AgriPost April 24 2015

April 24, 2015 1The Agri Post

By Les Kletke

Ron and Suzanne Paddock acknowledge that the currentlevel of beef prices has been good for their business. “The returns in the beef business are better so producerscan’t afford to lose an animal,” said Suzanne. “We see moreinterest for guardian animals, but we only have so many tosell.”

Donkeys FindingNiche as Security

Suzanne and Ron Paddock operate Big Ear Donkey farm and have seen and increase in the demand for guardian animals.Photo by Les Kletke

She said it is difficult to increase the supply of donkey’sshort term since gestation period for the animals is 365 daysand there are a limited number of breeders in the country. The Paddocks operate Big Ears Donkey Farm and initiallytheir intent was not to get into the business of selling guard-

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By Harry Siemens

The Manitoba government changed a few regula-tions to ease the restrictions for manure and fertilizerapplication from April 10 to November 10. Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship ad-vised rising soil temperatures to the point the govern-ment removed restriction for the application of nutri-ents to agricultural land effective April 1. Doug Redekop, who is the President of PrecisionPumping La Broquerie, said the first default is to putmanure down in the spring just before planting how-ever; they apply most of the manure in the fall. “If I go back to my hog development days and look-ing at cost recovery for manure, I could charge about60 percent of the nitrogen value, with the balance ofthe nutrients coming along for the ride so to speak,including the application,” said Redekop. “The big-gest bang for the buck for manure is definitely wherethe livestock owner also owns the land and applies themanure reaping all of the benefits of the manures go-ing onto his property.” He said when a person looks at the benefits of thecommercial fertilizer and balances the nutrients; he ba-sically gets what he pays for. In applying commercialfertilizer, he can order the specifications the soil testsdictate, and apply it. Redekop said his company ap-plies about 15 to 20 percent of the manure in the springprior to seeding, about 40 percent post seeding ontograssland, alfalfa, and the balance after the farmer har-vests the crops in early to mid-August. The manager of Steinbach based Precision Pumpingsaid custom manure applicators are taking added pre-cautions to avoid the risk of spreading PED. Redekop’scompany took a number of steps to reduce the risk ofspreading the virus. First, they give much more thoughtabout the farms they visit daily. “Our focus has always been on trying to start at thetop of a health pyramid, i.e. either the nucleus or sowbarn,” he said. “And then trying to work our way downwithin the pyramid so that there are at least some as-surances that the health statuses are constant withinthat pyramid.” It is important to communicate clearly with the cus-tomer and the nutrient planner to know what’s going

Farmers Can StartFertilizer Application

Including Manure

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April 24, 20152 The Agri Post

ian animals although now itdoes provide a part of theirrevenue. The couple fell inlove with the animals aboutthe time they got married andhave been raising donkeys ontheir south western Manitobafarm ever since. They areregular participants in theNinette Fair and at theThreshermen’s Reunion atAustin. The lack of breeders inCanada has the couple goingsouth of the border for newbreeding stock and they havejust imported a stud fromWalgrum, North Carolina. “We were concerned aboutthe inbreeding and wanted toget some new blood lines intoour animals,” said Suzanne.She strictly refuses to breedanimals closely related andopposes any line breedingprograms to produce a singlesuperior animal. She said theregistry for donkeys is simi-lar to any other registeredbreed though smaller. “We gothrough the Canadian Don-key and Mule Associationwhich is done through the

Donkeys continued...Continued from page 1

Canadian Livestock Regis-try,” she said. The couplebuilt their herd around aCatalonian donkey they im-ported from Liesburg, Virginiaten years ago. While there are other minia-ture donkey breeders in theprovince they are the onlyMammoth breeders, and thathas created a demand for theiranimals to protect beef herds.The miniature donkeys havethe same protective attitudebut can fall prey to multiplepredators or packs. “We also sell some to horseowners and they are great

companion animals,” saidSuzanne. “We spend a lotof time with our animals sothey are well socialized be-fore they leave the farm.” Suzanne takes great pridein the two sets of twins thefarm has produced. Twinsare extremely rare in equinespecies and the Paddockshave had a pair. “We havebeen blessed with two setsand they have done well, wehave trained them to pull acart,” said Suzanne of theunlikely match. The twinsare very different in appear-ance and size.


on in the area as far as health status because those fac-tors all play a role. Mark Fynn, an animal care specialistwith Manitoba Pork, is encouraging pork producers tomaintain their focus on biosecurity as the spring ap-proaches. In September, the PED virus infected two sow barns, afinisher site in January, bringing the total number ofManitoba cases to five. Fynn said transport trucks are still coming back fromthe US and to high traffic facilities within Manitoba thatare continually infected, so the industry needs to stayever vigilant when it comes to biosecurity. Biosecurity is the name of the game said Redekop asthey stepped up their own security once they knew thePED virus was around here. “Considering the amount ofcontact that we have with these high traffic sites and withthe US, as in our Manitoba pork industry,” said Fynn.“I’d say we’ve been quite successful in only having fivefarms affected by the disease, so I think we’re doing agood job of keeping it at bay but now is not the time to letdown our efforts on biosecurity.” Redekop agrees, it’s really something the industry mustkeep up continuously and indefinitely especially in a sea-son like this he said.

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Fertilizer continued...

By Harry Siemens

The Manitoba government’s introduction of a new specialpilot project permit evaluation protocol will allow the con-struction of swine barns in the province to resume under 11new conditions.

Province Agrees to New Hog Barn Construction,But Ups the Standards

Mike Telliet, the Manager of Sustainable Development Programswith Manitoba Pork Council, looks on as outgoing Chair KarlKynoch gives his final challenge to an industry that will need tomeet even bigger requirements for building new hog barns.

In 2006, the Manitoba NDP government banned the con-struction or expansion of swine barns in 35 rural municipali-ties and in 2011 extended the ban to the entire provinceresulting in a gradual decline in hog production and short-ages in the processing sector. Mike Telliet, the Manager of Sustainable Development Pro-grams with Manitoba Pork Council, said the recently ap-proved special pilot project permit evaluation protocol wouldallow new building to occur under the new conditions. “One of the key ones, a 200 percent reduction in soil phos-phorus limits,” said Telliet. “Right now the regulation allowsfor 180 parts per million of soil phosphorus build up in soil.This new protocol will lower that to 60 parts per million fornew barns, a significant reduction.” The second new condition demands all new hog opera-tions will have to inject their manure or incorporate it within48 hours. “Thirdly, hog farmers will need to sample and test manureover and above what’s required now,” he said. “Fourthlythey will require significantly more land for spread fieldsthan required before. We estimate hog producers will needup to or even more than twice as much land for spread fieldsas before.” Telliet said hog barns must have enough land to spread ata one times phosphorus application rate. Even though they

will not be required to spread at that rate, they will have tohave enough land to be able to spread at that rate.

At their Annual meeting inApril, Manitoba Pork Council(MPC) named GeorgeMatheson of Stonewall as thenew Chair for the organization. For over thirty years,Matheson with his wife Shelleyhave operated a mixed family

MPC WMPC WMPC WMPC WMPC Welcomes New Chairelcomes New Chairelcomes New Chairelcomes New Chairelcomes New Chairfarm, growing hogs and grain.They expanded their business toinclude other products such aspastured poultry, natural choco-late, and butter pecan honey thatare sold directly to consumersfrom Matheson’s Natural FarmProducts at Stonewall.

Before taking on the responsi-bility of Chair for MPC,Matheson brings with him manyyears of experience in the hogindustry and his involvementboth nationally and internation-ally. He was an Executive Direc-tor at Large Chair on the Indus-

try Performance and ServicesCommittee for MPC, a memberof Canadian Pork Council on theCanadian Quality Assurance(CQA) Advisory Committee, theCQA Food Safety TechnicalWorking Group, Identificationand Traceability System Work-ing Committee and a Commod-ity Representative for MPC forKAP.


by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected]

For many the former Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) and thenew CWB couldn’t be bothered because it was a non-issue beforethe feds demolished the monopoly other than an intrusion some-times.

For others, the die-hards, those who feelthey’re still owed de-spite no evidence theyactually own some-thing other than themortgage of the build-ing that is worth lessthan the price on thebooks and several

mortgaged sea-worthy vessels. However, (Just like - spring) everyone knew it was coming butwhen it arrived, the announcement on Wednesday made by thefeds and CWB people that they had actually sold the formerCanadian Wheat Board, for $250 million dollars seemed almostsurreal. But there it was – all the controversy since the feds announce-ment in January of 2012 they’d privatise the Wheat Board, is somuch water under the bridge. A Company called G3 Global grain will ante up $250 millionfor a 50.1 percent share of the CWB, and the same entity willhold the other 49.9 percent in a trust set up by CWB in 2013.Farmers may take a position with the trust by delivering grain inreturn for $5 per tonne equity. Federal Ag minister Gerry Ritz in Winnipeg on hand, for theannouncement says the single fundamental reform the feds broughtto the industry is an open market for western Canadian wheatand barley producers. “This historic legislation restored to farm-ers a basic business freedom, denied to them for decades the rightto market their own grain to a company and time of their ownchoosing,” says Ritz.

Some would say it is party time for beef producers, some would say that they are finallygetting the prices they deserve for their product after years of market returns below the costof production. What you call it is not as important was what the effect might be. Last week I was at a barbecue just a few hours from Hereford Texas the self-proclaimed

centre of the beef world. Yes, that is what the signbelow the big fibreglass bull on the edge of town said.As I sat on a larger plastic cooler of adult refresh-ments guarding the contents and enjoying the aromaof the grill, I noticed there were no cuts of beef. Letme be clear this was a festive occasion the kind thatbegs burgers and steaks or at least it used to. Current prices of beef products meant that theydid not make an appearance at the party; the grillwas covered in chicken breasts, pork chops, brats,and wieners for the kids. Not a morsel of beef to befound anywhere.

I know that producers are no more responsible for the current prices than they were forthe below breakeven returns of the past decade, they merely get the signals from the marketplace when they market their product. The run of low beef prices was good for consumersand producers even figured ways to get around the bottom of the market. Many producers found their own customers and began direct marketing to the peoplewho where the final users of those products, and some are continuing to do that. Currentreturns at the auction mart make that seem like a lot of work for what amounts to not much(more) money. Cattle numbers are low, so low they cannot meet the demand, and that means two things,the supply will increase and the demand will decrease to the point they meet in the marketplace. Some day cattle numbers will increase and the price will come down. That is the waythe market works but there is no guarantee the demand will increase. People like those at the barbecue I was at last week are going to get used to eating thoseother products, and I must say there is nothing wrong with them, in fact I quiet enjoyedthem. They are raising children, who are not getting burgers at their birthday parties; theywon’t know that beef is the meat of celebratory occasions and that will be a hard message forcattlemen. This kind of gyration in the market place is exactly what caused the move to supplymanagement for chicken and turkey four decades ago. I can’t believe I mentioned beef andsupply management in the same editorial but I did and I will face the consequences. Thoseconsequences will pass a lot sooner than the ones resulting from the current beef prices.

Many consumers are incapable of looking at “genetically modified organisms,” or GMOs, in apositive light. But a new generation of breakthroughs in apples, potatoes, and even mosquitoes hasthe potential to change this view. These innovations are directly aimed at consumers. Part of the problem for the average person is simply fear of the unknown. Farmers who growcrops from GMOs immediately see and directly benefit from new plant breeding. That’s not reallybeen the case with the public until now. Shoppers, of course, already run into some GM fruitsand vegetables on store shelves, products like Hawaiianpapaya, some zucchini and squash, as well as some sweetcorn. But consumers can’t really tell what the difference isbetween these and their non-GM counterparts. That’s chang-ing. The new and recently approved Arctic apple, for in-stance, will do something that no other current apple on themarket will do. It won’t turn brown when you cut it openand leave it sitting on the counter. After five years of seri-ous scrutiny by four regulatory agencies, including the US Department of Agriculture and HealthCanada, it has been deemed safe for public consumption. Arctic apples have been modified by using the apple’s own DNA. Researchers figured out how toturn off the gene that controls the enzyme, which is responsible for the browning that we see shortlyafter we cut an apple open. Eventually these apples will still rot and turn brown as they spoil, butthe modification greatly extends the amount of time it takes for this to happen. Simplot recently got US FDA approval for six varieties of potatoes, which collectively carry theoh-so-sexy trade name “Innate.” What makes these taters so special? They’ve been engineered toreduce the formation of black-spot bruises. This was accomplished by reducing certain enzymelevels in the potatoes. On top of that, these potatoes also produce less acrylamide, a chemical foundto be carcinogenic in rodents, which is sometimes produced during high-temperature cooking likefrying. The levels of a certain amino acid and sugars in the potato have also been lowered. GM mosquitoes aren’t quite ready for prime time yet, but currently a University of Manitobabiologist is working on an exciting project. Steve Whyard is trying to breed a small army of sterilemale mosquitoes that could be released into the wild with the aim of slowing down reproduction inwild populations. This strategy was tried before, using irradiation as a means of sterilizing the males.The problem was that it left the boys in a much weaker state, which made it a lot tougher for themto compete for mates. Sterilization through GM promises to eliminate this drawback. If it’s successful, not only could it relieve the general nuisance of mosquitoes, it could also dowonders in reducing the spread of the West Nile virus, Malaria and Dengue fever. We could capturethose benefits without harming other insects that also are eliminated when we use pesticides tocontrol the problem. Imagine, cancer-fighting pink pineapples and heart-healthy purple tomatoes and less fatty veg-etable oils. Actually, you don’t have to imagine, these already exist. But have yet to fully make theirway through the regulatory process. Who knows what other wondrous fruits and vegetables wemay be able to come up with in the future. It’s good to see that consumers are going to finally get a real chance to look, see, smell, touch andtaste these new GM fruits and vegetables. There’s no better way of getting past the fear of theunknown than getting up close and personal with what it is you don’t really know.

The Hangover Can Last a Life Time

Three Plus One EqualsFour Grain Buyers in

Western Canada

The CWB will offer farmers equity in the new entity for up to 7 years. They can receive $5 equitycredits per tonne of grain delivered. But after 7 years 3G may offer to buy them out but the G3company has the right to determine that at the end of 7 years. As one company spokesperson saysit is hard, obviously impossible to look into the future seven years and determine today what theywill do. To me it is also obvious that if that feature is working, and farmers are doing business with G3because of it, they’ll fine-tune it to that purpose. Dan Mazier, farmer and new President of the Keystone Agricultural Producers says farmers get anew buyer, a new purchaser of grain in western Canada and moving forward with the CWB. He seesvery little controversy on the equity plan, either. G3 Global grain group is a partnership between Bunge Canada and SALIC – an acronym for theSaudi Arabia Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company. Yes, I’m not sure why a SaudiArabian company needs to be part of this, but I take comfort in a company like Bunge, just recentlyspending $250 million plus on a canola crushing plant in Altona will be in the driver’s seat, althoughthe CWB management will do the driving for the most part. You see Bunge, while big in canola couldn’t get traction in the grain sector because they didn’t havethe infrastructure to pull it off. Now it does and the Saudis helped bankroll the plan. The news conference lasted nearly 50 minutes with reporters both in Winnipeg and on the phonein Canada and the US showing huge interest in this matter. CWB CEO Ian White and Dayna Spring, the CWB’s Chief Strategy Officer, whom along withWhite led the search team as she said it, virtually around the world, meeting with over 50 potentialbuyers of CWB before coming up with the G3 arrangement. Former Can Oat Milling and Viterra Manager Karl Gerrand is the new President of G3 GlobalGrain while Ian White stays at the helm of the CWB. The questions asked at the announcement indicate that some media and other observers continueto argue the new deal will not adequately protect farmers’ interests. Recapping, the former Canadian Wheat Board will continue to operate as CWB but after the dealcloses majority interest will lie with Bunge Canada and Saudi Arabian interests – a company calledG3 Global grain. As I said since the feds announced the legislation to remove the single desk selling desk, themonopoly and made it happen August 1, 2012, it is a good deal for western Canadian farmers, thewestern Canadian economy, Canada, and the companies involved. With four instead of three main grain buyers, and the farmers getting a bonus deal with the newCWB, let’s move forward and let it happen.

Surprising Benefits of Consumer Level GMOs


By Les Kletke

Mark Shologan with DirectLivestock Marketing Services(DLMS) works with videoequipment but his real busi-ness is getting people to auc-tions and reducing stress.Shologan provides the visualand technical aspect for live-stock sales by travelling fromhis base in Alberta with atrailer load of electronic equip-ment. “We have an extra TV

By Les Kletke

Ward Cutler admits that he likes to sell bulls live and on hand. “It allows you to see the animal and make some commentsabout the specific animal, perhaps point out something that bid-ders may not have seen on the video,” said Cutler who conductedthe Wilkinridge Tried and True Bull Sale in Ridgeville, Manitoba.It was the first time consignors had gone route of a video sale. Cutler said he prefers the live sales with an auctioneer’s po-dium but understands the advantages of reducing the stress onthe cattle and saving labour costs. He readily acknowledges thatthis is not the first change he has seen in a long career of cattlesales. “Bull sales are different than they used to be,” he said. “Wehave seen the change to selling genetics and semen from the daysof just selling the live animal. So this is just the next step. Itallows us to reach more bidders and that is what our business isabout.” The Wilkinridge Sale was the end of the run for his bull sales,which began in early March. “We have seen real strong prices atsales throughout the season,” he said. “The Simmentals havebeen strongest. There numbers have been up all over.” He credits reaction to the market place by the breeders. “Wehave seen them change colours to the place where now you haveblack Simmentals and that has been a real strong point in themarketing. They have produced red and black cattle in the breedand given the market what it wants, that shows up on sale day,”said Cutler. Cutler who grew up on a ranch at Carlyle, Saskatchewan saidthat some things in the cattle business have not changed. “Mygrandfather used to say that you should spend up to the price of3 fat steers or 5 calves on a herd sire, and that is a rule that somefellows still use today,” said Cutler who conducts sales at twocommercial cattle yards as well as bull sales. That calculationwould work out to about $7-8,000 in today’s market. “That allows a fellow to introduce some good new genetics intohis herd, which after the last 10 years is a good thing. We havebeen waiting for these prices for a long time,” said Cutler. He also credits the current US exchange rate as having a stronginfluence in the auction ring this year. “We are seeing a lot ofcalves leaving Manitoba. Some are going west but a lot are goingsouth because of the US dollar.” The strong market for beef has allowed producers to upgradetheir herd genetics for less money as well. “With the price of cullbulls where they are, a fellow can upgrade to a younger bull withcurrent genetics for much less money than when culls are low.That is working for a lot of producers today,” he noted. While he likes a live sale, he had no issue with selling the firsttwo animals during the Wilkinridge sale to internet bidders.

By Les Kletke

Cliff Graydon has been inthe cattle business a longtime, and he would be thefirst to admit that he is stilllearning. That is the way he rateshis experience withWilkinridge in their firstvideo auction. “It was alearning experience,” saidGraydon. “We learned a lotof things about the processand things that we did welland things that we would dodifferently.” Graydon saidthat some of the animalsfrom the Walking PlowCharlois that he put in thesale did not sell and priceswere not quiet what heexpected. “Then we sold twoanimals from the farm thenext day,” he said. “That iswhat he had been doing for anumber of years since BSE.We joined forces with Sid[Wilkinson] last year. In asale people do what they areused to and they are used tocoming to the farm, it willtake a while for them to getused to a video sale.” While a bull sale canprovide a large payday forpurebred cattle producersGraydon does not evaluatehis farm’s year on one day.“We have to look at thenumbers by the end of theyear which is June whenguys need the bulls. That iswhat will tell the story forour year. We might havegained some exposure fromthe sale that translates into apurchase later on.”

Auction Video Increases Attendance and Reduces Stressand a lot of electronic equip-ment,” said Shologan as he wasmaking the final preparationsfor the Wilkinridge Bull Sale inRidgeville on April 11. “Thisis a day the producer makesmoney and we don’t wantthings to go wrong like a com-puter going down.” While this was the first timethat Wilkinridge Stock Farmhad gone the video route, it isthe 9th year of business for theAlberta firm. “We have seen

Mark Shologan conducts video livestock auctions across the prairies, and travels with a trailerof electronic equipment. Photo by Les Kletke

the business grow over theyears and it is popular inAlberta and catching on inManitoba. This year we willdo 5 sales in Manitoba,” saidShologan. According to Shologan, theswitch to video sales reducesstress and increases atten-dance. “It reduces stress, both on

the cattle and on the pro-ducer,” he said. “In a case likethis neither of the consignorshas a facility on the farm thatis suitable for the sale, so inthe past they have rented anauction mart and move thecattle there, then bring themback and have to ship themlater.” He explained it is much

easier on the cattle when avideographer visits the farmfor pictures of the animals inthe pen. “They don’t evenknow we were there.” The vid-eos of the animals are thenposted to the internet for view-ing before sale day. “It not only reduces thestress for the animal but forthe producer as well because

now he is not looking for staffto work the sale, and those aregetting hard to find,” saidShologan. “Most times youend up asking friends orneighbours who you wouldmuch rather have in the seatsat the sale. It gets awkwardwhen a ring man is bidding ona bull himself. The video saleavoids that.” Many producers still chooseto visit the Wilkinridge farmand see the animals in the penbut most had already selectedwhich ones to buy. Just priorto the sale, he took a call froma potential buyer inSaskatchewan. “Her kids arein the 4-H provincial speak-ing finals and she couldn’t missthat but she let me know whichbulls she was interested in andI will call her when they comeup,” he said. “Yesterday wehad a fellow who visited thefarm but had personal com-mitments for this evening. Hecould not be here for the saleand make it home in time.He’ll be bidding online.” Shologan sees video market-ing attracting more bidders al-though not necessarily ex-panding the geographic area ofbuyers. “Ultimately the bullshave to be shipped to the buy-ers and that is a limiting factorbut we do see some interna-tional buyers,” he said. “I havetaken bids from 14 or 15 coun-tries and shipped to at least10 outside of Canada.” Weather on sale day also af-fects attendance. “It is nicetoday but weather can be afactor on sale day, and when itis 40 below it is not as attrac-tive to be around a sale. Thevideo sale eliminates theweather factor,” he added.

Cattle Prices a Boon forAuction Market Sales

Ward Cutlerof Virdensays thatcurrent bullprices allowproducers toupgrade theirherd sires fornot muchmoney.

Photo by LesKletke

Relearning Strategies for Cattle Marketing

Cliff Graydon (far right) wasa guest consignor at theWilkinridge Bull sale and saysthe video sale was a learningexperience.

Graydon said the changesin the cattle industry havemeant changes in how hemarkets his bulls. “We haveseen a number of smallproducers leave the industryin the last year, they aretaking advantage of currentprices. Some of thoseproducers are the fellowswho might have come to myfarm and bought a bull. Thatis the way they boughtcattle. Now with theconcentration of largeroperations there are fewbulls required and the ownerbuys in a different way.” He has also taken tomarketing in a different waybecause of the strongAmerican dollar. “We havevisited a few farms innorthern Minnesota, thereare a lot of cattle in the areaand with the strong dollarour cattle are a good deal,”he said. The preference for largerframe cattle has alsochanged. “Producers arelooking for the larger framedcattle again and much of thatis impacted by feed prices,”he said. “There is also amarket for the smaller framecattle on farms where thefellow is concerned aboutease of calving. He won’t bethere at calving time andwants a smaller frame bull touse on his cows. That isanother market,” saidGraydon. When asked if he wouldhave another video sale nextyear, Graydon smiled andsaid, “I don’t see any reasonwhy not.”


Years ago, I would lean over the feed bunk and smell the breath of a ketosis-suspect dairy cow. Itconvinced me that it had either bad breath or glue (acetone) breathing ketosis. Since then, I’ve comea long way. Dairy nutritionists like myself and dairy producers now have access to modern BHB (Beta-hydroxybutyrate)-milk tests through regular Canwest DHI testing or from available on-farm keto-testing kits. By detecting ketosis in problematic cows, and by implementing strong transition cowfeeding and management programs, we should be able to reduce the incidence of early lactationketosis, which is detrimental to long-term milking cows’ health and performance. Ignoring a ketosis cow doesn’t solve the problem, either. Untreated clinical ketosis includes a rapiddrop in body condition, loss of appetite, decreased milk production, and yes, acetone-smellingbreath. Most veterinarians will tell us that such clinical ketosis is relatively rare in dairy cows withthe majority of ketosis symptoms in afflicted cows being hidden or subclinical in nature. Rather, these latter cows will suffer from a higher incidence of displaced abomasums, retainedplacentas, mastitis, or a weakened immune system. Subclinical ketosis has also been linked to milkfever and reproductive problems. Cows with subclinical ketosis lose about 25% of their potentialmilk production per lactation. Early lactation cows are the most vulnerable to either type of ketosis, because by nature theycannot meet all their energy requirements of maintenance and high milk production from the soleconsumption of their diet. Therefore they are drawn into a state of “negative energy balance” (NEB)for about 5 – 6 weeks after calving. Even well-transitioned cows experience a period of NEB, but they tend to have good post-partumdry matter intakes, which draws a lot of dietary carbohydrates from their energy-dense diets and asa result mobilize a healthy amount of body fat. This fat energy helps bridge this NEB gap during theearly period of peak milk production. By comparison, ketosis-affected cows often have limited feed intakes or energy-unbalanced diets,which cause a rapid yet life-threatening rate of fat-breakdown and ultimately poisonous ketonebodies are formed. It is these circulating ketone bodies that lead to a toxicity associated with bothclinical and sub-clinical dairy ketosis. By measuring the serum (blood) concentrations of ketone bodies such as Beta-hydroxybutyrate(BHB), scientists can determine the potential ketosis threat (and associated severity of NEB) in achosen group of early lactation cows. Measuring BHB levels in milk also underlies the keto-screen available by DHI testing as a riskindicator of ketosis. Since, the first few weeks is considered the highest ketosis risk period in earlylactation cows, DHI tests the milk samples of cows of DIM 5 – 21 days and DIM 22 – 42 days.They mark and report “positives” of these samples, which exceed a BHB threshold of 0.15 mmol/l. Their report also shows the percentage of cows that have elevated BHB levels for that reportedmonth as well as those from past 3 month increments. Although, identification of subclinical ketosis in lactating dairy cows is helpful and warrantscorrective actions, preventing ketosis as much as possible in any given herd is strongly recom-mended. One should implement a proper transition diet (three weeks before cows calve and threeweeks post-partum) in order to promote optimum dry matter intake and body condition scores insusceptible dairy cows. Initially, a good close-up dry cow diet should be palatable which ensures that pre-partum cows areconsuming about 12 kg of dry feed, daily. The diet should contain moderate energy forages withsome room for lead-feeding grain. Close-up dry cows (even fat cows) should not be allowed to losebodyweight in this period. Once cows calve, the early lactation rations should be designed to promote good rumen function(re: effective forage fibre) and yet carry enough available dietary energy to support the demands ofincreasing milk production. The goal is to build up dry matter intake in early lactation cows to about3.5 – 4.0% of their bodyweight at about 9 – 10 weeks after calving. Tying it together is good bunk management for all good feeding programs set up for both the close-up and early lactation dairy cows. This means that each transition cow should have enough bunkspace and adequate time to eat. A properly mixed ration should be put in front of the cows, pushedup frequently and old feed removed. It is a matter of implementing any practice that will get dairycows, before and after calving to eat that extra kilo of feed. Matching the energy demands with a dairy cow’s energy needs in the close-up and early stages oflactation is critical in minimizing rapid body fat mobilization and ketosis. Alongside, we should havea ketosis monitoring program (such as DHI) that identifies subclinical cases as well as our progressin reducing ketosis. Your program might even include my glue-breath test!

The Federal Government is pumping in $225,000 for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canadascientists to work with the Canadian Soybean Exporters’ Association (CSEA) to help boostthe global competitiveness of food-grade soybeans. The soybean industry, working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists at theGreenhouse and Processing Crops Research Centre, will develop quality-control tools tohelp ensure that their crops meet the specific quality attributes in demand for soybeans inglobal markets. The primary objective of this project is to evaluate Canadian soybean suit-ability for soymilk production, and it is targeted mainly at the Asian soy food market,estimated at $880 million in 2014. Soybeans are currently the fourth-largest crop by seeded acreage, according to Soy Canada,returning $2.4 billion to Canadian farmers. CSEA, formed in 1995, is a voluntary association that promotes the export of Canadiansoybeans and soya products to world markets by continuously improving the quality andvalue of Canadian soybeans. A previous collaborative project between CSEA and the researchcentre, which received $180,000, focused on establishing procedures for testing Canadiansoybean suitability for tofu manufacture.

Reduce Ketosisin Early

Lactation DairyCows

Investment to Boost Competitiveness of Food-Grade SoybeansInvestment to Boost Competitiveness of Food-Grade SoybeansInvestment to Boost Competitiveness of Food-Grade SoybeansInvestment to Boost Competitiveness of Food-Grade SoybeansInvestment to Boost Competitiveness of Food-Grade Soybeans


The only way ATVs, Side by Sides, Snowmobiles or DirtBikes are insured is if they are specifically scheduled on a policy.All too often they get damaged or stolen and it is then that theowner finds out that it is not insured on the farm or businesspolicy. If you choose to insure these on your farm or business policy,it is very limited coverage and you are only covered for ThirdParty Liability while using it on your own private property. So,if while crossing a public road, you have a collision, you wouldhave no coverage. However, if you were insured with Autopacyou would.By Harry Siemens

Coming off a very good year for hog producers inManitoba, Michael McCain, head of Maple Leaf Foodssaid to move forward efficiently and successfully the in-dustry needs balance. “A balance is about pigs and people and having the rightbalance in the industry with the right number of pigs born,marketing and processing the right number of pigs here inthe province, in balance from one end of the chain to theother,” said McCain. “Right now we’re not in balance. Wehave neither enough pigs nor people to operate the capac-ity we have in place already today, efficiently. We think thatneeds correcting.” He quickly added that it does not mean his company isadvocating unbridled growth. For him it means Maple Leafneeds to have enough supply and enough people to oper-ate the assets on the ground efficiently and effectively. McCain is hopeful that the industry can get enough barnsand producers to regain confidence in the pig industry. “Ithink the fundamentals are in place today to be able toaccomplish that. Still many challenges that we have to workour way through,” he said. “That makes me hopeful that wecan solve it but we still have to address those challenges.” The Brandon Maple Leaf plant has the capacity to pro-cess 90,000 hogs a week, but currently processes only70,000, with an idling capacity of 20,000 a week, or process-ing one million hogs per fewer a year. He thinks it is in everyone’s interest to find a way tobalance that shortfall, but it will require roughly 175 barns,over how many years depends on many factors comingtogether. McCain said he believes that the province is ad-equately dealing with the shortfall and thinks that every-one is broadly supportive of the industry. “I think everyone recognizes for this industry to be suc-cessful, it has to also be sustainable,” said McCain. “I thinkthe framework is in place for responsible growth to achievebalance again we’re not advocating unbridled growth, we’readvocating an efficient industry that requires balance toaccomplish that. We’re advocating and I think demonstrat-ing that we support doing so in a sustainable and respon-sible way.” When it comes to balancing people and pigs, McCainsaid most certainly the industry has more obstacles thansupport. “We think Brandon, particularly, but Manitoba ingeneral was one of the role model participants in the Tem-porary Foreign Worker program,” he said. “We had usedthat program to bring in over 1,000 people to Brandon, andover 800 of them today are permanent residents of Canada.That is something we should be proud of yes, the TFWprogram across the country from coast to coast, had issuesand abuses, that needed correcting. Brandon and Manitobaat large was not one of them.” He said Maple Leaf and Manitoba have the need, theinfrastructure, and managed responsibly, is an importantcomponent to getting back an efficient industry. In the meantime, Maple Leaf has done its best to support domesticrecruiting programs, coast to coast, with some modest suc-cess. McCain said no industry, no processing systems needsto be the biggest to be the best, but it is important to findthe balance as an industry both in pigs and people. “I havea great deal of confidence because it is an industry withenduring success, not without obstacles to deal with, butManitoba and the Manitoba hog industry has always dem-onstrated its ability to overcome those obstacles. I thinkthese will be no different.”

Maple Leaf Outlines theFuture Challenges for

Manitoba’s Pork Industry

At the MPC AGM in AprilMichael McCain, thePresident and CEO ofMaple Leaf, outlined thechallenges that the porkindustry faces and saidthe entire hog industry,right through the supplychain, needs to balanceproduction, processing,and people.

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By Les Kletke

The Dairy Farmers ofCanada have turned upthe promotion of cheese anotch or two. Cheesepromotion is not onlygetting that cheese out ofthe fridge but also lovingit. That was the messagethat David, a formerQuebecer now convertedB.C. resident had forthose attending hischeese informationseminar at the RoyalWinter Fair in Brandon in

Dairy Farmers Want Youto Love Your Cheese

Chef David says the heart is in the logo because every bit of cheese is made with love.

early April. “See the logo with theheart around it?” he askedthe audience. “Thatmeans love, we shouldlove our cheese, and asCanadians we do, but wecould love it even more.”Coincidentally the loveyour cheese campaign isrunning at the same time,as McDonald’s advertis-ing approach thatpromotes loving theirfood products. David, who was busypromoting Canadian

cheeses, forgot to offerthe audience his lastname. He added that themeaning of the heart inthe logo also representsthe amount of love thatgoes into a block ofcheese regardless of thetype of cheese it is.“Dairy farmers love theiranimals and they love thework they do,” he said.“How else could you getup at that time in themorning to go and dochores? Farmers love theircows and you can seethat by the way they treatthem.” During the cheesedemonstration, he pointedout to the audience thatcheese is concentratedmilk and that it takesroughly 10 times thevolume of milk to producecheese. The demonstra-tion ran three times a dayduring the fair in a makeshift classroom thataccommodated 50 peopleper sitting. Thoseattending were offeredseven samples of

Canadian cheeses andDavid walked themthrough a sessionexplaining the characteris-tics of the cheeses as wellas the history of theparticular type. Two of the featuredcheeses were Manitobamade in the BothwellCheese factory in NewBothwell. “The squeakycurds are fresh cheese,”he said. “You should beable to hear the squeakwhen you bite through

it.” He said a Quebec madecheese; Boursin is themost consumed cheese inCanada and perhaps inthe world. It was devel-oped by Francois Boursinin Normandy, France in1957 and the creamycheese still bears hisname. It is now producedin several countriesaround the world. Most in the audienceknew it from the televisioncommercial where various

people sneak a piece ofcheese and try to reshapeit to the original circular,as it grows smaller.“It is a soft creamy cheeseflavoured with herbs, anddo you know why peoplelike it so much?” askedDavid. “Because it is fullfat, but that is not bad,”he answered. “The fatfrom the cheese is the firstto be burned in exercise orworking out. So don’t feelbad, if you love yourcheese.”

“The fat from the cheese is the first to beburned in exercise or working out.”


I was in a Tokyo liquor store the other day (I don’t have many opportunities to say that)and came across a bottle of Single Malt Canadian Vodka. The box contained the logo ofDucks Unlimited, showcasing the Canadian industry’s strong environmental record. Ku-dos to the small distillery in BC that is bringing this value-added product onto worldmarkets. While I can buy this product in Japan, I can’t seem to be able to get it in Winnipeg.Internal barriers to trade make it easier for the BC company to export to internationalmarkets than ship across provincial boundaries. It’s time for this to change. Canadians should expect fewer barriers to trade betweenprovinces than we see in trade between nations. Internal barriers don’t just apply to processed value-added products but also to farminputs. Different regional regulatory regimes for farm inputs are a barrier to agriculturepotential. Instead of diminishing over time, these differences are growing. This can berectified through amendments to the Agreement on Internal Trade, provided there is politi-cal will. Canada has a science-based regulatory system that is the envy of much of the world.This includes the regulation of crop protection products through the Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency (PMRA) and the regulation of new seed varieties through the Cana-dian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). But this science-based regulatory framework is under threat. There is a growing trend oflocal environmental and health regulations that are based on the perception of publicopinion and not grounded in sound science. Local or regional regulations that are notscience-based represent internal barriers that hamper the competitiveness of agriculturefrom coast to coast. For example, a number of provinces have enacted legislation and regulations that limitthe use of crop protection products that have been reviewed by the PMRA and approvedfor use in Canada. The result is a growing patchwork of overlapping federal and provincialregulations that differ from province to province. This patchwork of regulation puts farm-ers in some regions of the country at a competitive disadvantage to farmers in other partsof Canada and, just as importantly, puts Canadian farmers at a competitive disadvantageto farmers in other countries, like the US. The most recent example of provincial jurisdictions overriding the science-based regula-tory decisions of the PMRA is the move by the Government of Ontario to limit the use ofneonicotinoid seed treatments. These regulations will put Ontario farmers at a competitivedisadvantage for two reasons. First, the provincial limitation on the use of neonicotinoidseed treatments will increase the cost of production in Ontario as alternative pest controlproducts are more expensive to apply. Second, the regulations will limit the availability ofseed for Ontario producers. This includes new varieties with increased yield potential. The problems don’t stop at the Ontario border. Regional or local regulations that are notbased on science significantly increase the risk of investing in research and developmentin all of Canada. A company looking to introduce a new farm input or new seed variety notonly has to contend with federal requirements but must fact in the risk that their productmight be taken off the shelf by local governments. If we allow this risk to continue to grow,companies will simply take their investment elsewhere – to our competitors in the US andAustralia for example. There is a straightforward concrete solution to the proliferation of regional or localregulations that are not based on sound science. Federal and provincial governmentsmust develop a science-based dispute resolution process as part of the Agreement onInternal Trade. This provision would allow the review of regulations on agricultural inputsand products to ensure that all regulations conform to national standards and fit withinCanada’s science-based regulatory framework. This is what we are demanding of ourinternational trading partners and we should expect nothing less at home. Bringing down the barriers to internal trade will help foster the development of domesticvalue added initiatives. Reducing internal barriers to investment will ensure that Canada isa top choice for the introduction of new crop varieties and inputs. The result will increasedchoice for both consumers and farmers and accelerated growth in agriculture across thecountry. Free trade within Canada based on regulations that are founded in strong sci-ence. It is something that is long overdue. Cam Dahl is President of Cereals Canada.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz recently announced upcoming changes to streamline andmodernize the way crop varieties are registered in Canada. The Government of Canada worked closely with the crop production value chain to ensurethat Canada’s Variety Registration (VR) system continues to protect Canada’s internationalreputation for high-quality crops and encourages innovation in crop variety development byremoving potential barriers to crop innovation. The changes include streamlining the variety registration system to two tiers for Basic andEnhanced, model operating procedures that will streamline recommending committees. Thesechanges will give Canadian farmers faster access to the newest cutting-edge varieties. There will also be incorporation by reference that will allow value chain consensus to speedup administrative changes by up to 24 months. These changes will go through additional consultations with industry groups in the comingmonths.

Time forFree

TradeInside

Canada

Registration Process Changes to StreamlineCrop Variety Registration


By Les Kletke

For some, Brandon’sRoyal Winter Fair is achance to show of the skillsand animals trainedthrough the winter, for oth-ers it is a chance to learnfrom the best, in the ringand in preparing for thering. A two-day 4-H workshopspent the first day on clip-ping and the second ongrooming the animal thatparticipants had brought tothe workshop. KirkStierwelt is one of the bestat preparing animals for theshow ring, and this year hewas on hand at the RoyalWinter Fair to provide

By Joan Airey

Kirk Stierwalt of Leady,Oklahoma travels acrossNorth America giving clin-ics for all ages and was onhand helping youth at theRoyal Manitoba WinterFair in Brandon. Stierwalt provided ahands-on course with su-pervision, passing on hisknowledge of proven tech-niques and tips on clipping,hoof trimming, show daydressing, showman ship,feeding and general care ofanimals. He shared manysolutions to problems hehad encountered over theyears. “I took the heifer I pur-chased with my 4-H steermoney to the Kirk Stierwaltclinic so I could learn moreabout showing animals.Mom and Dad gave me theclinic registration for mytwelfth birthday. It was agreat learning experienceduring spring break,” saidKiernan Olson. Olson lives on a purebredCharolais farm near Portagela Prairie and belongs to thelocal 4-H Beef Club and theJunior Charolais Associa-tion.

4-H Youth Learn from the Best

Kirk Stierwalt offers Niami Best some encouragement during agrooming clinic at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

hands on workshop for 4-H members on how to getthe most out of their animalin the ring. Ten individuals were cho-sen to participate in theworkshop and Stierweltrated the skill levels, “Asacross the board, and thatis fine because you neverknow when someone willtake an interest and decideto get into the business.” He said one of the keysto preparing an animal forthe ring is being able todown play the faults. “Ani-mals are not perfect but youwant to present them asbest you can, minimize thefaults for the show ring,”he said. “You can’t fool a

judge but you can make theanimal look the best youcan.” Stierwelt travels the con-tinent preparing animals forthe ring and said that ev-ery breed has good onesand sometimes the crossesare the best. “We prepare alot of purebred animals forshows, and there is a needfor the purebred breederbut we see a lot ofcrossbreds for the steershows,” he said. “The hy-brid vigour produces somegreat show animals and wesee that in the steershows.” He said there is only thatmuch that can be done onthe two days before showday. “It depends on how theanimal is raised, you canhave a great calf in a badhome and it won’t make ashow animal, but some veryaverage calves go to somegood homes and turn outwell for the show ring,” hesaid. “To get the real champi-ons you have to have aneye for what makes a goodshow animal and the pas-sion to develop that animaland work with it while itgrows up,” said Stierweltwho also operates a ranchat Leaday, Oklahoma.

Photo by Les Kletke

Young Cattle People Learn How toPrepare Animals for Show Ring

Justin Carvey of Alexander, Manitoba prepares his steer forthe show ring during the Kirk Stierwalt clinic at the RoyalManitoba Winter Fair.

Photo by Joan Airey

“If there is another clinicwith Kirk Stierwalt we knowKiernan would love to goagain. The days were longbut he really enjoyed learn-

ing from Kirk. Most of theinformation seems to havestuck which from my per-spective is a huge posi-tive,” said Rae TrimbleOlson.


By Peter Vitti

Every time I drive past a sprouting green pastures in May I think of grass tetany in beef cows. That’s because it is essentially a magnesium deficiency in lush pasture that can have fatal conse-quences for a cowherd. Who wants to come across a dead pregnant or fresh cow in a field caused bygrass tetany? I recommend that producers know some of the symptoms of grass tetany as well as the pastureconditions that expose their cattle. They should implement a good mineral program that can assistwith beef cow magnesium requirements in order to prevent dangerous grass tetany. Case-in-point - last year about this time, I received a phone call from a producer who operates a300 beef cow-calf ranch across the border into the United States. He was concerned that many of hispre- and just-fresh cows had grass tetany on sprouting pasture. Over the phone, he related thatmany of his older cows collapsed on their front legs and had a hard time getting back up. Someanimals collapsed on pastures, while others loss muscle control in front of the water-trough. Headmitted that one or two cows died. A day after the call, I drove out to his farm. I did not see any cows collapsing as he experienced, butone or two of his cows “appeared” walking with a stiff and staggering gait, “appeared” nervous andhad muscular tremors; all possible signs of a magnesium deficiency or grass tetany. Furthermore, thisherd had a higher percentage of older cows and heavy milkers that are very susceptible to thismetabolic springtime disease. Subsequently, this producer also informed me that he was working with his local veterinarian, whodrew some blood samples from several of the rough-looking cows. Their blood results showeddeficient magnesium levels as well as marginal deficient levels of copper and zinc. Because thisproducer was feeding only trace-mineral salt blocks on pasture, I recommended that he feed amagnesium-enriched commercial loose cattle mineral (with organic selenium, and chelated copperand zinc). A few weeks later, I learned that his veterinarian took more blood samples and confirmed that thecollapsing cows suffered from anaplasmosis (re: a protozoa induced anemia that tends to appear inolder cows and make them very weak). Whether these cattle also had, clinical grass tetany remainedinconclusive due to the overshadowing of an apparent larger problem. Because this particular herd received a questionable mineral program (re: trace-mineral salt blocks),it is my belief that these cows conceivably had a grass tetany issue as well as poor copper/zincstatus, which has been scientifically proven to negatively affect cow herd health, milk productionand reproduction. In a challenging feeding situation such as this one, it is often difficult to separateseveral issues at hand. Regardless of another nutritional or other problem affecting this or any other cowherd at the sametime, preventing grass tetany on sprouting spring pastures should be straightforward: gestating beefcows require about 15 grams of Mg per day, while lactating beef cows need closer to 20 - 25 gramsMg, daily. Consequently, low magnesium status in beef cows that often leads to established cases of grasstetany can be traced back to Mg-deficient forage found in rapidly growing pasture grasses during atypical spring of cool, cloudy, and rainy weather. Such conditions are favourable to developing Mgdeficiencies in cattle and are often seen on orchard grass, perennial rye grass, timothy, tall fescue,crested wheatgrass, and bromegrass pastures. Here are five things that can be done to help assure that magnesium requirements of beef cowsgrazing potentially dangerous grass tetany pastures are met:1. Feed a commercial beef mineral formulated with 8 – 12% magnesium at 85.04 – 113.39 grams (3-4oz) per head per day from 3 – 6 weeks before the beef herd is allowed out on pasture.2. Formulate the entire diet to insure that the ratio of potassium/ (calcium + magnesium) is less than2.2 in their total diet (estimate pasture intakes on a dm, basis). The Ca/P ratio of this diet should alsobe around 2:1.3. Feed salt blocks or in loose form on pasture; salt (NaCl) has been shown to reduce the incidenceof grass tetany in beef cattle.4. Continue to feed dry hay to the beef cowherd at the beginning of the pasture season. Wait to putthe cattle on pasture until the grass is 4 – 6” tall.5. Adjust calving season to avoid high-risk grass tetany periods (first 2 - 3 weeks of the grazingseason). Lastly, it is important to work with your nutritionist and veterinarian when implementing thesewell-balanced recommendations. As a result, you should be able to significantly prevent or reducemany cattle cases of grass tetany in beef cows grazing spring pastures. It’s a matter of providingenough dietary magnesium or reducing the conditions, that make cows susceptible to grass tetany. Next time you drive past your cows grazing spring pastures in May, rather than thinking aboutgrass tetany like I do, think of the profitability of your healthy and productive cowherd.

May is Grass TetanyMonth for Beef Cows

A deal approved by the Federal Government has been reached between the Canadian Wheat Board(CWB) and G3 Global Grain Group, which ensures CWB becomes a fully private and globalcompetitor in the Canadian grain sector. The deal will see the investors in a joint venture between food company Bunge Ltd. and a unit ofSaudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. known as SALIC Canada Ltd. form a new Cana-dian company headquartered in Winnipeg. The investment will cost $250 million for a 50.1-per-centstake in the grain trader. The rest of the equity in CWB will be available to farmers who sell theirgrain to the company. The new company has plans to develop a coast-to-coast grain processing and shipping networkacross Canada. Once fully realized, the growth associated with this deal is expected to increaseCanada’s grain export capacity and add hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars ofeconomic growth across the Prairies. The new G3 Global Grain Group is a majority owned by Bunge Ltd., a $12-billion US agriculturecompany based in White Plains, New York operating in 40 countries. The other partner, SALICCanada, a wing of the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. was established by SaudiArabia’s king in 2011 to secure food supplies for a country that imports 80 per cent of its food.

Foreign Owners Plan to Expand CWB



By Joan Airey

Twenty kids vie to remove a halter from one of tencalves in a Monday night calf scramble at the RoyalManitoba Winter Fair held in Brandon. The event has changed over the years. The kids usedto have to put a halter on the calf and get it to a desig-

Calf Scramble Still Popular Event

The Canada Grains Council (CGC) is receiving $1.4 mil-lion from the Federal Government to help the grain indus-try demonstrate its compliance with global sustainabilityrequirements and expand its access to international mar-kets. The CGC will use over $1 million to develop tools that

Photo by Joan Airey

Grain Sector Funding Looksat Increasing Exports

nated end of the arena. Then the kids were awarded ei-ther $250 or $350 to help in the purchase of a heifer orsteer and bring the animal back the next Winter Fair andshow it. Now the ones who remove the halters on Monday nightreceive $100 and on Tuesday night receive $200.

will help grain growers demonstrate their crops are grown ina sustainable way. An additional investment of over $325,000will allow the CGC to collaborate with other stakeholders inthe grains and oilseeds industry on common issues relatedto trade and market access in order to increase grain exportopportunities for the sector.

The Major Jay Fox Memorial scholarship has beendeveloped by the Manitoba Outstanding Young Farmersin honour of Jay and the contribution that he made toagriculture in Canada. An annual scholarship will be presented to recognize astudent who is continuing in the field of agriculture andhas made a significant difference in their communities.One bursary will be awarded annually for $500. Thefollowing criteria have been developed and applicationsmust be received no later than May 22, 2015. All applications can be sent electronically to ManitobaOutstanding Young Farmers, c/o Tracy Bassa,[email protected]:- Must be at least 17 years of age as of January 1, 2015.- Must use the bursary within two years.Requirements:- Must submit a 250 word (maximum) typed essaystating their future goals in agriculture and “In youropinion, what could be done to retain a larger number ofyoung people in agriculture in Manitoba (Canada)”.-Must submit proof of enrolment in a recognizedinstitution (e.g. transcript).- Must submit a list of community involvement (e.g. 4-H, community clubs, volunteer work, etc.)- Post-secondary program or trades training must be aminimum of 6 months in duration.- Provide two letters of reference from persons outsideof your family that indicate your work experience,community involvement, etc.- All essays will become the property of Manitoba’sOutstanding Young Farmers and as such, will bepublished at the discretion of the association withproper credit to the author. Preference will be given to those students pursuing afield of study related to agriculture or to those acquiringa skilled trade that would be beneficial to the ruraleconomy. Completed applications must be submitted by 4 pmon May 22, 2015. Winners will be notified and theaward will be presented at the following year’sManitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmers Regional Event.

Major Jay Fox MemorialScholarship Supporting

Agricultural Studies


By Joan Airey

For five years, SharraSage has been traininghorses full-time atThunderbird Horse Centrethat her dad Neil McLeodstarted over forty yearsago. “Every day I work on be-coming a betterhorseperson working witha multiple of differenthorses at all different lev-els. At Thunderbird Centrewe raise, train and sell ourown horses for westernperformance. Along withbeing able to sell very niceall round horses to thepublic we also train horsesfor the public. What I havelearnt is that I have beenable to achieve so muchwith my horses because Ihave always had good

McLeod Family ShareKnowledge of Horses

with Fair Goers

coaching. I have takenmany clinics and learntfrom many different peoplebut the most important ismy dad has always beenhere to help me and havinga good coach is very im-portant,” said Sharra Sage. Sage has been givingriding lessons for the pastfive years. Her focus at les-sons is always horseman-ship and safety. “I find thatonce people learn how tocommunicate with horses itis so rewarding to see whatthey can accomplish. At theRoyal Manitoba WinterFair my dad and I did demosat the learning stages pen.My dad’s focus was higherlevels of horsemanship;while I did a demo on barrelracing, beginner groundwork which I had a girl whotakes lessons help me set it

Photo by Joan Airey

up like a lesson. I also did abeginner lesson where Ishared the important thingsI teach everyone in the firstfew lessons at the centre,”said Sage. During the fair, Sage com-peted in the Barrel racingand won the first jackpoton her horse Alabama Wiki.In the second jackpot, sheplaced 2nd on AlabamaWiki and third on her otherhorse Elvis. “Two of the children whotake lessons from me werein the barrel racing at thefair. Melayna Lockie wonthe 2D in both jackpot onher horse Brad and her sis-ter Laramie Lockie whowon the 3D in the secondjackpot on her horse Fire-fly. It was an awesome weekfor us at the fair this year!”exclaimed Sage.

By Les Kletke

Robert Heath left the honey business when the bottom fell out in 1987, but a call from afarmer who had a swarm of bees on his yard brought him back and he is still in it nearly 25years later. Heath has experienced the difficulties of agriculture through a few commodities and is nowcontent to operate his hives at a level he calls a hobby. He emigrated from England in 1975 with the intent of being a dairy farmer. He couldn’t affordto build his own operation in England and saw opportunity in Manitoba. “Then the interestrates of the early 80s hit and I left the business to become a carpenter,” said Heath who livesnear Virden. He began to keep bees as a hobby and gradually grew his operation to where hehad 300 hives. “But the bottom fell out of the market in 1987 and I sold out,” he said. “In 1981, honey was70 cents a pound and it dropped to 35 cents by 1987 and it was costing me 45 cents toproduce.” He thought he was leaving the business for good but then he got the fateful phonecall from a farmer asking him to help remove a rogue swarm of bees. “I had nothing to do, so I started in business again,” he said with a chuckle. Today the priceof raw honey in the barrel is $2.25. Heath sells his production in small containers where the return is even better but acknowl-edges that it is much more work and commercial producers are not able to spend the timemarketing all of their production that way. He sells about 95% of his honey creamed. Creamedis a process that involves whipping the honey and seeding it with the finest granules of honeysugar. Heath was on hand at the Manitoba Honey booth at the Royal Winter Fair in Brandonexplaining the business and tools of the trade to interested visitors. He takes his honey fromhive to jars and is able to provide the same journey in words for visitors. Like most aspects of agriculture, the honey business has experienced a concentration ofproduction into fewer large producers. “There are some producers in the Brandon area whohave over 500 hives, there is a large producer at Gilbert Plains and there are some hobbyistswho do it as a sideline and are not full time,” said Heath. The provincial average for productionis 165 pounds per hive but he said that with good management he could achieve over 200 lbsfrom his hives. Today’s production is primarily from canola. “We used to have a larger amount of sunflowerhoney but the bees don’t work the hybrid seed so that has dropped off.” “Years ago when you had a sunflower field nearby you were assured of some sunflowerhoney and could keep it separate but today bees will fly by a field of sunflowers in full bloomto find another field so the bit of sunflower honey gets mixed in with the other production,” hesaid. He said that pesticide use and the new regulations are a concern for his operation. “It is aconcern and we don’t know where it will sort out,” he said. “We understand the concern forcrops, but we also need to be concerned about the health of the bees.”

Honey Producer’s Sweet Story


By Les Kletke

As cattle numbers declineacross North American, theprice of beef is a reflectionof this shortage as we headinto barbecue season. Theshortage is happeningwithin the goat industry. “We don’t have enoughanimals to fill the demand,”said Bill Paulishyn, whoraises goats at Anola. Theretired schoolteacher hasbeen involved with justabout every aspect of the

Goat Shortage in the Making

In a recent announcement, the Federal Government has committed $1.1 million to the Cana-dian Fertilizer Institute (CFI). The funding will facilitate research and development to improvethe efficient use of fertilizer, while reducing the environmental impacts and input costs, andcreating competitive advantages for producers through improved crop production. It will also enable the Institute to build on its successful 4R Nutrient Stewardship researchnetwork. A cross-Canada research network involving scientists from 11 universities and re-search institutes will collaborate on a three-year research project to develop and test bestmanagement practices and support systems for fertilizer use tailored to Canadian soils, climatesand cropping systems. The Canadian fertilizer industry contributes over $12 billion annually to the Canadian economyand is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of fertilizer. Canada supplies approxi-mately 12 per cent of the world’s fertilizer materials and is the largest exporter of potash andelemental sulfur. “Famers need the latest soil science to meet growing global demand for food, feed, fiber andfuel,” said Clyde Graham, Acting President of CFI. “The results from this research will demon-strate to environmentalists, the food industry and the Canadian public that 4R Nutrient Stew-ardship is good for the farm economy and the environment.”

Goat meat is gaining appeal in Manitoba and supply is not meeting demand.

Photo by Les Kletke

goat industry and said thedemand for the meat con-tinues to grow. Paulishyn said that pro-ducing goats in Manitobahas only served to growthe demand. “We have im-proved the quality of themeat that is available andpeople want more of it,” hesaid. “We are experiencinga growing populationwhere goat is the traditionalmeat and people want tocontinue eating it espe-cially when they can get

good quality.” Paulishyn remembers dis-cussion in the industry adecade or more ago whenthe potential of the indus-try was down played.“When we talked about im-migration, people said thatnew immigrants wouldwant to eat beef as was thetradition in NorthAmerica,” he said. “Theydo but they also want tokeep their traditions andhave goat at festivals orholidays and we cannoteven keep up to that partof the demand.” His budgets show that aproducer can keep seven oreight goats on the sameamount of pasture as a beefcow and a doe will normallyproduce two kids that willbe marketed at 70 lbs. “Thatis 140 lbs that goes to mar-ket and at $2.50 a poundthat is a return of $350,”said Paulishyn. “That givesthe producer a pretty goodreturn.” He has 25 does on hisfarm and expects to market50 kids this fall. On his farm,he raises goat for meat andsaid there is potential for agoat dairy industry in theprovince, although it is nothis choice of enterprise.The kids on his farm areborn in February andMarch to avoid a potentialparasite problem. “The onlygoat dairy in the provincewent out of business lastyear, and there is the po-tential to build that indus-try for someone who wantsto. It is a real opportunity,”

he said. Paulishyn said the de-mand for goat meat is sostrong that the majority ofit is sold cubed at this time.

“It is chilled, cut into cubesbones and all,” he said.“That is the way it is usedin many traditional dishes.

It is easy to do and doesn’trequire and special knowl-edge by the cutter.”

Fertilizer Industry Receives Research Funding


By Harry Siemens

The Western CanadianWheat Growers Associa-tion (WCWGA) supportsthe federal government’sdecision to end the grainshipping volume mandatesfor CN and CP effectiveMarch 28. “The Wheat Growerssupport the government’sdecision to end the rail ship-ping mandates,” said LeviWood, President of theWheat Growers. “The Or-der was necessary to re-duce the grain shippingbacklog; however it is nowtime to see a return to a sys-tem where the marketplacedetermines grain shippingpatterns rather than a gov-ernment decree.” Doug Chorney, a farmerat Beausejour and immedi-ate past President of Key-stone Agricultural Produc-ers is also in favour of gov-ernment getting out of thisone. “It had some negativeconsequences for thesmaller shippers inSaskatchewan, meaningthey didn’t get the cars theyrequested on time,” saidChorney. The Wheat Growers main-tain the grain shipping Or-der, first issued by the gov-ernment in March 2014, wasessential to move therecord 2013 crop and theensuing backlog in grainshipments. At the time of the initialOrder, rail grain shipmentswere down 2% from the pre-

By Harry Siemens

Lower farm commodityprices and record land inputcosts have some farmers in theUS set to gamble by cuttingback on input costs to helpincrease profit margins and de-crease lost margins. Darin D. Fessler, of LincolnNebraska, a senior hedge ad-visor specializing in grain hedg-ing/trading with LakefrontFutures, works with produc-ers around the country andtech traders around the worldmostly focusing in agriculture. “A lot of the corn, beans,wheat, rice, cattle, hogs, any-thing like that type of pro-ducer, just to help manage theirrisk and provide some kind ofsound risk management planswhen heading into sometroubled waters,” said Fessler. His tweet, that US farmersgoing on a bit of a gamble bycutting back on inputs caughtthe attention of this reporter. “The input costs are veryhigh, at around $700 dollars aton, seed costs $300 dollars abag for some of the better ge-netics and technology, and landrents $300 and beyond,” saidFessler. “Guys are doing any-thing and everything theypossibly can to improve mar-gins for this year and doing itby all means possible, reduc-ing fertilizer, holding back onbuying new machinery, de-creasing the technology of theseed he puts in the ground.” He explained that inputcosts for corn, could be any-where from $650 to $900 peracre and for soybeans about$200 dollars less an acre. The situation is not only inlocalized areas, it is hittingfarmers right across the coun-try and downward pressure inChicago continues to drop

By Elmer Heinrichs

With a new crop season beginning the Canadian FoodgrainsBank is preparing for another exciting year. “It’s exciting to see registration forms for growing projectsarriving,” said Harold Penner, Co-ordinator of the CanadianFoodgrains Bank. “We look forward to another wonderful yearof raising crops to help people in need,” added Penner. When the fiscal year ended March 31, we found ourselvesdown a bit from last year, said Penner, noting, “We had a numberof projects where participants were unable to seed last year, andit made a difference,” Penner explained. “But we have one new community project again this year [justsouth of Winnipeg] and we’ll probably have a few more Hutteritecolonies growing fields for us, so I think we can look forward toa really good year in Manitoba.” Manitoba growing projects have totalled in the 5,500 to 5,700-acre range for a couple of years, and Penner wonders if theymight hit 6,000 acres this year. “That would be awesome!” heexclaimed. Growing and community projects are ways Canadians supportthe work of Canadian Foodgrains Bank to end hunger around theworld.

Farm Organizations Support Return toDemand-Driven Grain Shipping Model

Companies like Cargill, Viterra, and Richardsons International allhave grain handling facilities that depend on the two railwaysnot only moving grain, but getting timely delivery of empty carsand unit trains to move farmers’ grain to port.

vious year despite a 2013prairie crop that was 34%bigger. “The governmentOrder, and subsequent Or-ders, have had the desiredeffect of increasing grainmovement and reducingthe rail shipping backlog,”said Wood. Ultimately, the railwaysshipped a record amountof grain in the 2013-14 cropyear and rail shipmentsfrom prairie elevators dur-ing the first six months ofthis crop year (August toJanuary) are at record lev-els. As a result, the graincarryout at July 31 is ex-pected to be back within therange of normal levels,”said the WCWGA. Blair Rutter, an ExecutiveDirector with the WCWGAsaid another effect of the

Order is that it caused therailways to limit the ship-ment of wheat and oats intoUS markets. Rutter said according tothe Grain Monitor, year todate rail shipments fromprairie elevators, “Are uponly 10.2 % while ship-ments out of the four west-ern ports are up 27.5%suggesting that railwaysare focusing their re-sources on the movementsto western ports wherethey can achieve the quick-est cycles in order to meetthe volume thresholds.” As Chorney said, pro-ducer car shipments andshipments from shortlineshave also been limited.While the Order may haveresulted in the most grainmoving to market in the

fastest possible way, it maynot have resulted in thehighest returns to farmers.Suspending the Ordershould see a return to mar-ket-driven grain shippingpatterns. “The grain shipping sys-tem still needs a significantoverhaul to avoid a repeatof the problems we facedin the past 16 months,” saidWood. “But the emergencysituation is over, and thefocus should now be ongaining changes to theCanada Transportation Actthat will improve railwayservice and increase grainshipping capacity to meetthe long-term needs of ourindustry.” Rutter said the govern-ment retains the ability tore-impose railway shippingorders until August 1, 2016,so if there is a severe break-down in grain shipmentsover the next 16 months, thegovernment could re-insti-tute a minimum volumethreshold. He said the Federal gov-ernment has also expandedthe role of Quorum Corpo-ration, the Grain Monitor,in collecting informationand reporting on the Cana-dian grain handling andtransportation system. Western Canadian grainproduction in 2013, had arecord high of 76.3 milliontonnes, and 61.2 milliontonnes in 2014, secondhighest on record. In the 10previous years to 2013, theaverage grain productionwas 53.2 million tonnes.

Foodgrains Bank ProjectsPrepare for New Season

US FarmersGamble By

CuttingBack Inputs

to MakeEnds Meet

commodity prices. “That is kind of the side ef-fects from a good year like2012 with record high prices,and to a lesser extent in 2013,”Fessler said. “We’ve seen a runup in a lot of the land pricesand land rents. The landlordsaren’t willing to budge fromthe rents they’re chargingsome of their producers nowbecause they’re land costs andproperty taxes are also up.” While 2012 was a good yearprice wise, farmers are nowseeing some of the ramifica-tions of those high prices threeyears later. By taking this next step, inactually cutting back, Fesslersees it as more than seriousfor a good number of farmershe deals with. “They are serious. The guysI work with, there are somethat are probably in dire straits,far as land wise, and load wise.Many are losing land, andwhen you can’t get operatingloans, you can’t get crop inthe ground, the situation ispretty serious,” he said.“There is only so much hedg-ing and risk management thata farmer can put into place tohelp an operation out. At somepoint, they’re almost too deepfor their own good, more orless.” Fessler said if there is not ahigher bounce up in prices thisyear, up to at least $4.25 or$4.50 it will be hard to cashflow. If the increases do hap-pen, he thinks there will a lotof cash movement. Until thenthe bins will be shut andlocked. With a strong basis level,Fessler thinks farmers will de-liver a lot of corn in June orJuly when farmers need toclean up bin space for thiscoming crop. “When that happens wecould see basis starting towiden and that becomes a bigthreat looking at our alreadylower cash prices, balances,breakevens, and cash flows,”he said. “If the market rallies,farmers need to take advan-tage of this and hedge for thatdownside because there is noguarantee it will go to $4.50.We need to hedge what we canand protect what we do haveon those rallies.”


By Elmer Heinrichs

After several weeks of spring-like weather, melting snow and drying fields, sunshine and warmweather really arrived in mid-April and Manitoba farmers wasted no time getting into the fieldsearly. Already on Monday, April 13, Pam Rocquigny, a Provincial Cereal Crops Specialist, reported “Afew producers have started seeding their spring wheat,” and notes activity in the Altona and ElmCreek areas, as well as at Lowe Farm, and near Roland. “If the weather holds in terms of warm dry conditions, more seeding operations in other areas andfurther north could get underway next week,” said Rocquigny. “Winter wheat and fall rye is juststarting to break dormancy and resume growth so producers should be able to make some initialassessments of survival over the next week or so. It may take a bit longer to determine actual plantstands.” “It is anticipated based on some early indicators that winter wheat and fall rye should haveoverwintered okay. “However, the next couple of weeks will tell the full story, especially if thefavourable weather conditions continue,” added Rocquigny. Altona Farm Production Advisor Dennis Lange agrees that some farmers are starting already, butsays it will likely take a few weeks before seeding becomes general. It is not unusual for farmers to seed in April when there is an early snowmelt, minimal run-off andabove normal temperatures. “Right now, the field activity involves farmers putting in some springwheat and a few other cereal grains,” said Lange. Ryan Schwartz, who farms southeast of Altona, said he seeded another 100 acres of wheat onWednesday April 15 and now has a total of 275 acres in crop, all seeded to Prosper, a US CPC wheatvariety. Perhaps the biggest driver for early seeding is the potential for higher yields. The majority ofseeding date research conducted in western Canada reports increased yields with early seeding. Ifseeding starts early, farmers may benefit from longer harvest days with better weather in August.Spring seeding seems to have started in some southern areas across all three Prairie Provinces. Canadian Wheat Board Weather and Crop Specialist Bruce Burnett said there have been reports ofsporadic planting activity near the US border right across the prairies. Burnett added it looks like the weather will be cooperative with nighttime temperatures remainingabove zero. Dan Caron, a Business Development Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and RuralDevelopment, said we are probably a couple of weeks ahead of normal in terms of field conditions. Even though there are indications of dry conditions, Caron does not think that subsoil moisturewill be a problem this season. “In an average spring, the east side of the province doesn’t kick off seeding until the beginning tomiddle of May,” Caron said. But he still advises farmers to be cautious since there is still a risk offrost.

Manitoba Spring Seeding Underway


After the 2015, Manitoba Ag Days event,almost $10,000 was donated to various agri-culture related charities. Over the 3-day event, a 50/50 draw raised atotal of $18,310. The excited winner of the 50/50 was Craig Mowatt who collected his $9,155at the end of the show. As a committee, the organizers decided todivide the other half of the 50/50 draw anddonate it to three agricultural related chari-ties. The three charities that benefited wereManitoba 4-H Council ($3,577.50), ManitobaRural and Support Services ($3,577.50) andManitoba Youth Beef Roundup ($2,000). Committee members continue looking for-ward to supporting other agricultural relatedcharities in the future and ask that possiblerecipients contact Manitoba Ag Days [email protected].

Ag GroupsReceive Draw

Winnings

Julie Labossiere, President of theManitoba 4-H Council accepts a$3,577.50 cheque on behalf of theorganization from Kristen Phillips ofManitoba Ag Days.

Stephanie Cruickshanks with ManitobaAg Days presents a cheque to LeanneBrackenreed of Manitoba Rural andSupport Services for $3,577.50.

Lois McRae with the Manitoba Youth BeefRoundup organization will use their $2,000donation presented by Kristen Phillips ofManitoba Ag Days for two $1,000scholarships.

Chances are you have never heard of lingonberries, but they are to Scandinavians whatcranberries are to North Americans, a favourite accompaniment to many popular fooddishes. Recently, scientists have been seriously looking into the lingonberry as a new super fruitproviding unique benefits to human health. Across the country, researchers at Agricultureand Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) are actively pursuing genetic improvement and commer-cialization of lingonberries. In 2009, Dr. Chris Siow, AAFC scientist at the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research inHealth and Medicine (CCARM) in Winnipeg, began work with Dr. Samir Debnath at theAtlantic Cool Climate Crop Research Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, toselect superior wild-growing plants and develop improved lingonberry cultivars. Theirresearch suggests that the genetic types and climatic conditions prevailing in regions thatare more northern give lingonberries higher antioxidant content, especially anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are one of the valuable phytochemicals that lingonberries contain. Re-searchers believe these potent antioxidants can help reduce the risk of heart disease andeven some cancers. Specifically, anthocyanins prevent oxidation of blood cholesterol andaid in keeping blood vessels healthy. Other studies found certain extracts from lingonber-ries to be effective against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which can cause a widevariety of infections. Lingonberries also contain health-promoting dietary fibre, vitamin C,polyphenols and omega-3 fatty acids. “Our research team learned that lingonberries have remarkable disease-fighting proper-ties and these properties are enhanced the farther north lingonberries are grown. Canadahas the potential to increase harvest and production as demand for this health-promotingfruit increases,” said Siow. Lingonberries are common in the boreal forests of northern Manitoba. Dr. Siow has beencollecting lingonberries from the Flin Flon and Lynn Lake area and comparing them tothose grown in Newfoundland. Currently, he is analyzing the chemical composition of theManitoba lingonberries and assessing their potential health benefits. This project is acollaborative effort, involving AAFC scientists in Newfoundland, Manitoba and BritishColumbia and other researchers from the University of Manitoba and the Food Develop-ment Centre in Portage la Prairie. The tart, bright red lingonberry, also known as red whortleberry, cowberry, foxberry,lowbush cranberry, northern mountain cranberry, graines rouges in Quebec, partridge-berry in Newfoundland and rock cranberry in Alaska is smaller, juicier and less bitter thanits distant cousin, the cranberry. It grows on a short semi-evergreen shrub that is foundthroughout the cold Northern Hemisphere. It is produced commercially in Europe wherecultivated varieties (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) are available. A wild subspecies (Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minus) grows in Canada. Most of thelingonberries here are wild harvested, with Newfoundland and Labrador producing morethan 90,909 kgs (200,000 lbs) per year. The demand for lingonberries currently outstrips thesupply from wild harvest, so there is a market opportunity for Canadian producers.

There is no avoiding the topics of antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance(AMR) these days. We often see headlines like “Agricultural folly spawns superbugs”, “Anti-biotic Resistance Declared A ‘Serious Health Threat’ By CDC As Use In Meat IndustrySkyrockets”, and “Doctors call for ban of antibiotic use in farm animals as drug-resistant humaninfections hit ‘dangerous level’” in the mainstream media. Headlines like that are alarming formost consumers, government officials and us who make a living raising livestock. At the heart of it all, we know three things about AMR and its real threat. If antimicrobialsbecome less effective, then human health and animal welfare will suffer. AMR is a natural andvery complex phenomenon, but improper use of antibiotics favours the development of AMR.AMU is necessary in beef production, and prudent AMU will slow the development of AMR. The Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) wasset up to monitor antimicrobial resistance in humans and livestock, and retail meat. To date, theCIPARS has seen that resistance to drugs of Very High Importance is below 2% in bacteriaisolated from Canadian cattle or retail beef, and has remained stable for 10 years. Multidrugresistance is similarly low, and is not increasing. The Beef Cattle Research Council recommends monitoring cattle health on an ongoing basis toadminister prompt treatment, which usually gives a better response rate for fewer treatments ofan infection. Before using antimicrobials, an accurate diagnosis is paramount because viruses arenot susceptible to antibiotics. It is important that a producer also chooses the right product totreat the condition and follow the instructions of your veterinarian and/or label.

Lure of the Lingonberry is aWin-Win for Northern

Agriculture

Livestock: Proper Usage ofTreatments Keeps Resistance Low



By Ben Hamm

With cattle prices up and feed costs down, many producers are contemplating holding backadditional replacement heifers from their 2014 calf crop. An important question to ask yourself,does this make good economic sense? The current projected total cost of developing 2014 heifer calves into preg-checked females infall 2015 is $2,201.07/head. These heifers’ first calves will be born in spring 2016, with theheifers’ calves potentially marketed that fall, or grown out and sold as feeders in the summer of2017. In either case, it takestwo years to increase thenumber of calves sold. Figure 1 summarizes thisyear’s projected cost ofraised replacement heifers.The analysis is based on1,350-lb. cows producing550-lb. weaned heifers in thefall of 2014. The currentprojection for 2014 weanedheifers sold in the fall is$245/cwt., or $1,362.85/weaned heifer calf. Thus, theopportunity cost for raisedreplacement heifers is$1,362.85. The winter growing period is projected to be 224 days and the winter-feed costs are based onwintering the heifer calves on barley grain, hay and supplement. The costs used are $3.25/bu.barley and $80/ton hay, which generates a winter-feed cost of $311.16/head. The heifers were moved topasture on May 1, at a pasturerent of $.69/head/day for 140days, at a grazing cost of $103.27/heifer for the year (see Figure 2). Breeding costs were based on a$4,000 heifer bull used for fouryears and then culled, generating abreeding fee of $34/heifer. The projected total economiccost of a raised replacement heifercame to $2,147.58/head beforeculling. After adjusting for an 88%conception rate, the market value($1,800) for the open heifers soldincreases the final cost of raisingreplacement heifers to $2,201.07/preg-checked if the heifer was purchased at $245/cwt. After all the adjustments, the development cost of each heifer exposed averages to $798.99/head. If we add the $1,362.85 opportunity cost at weaning, and add the cost of the opens of$48.23, we have a projected total economic cost for raising a replacement heifer of $2,201.07/head.

The Canadian Food In-spection Agency (CFIA)has increased its efforts tostem the current outbreakof Highly PathogenicAvian Influenza (HPAI) andits spread into Canada byrestricting importations ofpoultry and poultry prod-ucts. By mid April numerousUS counties, includingwhole states just south of

The Economics of RaisingReplacement Heifers

The cost of growing replacementheifers through the winter varies fromoperation to operation, so calculatingan individualized cost is crucial. Each producer is encouraged toestimate winter feed and summergrazing costs. Whatever winter andsummer feed costs you use, raisedreplacement costs for your 2014 heifercalves are predicted to be record-high. Breakeven Calculations – Figure 3- If the intended sale price of the bredheifer is $2,100, to break even andcover total cost the purchase price of a550 lb heifer can be $231.87/cwt.- If an operation is only intending tocover operating cost, the amountspent for that 550 lb heifer can be$254.95/cwt.- If the intent is to cover operating andlabour costs, the amount spent forthat 550 lb heifer calf can be $247.07/cwt.- To cover operating and fixed cost,the amount paid for that 550 lb heifercan be $239.75. Again, all these costs only allow theproducer to break even. For this to bea profitable enterprise, either thepurchase price of the 550 lb heifer hasto be lower than $231.87/cwt to covertotal costs, or the sale price of thebred heifer has to be more than$2,201.07/bred, after the 88%conception rate is factored in. Thesecosts are only taking the bred heiferinto fall of 2015. Extra costs will haveto be added if feeding into the winter. For detailed information on beefreplacement heifer costs or other beef-related costs of production, visitgov.mb.ca/agriculture/business-and-economics/financial-management/cost-of-production for beef.

World-Wide Restrictions Imposed byCanada on Poultry Imports

the border and northernparts of the EU increasedthe established quarantinezones to six countries. Imports continue to be re-stricted from affected quar-antine zones (QZ) that in-clude the states of Arkan-sas, California, Idaho,Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota,Missouri, Montana, NorthDakota, Oregon, South Da-kota, Washington andWisconsin. Other QZ countries deal-ing with the spread of thepathogen are Bulgaria,Hungary, Italy, Germany,and the Netherlands. CFIA has restricted allcommercial imports fromthese specified QuarantineZones until further notice.Restricted items includelive birds and hatchingeggs, eggs, yolks, eggwhites (albumen), poultry

meat (other than fullycooked, canned, commer-cially sterile meat prod-ucts), raw pet foods con-taining poultry products,feathers, poultry manureand litter and laboratorymaterial containing poul-try products/by-prod-ucts. In its latest update, theWorld Health Organiza-tion (WHO) has tracked sixsubtypes of the HighlyPathogenic Avian Influ-enza in 26 countries fromJanuary 1 to April 16, 2015.In less than four monthsmany countries have hadrepeated outbreaks andcontinue to battle multipleoutbreaks of avian influ-enza subtypes. In one re-ported case to the WHOfrom China, two tigers thatwere held in a zoo inNanning, Guangxi died af-

ter contracting H5N1. The countries affectedwith the highly contagiousand deadly avian pathogenare Bhutan, Bulgaria,Burkina Faso, Canada,China, India, Israel, Libya,Myanmar, Nigeria, Palestin-ian Autonomous Territories,Romania, United States ofAmerica and Vietnam withthe prevalent subtypeH5N1. The counties which arebattling the other variationsof the wide spreading virusare Canada, China, ChineseTaipei and United States ofAmerica (subtype H5N2),Chinese Taipei (subtypeH5N3), Palestinian Autono-mous Territories, (subtypeH5N5), Chinese Taipei,Hong Kong and Vietnam(H5N6), Mexico (H5N7) andChinese Taipei, Germany,Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea(Republic of), Netherlands,Russia, Sweden, UnitedKingdom and United Statesof America (H5N8). The spread of the virus isprimarily through domesticpoultry flocks and accord-ing to the US Center for Dis-ease Control (CDC), the riskto people from these HPAIinfections in wild birds is low. As a general precaution,people should avoid wildbirds and observe them only

from a distance, avoid con-tact with domestic poultrythat appear ill or have diedand avoid contact with sur-faces that appear to be con-taminated with feces fromwild or domestic birds. In thepast transmission to humans

has occurred throughclose contact with in-fected birds or heavilycontaminated environ-ments. CFIA recommendsthat the National AvianOn-Farm Biosecurity Stan-dards be closely followedto reduce the spread.


The latest data shows that the agriculture and agri-food sector continues to generatesignificant economic benefits for Canada. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) recently released its annual Overview of theCanadian Agriculture and Agri-Food System. The report provides historical data up to2013, and demonstrates the sector’s continued strong contribution to the Canadianeconomy. The highlights of the report show that the agriculture and agri-food sector generated$106.9 billion in 2013, accounting for 6.7% of Canada’s GDP. In 2012 and 2013 one in eightjobs in Canada, employing over 2.2 million people were related to agriculture, which in-cludes the food service industry. Canadian export sales grew at a lesser rate in 2013 by 5.5% to $46.0 billion. This is amarginal rate decline when compared to the growth in 2012 at 8.1%, $43.6 billion. In 2013,we maintained our 3.5% share of the total value of world agriculture and agri-food exportsto keep our position as the world’s fifth-largest exporter of agriculture and agri-foodproducts. Exports to the US increased by 10.8% in 2013 to $23.4 billion, while exports tonon-US markets grew by 6% to $22.7 billion. With import sales of $32.3 billion in 2012, an increase of 4.2% over 2011 the trend contin-ued in 2013 up to $34.3 billion, which was an increase of 6% over 2012. The US accountedfor 61.4% of the value of all Canadian agriculture and agri-food imports. Canada remainsthe world’s sixth-largest importer, accounting for 2.7% of the total value of world agricul-ture and agri-food imports and an overall net exporter in this sector. The US accounted for61.2% of the value of all Canadian agriculture and agri-food imports. Public investments in research and development are estimated to rise by 5.3% to $643million in 2013-2014. A record harvest and strong prices in the first half of 2013, contributed to the growth infarm receipts. Cattle receipts have increased for four consecutive years due to strongcattle prices. The food and beverage processing industry is the largest of all manufactur-ing industries in Canada, accounting for the largest share (16.0%) of the total manufactur-ing sector’s GDP in 2013. It also accounted for the largest share (16.7%) of jobs in themanufacturing sector. Following the study of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture andAgri-Food, this year’s report also features a special section on Food Loss and Waste at allstages of the agri-food system. Analysis of food loss and waste in Canada, the US, andother developed countries shows that most of the food loss and waste occurs in house-holds and in the food retail and service sectors. In Canada, 6 billion kg of food was lost or wasted at the household and retail levels,representing 29.4% of the food supply in 2010, with household food loss and wasteaccounting for 20.3% of this total.

Canada Remains a Net Exporter inAgriculture and Agri-Food Sector


Average farmland values in Manitoba continued to rise in 2014, but the climb was not assteep as the previous year, according to the latest Farm Credit Canada (FCC) FarmlandValues Report. Manitoba showed one of the most significant changes among the provinces, slowingfrom an increase of 25.6% in 2013 to 12.2% cent in 2014. Average farmland values in Canada showed a 14.3% increase in 2014, compared to a22.1% increase in 2013. The rate of increase also slowed in many key agriculture regions,including Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. “While the increases are still significant in many parts of the country, they do suggestwe are moving toward more moderate increases for farmland values,” said Corinna Mitchell-Beaudin, FCC Executive Vice-President and Chief Risk Officer. “This is good news forproducers since gradual change in the value of this key asset is always better for thoseentering or leaving the industry.” J.P. Gervais, FCC Chief Agricultural Economist, has been predicting a “soft landing” forfarmland values since crop prices began moving closer to the long-term average followingabnormally high prices due to the 2012 US drought. While lower interest rates make it tempting to buy land, Gervais emphasized producersneed to exercise caution. “Interest rates will eventually increase, even if this is not on the2015 horizon,” he said. “Expanding world stocks of grains and oilseeds could bring pricesdown further, creating tighter margins.” Tighter profit margins may also affect the landrental market. Rental rates usually take a little time to adjust downward following lowergrain and oilseed prices. Multi-year leases are also gaining in popularity. “Producers should be encouraged that a weak Canadian dollar, expanding trade agree-ments and growing world food demand are helping to enhance the demand side of themarket for Canadian commodities, creating a positive long-term outlook for agriculture,”Gervais added. “Land is a valuable asset and there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula for determiningwhen to buy or sell,” Mitchell-Beaudin said. “Producers really need to take a close look attheir operations and ensure they can manage through a number of scenarios when itcomes to revenues and expenses.”

Researchers at the Uni-versity of Manitoba (U ofM) have begun an expan-sive research project thataims to provide newknowledge to help farmerskeep their cattle on thepasture longer in the fall,saving time and money.The U of M is collaborat-ing with the University ofSaskatchewan, WesternBeef Development Centreand Manitoba Agriculture,Food and Rural Develop-ment (MAFRD) on theproject. Emma McGeough, Assis-tant Professor, sustainablegrasslands/livestock pro-duction systems in the de-partment of animal scienceat the U of M is one of theresearchers involved inthe project. “Many producers acrosswestern Canada use ex-tended grazing to lowerthe economic and envi-ronmental costs of raisingcattle. Bale grazing is acommonly used strategybut our research aims toprovide new knowledgeon stockpiled grazing, asan alternative to bales, toextend the grazing sea-son,” she said. “Longertime spent on pasture, asopposed to confined feed-ing, can reduce labour andfeed costs, as well as ma-nure accumulation.” The study began thisspring with researchersseeding a range ofgrasses, legumes and ce-real crops in test plots atfour sites across Manitobaand Saskatchewan. Theforages that perform bestin terms of their yield andability to maintain qualitythroughout the fall will beused in larger, test pas-tures with grazing cattle. One of the unique as-pects of the project is re-searchers are using animalGPS collars to understandmore about animal grazingbehavior. “The collars will deter-mine the amount of timethe cattle spend grazingversus lying down or ru-minating,” saidMcGeough. “The datagenerated on grazing be-havior will provide pro-ducers with informationon forage use to help inmanagement decisions toimprove animal perfor-mance on pasture.” Glenn Friesen, BusinessDevelopment Specialist –Forage with MAFRD saidthis work is particularly im-portant in Manitoba, asnot a lot of forage evalua-tion research has been car-

Agriculture MinisterGerry Ritz recently high-lighted major enhance-ments to the Advance Pay-ments Program (APP) de-signed to improve andstreamline administration,provide greater flexibilityand more repayment op-tions, and ease access tothe program for producers. On February 27, 2015, theGovernment announcedthe coming into force of theAgricultural Growth Act,which makes improvementsto the Advance PaymentsProgram (APP). The Actmodernizes and strength-ens federal agriculture leg-islation, supports innova-tion in the Canadian agri-culture industry and en-hances global market op-portunities. The APP is a federal loanguarantee program thathelps agricultural produc-ers benefit from the bestmarket conditions by im-proving their cash flowthroughout the year. Many of the changesimplemented under the Actwere in effect on April 1,2015, for the 2015 ProgramYear, in time to help produc-ers plan for the new pro-duction year. The new Actalso allows further improve-ments to be implementedonce amendments to therelated regulations are

The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA)officially begins issuing cash advances for the 2015-16 Advance Payments Program (APP). Under the improved APP, farmers will have accessto cash advances on more commodities in one place.CCGA’s commodity lineup has expanded significantly,and now includes all major field crops and livestock,including oilseeds, cereal grains, coarse grains, corn,pulse and specialty crops, cattle, hogs, and more. All45 commodities are on one application, with one lowadministration fee. Other important changes that farm-ers will experience immediately include the removal ofwithhold and added flexibility for repaying grain ad-vances. Farmers who apply for an advance through CCGAare eligible for a cash advance of up to $100,000 inter-est-free and an additional, interest-bearing $300,000at CIBC prime. “With over 2,000 pre-applications received in March,we’ve already seen great uptake on the programchanges,” said Rick White, CEO of CCGA. “We’reexcited to begin issuing funds as the growing seasonwill soon be in full swing.” Farmers wanting to apply for a cash advance areencouraged to call CCGA’s Winnipeg office at 1-866-745-2256. Applications can also be downloaded orcompleted online at CCGA’s website, ccga.ca. In addi-tion, application forms will soon be available at eleva-tors across western Canada.

Emma McGeough, Assistant Professor, sustainable grasslands/livestock production systems at the U of M researching foragesto keep cattle on pasture longer in the fall, saving time andmoney.

Inter-Provincial Forage StudyLooks at Keeping Cattle on

Pasture Longer

ried out in the last decade,especially on this scale. “Grazing annual crops inlate fall is not a typical prac-tice in Manitoba,” saidFriesen. “We tend to getmore rain or snow than otherprairie provinces, whichlowers the feed quality ofthe grazed crops, increasingfeed costs. We expect theresearch being done at theU of M will help us betterunderstand how to predictanimal performance whenthey’re grazing on foragesin the fall, potentially allow-ing us to keep cattle in thefields longer.” While other crops such aswheat and canola are cur-rently the subjects of manyresearch studies, there hasbeen limited research com-paring forage crops overseveral years and at differ-ent locations. That seems tobe changing however. Inthe last two years, there hasbeen a turning point and

forage research is increas-ing. “The investment in mate-rials for this project will fur-ther support forage re-search in the future,” saidFriesen. “It’s been manyyears since we’ve last seenthis sort of interest in for-age. The University ofManitoba gets a lot ofcredit for prompting the in-dustry to invest in thisarea.” Martin Scanlon, ActingAssociate Dean for Re-search in the Faculty of Ag-ricultural and Food Sci-ences at the U of M be-lieves the results from thisresearch will have an effecton cattle production inManitoba. “We’re interested in cre-ating safe, healthy and justfood systems in a mannerthat is sustainable for pro-ducers and the environ-ment,” he said.

Manitoba FarmlandValues Slowing Down

Improvements to CashAdvance Program for 2015

completed. Producers can now re-quest advances for all theircommodities through oneapplication with a singleadministrator, significantly

reducing their paper bur-den. In addition, there is nolonger a requirement for afarmer to be principally oc-cupied in farming in orderto utilize APP.

CCGA Begins IssuingCCGA Begins IssuingCCGA Begins IssuingCCGA Begins IssuingCCGA Begins IssuingCash AdvancesCash AdvancesCash AdvancesCash AdvancesCash Advances

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz meets with Oleksiy Pavlenko,Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, to reviewcooperation and other issues of mutual interest betweenCanada and Ukraine in the field of agriculture. Canada andUkraine are actively engaged in negotiations toward concludinga free trade agreement (FTA) which could benefit manysectors of the Canadian economy, most notably agriculture. In 2014, two-way agri-food and seafood trade with Ukrainetotaled $44.7 million, up 44% since 2006.

Canada-Ukraine FTCanada-Ukraine FTCanada-Ukraine FTCanada-Ukraine FTCanada-Ukraine FTAAAAAMoving AlongMoving AlongMoving AlongMoving AlongMoving Along



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AgriPost April 24 2015