, and also in fall as pastures run trained in the treatment of the ing in frequency. Convulsions and ter. Fortunately death from water It is commonly confused with low. A sun-loving plant, hemlock poisonings and could reference other nervous signs such as froth- hemlock is rare but it should be water parsnip, which also has is usually found out in the open pictures of the toxic plants. ing and clamping of the jaws are considered when there is a sudden narrow leaves, but they do not but near dugouts or along streams Water hemlock control involves observed if the animals are found death with very little post-mortem have the tooth-like margins and and other water sources. manual removal as plant numbers alive. Treatment by the veterinar- findings. † the roots are not bulbous. Cow If you have problems identify- are generally low, close to a water ian would consist of trying to con- Roy Lewis is a Westock, Alberta-based parsnip is also very common in ing this or other potentially toxic source and there can be a fair dis- trol the convulsions. No specific veterinarian specializing in large-animal our area but it is generally a or noxious weeds there are sev- tance between plants. The poison antidote exists but depending on practice. He is also a part-time technical larger plant and has very large eral sources for advice. The local is toxic to humans so use gloves the amount consumed low-level services vet for Merck Animal Health. OCTOBER 7, 2013 grainews.ca / 47 The Dairy Corner Factors affecting proper reproductive rates

BY PETER VITTI easy for a high-milk-producing disrupting the involvement of local reduce reproductive performance. MINERALS AND VITAMINS cow to resume strong estrus cycles. and systematic production of hor- But an imbalance of too much eproductive rates are fall- Unfortunately, reproduction takes mones. It has been shown when a protein formulated into the diet is Mineral and vitamins also play ing at an alarming rate a very low priority in obtaining cow has poor energy intake there likely to be the respective culprit. a significant part in healthy dairy in high-milk-producing this nominal amount of energy, is a significant decrease in the level If excess dietary protein is fed cow reproduction. For example, dairy cows. The latest esti- compared to energy needs for body of specific hormones that trigger above the cow’s protein require- a calcium imbalance or milk Rmates from many university and maintenance and milk production. normal estrus cycles after calving. ments with the imbalance being fever after calving is also associ- extension studies show there is a It means that early-lactation dairy Other similar studies demonstrate wasted, rumen-soluble protein will ated with lack of smooth mus- decline of 0.5 to one per cent per cows that can’t consume enough the release of large amounts of result in high blood-urea nitro- cle tone in the reproductive tract, year among North American dairy dietary energy to meet high levels fatty acids from the breakdown of gen (BUN) and high milk-urea which may delay uterine involu- herds. Many of these studies sug- of milk production are put in a body fat is also poisonous to fertile levels (MUN), which are associ- tion, and increase the incidence of gest a rise in milk yield is to blame, “negative energy balance” (NEB) egg cells, even if they are released ated with high ammonia levels in retained placentas that often lead while other research shows that for about six weeks after calving. As during the ovulation process. the uterus (originating from the to resumption of nature estrus high milk yield is only incidental a result, they are more susceptible bloodstream). These unfavourable cycles. Phosphorus is called the to poor reproduction. Regardless of to suffer from silent heats and the PROTEIN ALSO A FACTOR conditions are thought to lead “breeder mineral” involved in the debate, most people will agree onset of ovulation. to failure of the fertilized egg to energy metabolism and a dietary good nutrition in milking dairy Reproductive research shows Similar to dietary energy, pro- attach to the uterine wall and imbalance with calcium is cited cattle is crucial to good milk and NEB can adversely affect the nor- longed protein deficiencies in therefore responsible for many good reproduction. mal development of follicles by dairy cattle have been shown to early embryonic deaths. » continued on page 48 When dietary nutrients are well balanced for milk production and reproduction, soon after calving they help return the dairy cow to a natural reproductive cycle soon (21 days) after calving. Initially, they (along with other internal hormones and metabolites) play Got mobile? a complex role upon the endo- crine system of the cow, which stimulate the pituitary gland in the cow’s brain to produce special hormones that initiate the entire reproduction process. The non-pregnant cow has follicles; blister-like structures that appear on the ovary. These follicles grow from microscopic cells producing the growing ovum (unfertilized egg) and produce more reproductive hormones. During maturation, the follicle ruptures to release the ovum to be picked up by the ovi- duct for fertilization by the bull’s sperm. Even under ideal conditions, of the thousands of eggs produced by the ovaries, only some of the ovulated will develop normally and have a chance to be fertilized.

ENERGY IS KEY iPhone, Of many nutrients important Android & to reproduction, energy status is the largest and first limiting nutri- BlackBerry ent that seems to affect fertility Versions the most; despite the actual ener- Available gy requirement for reproductive activity such as follicular growth, ovulation, and early embryonic development is very low. A lactating dairy cow requires less than 3MJ of metabolizable energy (ME) compared to 60 MJ for basal body needs and up to 250 MJ for milk production during early lactation. Based on these low energy needs, Get Grainews. one might assume it would be

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Grainews Mobile is sponsored by } Visit agreader.ca/gn today to download the app or text “gn” to 393939 to be sent the link. Standard text messaging rates apply. 48 / grainews.ca OCTOBER 7, 2013 Cattleman’s Corner RANCHER’S DIARY The mystery of who is cutting gates

month (since before she went to the fire camp). She bandaged her HEATHER SMITH raw knees but they were still so THOMAS painful that we only rode about 30 minutes. Today the kids went back to school. I rode Dottie on a short ride on the low range, with young AUGUST 27 Heather riding Ed as my “babysit- ndrea had a tough time ter horse.” Afterward, while she for a while after los- waited for old Chance to eat his ing the fragile skin on mush (watered alfalfa pellets and the sides of her knees; senior feed), Heather worked with theA pain was excruciating — like Sprout (the seven-year-old spoiled being burned all over again. Our mare we bought last year), teach- doctor put her on antibiotics after ing her better ground manners. her legs became hot and swollen. We’ve been pasturing Chance They are doing a little better now; and Molly for Heather this sum- the raw areas are starting to fill in mer. Currently they’re grazing Andrea rolls up some of the around the edges. along the ditch bank pen above PHOTO: HEATHER SMITH THOMAS abandoned barbed wire left strewn Young Heather and I are com- the little pasture where Freddy Young Heather works with Dottie getting her used to the breech which across the range by the Bureau of ing along with Dottie’s training. and her calf are living. Chance keeps the saddle in place when walking downhill. Land Management. This past week we got her used has bad teeth and can’t chew his to wearing a breeching (to hold food. Heather feeds him a big up as much wire as they could the range across the canyon, accounted for. None had gone the saddle in place because she tub of “mush” once a day and it carry home. The next day they helping those ranchers round up. out the open gates. doesn’t have enough withers to takes him an hour to eat it. While went back and rolled up more. We could see riders bringing cat- The top ridge gate had been keep it from going onto her neck she waits for him to eat, she does Thursday afternoon a big storm tle out of Cheney Creek. Andrea cut and thrown open, with cat- when she’s going downhill). The ground work with Sprout and knocked out the power line into called Michael on his cell phone tle tracks, horse tracks and four- first day we put it on, she was Willow (the yearling filly). our valley. The power was off for (fortunately we had cell service wheeler tracks coming through. scared and ran circles around 17 hours. Friday morning we car- on our ridge and he did, too) and Someone had taken cattle from Heather at the end of the lead SEPTEMBER 7 ried water from the creek for flush- told him what we’d discovered. the high range and pushed them rope. When she calmed down she ing the toilet and got several gal- We tied up the gate temporarily through our 320-acre pasture to realized it wasn’t hurting her, and Andrea is riding Sprout again, lons of drinking water from my with baling twine (which I always the low range! We rebuilt the from then on she was calm. We with bandages over the raw areas brother’s spring above the upper carry in the jacket tied to my sad- gate, rode back down Baker Creek no longer have to get off and reset on her knees. Last Friday she place. We led some of the horses to dle) and came home to switch and checked the two side gates the saddle when going downhill. rode with Dani and me to check the creek to drink. We were about horses, since Dottie is too inexpe- and rebuilt the bottom ridge gate. Freddy (the cow that almost range cows and gates. When we to haul water from the creek to the rienced for cow sorting. There were four-wheeler tracks died) is doing better but still very headed out through the sage- rest of the horses when the power Michael, Carolyn and Heather coming down through that gate thin. She was covered with horn brush from the big salt ground, came back on that afternoon. hurried back across the canyon and on down the ridge. flies last week, so Friday I put Breezy got caught in a snarl of to their corrals to grab some It’s still a mystery. Did hunters delousing pour-on (which also old wire; she jumped and bucked SEPTEMBER 17 wire to fix the gate. We got cut the gates to come through on kills flies) along her back as I fed and nearly fell down. Fortunately home with Dottie and Breezy, four-wheelers? Did a rider cut the her some alfalfa hay. By the next the wire broke and she kicked out Last Sunday afternoon Andrea grabbed Ed and Sprout, and gates and bring range cows down morning there were NO flies on of it before we had a bad wreck. and I rode Breezy and Dottie up trotted back up the ridge to through or bring them after the her. We’re still keeping her sepa- This is wire the Bureau of Land the ridge to the 320 to check the the 320. Almost all of Michael gates were already cut? rate from the other cows so they Management left out there after fence. Carolyn had seen a cow and Carolyn’s cows were down Yesterday Michael and Carolyn won’t beat up on her as she con- they made a temporary fence to on the mountain behind their in the northeast corner, which rounded up their yearlings and tinues to recover. keep cattle out of the area that house the evening before. When was strange, but that’s why they hauled them down to our cor- On Saturday Dani rode with me burned in 2003. The wire is a seri- we rode up toward our fence we hadn’t come out the gate on ral. This morning at daylight we for four hours up through the 320 ous hazard, dragged around by encountered five pairs — range the ridge. We hurried up Baker sent our calves with Michael’s and high range to check gates, wildlife and cattle. Michael and cows from the high range. Our Creek and found four more pair yearlings to the sale at Butte, troughs and Michael’s cattle. That Carolyn rolled up a pickup load of gate was wide open. Someone had and a calf. The gate in Baker Montana. The calves are only five night we had a birthday dinner it a few years ago but there’s still cut all six wires. The range cows Creek was okay, so the leak had months old and not very big, but for Charlie — turning 12 — at some left. had come through our place, so to be the top ridge gate. We hopefully they will bring a good Andrea’s house. On Sunday Lynn, Andrea, we knew there must be a gate hurried up through the timber price. † Sunday afternoon Andrea, the Charlie and a friend took two open at the top as well. to the ridge and met up with Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her hus- girls and I went for a short ride four-wheelers to the high range Michael and Carolyn and Michael, Carolyn and Heather. band Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at — Andrea’s first ride in over a and spent the afternoon rolling young Heather were riding on All their cows and calves were 208-756-2841.

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