agripost september 25 2015

September 25, 2015 1The Agri Post

By Harry Siemens

There is an electioncampaign happening inCanada and farm organiza-tions are telling the politicalparties’ candidates and theirleaders to take heedbecause farming is impor-tant. “One fifth of all jobs

Federal Candidates Should Not Lose Sight ofthe Importance of Farming to the Economy

depends on the ag industry.It’s worth it!” says TomTeichroeb, a cattle rancherat Langruth. Rick Bergmann, Chair ofthe Canadian Pork Council(CPC) encourages theleaders of Canada’s politicalparties and the candidatesrunning for election to takea stand for the future of

Canadian hog production. Bergmann said CPC’s 2015Canadian Pork IndustryPlatform for the 2015 federalelection outlines keyindustry concerns to helpstimulate dialogue and buildawareness. “The bigumbrella is building astronger future for ourindustry here in Canada,” hesaid. “Underneath thatumbrella there is a wholegambit of different priori-ties.” Bergmann said riskmanagement programs tohelp hog producers throughthe challenging years, trade,biosecurity, animal healthand enabling or ensuring astrong work force for thefuture are a few of thepriorities within the docu-ment. “It’s critically impor-tant that producers do takethis upon themselves tohave a visit with those whowant to be in government intheir areas to ensure theyhear our message at thegrassroots level,” he said.“We have a great relation-ship within Ottawa and, thatsaid, our membership isacross the country in manyregions and it’s great whenthey can have a localconversation with their MPsand the people in leadershipto ensure our message gets

heard across the country indifferent ways.” Bergmann said the CPChas an opportunity with themembership across thecounty to help everybodybecome more aware of theindustry, the needs it hasand its past successes. Delegates at a recentKeystone AgriculturalProducers (KAP) meetingpassed a resolution callingon the federal and provincialgovernments to involveKAP and other farm groupsin the decisions whendeveloping the GrowingForward 3 program. “This isan important process, andwe must be at the table,”said KAP President DanMazier. “There is so much atstake. Business riskmanagement programs inGrowing Forward 2 are notmeeting farmers’ needs, andwe must look at newprogramming that is morerobust and responsive tochanges on the farm.”

Langruth cattleman Tom Teichroeb asks Federal Electioncandidates and party leaders to debate on agricultural referringto it as the multibillion part of Canada’s total economy.

“This is animportant

process, andwe must be

at the table.”

Breaking theRoundup Cycle

By Les Kletke

The first crop that introduced glyphosate tolerant tech-nology to western Canada is now providing producerswith alternate technology, which leaves the glyphosateon the shelf without a yield drag. Russel Erb is a Grain Manager for the Viterra canolacrush plant at Ste. Agathe, said the plant, which usescold press technology, has furthered its distinction inthe market place, and now 80% of the plant it crushes isnon-GMO canola. “It allows us into a different market segment, but theClearfield technology also allows the producer to breakthe cycle of glyphosate use and avoid the danger ofdeveloping a herbicide tolerant weed problem in his field,”said Erb. Erb who farms himself said he has grown the PioneerClearfield variety for three years and does not see ayield drag from the industry standard. “We have hadyields as high as 60 bushels and this year with the rainand the stress that crop was under we had yields of 35-45 bushels an acre,” said Erb. “That is as good as wecould expect.” He said the company has contracted 30,000 acres, dou-bling that the following year and kept it at that level forthe third year. “We have producers who are committedto the program and sign up their acres when they deliverthe first crop in fall,” said Erb. “I expect that the 2016allotment will be filled by the end of September of thisyear.”

Russ Erb is the grain manager at Viterra Ste. Agathe. Hesays producers like the option of a Clearfield canola tobreak the glyphosate cycle.

Continued on page 2

Photo by Les Kletke

September 25, 20152 The Agri Post The Canadian Federation ofAgriculture (CFA) will behosting a National Agricul-ture Leaders debate in lead upto the Federal Election onWednesday, September 30from 11 am – 1 pm EST at theFairmont Chateau LaurierHotel in Ottawa. The debate will highlightissues facing Canadian farm-ers and give an opportunityfor each party to outline itsplatform positions as they

He acknowledges there are some drawbacks with thedelivery of the crop. “It is called on through the yearand we start with some delivery in the fall but we dopay producers for the storage.” He said some producers see that as an advantageand has at least one farmer who is using the extra pay-ment to finance his storage. “He is building acouple of big bins and said that two years of growingClearfield canola and the storage premium will pay forhis bins and he plans to use them a long time afterthat.” The premium for the crop is $31 a tonne over marketand increases by $5 for every two months out allowingfor a basis of $50 for June/July of 2017.

Roundupcontinued...

Continued from page 1

MakingYour

OctoberVote a

Priority

pertain to Canada’s farm andfood future. The MPs vying for yourvote will be Minister of Ag-riculture and Agri-Food,Hon. Gerry Ritz, Mark

Eyking, Liberal AgricultureCritic, Malcolm Allen, NDP Ag-riculture Critic (to be con-firmed), Bruce Hyer, DeputyLeader, Green Party and BloqQuébécois, representative (to

be confirmed). CFA is encouraging votersto RSVP if personally attend-ing or register for theWebcast in advance. Registration information, aswell as details on farmers’ pri-orities for the upcoming elec-tion can be viewed at1.webcastcanada.ca/cfa-fca/

registration/0915eng.php. CFA will ask each party torespond to agricultural issuesincluding maintaining aworkforce, managing risk andtrade negotiating. In addition,debate questions will beposed via pre-taped videosegments from farmers acrossCanada.


By Les Kletke

A panel of three grain marketing expertstold those attending the event in Fargo thatthe markets are tough and going to gettougher and they best be prepared to sell atsmall rallies through the year. The event waspart of Big Iron in Fargo, North Dakota andsponsored by the Red River Farm Network. Tommy Grisafi of Advance Marketing hasbeen in the grain business for more than 30years. “I went to the Chicago Board of Tradeon a high school field trip and fell in lovewith it,” he said. “I saw that it opened at 10and closed at 2, I wanted a job like that ratherthan delivery pizzas for the family restau-rant.” According to Grisafi, the first thing pro-ducers should do is take a realistic look attheir inventory and what their cash flow re-quirements are. “You need to make this mar-ket cash flow into your business, and thatis going to be tough if you get caught witha situation where you need money and thegrain markets are down,” he said. “We aregoing to see down markets, we didn’t thinkcrude would hit $50 a barrel and when it didthey said it might go to $30. We don’t knowwhere the grain markets can go but we haveto be ready for it.” Grisafi told the crowd that they shouldconcentrate on their own marketing plan andnot get caught up in what they hear on cof-fee shop row. “Your neighbour did not sellcorn for $6 a bushel when the market didnot top $4.50 this year, so don’t believe ev-erything you hear,” he said. “Make a planthat works for you.” He asked for a show of hands of how manyin the audience had a Put and Calls accountwhen only half of the assembled crowdclaimed to have an account he explained,“If you don’t have an account don’t listento a bunch of complicated market informa-tion that you can’t use. The accounts aregood and provide you with tools to takeadvantage of some movements in the mar-ket but if you don’t have one the informa-tion doesn’t help you.” “This is going to be a difficult market andyou will have to hold on to your grain untilwe see some rallies and then you will haveto be ready to sell,” he said. “Low priceswill cure low prices, but that means we willhave to move a lot of grain out of the marketbefore we see prices moving up.” Craig Haugaard is with the North CentralFarmers Elevator and sees the wheat mar-ket as a tough one this year. “We are seeinga lot of wheat from the Black Sea countriesand there is little we can do about that, itcontinues to come to market as those coun-tries look for more currency,” he said. He also sees the strengthening US dollaras having an impact and predicts that itcould drive an increase in planting by asmuch as 5% in Brazil. “The best option forthis market is corn,” said Haugaard. “Wecould see some movement upward there.” He was asked if because of the low mar-kets producers show be buying some grainin an attempt to take advantage of upwardprice movement. “If you have a field of corn,don’t buy more corn,” he said with achuckle. “But do sell some in the $3.50 to$4.50 range, I am not sure you want to golong in corn, but if you do the CBO will sellyou some.” On the practical side, he acknowledged itwas going to be tough to cash flow the farm

operation on the price projections for thisyear. “It is going to be tough, and I thinkcorn is the best option but it will still requireselling at the high points in the market tobreak even,” he said. “The markets are go-ing to be tight to the point that storage isgoing to be a premium and you want to fig-ure that into your cash flow.” Bryan Doherty is with Stewart-Petersonand in his view; the market was still adjust-ing to USDA numbers that had been re-leased a week earlier. “Corn is the best valueit has been for years,” he said. “In somecases you can buy corn for cheaper thatyou can produce it.” He added that the old adage about highprices curing high prices seems to be work-ing in the market place at this time. “We sawprices peak last fall and they have been mov-ing down, now we have a large amount ofgrain to move in this market and it is goingto be tough to move this crop.” Doherty who claims to be a “glass halffull kind of guy” does not see a rally in thecorn market coming but agrees that it is themarket that is most likely to show a betterreturn. “If you do see a market rally, youwant to take advantage of it and make surethat you sell some crop, you may not getanother opportunity in this crop year.” Doherty expects the market to move side-ways through the year with upward oppor-tunity and the driving force will continue tobe the large inventory of grain.

Tough Markets Callfor Tough Measures

Brian Doherty of Stewart-Peterson.

Tommy Grisafi of Advance Trading.

Craig Haugaard of North Central FarmersElevators.

Photos by Les Kletke

September 25, 20154 The Agri Post

by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected]

New signs, new an-nouncements and newnames means times area changing for farmers,the local communities,

economies and economies ofscale. While taking their time in fi-nally getting the plant going inAltona, Bunge Canada is us-ing their, who knows howmuch it cost plant, maybe$200 million, maybe more andtearing down the old one. That old plant, I remembervividly sitting beside my fa-ther or brother in the 50s haul-ing sunflowers first, thencanola seed, and buying seedfor planting from seed PlantManager Johnny Kehler un-der the Co-operative Veg-etable Oils [CVO], then CSPFoods, then some other namesand owners, and now BungeCanada one of the world’s larg-est grain companies. In googling CVO, I reachedthe University of Manitobaarchives and collections andcame upon so much history,bringing back many, in factrushing back those memories. From the U of M archivesthe history of Co-operativeVegetable Oils Ltd. States that,“Co-operative Vegetable OilsLtd. began in Altona, Manitobain 1943 under the direction ofJ.J. Siemens. Siemens was anactive member in the Menno-nite community having beenboth a schoolteacher and afarmer. Siemens was also partof the Rhineland AgriculturalSociety (est. 1931) which wasestablished to develop betteragricultural practices-espe-cially through education andexperimentation. Equally im-portant was Siemens’ belief inthe co-operative movement,most notably the developmentof various Credit Unions.”

25 years ago, the CanadianTaxpayers Federation (CTF)was created. The years cer-tainly go by quickly. It’s hardto remember a time when theyweren’t around giving a voiceto the taxpayers of our greatcountry. Let’s hope they stickaround for a long, long time. In retrospect, it may seemodd that, before 1990, tax-payers were “outnumberedand outgunned” when it cameto representation of their in-terests. The recent quarterlyedition of The Taxpayer maga-zine explains that lapse as theage-old problem of “concen-trated benefits and dispersedcosts”. It’s really quite simple:“Beneficiaries of governmentlargesse have far greater incen-tive to be organized and force-ful than those who pay acouple of bucks a year for anygiven government expendi-ture.” “Government is that greatfictitious entity where every-one endeavours to live at theexpense of everyone else,”wrote the famous 19th cen-tury French economist Fredric

25 Years on TaxesBastiat. The Taxpayers Fed-eration understands that wis-dom all too well; it was partof the inspiration for found-ing the organization. A great story from formerfederal CTF Director JohnWilliamson highlights this sen-timent. Back in 2006, in Ot-tawa, he was presenting somebudget recommendations. Arookie MP on the committeewas confused by them. “Idon’t understand,” he said.“You’re standing before thiscommittee asking that thegovernment spend less? No-body does that!” This MPlater explained that his staffhad been adding up all thespending requests they’d re-ceived at the hearings; in thatparticular year, they totalled$600 billion. In perspective,the entire federal budget in2006 was only $222 billion. Pressure for governments to

spend more is constant andcomes from all directions. Evenwhen federal revenues run out,the pressure turns to borrow-ing money, deficits, and kick-ing the can further down theroad, which burdens futuregenerations to pay for today’sfolly. One of the proudest mo-ments in the CTF’s historywas in the 1990s when theywere part of the push to getOttawa to start balancing theirbudgets. It was during the daysof Prime Minister JeanChrétien, when Paul Martin

was finance minister. In 1997,the budget was finally bal-anced for the first time in 27years. Unfortunately, this didn’tlast. In the midst of a world-wide economic downturn in2008, the Harper governmentstarted running deficits again.Again, there was huge pres-sure for them to spend evenmore than they did. The CTFwas one of the only organiza-tions that opposed the so-called “stimulus.” Recently it was announcedthat Stephen Harper has again

balanced the budget. That’sgood news, but as MargaretThatcher once observed, “Ineconomics, there are no finalvictories.” This is true; whenit comes to taxes and spend-ing, we need to remain evervigilant. Various campaigns run by thetaxpayers association includedocumenting waste, endingbracket creep, MP pensions,the gun registry, corporatewelfare and the First NationsFinancial Transparency Act,to name just a few. There’s also“gas tax honesty” day and theirnational debt clock, and let’snot forget their annual TeddyAwards, a Taxpayer versionof the Oscars, where theyaward golden pigs to our mostwasteful politicians. Farmers don’t always thinkabout their real tax burden.With the ups and downs ofthe markets, weather issues,

bugs, diseases and a wholehost of other things com-pletely out of their control, theissue of safety nets – whichneed more spending – can un-derstandably become morepressing. But there’s hardly abetter safety net than beingable to keep more of the moneythat you make, when you ac-tually make it. If you can keepwhat you make in the goodtimes, it goes a long ways to-wards helping you get throughthe bad times. With everyone talking aboutour upcoming federal and pro-vincial elections and whomthey should be supporting,some thoughts should also begiven to the role of a taxpay-ers association. We may notalways have the time to keepa close eye on what our politi-cians are doing with ourmoney. Why not outsource thejob to a group with a proventrack record and a strong de-sire for fiscal accountability?Politicians may come and go,but a group like the CTF needsto be around for the long haul.Happy Birthday and thanks.

This Mr. Siemens was norelation to me, but I know hisson Raymond, who took overas President of CVO at onepoint. Here is the point thatalways speaks well for the lo-cal community. “CVO beganin 1943 largely because Sec-ond World War Canadian im-ports of edible vegetable oils(from Russia and Argentina)were noticeably reduced, cre-ating a need for domestic pro-duction. To support the do-mestic industry, the FederalGovernment offered such in-centives as price subsidies,transportation subsidies andfacilities for processing thecrop in Hamilton, Ontario.Although the 1943 crop wasshipped to Hamilton, the highcosts of long distance trans-portation of sunflowers-theprinciple oilseed-crop proveddiscouraging. Consequently,with a view to the future whenthese subsidies would be lifted,CVO decided in favour of alocal processing plant.” Remember the figures Itossed about for the currentBunge Canada plant? That firstAltona plant was to cost aprojected $60,000, half ofwhich would be raised fromprivate funds, with the re-mainder coming from guaran-teed loans from the ProvincialGovernment. The communityeagerly threw its support be-hind the plant as it offeredlong-term economic growthand stability. The CVO plant providedjobs for locals and an outletfor the alternative crop, thesunflower; later adding soy-beans and canola in the 1950s.Guess what; CVO developedSafflo Oil as its first consumerproduct in 1949, the first com-pany to process commercially,

Signs of the Times - Changing for the Bettersunflowers in North Americaand process pure sunflower-based cooking oil. That brings me to the cur-rent move underfoot that willchange things again for farm-ers and communities and pro-vide even more competitionfor the canola growers. Another cooperative, thistime from the US, but withother facilities in Canada,CHS, has bought NorthstarAgri Industries, a companywith facilities in the US andsouthern Manitoba. Lastmonth, CHS took over opera-tions at Northstar’s canolacrushing plant in Hallock,Minnesota and a receiving sta-tion in Winkler. That canola plant coming onstream in 2012 at Hallocktakes a good chunk of its rawcanola seeds from Manitobafarmers. In fact, whenNorthstar Agri Industriesopened its receiving station inWinkler, I heard grumblingsfrom big-boy Bunge Canadain Altona… Well competitionis good for the seller, and asyou know, I’m a strong advo-cate for the seller of canolaseed, the farmer. Had leaders in the wheat in-dustry had the same vision anddrive that those in the canolaindustry had, and still havetoday with the wheat boystrying to catch up, we maysee even more processing onthe prairies, and not onlycanola, oats, barley, and othersmaller crops. In checking out CHSCanada, with locations inAlberta, Manitoba andSaskatchewan, I find it is partof CHS Inc., a leading globalagribusiness and energy, grainsand foods company commit-ted to helping its customerssucceed through local experts

with global connections. “Our first priority is to helpour farmers grow their busi-nesses,” states the company’swebsite. “This means provid-ing quality products, the lat-est in innovation, and first-class customer service. As ag-riculture and our communitiesevolve, we are committed tostaying at the forefront of theindustry. Locally we employa knowledgeable and profes-sional staff to assist you withyour agricultural needs.” I like that… Sounds almostthe same vision that our localfarmers had in the 40s whensetting up CVO in Altona. The

CHS website further states,“Succeeding in today’s dy-namic global agriculture envi-ronment is not a solo act – it’sabout being part of somethingbigger.” My thoughts on that laststatement are that when be-coming part of something big-ger, we have to make sure thatbigger is better, and not sim-ply getting bigger for the sakeof ‘bigger’. I also reflect on the fact thatmost successful entities wereonce small, and through vision,solid management, and a fewrisk takers, they are success-ful today, being bigger.

Annual Manitoba Fibre Festival – On Friday, October 2 - SaturdayOctober 3 at the Red River Exhibition Park. Admission is free to the festival market, demon-strations, and spinning circles. There is a registration fee for the workshops. For the Fleececompetition and wool auction sale contact [email protected].

Annual Harvest Gala – On Thursday, October 15 at 5 pm at the Victoria Inn,1808 Wellington Ave., Winnipeg. Sponsored by the Manitoba Ag Hall of Fame and RedRiver Exhibition Association. Keynote Speaker, David Phillips Senior Climatologist, Environ-ment Canada. Author of The Day Niagara Falls Ran Dry‘ and Blame It On The Weather‘, theoriginator and author of the Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar, wrote the Weather-wisecolumn in the Canadian Geographic magazine, awarded the Patterson Medal for Distin-guished Service to Meteorology in Canada, the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anni-versary of the Confederation of Canada, Queen Elizabeth Golden and Diamond JubileeMedals and has twice received the Public Service Merit Award. Recipient of two honorarydoctorates from the University of Waterloo and Nipissing University. In 2001, he was namedto the Order of Canada. Contact [email protected].

Manitoba Ag Ex – From Thursday October 29 – Saturday, October 31 at theWestoba Agricultural Centre of Excellence, Keystone Centre, 1175-18th St., Brandon.

Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference – On Sunday, November15 from 7 – 9:30 pm, Monday, November 16 at 7:30 am – 8 pm and Tuesday, Novem-ber 17 at 7:30 am – 3:30 pm at the Days Inn in Winkler. On Sunday check out the freeBACKSWATH Women in Ag Peer Group workshop at 5:30 pm prior to the evening activities.Celebrating International Year of Soils topics include Growers Can Strike an Agronomic-Environmental Balance in Water Quality Protection, 7 Seconds and 140 Characters to Makean Impression, Work Safe - What You and Your Farm Business Needs to Know About Safetyand Health, Healthy Crops Begin With Healthy Soils and Holistic Nutrition. Early bird regis-tration is October 15 $150 and after $160 and registration for Monday $100 or Tuesday$70 sessions. Deadline, November 5. Contact [email protected] or callCindy Klassen, conference chair 204-829-7706.

EVENTS...


At 4:15 pm on September the 9th, Queen Eliza-beth II set the record for being the longest reigningmonarch in British history. Good for her that is quitean achievement. Do you ever think that Charles is feeling that he is

ready to take over and give it a go, after all, he has spent his whole life preparing for a job thatrealistically he might never get, or if he does, it will be a short-term position? It is impossiblethat anyone succeeding the record holder can set a new record. Okay before you send me examples, I acknowledge that Lour Gehrig did in fact set the recordfor most consecutive games in the major league and the guy he took over from was Wally Pippwho held the record until that time. The story goes, Wally had a headache that day, they put thekid in at first, and he never relinquished the position. One would think that Charles might be feeling now it is time that his Mum had a headache,relinquish the throne, and give him a go at it. He must be ready by now. Since it is an inheritedjob and he is much older that Lou Gehrig was went he took over at first base. We have no word on how Camilla feels about this, she married the guy thinking that he wouldbe the King of the British Empire someday and he is not getting the chance. Do you think thatever comes up in their discussion around the royal breakfast table? “Chuck, do you think youwill ever be king?” she might ask. “I have this great hat I was hoping to wear for the coronation.” “I told you, a thousand times,” he might reply. “I don’t know, and Mum won’t talk about it.We should have a meeting with the financial planners about the estate and she refuses.” It might go something like that, or he might be very happy to avoid the decisions that comewith running an empire. Closer to home, it is a pattern that happens on a lot of farms and it is a source of concern fora lot of daughters in law. I make light of the situation in London but it is a lot more serious when the control of the farm(read throne) is promised to the next generation and the date of turnover is never discussedmuch less agreed on. I wonder how many Camillas there are on farms in Manitoba wondering when the old ladywill get a headache…?

By Sylvain Charlebois

Most of us have seen at least one drone thissummer. They are everywhere. Now, some sug-gest drones will change how we produce andgrow food globally. The build-up to the everyday use of droneshas not had a significant impact on agriculture,at least, not yet. Experts believed for a longtime that commercial use of drones would bedeemed hazardous and difficult to properly regu-late. But this year, the winds of change have shiftedin favour of drones. In an unprecedented move,the US Federal Aviation Administration recentlyapproved an entire fleet of 324 drones for com-mercial use, operated by a private partnershipthat includes companies like IBM, Boeing, theAmerican Red Cross, and the American FarmBureau. This group of influential organizationsis looking to develop business in search andrescue efforts and - yes - agriculture. Once regulators figure out a way to make theseunmanned aerial devices safer for the broaderpublic, it is just a question of time before dronesbecome an integral part of sound farm manage-ment practices. Data access for farmers would be greatly en-hanced. Drones can aid in monitoring crophealth, insect problems and water irrigation is-sues, anything that needs to be assessed andhelps increase yields. As for livestock, dronescan be effective for monitoring cattle and secu-rity. Drones are already astonishingly affordablefor commercial use. Some can be purchased for$700, while higher quality models fetch $20,000to $30,000. Most are equipped with infraredcameras, sensors and other technology controlledby someone on the ground. As technology ad-vances, range and cargo capacity will only im-prove. A group representing robotics and drone manu-facturers recently published a report stating 80%of all drones over the next decade or so willlikely be used to support agriculture in one way,or another. Financially and geographically, the businesscase to support the proper use of drones in

By Khosi Mashinini

Workplace safety and health is important especially in farming where the industry is known for itshigh fatalities most of which are machinery related. However, injuries and illnesses are preventable.That is why it is so important for producers to take the necessary preventative measures in creatingsafety and health systems that fit their operation. A few simple preventative measures go a long waytowards establishing a safe working environment. It is time for farm safety to be part of the farm business risk management plan. There is evidencethat investing in farm safety programs directly contributes to profit for your farm. Your return oninvestment outweighs your cost.

What is Return on Investment? Return on investment (ROI) is a popular financial measurement for evaluating financial results ofspecific investments and actions. ROI measures the amount of money you make, relative to theinvestment’s cost. This kind of measurement addresses questions like:- What do we gain from our spending?- Are the expected returns outweighing the costs?- Do the returns justify the investment? In short, when you figure out the ROI, you figure out the efficiency of an investment. In the lastfew decades, ROI has become a popular general purpose measurement for evaluating capital acqui-sitions, projects, programs, initiatives and traditional investments in stock shares or the use ofventure capital.

Using ROI in Farm Safety Programs Using ROI to justify an investment in farm safety may have implications on how producers viewand manage safety. ROI works best where economic benefits are easy to identify, measure andmanage. Though the benefits of investing in safety do not always meet these criteria, there are waysyou can evaluate and manage your safety investments. Farm accidents are costly in both financial and human terms. Direct costs may include:- delayed production- wages- insurance premiums- attorney fees- fines and penaltiesIndirect costs include:- accident investigation costs- costs of fixing damaged property or equipment- the cost of installing safety devices- training and compensation of replacement workers- lost productivity because of employee stress- low employee morale- increased absenteeism- poor reputation- difficulty finding skilled labour- loss of business The Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting (CAIR) estimates the economic burden of injuries is$275,000 for a fatality, $143,000 for permanent disability, $10,000 for hospitalisation and $700 forinjuries that don’t require a hospital stay. As a producer, you need to demonstrate that investing in safety programs and compliance isn’tjust a necessary evil or moral obligation. It’s an investment that directly contributes to a profit foryour farm business. You can prepare and present a proposal to spend money on a safety programin exactly the same way as you would for buying a new piece of equipment. You need to prove thatinvesting in safety programs generates a positive rate of return on your bottom line. The value of farm safety is more than the dollar saved or the returns earned. The ROI on prevent-ing the human costs far outweighs the earnings. SAFE Work Manitoba has developed tools andresources you can use to customise your farm safety investment for a positive ROI. Visitsafemanitoba.com/farms for more information.

Dear Editor: I’m a farm girl. I grew up on my parent’s farm just outside Anola. Those from the citycan understand the life of a livestock producer, but until you’ve actually lived it youjust don’t always really get it. When I look back on my time on the family farm, I am reminded that connection tothe land and to the animals we raised is something precious and very hard to explainto those who haven’t experienced it. There is a very good possibility there will be a new government in Ottawa this yearand a Liberal government under Justin Trudeau has proven it is interested in listeningand learning. I know this because I have been fortunate enough to have several one-on-one conversations with Justin. He is a relationship builder and a man with deep commitment to his word and doingthe right thing. He will be looking for a partner in government who will share thatvision of working together. The federal Conservatives have shown they have littleinterest in working with the provinces. It’s their way or the highway. Provincially ourpremier has been too adversarial and the leader of the official opposition has a well-earned reputation for listening to no one. This is the situation facing the electorate in all of Canada, but it is rural Manitobathat has potentially the most to lose from exclusion. We are a vast province with asmall population. Our 14 seats in Parliament mean less than some of the more vote richprovinces like Quebec, Ontario and BC. That’s why we need leaders in Ottawa and onBroadway who are good at the art of relationships. If elected premier, I will work with the federal government, but rest assured a govern-ment with a power-base in Quebec and one that is beholden to a strict ideology willnot be a great partner, and while the Conservatives have talked a lot about ruralManitoba, you’d be hard pressed to find concrete examples of how that relationshiphas been a good one for us. When we talk about what it is to be Canadian, the spirit of the farmer is embodied inthe values we hold dear. The strong work ethic, the positive can-do attitude, the senseof community and helping ones neighbour. These are the things that keep people onthe land despite the challenges, and you will find in me a partner who understandsyou and in Justin Trudeau a leader who will take the time to learn what we have toshare with him. You have a choice on October 19th, but when you break it down the only real choiceis Liberal, nothing less.Sincerely,Rana BokhariLeader, Manitoba Liberal Party

How LongUntil When?

Does Safety Improve YourFarm’s Bottom line?

Our ROur ROur ROur ROur Relationship with the Landelationship with the Landelationship with the Landelationship with the Landelationship with the Land

agriculture is robust. It reduces the need for farm-ers to physically go into the field and damagecrops in the process. Also, surveillance can beachieved below cloud cover. Therefore, droneshave the upper hand over satellite imaging, which,at times, can be obstructed by storm systems.Drones can also better support the research manyplant scientists conduct on a regular basis, mak-ing samples easier to collect. But the robotic/drone group’s most important argument is thatremotely located farming operations are conve-nient for drone usage when considering publicsafety. Privacy can also be a significant issue. Drones are making a name for themselves inenabling agriculture to become more efficient andprecise. But it does not stop there when it comesto food. Amazon, the online retailer, is on a mission tomake grocery delivery by drones possible. Thissummer, the Seattle-based company presenteda regulatory framework, which would accom-modate localized, low-speed delivery at 61metres, or lower. That space would exclude air-ports and other areas susceptible to higher airtraffic and obstacles. Amazon argued that the uptake of dronesmeans that regulation will need to change andadapt, without generating costs for commercialusers. It even presented an audacious road mapto allow computers to look after air traffic gen-erated by drones. Flying drones would immedi-ately adjust their path should they encounteranother flying object, or even wildlife. It is unclear when, or if, regulators will re-spond to Amazon’s vision for home delivery.But with better and more reliable technology,anything is possible. It may take a while before drones deliver piz-zas or groceries to your doorstep, but the tech-nology is making some inroads within the foodchain. It is indeed interesting that many farmers,often described as being traditionalists andtechnophobes, are using a technology that highlysophisticated enterprises like Amazon cannotyet adopt. This is a clear indication that the eraof big data in farming is upon us. Sylvain Charlebois is a board member withthe Food Institute at the University of Guelph’sCollege of Business and Economics. He is onleave at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

Drones Will Change the FDrones Will Change the FDrones Will Change the FDrones Will Change the FDrones Will Change the Face of Face of Face of Face of Face of Farmingarmingarmingarmingarming

September 25, 20156 The Agri PostBy Joan Airey

Rick and Barb Wiebe long-time horsebreeders held their annual horse sale atthe Keystone Centre September 5, 2015.Other long-time horse breeders such asKirk and Gail Bridgeman, owners ofBridgeman Land and Livestock nearRapid City consigned to the sale alongwith other well-known horse people likeErnie Jansen, Theodore Shawluk andDonna Reid to name a few well-knownpeople in horse community. The sale started at twelve noon but ifyou wanted to find the perfect horsethat best suited your needs, you neededto be in the Keystone before ten to visitwith the consigners, look the horses overand see the presale demonstrations puton to show their horses strong points. The Wiebe’s daughter, Dusty, hostsclinics through the year for barrel racing,goat tying, toe down and breakaway rop-

Walter McFall with Donna Reid and Audrey Graham at theRocking W Horse Sale.

ManyLong Time

HorseEnthusiastsConsign toRocking WHorse Sale

ing as well. They have also hosted horsemanship clinics. “This spring was my 6th Annual Rocking W Barrel Series. Istarted it as a way to not only promote barrel racing in my localarea, but so that I could compete somewhere as my situation atthe time didn’t allow me to haul all over the province to compete.It started out small with twenty entries and this year it has grownto seventy entries. It is a six-week series, Tuesday nights in May and June withfinals the last Saturday in June and I’m sanctioned with theManitoba Barrel Racing Association so it’s a 3D system. Com-petitors must enter 60% of the Tuesday jackpots to compete atthe finals for prizes. I started out with a few prizes to now havingHi Pint Saddles, Buckles for winners in each division and prizesfor 8-10 placing in each division. A ton of local sponsors make thebarrel racing events happen by donating over $5,000 each yearfor both events. I get competitors two to three hours away fromall directions including North Dakota. I think it is a fantasticevent, and with a fun family atmosphere which has really grownover the years,” said Dusty Wiebe. Wiebe started a second event the Rocking W Fall Finale, whichwill also be MBRA, sanctioned, as a 4D race currently with$1,250 added money. It will be a two day event with two gorounds and a short go with prizes for the division winners as wellas the added money the last weekend in September. “My Dad Walter McFall is more than likely the oldest personattending the sale just two days prior to his ninety-seventh birth-day. Dad has been involved his whole life in the horse industrybusiness buying and selling horses. He had us kids breaking andtraining horses so they would become better mounts for the newowners. He believed every deal should be done honestly to thenew buyers whether the horse was sold from his yard or a horsesale,” said Donna Reid. Walter McFall had a PMU line for several years and all foalswere raised to be either broke to drive or ride. He raised Percher-ons, Belgians, Anglo-Arabs and Quarter horses. He always usedhorses to carry feed to the two hundred head of cattle and the twohundred horses instead of a tractor recounted Reid. “Dad was well known in the horse world and his communityby all. He was even known to give kids who needed a horse in thecommunity a suitable mount. He remained active on his ranchnear Pipestone, Manitoba until the past few years and kepthorses right up until then. He currently resides in Brandon atHillcrest,” said Reid. Reid makes her home at Webb, Saskatchewan now but decidedto return to her roots in Manitoba to sell a horse in Rocking W’ssale. “As a kid growing up on our family ranch I got my foodaddiction from mom Kathy and my horse addiction from Waltermy Dad. I never had a perfect school attendance if there was ahorse sale. I was at it with my dad. He taught me a lot over theyear’s right from the care of horses to checking for lameness andthe treatment they required. This helped me to buy horses acrossCanada and the United States. Dad would take us to the localfairs so we could compete in the pleasure classes and then dobarrel racing. I have competed in Ranch Horse competitions,AQHA Ranch Horse Competitions, reining and mostlySaskatchewan reined Cow Horse competitions the last few yearsand some cutting shows,” stated Reid. Reid breeds and raises cow horses and cutters. Reid and herhusband Tom Graham use the horses to sort cattle for weaningand for matching pairs in the spring when taking them to pasture.Reid and her husband spend a lot of time behind the scenes atSwift Current Ag & Ex. “My greatest pleasures I receive from the horses I have sold isseeing the people who have bought the horses enjoying them. Ilove to see the new owners do well in the show pen with horsesthey have purchased from me. It’s good to see good horses go togood homes. I have lots of repeat buyers and I try to match horseto buyer,” said Reid. “Dad always said, “take care of your horses and they will careof you! They get fed before you. I have had several encounterswhich make me know this to be true,” said Reid. Auctioneer for the day was Mike Fleury from Saskatoon andGlen Babel from Regina assisted him giving information on thehorses. The top five horses in the sale averaged $5,080 and thetop ten averaged $4,235.

Donna Reid with her consignmentto Rocking W horse sale at theKeystone.

Photo by Joan Airey


By Les Klekte

When it comes to cornproduction in Manitoba, itis not a matter of one sizefits all. There is no singleformula for all producersand while increased breed-

RightVarietyon theRightAcre

Benedikt Signer says new varieties make it critical to have theright variety on every acre. Photo by Les Kletke

ing programs have mademore choices available thatmeans producers shouldspend more time makingsure they have the rightvariety for their conditionsand needs. Benedikt Signer is withMark Hutlet seeds and hetold producers attendingthe company’s field daythat they need to considertheir soil type, climatic con-ditions as well as the enduse of the crop. “We havean ultra-early variety that al-lows for later planting,” saidSigner. “That might be thebest choice on years whenyou get into the field late; itdoes well on lighter soils.

The early maturity meansthat you can spread yourharvest or it is a great ad-vantage to those of youwho spread manure.” Corn has a heavy phos-phate use and does betterscavenging phosphate

from the ground than seedproduct with pre-appliedphosphate therefore ma-nure application for corn isa good source of nutrients.“We have another varietythat does well on lightground, takes a little longer

to mature but would not bemy first choice on heavierground,” said Signer. “Soilconditions can have a greatimpact on different variet-ies.” He said Pioneer’s tallestvariety had a limited launchin 2014 and does well inmedium row spacing. “Itdepends on your platersetup,” he said. “This maywork in your system or ifyou have narrow row spac-ing this may not be thebest variety for you. Ourgoal is to get the best vari-ety on each acre.” He said that means pro-ducers should consider thedifferent soil types on thefarm and evaluate the risk-

reward that comes witheach. “We want to mitigaterisk,” he said. “It is not amatter of planting the high-est yielding variety andhoping that it will mature.You might want to split thevarieties so that you cantake advantage of the high-est yield if we have a longhot summer, but you alsowant to make sure that youhave some fields that ma-ture even in a cool year.” Signer said consideringthe plant type is also im-portant. “We have a vari-ety, our most versatile thatfills in the rows faster andis a bushy plant. That mightwork for someone with aweed control issue.”


On September 4, 1903, the wooden ap-proach to the First Street Bridge gave wayas a new Port Huron steam engine was mov-ing onto the actual bridge span across theAssiniboine River.

Steam Engine CollapsesBrandon Bridge in 1903

The steam engine at workthreshing in the late fall of1903. The Curle sons werethreshing from stacks asthere are sheaves piled onthe ground ahead of thethresher. Stacking thesheaves was usually donewhen bin space ran out andthe grain handling systemhad no space for furtherdeliveries. The thresherdoes not appear to have aself-feeder but rather a tableon which the sheaves wereforked and then pushed intothe machine by hand afterthe twine was cut.

The engine fell some 20 ft tothe riverbank below, landingupside down. Tragically, theoperators, William Curle andRichard Chambers, lost theirlives in this accident as theywere caught beneath the en-gine. Curle farmed in the Jus-tice, Manitoba area. Chamberswas an employee of the Bran-don agent for the Port HuronCompany. Curle was born in 1843 inScotland. Curle’s parents hadmoved from Glasgow, Scot-land to Mount Forrest,Ontario and then on to Stone-wall, Manitoba in 1878. In1881, the Curle family movedto a homestead in the Justicedistrict north of Brandon. In1881, Curle took up his ownhomestead in the Justice dis-trict. In 1903, he decided to pur-chase a steam traction engineand settled on a new Port Hu-ron engine. He took deliveryin Brandon and had to move

the engine home himself. It wason this move that he had totravel over the First Streetbridge. Chambers had decidedto accompany Curle. Bridge collapses caused bya steam engine moving over thebridge were a not uncommonoccurrence in the pioneer era.The chief cause was that manybridges were built too lightlyfor the evolving steam enginesthat were built to meet farm-ers’ demand for more power.This meant steam engines be-came bigger and heavier. Many bridges built previousto 1900 were built with theidea that they would carrynothing heavier than a loadedgrain wagon. Moving enginesover bridges was alwaysfraught with the danger of abridge collapse. Soon after the accident, Wil-liam Curle’s sons retrieved theengine and made the necessaryrepairs to it, which cost thegrand sum of $67 according toreports at the time. The Manitoba AgriculturalMuseum is open year roundand operates a website at ag-museum.mb.ca, which canprovide visitors with informa-tion on Museum including lo-cation and hours of operation.

The steam engine upside down under the bridge with a heavyrope fall (block and tackle) hanging above the engine ready tobe attached to the centre of the rear wheel. Once the enginewas rolled over onto its wheels, it would have been relativelyeasy to move the engine up the riverbank.


By Harry Siemens

Representatives fromManitoba Pork, Ontario Porkand the Canadian Pork Coun-cil (CPC) attended the WorldTrade Organization (WTO)arbitration hearing on the USCountry of Origin Labelling(COOL) law in Geneva in Sep-tember. A delegation from theCanadian government pre-sented evidence to the WTOpanel of the damage caused tothe Canadian livestock indus-try and asked for authoriza-tion to impose retaliatory tar-iffs. The CPC said Canada pre-sented compelling argumentsbefore the WTO panel thatcould authorize us to imposeretaliatory tariffs on over $3billion annually on US exportsif the US does not soon change

US Disputes Canadian Claims...State Meat Sector Losses Much Lower

its technical barrier regulationsand comply with their inter-national trade obligations. “The CPC compliments theCanadian government delega-tion on its presentation whichrelied on facts, rather thanhypotheses and assumptionswhich attempted to trivializeenormous harm COOL hasimposed on Canada’s livestockindustry”, said CPC ChairRick Bergmann. The Canadian side presentedevidence showing Canadianfed hogs exports to the US fellby more than 80% followingthe implementation in 2008 ofmandatory country of originrules, which caused most USprocessors to cease purchas-ing Canadian-born livestock.Severe reductions have oc-curred similarly for feeder pigsand Canadian cattle.

Bergmann pointed out thatcosts of compliance withCOOL requirements are soonerous for the US food dis-tribution system that thenumber of US plants willingto purchase Canadian bornpigs fell from over 25 prior tomandatory COOL to just ahandful today. “It has been almost six yearssince Canada filed its requestto the WTO to adjudicate thisdispute”, added Mr.Bergmann, who farms inSteinbach, Manitoba. “TheWorld Trade Organization hasruled four times that the US’sCOOL rules are discrimina-tory. The United States needsto deal now with fixing thefaulty legislation before allow-ing steep tariffs to be imposedon a wide swath of its exportsto Canada.”

Andrew Dickson, GeneralManager of Manitoba Porkhopes that these Geneva hear-ings will lead to resolution ofthe dispute. Dickson, whowas in Geneva, said the label-ling law has dramaticallyharmed the beef and pork in-dustries in Canada andMexico. “Canada is claiming thatCOOL has had an impact onthe beef and pork industriesin Canada of about $3.1 bil-lion per annum,” he said. “Partof that is the result of the pricesuppression effects of not be-ing able to export as freely aswe used to into the US marketand the loss of US export mar-kets because of push back fromprocessors and retailers in theUnited States from acceptinganimals that have been bornand raised in Canada.

Mexico is seeking similarauthority to impose tariffs.”Mexico claims they should beable to put tariffs in place of$713 million USD. “Of course the United Statesis pushing back and saying thatCanada and Mexico havegrossly exaggerated theirclaims and they’ve used a dif-ferent economic model to dotheir assessment.” Accordingto Dickson, the US has comeup with figures that Canadacan only claim $43 million an-nually and that Mexico hasonly lost $47 million USD peryear. “The issue now in front ofthe panel is what number thepanel will allow the two coun-tries to impose,” he said. “Iexpect the panel to rule some-time in November.”

By Harry Siemens

Clayton Desrochers ofBaldur finished his harvest onSunday at 10:15 pm sayingthe barley crop is great whilethe canola is average. “I ended up with about 85bushel for barley, really, reallynice barley and the canola wasin the low 40s I would say,”said Desrochers. “I’m notcomplaining. How manyyears can you have 50 bushelcanola, right?” He said, all things consid-ered it is a great year and thecondition of the crop great,compared to what his cropwas like the last couple ofyears. He grows canola and barleyyear after year, rotating everytwo years on the same field.“It’s been working great. I’vehad malt barley for the last sixyears. Mostly malt barley,except for some fields that doget rained on once in awhile,sprouting but not very often.” Because his rotation is tight,growing canola every twoyears, he plans for and spraysthe canola for every kind ofdisease possible before heplants as a cost of doing busi-ness, not risking it to chance,he added. Desrochers sells most of hismalt barley to Seed-Ex Inc. atLetellier and last year he splitsome with the North Ameri-can Food Ingredients inWinnipeg, the company thatworks out of the oldManitoba Sugar Beet com-pany building in Fort Garry. When he sits down with apiece of paper and pencil tofigure out what it costs to growright now, comparing canolaprices to malt barley prices,he reports he probably mademore money growing barleyagain. “Yes, since the feds re-moved the monopoly, I’vemade more money with bar-ley than with canola. We haveto have something in the rota-tion,” he continued. He sells his canola mostlyto Bunge Canada in Altona,although he has other optionslike going to Archer DanielsMidland Company (ADM) inVelva, North Dakota or thefarmer-owned co-operativeCHS that recently purchasedNorthstar Agri in HallockMinnesota. While Desrochers finishedhis harvest last Sunday, oth-ers farmers are not so fortu-nate. Manitoba AgricultureCereal Crop Specialist Pam deRocquigny said recent rainshave delayed the completionof harvest and dropped thequality of crops still in thefields. “We’ve seen a little bitof variability in our red springwheat yields from the North-west region,” said deRocquigny. “They’re report-ing anywhere from 25 bushelsper acre up towards 70 bush-els per acre and a lot of thatvariability has to do with theprecipitation and perhaps lackof it earlier in the season thatkind of impacted yields.”

BarleyProfits


By Les Klekte

Ester Penner admits thatshe likes making soap,even loves making soap butthere comes a time that shehas to do other things. “There is more to life thanmaking soap,” she said witha chuckle as though she isnot sure what it is but sheacknowledges that shemust do other things.Penner makes soaps thatshe sells at the SteinbachFarmers’ Market in herhome just on the edge ofSteinbach. It began as a hobby andhas now grown into a smallbusiness. This is her sec-ond year at the market andshe is building a regular cli-ent base. “I have beencoming to this market fortwo years,” she said. “I goto a Christmas craft sale inWinnipeg, and I have justagreed to have my soapsin a greenhouse inBeausejour. It gets to thepoint that time is a factorand with making the soapsand doing the marketing itis very time consuming.” Penner makes no claimsabout the special benefitsof her soap. “I have cus-tomers that say it hashelped with their eczema,”she said. “I don’t say thatthey do. If it helps them thatis wonderful.” She has alsohad people say the soapdoes not influence their al-lergies compared to com-mercial soaps. Penner offers a wide vari-

By Les Kletke

Eva Doerksen knows what it takes to grow a good garden sinceshe has been at it for a few years and has what most people wouldconsider a small field. Doerksen is a long time vendor at theFarmers’ Market in Steinbach and dispenses more than just freshproduce and pickles. Gardeners ask her for advice as well. “You need good seed,” she said. “Maybe you should try adifferent variety. I have Cool Breeze and I have never had as manycucumbers as this year she tells a customer who asked aboutcucumbers and buys a dozen from Doerksen saying his did notproduce this year. “I buy my seeds from Ontario, they are muchbetter than the small packets and I need much more seed,” she

The Art of Making Soap

Esther Penner loves making soap but she has to make time to sell it as well. She attends severalfarmers markets and craft shows at Christmas.

Photo by Les Kletke

ety of soaps tailored to dif-ferent uses. “Our dog lovesthe pet shampoo,” she saidoffering up a bar. “I have ashampoo and it is all I haveused for over a year.” “The sugar scroll is reallypopular. It is an exfoliateand moisturizer at the sametime,” she said. Each handmade soap barcontains a list of ingredi-ents, which vary consider-ably. Some use an oat baseas an ingredient. “Theyvary on the number of theingredients and some ofthe ingredients are therefor the aroma, so it dependson the specific soap andthe use it is intended for,”she said. “They are gentleon the skin, none are abra-sive.”

Penner offers a variety ofcolours and shapes that are

visually appealing but alsooffer a practical product.

Eva Doerksen says her garden has done well - all 4 acres ofit. She is looking forward to seed selection for next year’scrop.

Photo by Les Kletke

One Market Gardner’sAdvice... Always Start

with Good Seeds

said on buying from a trusted greenhouse supplier. When asked about having orange pumpkins ready in August,she acknowledges it is more than good seed. “I start them earlyand I always have orange pumpkins in August,” she said with asmile. “I have a sunroom on the back of my house that becomesmy greenhouse. If you get them started early you can have themripe in August.” Doerksen is not content to have early produce at her booth atthe Steinbach market she converts many of the vegetables intopickles. She estimates she has between 25 and 30 varieties ofpickles and uses not only cucumbers but also radishes, beans,carrots and beets. She also has an equal number of jams in her booth, and theserun the gamut from rhubarb and apple to the fruits like peachesand apricots that she has to buy. “We buy the fruits that we can’tgrow,” she said. “But we make a lot of jams with the fruit that Ican grow and they are popular.” She said the 2015 summer has been good for production pro-viding her with ample wares for sale at the market and for the rawproduct that she turns to pickles and jams. Doerksen credits the rainfall and heat of July with aiding pro-duction in her garden, noting that her production this year hasbeen one of the best in the 10 years that she has been coming tothe Steinbach Farmers Market. Shortly after the market shuts down in September it will be,time to make the selection of seeds for next year. “I have not triedthe purple tomatoes,” she said. “But we have purple beans thatturn green when you cook them.” You know that she will be looking for something new for nextyear because, “You need good seed,” she said.


By Les Kletke

Ask Dorothy Freund aboutthe name of her farm enter-prise and most will be sur-prised, the Red Poll namewould indicate red cattle with-out horns but that is not the

Red Poll Farm Offers an Experience for All

Dorothy Freund of Red Poll Farms says that, as the Farmersmarkets wind up, the Christmas tree season begins. The farmhas a farm shop to make buying a tree a day long experience.

case. “Our son named it,” she saidwith a chuckle. “The Red Pollis one of the most commonbirds around the farm in win-ter and when we began withthe Christmas trees wethought it was a fitting name.”

Red Poll Farm is just southof Steinbach and from her 3acre garden Freund producesenough vegetables to supplyher stands at Farmers’ Mar-kets in Winnipeg andSteinbach. She not only sellsfresh produce, she processes

it into pickles and jams.“People like the fresh producebut they also like the home-made flavour without thework,” she said with a smilenodding at the assortment ofpickles. Husband Clifford concen-

Photo by Les Kletke

trates on the Christmas treebusiness, which was one ofthe starting points for thefarm. The farm provides acomplete Christmas experi-ence for those who want tocome and cut their own tree.“We have sleigh rides and abon fire with hot chocolate,”she said. “It is so much morethan getting a Christmas treewe try to make the day an ex-perience that the family willenjoy.” The tree business ex-panded to include a separatebuilding to house the alreadycut trees, a line of Christmasitems and doubles as a veg-etable store during the sum-mer. “We have people that cometo the yard for their veg-etables,” she said. “Somepeople prefer that over theFarmers’ Market or the timeof the market does not fit sowe try to accommodate thatas well.” She said adding thestore does require extra staff-ing when she is away at mar-kets but they have been ableto find staff from young

neighbours. As Famers’ Markets, winddown she is busy preparingfor the Christmas tree season.”People don’t require the workthat goes into growing a tree,”she said. “We have to trimthem to get the right shape andbecause the sun affects theScotch pine they have to betinted to keep the nice greencolour.” She also has addedChristmas wreaths to the treebusiness, some of which aresold by local groups as afundraiser. She noted that her key tosuccess is being able to pro-vide an assortment of prod-ucts and making it an experi-ence. “We have some peoplewho don’t have the space fora Christmas tree and still wantthe experience so we havethings for them to do whenthey come out for the day.” When the Christmas treerush is over it is time to startwith ordering seeds for the2016 vegetable crop which willbe planted in the greenhousein March said Freund.


By Les Kletke

Ron Rudiak has had agood summer and it is notover yet. “The bees will beworking for a while yet,”said Rudiak who operatesSunnybrook Bee Farm ashe pours another cup offruit punch at theSteinbach Farmers’ MarketCustomer AppreciationDay. It is the bees workingthat determine a goodsummer for his farm. WhileRon was pouring punch,his wife Shirley was sellinghoney products from theirtable at the market. The Rudiak’s table offersa full line of honeyproducts from honey coneto creamed honey. Heexplained that they sellabout 500 lbs of creamedhoney a year. “It is aprocess that requiresseeding the honey withsome crystals andwhipping it,” he said, “Theprocess keeps the honeyform getting hard.” Rudiak has 150 coloniesof bees together with PeterRedekop. “I sell most ofmine at the Farmer’sMarket and he sells histhrough the co-operative[Bee Maid],” said Rudiakwho lives in Steinbach andhas colonies throughout thesoutheast corner of theprovince. He has kept bees for 42years and seen somechanges in the business.“We used to have a lotmore canola honey,” hesaid. “But I took my beesoff the canola, now theyare in clover or alfalfa.” When asked why themove away from canolawhen the crop producesthe light coloured honeypreferred by mostconsumers, Rudiak said heobserved someunfavourable characteris-tics and behaviour in thebees and decided to movethem to other crops.

The Switch to Alfalfaand Clover Makes a

Better Honey

Rudy Rudiak says it has been a good year for honey produc-tion. His wife Sandra is kept busy at the Farmers Market sellingthe production.

Photo by Les Kletke

“They treat the [canola] seed,”he said. “I saw something inmy bees that I didn’t like anddecided to move them to othercrops. We can do that becausethere is enough alfalfa around.” He offered no judgement onthe practice of treating canolafor insects and the impact itmight have on bees but said hechose to move his production.

He noted that bees wouldalso work the wild flowersfound in ditches. Rudiak said that at onetime he also had bees insunflowers and buckwheat.“It has been a few yearssince I had any buckwheathoney,” he said. “Nobody isseeding it anymore, and thereis no demand for the darker

honey at markets like this.The co-op will buy it but itis not as popular.” He said that sunflowershave gone much the sameway, with limited acreage ofthe crop planted in south-eastern Manitoba and a lackof demand for the strongertasting honey. Instead, heconcentrates on the earliercrops like clover and alfalfa.

By Elmer Heinrichs

It’s been a heavy harvestmonth this September, andwheat crops, such as the Com-munities Helping Undernour-ished Millions (CHUM) fieldnear Rosenfeld have now beenharvested. Seven combines, three graincarts and seven trucks work-ing on the CHUM project har-vest in the Plum Coulee-Altona area took off 150 acresof spring wheat in about twohours on September 2, saidDoug Dyck, Chairman of theCHUM project committee. Itwas CHUM’s only field thisyear. All the wheat from the crop,over 8,200 bu with a yield ofabout 55 bu an acre was deliv-ered and sold to PattersonGrain at Morris, with a returnof about $6.50 a bu, for a grossreturn of about $53,000. Thenet proceeds will be donatedto the Foodgrains Bank, saidDyck. Harold Penner, Manitoba

Harvest Continues for World Food Aid Fields

Harvesting wheat for food aid on the CHUM project field nearRosenfeld for the Canadian Food Grains Bank.

Photo Elmer Heinrichs

Coordinator of the CanadianFoodgrains Bank (CFGB),commended farmers for theirefforts and noted the continu-ing need for food around theworld. He also noted thatManitoba has quite a lot oflong-season crops, like corn,soybeans, and sunflowers,which is something they havebeen seeing more in recentyears. Earlier at the neighbouringCommon Ground project eastof Rosenfeld, they harvesteda 300-acre field as Altona andRosenfeld. A total of 25 par-ticipants cleared the field ofripe spring wheat grading No.1Red Spring in just four hourson August 21. The crop yielded a very de-cent 64 bu an acre which wasdelivered to Richardson Pio-neer of Letellier which pur-chased the wheat for $6 abushel. After costs are de-ducted, Common Ground willbe able to donate about$70,000 to CFGB. Penner noted that in two

other late August harvests, theCOOL project at Springsteinharvested 80 acres of canolawhile at about the same timefour combines and three truckstook care of 120 acres at the

Minnedosa growing project. In total, the crops fromabout 5,000 acres of Manitobafarmland will be donated to theCFGB this year.


There is an old saying in politics, “Policy is set by those whoshow up”. Not always those with the best and brightest ideasand not even always a majority. The first and most importantstep on the road to being an influencer is to show up. Canadians will elect a new House of Commons on October 19.Three hundred and thirty eight individuals will take their place inthe House of Commons, supported by an army of volunteers andelected by those who show up to vote. The next federal government will have a lot to say about whathappens on your farm. Farm organizations will work to nudgeMinisters in the right direction after the election is over but rightnow, during the campaign, is the most effective time to influencefuture agricultural policy. And individual farmers are most effec-tive at wielding that influence. How does an individual make a difference? By getting involved– by showing up. For example, every riding is almost certainlygoing to have all-candidates meetings (if your riding does nothave some scheduled, organize one). Don’t just attend these ses-sions but go prepared to fight for the future of agriculture. Don’t assume that your candidates understand the importanceof agriculture to your community and the Canadian economy,even if you are in a rural riding. Nor can you assume that each ofthe candidates understands the key issues facing agriculture to-day. Direct involvement by farmers across the country will helpensure this understanding. This applies to both your local candi-dates and, through them, the national campaigns. What are some of the policies that matter to agriculture? Iwould like to suggest three key areas of focus – trade, technologyand science based regulations. First to trade. Do the people who want to be your Member ofParliament understand how much your farm depends on interna-tional markets? Sustainable profitability for Canadian grains, oil-seed and special crops farmers depends on reliable access tomarkets around the world. You deserve to know what your fu-ture Member of Parliament will do to keep markets open as wellas develop new opportunities for Canadian farmers. Future profitability also depends on research and innovation.What are your Candidates saying about creating an environmentwhere Canada is the first choice for investment in research anddevelopment? Do Candidates have ideas on how to encouragebroad research partnerships between producers, governmentsand private companies? The answers to these questions coulddetermine if Canada is a leader in innovation or if we fall behindand yield the field to our competitors. Support for science based regulations goes hand-in-hand withsupport for innovation and assuring access to markets. ModernCanadian agriculture depends on clear and predictable sciencebased regulations for the crop input tools you use, from seed tofertilizer and other crop inputs. The alternative to science-based regulations is those based onpopular opinion or the latest fad on the internet. Politicians facepressure from many who don’t appreciate the science behindtoday’s sustainable agricultural practices. We see this manifestedin regional regulations that override the science-based decisionsof Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency and limit farm-ers’ access to up-to-date crop inputs. So ask all of your Candi-dates if they will support science-based decisions. Ask Candi-dates if they will work to have science-based rules for agriculturebuilt into every trade agreement in order to preserve our marketaccess. What happens if the next Government of Canada affirms thescience-based approach? Those who invest in research and de-velopment will see Canada as a safe place to conduct research.They will look to invest here rather than in our competitors backyards, giving Canadian farmers an innovation advantage. Canada’sstrong science-based regulatory environment also gives us a strongplatform to negotiate international agreements that limits im-porting countries ability to use their own regulations as a tool toblock trade. Farmers win on all counts. These are just three key policy areas that are important for thefuture of agriculture. There are likely more issues that could beexplored. The most important thing is to push candidates tosupport agriculture. Now is the time to get involved. If farmersdon’t speak, it will be others, who may not understand our in-dustry, who will influence those who will be going to Ottawa onour behalf. Your voice matters – let it be heard. Cam Dahl is President of Cereals Canada.

Elections and theValue of Showing Up

By Les Kletke

“Your nutrient bank inthe soil is like your bankaccount, you can only takeout as much as you put in,”said Mike Weir who is thesoutheast DistrictAgronomist with DuPontPioneer in Manitoba. “Youcannot take our more thanyou put in and continue tooperate.” Weir who is basedin Carman was speaking tothe producers gathered forthe Marc Hutlet SeedsField day. Weir said that producersshould be considering theirnitrogen account even witha crop like soybeans.“When we first startedgrowing the crop the feelingwas that when there wereenough bacteria in the soilwe could quit inoculating. Idon’t recommend that,”said Weir advising just theopposite and instead ofdropping the inoculantsusing two forms asinsurance. “It is cheap insurance tomake sure that everythingelse you’re doing rightbrings the full benefit,” hesaid. “I know someproducers use an inoculantand still use another formlike liquid when seeding.You have reduced yournitrogen costs so look atthis as a reduced expendi-ture and insurance on acrop that will make youmoney.” He does not dispute thatthe soil has a build up ofbacteria after producingseveral soybean crops,“But those bacteria are lazy

Replenishing theBank Account

Mike Weirremindsproducerstheir soil islike a bankaccount youcan onlytake out asmuch asyou put in.

and you should be using a liveinoculant.” Shifting to corn the otherfocus during field day he saidcorn is a big phosphate userand does better at scavengingthe phosphate in the soil thanusing applied product. Aguideline is .8 of a pound ofphosphate used for eachbushel of corn produced.“That is phosphate harvestedand hauled off the field; youneed to replace that in the soilif you want to continueoperating at these levels. Ifyour levels are over 50 ppmyou are fine but if they are12-20 ppm it is time toreplace them.” Weir suggestedincreasing the rate ofphosphate applied with othercrops. Several in the audienceasked about manure applica-tion. “That is great and if yousee a phosphate build upbecause of it, a corn cropfollowed by alfalfa and corn isa good way to use thatphosphate in the soil,” saidWeir. He suggested that corn uses1.5 lbs of potash for eachbushel of seed produced andthat needs to be replaced aswell. “The important thing isto solid test, if you at 150ppm it is time to apply morepotash and build that accountin the ground,” he said. “Wehad seen some yellowing ofplants this year because oflow levels of potash.” Weir handled somequestions about whatappeared as sunburned leavesin soybean crops. “Some ofthat was scorched because ofthe surfactant used withglyphosate and some was just

sunburn,” he said. “It isimportant to determine if itwas only one side of theleaf, if so it is probablysunburn more than adisease issue.” He stressed that it was agood time to do plant

counts and consider howmany live plants the seedingrate yielded, making fertilizerchoices on the number ofplants you wanted and thesoil test results on what wasin the soil.


According to a recent poll conducted by FarmShift on behalf of BASF Canada, thenumber of growers straight cutting canola in western Canada rose by 50% from 2013to the 2014 harvest season. The poll included a sample of 400 growers from across the west with minimumcanola acre thresholds. “We know that straight cutting is a practice that is becoming more and more com-mon,” said Danielle Eastman, Western Herbicide Brand Manager at BASF Canada.“Growers, who straight cut save time, labour and cost at harvest time.” The practice of straight cutting canola is gaining popularity. In fact, according to thestudy 65% of growers surveyed are interested in straight cutting and 82% who havealready adopted the practice plan to do more of it.

Every week, I travel across wide stretches of beautiful Manitoba and am fortunate to have observedthe explosive growth of our soybean acres over the last decade. From 2005, we planted about 100,000acres and acreage has steadily increased to about 1.3 million acres. Recently, I asked many dairy/soybean producers, what reasons made them interested in growing this crop. Most of them tell me thatshorter season varieties that became available in the last few years, less expensive inputs than otheroilseeds, strong soybean prices and favourable on-the-farm crop rotations made soybeans attractiveto grow. In the light of our soy-revolution, I have always been a big fan of adding soybean-derived ingredi-ents into dairy lactation diets. Soybeans are a good source of dietary protein, and few people realizethat it is a high-energy feed and its ruminal degradable and un-degradable protein fractions compli-ment much of the total protein requirements of high milk producing dairy cows. Whole soybeans are about 42% crude protein and about 19 – 20% fat. The rumen un-degradableportion of its protein (RUP) is about 26%. When soybeans are crushed and the oil is removed througha process known as expeller-solvent method, the resulting meal has a protein content of either 44% or48% crude protein depending on the level of fibrous hull allowed to remain after processing. Then itsRUP feature also rises to 35% bypass protein. Although, processing of soybeans removes most of its fat, soybean meal (1% crude fat) still yieldsa high Nel value measured at 1.90 Mcal/kg compared to 2.0 Mcal/kg for barley or corn. I believe thisenergy partially comes from a modest amount of starch (6%) retained after processing. On a personal note, sometimes, this energy comes in handy when I make 1:1 ingredient substitutionsin dairy diets such as replacing one kilo of barley with one kilo of soybean meal in order to increaseprotein in the diet without tampering dietary energy value. Other oilseed meals such as canola andsunflower meals don’t have this advantage. Despite this unique energy feature, many dairy nutritionists and I still like soybeans/soymeal in dairyrations as a primary protein supplement. The initial ruminal degradable protein (RDP) in soybean mealcan supply some energy, necessary ammonia, amino acids and protein peptides for maximum microbialgrowth. Soybean meal’s RUP has the best amino acid profile of any oilseed, which can supply essentiallysine in the small intestine. What amino acids that it may lack can be supplied by other complimentaryprotein ingredients. Another reason that I like soybeans for dairy cows is that it lends itself to industrial processes suchas roasting of raw whole soybeans, which causes favourable changes to its internal protein structure.As a result, this makes cooked soybean protein more unavailable to the microorganisms in the rumen,but allows more of it to travel to the small intestine where it can supply more essential amino acidsrequired for greater milk production. Digestibility trials with cannulated dairy steers (re: experimentalcows with surgically placed holes in their sides) have demonstrated that raw soybeans and regularsoybean meal have a RUP of 25 and 35 %, compared to roasted soybeans valued at 55 – 60% RUP. Consequently, there is no shortage of American dairy studies that frequently report up to a 1.5 kgmilk yield increase when roasted beans replace either raw soybeans or soybean meal (energy adjusted)in early lactation diets, where protein and energy demands are the greatest. Such typical positive milkresponses tend to be more visible in these early diets where alfalfa-based diets are fed. Regardless of such positive evidence, the usage of roasted soybeans and soybean meal in dairydiets compared to other protein feedstuffs such as canola meal and corn-dried distillers’ grains is stillregulated by inherent economic advantage. Sometime soybeans are not the cheapest protein sourcesin dairy diets. This doesn’t meant that I am advocating that soybean meal or roasted beans be pulled or not addedto existing dairy diets, just because their competitive “economics” doesn’t seem to work out. With no explanation, I have seen well-managed high milking dairy herds that could not achievesubstantial milk peaks due to supplemental canola meal, which was alleviated with a simple and equalsubstitution of soybean meal. On other farms, I have also seen combinations of canola meal and drieddistillers grains fail in the milk tank, only to have milk production boosted by roasted soybeans. In this regard, I believe that soybeans, whether used as soybean meal or processed roasted bean canform a solid winning foundation in dairy diets. They offer a lot of good essential nutrients to supportoptimum milk production in dairy cattle. With the growth of soybean acres in Manitoba, the advocacyof using soybeans in dairy diets most likely will continue to grow.

Soybeans MakSoybeans MakSoybeans MakSoybeans MakSoybeans Make Milke Milke Milke Milke Milkon Manitoba Dairieson Manitoba Dairieson Manitoba Dairieson Manitoba Dairieson Manitoba Dairies

Straight Cutting CanolaGains in Popularity

By John McGregor

If you talk to five different people about buying or selling hay you will likely getfive different units used in the transactions ($/bale, $/ton, $/tonne, $/pound, $/acre).This ambiguity is the source of some confusion and it is time to sort it out. Producersneed to be very careful when they are discussing a hay transaction to ensure that bothparties agree about how the hay will be measured. The two most common ways hayis measured in transactions is by the bale and by the ton. However, hay is sometimessold by the tonne or pound and standing hay may be traded on a dollars per acrebasis.By The Bale If hay from two sources is $70/bale or $50/bale which is the better deal? Many factors need to be discussed in order to provide an answer to this question.Bales are not a uniform or standard form of measurement. Often, hay is sold by thebale because the math is easy - count the number of bales, and multiply by the agreedupon price. In reality, if the $50 bale weighs 1,000 pounds, the hay costs $0.05/lb,much more than if the $70 bale weighs 1,500 pounds. It is very common for peopleto overestimate the weight of their bales. In these cases, the purchaser may not begetting all the hay that he paid for.By Weight By weight is becoming the more common way to purchase hay. There is someambiguity in this method, as well. Even though Canada officially converted to themetric system in the 1970s, it is still common for hay to be traded by the ton.However, some hay is sold by the tonne. These two measurements often sound thesame when spoken, but their meaning is not synonymous. A ton is equal to 2,000pounds; a tonne is equal to 1,000 kilograms, which in turn converts to 2,204.6pounds. If you think that you are purchasing 200 tonnes of hay but only 200 tons aredelivered, you may be about 30 bales short (1,400 lb bales). It is important to clarifythese measurements before the deal is done. One way to reduce the confusion is to trade hay by the pound (i.e. $0.03 cents/lb).This method is becoming more and more popular. Purchasing hay by the poundensures all parties are certain of the units. Producers that are more comfortable withother forms of measurement (ton, tonne, etc.) can easily do a conversion whilemaintaining a continuity of units. For example, if hay is advertised at $0.03/lb, an interested buyer who purchaseshay by the ton simply multiplies that number by the number of pounds in a ton.$0.03/pound x 2,000 pounds = $60/ton.The conversion to tonne is also straightforward.$0.03/pound x 2204.6 pounds = $66.14/tonne. Selling hay by weight also allows producers to be paid for every pound of hay thatthey sell. If they have a scale at home, they can weigh the bales before they leave theyard, or they can have each truck weighed after it is loaded.By The Acre Although it is much more limited, there is some standing hay sold in the province.Often this hay is sold by weight ($/ton, $/pound, etc.), similar to baled hay. How-ever, the landlord may not be concerned with the hay yield but more concerned withhow much money that parcel of land is making him in comparison with similarcropland. Usually, establishment costs are determined on a per acre basis, making iteasy to add a profit margin to costs and sell the hay by the acre. In this case, thelandlord is paid the same amount in good years as in poor. Producers purchasing hayin this manner must estimate the yield per acre to determine if the deal will beeconomical. There will be a lot of hay traded this year. Dryer than normal conditions havelimited pasture growth and hay fields are yielding less than expected. If you are aproducer who is going to buy hay, make sure that you know the units that you aretrading in so that you get what you pay for. John McGregor is a Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) Exten-sion Support Officer.

Methods of Buyingand Selling Hay


By Peter Vitti

One summer, when I was a teenager living onmy uncle’s farm, it rained almost every day forthree weeks. All we wanted to do was hook upour new John Deere baler and bale dry hay. Iremember praying for sunshine. Today, manyManitoban beef producers might have beenpraying for the same thing because seeminglycontinuous rain this year has made it nearlyimpossible to put up dry hay bales for beefcows. No matter what happened, people shouldassess the extent of any rain damage in theirhay inventories to minimize problems whenfeeding it to beef cows this winter. That’s be-cause damage to otherwise good hay starts af-ter the first rain shower soaks cut-down fieldgrass and every minute afterwards that passesuntil these swaths are dried down to under 15%moisture and baled. University of Wisconsin demonstrated thatplots of alfalfa hay lost 22% of their dry mat-ter content after 2.5 cm (1 inch) rain fell on itafter one day, compared to properly cured haywithout any rain damage of 6% dry matter loss.The researchers also found that rained-on haylost half of its dry matter content after persis-tent rains lasted a few days. Similar to dry matter field losses there is sig-nificant leaching of carbohydrates and proteinfrom rained-on hay, which are an essentialsource of nutrients for overwintering cattle.Consequently, whatever feed is leftover tendsto be very fibrous and its energy/protein left-overs may not support even the lowest dietarynutrient requirements of early gestating beefcows without significant nutrient supplements. In addition, if poor quality hay is baled andstacked at moistures above 20 - 25%, it be-comes an environment for dangerous moldgrowth. We’ve all seen white mold covering stemsand leaves of tough hay. Some practical trialswith hay molds have observed that cattle willeat most hay with about 1% storage mold. Puthay with over 10% contamination in front ofthem, and they will likely reject it or slow downconsumption when they have no other feedchoice. Even if the moldiest bales are not rejected bythe beef herd, there is a fair amount of essentialnutrients in this forage (in addition to men-tioned field nutrient losses) consumed by themolds that could have been utilized by beefcows. For instance, it is conservatively esti-mated that significant mold in damp hay re-duces the energy content of this hay up to 15 –20%. Taken into a feeding context - producersmight have to provide extra energy and proteinsupplement (in addition to cover nutrient fieldloses), so overwintering cows consuming this

Growers and agronomists are encouraged thatwe are keeping an eye out for Jimsonweed;however, health concerns around potential tox-icity in canola oil are unfounded. “While Jimsonweed itself can be poisonous,the heating process in canola oil and meal pro-cessing denatures toxic alkaloids, so there isn’ta health concern in processed canola products,”said Curtis Rempel at the Canola Council ofCanada (CCC). “It’s also important to remem-ber that it’s the dose that makes the poison,and the high LD50 of scopolamine, the majortoxic alkaloid in Jimsonweed, even further sup-ports the fact that this weed isn’t a concern incanola oil or meal.” Rempel noted that there are still legitimatehealth concerns upon ingestion of the actualJimsonweed plant or seeds themselves by hu-mans or other animals as all parts of the plantcontain the toxic alkaloids. While it is currently listed as one of the 21prohibited noxious weeds on the federal weedseeds order, the Canadian Food InspectionAgency has proposed re-classification fromprohibited to primary because it is alreadyfound in many parts of the country. MAFRD has noted several sightings in the

We’re Still Dealing with Rained on Hay

Canola Council Clarifies ConcernsAround Appearance of Jimsonweed

province and has sent samples to their labfor identification. “We are currently focusing on fact gather-ing and analysis on the weed’s prevalenceand biology, and collaborating throughout thecanola value chain to determine best manage-ment practices,” said Rempel. “We are ask-ing growers and agronomists to continue tokeep an eye out for this weed during harvestas early detection is an important step inmanagement.” If Jimsonweed is suspected, growers areadvised to contact a provincial weed special-ist or CCC agronomist to help with identifi-cation and discuss containment and eradica-tion strategies.Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) can be identifiedas a foul-smelling annual that forms a bush up to60 - 150 cm tall. The stems fork off repeatedlyinto branches and each forkforms a leaf and a single,erect trumpet shaped white,creamy or violet colouredflower in the summer. Theleaves are about 8 – 20 cmlong, smooth, toothed, softand irregularly undulated.The upper surface of theleaves are a darker green,and the bottom is a lightgreen.

damaged forage can survive. Mold growth also generates a lot of heat,which not only caramelizes and completelydenatures forage protein, but reduces overallnutrient digestibility of the hay. Known as the‘Browning reaction; it occurs when the tem-peratures of the poorly cured hay exceed 38°C(100°F) and binds the hay’s carbohydrates andproteins together, rendering it unavailable tocattle. If left unchecked, a Browning reactionalso leads to devastating bale fires (probed tem-peratures of 65.5 – 79°C, 150 – 174°F). Regardless of nutrient loss and fire, beef cows’health can seriously be affected by forage my-cotoxins (toxins produced by specific molds)in many detrimental ways. They can be in-fected with mycosis, which are associated dis-eases caused by feed molds/mycotoxins thatcan easily invade various body locations suchas the lungs, udder, uterus or intestines. Sev-eral respiratory infections in beef cattle havebeen traced back to spores of moldy feed. Luckily, most people are cautious when feed-ing visibly moldy hay to their beef cowherd,yet they should also realize that not all moldcontamination in hay is always visible or con-sistent throughout individual bales or amongsta load. In either known or suspected forage,performing a mold-count test is well advised.It counts the number of mold spores in col-lected hay samples and reveals the extent ofmold infestation. If one suspects the presence of mycotoxinsin rain-on hay, it is a good idea to conduct amore extensive mold-screen test, which identi-fies present mold species and mycotoxins.Since, specific mycotoxins found in moldy feedcan cause abortions, reduce reproductive per-formance, and cause infertility in beef cows, ifa positive test came back on any particular raindamaged hay; nobody should take a chance andshould not feed it at all! Nevertheless, tested mold-free damagedrained-on hay can be safely fed if precaution-ary steps are taken:1. Sort and segregate the damaged hay balesaccording to forage quality. Feed the best balesand discard the others.2. Limit-feed damaged hay or mixed in withhigher quality hay and other forages.3. Feed mold-free damaged hay first and feedhigher quality hay closer toward calving time.4. Watch out for caramelized spots in hay bales– indication of invisible mold.5. Supplement extra energy, protein, mineraland vitamin to compliment field nutrient lossesand meet overwintering cowherd nutrient re-quirements. With these overwintering guidelines in place,feeding rain-on hay can be dealt with and wemight all hope for a better growing season, nextyear.

agripost september 25 2015

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