AgriPost May 30 2014

May 30, 2014 1The Agri Post

May 30, 20142 The Agri Post

CutlineWill Bergmann, a grain, special crops and hog farmer, tookthis picture May 23 after returning to his fields for seedingafter a four-day rain delay.

By Les Kletke

If you have questions about the trucking industry andwant to help a good cause at the same time, Fred Hiebert hascome up with the perfect solution in a truck extravaganza tocelebrate the 7th anniversary of United Driver Training. Hiebert, the President of United Driver Training says thecompany wanted to give something back to the communitywhile celebrating its anniversary. “We are a giving company and wanted to do somethingspecial,” said Hiebert. “So, we came up with this way ofhighlighting the industry and raising money for STARS. Wehave become very close to STARS in the last couple of years,some of our students have been airlifted by the helicopterand the southeast part of the province has really felt thebenefit from the organization.” The event will be held Saturday, June from 10 am – 5 pm atUnited Driver Training’s facility at 21 Clearsprings Road Eastin Steinbach and will feature the arrival of the STARS heli-copter at noon. “It will be an opportunity for people to meet the STARScrew and see the helicopter up close,” Said Hiebert. All thefunds raised from the event will go to STARS, and whileadmission is free for the day, we will have a huge trade showfeaturing every aspect of the trucking industry. Monies fromthe trade show will go the charity. The event will also featurea dunk tank and the first chance to put Hiebert in the drinkwill be sold by auction. “We want to feature our industry,” explained Hiebert. “And,if anyone has questions about the trucking industry this isthe place to get answers. We will have trucks and represen-tatives from all the major companies on hand, so people cansee the trucks and ask their questions.” Hiebert says that while his company trains drivers for mostcompanies, an area of growth for his student population hasbeen farmers. “We are seeing more and more tractor trailer units on farmsand farmers are realizing that they need some training for theoperation of these units,” said Hiebert. The day will also feature tours of the school for thoseinterested in attending the company’s course. His main goalis to make sure that the industry is highlighted and STARS isthe beneficiary of the funds. Hiebert invites everyone to theexhibit and their children to visit the giant bouncers andenjoy a hot dog and drink.

The Office of Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO)has confirmed the province’s second on-farm case ofporcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus in a finisher barnin southeast Manitoba. The CVO has been advised theanimals on this farm have shown no symptoms of PED. The CVO will identify other premises that have been incontact with this farm and investigate how the virus ar-rived on the farm premises. This case was identified by aCVO investigation related to a previously reported posi-tive sample from a high-traffic site.

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Training Centre toOpen Doors

2nd PED Case Discovered on Farm2nd PED Case Discovered on Farm2nd PED Case Discovered on Farm2nd PED Case Discovered on Farm2nd PED Case Discovered on Farm


By Les Kletke

The province’s largest Farmer’s Market opened one week earlier than usual this yeardespite a cooler than usual spring. Marylin Firth, Manager of the St. Norbert Market said the organization has long openedon the first weekend in June but with the calendar, falling as it did that would put thingsback to the 7th of June. With the large number of vendors ready to go, it made sense tomove things up to May 24. Earlier in the week, staff from Pembina Valley Canvas was on hand to put the canvascoverings over the metal shelter skeletons and appreciated the warm weather and littlewind. “We really don’t need a wind for this job,” laughed one of the employees while holdingdown a rope pulling the canvas over the structure. “But we usually get one.” Firth said the market has grown to much more that fruits and vegetables. In its 26 years ofexistence, the market has grown to have a significant number of meat suppliers as well asbaked goods, and handicrafts. All of which contribute to the festive atmosphere of thetwice weekly event. Even though Saturday remains the most popular day, a weekdayevening has been added. Last year the market also added a Fibre Festival that featured wool and felt products fromacross the province and a variety of species. While the weather was less than ideal, theevent attracted a good crowd and another is being planned for this September. Organizers would like to see the market location used for more than the twice-weeklymarket, with some stand-alone events as well as incorporation of some larger events in tothe regular market. This year’s opening featured the largest ever-Canadian Sticky bun made by Johnny’sStick Buns. Johnny said that while he considered going for the larger world record hisresearch should that producing a bun that large rendered it inedible and that defeated thepurpose of making a sticky bun. “It has to be something that people can enjoy,” he said, “or else there is no point inmaking it.” His goal was to produce a bun that could be enjoyed by approximately a 100people. Vegetable and fruit production may be a bit later coming to farmers markets this year butthe attendance at the opening day of the St. Norbert market indicated that the venues haveestablished themselves. The Market is not only a shopping place but also a social destina-tion that allows consumers to connect with the people that produce their food.

Townsend Farms inWoodridge received a veryrare delivery recently as porkManager Reuben Nesompicked up an extremely rareLarge Black Pig from theWinnipeg International Air-port. Pam Heath and Dr. JohnMills delivered the ‘specialgift’ to Nesom. Dr. Mills is theChairperson from The RareBreed Society of Canada andPam Heath is the President ofthe Large Black society inCanada. The pig was originallya donation from a local heri-tage breed farmer in Ontario,Andy Sprosdon from Grimbsy. The large black pig was origi-nally brought to Canada fromEngland in the late 1800’s andwas a popular breed due to itssuperb taste and docility buthas declined in numbers sincethe end of WWII when indus-trialized pork production be-came the standard practice. The Large Black Pig is on theRare Breeds of Canada Con-serving Livestock list as En-dangered (36- 115 Canadawide) and was on the criticallist (1-35 new females) last year.With dwindling numbers, the

Farmer’s MarketOpens Early

Staff was installing the covers at the St Norbert Farmers Market May 23 for the market’s opening onMay 24. The earliest date in the 26 year history of the market. Photo by Les Kletke

Fighting Against Extinction

large black pig is now moreendangered in Canada thanthe panda in China or theWhite Rhino in Africa. The breed is consideredspecial due to its ability toforage on pasture with easeand live without shelter in thecolder Manitoba climate. It isvery docile and especiallyfriendly and has superb porkmarbled with a great layer offlavourful fat. The meat pro-duces excellent bacon and itis especially known in Europefor its huge delectable cutsmade into Italian Prosciutto,Pancetta and Capocollo. Sprosdon has sent out thelast of a legacy of his LargeBlack Pig “Bob” of a rare ge-netic line here in Canada andhas worked closely with theLarge Black Society and RareBreeds of Canada to regainthe genetics here in Canada.Sprosdon’s donation of thelast of his pig line was put ona plane from Montreal toWinnipeg to find his finaldestination at TownsendFarm. The act was born out of des-peration from a dedicatedfarmer trying to save the

breed. Only a handful of Ca-nadian farmers own largeblacks and it is difficult to findthese genetics here inCanada. Mills with the RareBreed Society said, “harderthan finding hen’s teeth.” According to TownsendFarms, they are, “so excitedto be included in this oppor-tunity in assisting in thebreeding of this lost beauti-ful pig, help bring this pig outof danger of extinction andexpose other small hobbyfarmers to this adaptable greatpig. We hope to have greatsuccess with him. He will bejoining the other registeredlarge blacks here on the farm;Stovikor our boar and our twosows, Pam and Odette.” Mills and Heath were ex-cited to know that ReubenNesom, who is only 16 yearsold, has committed himself totaking on this great and im-portant undertaking. They arehappy to know a newyounger generation is carry-ing on this legacy and theyhave great hopes for the LargeBlack’s future.

Reuben Nesom gets to know his new charge as he meets him on arrival at the airport.


I’m one who isn’t afraid to tell people to their face, orcomment about them in public, if they mean something tome in my life. My wife Judith, my in-laws, my parents, mychildren and grandson and my extended families are veryimportant to me, as is my mentor, Orion Samuelson. In my life as a journalist first and farmers’ advocate sec-ond, I meet many people. In fact, that is what makes mycareer and mission so fulfilling and ever changing. Harry Enns, a personal friend and in my opinion the bestpractical Ag minister this province has ever had, was afavourite. Why? He wasn’t afraid to take a stand, did whatwas right, and wasn’t afraid to ask even this humblescribe’s opinion on some of the major changes he broughtin, like freeing up the hog industry.

It is one of the latest springs in recent memory and the St. Norbert Farmers Marketannounces its earliest opening in its quarter century of existence? Have we lost theconnection to a farmers market, what could possibly be ready for a market in Mayeven in an early spring? Those that operate markets around the province talk about making the connectionto the consumer and a growing number of consumers are getting used to the idea of

actually meeting and spending a few min-utes talking to the people that raise the foodthat ends up on consumers table. Therehas to be a limit to how far this can go. I donot really see farmers having the time tospend, chatting with everyone who is go-ing to enjoy a tasty morsel that had its be-ginnings on said farmer’s farm but the ideahas merit. It would appear the dates of spring thaw

and market opening is somewhat incongruent. Especially since I had a friend tell methat February was so cold, he could not keep enough heat in his green houses to getthe plants started. Closer examination reveals that in fact the opening of the marketearlier this year says more about the coming of age of the market than the timing ofthe vegetable crop. Farmers markets especially the major ones like St. Norbert have grown to the pointwhere they are much more than a bunch of vendors selling their vegetables on aSaturday morning. The number of sellers of meat is the most obvious example and while the late springdoes impact the production of animals to a large degree, there is meat waiting in thefreezers of producers to find its way to the freezers of consumers and the last week-end in May is as good a time as any. Could it be that Winnipeg has grown to the point that it could support a full timeFarmers’ Market and see an increase in vendors when the local produce is ready? It is a question that many would answer ‘yes’ to and there are those that would say,The Forks has tried to fill that role while others would say it doesn’t have the localcomponent when Manitoba production is at its prime in June through September. Only consumers hold the answer and they vote with their dollars, but the voteshave been increasing at Farmers Markets and the early opening of St. Norbert thisyear is not about being out of tune with farmer’s production it is about the marketshaving expanded to include so much more than fruits or vegetables. It is about people connecting with those who actually produce their food and thatcan only lead to a better understanding of our industry. That is a good thing.

People I Meet andthe Special Ones

by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected]

As the new crop year begins, farmers in western Canadaare still wondering whether or not they’ll be able to sweeptheir bins clean of last year’s monster-sized harvest. Theproblem is our national railways’ lacklustre attempts atmoving higher-than-normal volumes of grain to ports. Ifthis failure had a theme song, it wouldn’t be MidnightTrain to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips or the O’Jays’ classic Love Train, insteadheavy metal madman Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train. Global demand and prices are still quite high, so farmers are rightly frustrated at seeingthe value of their inventory dramatically slashed because of logistical issues of a ‘secondworld’ nature. The lyrics of Osbourne’s hit single are indeed apropos, “Mental woundsstill screaming/Driving me insane/I’m going off the rails on a crazy train,” although it’s thehole in their balance sheets rather than in their heads that madden grain growers. When people talk about ways of adding a little more competition into the mix, the rail-ways bridle. CN CEO Claude Mongeau calls that ‘poaching’. When Hunter Harrison,CPR’s CEO, gave a speech in New York about intermodal shipments, he said, “That’s onecommodity that we’re sensitive to,” and “If you miss, you miss. It’s not like grain or it’s notlike coal, [where] if you’re a little bit late you’re still going to haul it.” What we really have in western Canada is a dual-opoly. The two companies running railservice don’t really compete. Of the 342 grain elevators, only seven can ship grain oneither railway. As the Western Canadian Wheat Growers have pointed out, “CN and CPeffectively operate side-by-side monopolies.” One of the modest steps proposed to help get the grain moving is giving 40 elevators theability to use rail services, which originate in the Northern U.S. states. Naturally, ourrailroads are not happy with this idea. The majority of our farmers do not, like the railways, have the luxury of a captive market.They have to compete with every other farmer in the world for their income and for themost part, they do a pretty good job of it. So, the farming community has little sympathywhen the railroads complain about having to compete just a little for its business. This is also true for the attitude that, “We’ll get to it when we get to it.” Agriculture is notjust about getting the job done, but getting it done when it needs to get done. If you seedtoo late, you have problems. If you deal with pests too late, you have problems. If youdon’t harvest your crop when it’s ready, you have problems. All of these problems cost

farmers money, sometimes a lot of money. Even when ev-erything goes right, the bottom can drop out of the marketat any time, leaving them in a serious bind. It is a rare thingto have a great crop and great prices all at the same time.At harvest time last year, we actually had that. Thanks tothe railroads, the amount of money that ends up in farm-ers’ pockets has taken a major hit. Farmers and railroads should be natural allies, not en-emies. Farmers have stuff that needs moving and railroadsneed to move stuff. Back to Osbourne’s lyrics, “Crazy, butthat’s how it goes/ Millions of people living as foes.”“Maybe, it’s not too late/To learn how to love/ and forgethow to hate.” Perhaps the analogy is now getting downright corny,but the point is that the railroads need to do better. Ifthings don’t improve, change could well be imposed inways far more dramatic than what’s being discussed inOttawa right now. That’s a song the railways reallyshouldn’t want to hear.

Our Connection tothe Farmer’s Market

His philosophy was for government to get out of the way, provide guidance, someresources, and infrastructure so that farmers, business, and people alike could excel atwhat they were best at and make this province flourish. On Thursday, May 22, I worked with another person who reminds me of that rare breedof knowledge, know-how (experience if you like) practicality, steadfastness and stick-to-itiveness, and the ability to communicate it to those who need it and want the help. He is Dr. John Carr, originally from England, moving around as a worldwide consultant tothe animal production industry. He consults with hog farmers in China, Taiwan, Ukraine,Australia, United States and, of course, Canada and right here in Manitoba. Carr said, “I dedicate my website, carrsconsulting.com, to bringing you information, tohelp promote the welfare and wellbeing of farmed animals.” I met John at the Manitoba Swine seminar in Winnipeg in Jan 2012. I liked his talk, askedto interview him and asked him several tough questions I wasn’t really expecting ananswer for. He looked at me with that distinct twinkle in his eye and in his heavy Britishaccent said, “I think I can answer that because I’m old enough.” Meaning of course that itdidn’t matter what others thought or how others would respond, he’d tell me what he hadlearned and what he thought. We keep in contact via Skype and email. I sent John a message earlier in the week asking for some new action shots. Guess what,he said? “I’m in Winnipeg, and can you come to a producer meeting on Thursday to takethem yourself.” Amazing, I thought, another chance to hear him speak, meet him, and asksome more tough questions. Thursday at 12 noon, John called on an Alberta telephonenumber, asking me if I could fill in as a wrap-up speaker at that meeting because anotherman had some health issues and couldn’t make it. Two hours later, I’m in Portage la Prairie,getting ready to listen to his talk, and preparing mine on the way. The meeting included about 50 or 60 hog farmers, mostly from the Hutterite Colonies andrepresentatives from Nutrition Partners, a company Carr consults for worldwide. Dr. Carr told these producers it isn’t about how many hogs they sell, but about what itcosts them to bring those hogs to market. He said that with the higher hog prices and lower feed prices combined, farmers’ profitsare higher, but if you don’t know what it cost you to raise that pig, when those profits drop,you’ll be back losing money sooner than you think. I asked a hog producer through Twitter how he’s spending his newfound profits fromraising hogs. His answer was, “I’m not spending it because I’m only 31, and I know therewill be more tough times ahead.” Great advice and John loves it. For me, to interact with people who raise the food we eat, one of the most noble profes-sions in this world, is still the highlight of my mission and work. Those guys around thetables, as we sat and ate pork together, made my day.

Crazy Trains


Dear Editor: All across Manitoba, farm families are developing mar-kets for locally produced farm products through direct rela-tionships with urban consumers. These markets are builton trust, quality and the interest of consumers in knowinghow and where the food consumed by their family is beingproduced. Food Safety is paramount, whether you buy your food atyour favourite supermarket or directly at the farm gate froma local producer. Unfortunately, this NDP government isusing the threat of food safety as a means to impose morerules and regulations on the growing relationship betweenproducers and consumers. The ‘rules’ do not allow consumers to purchase foodproducts directly from a community website. The ‘rules’ donot allow farmers to work together to deliver their productsto consumers’ doors. Why is the NDP government so para-noid about direct sales to consumers of wholesome foodproducts? Rather than build bridges, this tired NDP governmentissues more rules and regulations. It is time this NDP gov-ernment began to work with farm families and urban con-sumers who build relationships based on trust, quality andfood safety. This can be a winning formula for both the agriculturalcommunity and urban consumers across Manitoba. TheNDP just don’t get it. It is time for a change.Blaine PedersenCritic for Agriculture, Food and Rural DevelopmentMLA for Midland

By Jon Gerrard

The recent announcement of a grain innovation hub in Winnipegis a positive one. It is a good start but we need to be focussed onbuilding this effort into a much larger one. A Centre of Excellence in the Grain Industry in Winnipeg wasfirst proposed in a Myers Norris Penny study in 2005. In 2008,the federal Conservative government announced it would proceedbringing together the Cereal Research Centre, the Grains ResearchLaboratory at the Canadian Grains Commission and the CanadianInternational Grains Institute to form a powerhouse centre thatwould ensure Winnipeg would continue as a major global centrefor grains research and innovation. Since then the Cereal ResearchCentre has been terminated and the possibility of this type ofCentre of Excellence has been lost. After much delay, however, we do finally have a positive an-nouncement of funding for a grain innovation hub. Though thefunding is certainly less than expected, and therefore the hub ashadow of what was originally envisioned, we should neverthe-less see this as a welcome and important development. It is onethat we, in Manitoba, need to nurture and build upon. Grains continue to play a very important role in Manitoba’seconomy and building the research and innovation for the futureis vital. There are concerns about new strains of wheat rust affect-ing crops in Africa and we need to have the research and innova-tion to stay ahead of this problem should it arrive here. We also need ongoing efforts to create new nutritious foodsfrom our grains so that we can do more food processing here inour province. Recent work on the health benefits of flax, doneright here in Manitoba, is an example of the opportunity. Produc-ing food products that can reduce diabetes is another example.The future is ours to build. We need to expand upon this develop-ment to help our farmers and to help build new agrifood busi-nesses based on the excellent crops we produce.

Dear Editor:Re: “Siemens Says: Timefor Railways to Move thisGrain” The March 28, 2014 AgriPost “Siemens Says” articlerepresents a new low injournalism. On the otherhand, it could easily win anaward for the best AprilFool’s story. In the article Curt Vossen,CEO of Richardson Inter-national, is quoted byHarry Siemens (and I havetrouble believing Mr.Vossen actually said this)as saying that, if thispresent flood of grainmovement had happenedduring the old Wheat Boarddays we would probablyhave plugged terminalswith the wrong kind of grainin them and got a 6 bushelper acre quota. This is a ri-diculous statement that ex-poses how out of touchsome people are about howthe modern Wheat Boardworked for farmers. Farmers have not hadanything as low as a 6-bushel quota delivery op-portunity for 30 or possi-bly 40 years. Many farmerstoday aren’t even old

Direct Buying RulesSpeak NDP Paranoia

By Jan Slomp

The Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) embraces themantra that ‘all growth is good’. Their plan to change supply management for growth is aprescription for weakening, if not eliminating, the three pil-lars of supply management for dairy production in Canada,production controls, import tariffs and farmers’ cost of pro-duction pricing, in order to produce more milk, lower itsprice and increase exports. The CBoC claims to be an independent think tank, but itis affiliated with the New York-based Conference Boardthat is run by and for US-based multinational corporations.While pretending to serve the public it advocates for asuite of policies, including dismantling dairy supply man-agement, that promote corporate interests at the expenseof the values and aspirations of Canadian people. Let’s do a quick review of why we have dairy supplymanagement and how it works. In the 1960s, dairy processors were using erratic milk haul-ing practices to depress farm-gate prices paid to farmers.Farmers were faced with delivering milk at whatever pricethey could get or lose it all. Ontario and Quebec farmersprotested and demanded government action. In 1969, a newsystem had the government regulate farm-gate prices basedon farmers’ cost of production in return for farmers produc-ing a constant flow of high quality milk along with a systemof discipline (quotas) to prevent over-production. Its suc-cess led to rapid adoption in all provinces. Since then, pro-vincial milk, marketing boards have successfully managedprocurement, marketing, quotas, quality control and gov-ernment regulation. To ensure supply and demand is syn-chronized, Canada restricts dairy imports via WTO-compli-ant tariffs. Thus, Canada’s dairy sector produces primarilyfor the domestic market. Canada’s dairy supply management operates smoothly,efficiently and sustainable without government subsidiesin contrast to other Canadian agricultural sectors whereAgri-Stability payments are often needed to support farmincomes and overcome depressed commodity prices. The CBoC now promotes increasing dairy productionbeyond Canadian needs in order to export.

A RealWhopper

enough to know what aquota is. The deliveryquota system has not beenused for decades. What you could say if youget right down to it is thatthis is the 1st time in recenthistory that many farmersin Western Canada havehad a “ZERO BushelQuota.” Mr.Vossen is re-portedly also suggestingthat under the old systemthe terminals would prob-ably be filled with the wrongtype of grain, whichstrangely enough is exactlywhat is happening nowwithout Wheat Board co-ordination. In the Wheat Board dayswhen delivery opportuni-ties were tight, the boardwould meet weekly or bi-weekly with all the industryplayers, including the non-board side, to allocate carsin an equitable manner toachieve some fair targets. Itwould match up grainneeded at port with whatwas to be shipped from thecountry elevators. This I believe evolved intothe WGTA (Western GrainTransportation Authority).This is what many in theGrain Industry want todaybut ostrich farmer Gerry Ritzis rejecting it because hewants to allow “marketforces” to work.

For Mr. Siemens to saythat “before, during theCWB era, the terminalswere always the bottle-neck” because they werefilled, too full, with thewrong kind of grain is a realwhopper. If this was thecase then why did theWheat Board, followed bythe Saskatchewan &Alberta Governments, buyall the hopper cars? Theydid it because the railwayswere unwilling to invest inrolling stock. For Siemens to have theaudacity to say, “TheCWB couldn’t put anymore influence on the rail-ways than we can” is an-other fat whopper that ishard to duplicate. Siemensshould go back into hisfiles and dig out the April14th, 1997, press release,which says in part; “TheCWB, on behalf of farmers,today filed a level of ser-vice complaint…” I have acopy of this release as wellas the copy of the com-plaint that was filed. Thesubsequent result was thatthe Wheat Board won thecase and CP paid $15 mil-lion in damages and CNsettled out of court. Thecash received went back tofarmers in the pool ac-counts. I also have a letter dated

June 20, 1997, sent byManitoba Pool Elevatorsto the CWB. The letterasked the CWB to with-draw its action against therailroads stating that thisaction would probably de-lay yet another study of anindustry task force to re-solve the transportationproblem issue. As a PoolDirector, I voted against itbecause the CWB hadgenerated a lot of positivecoverage from their actionand their chances of win-ning were good. The point is that the pri-vate companies and eventhe co-operatives wereafraid to take the railwaysto task because they fearedretribution on their dailyoperational relationshipswith the railways. Thegrain companies and somefarm groups were too blindto see the tremendous ad-vantages of the WheatBoard system in keepingthe railways accountableand now they still don’twant to admit it. What is most absurd isthat Minister Gerry Ritz isnow being seen by somefolks as a hero for beingtough on the railwayswhen his government cre-ated the problem in the firstplace.Wilfred “Butch” Harder

Self Serving ConferenceBoard Idea is Ill Conceived

There is definitely capacity in Canada to produce a lotmore milk. However, what kind of export markets could wepursue, what kind of programs would be required to ob-tain those markets and what net benefits would there befor various players in the system? Only a small portion of the world’s milk productioncrosses borders because it is a bulky perishable product.Most exports depend on subsidies, often obscured asindirect production supports to comply with trade agree-ments. American dairy farmers receive US Farm Bill-related pay-ments that nearly double their milk cheques. Europeansubsidies provide dairy farmers a base income, allowingthem to survive on lower farm gate prices. The exceptionis New Zealand, a major dairy exporter with little or nosubsidies. With the world’s lowest production cost (nowinters), it can sell at the world’s lowest farm-gate prices. Dismantling dairy supply management would be costlyfor Canadian taxpayers. To compete internationally wewould have to match the massive subsidies given by theUSA and European countries. Dairy farmers in Canadawould receive lower prices for milk, be subjected to lesstransparent pricing and require government bail-out pro-grams such as Agri-Stability to keep operating. Ironically,the CBoC’s dairy plan is modeled after the deregulatedexport-oriented hog and beef sectors which have not onlyfailed to grow, but have seen a steady decline punctuatedby several crises over the past 15 years, because farmerscannot recover the cost of production. The CBoC suggests that an export-oriented dairy sys-tem with lower farm gate prices would result in lower pricesfor consumers. In reality, retailers charge what the marketwill bear. New Zealand consumers pay among the highestprices for dairy in spite of their farmers’ low cost of pro-duction. Canadians value dairy supply management, as they en-joy a steady supply of high-quality products for a reason-able price. Supply management regulates production ineach region of our vast geography, providing milk whereconsumers need it. An unregulated dairy market wouldcentralize production, processing and distribution, requir-ing consumers in distant areas to pay more due to trans-portation and storage costs. Processors benefit from the constant, predictable flowof milk under supply management that allows them to maxi-mize plant and labour force utilization, unlike their U.S.

counterparts who must deal with wide and erratic fluctua-tions. Dismantling dairy supply management would help com-panies affiliated with the CBoC, such as food processorsand retailers and those industries that have their eyes onmassive concessions at the trade deal table. Their gainwould be a huge loss for Canadian citizens and Canadiandairy farmers. Jan Slomp is President of the National Farmers Unionand a dairy farmer from Rimbey, Alberta.

One Step Forward forManitoba’s Grains


By Harry Siemens

With near record pork andpig prices, lower feed costsand an exchange rate ben-efiting exports there’s roomfor some real optimismamongst hog farmers topayoff some longstandingbills. That is why there wassuch great attendance atthis year’s annual meetingof Manitoba Pork Council. “I am very pleased withhow well-attended themeeting was,” said ChairKarl Kynoch. “It is great tosee more optimism in theindustry with the higherprices we have been receiv-ing.” The members passed aresolution asking ManitobaPork to explore improve-ments to the availability ofa foreign workforce, includ-ing the potential to estab-lish a pool of employeeswho are ready to come toCanada on short notice. “The passing of a resolu-tion at our AGM, with re-gards to the frustrationssome producers have whentrying to access the foreignworker market, emphasizesthe challenges of a rurallabour shortage inManitoba,” said hog farmerand MPC Director GeorgeMatheson. “The recentcontroversy regardingCanada’s Temporary For-eign Worker program makesit further apparent thatManitoba Pork needs tohelp producers attract lo-cal workers to the indus-try.” Matheson said increas-ing the budget over ten-fold, to $67,000 for 2014,Manitoba Pork’s HumanResources Committee hasdeveloped the ManitobaPork Industry HR Strategyand Action Plan. “The overall goal of thisinitiative is to increase ap-plications, attract betterqualified individuals andattract candidates likely tostay in the industry in thelong term,” he said. Matheson a Stonewallhog farmer said the planstarted with an in-depthsurvey of long-term indus-try employees to determinetheir background and whathas made their relationshipwith their employers a suc-cess. Manitoba Pork hasattended career fairs to dis-tribute promotional materi-als and is in the process ofdeveloping a human re-sources video. Industrypromotion and job adver-tising through radio andnewspapers will occur inthe next couple of weeks. “We have a great indus-try with great career oppor-tunities and we are going

Moving the Pig Industry Forward

h@ms Marketing Services received the Innovation Award atthe 2014 Pork Industry Awards.

Dr. Wayne Lees received the Award of Distinction at the 2014Pork Industry Awards.

to tell the rest of the coun-try about it,” he added. The 2014 Pork IndustryAwards were also pre-sented during the banquet,recognizing outstandingcontributions to the agri-culture and hog sector inManitoba. Dr. Wayne Lees, formerManitoba Chief VeterinaryOfficer, is the recipient ofthis year’s Award of Dis-tinction. During his manyyears as Chief Vet, Dr. Leesstrongly supported hogproducers throughout nu-merous controversial is-sues, while building coop-eration with the industry.Thanks to his support for

improved biosecurity train-ing and investment,Manitoba producers haveso far been able to containPEDv with significant eco-nomic benefits to produc-ers and to the provincialeconomy. The recipient of the Inno-vation Award was h@msMarketing Services.Throughout the years,h@ms has grown with theindustry, extending its ser-vices into Saskatchewanand Alberta. Through hogmarketing and risk manage-ment services, h@ms hashad a significant impact onthe financial well-being ofits members.

The Manitoba Food and Rural Development (MAFRD)Farm Production Advisors on crops for the Interlake, SouthEast and Red River regions are collaborating this field sea-son to produce a weekly webinar focused on agronomictopics relative to the areas they serve. The webinars are free of charge and is meant to assistgrowers and agronomists with this year’s field season. CropTalk will run weekly every Thursday morning from 9-10 am until September 25, 2014. It will focus on currentcropping issues throughout the growing season. Potentialtopics are weather forecasts, grain corn yield potential,soybean seeding decisions, recheck your winter wheat,blackleg ID and control, insect update, assessing hail dam-age, when to swath canola, clubroot update and assessingthe states of corn and soybeans. CCA credits are also available for participating in theweekly webinars. If you require CCA credit, you will needto enter your CCA number during the registration process. If you are unable to watch the webinar at presentationtime, register to receive an email with the link to the re-corded webinar so that you can watch at a time that is moreconvenient.

CropTCropTCropTCropTCropTalk Walk Walk Walk Walk Webinars to Focusebinars to Focusebinars to Focusebinars to Focusebinars to Focuson Current Crop Ton Current Crop Ton Current Crop Ton Current Crop Ton Current Crop Topicsopicsopicsopicsopics



By Marianne Curtis

During the first threeweeks of May, if you spot-ted a pair of riders on horse-back all decked out withpink ribbons and paint thenyou stumbled upon thisyear’s Pink Ride, afundraiser for HelpingHooves Manitoba. On May 4, Pam Gloverand Sandy Schmidt hit thePink Trail to raise funds forManitoba’s breast cancerpatients who require finan-cial assistance while under-going treatments. The pairrode about 161 miles fromNinette to Richer in 16 days,despite the frigid tempera-tures, rain and even somesnow. “After losing my stepdaughter to breast cancerin 2009 I decided I wantedto do something in honourof her memory,” Pam ex-plained. “Because I’m ahorse lover and wouldrather ride one than walk orrun, whatever I did had toinvolve horses.” In 2010, Glover volun-teered to ride with a groupin Alberta called Wild PinkYonder, who used theirhorses to raise funds forbreast cancer research. In2011, Glover brought thegroup to Manitoba, ran a

Helping Hooves Meanders through Manitoba to Make a Differencethree-week long trail ridehere, and raised over$35,000 for Cancer CareManitoba. Shortly after-ward, she formed her owngroup and Helping HoovesManitoba was born. Help-ing Hoovers collaboratedup with Helping Hands forManitobans with BreastCancer and hit the PinkTrail. “Instead of riding for re-search, we turned our at-tention to Manitobans whoneed financial aid while un-dergoing treatment,”Glover continued. “Cancerof any kind is a battle forone’s life and we believethat many problems shouldnot be an added stress atsuch a time.” Glover said thatfundraising totals are notin yet for this year’s ride. “We don’t have an exacttotal yet as money is stillcoming in but we have al-ready raised over $5,500just by riding our horses!”Glover said. This year the riders hitthe trail in Ninette and fin-ished 161 miles and 13 dayslater arrived in Richer. “The best part was thatwe started this ride with tworiders and ended in Richerwith a dozen,” Gloveradded.

In 2012, Helping HoovesManitoba hosted fivefundraising events with in-

A dozen riders speckled in pink arrived at the Richer Inn on May 16 at the end of this year’s Pink Ride to raise funds for HelpingHooves. Photo by Lee McQuitty

dividual trail rides, flea mar-kets and fun days and do-nated almost $6,000 to

Helping Hands forManitobans with BreastCancer. This organization

supports breast cancer pa-tients with their out-of-pocket expenses.

By Harry Siemens

The Manitoba Pork Council (MPC) is taking a more pro-active approach that involves a new exhibit to help informthe public about the hog industry in Manitoba. Susan Riese, Manager of Consumer Marketing and Com-munity Relations Programs with MPC, is confident a newexhibit at the Manitoba Museum will help get the publicmore involved in addressing the environmental problemsof Lake Winnipeg. MPC partnered in the Manitoba Museum’s new LakeWinnipeg Shared Solutions Exhibit. Riese said the goal is to build awareness of the issuesfaced by Lake Winnipeg concerning algal blooms and howthe public can help save the lake. The centerpiece of the

MPC Partners in Education to SolveAlgal Blooms in Lake Winnipeg

exhibit is a computer simulator. “Basically it’s a simulation of the Lake Winnipeg water-shed so it’s very interactive, it’s all computerised and itallows you to explore the different options that one canmake in terms of solving some of the problems,” said Riese.“Then you get to see if you have had the desired effect,which is of course to reduce the algal blooms that coverthe lake and then if those choices came at a price. Was it agood choice, was it a balanced choice in terms of keepingthe public happy and at the same time making sure it doesn’tbreak the bank.” Riese believes that sometimes people think this is aneasy fix; let us just do this but meanwhile it is going to costbillions of dollars the province would not be able to afford.“So there are pros and cons to all of the different optionsand creating awareness, making people aware of what theirrole is in terms of things that they can do at home or at thecottage or what ever to help minimise the algal blooms inthe lake,” she adds.


By Les Kletke

The provinces foragecrop is off to a late start butthere is no reason to panicat this time. While the latestart will definitely influ-ence the likelihood of a thirdcut this year it is too earlyto make the final decision. Glenn Friesen ofManitoba Agriculture,Food and Rural Develop-ment (MAFRD) suggeststhat producers enrol in theGreen Gold program to maxi-mize their feed value pro-duction. Friesen suggeststhat the value of the feed isa greater concern that thevolume. Since the introduc-tion of the Green Gold pro-gram producers are takingtheir first cut two weeksearlier than if, they hadwaited for the visual evalu-ation of the crop. That hasresulted in a higher qualityof feed, which in most casesmore than makes up for thereduced volume. The most recent ForageBulletin advises producersto develop a nutrient pro-gram for their forages. Anaverage forage yield in theprovince is 2.3 tons per acrebut with proper nutrientapplication that can be in-creased to 3.5 to 5.5 tonsper acre. A high producingforage field can use 4 timesthe nitrogen and up to 6times the potassium of a 40-bushel wheat yield. John Friesen a dairyfarmer near Steinbach saidthat he will probably makehis first cut three weekslater than normal this year. “The cold weather hasheld everything back thisyear,” said Friesen. “Whenyou look at pastures ortrees you might think weare a month behind wherewe should be.” He is confi-dent that with some warmweather the forages willcatch up. “We are at the time of the

Better Late than Neverfor Forage Crops

year where the days are ap-proaching the longest andif we get some warmer tem-peratures things will reallymove along,” he said. “Wehave more than adequatemoisture in most fields sothings will really comealong.” According to Friesen, thelarge hay crop last year hasbeen a benefit this springas he has been forced tofeed his herd longer thanusual before getting themout on pasture.“We are fortunate to havethe feed, but that doesn’tmean we want to use it upthis spring,” he added witha chuckle, “I would notmind carrying some into thefall.” He is cautious aboutletting his cattle out earlyon a wet pasture. “They cando a lot of damage that isdifficult to recover from, ifwe wait a bit and theweather improves we willbe alright.”

Rentals Available The Agassiz Soil & Crop Im-provement Association main-tains an equipment rental pro-gram.

ASCIA 2014 Rental Fleet Price ListLand Packer (51' Degelman) – $3.50 per acreplus $10 membership once per yearContact: Bruce Modrzjewski Ph. 204-268-3059,cell 204-268-5340Bin Crane – $125/day plus $10 membershiponce per yearContact: Bruce Modrzjewski Ph. 204-268-3059,cell 204-268-5340Laser Level – $25/dayContact: Terry Buss, MAFRD Beausejour Office– 204-266-2061Laser Level & Scraper Attachment – $50/dayContact: Terry Buss, MAFRD Beausejour Office– 204-266-2061Measuring Wheel – No ChargeContact: Terry Buss, MAFRD Beausejour Office -204-266-2061Tree Planter – $25/dayContact: Garry Naurocki cell 204-785-3638


Farmers today, no matter what they are producing, belong to or support a numberof agriculture associations and organizations. These industry groups are workingon your behalf and as a farmer, you are better off because of their work. However, Iam likely biased on this assessment. When does it become too much? Does Cana-dian agriculture really need all these organizations? These are valid questions for farmers to ask. Let me answer these questions fromthe perspective of one of the new kids on the block, Cereals Canada. Cereals Canada is a national organization that invests both producer and com-pany funds. So how do these investments directly benefit your farm? The cereals sector in Canada is currently undergoing a time of transition. In west-ern Canada, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) traditionally filled the role of indus-try coordinator for market development and research initiatives. The end of theCWB’s marketing monopoly has resulted in gaps in industry coordination andCereals Canada was created to fill these gaps to coordinate efforts across the entirecountry. Cereals Canada provides an opportunity for the industry as a whole to guide thegrowth and development of Canadian cereals research, market outreach and cus-tomer support. Our goal is to ensure a profitable and vibrant future for all links in thecereal value chain. Words like ‘value chain’ are often used as catch phrases that don’t really have alot of meaning. So, what do we mean by value chain? You are a critical part of thecereals value chain. Farmers make up 1/3 of the membership of Cereals Canada’sBoard of Directors that has equal representation from producer organizations, grainhandling, export and processing firms, crop development and seed companies.Each sector also pays 1/3 of Cereals Canada’s budget. This equal representation from all of our member groups is both deliberate andimportant. Everyone involved in growing and marketing cereal grains are better offwhen the industry works together on common goals. The alternative is each sector retreating to their individual silos and viewingeveryone else as a competitor. That approach will quickly lead to duplication, wastedefforts and investment flowing to other commodities and other countries. Cam Dahl is President of Cereals Canada.

The Farmers of North America Strategic Agriculture Institute (FNA-STAG), a not-for-profit informational research organization, haslaunched a mobile application that could have a major impact on howfarmers price inputs and researchers’ ability to find reliable farm inputprice data. The application, called AgPriceBook, is available to all farmers freeof charge through either the Apple or the Google Play app stores. A ‘small idea with large potential’, the app gives farmers the oppor-tunity to post prices they have been quoted or actually paid, forspecific input products. At launch, the product categories coveredinclude crop protection, fertilizer, petroleum products and inoculants.Users can request products to be added from within the app and

FNA-STAG will add categories or products where there is significant demand. The app enables farmers to view prices posted within a 100 km diameter from a centre-pointlocation they select, or larger areas, to see how the prices they are paying compare to those beingquoted or paid in any area of the country. FNA-STAG CEO and VP Government Affairs, Bob Friesen said that tools to increase pricediscovery and price transparency are vital to farmers as they adapt to the ever-changing agriculturalenvironment. “Farmers need more tools for cost competitiveness by discovering what prices are in otherlocations, including other provinces and across the country,” Friesen said. “With today’s marketingtechniques and bundling strategies it is important that farmers have the ability to get as accurate aprice as possible. The more we can do for farmers to learn about and compare prices, the better offthey are.” App users are completely anonymous. When a user posts a price, the data is anonymized to a 100km diameter, which prevents identifying farmers who post prices by making proximity connec-tions. As well, the app does not identify specific retailers, ensuring that no identifying connectioncan be made between retailer and farmer. If producers use the app in sufficient numbers, its benefit will reach beyond individuals. Overtime, aggregation of the information will provide the foundation for reports that could be useful tofarm organizations, researchers and policy makers. Using near-real time numbers, the data willprovide the most reliable tracking of farm input prices ever available, making it an unprecedented andstrong tool to help farmers improve their cost-competitiveness. FNA-STAG says that it will use that data to produce reports that track specific input categoriesand even specific products with regional and national comparisons. “If we get solid participation, the information available to those farmers should exceed the value ofany of the various farm input price surveys that have been or are currently being used,” Friesen said. However, he noted that farmers will, “Make or break,” the application. If too few farmers arewilling to post prices, then the price finding features will be of little value and the aggregate data willbe insufficient to generate useful reports.

Who is CerealsWho is CerealsWho is CerealsWho is CerealsWho is CerealsCanada and WhyCanada and WhyCanada and WhyCanada and WhyCanada and WhyShould YShould YShould YShould YShould You Care?ou Care?ou Care?ou Care?ou Care?

Free Phone App EnablesFarmers to Share Input Prices




Agriculture MinisterGerry Ritz has concluded asuccessful visit to Mexico,where he and his two coun-terparts, Mexican Agricul-ture Secretary EnriqueMartínez, and U.S. Agricul-ture Secretary Tom Vilsack,gathered together for thefirst time. To mark the North Ameri-can Free TradeAgreement’s (NAFTA)20th anniversary, Ritzjoined Secretaries Vilsackand Martínez to discussthe vast benefits the Agree-ment has created for theNorth American agricultureindustry at a panel discus-sion with the three agricul-ture leaders. “The signing of NAFTA20 years ago has led to amore competitive and inte-grated North American ag-riculture industry,” saidRitz. “This visit to Mexicoprovided a unique oppor-tunity for myself, U.S. Sec-retary Vilsack and MexicanSecretary Martínez to cometogether to reaffirm ourcontinued commitment topromoting a fair, open andintegrated North Americanmarket that will continue tokeep our industriesstrong.” During the NAFTA panel,Ritz stressed the importanceof fair and science-baseddecisions to facilitate tradewithin the NAFTA region.Ritz later reinforced thesame message during bilat-eral discussions with U.S.Secretary Vilsack and Mexi-can Secretary Martínez. During his meeting withSecretary Vilsack, Ritzraised various issues of in-terest to Canada, includingthe importance of the U.S.ending the discriminationagainst Canadian cattleand hogs under mandatoryCountry of Origin Labelling(COOL). In his bilateralmeeting with SecretaryMartínez, Ritz stressed theneed for a resolution of mar-ket access for Canadianbeef from animals overthirty months in accor-dance with science-based

NAFTA Anniversary MarksGrowth in Agriculture Trade

rules. Ritz also travelled fromMexico City to Zacatecas,Mexico, for the MexicanCattle Association’s An-nual Convention, whichprovided him the opportu-nity to reinforce Canada’sposition on U.S. mandatoryCOOL with key industryleaders and express theneed for cattle industrieswithin the NAFTA regionto work together to addressthis important issue. Since NAFTA came intoforce in 1994, the NorthAmerican economy has

more than doubled and ag-ricultural trade has morethan quadrupled. NAFTAhas had a significantlypositive impact on the com-petitiveness of the NorthAmerican agriculture in-dustry. Today, the U.S. re-mains Canada’s top cus-tomer of our agriculturalproducts with Canadianagriculture exports to theU.S. totalling $26.1 billionin 2013, while Mexico is ourfifth-largest buyer, with $1.6billion in Canadian agricul-tural products exported tothe market in the same year.

Minister Ritz with Mexican Agriculture Secretary EnriqueMartínez and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at NAFTAPanel, Foro Expectativas, Mexico City.

Active Country Kids

Nine-year-old Kate-Leigh Heapy givesHolstein milk cows anextra scoop of feed af-ter milking. She hasgrown up with thecows in their dairyherd, teaching them tolead when only a fewdays old. Like manyother farm kids, shekeeps active playinghockey and baseball.She also belongs to arodeo club and beef 4-H club.

Photo by Joan Airey


Fifty-eight graduates received their Diplomas in Ag-riculture at the 107th convocation of the School of Ag-riculture held on Friday, May 2, at the University ofManitoba. Fiona Jochum of St. Francois Xavier received the Gov-ernor General’s Bronze Medal, an award given to thegraduate with the highest academic standing in thetwo-year Diploma Program in Agriculture. Fiona wasalso the recipient of the President’s Medal, given an-nually to a student who combines scholarship with out-standing qualities of leadership. Diplomas with Distinction, awarded to students whoobtain a Grade Point Average of 3.75 or better out of apossible 4.5, were presented to Kayla Antonowich(Morden), Nathan Beichter, (Carman), Michelle Gaudry(Linden), Cody Ireland (High Bluff), Fiona Jochum,Alyson Johnson (Killarney), Alexandra Leishman(Carman), Karin Mueller (Oak Bluff), Dylan Sanders(Manitou), Matt Sawatzky (MacGregor), JenniferTemmer (St. Williams, ON) and Matthew Wiebe(Morden). Since its inception in 1906, the Diploma in Agricul-ture program at the School of Agriculture has under-gone many changes and challenges to meet the ever-growing needs of Canada’s agri-food industry. Stu-dents opt for one of four programs, crop management,livestock management, business management or gen-eral agriculture, depending on their career aspirations.

Class of 2014.

Agriculture Grads Celebrate

By Les Kletke

By accepting the Certifi-cate of Merit from the Fac-ulty of Agriculture at theUniversity of Manitoba, Dr.Ed Tyrchniewicz jokedabout a number of earlierretirements and that he hadjust kept on finding newjobs. He could well becalled the Energizer Bunnyof Manitoba Agriculturebecause he just keeps ongoing. Currently he focuses hisattention on a program thathelps emigratingagrologists settle intoCanada and secure theirrequired credentials. Heteaches in the one-yearprogram that allows immi-

grants with AgricultureDegrees from other coun-tries make the transition toCanada and have their de-grees recognized in thiscountry. In his acceptance of theCertificate of Merit he mademention of his roots in Prai-rie Grove, just south eastof Winnipeg and that hegraduated from Agricul-tural Economics in 1962. Helisted Dr. Clay Gilson as oneof his early influences. Hewent on to obtain his PhDfrom Perdue University andreturned to teach at theUniversity of Manitobafrom 1967-88. Tyrchniewicz was thefounding Director of theTransport Institute and

Fiona Jochum receiving the President’s Medal from Universityof Manitoba Vice-Provost David Collins. She also received theGovernor General’s Bronze Medal.

Energizer Bunnyof Agriculture

served a term as Dean ofthe Faculty of Agricultureand Forestry at the Univer-sity of Alberta. He later be-came the Senior Fellow ofthe International Instituteof Sustainable Develop-ment and the founding Ex-ecutive Director of theManitoba Rural AdaptationCouncil. His interests di-versified as an AssociateDean of the Asper Schoolof Business at the Univer-sity of Manitoba. While he has had stronginfluence in Manitoba andis dedicated to securing afinancially viable future forManitoba farms he hasbeen working internation-ally in the Ukraine,Bangladesh, Thailand,

Kenya, Argentina andChina. Known to most, as Dr. Edhe continues to work inacademia with a strongbent to the practical. “Heknows everyone and stopsto talk to them,” said oneof the attendees of thegraduation banquet. “Mostpeople don’t know all thethings he has done and hejust keeps on going.” The Energizer Bunny ofManitoba Agriculture doesnot intend to slow down,just spending more timewith his grand and greatgrand children. EdTyrchniewicz was inductedinto the Manitoba Agricul-ture Hall of Fame in 2012.


By Les Kletke

Dean Michael Trevan isin transition and that is en-tirely different from retire-ment. Trevan made thatclear in his remarks to thegraduation banquet of theSchool of Agriculture ear-lier this month. Trevan whohas served two 5-yearterms as Dean will be mov-ing to another role, whichhas not yet been deter-mined. He emigrated from En-gland ten years ago to fillthe role of Dean of the Fac-ulty of Agriculture, becamea Canadian citizen andplans to continue with hiswork in Manitoba. In hisremarks, he took the oppor-tunity to poke fun atManitoba winters but saidthat overall, it had been agreat experience and heplans to stay. The same transitiontheme was used in his ad-dress to the graduatingclass of 2014 earlier in theday. He pointed out that itwas the 107th graduatingclass of the school, whichwas also in transition awhile back when it movedto the Fort Garry location. “You have been in transi-tion during your two yearsat the school,” he told the58 graduates. “And youhave achieved personalcompetencies.” He notedthat the group had formedthe first University 4-Hclub during the 100 yearcelebration of 4-H. In her remarks to thegraduates, MicheleRogalsky, Director of theSchool noted that the Classof ’63 had held their 50threunion last year and werestill in touch with eachother. The Class of 63’ de-cided to donate money fora scholarship that wasawarded for the first time atthe 2014 graduation.

By Les Kletke

When Marg Rempel wasawarded the Certificate ofMerit from the School ofAgriculture at its gradua-tion ceremony earlier thismonth she was treadingnew ground. Rempel was the first re-cipient of the award whowas not a graduate of theSchool or Faculty of Agri-culture at the University ofManitoba. For Rempel sail-ing uncharted waters is nota new experience. She farms with her sonJason and uses a uniquesystem for feeding the 500-sow farrow to finish opera-tion on the farm. It uses highmoisture grain stored in asilo. “It is used in southernOntario but has not caughton in Manitoba,” explainedRempel. “I wondered whydo we dry the grain and addwater later on.” She said the system uti-lizes a silo that was sal-vaged from an existing farm

By Les Kletke

Gary Martens is veryclear about what he plansto do in his retirement fromthe University of ManitobaPlant Science Department. “I plan to practice what Ipreached,” said Martens,who was part of the Schoolof Agriculture’s GraduationCeremony as one of his lastofficial acts as an instruc-tor in the School. He beganas a lecturer in 1978 aftergraduating from the pro-gram. He will do that on hisfarm southeast ofWinnipeg. “I call it a nano-farm be-cause it is smaller than amicro-farm,” he said. “I willbe able to practice what Ipreached and not make ahuge foot print on theworld.” The farm is 25 acresin size and includes severaldifferent long term experi-ments. Martens may notmake a huge footprint onthe world as such but histeachings and questionshave had a huge impact onmany acres of crop produc-tion in Western Canada. Itwould be difficult to esti-mate the number of acresthat are now under the man-agement of producers

From left to right: School of Agriculture Director Michele Rogalsky, Dean of the Faculty MichaelTrevan, Marg Rempel, Ed Tyrchniewicz, Vice-Provost David Collins.

Dean In TransitionRogalsky suggested thatwith social media today itwould be much easier forthis graduating class tostay connected than it wasfor the graduates of 50years ago. Dean Trevan challengedthe grads to use the skillsthey had acquired over thelast two years to be readyfor the transitions theywould see in the industrythey were entering.

Looking back at his 10years in the faculty henoted that involvementwith groups like the Cana-dian Foodgrains Bank orthe Canadian Wheat Boardwhere not things he hadthought of as a food chem-ist in downtown London.However, these were greatexperiences he had be-cause of his willingness tomake the transition to theUniversity of Manitoba adecade ago.

Celebrating Diversitybut does not rely onensiling the grain, ratherstoring it at the high mois-ture content it is harvested.“The drying system is of-ten the bottle of the har-vesting system,” she said.“So, by avoiding the dry-ing we are able to harvestfaster without the invest-ment in a large drying unit,and the high moisture feedworks well in our opera-tion.” Grain corn is harvested at23-28% moisture and goesin to the silo to be storeduntil used in the hog op-eration. The New Bothwellfarm has 1,600 acres ofgrain production alongwith the 500 sows and someother unusual livestockoperations. Jason has raised chick-ens on grass for a numberof years and found a wait-ing market for the naturallyraised birds. More recently,the farm has expanded intogoats. “We have found a realmarket locally with the Fili-

pino population,” saidRempel. “They have addedso much to our communityand this is a way of sayingthank you to them. Theydon’t have access to freshgoat through the retailchannels and this allowsthem the slaughter the ani-mals in the traditional wayand use the entire animal.” Rempel sees the expan-sion into goats as goodeconomics on the farm thatalso serves a demand in thecommunity. “It is as much about cel-ebrating the diversity asanything,” she said. “Ihave always appreciatedthe diversity of our indus-try in any organization Ihave been involved with.” Rempel was recognizedfor her contribution to theagricultural industry withthe FCC Rosemary DavisAward in 2012 and says theresultant 5-day trip andstudy was valuable but shevalues the friendship andconnection with other re-cipients as an equal part ofthe award.

Gary Martens receives Teacher of the Year award from students Dylan Wiebe and RavaeMcDonald. Martens hangs up his academic gown for the last time after the graduation for theSchool of Agriculture in early May. He is retiring to pursue some of his own interests.

Two Lists to Conquerfor Honoured Retiree

taught by Martens, re-nowned for not only deliv-ery facts but also for ques-tioning common practices. Martens has two listsposted by the back door ofhis house, “And neitherprepared by my wife; theseare things I want to do.”The first deals with someshort term things. He wantsto plant more trees, whichhave been an ongoingproject on the farm, and hewants to finish his electriccar. He is converting a 1990Mazda Miada to electricpropulsion, which he esti-mates would cut his cost ofa trip to Winnipeg and backfrom $15 to about $1.50. “I should have done it awhile ago to use for mycommuting but I justhaven’t had time. I startedthree years ago,” he said. On the other list are somelonger term items. One ofwhich is developing a farmgame that he wants to morerealistic than any offeredtoday. “I want it to have real timemarkets and scenarios thatwould play out as close toreal as possible,” he said.“I want it so that farmerscan play it and yet it would

be something that could beunderstood by urbanpeople and they would en-joy it as well.” He esti-mates it could take him 10years to develop that gameand acknowledges that heis aiming at a moving tar-get. “I know that things arechanging in the industry,and I want that to be a partof the game,” he said. “Ican get that information,and I know that there arepeople who can incorpo-rate that into the game, butI am not one of them.” Heis confident he will findsomeone with the com-puter knowledge to put theprogram together and in-

corporate the rapidlychanging scenarios hewants to include. He may be done with histime at the front of the class-room but Gary Martens has

no intention of fading intothe sunset, he will be chal-lenging and questioningthe status quo for the fore-seeable future.


All Farm Homeowner Policies have a listing within the wordings called “SpecialLimits of Insurance”. This listing of personal contents describes the maximum amount of money thatyou can claim on each of these items and/or category of items. An example of thespecial limit of insurance listing reads something like this, “We insure lawn mowers,snow blowers, garden tractors or other motorized garden equipment up to $5,000 inall.” So, if your total value of yard equipment based on “new value” exceeds thisamount, you may want to increase the limit to the full new value for a small additionalpremium. It is not uncommon for new yard tractors with all the attachments to cost$20,000 to $30,000. Even if your equipment is older, it will take this same amount ofmoney to replace it with the new one. Therefore, in order to have full coverage to replace your yard tractor with a newone you will no doubt want to increase this particular special limit of insurance. Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from those who understand yourbusiness! Andy Anderson is an Associate Insurance Broker specializing in General, Lifeand Group Benefits for Farm, Commercial/Agri-business P 1-204-746-5589, F 1-866 765 3351 [email protected] /rempelinsurance.com /valleyfinancial.ca.

Over one million acres of bright blue-flowered flax bloomed in western Canada in 2013,which makes us the largest producer of flaxseed in the world. The harvest was about 700,000 tonnes of which 90 percent was exported to Europe andthe United States. Much of this flax is crushed for its high quality linseed oil for non-foodindustrial use, but this oil is also edible for dairy cattle. Therefore, dairy producers shouldlook at feeding whole flaxseed in order to improve dietary energy to support high milkproduction and because of recent evidence of potential dairy health and reproductionbenefits. Centre to such dairy attention is Canadian flaxseed contains about 40 percent vegetableoil - 70 percent of which is polyunsaturated fat and of this amount - 57 percent is thedesirable alpha-linolenic acid/omega-3 fatty acid. This latter amount is of significantlyhigher concentration compared to other edible dairy oilseeds, such as whole canola seeds,soybeans, sunflower seeds and cottonseed that contains less than 1 percent of fat con-tent is omega-3 fatty acids. General nutrient profile of flaxseed and other common oilseeds are as follows:

(Source: NDSU Extension Service)

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Locally Grown Flaxseed is aDairy Friendly Feed Ingredient

Setting aside for the moment thatwhole flaxseeds added to the typicaldairy TMR increases energy density,much recent Canadian research hasfocused upon flaxseed’s omega 3 fattyacid benefits upon reproduction andhealth (immune function) in lactatingdairy cows. As reported, Alberta Agriculture (2006) supplied 750 g per head per day of unsaturatedfats to lactating dairy cows; from either rolled flaxseed or rolled sunflower seeds to testwhether alpha linolenic acid/omega-3 fatty acid improves pregnancy rates. In the first group, 2.4 kg/head of whole flaxseed (lipid content = 55 percent alpha linolenicacid) was fed and in the second group, 2.29 kg/head of whole sunflower seeds (lipidcontent < 1 percent alpha linolenic acid). The results showed that confirmed pregnancyrates at 32 days after insemination were higher in dairy cows fed the flax diets (embryonicdeath = 9.8 percent - flaxseed and 27.3 percent - sunflower seeds). Similar trials in otherprovinces yielded similar results. These researchers believe that alpha linolenic acid from whole flaxseed reduces embry-onic deaths and thus improves pregnancy rates in dairy cows by assisting the corpusluteum (CL or temporary endocrine structure on the ovary) to release elevated levels ofspecific reproductive hormones, namely: prostaglandin P4, which has a positive effect onconception or in contrast; suppress prostaglandin F2, which causes the regression of theCL during critical establishment of pregnancy. Such positive reproductive benefits of feeding flax to dairy cows are not always repeat-able. For example, the University of Guelph (2008) found that feeding flaxseed to donorcows and in comparison to a commercial bypass fat as a control group had no effect uponthe number of embryos produced by each treatment cow. Furthermore, the cows on theflaxseed diets had comparatively lower fertilization rates and adverse embryo longevity.Feeding flaxseed to either donor cows or recipient heifers were shown not to affect overallpregnancy rates. We should keep in mind that these are only two cited examples concerning feedingwhole flaxseed to dairy cows. Much research is needed and continues in this area andothers, such as flaxseed’s effect upon dairy cow health. Case-in-point: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (2003) allotted flaxseed (containingalpha-linolenic acid), commercial by-pass fat and soybean treatments to different groupsof early lactation dairy cows. After calving and breeding, the immune response of the flax-feed cows compared to these other diets (as measured by lymphocyte/white blood cellproduction) was altered (increased or decreased); dependent on the parity of the cowgroups. It is very interesting that other field trials of feeding flaxseed/omega-3 fatty acidsto dairy cows have shown visible reduction in inflammatory reactions as well as similaralterations of cytokines, macrophages or lymphocyte population; components of a func-tioning immune system. In order to receive these promising reproduction and health benefits of flaxseed as wellas use it as a high-energy feed source for high milk yield, we still must incorporate it into“everyday diets” of high milk producing dairy cows. This means there are limitations tofeeding flaxseed because of its high-fat content. The overall rule for adding high-fat ingredients, such as whole flaxseed, to early lactationdiets is to take into account all the natural sources of fat already present and add inflaxseed; making sure not to exceed 5-6 percent total fat of the entire dairy diet. Further-more, unsaturated fats from flaxseed interact and are relatively toxic to rumen microbes,particularly those forage fibre-digesting bacteria and may depress milk fat, if overfed.Therefore, dairy producers should limit the amount of flaxseed to 1.0-1.5 kg per cow perday and assure effective forage requirements are met in order to optimize rumen functionand avoid any digestibility problems. In using flaxseed in a dairy TMR, one often thinks about rolling or grinding flaxseed toimprove its digestibility by early lactation cows, but it might not be necessary. Agricultureand Agri-Food Canada in Quebec field trials discovered that physical grinding of wholeflaxseed and feeding it to lactation dairy cows had no effect upon: dry matter intake, milkcomposition or production. They thought whole flaxseed might have a longer shelf life asgrinding may lead to oxidation of flaxseed fat. Otherwise, feeding whole flaxseed to dairycows can be fed unadulterated.

Despite the social popu-larity that feeding wholeflaxseed to early lactationdairy cows can increase thelevel of alpha linolenic acid/omega-3 fatty acids in milkfat and make “healthier”milk for people, it is a dairyfriendly high-fat, modestprotein and palatable feedingredient. Similar booststo the cows’ immune func-tion and reproduction areproven, but flaxseed’s en-ergy and protein basic val-ues can help meet thesefirst-limiting nutrients re-quired by lactating dairycows, fill the bulk-tank andgenerate a good milkcheque.




By Les Kletke

Don Braun would like to be further ahead with his seeding but is not worried about the conditions of this spring. Braunfarms 4,000 acres near Portage la Prairie and by May 25 had about ¾ of it seeded already. “We have the wheat, canola and soybeans in,” said Braun. “We are not concerned about the edible beans. We wouldhave liked to get them in according to the calendar but the soil has not warmed up and we are not going to take a chanceon putting them into cold soil.” Braun said, he was able to carry through with his original seeding plans but had to do some adjustment on the order offields that he planted. “We ended up moving equipment back and forth more than we would liked to but, that is a part ofthe business and we are just happy to have things in the ground and waiting for some more warm weather to get thingsout of the ground and growing,” he said. Braun is somewhat concerned about the cool soil temperatures yet he could not wait longer. “We could not wait for thesoil to warm up, then we would have been faced with doing everything at once and if we had got another rain on some ofour heavier land that would have been a problem,” he explained. He noted that he treated more seed that usual this yearparticularly his wheat that went in earliest. “Had we known the kind of spring we were going to have we would have most likely planted some winter wheat, but wedidn’t.” he said. He has grown winter wheat in the past and likes the way it spreads the workload both with an earlyharvest and at seeding time. Last fall he choose not to plant winter wheat just to leave his options open for this spring. He said 2013 was one of his best crops ever and he was fortunate to have marketed some of the crop early. “I was able to deliver some right off of the combine and that helped,” he said. “Other fellows had some issues withstorage space and that could be a real problem if we don’t see significant movement of grain through the summer.” Braun reserves judgement on the railways and the lack of movement of grain through the winter, saying that if things gowell through the summer he will be back on track with his marketing plan.

By Elmer Heinrichs

Based on a StatisticsCanada survey of 11,500farmers prior to March 31,2014, farmers are expectedto plant less wheat this yearthan they seeded in 2013,while both soybean and dryfield pea areas are fore-casted to increase. Soy-bean areas could reach an-other record in 2014, whichwould mark the sixth con-secutive year of historichighs. Farmers may modify theirplans prior to planting time,as some reported being un-decided about their strate-

Survey Predicts Less Wheat,More Soybeans and Dry Field Peas

Spring seeding and fertilizing in one operation on a field nearAltona on May 17.

Photo by Elmer Heinrichs

gies for 2014. Similar to2013, many areas of thecountry are experiencing alonger winter than antici-pated. Nationally, according toplanting intentions re-ported by farmers, totalwheat area could decrease4.8 percent to 24.8 millionacres in 2014. Specifically,seeding intentions forspring wheat show a 5.6percent decline from 2013to 18.0 million acres in 2014,while acreage of durumwheat is expected to de-crease 2.6 percent to 4.8million acres. Manitoba farmers antici-

pate seeding 2.8 millionacres of spring wheat,down 3.6 percent from 2013. Canadian farmers re-ported that they expect toseed a record soybean areaof 5.3 million acres in 2014,up 16.5 percent from 2013.Producers in Quebec,Ontario, Manitoba andSaskatchewan all plan toseed record levels in 2014.Manitoba intend to seed anadditional 250,000 acres. Canadian farmers indi-cated that they might seed19.8 million acres of canolain 2014, down 0.7 percentfrom 2013. Manitoba looks

to seed 3.2 million acres in2014 the same as in 2013. At the national level, bar-ley seeded area is expectedto decline 10.9 percent to6.3 million acres. Canadianfarmers also plan to seed3.2 million acres of oats in2014, up 0.6 percent from2013. Nationally, corn for grain-seeded area is expected todecline 8.7 percent from2013 to 3.4 million acres. Canadian farmers indi-cated that they intend toseed 21.0 percent moreacres of dry field peas in2014 compared with 2013.

Slow Start to Seeding


The Manitoba Agricultural Museum (MAM) unveiledManitoba’s Military Heritage as the feature attraction forthe 60th Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion & Stampede. Tobe held July 24-27, 2014, the feature display will com-memorate the 100th Anniversary of World War I and the75th Anniversary of World War II. The attraction includes Manitoba’s largest public displayof operating vintage military vehicles in decades and anexhibit of the current capabilities of Canada’s Armed Forces.More details will be released as the event approaches. “The World Wars had a significant impact on Manitoba’sfamilies and communities,” said Georgette Hutlet, theMuseum’s Chief Museum Officer. “With many of Manitoba’smilitary and historical organizations joining us to pay trib-ute to the men and women who served our country, this willbe an once-in-a-lifetime experience.” The exhibit is the result of many organizations comingtogether to raise awareness of the impact of the military onManitoba farms, families and communities. MAM is excitedto announce the following organizations taking part:· 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery· The Royal Canadian Legion· 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry· Prairie Command Military Vehicle Association· Royal Winnipeg Rifles Museum· Fort Garry Horse Ghost Squadron· Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum· Military History Society of Manitoba The Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion & Stampede isCanada’s largest summer festival celebrating the history ofrural Canada. Featuring a working 1900s era village, pio-neer fashion show, live farm demonstrations, heavy horseshows, petting zoo, classic car show, live entertainment anda rodeo, this family-friendly festival has been entertainingand educating the public for 59 years. For more information on the festival’s 60th Edition activi-ties and events, please visit the website at ag-museum.mb.ca/events/threshermens-reunion-and-stampede.

In the early days of the western Canadian grain trade, the grainterminals at the Lakehead were largely owned by the railwaysand were classified as public terminals. It was not until 1907 thatthe first private grain terminal was built at the Lakehead. The public grain terminals operated under the same rules aspublic warehouses with a very important difference. In a publicwarehouse, the very same goods placed in storage by the ownerare returned to the owner upon request. However, in a grain terminal, this was not possible as grain of aspecific grade was stored in a common bin of the terminal alongwith other grain of the same grade. A person depositing grain in

the public terminalwould get grain ofthe same gradeback. This method ofoperation meshedneatly with the nomixing rule and ideathat the westernCanadian graintrade was to pro-vide grain at the av-erage standard of

the grade. A public terminal was not legally able to mix grain. Abin then contained various parcels of grain from various areas ofthe prairies, all of which were assessed at the same grade whenfirst graded. The bin represented the average standard of thegrade that was usually above the minimum specified in the gradestandards. This reduced disputes over the quality of grain that ashipper received back from a public terminal. Another facet of public terminal operation in the pioneer pe-riod was the practice of directing loaded grain cars arriving at theLakehead to the terminal best able to store the grade of grain inthe car. This was aided by the practice of sampling all grain carsin Winnipeg and grading the grain while the car was enroute to theLakehead so the grade was known before the car was unloaded. The downside to this was that anyone shipping grain thencould have the grain spread around a number of public terminals.This posed problems when the owner of the grain wanted itshipped as a vessel. The owner may have to visit multiple termi-nals in order to load this grain. The answer was the Lake ShippersClearance Association (LSCA), which brought together the ship-

Canadian Grain Reputation BeganEarly with No Mixing Rule

pers, vessel owners, public terminal elevators and the banks thatfinanced the grain trade. When the public terminal unloaded thegrain car, it issued to the owner a warehouse receipt, which wasa recognized financial instrument. The owners of the grain coulddeposit these warehouse receipts with the LSCA and in returnreceive a Lake Shippers Certificate that outlined the volume andgrade of grain covered by the warehouse receipts surrendered tothe LSCA. When the owner wished to sell this grain, the owner could sellthe Lake Shippers Certificate to a buyer or employ it to arrangeshipment directly. In either event, the holder of the certificategave the document to the association, ordered the grain to beloaded on a specified vessel, and gave the date the vessel wasexpected in port. The association kept daily track of the amounts, types andgrades of grain the association had control over in all of the termi-nals at the Lakehead. The association then directed the vesselwhen it arrived to the public terminal best able to load the vesselregardless of where the owner’s grain had been unloaded. In theideal circumstances, the vessel would be directed to the terminalcontaining not only the grade of grain needed but also the bushelamount involved in the transaction. This reduced the need for thevessel to move to another terminal to load further grain. Theassociation even kept track of congested terminals and on occa-sion, directed vessels to congested terminals to load grain, freeingup storage space and keeping the terminal ‘fluid’, even if thismeant shifting the vessel between a number of terminals to fullyload the vessel. This method of operation resulted in efficient use of port ter-minals and faster, cheaper unloading of railcars and loading ofvessels at the Lakehead. However, it appears not all grain movingthrough the public terminals made use of the services offered bythe association. In general, off grades of grain such as tough,‘dirty’ or smutted grain were not suited to the operations of theLSCA. Off grades did move through the Lakehead and had to bedirected to a particular terminal when the railcars arrived at portto be unloaded with agreement for handling arranged beforehandbetween the terminal and the off grade grain owner. The banks were involved often because the owners of grainused warehouse receipts as security for bank loans. These ware-house receipts had to be coordinated with the movements ofgrain to ensure security for the lenders. The Lake Shippers Clear-ance Association in 1908 was appointed to register warehousereceipts inward and outward. After 1912, the Board of GrainCommissioners took over this duty. Registration of warehousereceipts ensured security in a manner that did not hinder terminaloperations. The no mixing rule had a role here. If grain was allowed to bemixed, it was possible in the event of a bankruptcy that theholder of a warehouse receipt may not find the tonnage and

particular grade of grain specified in the receipt in the bankruptelevator or terminal as the grain had been mixed and turned intoanother grade. This fluid system allowed for the maximum use of the pioneergrain handling and transportation system as it sped the move-ment of grain through the system. However, for off grades ofgrain the system was far less fluid. One should note that in thisperiod of time that western Canada’s reputation for quality inwheat was established with theindustry’s adherence to the ideathat grade of grain should rep-resent the average standard ofthe grade. By 1912, the no mixing rulehad a few more twists in storefor the grain trade such as con-tributing to elevators being de-clared as ‘works in the generaladvantage of Canada’ and con-tributing in a roundabout wayto the disappearance of thepublic port terminals.

A Board of Grain Commissioners inspector sampling grain as itis loaded into vessel at the Lakehead in the early 1950s. Thesample taken as the vessel was loaded would be graded andthe results used in issuing the ‘Certificate Final’ that guaran-teed the grade of grain. Eventually the Board of GrainCommissioners evolved into the Canadian Grain Commission.

Photo courtesy of the Canadian Grain Commission.

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By Peter Vitti

Before the 1980s, copper deficiencies were a real problemfor just about anybody that raised cattle from westernCanada to Cape Canaveral. Extensive copper research in beef cattle undertaken byCanadian and a host of international universities and gov-ernments, followed up by practical copper supplementa-tion programs used by many producers, has made severecopper deficiencies on cow-calf operations a thing of thepast. Despite some of our best efforts, subtle or marginalcopper deficiencies in cattle are still with us. Without ad-equate testing and investment into a well-balanced mineralprogram, they can negatively affect the present breeding

Make Sure a CopperDeficiency Is Not Hiding

in Your Cowherd

season, future calf crops and final farm revenue. Oddly, we’ve all been taught the classic copper deficiencylesson; “copper deficiency causes black cattle to turn greyand red cattle to turn yellow”. This tagline might work inthe most severe copper deficiencies cases, but misleadingwhen trying to determine whether your herd is sufferingfrom marginal copper status, where deficiency symptomsare invisible, yet underlie frustrating poor performance. In such “hard-to-pinpoint copper cases, it is important torecognize that micro-amounts of copper are always requiredby all cattle; involved as activators of vital enzyme sys-tems (specialized proteins) that drive cellular reactions inmany areas of cattle maintenance and performance. Hereare a few metabolic examples of how copper through theseenzyme systems function and are required by healthy andproductive cows and calves:- Vital functions - Copper has been found to play manylife-giving roles in the body. Case-in-point, it plays an irre-placeable role in respiration because it is essential to hae-moglobin synthesis (the compound that carries oxygen inblood) and red cell maturation. Copper also affects ironabsorption in cattle (the active metal in haemoglobin). Ane-mia is therefore a common condition in marginally copper-deficient animals.- Immunity - It is theorized that within cattle immune sys-tems, copper along with zinc, manganese and seleniumplay a pivotal role in antioxidant reactions, which destroydangerous compounds known as “free radicals” producedduring a normal immune response against disease. It hasbeen proven by indirect evidence such as elevated copperlevels being present in white blood cells responding toinfections and inflammation.- Reproduction - Although well-defined biological path-ways are unclear, copper plays a role in hormone produc-tion, normal estrus cycles, egg release, fertilization of theegg and early embryonic survival. Marginally, copper defi-ciencies may lead to delays in cattle puberty, silent heats,failure to conceive and a greater incidence of early embry-onic deaths and overall lower pregnancy rates.- Hooves - Copper has an important role in connectivetissue synthesis and keratinization (hardening) of hoof hornin cattle. Cattle with a marginal copper deficiency are pre-disposed to heel cracks, foot rot, sole abscesses and othertypes of lameness. This information is an informal checklist that might ex-plain an odd year or series of years when a herd shouldhave performed better (re: calving and breeding seasons),despite the cows being in relatively good shape for muchof the year. One might ask is this just the experience of an“off” season or caused by a copper deficiency that waspreviously unknown? One can easily verify the copper status of most cow-herds. It can save a lot of time, effort and money just bytaking forage and feedstuff (including water samples) in

order to determine their copper and other complete mineralprofiles. Similarly with the assistance of a veterinarian, tis-sue (liver biopsies) and blood samples from cattle might betaken and analyzed for copper and other trace mineral sta-tus ( zinc and selenium). After this evidence is received, itbecomes a matter of interrupting of this information, ac-cepting its findings, and taking the appropriate correctiveaction to reverse an established copper deficiency. Correcting a verified marginal copper deficiency in manycowherds can be a straightforward matter of feeding cattlea well-balanced commercial mineral containing supplemen-tal copper. The NRC copper requirement for young andmature cattle is no more than 15 mg/kg of diet (dm, basis),which takes care of the beef animals’ basic copper require-ment and also takes into account the antagonistic effectsupon dietary copper by moderate molybdenum or sulphurlevels in forages, other feedstuffs or water. Therefore, apurchased mineral containing 3,000 mg/kg of inorganiccopper (added as copper sulphate) and fed at 50 - 100grams per head per day should solve most copper defi-cient problems. Consequently, the following nutritional and managementsuggestions are helpful in assuring that your beef cowsreceive enough dietary copper when as you pour commer-cial cattle mineral into their feeders:- Target cowherd mineral consumption - The best well-formulated mineral containing adequate copper levels can-not do its job unless cattle eat it. Target the above-men-tioned 50 - 100 grams per head per day.- Know the dietary copper sources in your mineral - Thecopper concentration on the mineral’s feed label is useful,but of limited information. Copper comes in many formssuch as copper oxide, copper sulphate, and chelated cop-per forms, which have relative biological availabilities of 5percent, 100 percent, and 125 - 150 percent in cattle.- Consider feeding “Breeder mineral” all year long - someproducers feed a more fortified cattle mineral (with morebiologically available organic copper) all year long, sayingthat the cost-difference between a basic and such a forti-fied mineral calculates up to $10 per cow per year, yet it isworth the assurance of good copper and other essentialmineral status at all times.- Fill your mineral feeders on a regular basis -. Mineralfeeders should be filled every 2 - 3 days and hardened oldmineral should be removed. Check the condition of yourmineral feeders and replace those that are broken and be-yond repair. Each cow-calf operation can be negatively impacted by ahidden marginal copper deficiency in different ways (im-munity, reproduction, and other performance) due to miti-gating conditions, unique to their situation. However, oncethis plane of copper nutrition is assessed and elevated bya well-balanced cattle mineral program, the adverse effectsof a marginal copper deficiency upon the cowherd can besuccessfully eliminated.



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AgriPost May 30 2014