Celebrations launched at Ag Days - AGCanada

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SOFTWARE INVENTORS CLEAN UP

GPS A LITTLE WONKY?

New farm inventions emerge from the office » PaGe 13

Solar flares cause disruptions » PaGe 18

January 26, 2012

SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 70, No. 4

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$1.75

manitobacooperator.ca

4-H’s 100th:

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EVENT

Celebrations launched at Ag Days 2013 marks the greatest achievement of all for 4-H — its 100th anniversary as nationwide youth program By Lorraine Stevenson co-operator staff / brandon

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et the party begin. Manitoba 4-H Council leaders rolled out their plans during Ag Days last week for celebrations leading up to the 100th anniversary of 4-H in Canada. “Manitoba has a very special relationship to 4-H with Roland being the birthplace of 4-H in Canada,” said Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Ron Kostyshyn as he offered his congratulations and the province’s ongoing support for the program. 4-H began in 1913, when the Department of Agriculture through the extension department of University of Manitoba organized eight Boys and Girls Clubs, including the first at Roland plus seven others at Darlingford, Manitou, Neepawa, Oak Lake, Starbuck, Stonewall and Warren. The name was changed in 1952 to 4-H See 4-H on page 6 »

Emily Paramor of the Neepawa Belles Beaux and Builders 4-H Club assists new Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Ron Kostyshyn while building a puzzle-style illustration at the Manitoba 4-H Council Ag Days exhibit last week.   photo: lorraine stevenson

Farmers get marketing “wake-up call” Deciding whether to grow premium or mid-quality wheat and reading “the fine print” are just two of many issues farmers must now face By Daniel Winters and Shannon Vanraes co-operator staff / brandon

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he open market is coming and wheat farmers have a lot to learn in a hurry, marketing experts told farmers attending Ag Days in Brandon. While seminar speakers filled farmers in on the ins and outs of what is expected to be a new era for grain marketing in Western Canada, representa-

tives of the now governmentcontrolled Canadian Wheat Board reassuring producers it will continue to be there for them too. (see page 3). But whether they go with what they know or deal with the private trade, farmers were told they need to consider their options carefully. “You have to shop it around,” said Brenda Tjaden Lepp of FarmLink Marketing Solutions. “If you can sell $7 new-crop spring wheat to somebody

and it’s a No. 1 13.5 per cent, or you can sell $7 spring wheat to someone else and it’s a No. 2, well you’ve just saved yourself whatever the grade discount was going to be at time of delivery.” Farmers should also think twice about whether they even want to grow high-protein wheat. Calculate whether the premium it will fetch on an open market will cover the extra fertilizer costs, said Tjaden Lepp.

“Mid-grade wheat is simpler to market than high-protein milling wheat,” she said, adding fewer quality risks are associated with mid-grade varieties. Farmers can also expect marketplace volatility to continue to affect wheat prices for months and possibly years to come, said Tjaden Lepp. The expert’s talk left some farmers surprised by how See WAKE-UP CALL on page 6 »

PLUS: CANOLA DEMAND CONTINUES TO RISE » SEE PAGE 18

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The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

INSIDE

on the lighter side

LIVESTOCK Beef business looking up Shrinking North American beef supplies good for prices

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CROPS Topping up for excess moisture New crop insurance coverage boosts support

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FEATURE

Collectors enjoy these culinary antiques

Romanian architecture on the Prairies Former homestead restored to its former beauty

New York / Reuters

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CROSSROADS Trapping comes of age A new generation of trappers with more humane tools

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Editorials Comments What’s Up Livestock Markets

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Grain Markets Weather Vane Classifieds Sudoku

Those “secret family recipes” are heirlooms

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arilynn and Sheila Brass are inveterate collectors and discoverers of cookbooks, including the handcrafted kind held together by pins and long ago shoved in a forgotten drawer. About 10 years ago the sisters began testing the recipes they trolled attics, flea markets and yard sales to find. These “forensic cookbook authors”

collected 6,500 cookbooks, some dating back to the 1600s and recently published a book Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters containing 150 of their favourites. They needed a new vocabulary. “We had to find out how much a gill was, four ounces (118 ml), or what people meant when they said ‘a suspicion of ginger’ or ‘enough cinnamon to cover a tuppence.’”

“But the biggest challenge was the word ‘cup’ … was it a coffee cup or a tea cup? And often people meant their own tea cup, that they passed on down the family. So we had to keep trying and figuring it out.” Their advice for aspiring bakers? “We encourage people to do a gentle interrogation of the elders at gatherings to get those stories and get those recipes.”

READER’S PHOTO

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The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Co-operating with its competitors Farmers and grain companies will determine whether it remains a competitive force By Laura Rance Co-operator Editor / brandon

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ttendance was down at the annual Canadian Wheat Board breakfast at Ag Days this year, but the farmers who came were encouraged by what they heard. “That just made my day. Now we have a choice,” said Jake Hofer, a wheat producer from Treesbank Colony after listening to a presentation by Gord Flaten, the board’s director of marketing and sales. “I’m very encouraged, my whole feeling is something happened that was very good today. Now we have a choice,” he said. Hofer was among the 75 or so farmers who attended the annual breakfast, about half of the usual crowd, which has in the past had to turn farmers away because of lack of space. But the CWB event coincided with a breakfast hosted by Cargill on the other side of town. As well, a misprint in the Ag Days show guide resulted in a number of farmers arriving the previous day to find the doors locked. While stressing many of the operational details must still be ironed out, Flaten said there is an opportunity for the new board to be a competitive option for farmers on the Prairies and elsewhere. But he said it’s really up to farmers to ask themselves whether they want it to continue and whether they believe in it enough to

participate in making that happen. Flaten said it has experienced staff with strong connection with customers who continue to want to source grain through it. “We need to be competitive, but they prefer doing business with us, all things being equal. “There are a lot of farmers who trust the CWB and find value in the services that it provides,” he said. The missing link is the board’s access to grain handling and transportation, he said. “You can’t deliver your grain to a CWB elevator.” But he said the board is optimistic it will be able to negotiate contracts with grain companies. “Grain companies need volume and we can bring them more than they can get on their own,” Flaten said. Plus the board is capable of helping the private t ra d e d e v e l o p m a rk e t i n g plans because of its intimate knowledge of customer preferences. Plus customers have confidence in the board’s ability to deliver the quality and quantity they require. Thirdly, the board’s access to low-cost financing will work to reduce the operating costs of its grain company partners, he said. “We are confident this last piece of the puzzle will fall into place,” he said. Flaten said the board will generally be offering farmers four pricing options in the new marketing environment. It plans to offer harvest pools

for CWRS, durum, winter wheat and malt barley, which would operate similar to today’s pooling system but with a limited signup window. It will also offer a preh a r ve s t p o o l w i t h e i t h e r a pre-seeding or pre-harvest signup window. These pools would likely operate under a four-month marketing period between harvest and January. A third option would be a futures option, which would operate similar to existing hedge-to-arrive contracts currently available in the grain trade. And it will offer a series of cash contracts. Fl a t e n s a i d t h e f e d e ra l government has assured the board it will enter the open market with a clean balance sheet, access to the previous board’s contingency fund and control of its existing assets. “It means that we will be starting operations with a significant capital base,” Flaten said. The board has also been assured the federal government will continue to guarantee its borrowings, which allows it to obtain financing at lower interest rates and there will continue to be guaranteed initial payments on the pool accounts. Those two factors will significantly reduce its operating costs, he noted. As well, the board will be free to market crops beyond its current mandate as well as grain originating other countries.

“Grain companies need volume and we can bring them more than they can get on their own.” gord flaten

CWB, director of marketing and sales

Flaten said one of the biggest reasons for farmers to continue marketing through the board is to ensure there continues to be lots of competition for their grain. The board is a statutory corporation, which means it is owned by the federal government. That was the case before, except prior to Dec. 15, 2011 it was governed by a board controlled by farmerelected directors. Now it is governed by five federally appointed directors. Eight f a r m e r- e l e c t e d d i re c t o r s were fired last month. Two had previously resigned. The government has indicated it will be privatized within five years so farmers need to be thinking about what structure they want to replace it, whether it is a co-operative or shareholder model, Flaten said. Flaten couldn’t say when its partnerships with grain companies would be in place, or when it could begin offering contract options. Some grain companies have already begun offering new

crop contracts to farmers. As well, he said in an interview, that while the board will continue to work with producer car shippers, its ability to blend those cars into its shipping programs will be reduced because its volume of handle is expected to decline. That means it will need more predictability from shippers on the quality of grain they are shipping. Newdale far mer Gar y Andreychuk said he hopes the board works through the media to get its message out to other farmers. “After your presentation, I feel very confident in contracting with you,” he said. “I found this very informative.” Ho f e r a g re e d . “I d i d n’t know they had done so much work. I was afraid it was going to fall apart,” he said. But when asked whether he’d be selling through the new Canadian Wheat Board, Hofer would only say he is keeping his options open. [email protected]

Buckwheat snack food impresses at food show A Manitoba company is working to see a buckwheat snack food hit store shelves By Lorraine Stevenson co-operator staff 

A new made-in-Manitoba snack food has been named one of the top 12 natural foods at an international gourmet food show in San Francisco.  Buckshots, a roasted buckwheat snack, may have vaulted the crop from obscurity to significant new interest, too.  Many of the Canadian, American, and global buyers attending the 2012 Winter Fancy Food Show this month said they’d either never heard of buckwheat or were familiar with it only as a flour or a cereal ingredient, said Keith Murphy, president of Stone Milled Specialty Grains, a Fort Whyte-area family business commercializing the snack food. “They’ve never seen it as a snack,” said Murphy. “So I think it’s close to a first everywhere.”

Gluten free

Buckshots, made from the gluten-free ancient grain, was recognized in two of the show’s top five food trend categories, and earned special recognition from the show’s Natural Food Merchandisers.  Not bad, considering the Winter Fancy Food Show attracts 1,300 exhibitors and 18,000 new products. They went hoping mainly to do a “taste test,” said Murphy, adding the show attracts highly sophisticated food buy-

ers from around the world and is a place where new food trends launch.  “San Francisco is a taste tester’s dream,” he said. “We looked at it as a place that would give us the information to say, ‘This is a product that has value and potential,’ or tell us if it didn’t. “Our results were beyond our expectations by a wide margin.” Buckshots, made from the dehulled buckwheat seed, come in two flavours — dill pickle and smoky barbecue — plus an unflavoured version that retains the traditional taste of buckwheat. The snack concept was developed last year at the Food Development Centre at Portage la Prairie. Stone Milled Specialty Grains, Murphy’s company, named the product, selected the final product’s flavourings, and is taking on the job of commercializing it. 

Personal interest

Murphy’s interest was spurred from his own knowledge and interest in special crops as an agricultural research consultant, plus knowing the health benefits of buckwheat. Although not a widely consumed food in this part of the world, buckwheat has an 8,000-year history as a healthy food. Its highly available protein has one of the highest amino acid scores among plant sources, making it a great choice for those seeking healthy alternatives to traditional proteins. 

“Buckwheat’s long history as a healthy grain alternative makes this an ideal choice for our business,” said Murphy. Stone Milled Specialty Grains (www. stone-milled.com) is a family-owned business doing small-batch custom milling of other gluten-free products such as wild rice.  If Buckshots fly, they’ll be a valueadded food product to boost consumption of what has historically been a commodity crop sold into export markets. Manitoba buckwheat has been traditionally exported to the Japanese market to be processed into soba noodles. But sales to Japan have fallen off recently, and annual buckwheat acreage has declined from a high of 25,000 in 2000 to less than 5,000.  “We’re hoping to help stabilize the crop by developing a new market for it,” said Murphy.

Emerging capacity

The company also aims to take advantage of emerging capacity for further processing of buckwheat in Manitoba by working with smaller-scale processors.  Buckshots are not yet available commercially in Manitoba but should be on store shelves within a couple of months, and the company is planning a North American-wide product launch, said Murphy. Buckshots was developed with sup-

Buckshots, a roasted buckwheat snack food, was one of 18,000 new products exhibited at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco this month.

port of the Manitoba buckwheat industry and funding from the governments of Manitoba and Canada through the Growing Forward, Strategic Innovation Fu n d – Ad va n c i n g A g r i - In n ova t i o n Program.   [email protected] 

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The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Choose your middleman carefully “Shop it around.” “Read the fine print.” “Work with companies you trust.” “Don’t try doing this without professional help.” The advice is flying thick and fast as farmers try to wrap their heads around the prospect of selling their wheat, durum and malt barley on the open market for the first time since their great-grandfathers were in business. Laura Rance Gosh, gee whiz — it’s kind of compliEditor cated. At least that’s what some would have you believe. “If you haven’t used brokers or futures markets as a way of hedging your pricing already on the crops that you’re growing on the open market, I don’t think wheat is the time to start,” one well-intentioned consultant cautioned his audience at Ag Days last week. Actually, it’s not that complicated at all. The simple truth is, the grain handlers make their money based on thin margins and high volume. And if news reports are accurate, they are planning to make more money in the post-CWB environment. The price of wheat hasn’t gone up; if anything, it’s going down. So that means somebody is going to be making less. The more volume they move, the more money these companies make. The more they can scrape off the farmer’s razorthin margin through quality discounts on the driveway, the more they can boost their margins by blending up to a higher grade. This isn’t cynical or insidious — it’s just the grain business. Downgrading factors are where it’s at. With canola, there are eight factors that can discount the price. With wheat, there are 23 ways they can get you. That part hasn’t changed. Just deliver top-quality wheat in top-quality condition all the time and you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank. But if you don’t have that, marketing your wheat will be a question of who wants your volume badly enough to downgrade you the least. If the industry moves away from buying by grade, all bets are off. Delivery contract terms are expected to be one area where farmers need to read the fine print. Who is left with the storage costs if there are transportation snafus? The U.S. market will now be an outlet, at least in theory. But again, farmers were warned that if there are 10 trucks lined up at a North Dakota elevator for delivery and one of them is Canadian, the Canadian truck will be the last one to unload, pending available space. And if you run into disputes over quality or payment, you’re on your own. Oh, and keep in mind that the new ICE Futures contracts for wheat is in 100-tonne quantities versus 20 tonnes for canola, which implies a higher degree of margin risk to keep those contracts in play. By the way, market analysts are predicting markets will continue to be volatile with much wider prices swings than what was considered normal in the past. In the midst of all this is the new Canadian Wheat Board, on one hand laying off staff in a “right-sizing” exercise and on the other, assuring producers it has people and experience farmers can trust. The board is proposing a sort of co-operative competition with the grain companies. Gord Flaten, the board’s director of marketing and sales, outlined a plan whereby the board will form partnerships with its competition using as carrots the volume it hopes to supply on behalf of loyal farmers and its access to lower-cost borrowing. The board is planning to offer a range of pricing options for farmers ranging from pools, to hedge-to-arrive contracts to outright cash prices. But the operative word here is “planning.” Flaten couldn’t say when its programs would be finalized. Other grain companies, undoubtedly including some of the same companies with which it wants to negotiate handling contracts, are already signing new-crop contracts with farmers. The new board is no longer restricted as to what commodities it handles. As well, it will now have the ability to market grain from other origins. We see one possible niche emerging for the new CWB as a marketer of high-protein milling wheat on behalf of farmers on the Northern Plains. North Dakota is still populated with farmer co-ops that might be interested in tapping into the board’s reputation for quality and consistency in supplying international markets. If the board was able to lock in the majority supply of North America’s top-quality milling wheats, it might still be a marketing force on behalf of farmers. It remains to be seen whether the board will be able to work with the same companies with which it must now compete. That will largely depend on whether it will have enough volume to make it an attractive partner. In this new era of marketing choice, the vast majority of farmers will find they still need a middleman. Who’s it going to be? [email protected]

OUR HISTORY:

Romanian farmhouse preserved By Ed Ledohowski, CONSULTANT, HISTORIC RESOURCES BRANCH, MUNICIPAL HERITAGE

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he Paulencu House is the last known surviving example of a traditional Romanian-style far mhouse from Manitoba’s settlement era. Its three-part rectangular plan, vernacular design and log construction, brought from the Carpathian Mountain region of Eastern Europe, adeptly blend functional and esthetic elements that extend beyond the basic requirements of a simple, sturdy but comfortable pioneer home. Beneath the high hipped roof with its traditional-style rounded corners is an attic smokehouse. The wide overhanging eaves, resourcefully supported by flared log brackets, provide shade and protect the mud-plastered walls. The east room, typically accorded a special religious significance, features carefully hewn ceiling beams with carved details. Constructed in 1906 for John and Mary Paulencu, formerly from Voloca, Romania, the structure was one of several almost identical dwellings constructed on adjacent homesteads in the Lennard district north of Russell. The area received its first settlers in 1901 and grew to become the only largely homogenous Romanian-settled district in Manitoba. In 1992, members of the St. Elie Pioneer Church Museum Inc., having successfully completed the restoration of the district’s

original 1908 log church a few years earlier, hastily reorganized to rescue the Paulencu House from imminent destruction. It was moved one kilometre to a newly purchased one-acre parcel located adjacent to the St. Elie Romanian Orthodox Church site and in 1993 the long process of restoration began. It was designated a provincial heritage site on March 1, 1993 and, although benefiting from provincial technical and financial assistance, the bulk of the work and funding was provided by local and former residents of the area. Keeping the restoration authentic required some ingenuity, particularly when it came to constructing the curved corners on the roof and locating and mixing suitable types of clay, straw, sand, lime and horse manure mixtures to recreate the progressively finer layers of mud plaster coating the interior and exterior walls of the structure. Restoration was completed in time for the parish’s 100th anniversary which was celebrated on August 2 and 3, 2003. The Paulencu House, together with nearby 1908 and 1952 church structures and the immaculately maintained cemetery grounds, is a popular tourist site and is a much-loved and highly visible symbol of the community’s cultural roots. Additional information can be obtained online, at: www.gov.mb.ca/chc/ hrb/prov/p074.html; www.stelijahpioneermu seum.ca/paulencuhouse.php and www.mani toba eh.ca/Sp 32 St Elijah Church Inglis.htm.

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The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

COMMENT/FEEDBACK

Legal fights over CWB’s future not going away Ritz says the court ruling has no legal effect — so why is it appealing? By Bruce Johnstone

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Letters

ccording to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, it’s all over but the crying for supporters of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk. “It’s a done deal, folks,’’ Ritz told delegates at the Western Canadian Wheat Growers convention in Moose Jaw recently, referring to the legislation to eliminate the CWB’s monopoly over wheat and barley exports Aug. 1. Then in Saskatoon this week, Ritz dismissed the threat of a class-action lawsuit by Regina lawyer Tony Merchant as “a bit of comic relief” and reiterated that the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act “is now, and will continue to be, the law of the land.” While Ritz sounds confident, even cocky, it has a certain whistling-past-the-graveyard feel to it. It’s almost as if by repeating the phrases “specious’’ and “baseless” often enough, Ritz will make the mounting legal challenges facing his government disappear. Unfor tunately for Ritz and company, the legal challenges are real and they’re not going away. In fact, in all likelihood, they’re going to multiply in the weeks and months ahead. The first challenge is the Federal Court ruling Dec. 6 that says Ritz’s actions in pushing through Bill C-18 in clear violation of the Canadian Wheat

We welcome readers’ comments on issues that have been covered in the Manitoba Co-operator. In most cases we cannot accept “open” letters or copies of letters which have been sent to several publications. Letters are subject to editing for length or taste. We suggest a maximum of about 300 words. Please forward letters to Manitoba Co-operator, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, R3H 0H1 or Fax: 204-954-1422 or email: [email protected] (subject: To the editor)

Board Act (which requires a producer plebiscite if major changes are made to the single desk) were an “affront to the rule of law.’’ T h e f e d e ra l g ove r n m e n t i s appealing that decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. For his part, Ritz dismissed it as a “declaration” that has no legal effect. If that’s the case, then why is the federal government appealing the decision?

efforts to reverse the decision at appeal — but they should not be able to do both at the same time,” said Bill Toews, a former CWB director. Another legal obstacle for the Harper government is the application by eight former directors of the CWB for a cour t injunction to suspend Bill C-18 until its legality is determined. That application was heard in

What gives this government the right to seize farmers’ assets, sell them and pocket the proceeds, without paying any compensation to farmers?

But if the government is taking the Federal Court ruling seriously, why is it proceeding to implement the legislation? Shouldn’t the government find out whether its actions were legal or not before implementing Bill C-18? T h a t’s w h y f o r m e r e l e c t e d directors of the CWB are calling on the Federal Court to quash the Harper government’s appeal of the Federal Court ruling. “We believe that the Harper g ov e r n m e n t s h o u l d h a v e t o choose — either the government moves ahead to dismantle the CWB without a vote of farmers, or they continue with their

Conservative government needs a history lesson It is a shame that our elected members of government do not research information before they print false statements. In Merv Tweed’s last parliamentary report, two statements must be corrected. The first false statement was that the Canadian Wheat Board was “imposed” on western farmers. After many years of advocating for a strong marketing agency that would serve farmers, the government of the day created a “voluntary wheat board.” It didn’t take long to realize that a voluntary board did not work as intended. So again, the farmers of Western Canada advocated for a stronger agency and the government granted the “single-desk authority” to the wheat board in 1943. This was done with a huge majority of farmers supporting the government’s move in that direction. The second statement was about “Canada being committed to sup-

M a n i t o b a C o u r t o f Q u e e n’s Bench in Winnipeg. The judge’s decision is pending. Finally, the aforementioned Merchant class action, which seeks $15.4 billion in damages for western Canadian farmers resulting from the loss of the single desk and the assets accumulated by the CWB. This elicited a chuckle from Ritz, since Merchant is a well-known Liberal and the lone plaintiff is Duane Filson, a twice-defeated Liberal c a n d i d a t e f o r Cy p re s s Hi l l s Grasslands. Ritz can laugh all he wants, but the Merchant class action ( a s s u m i n g i t i s c e r t i f i e d by

plying inexpensive wheat to Britain during the Second World War.” What markets were there in 1943? Europe, Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim areas were all embroiled in war. We supplied grain through the Mutual Aid agreement to our allies and let’s not forget the wheat made bread products to feed our allied troops on the front lines. To imply that we were forced to supply inexpensive wheat to Britain is a slap in the face of all who endured the hardships of the Second World War. Once the war ended, the Mutual Aid agreement ended as well and the wheat board was praised by other countries as it became well known as a reliable source of grain which enabled countries to concentrate on rebuilding themselves. By the way, the price of grain sold through the Mutual Aid was higher than the domestic price. It is regrettable that the Conservative government disregards the facts of history and must resort to this type of propaganda to serve their ideology. The correct statement is that Mr. Tweed’s

a court) poses another thorny legal problem for the Harper government. Assuming Bill C-18 is a legal act (a big assumption at this point), can the government confiscate the assets of the CWB, remove its monopoly, manage the business for a few years, then sell the assets to a third party, without paying a single penny in compensation to farmers? Let’s not forget the CWB is not a conventional Crown corporation. It receives no ongoing support from the federal government (or at least it didn’t until the Harper government took it over) other than a federal guarantee of the initial payments to farmers. The assets have been financed by farmers, who pooled their grain and used the proceeds from the sale of their crops to finance the CWB’s operations and pay themselves. What gives this government the right to seize farmers’ assets, sell them and pocket the proceeds, without paying any compensation to farmers? And the Merchant class action promises to be the first of several such lawsuits. The Friends of Canadian Wheat Board and Canadian Wheat Board Alliance are just two of the groups considering similar legal action. As Yogi Berra famously said: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” Bruce Johnstone is financial editor of the Regina Leader-Post. Reprinted with permission.

government is “imposing” Bill C-18 against the wishes of the majority of western grain farmers. Garry Draper Lenore, Man.

Prime minister baffling I am completely baffled by the recent, quick actions of our prime minister. He was in such a rush to do away with the Canadian Wheat Board, not allowing the farmers a vote on the question, consequently breaking the law. Then he turns around in a very short time, now instructing his ministers to go out into the country and talk to the people to find solutions for making a better Canada. Was that meant to be a stab in the back to agriculture, one of Canada’s biggest engines contributing to our economy? Why? Go figure. Is he coming or going? How long are we going to put up with that kind of two-faced government before more damage is done? Wm. J. Shwaluk Shoal Lake, Man.

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The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

FROM PAGE ONE WAKE-UP CALL Continued from page 1

4-H Continued from page 1

Brenda Tjaden Lepp of FarmLink Marketing Solutions at Ag Days in Brandon.   Photo: Shannon VanRaes

much they will need to learn about marketing their wheat on the open market. “I’ll put it this way, I didn’t realize how little I know until now,” said Richard Cousin. “This is going to be a big switch, a huge change and we have to learn it now, right now really, because next year is a whole different year.” Cousin said he is considering hiring a professional adviser on how to handle the new system. Another producer, who didn’t want his name published, described the session as a “wakeup call.”

Wake-up call

Farm management consultant Trevor Elyk was handing out a few more cautions in a presentation entitled “The Wheat Market is Changing — Time is Running Out.” He urged farmers to skip the equipment displays and start getting to know grain buyers. “That’s where the money is going to be made,” said Elyk, a former canola buyer now with MNP. “Those guys are going to help you next year with the market changing and you guys — hopefully — will be able to market your wheat on your own.” Elyk, who was a canola buyer until three years ago, advised farmers to choose a grain buyer based on who offers the best service and profitability. Payment and pricing options, grading acceptance and delivery, and especially location, are key. “If you haven’t used brokers or futures markets as a way of hedging your pricing already on the crops that you’re growing on the open market, I don’t think wheat is the time to start,” said Elyk. He also predicted price volatility will be the new norm and said

Trevor Elyk. photo: daniel winters

it will be easy to get into trouble due to the sheer size of wheat contracts. Unlike the 20-tonne contracts for canola, the new ICE wheat futures (due to be up and running this week) will be based on 100-tonne contracts just as in the U.S. That ups the risk by a factor of five, he noted. “That’s something to think about. You need to be able to cover off these contracts,” he warned.

Low margin

Grain buying is a low-margin, high-volume business. When Elyk said he worked for Agricore United, it moved two million tonnes each year to Vancouver. Margin was only $25 per tonne. Grading is a “huge moneymaker” for grain companies, he added. They buy heated or damaged canola and then use their huge volumes to blend it at port and sell it as No. 1 Canada grade. Avoiding downgrades in the bin, therefore, is the key to preserving value, he added. “The farmer doesn’t grow enough to blend off his No. 3 Canada into his No. 1 Canada and deliver it,” said Elyk. As for deductions on quality, he advised farmers to “read the fine print” and know what they can expect to get for lower grades. Also, variable protein and grade premium discounts should be examined. Trucking premiums will likely be blended down to a “basis” based on the port price minus freight back to the elevator plus weighing and inspection. Using location to good advantage could boost the price paid for wheat. Better prices may be found at local mills near cities and the U.S. market, especially for farmers south of the TransCanada.

Transportation logistics can affect the farmer’s bottom line.   Photo: daniel winters

Quality discounts

While canola has only eight downgrading specs, wheat has 23 based on Canadian Grain Commission rules all the way down from No. 1 to feed. How the grain is graded, whether by visual kernel characteristics or some future “measurable” methodology, knowing what’s in the bin and preserving quality is critical, he said. “This is what grain companies are going to use to buy grain from you at lower costs,” he said. One upside to an open market could be more efficient grain movement, said Elyk, because board and non-board products won’t have to be kept separate. One downside is the lack of a guaranteed buyer. “If you’re unable to meet the specs on the contract, where are you going to turn?” Having backup plans is key, but Elyk said he views shipping to the U.S. a last-resort option. Currency volatility, the risk of leaving unpriced grain in a U.S. elevator, and pushback, such as delayed service or a tariff, from American farmers and their lawmakers are factors to consider, he said. Tjaden Lepp also had a word for those still hoping for a lastminute reprieve for the single desk because of court challenges to the federal governments Bill C-18. “I could care less about the lawsuit, I could care less about the philosophy and the rest of it – sorry if people feel otherwise,” said Tjaden Lepp. “But to me right now, the most important thing for a farmer is managing the risk and locking in some profit on next year’s grain production.” [email protected] [email protected]

to have the same name as was then being used in the U.S. for Boys and Girls Clubs. The young farm kids who were each given a dozen eggs, fodder corn and seed potatoes, laid the foundation that year for what has become a national and international program with tens of thousands of members and even more alumni. The provincial 4-H council is urging communities and 4-H Clubs around Manitoba to join the celebrating by planning commemorative activities. “It’s a huge accomplishment for the organization and to be part of that is amazing,” said Trevor Carlson, president of Manitoba 4-H Council, who is also an Elm Creek Beef Club leader. Several special events are in the works, including a provincial stock show to be held at Carman at the Dufferin Agricultural Society’s summer fair. “We’re trying to include all areas of 4-H too, not just livestock groups,” said Carlson. “We hope to make it a provincial rally and include all members.” Enbr idge Pipelines has committed $260,000 as the national sponsor of the 4-H program’s centennial celebrations across Canada. Lyle Neis, Enbridge’s director of Aboriginal and stakeholder relations, said his company is proud to help celebrate a program that continues to build future leaders. A rough count shows at least 170 clubs in communities near Enbridge pipeline infrastructure across Western Canada and into the U.S., he said. Canadian 4-H Council president Rob Black, who was also at the Ag Days kickoff, said the centennial’s celebratory events will be tied in with generating support for both the Canadian Foodgrains Bank program and for food banks in Canada. “We’re going to encourage our 4-H members across the country to get involved and support their communities that way,” Black said. The national program’s annual meeting and centennial gala will be held in Winnipeg May 30, 2013 at which 4-H history and success stories will be shared. There are plans to travel to Roland that weekend so delegates can visit its 4-H museum. “I’m excited about that,” said Black. “I’ve heard a lot about it so I’m looking forward to seeing it. I really want to to see that place recognized as the birthplace of 4-H in Canada.” As part of gearing up, 4-H Canada has also begun a 4-H history project, by seeking contributions online of pho-

“It’s a huge accomplishment for the organization and to be part of that is amazing.” Trevor Carlson

President of Manitoba 4-H Council

tos, videos, articles and documents about the program over the years. Those documents can be uploaded by logging on to www.4-h-canada.ca/100/ en/e-history. The program is also encouraging former 4-H’ers to register as alumnus and share their stories. Alumni can find the form to register online on the national 4-H website at www.4-h-canada.ca/core/ alumni. The hope is these names will generate a pool of potential leaders for the next generation of clubs. The national 4-H program has recently rolled out its Embrace the Future initiative which includes new programming as well as reaching into urban areas with 4-H. The Manitoba 4-H program supporters have been talking about this at length, Carlson said. The key will be having the volunteers and resources to proceed. “It’s going to take time,” he said. “It’s something that will take several years to get going.” Currently more than 8,000 trained volunteer leaders help run clubs involving approximately 26,000 4-H members across Canada. There are about 2,500 members in the Manitoba program currently. For more information about the 100th anniversary, please visit www.4-h-canada.ca. [email protected]

7

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

briefs

Viterra shares stumble after disappointing Q4 reuters / Shares of Viterra fell sharply after the grain handler reported disappointing quarterly results. The company reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings of three cents a share, although revenue of $3.1 billion topped expectations. CEO Mayo Schmidt said the results were “definitely disappointing.” However, for the year, Viterra’s profit jumped 83 per cent to $265 million and the company also boosted its semi-annual dividend by 50 per cent. Viterra said on Wednesday that global grain supply and demand fundamentals look strong for 2012 and that the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly this year will add to its bottom line.

Start planning to celebrate 4-H Fairs have been a key part of 4-H program’s success all these years, says Manitoba 4-H Council president By Lorraine Stevenson co-operator staff / Brandon

S

till have your 4-H T-shirt, hat or necktie? How about wearing it for an “old 4-H uniform” parade at 2013 summer fairs? That’s just one idea for how agricultural societies might join in the celebrations when the Canadian 4-H program celebrates its 100th anniversary next year. It’s not too early to begin thinking about ways to include 4-H’s anniversary celebrations in next year’s fairs, said provincial council representatives in a short address to the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies (MAAS) recently. The 4-H program and summer fairs have long been

Carrie Elliot, president-elect of the Manitoba 4-H Council (right) with current serving president Trevor Carlson and past president Julie Labossiere are urging agricultural societies to start thinking now about how to make the 2013 4-H anniversary celebrations part of their annual summer fair events.  photo: lorraine stevenson

linked, making the agricultural fairs a key place to showcase

the program and its century of achievements, said Manitoba

4-H council president Trevor Carlson. “Ag societies have been a huge part of the success of the program not only in Manitoba but across Canada,” he said. Clubs and area councils are also being encouraged to start planning events, added Carrie Elliot president-elect. “We’re encouraging lots of local and regional celebrations,” she said. Manitobans and the rest of Canada heard more details of the 4-H anniversary when national and provincial 4-H program representatives did a media launch at Ag Days in Brandon. 4-H began in Canada as the Boys and Girls Club in Roland in 1913. [email protected]

Drought hits Ukrainian crops kiev / reuters / About a third of Ukraine’s winter grain crops are in poor condition as of mid-January due to a severe drought that hit the country during sowing, according to analyst UkrAgroConsult. Some 83.3 per cent of the sown area had sprouted, down from more than 90 per cent at the same date a year earlier. One-third of the crops are in poor condition. “No sprouts have come up on an area of 1.402 million hectares and, specialists believe, this area is subject to reseeding, because all viable seeds germinated in the soil and sprouted during the warm December period,” the consultancy said.

“...and lower the boom on weeds!”

France upholds ban on Monsanto GM maize paris / reuters / The French government will continue a ban on a strain of genetically modified maize developed by U.S. biotech firm Monsanto, even though France’s highest court overturned the moratorium last year. In November, France’s highest court overturned the 2008 ban on MON810, an insect-resistant strain of maize sold in several European countries. The court ruled the government had not produced enough evidence to prove it posed a significant risk to health or the environment. However, President Nicolas Sarkozy, facing a tough battle for re-election in April, had responded by saying that the government would study ways of extending the ban, invoking the need to defend farmers’ health.

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8

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

“Natural” is their middle name Carman couple profits from consumer interest in local food and meat from animals that don’t receive antibiotics or growth hormones By Lorraine Stevenson co-operator staff / carman

S

t. Claude dairy farmers Roger and Rachel Philippe were raising their male calves instead of disposing of them, but they weren’t happy with the prices they received when they sold them for slaughter. The couple, who has 200 milk cows, don’t use antibiotics or growth hormones and use feed regimes that produce quality meat. But the marketplace didn’t reward them for that effort and expense. “We were spending a lot of money and putting a lot into those animals,” said Roger. “But we were subject to the price for the grade they gave, especially in the U.S. where they don’t, in my opinion, grade the Holstein breed to the quality it should be.” So the couple began selling a few animals to friends and neighbours, and prepared a business plan on direct marketing from their farm. When they learned a nearby abattoir, Carman Meats, was for sale, they seized the opportunity. In October 2008, their new business — renamed All Natural Meats — began selling 28-day, dry-aged steaks, roasts, ground, and other cuts processed from their 16- to 20-month-old calves. They continue to be a key go-to processor for other regional farmers within about a 60-mile radius, who have their goat, pork, bison, elk and lamb cus-

tom slaughtered and processed here. All the while they’ve built a popular local retail outlet, with their beef accounting for about half of their beef sales at their store at the north end of Carman. They also sell through their website (www.allnaturalmeats. ca), several Winnipeg stores including La Grotta Piazza De Nardi, and Winnipeg restaurants such as Mexican food JC’s Tacos on Henderson Highway and Osborne Street area’s The Unburger, which specializes in gourmet fast food. Both restaurants exclusively serve the Philippes’ beef. They aim to grow the Winnipeg market by focusing on increasing consumer interest both in quality and knowing “the story behind their food,” Philippe said. “People want to buy local and to know where their food comes from,” he said. “We were also looking at trends such as people trying to find products without antibiotics or without growth hormones.” However, the couple may have to stop using the terms “n a t u ra l” a n d “n a t u ra l l y raised” in their marketing, as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is proposing to limit the use of “natural” or “naturally raised” to products that are raised with minimal human intervention, such as wild turkey or wild fish. “You can’t raise an animal without human intervention,” said Philippe.

All Natural Meats in Carman, under the ownership of St. Claude dairy farmer Roger Philippe since 2008, does a brisk online, storefront and direct-to-store and -restaurant delivery of locally sourced meats, including their own beef, processed at the Carman plant. photo: lorraine stevenson

“What we plan on doing is just to keep describing to our customer how we humanely raise our animals, and the processes we use, and the feed we use, and how we don’t use certain products like antibiotics or growth hormones.” The new rules, if adopted, may even turn out to be a business advantage, he added. “Before anyone could say ‘naturally raised,’” he said. “Now basically nobody will.”

“Before anyone could say ‘naturally raised.’ Now basically nobody will.”

Roger Philippe

[email protected]

MCGA, MPGA, NSAC and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives

presents the

6th Annual

February 8 and 9, 2012 Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre 1808 Wellington Ave, Winnipeg Wednesday will feature Dr. Patrick Moore - A founder of the environment movement and known as The Sensible Environmentalist, Dr. Patrick Moore reveals the myths and misinformation that distort current environmental debates. An informed, provocative speaker, Dr. Moore’s persuasively argues for us to rethink our conventional wisdom about environmental challenges, and in so doing, provides the audience with new ways in which to see the world. Michael Krueger from The Money Farm will be delivering a marketing address on Thursday. For more information, visit www.manitobaspecialcrops.ca

WHAT'S UP Please forward your agricultural events to [email protected] or call 204-944-5762. Jan. 23-27: 38th Grain Industry Overview Course, Canadian International Grains Institute, Winnipeg. For more info or to register visit www.cigi.ca. or visit www.cana dianfga.ca. Jan. 24-26: Red River Basin Land and Water International Summit Conference, Fort Garry Hotel, 222 Broadway, Winnipeg. For more info visit www.redriverbasincommission. org or call 204-982-7250. Jan. 25-27: Keystone Agricultural Producers 28th annual meeting, Delta Winnipeg, 350 St. Mary Ave., Winnipeg. For more info visit www. kap.mb.ca or call 204-697-1140. Jan. 26-28: Canadian Beekeeping Convention, Fort Garry Hotel, 222 Broadway, Winnipeg. For more info visit http://manitobabee.org/hive/. Feb. 1: Brokenhead River Agricultural Conference, Brokenhead River Community Hall, 320 Veterans Lane, Beausejour. For more info call MAFRI at 204-268-6094. Feb. 1-2: Manitoba Swine Seminar, Victoria Inn, 1808 Wellington Ave., Winnipeg. For more info visit www. ManitobaSwineSeminar.ca or call Dallas Ballance at 204-475-8585. Feb. 4: Exploring Your Small Farm Dream, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Harvest Moon Learning Centre, Clearwater. For

more info visit www.manitobafarmmentorship.ca or call 204-772-3790. Feb. 8-9: Manitoba Special Crops Symposium, Victoria Inn, 1808 Wellington Ave., Winnipeg. For more info visit www.manitobaspecialcrops. ca or call 204-745-6488. Feb. 9-10: University of Manitoba Transport Institute's Supply Chain Connections conference: "The MidContinent Cold Chain," Winnipeg. RESCHEDULED to May 24-25: For more info visit www.umti.ca. Feb. 15-17: Western Barley Growers Association annual convention, Deerfoot Inn and Casino, 1000-11500 35th St. SE, Calgary. For more info visit www.wbga.org. Feb. 16: Manitoba Model Forest seminar on non-timber forest products (wildcrafting, herbal teas, etc.), 1-3 p.m., Little Black River FN. To pre-register contact Ken Fosty at 204-340-5013 or email kfosty@ treecanada.ca. Feb. 21-22: Western Canadian Holistic Management Conference, Gallagher Centre, 455 Broadway St. W., Yorkton, Sask. For more info call 306-786-1531. Feb. 21-23: Canadian Organic Science Conference, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. For more info visit www.oacc.info/cosc.

9

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Pork industry hoping for strong exports By Erica Johnson COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA

D

emand for Canadian pork is expected to be strong in 2012, but export sales will be key. “We expect exports to be relatively stable, hopefully with better prices,” said Canadian Pork Council president Jurgen Preugschas. “We’re always hopeful that our industry doesn’t suffer losses like it has in previous years.” As of Nov. 1, pork exports totalled 944,328 tonnes, slightly higher than at the same time a year earlier, when exports were at 913,404 tonnes. The biggest gain was in sales to South Korea, which were up 80 per cent to 79,256 tonnes. That country suffered its worst-ever outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in late 2010 and early 2011, forcing it to slaughter millions of infected pigs and import more foreign pork. But with no free trade agreement in place between Canada and South Korea, the Canadian

Steady-as-shegoes forecast for loonie By Adam Johnston COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA

Don’t expect big changes in the value of the Canadian dollar over the next month, says Shaun Osborne, a currency expert with TD Securities in Toronto. The loonie should stick in the 96- to 99-cent range (US) over the next two to four weeks, said Osborne. Europe and its ongoing debt concerns will continue to be the big driver, Osborne said. Traders are anxious to see if Greece can reach a compromise with private creditors, while hoping the European Central Bank can boost the euro-zone monetary system, he said. Progress on those two fronts would add some positive sentiment towards the Canadian currency, he said, while a Greek default would have a negative effect. Europe’s debt woes are in contrast to positive economic data from the U.S. over the past month, which has some experts thinking the world’s biggest economy could be on the verge of recovery. The upward trend in jobs and manufacturing data in the U.S. has provided some additional support towards the Canadian dollar, said Osborne, adding he expects the American economy to soften slightly early in the year, similar to what it did in early 2011. Upward trends in commodities, including crude oil prices, would also support the Canadian dollar, he said. However, once crude oil prices go above US$100 a barrel, there is less of a correlation between crude oil and the Canadian dollar, he said. Osborne said there is nothing currently in the short term that is going to move the Canadian dollar towards parity, he said.

pork industry is fearful of losing a market worth $300 million in annual sales. “Without a free trade agreement, we would be at a major tariff disadvantage,” said Preugschas. The U.S., EU and Chile have struck free trade deals with South Korea. For the U.S., that means a 25 per cent tariff on its pork will be totally eliminated by 2016, which would make Canadian pork uncompetitive. Exports to Russia and China were also up in 2011. Chinese pork imports nearly tripled, rising from 34,235 tonnes as of Nov. 1, 2010 to 99,214 tonnes for the same period in 2011. Russia imports grew by 59 per cent to 117,214 tonnes. For China, the sudden jump related to inspection issues in that country, which saw Canadian exports shipped via Hong Kong in 2010. As a result, exports to Hong Kong jumped sharply in 2010 and then declined just as sharply in 2011. However, the increased sales to Russia are the result of a market-development effort.

“I’m confident we’ve gained some good trust with Russia and that our trading relationship will continue to grow,” Preugschas said. The rise in Canadian exports to Russia in 2011 was caused by high demand for cheaper cuts of meat, mostly for processing. “Russia spent a fair amount o n t r i m m i n g s a n d f a t ,” Preugschas said. “Primarily for sausages.” Meanwhile, pork imports by Canada were up in 2011, increasing 12 per cent to 205,227 tonnes. “Canada imports a lot of ribs,” Preugschas said. Nearly two-thirds of the imports were from the U.S., although Chile more than quadrupled its sales to Canada, selling 9,289 tonnes. Exports of live hogs to the U.S. rose slightly, to 5.7 million head, in 2011, although exports of barrows, gilts and sows decreased marginally, to just slightly more than one million head. “Canada continues to face countr y-of-origin labelling

FILE PHOTO

law restrictions in the U.S., and a limited number of U.S. slaughter facilities will take Canadian market hogs,” said Patti Negrave, assistant director of Agriculture and Agri-

F o o d C a n a d a’s r e d - m e a t section. “Given the decline in hog production, Canadian processors are snapping up available market hogs to secure their supply.”

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10

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

LIVESTOCK MARKETS

EXCHANGES: January 20, 2012

$1 Cdn: $1.0143 U.S. $1 U.S: $0.99 Cdn.

COLUMN

Cattle Prices Winnipeg

(Friday to Thursday) Slaughter Cattle

January 20, 2012

Steers & Heifers $ — D1,2 Cows 55.00 - 60.00 D3 Cows 50.00 - 55.00 Bulls 67.00 - 80.75 Feeder Cattle (Price ranges for feeders refer to top-quality animals only) Steers (901+ lbs.) $ 115.00 - 124.00 (801-900 lbs.) 125.00 - 135.00 (701-800 lbs.) 130.00 - 144.75 (601-700 lbs.) 135.00 - 160.75 (501-600 lbs.) 140.00 - 168.50 (401-500 lbs.) 150.00 - 186.00 Heifers (901+ lbs.) — (801-900 lbs.) — (701-800 lbs.) 120.00 - 131.25 (601-700 lbs.) 125.00 - 137.50 (501-600 lbs.) 130.00 - 161.00 (401-500 lbs.) 135.00 - 165.00 Slaughter Cattle Grade A Steers Grade A Heifers D1, 2 Cows D3 Cows Bulls Steers

Heifers

Alberta South $ 115.00 - 115.50 115.00 60.00 - 75.75 50.00 - 68.00 68.00 - 86.25 $ 118.00 - 139.00 128.00 - 147.00 130.00 - 154.00 147.00 - 167.00 150.00 - 197.00 160.00 - 205.00 $ 110.00 - 128.00 115.00 - 137.00 120.00 - 145.00 128.00 - 148.00 135.00 - 164.00 145.00 - 180.00

($/cwt) (1,000+ lbs.) (850+ lbs.)

(901+ lbs.) (801-900 lbs.) (701-800 lbs.) (601-700 lbs.) (501-600 lbs.) (401-500 lbs.) (901+ lbs.) (801-900 lbs.) (701-800 lbs.) (601-700 lbs.) (501-600 lbs.) (401-500 lbs.)

Futures (January 19, 2012) in U.S. Fed Cattle Close Change February 2012 124.20 2.95 April 2012 127.80 2.55 June 2012 126.30 1.80 August 2012 127.47 1.22 October 2012 130.02 0.80 December 2012 130.75 1.25 Cattle Slaughter Canada East West Manitoba U.S.

Feeder Cattle January 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 August 2012 September 2012

The profit-and-loss picture sidelines U.S. buyers By Erica Johnson CNSC

Ontario $ 116.14 - 128.99 113.61 - 126.51 57.40 - 75.85 57.40 - 75.85 69.25 - 82.89 $ 124.24 - 148.65 133.44 - 147.89 124.67 - 154.62 138.56 - 165.54 145.28 - 181.45 158.46 - 184.25 $ 121.12 - 129.94 123.35 - 134.89 122.38 - 138.90 127.04 - 147.11 134.42 - 160.36 136.61 - 164.63

Close 151.70 154.00 155.20 156.17 156.90 157.15

Change 2.23 2.20 1.88 1.95 1.40 1.63

Cattle Grades (Canada)

Week Ending January 14, 2012 55,597 15,122 40,475 N/A 653,000

Previous Year­ 59,278 15,497 43,781 N/A 631,000

Week Ending January 14, 2012 340 20,181 22,895 685 667 7,091 194

Prime AAA AA A B D E

Previous Year 511 23,904 22,111 1,157 274 4,231 237

Hog Prices Source: Manitoba Agriculture

(Friday to Thursday) ($/100 kg) MB. ($/hog) MB. (All wts.) (Fri-Thurs.) MB. (Index 100) (Fri-Thurs.) ON (Index 100) (Mon.-Thurs.) P.Q. (Index 100) (Mon.-Fri.)

Current Week 169.00 155.59 155.75 160.69

Futures (January 19, 2012) in U.S. Hogs February 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012

Last Week 169.81 156.16 155.05 158.25

Close 85.40 87.50 95.30 96.52 96.35

Weather chills some sales, but markets stay strong

Last Year (Index 100) 147.03 135.34 135.19 136.52

Change 1.45 0.93 1.10 1.50 1.58

Other Market Prices

F

eeder cattle moving through Manitoba auction marts continued to be met with strong demand during the week ended Jan. 20. The extremely aggressive feeder trade, which has boosted the cattle market, shows no signs of slowing down. Some markets were seeing prices $2-$3 stronger on all classes of feeders. The biggest price increases were seen in lightweight cattle, especially cattle weighing less than 650 pounds that are suitable to go to grass in the summer. Grass-weight feeder calves were selling at least five cents higher per hundredweight at some auctions. Rick Wright, a cattle buyer with Heartland Order Buying Co., said cattle weighing 650 to 800 lbs. were fully steady to strong, and a two per cent increase in price was seen in cattle that were over the 800-lb. mark. “The weather wasn’t conducive to moving a lot of cattle this week, but we saw an increase in prices as well as a decrease in the feed market,” Wright said. U.S. corn values were down so domestic feed prices were also down. Wright expects cattle volumes will increase by the week ended Jan. 27, and that the market won’t slow down anytime soon. “I don’t think we have seen the high of the market on some of the classes of cattle yet,” Wright said. “There’s still some room for them to move.” Demand was higher this week for all classes of animals with most of the demand coming from feedlots in Alberta and Ontario, although there was some local demand. Slaughter cattle were selling slightly higher this week, with good demand. Wright said there was a slight increase in price for butchers, which added even more strength to the market.

“Human element”

Brutally cold temperatures across the province during the week ended Jan. 20, with wind chill warnings in the -40 C range in some areas, caused some auction marts across the province to cancel sales. The cold itself had no impact on the market, but did influence the delivery of cattle, Wright said. “The trucks are equipped to haul the cattle

in the cold, but it’s more the human element that comes into play,” he said. “Do these producers want to go out when it’s that cold, take cattle out of the pens, put them on the trucks and bring them to the market? “There’s a much better forecast for (the week ended Jan. 27), so some guys will look out and say, ‘You know, I have much better things to do than load my cattle today. The markets aren’t going down, so why would we need to work in this kind of environment?’” However, producers who did bring their cattle to the sales this week were paid extremely well, he said. “Those producers in Melita on Thursday were well paid for their cattle,” Wright said. “They had a very, very strong sale. Because buyers were trying to finish off some loads, they had good quality at the right time and there was quite a fight to (fill the trucks).” Another factor this week that affected the delivery of cattle was Ag Days in Brandon. “Ag Days always takes a big chunk of guys away from that corner,” Wright said. The U.S. is watching the Canadian cattle markets but the profitability isn’t where it should be yet, he said. “The U.S. would love to buy some cattle, they’re certainly watching here,” he said. “Their market has had even bigger increases in percentage values than what ours has had in the last few weeks. They’re buying finished cattle, they’re buying slaughtered cows, and they are looking really hard at some of the classes of feeder cattle. “But the cattle just don’t quite work yet to go that way,” Wright said. “For us it’s not a bad thing. We’re able to maintain a majority of these feeder cattle in Canada, which is good because it gives us synergies of feeding them, trucking them, processing them. Once they’re across the border we lose all those synergies.” Because supply is dictating demand, Wright said, prices have nowhere to go but up. “All the fortune tellers’ predictions are starting to come true,” he said. “As long as we’re there to continue to export, and as long as our biggest customer, the U.S., can export, we’re going to see the numbers on the price side stay together. If you have cattle to sell you’re in the driver’s seat right now.” Erica Johnson writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

Sheep and Lambs $/cwt Ewes Lambs (110+ lb.) (95 - 109 lb.) (80 - 94 lb.) (Under 80 lb.) (New crop)

Winnipeg No report for January 19

Chickens Minimum broiler prices as of May 23, 2010 Under 1.2 kg................................... $1.5130 1.2 - 1.65 kg.................................... $1.3230 1.65 - 2.1 kg.................................... $1.3830 2.1 - 2.6 kg...................................... $1.3230

Turkeys Minimum prices as of January 22, 2012 Broiler Turkeys (6.2 kg or under, live weight truck load average) Grade A .................................... $1.910 Undergrade .............................. $1.820 Hen Turkeys (between 6.2 and 8.5 kg liveweight truck load average) Grade A .................................... $1.890 Undergrade .............................. $1.790 Light Tom/Heavy Hen Turkeys (between 8.5 and 10.8 kg liveweight truck load average) Grade A .................................... $1.890 Undergrade .............................. $1.790 Tom Turkeys (10.8 and 13.3 kg, live weight truck load average) Grade A..................................... $1.895 Undergrade............................... $1.810 Prices are quoted f.o.b. farm.

Toronto 98.74 - 135.90 176.07 - 199.35 206.61 - 220.98 203.41 - 234.30 222.47 - 295.95 —

SunGold Specialty Meats — —

Eggs Minimum prices to producers for ungraded eggs, f.o.b. egg grading station, set by the Manitoba Egg Producers Marketing Board effective June 12, 2011. New Previous A Extra Large $1.8500 $1.8200 A Large 1.8500 1.8200 A Medium 1.6700 1.6400 A Small 1.2500 1.2200 A Pee Wee 0.3675 0.3675 Nest Run 24 + 1.7490 1.7210 B 0.45 0.45 C 0.15 0.15

Goats Kids Billys Mature

Winnipeg ($/each) No report for January 19/12

Toronto ($/cwt) 65.00 - 251.00 — 128.53 - 237.63

Horses 1,000 lbs. 1,000 lbs.+

Winnipeg ($/cwt) — —

Toronto ($/cwt) 12.22 - 28.00 22.17 - 31.50

Cold weather slows deliveries of sheep and goats There was strong demand for goat kids By Mark Elliot co-operator contributor

T

here were slightly over 80 sheep and goats delivered to the Winnipeg Livestock Au c t i o n , o n Ja n . 1 9 . E x t re m e c o l d w e a t h e r prompted many produc-

ers to keep their animals at home. This sale was supplied with some ewes, compared to the Jan. 5, 2012 sale. The ewes were of various ages, thus creating an average price range of approximately $0.95 per pound. This price range was within the late fall and winter prices of 2011. The Ontar io Stockyard Market Report indicates that the sheep had dropped $10 per hundredweight. The lamb prices dropped slightly compared to the Jan. 5 sale. The lambs ranged from $2 to $2.36 per pound; while in January 5, 2011 — the lambs were

priced within the range of $2.25 to $2.47 per pound. The quantity of the lambs had increased for this week and sold steady, as the Ontario Stockyard Market Report stated. The Ontario Stockyard Market Report indicated that the demand for the feeder lambs was higher than the market lambs. The kid goats delivered to the Winnipeg Auction brought a strong demand of approximately $1.80 per pound. Kid goats sold on Jan. 16, 2012 brought a price range of $1.40 to $1.70 per pound, reported by the Ontario Stockyard Inc.

Looking for results?  Check out the market reports from livestock auctions around the province. » PaGe 12

11

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

GRAIN MARKETS column

Forecast calls for record canola acres, output The Agriculture Department also expects more barley Dwayne Klassen CNSA

C

anola futures on the ICE Futures C a n a d a t r a d i n g p l a t f o r m w e re mixed during the week ended Jan. 20, with the nearby months seeing small gains while the deferred values were slightly weaker. A continued strong export lineup at Canada’s West Coast, along with strong domestic demand from the processing sector, helped to generate some of the strength. The arrival of beneficial precipitation in the soybean-growing areas of Brazil and Argentina sparked some of the weakness in the market. Record canola acreage forecasts for the spring of 2012 also had bearish price implications. A lot of the action seen in canola over the past week was tied to participants starting the process of rolling positions out of the nearby March future, ahead of the contract becoming a cash delivery month. Both the large and small commodity funds like to move positions roughly a month and a bit ahead of it becoming a cash delivery contract.

For three-times-daily market reports from Commodity News Service Canada, visit “ICE Futures Canada updates” at www.manitobacooperator.ca.

We s t e r n b ar l e y f utures on the I C E Futures Canada platform remained in dormancy during the latest week. The launch of the new milling wheat, durum and barley contracts on Jan. 23 on the ICE platform will eventually replace the western barley contract. Cash bids for feed barley in Western Canada, meanwhile, softened in response to increased inventories of U.S. corn. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures moved to higher ground during the period ended Jan. 20. Sentiment that soybean values were oversold and due for an upward technical correction helped to generate some price strength. The buying back of previously sold positions further underpinned soybean values as did the emergence of some fresh buying interest from China. Firmness in the cash market also added to the friendly price tone. The upside in soybeans was restricted by improved growing conditions for soybean crops in South America as well as by some late-week firmness in the U.S. dollar. Some renewed concerns among speculative fund participants regarding the financial problems in Europe also helped to temper the upside price potential. CBOT corn futures were mixed with the nearby months up and the deferred values down. Much of the support was derived from ideas values for the commodity have finally declined far enough to stimulate some nearby demand. The buying back of previously sold positions and firmness in the cash market also underpinned values.

We a k n e s s i n t h e d e f e r r e d v a l u e s reflected talk that the area seeded to corn by U.S. producers in the spring of 2012 will be higher than originally expected. The more-than-adequate supply of grain on the world market also helped to influence some selling. Wheat futures at the CBOT, KCBT and MGEX generally lost ground, with the bearish global supply situation and private estimates increasing the amount of area that will be planted to U.S. spring and durum wheat in the spring of 2012 behind the declines. Demand for U.S. wheat also continued to be absent, adding to the overall bearish price tone. Some support in wheat, however, came from oversold ideas.

Greater expectations

The market analysis division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has released its first look at the 2012-13 crop year, including bumping up the acreage estimates for most crops. Much of the jump in seeded area this spring will come as Prairie producers put back into production a lot of the fields that were flooded out in Manitoba and Saskatchewan last spring. In fact, the area left as summerfallow was predicted to come in at a modern-day low of only 6.3 million acres. With all the flooding and other issues, summerfallow in 2011 in Canada totalled 12.41 million acres in comparison. The Agriculture Department expects Canadian producers to seed a record 19.768 million acres to canola in the spring, surpassing the record 18.862 million acres that were put in the ground in the spring of 2011. Canadian canola production was seen rising to a record 15 million tonnes from the previous record of 14.165 million established in 2011-12. Another interesting acreage projection was the estimate made for barley. While the jury is still out on whether the removal of barley from the Canadian Wheat Board had any impact on the seeded area forecast, the fact of the matter is that area will be up significantly. The market analysis division pegged seeded area to barley in the spring of 2012 at 7.907 million acres, which compares with 6.472 million the year previous. Barley output in Canada, as a result, was seen hitting the nine-million-tonne level in 2012-13. In 2011-12 barley production in Canada was 7.756 million tonnes. With the increase in production prospects in Canada, South America and even in the U.S., there have been a lot of participants anticipating grain and oilseed markets will be suffering some serious setbacks in the not-too-distant future. However, I was reminded by an individual who was a little bit skeptical of all the recent bearish price outlooks that nothing is ever as it seems and to certainly use some caution in deciphering this information. Using the canola futures as a prime example of how fast things can turn around, the source said, “It was around Jan. 20 in 1988, the canola future was t r a d i n g a r o u n d t h e $ 2 1 0 - p e r- t o n n e level… However, all it took was a bit of drought, and the futures price for canola by June 18 that same year was sitting at $488 per tonne.” As a result, any sign of drought this spring and summer in either Canada or the U.S., could change the bearish fortunes being forecast very rapidly.

Export and International Prices Last Week

Week Ago

Year Ago

CWB export 1CW 13.5 St. Lawrence

374.16

386.55

450.45

US hard winter ord.Gulf ($US)

284.18

294.06

342.67

All prices close of business January 19, 2012. Wheat

EU French soft wheat ($US)

261.00

264.00

353.00

Chicago wheat (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

222.28

222.28

295.21

Minneapolis wheat (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

296.68

296.68

338.01

US corn Gulf ($US)

267.80

260.62

284.24

US barley (PNW) ($US)

287.00

287.00

204.00

Chicago corn (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

240.75

240.75

257.48

Chicago oats (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

184.31

184.31

247.70

432.98

432.98

519.60

1,127.86

1,127.86

1,262.58

Coarse Grains

Oilseeds Chicago soybeans (nearby future) ($US/tonne) Chicago soyoil ($US/tonne)

Winnipeg Futures ICE Futures Canada prices at close of business January 19, 2012. Western barley

Last Week

Week Ago

March 2012

212.00

212.00

May 2012

215.00

215.00

July 2012

220.00

220.00

Canola

Last Week

Week Ago

March 2012

526.00

515.10

May 2012

529.30

519.20

July 2012

528.90

—

CWB Pool Forecasts December PRO 2011-12

Total Payments 2010-11

November PRO 2011-12

Wheat No. 1 CWRS 13.5

305

344.96

304

No. 1 CWRS 12.5

271

317.73

273

No. 2 CWRS 13.5

299

337.13

299

No. 1 CWHWS 13.5

305

344.96

304

No. 1 CPSR

238

277.77

241

No. 1 CPSW

232

274.67

235

No. 1 CWRW

241

284.23

243

No. 1 CWES

275

314.96

274

No. 1 CWSWS

233

268.72

233

352

302.94

371

223.00

235.72

N/A

Sel CW Two-Row

314

265.74

318

Sel CW Six-Row

298

247.98

302

Durum No. 1 CWAD 13.0 Feed Barley No. 1 CW Pool B Designated Barley

* No. 1 CW feed barley, Pool A 2011-12, as of December 15: $229.

Special Crops Report for January 23, 2012 — Bin run delivered plant Saskatchewan Spot Market

Lentils (Cdn. cents per pound)

Other (Cdn. cents per pound unless otherwise specified)

Large Green 15/64

26.10 - 27.50

Canaryseed

Laird No. 1

26.00 - 27.50

Oil Sunflower Seed

Eston No. 2

23.00 - 27.50

Desi Chickpeas

24.75 - 26.25 — 26.10 - 27.50

Field Peas (Cdn. $ per bushel)

Beans (Cdn. cents per pound)

Green No. 1

8.30 - 9.25

Fababeans, large

—

Medium Yellow No. 1

7.90 - 8.50

Feed beans

—

Feed Peas (Cdn. $ per bushel)

No. 1 Navy/Pea Beans

—

No. 1 Great Northern

—

Mustardseed (Cdn. cents per pound)

No. 1 Cranberry Beans

—

Yellow No. 1

34.00 - 35.75

No. 1 Light Red Kidney

—

Brown No. 1

30.75 - 31.75

No. 1 Dark Red Kidney

—

Oriental No. 1

22.60 - 23.75

No. 1 Black Beans

—

No. 1 Pinto Beans

—

Feed Pea (Rail)

—

Source: Stat Publishing SUNFLOWERS

No. 1 Small Red

—

No. 1 Pink

—

Fargo, ND

Goodlands, KS

28.00

26.50

—

—

Report for January 20, 2012 in US$ cwt NuSun (oilseed)

Dwayne Klassen writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

Spot Market

Confection Source: National Sunflower Association

12

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

LIVESTOCK AUCTION RESULTS Weight Category

Ashern

Gladstone

Grunthal

Heartland

Heartland

Brandon

Virden

Killarney

Ste. Rose

Taylor

Winnipeg

Feeder Steers

Jan-18

Jan-17

Jan-17

Jan-17

Jan-18

Jan-16

Jan-19

Jan-19

Jan-20

No. on offer

438

512

305

670

1,539

578

1,126

251

490

Over 1,000 lbs.

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

900-1,000

n/a

78.00-104.00

n/a

120.00-135.00

124.00-135.75

n/a

n/a

110.00-133.00

115.00-122.75

800-900

n/a

105.00-131.50

125.00-134.00

132.00-142.00

132.00-144.75

130.00-142.00

120.00-145.00

127.00-142.50

130.00-138.00

700-800

n/a

120.00-155.00

132.00-153.50

140.00-151.00

139.00-155.00

137.00-147.00

132.00-154.00

138.00-157.50

135.00-151.00

600-700

140.00-155.00

124.00-174.00

145.00-165.75

145.00-163.50

148.00-164.00

142.00-159.50

145.00-163.50

145.00-169.00

150.00-162.75

500-600

150.00-180.00

125.00-171.00

160.00-197.00

160.00-180.00

158.00-184.00

155.00-179.50

155.00-183.00

155.00-174.50

155.00-184.00

400-500

166.00-190.00

140.00-188.00

180.00-207.00

170.00-200.00

170.00-199.00

175.00-205.00

175.00-197.00

165.00-193.00

160.00-190.00

300-400

n/a

150.00-201.00

190.00-255.00

175.00-214.00

185.00-210.00

180.00-210.00

170.00-206.00

175.00-204.00

160.00-233.00

Feeder heifers 900-1,000 lbs.

n/a

95.00-115.00

n/a

108.00-119.50

113.00-122.00

n/a

n/a

104.00-119.00

n/a

800-900

n/a

95.00-119.00

110.00-120.00

112.00-126.00

117.00-130.00

117.00-131.00

120.00-130.00

115.00-127.00

n/a

700-800

n/a

105.00-134.00

120.00-131.00

118.00-133.50

125.00-137.00

121.00-131.50

125.00-142.00

122.00-145.00

n/a

600-700

130.00-141.00

110.00-135.50

128.00-143.50

135.00-152.00

130.00-149.00

128.00-139.50

125.00-136.00

133.00-157.00

135.00-160.00

500-600

130.00-152.00

130.00-154.00

140.00-181.00

140.00-163.00

142.00-162.00

135.00-156.50

140.00-163.00

142.00-165.00

140.00-168.00

400-500

140.00-171.00

145.00-175.00

165.00-185.00

158.00-171.00

150.00-172.00

150.00-173.00

150.00-166.00

150.00-177.50

145.00-179.75

300-400

n/a

154.00-168.00

170.00-185.00

160.00-183.00

155.00-180.00

150.00-170.00

150.00-186.00

155.00-182.00

n/a

Slaughter Market No. on offer

150

n/a

125

101

n/a

n/a

n/a

68

110

D1-D2 Cows

60.00-65.00

n/a

n/a

60.00-67.50

59.00-64.00

55.00-62.0

61.00-72.00

62.00-71.00

63.00-72.00

D3-D5 Cows

48.00+

n/a

n/a

52.00-59.00

48.00-59.00

47.00-56.00

50.00-60.00

52.00-62.00

50.00-63.00

Age Verified

65.00-76.00

n/a

n/a

n/a

62.00-67.50

60.00-65.00

n/a

n/a

n/a

Good Bulls

70.00-81.00

55.00-79.00

70.00-75.00

72.00-78.75

74.00-79.75

74.00-78.00

75.00-84.75

65.00-77.50

n/a

Butcher Steers

n/a

n/a

n/a

102.00-108.00

104.00-107.75

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Butcher Heifers

n/a

n/a

n/a

102.00-108.00

103.00-107.00

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Feeder Cows

n/a

45.00-72.00

60.00-68.00

72.00-82.00

64.00-75.00

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Fleshy Export Cows

n/a

n/a

54.00-61.00

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Lean Export Cows

n/a

n/a

48.00-55.00

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

* includes slaughter market

(Note all prices in CDN$ per cwt. These prices also generally represent the top one-third of sales reported by the auction yard)

Instant info. With the Manitoba Co-operator mobile app Your smartphone

you can stay up to date on all things ag. Download thesmarter. free app at just got agreader.ca/mbc Get the Manitoba Co-operator mobile app and get the latest ag news as it happens. Download the free app at agreader.ca/mbc

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CCA not surprised by latest COOL development The group argues labelling law benefits no one By Erica Johnson COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA

The U.S. government has been granted an extension to appeal the controversial country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law. In November, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in favour of Canada and Mexico’s position that provisions of the COOL law discriminated against live hogs and cattle imported into the United States. The U.S. government was recently given an extension to file an appeal on the ruling, which must now be filed by March 23. The extension was not a surprise, and gives the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association extra time to influence the U.S.’s decision, said John Masswohl, the CCA’s director of government and international relations. The CCA maintains the law has not benefited U.S. livestock producers since it came into effect in 2008. “The extension gives us some additional time to get U.S. officials to realize that this law is not in their best interests,” said Masswohl. The CCA maintains that since the COOL law came into effect it has increased costs for U.S. companies that import live Canadian cattle and reduced the competitiveness of those Canadian cattle south of the border. It also maintains the law has forced unnecessary costs on U.S. meat processors, which currently must either segregate Canadian

animals and meat for labelling purposes or limit their imports from Canada. COOL requires American retailers to have labels listing the country of origin for foods such as beef, veal, pork, lamb, goat, fish, fruits, vegetables, peanuts, pecans and macadamia nuts. Masswohl said his association does not dispute there is legitimate interest from consumers about the origin of their products. “What we’re looking for is a surgical amendment that would address the discrimination of imported livestock,” Masswohl said. Proponents of the COOL law, such as the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF USA), argue it should apply to livestock. R-CALF contends Canada introduced mad cow disease into the U.S., and that Mexico “continually reintroduces bovine tuberculosis (TB) into the United States.” Data obtained and released by the CCA in early January said U.S. imports of Canadian feeder cattle fell by about 480,000 head in the first 80 weeks after the COOL measure came into effect. Prior to the COOL measure, the CCA says feeder cattle exports to the U.S. were 10,494 head per week in 2007 and 8,372 head in 2006. The CCA has not gone public with a dollar-value assessment, as such costs “may well become a point of arbitration” if Washington refuses to bring COOL in line with the WTO panel ruling.

13

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Software inventors rule at this year’s Inventors’ Showcase These inventions came from the office — not the shop By Laura Rance CO-OPERATOR EDITOR / BRANDON

T

he only sparks and grinding that went into making this year’s Inventors’ Showcase entrants into winners was all in their heads. Software replaced metal as the judge’s top two picks in this year’s lineup of new inventions at Manitoba Ag Days. The top prize this year went to the Alberta-based Decisive Farming for its Know-Risk Management software designed to help farmers decide when to market their crop based on margins, rather than prices. “It’s really about taking the emotion out of decision-making when it comes to marketing the crop,” says general manager Remi Schmaltz. The product retails for a flat fee of $9,900 a year for any size of farm, but the expense is eli-

Grant Moffat Herd Builder Award recipients

K

ayla Zamrykut, a 20-yearold producer from Rorketon, Braden Calvert, a 16-year-old producer from Carberry, and Raina Syrnyk, a 16-year-old producer from Ethelbert were the 2011 recipients of the Grant Moffat Herd Builder Award. Grant Moffat, Holmsyde Charolais, Forrest, went missing in August, 2006. Funds generously donated by cattlemen, friends and relatives across the country were offered as a reward for tips leading to his whereabouts. After a year, a committee handling the funds made a decision to channel the money to Manitoba youth for the purpose of starting their own purebred herd. Grant invested a lot of energy in actively helping youth get started in the business and this seemed the most fitting way to use the funds. Over 20 applicants submitted essays, making the selection exceptionally difficult. The participants were evaluated on desire, need and previous expression of interest in the industry. To date 12 juniors from across Manitoba have benefited from the program. Each of the three youth were awarded up to $2,000 towards the purchase of a heifer selected from a Manitoba purebred sale. Kayla Zamrykut purchased a Charolais heifer, Braden Calvert purchased a Polled Hereford heifer and Raina Syrnyk purchased a Black Angus female to enhance or start their purebred herd of cattle. Thanks to the generous support of producers at the fundraising auction at the Manitoba Beef Producers annual meetings, the Grant Moffat Herd Builder Awards will be presented again in 2012 with the application deadline being Sept. 1. For application and donation information, http://www.grantmof fat.com.

First-place winners in the Inventors’ Showcase awards were Remi Schmaltz (l) and Brian Doane of Decisive Farming Know-Risk Management. PHOTOS: LAURA RANCE

gible for partial coverage under the Growing Forward program. The second-place prize went to WellTraxx, a software designed to assist farmers with managing surface leases to oil

Second-place winner Casey Ziegler of WellTraxx.

companies. It identifies for landowners when the rental cheques are due, and when contracts are up for review so the process can be initiated. The product is available for

an annual subscription fee of $600. The first-place winner receives a plaque, $1,000 from the Ag Days committee and an advertising package from the Manitoba

Co-operator. The second-place finisher receives a plaque, $500 and an advertising package. Winner of the Best New Product Award was Wall Grain with its bin moisture cables product.

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14

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Ice fishing is a popular winter hobby for many Manitobans but this year’s wonky winter weather is making ice conditions more difficult to predict.  photo: laura rance

Unseasonably mild winter makes ice condition treacherous and difficult to predict Dozens of vehicles fall through the ice in Manitoba each year By Laura Kunzelman co-operator contributor

T

he tale of two fishermen whose truck broke through Lake Winnipeg i c e i s a re m i n d e r t o t a k e proper precautions before venturing out onto lakes this winter, a University of Manitoba researcher says. The two men, aged 51 and 54, survived their ordeal Jan. 11 but Gordon Giesbrecht, a researcher who specializes in cold weather survival, says the seesaw temperatures this winter have created thin ice hazards where they might not have existed in the past. “ D o n’t d r i v e a n y w h e r e u n l e s s yo u a re a b s o l u t e l y sure of the ice, especially now,” said Giesbrecht, otherwise known as Dr. Popsicle. He added that because of the

mild conditions this year, fishermen should be suspicious of all ice. Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) handles several dozen claims each year for vehicles that break through. Fishermen and vehicle owners should obser ve posted signs and use common sense, said Brian Smiley from MPI. “People are anxious to get on the ice, but unless you’re sure that the ice can hold a vehicle, you should not venture out; it’s a life-saving decision,” he said. Giesbrecht says the three Ps are helpful when venturing out on the ice: prevention, preparation, and procedure. So m e h a b i t s t o g e t i n t o include not going on the ice alone and carrying supplies that might be needed, such as a pull rope and a water-

Thank$ a Billion! Your generous donations to the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board allowed us to take Ag Minister Gerry Ritz to court for trying to destroy the CWB without first consulting prairie farmers through a vote. On December 7, 2011, Justice Douglas Campbell ruled that Mr. Ritz was in violation of Section 47.1 of the CWB Act. He told the Harper Government that it is not above the law. It too must obey the laws of Canada. Because of your moral and financial support the Friends won this court battle. But there are more court battles ahead before we win the war to save our CWB. The Federal Government is appealing Justice Campbell’s decision so we’ll be back in court again in the near future. That means more expensive legal bills. We need your financial support to win round two of this historic court battle. If you’d like to help us, please make a donation payable to:

Friends of the CWB By Cheque: Send to P.O. Box 41, Brookdale, Manitoba, MB R0K 0G0 By Credit Card: Phone (204) 354-2254

proof bag with supplies that will allow you to light a fire. When fishermen venture out onto the ice, they should be prepared by driving with their seatbelts off and with windows open.

ing your feet. This will bring your body horizontal to surface of water and allow you to lift yourself out of the water. If your vehicle falls through, get out immediately. “Once it breaks through, you have

“Once it breaks through, you have one minute to get out.” Gordon Giesbrecht University of Manitoba

It is recommended fishermen wear a flotation snowmobile suit and if you do fall through the ice, don’t panic. Get your breathing under control. To get out of the water, Giesbrecht recommends placing arms on the ice and kick-

one minute to get out,” says Giesbrecht. Longtime fisherman Evan Paterson, 21 isn’t concerned with the ice conditions this season, but he pays attention to ice safety. “I always walk out and test

the ice before I drive out onto it. It helps when I see trucks three times heavier than mine out there but hearing about the guys going through the ice at Balsam Bay does make you think twice though.” With the temperature dropping in Manitoba, fishermen might be thinking it is now fine to venture on the ice. But since all bodies of water are unique, a hole should be drilled into the ice to ensure it is safe. Giesbrecht says the ice should be at least six to eight inches for driving cars or snowmobiles and at least two inches to walk on. “Every now and then you’ll hear the ice pop and sometimes the entire ice shack shakes. Usually it’s no big deal. It’s when you hear a bunch of cracks in a row that you have to worry,” says Paterson.

Eastern moose hunt suspended Populations are down almost 50 per cent

M

anitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship says it is temporarily closing all moose hunting in strategic areas north of Pine Falls and south of Bissett. The closure comes a year after licensed hunting was closed in Game Hunting Area (GHA) 26. Moose populations have declined by almost 50 per cent in this part of the province since 2006. This temporary closure is being put in place to ensure sustainable populations into the future. The temporary closure to all moose hunting is effective immediately in specific parts of GHA 26, which stretches from Lake Winnipeg to the M a n i t o b a - O n t a r i o b o rd e r between the Winnipeg and Wanipigow rivers including Nopiming Provincial Park. The closure also applies to treaty and Aboriginal rightsbased hunters. The depart-

ment has consulted local First Nations and Métis people to find solutions and will continue to work with Aboriginal communities and stakeholders to develop long-term plans to address low moose populations across the province. Other measures taken to protect moose in this area include hunting regulation revisions that increase whitetailed deer bag limits, which will help reduce the transfer of fatal brainworm from deer to moose, as well as monitoring programs to help understand how wolves and bears are influencing the moose population. In March 2011, the province announced $800,000 for a moose population recovery plan to help end the decline and restore the population to sustainable levels in both areas of the province. This included funding for:

•  W ildlife surveys related to moose management such as moose and wolf population surveys; •  Incentives to local trappers to increase the harvest of wolves; •  Decommissioning roads into areas of high moose density to help limit vehicle access; •  Additional staffing resources to implement the moose recovery program and consult with First Nations and Métis people; and •  R e s o u rc e s f o r i n c re a s e d enforcement including three new natural resource officers. The licensed moose hunting seasons were cancelled in the Duck Mountain and GHA 26 in 2010. Conservation closures to hunting moose by all people were implemented in the Duck Mountain and Porcupine Mountain areas of western Manitoba in July 2011.

15

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

South Korean beef ban lifted Farm groups celebrate winnipeg / cns canada

C

attle producers across Canada celebrated the news that South Korea had lifted its eight-year ban on Canadian beef aged 30 months or younger Jan. 20. South Korea will begin accepting Canadian beef imports immediately. The South Korean government published its approval of the import health requirements (IHRs) and notified the Canadian government that all certification conditions are in place. “Canada has worked tirelessly — governments and industry together — to reopen the market,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced in a press release. “This work included an earlier request for a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel, based on science and the safety and quality of Canadian beef.” The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) also congratulated the news. The CCA has monitored South Korea’s progress closely. “The return of safe, highquality Canadian beef to South Korea after nearly a decade is a significant achievement and one that’s been a long time coming,” CCA president Travis Toews said in a statement. The CCA said it would continue to work with South Korea to establish a free trade agreement and to recapture access for over30-month beef as well, the statement said. Manitoba also celebrated the news as the province with the third-largest beef herd in Canada. Beef cattle production is Manitoba’s third-highest-value agriculture commodity. “As a cattle farmer, I know first hand the negative effects BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) imposed on the cattle industry,” Manitoba’s Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said in a statement. “South Korea is an important market for Manitoba producers and regaining access to it will give farmers across the country another option when marketing beef.” South Korea banned Canadian beef exports in 2003 after Canada’s first confirmed case of BSE was reported. I n D e c e m b e r, R i t z announced that South Korea had taken a “major step” in lifting the ban on Canadian beef. From 2000 to 2003, South Korea was Canada’s fourthlargest beef export market, with exports valued at roughly C$50 million to $60 million.

Germany to seek EU animal welfare label on meat berlin / reuters

G

ermany will press the E u r o p e a n Un i o n t o introduce a label on meat saying it came from humanely raised farm animals, said German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner. The move would be part of a new German government program to improve farm animal welfare, she said. “Transparency changes buying behaviour and then the p ro d u c t i o n p ro c e s s e s a n d manufactur ing processes,” she said. “This will make it possible for consumers to recognize products which were produced using a very high level of animal welfare.” The government wants to produce a charter for agriculture and consumers setting out a series of medium- and long-term goals for German

farm policy. The actual definition of humanely reared still needs considerable research, the government admits, but it hopes the charter will address things such as the amount of space farm animals receive and their freedom of movement. Practices such as castrating piglets without painkillers are not compatible with animal welfare, it said. Consumers must be ready to pay more for meat with such labels, said German farmers’ association DBV. “Consumers will have to change their understanding of prices,” said spokesman Heinrich Graf von Bassewitz. “Consumers who complain about so-called factory farming have pushed forward this form of agriculture through t h e i r p u rc h a s e s o f c h e a p foods and their extreme price consciousness.”

Fresh chicken at a meat counter at an organic supermarket in Munich. Germany’s agriculture minister wants the EU to introduce a label on meat to say it came from humanely raised animals as a way to improve farm animal welfare.  REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

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16

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

WEATHER VANE

Instant info. With the Manitoba Co-operator mobile app you can stay up to date on all things ag. Download the free app at agreader.ca/mbc

T H E S QU E A K OF T H E S NOW W I L L T H E T E M PE R AT U R E S HOW.

Mild, dry weather to continue to month’s end Issued: Monday, January 23, 2012 · Covering: January 25 – February 1, 2012 Daniel Bezte Co-operator contributor

I

t looks like we’ll be back into a mild weather pattern for the next couple of weeks. It also looks like we’ll be remaining on the dry side, with no large storm systems showing up on any of the medium- to long-range weather models. It’s a little too soon to start worrying, but after the dry summer, fall and first half of winter, if we don’t see some good snows in the next couple of months, we could be headed toward a very dry start to the planting season. The weather models show a large area of low pressure off the coast of Alaska slowly moving inland and then travelling across nor ther n Canada during this week. This will help keep most of the really cold arctic air bottled up well to our north. While this is happening, a r idge of high pressure is forecast to slowly build and move in from the central Pacific and take up residence over the

western U.S. This will help to create a fairly mild westerly flow across our region, which means we should see temperatures, for the most part, near the top end of the usual temperature range for this time of the year. Over the weekend the northerly low will begin to intensify over northeastern Canada. This could result in a back-door cold front coming in from the northeast late in the weekend or early next week. If this does happen, we’ll see a couple of days with cooler conditions before the low weakens and the western ridge of high pressure reestablishes itself. All in all, it looks like our weather will continue to be dry and fairly mild for at least this forecast period and possibly well into February. Usual temperature range for this period: Highs, -22 to -6 C; lows, -33 to -16 C. Daniel Bezte is a teacher by profession with a BA (Hon.) in geography, specializing in climatology, from the U of W. He operates a computerized weather station near Birds Hill Park. Contact him with your questions and comments at [email protected].

WEATHER MAP - WESTERN CANADA

Precipitation Compared to Historical Distribution (Prairie Region) November 1, 2011 to January 19, 2012

Record Dry Extremely Low (0-10) Very Low (10-20) Low (20-40) Mid-Range (40-60) High (60-80) Very High (80-90) Extremely High (90-100) Record Wet Extent of Agricultural Land Lakes and Rivers

Produced using near real-time data that has undergone initial quality control. The map may not be accurate for all regions due to data availability and data errors. Copyright © 2012 Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Prepared by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s National Agroclimate Information Service (NAIS). Data provided through partnership with Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and many Provincial agencies.

Created: 01/20/12 www.agr.gc.ca/drought

This issue’s map shows the amount of precipitation that has fallen so far this winter compared with historical amounts. From all the red on the map you can really see just how dry this winter has been. A good chunk of agricultural Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have seen very-low to record-dry conditions so far this winter. The only wet areas are along the northern and western edges, with only extreme western Alberta seeing extremely wet conditions.

Top global weather stories for 2011 Floods in 2011 caused several countries’ most costly or deadly natural disasters ever By Daniel Bezte CO-OPERATOR CONTRIBUTOR

A

sk and you shall receive. I asked you, the readers, to send in any questions you would like me to answer and over the last couple of weeks I have received a record number of questions. For those of you who sent in a question I will either email you back an answer right away, or I will use the question as the basis of an article sometime over the next couple of months. Keep the questions coming! Last week we looked at some of the biggest weather stories from across Canada during 2011. This week we are going global and will look at the biggest weather stories that occurred in 2011 around the world. Looking at some of the lists of top global weather stories, the one word that I think best summarizes 2011 globally was “flooding.” Of the 10 top stories, seven had to do with flooding. Of the remaining three, two were about droughts and the last was about tornadoes. The biggest global weather story is probably the drought that occurred in east Africa. This drought, which occurred in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, was brought on by a failed rainy

season in late 2010 and then a second failure of the rainy season in the spring of 2011. By July, the United Nations had declared a famine in this region, which was the first time in nearly 30 years this has happened. The total number of people died as a result of the drought and the accompanying famine is reported to be in excess of 30,000, but most observers believe the final numbers will be much, much higher.

an estimated cost at a staggering $45 billion, or about 18 per cent of that country’s GDP. Australia also saw unprecedented flooding in 2011. Rains i n t h e Qu e e n s l a n d re g i o n began in December 2010 and continued into January 2011. By the time it was over it was the wettest December and January on record and with those rains came record flooding. When this natural disaster was all added up it ended

Texas has just recorded its driest year on record and much of northern Mexico also has seen the lowest amounts of rain since record-keeping began.

Hard rain falling

The next five weather stories all have to do with flooding. The first major flood occurred i n T h a i l a n d b e t w e e n Ju l y and October. Monsoon rains enhanced by La Niña led to flooding that affected upwards of 80 per cent of this country. This flood is now the most expensive natural disaster in the history of Thailand, with

up costing around $30 billion, which is about 3.2 per cent of Australia’s GDP, and just like Thailand, it was Australia’s most costly natural disaster ever. This story repeated itself in Colombia. Heavy spring rains triggered flooding that killed 116 people and created $5.85 billion in damage, which is about two per cent of this

nation’s GDP and was also that country’s most expensive natural disaster. Making matters even worse was the fact that the previously most expensive natural disaster in this country had occurred only a year earlier and was also the result of record rains and flooding. The next flooding story was not the most costly natural disaster for this country, but it was the second most deadly. Tropical storm Washi hit the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Dec. 16. Heavy rains fell on regions where forests had been cleared due to illegal logging and where pineapple plantations had b e e n c re a t e d . T h i s m e a n s most of the rain was able to quickly run off, creating huge flash floods. By the time it was over 1,249 people had died and another 79 were reported missing. Flooding also hit Brazil during 2011. On Jan. 11, rainfall amounts of nearly 300 millimetres fell in a couple of hours just north of Rio de Janeiro. Due to the steep terrain the rains caused flash flooding and mud slides that ended up killing 902 people and causing about $1.2 billion in damage. This was the third most costly natural disaster

and the deadliest one in the history of Brazil.

Twisters

The last two weather stories from 2011 occurred a little closer to home. The first was the super tornado outbreak the United States saw late last April. During the four-day period from April 25-28, 343 tornadoes were reported, which is the largest outbreak of tornadoes in U.S. history. In total 321 people were killed in this outbreak and more than $10.2 billion in damage was reported. The final story takes us full circle back to drought. This is the drought that has been and is still affecting the south-central U.S. and northern Mexico. Texas has just recorded its driest year on record and much of northern Mexico also has seen the lowest amounts of rain since recordkeeping began. Add to this the fact that Texas recorded the hottest summer ever recorded by any U.S. state, and that Oklahoma had the hottest July ever recorded by a U.S. state, and you get record drought. Total losses to date are pegged at about $10 billion, but with no signs of the drought ending anytime soon, this value will continue to increase. Let’s hope that 2012 will bring quieter weather across the globe!

17

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

CROPS

Necessity

The provincial government is still mindful of budgetary concerns, but felt the top-up was a necessity, said Kostyshyn. It will be funded by deferring an increase to wildlife damage compensation, which will remain at 90 per cent this year, the minister said. “We had to make a tough final decision, and because we believe topping-up options gives a more significant benefit to farmers, we have chosen to do this,” he said. Now, on top of basic EMI coverage of $50 per acre, producers can choose the $65- or $80-per-acre options. But Kostyshyn noted farmers will only be able to buy their EMI

Biomass

“On the Prairies we have an abundance of biomass in the form of agricultural residue, such as straw, oat hulls and flax shives.”

The minister also announced a new Manitoba Biomass Energy Support Program, which provides up to $400,000 in grants to encourage coal users to switch to biomass energy. The program will offer up to $12,000 to coal users to offset costs related to switching to biomass, and up to $50,000 for infrastructure costs. Rural communities, farms and industry are eligible, but must apply to the program by March 9.

RON KOSTYSHYN

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WINNIPEG / REUTERS

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Ron Kostyshyn addresses farmers during the 35th annual Ag Days in Brandon. PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES

“On the Prairies, we have an abundance of biomass in the form of agricultural residue, such as straw, oat hulls and flax shives,” said Kostyshyn. He said the program is part of the province’s biomass strategy aimed at generating revenue while diversifying farm income. Program funding comes from the coal tax, which came into effect on Jan. 1. The new tax is a concern for some producers. “There are a lot of producers interested in biomass and the opportunities that will present us,” said Chorney. “But I’m somewhat concerned about the plan to phase out coal and the coal tax. We do have some producers who still want to have the opportunity and option of using coal in the future.” As biomass develops in Manitoba, it is important to ensure a structured and well-planned supply chain develops along with it, he said. [email protected]

A second group will seek to bring a class-action lawsuit against the federal government to win compensation for farmers over the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s grain-marketing monopoly. The group, called Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, will file its claim seeking compensation for the CWB’s physical assets, such as rail cars, as well as intangibles like the monopoly’s value in bringing price premiums to farmers, said lawyer Anders Bruun. Grandview, Manitoba, area farmer Larry Bohdanovich said in a release that “it is clear that the Harper government is pursuing a policy of confiscation without either consultation or compensation. This is totally unacceptable and Prairie farmers will not take this lying down.” Saskatchewan lawyer Tony Merchant launched a $15.4-billion lawsuit against Ottawa on behalf of western Canadian farmers over the CWB recently. Bruun said a judge will eventually choose between the two lawsuits. Neither has court certification yet. The class actions are not expected to have any impact on the government’s new law to create an open market, although former CWB directors are challenging the law’s validity in a separate action. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz called Merchant’s lawsuit “baseless.”

proving ground.

T

he province has announced an Excess Moisture Insurance (EMI) top-up of $15 per acre, providing coverage of up to $80 per acre for land too wet to seed by June 20. Manitoba Agr iculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Ron Kostyshyn made the announcement at Ag Days in Brandon. “We can’t afford to jeopardize the economic movement in the rural landscape,” said Kostyshyn. “We know that the costs of production have gone up and you know people rely on a fixed income, and we just felt it was just assurance that you’re going to have a guaranteed income, a peace of mind.”

deductible down to five per cent in 2012, rather than zero as in previous years, following new federal regulations requiring all insurance programs to have a deductible. As well, the forage restoration benefit, which provides compensation for damage to forage crops due to excess moisture, will also increase to $70 per acre from $60, he said. The top-up is something his members have been calling for, said Doug Chorney, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers. “I think some producers wanted to have the high coverage levels and some producers still want to have the option of baseline coverage,” said Chorney. “Not everyone needs to have $80 coverage, but it’s good to have the option. Those who want it will be pleased.” Record AgriInsurance payouts over the last two years also mean farmers can expect an increase to premium rates of about five per cent in 2012. Crop values under the federally and provincially funded program are up an average of 8.7 per cent compared to 2011 levels, requiring an additional $170 million in expected insured coverage, Kostyshyn said. More than $500 million in indemnities has been paid out over the last two years. The province’s share of 2012-13 premiums is expected to reach $58.86 million, up $8.5 million from 2011-12. “The 2011 spring flood was unprecedented,” said Kostyshyn. “And it comes with an unprecedented price tag.”

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18

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Edible oil market analyst bullish on global outlook for canola and soybeans Oil World executive director predicts tight supplies in the coming year for all oilseeds – except sunflowers By Daniel Winters co-operator staff / brandon

W

hen filling up their seeders this spring, Canadian farmers should have canola and soybeans coming down the spout, but not sunflowers and flax. That was the advice from Thomas Mielke, executive director of Oil World, a global edible oil market research firm based in Germany. “Unlike 2008, the price decline has been moderate, and there are reasons for it,” said Mielke, speaking via video link from his office in Hamburg. Prices have retraced last year’s peaks, but the downtrend has been limited due to shrinking supplies worldwide and firm demand from the food, biofuel, and oleochemical industries. O v e r t h e p a s t d e c a d e, there has been “tremendous” growth of six million tonnes per year in global consumption of oils and fats, mainly palm oil, but also canola and rapeseed oil. Mielke predicted that in 2012, for the first time ever, there will be tightness in soybean oil markets where, a production decline expected in both the United States and South America could reduce market supply by as much as 13 million tonnes. Palm oil, the world market leader, saw a four-milliontonne jump in production in 2011 due to good crops in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Colombia. But due to the nature of the plant, yields are expected to dip in 2012. Canola has lately been trading in a band between $550 and $525 per tonne, with firm support at $500. World pro-

Thomas Mielke, executive director of Germany-based Oil World, gives an update on the oilseed market outlook via video link at Ag Days.  photo: daniel winters

“We need at least 14.5 MT, probably 15 MT, of Canadian canola in 2012. So, prices have to stay attractive to convince you in Canada to expand canola area again this spring.”

Thomas Mielke

duction of rapeseed and canola has flattened after years of dramatic increases, he added. Canada, which has seen a 50 per cent rise in exports over the past four years, is expected to export eight million tonnes, crush 6.88 million tonnes, and see end stocks of 1.12 million tonnes. “ T h i s i s a n i n t e re s t i n g trend: record production and demand even exceeding production of Canadian canola,” said Mielke, adding he expects the country’s global market

share, already at 68 per cent, will continue to rise. Poor winter rapeseed conditions in Europe and Ukraine will make the world even more dependent on Canadian canola exports in 2012-13, he said. “We need at least 14.5 million tonnes, probably 15 million tonnes, of Canadian canola in 2012,” said Mielke. “So, prices have to stay attractive to convince you in Canada to expand canola area again this spring.”

Sun’s magnetic field could jinx GPS The sun’s magnetic field is flipping By Laura Rance co-operator editor / brandon

D

on’t blame the manufacturers —  or even the gremlins — if your GPS system goes a little wonky in 2012. It’s likely solar flares will wreak havoc with at least some systems this coming year as the sun flips its magnetic field, says Pam Wilson, a precision agriculture instructor with Assiniboine Community College. “Basically the sun’s magnetic field flips every 11 years, and when it does, it sends out these charged particles,” Wilson said after her presentation at Ag Days. “These charged particles are basically big bundles of energy and they get thrown every direction. “ W h e n t h e y g e t t h row n towards the earth they create radio signals and these radio signals interfere with the radio signals the satellites are sending out to our GPS receivers,” she

said. “They actually mimic the radio signals so they’ll block the signals coming in from the GPS.” Wilson said solar flares have also been known to interfere with television signals and cellphones. Wilson said it has been 11 years since the last flip, so the technology in the field has likely improved. But she said it remains to be seen how much of an effect the sunspot activity will have in 2012. “I’m curious how bad it’s going to be this time because last year people were having some issues, but not as many issues as they had a decade ago. I’m hoping it’s going to be better,” she said. The solar flares can cause farmers to lose their GPS signal several times a day. “It could be for a minute, it could be for three hours,” she said. “In a high solar flare year, like this year will be, it could happen three times, it could happen five times a day. During a normal year it might happen once every 30 or 40 days.”

Users might also experience a higher DOP, which stands for dilution of precision, or a reduction in the performance accuracy of their system. If farmers start to experience random outages, their first step would be to contact their supplier to see if a higher-quality antennae will correct the problem. If possible, borrow one to see if it helps before making an outright purchase, she said. Wilson also told her Ag Days seminar that when things go wrong with GPS, 90 per cent of the time it’s related to either how the system was installed or calibrated. She said 70 per cent of the time it is due to improper calibration. She advised farmers to take the time and go through the proper steps when calibrating their systems. If the dealer’s instructions aren’t detailed enough, there is plenty of information on proper calibration on the Internet. [email protected]

Mielke is bearish on sunflower seed demand due to soaring production in the EU, Russia and Ukraine which saw an increase to 38.5 million tonnes from 33.5 million tonnes last year. “There has been massive supply and price pressure during the past few weeks and months,” he said. Demand prospects for flaxseed are “not encouraging” for Canadian farmers, he added. After the Triffid debacle, exporters from countries of the former Soviet Union have stepped in to fill the gap. Next year, shipments from those countries to the EU are expected to rise to 380,000 tonnes from “nil” 10 years ago. “We may see further expansion. They have benefited from the quality problems of Canadian flaxseed from the European point of view,” said Mielke, adding that this trend

is “dangerous” to future prospects for Canadian farmers. The “volume problem” in oilseed markets due to limitations in land and water could end up having a major downside, he added. Mielke warned rising food prices could spark unrest in poor countries, as well as China and Russia, similar to the Arab Spring revolutions in the Middle East early last year. Should the situation get out of hand, governments may be forced to rethink biofuel policies by 2013-14. “There is an end to this price rally,” he said. If prices for edible oils rise by $150 to $200 for an extended period, governments may overreact and scale back biofuel mandates, creating a “very bearish” scenar io for oilseed markets. [email protected]

news

Unbundled sclerotinia control Staff / Makhteshim Agan of North America, Inc. (MANA), has received registration of Overall 240 SC fungicide for control of sclerotinia stem rot and alternaria black spot in canola. With iprodione, the same active ingredient as Rovral, Overall is a Group 2 dicarboximide fungicide with protective and eradicant activity. “The biggest benefit that Overall provides canola growers is freedom from seed bundles and grower programs,” said Andrew Mann, MANA Canada’s general manager at Winnipeg, Manitoba. “Overall will be fairly priced to all canola growers whether they buy 160 acres or 5,000 acres of canola seed, and you don’t have to wait for your grower program rebate.”

Warm U.S. winter to continue into February reuters / Warm winter weather in the U.S. should continue into February, putting even more pressure on slumping natural gas prices. Most of the East Coast and Mississippi Valley, the central and southern Great Plains, and the southern portion of the Great Lakes region are forecast to see higher-than-normal temperatures during the month. The warmer weather, likely caused by La Niña, has already sent natural gas prices to 10-year lows. The forecast also calls for a drier-than-normal month across the southern U.S.

19

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Manitoba agriculture minister supports the return of CWB assets to producers Ron Kostyshyn says wheat board’s fate is decided and farmers “need to adapt and keep moving forward” By Shannon Vanraes CO-OPERATOR STAFF / BRANDON

I

f Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) assets are sold, the money should be returned to producers, says Ron Kostyshyn, the province’s newly minted minister of agriculture, food and rural initiatives. “The sacrifice of two cents on a bushel of wheat, historically... was put into some type of investment for the betterment of grain transportation,” he told reporters during Brandon Ag Days. If items such as rail cars are now sold, the profit should be put back into programs designed to help farmers transition to the open market, Kostyshyn said. “And what’s going to happen with the CWB building in Winnipeg? Where are some of these assets going to be distributed?” he said. “Isn’t it fair to continue to ask for some of the money to be used within the provincial Treasury Department to provide additional support whether it be through educational programs, or through some other means of subsidizing the transition period?” Discussions between the federal government, the provincial Finance Department, and grain producers would be needed to facilitate such a transfer of assets, said Kostyshyn. Earlier this month, a classaction lawsuit was filed by Regina lawyer Tony Merchant targeting CWB assets valued at more than $15 billion. In a release, he stated assets such as buildings, cash and rail infrastructure, “cannot simply be subsumed by the federal government.” The statement of claim names Duane Filson of Wo o d r o w, S a s k a t c h e w a n , a municipal politician and farmer, as the representative plaintiff. When asked about the viability of the lawsuit, Kostyshyn said he would like to think it will be successful. Other legal challenges have also been brought against Bill C-18, the Marketing Freedom Act for Grain Farmers, which passed the Senate last year, and has received royal assent from Governor General David Johnston. Following a legal challenge by the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board last December, Federal Court Justice Douglas Campbell ruled that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz broke the Canadian Wheat Board Act by introducing into Parliament Bill C-18, which will create an open market as of Aug. 1, 2012. Kostyshyn didn’t rule out the use of provincial money to fund potential transition programs if federal funding is not forthcoming, but said there have been no formal discussions regarding the issue. “But we are, right now, in the budget-processing (period), so money is on the table,” he said. Assistance for producers in areas with less access to his department’s offices would be one of the priorities, said the minister, adding he wants to keep lines of communication

open and consistent during the transition process. “Our government stood with the majority of producers that wanted to keep the Canadian Wheat Board, but as we all know we now face new realities,” he said. “Now we need to adapt and keep moving forward.” [email protected]

“We are, right now, in the budget processing, so money is on the table.”

RON KOSTYSHYN

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Ron Kostyshyn, speaks to media at Ag Days in Brandon. He said CWB assets should be returned to grain farmers. PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES

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20

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Judge delays decision on CWB Farmer directors want courts to stop new legislation By Rod Nickel winnipeg / reuters

S

uspending a new law that ended the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly would sow confusion in Western Canada’s grain industry, lawyers for the federal government said in court Jan. 18 in a hearing on a plea from eight former directors. The one time CWB directors, Prairie farmers ousted when the bill to revamp the CWB became law last month, want a Manitoba judge to suspend the law until the court decides its validity. Judge Shane Perlmutter reserved his decision until an unspecified date. Government lawyer Robert MacKinnon said such a ruling would create uneven marketing conditions between Manitoba — where it would immediately take effect — and other Prairie

provinces, and would undermine contracts that some farmers and grain companies have already signed. Canada is the world’s biggest exporter of spring wheat, durum and malting barley, and legal challenges have already created confusion as farmers price out their crop options for spring planting. “The uncertainty that has been created was created by the (legal) action itself,” MacKinnon told the judge. “An injunction doesn’t dispel the uncertainty.” The former directors’ case leans heavily on a Federal Court ruling in December that said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz breached existing law by not consulting the wheat board or holding a farmer vote before introducing the legislation. They say that ruling raises questions about whether the

new law is valid, so it must be suspended until a court can rule on its validity. The government lawyers said the ex-directors are exaggerating the significance of the Federal Court’s ruling, which specified that it did not affect the legislation. “You cannot make a brick out of a single grain of sand,” MacKinnon said. Farmers in Western Canada have been required since 1943 to sell wheat and barley for milling or export via the wheat board. The new law, which takes effect in August, lets farmers sell to whomever they choose. But grain handlers, millers and farmers are already signing contracts to deliver crops after the monopoly is gone. In mid-December, the same Manitoba judge rejected the farmers’ request for an immediate suspension of the law but

set this hearing to hear lawyers’ arguments. The former directors say their case is pressing because farmers and grain companies are making deals under a law that may not be valid. “The legislation will bring irreparable change to the Canadian Wheat Board and the change will harm not only (the ex-directors), but producers across Canada,” said the former directors’ lawyer, Colin MacArthur. “All producers have been disenfranchised improperly because of the refusal of the minister to do what he was statutorily required to do.” The case is before the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, Winnipeg Centre, Court File No CI 11-01-75257. It is between Allen Oberg, Rod Flaman, Cam Goff, Kyle Korneychuk, John Sandborn, Bill Toews, Stewart Wells and Bill Woods; and attorney general of Canada.

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Asian hunger for “noodle” wheat may bolster prices Shipping costs and high currency costs could be a limiting factor By Naveen Thukral singapore / reuters

For the second straight year, Asia must rely on the U.S. and Canada for most of its topquality wheat, as rains have cut the protein content in grain from traditional supplier Australia. Asian nations are among the world’s biggest buyers of the superior quality, proteinrich wheat that is used to make noodles, a staple food across the region. Its demand could support prices on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, and widen spreads with the lower-grade soft wheat traded in Chicago. Australia, the world’s fourthlargest wheat exporter, has been hit by unusually bad weather for two years in row, which has degraded both quality and quantity. Analysts estimate production of Australian prime hard wheat at just half a million tonnes this year, down from an average of nearly two million tonnes.   Indonesia, Asia’s top wheat buyer and one of Australia’s biggest customers, is estimated to import 6.7 million tonnes in 2011-12, with most its high-quality milling wheat needs coming from the U.S. and Canada. Japan and South Korea, which together account f o r m o re t h a n 1 0 m i l l i o n tonnes of imports, are likely to follow suit.  

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Chicago soft wheat slid a four-week low in mid-January after the USDA projected global stockpiles to remain near record highs. But the premium Minneapolis spring wheat finished almost unchanged. “When you look at wheat, it is two markets — one is highquality milling wheat with 12 per cent and above protein level which is still reasonably tight,” said Adam Davis, a senior commodity analyst at Merricks Capital in Melbourne. “Anything below 11 per cent protein is surplus; it is trading close to corn, almost like falling into the coarse grain category.”   As a result of tight supply, Australian prime hard wheat with 13 per cent protein is quoted at $350 a tonne free on board, compared with regular milling wheat offered at $230 a tonne. That $120-tonne premium compares with the 10-year average of around $30. In the U.S., dark northern spring wheat with 13 per cent protein was recently quoted around $330 to $335 a tonne versus $265 a tonne for hard red winter wheat. “Until November 2010, the maximum ever we had seen was $80-a-tonne premium,” said one Sydney-based dealer. But some U.S. analysts say a stronger U.S. dollar and higher shipping costs could dampen exports from North America to Asia.

21

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

NEWS

Domestic pulse processing touted

IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, IT’S A FLYING WHALE

By Phil Franz-Warkentin COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA / SASKATOON

More processing is key to the long-term success of the pulse sector in Western Canada, the head of the country’s largest pulse trading company told attendees at Crop Week in Saskatoon. The pulse sector should be focused on producing food rather than a commodity, said Murad Al-Katib, president and CEO of of Alliance Grain Traders and sister company, SaskCan Pulse. There is growing demand for protein and healthy foods around the world, said Al-Katib, and the pulse industry should look to the example set by U.S. corn processors, which produce everything from flour and starch to corn oil and high-fructose corn syrup. There is the same potential in pulses, with markets for protein, starch, and fibre components of peas, lentils, and other pulse crops grown in Western Canada, he said. More domestic processing would boost the overall price for producers and reduce price volatility that is experienced in countries overly dependent on exporting unprocessed pulses, Al-Katib said. Domestic consumers are showing more interest in pulse-based foods, but Al-Katib said more research is needed in order to better establish the health benefits of pulses. He added food companies are also reluctant to reformat their products without reliable supply, which is something more processing capacity in Western Canada would bring.

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22

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Argentina revamps wheat policy The move could restore profitability to the wheat sector and boost production By Hugh Bronstein

see if it prompts more wheat plantings. Double-digit inflation is a rgentina’s new wheat headache for the government, export system promises as is its long-standing feud with to spur output from the the agricultural sector, which grains-producing powerhouse has chafed at policies such as at a time when farmers are hurt- the export quotas and the 35 per ing from dry weather and the cent tax on soybean exports. The impact of the new wheatgovernment needs more foreign selling system on world supply currency. The administration of recently will be muted because, even re-elected President Cristina with the new system, Argentina Fernandez will scrap incremen- will produce relatively little tal export quotas in a bid to wheat for the international marimprove prices for farmers by ket. The total crop of the current boosting competition among season is expected to be 13 milthe global trading houses that lion to 14 million tonnes, seven million of which will be kept in bid for their crops. “This means more freedom the country for local use. The world produces about and transparency in the commercialization of wheat and 680 million tonnes of wheat it will definitely improve the every year, 130 million of which prices that are paid to farm- is sold internationally, Argentine ers,” said a Buenos Aires-based agricultural economist Manuel export company executive who Alvarado Ledesma said. “Wheat has always been ‘a asked not to be named. The executive and other political grain’ because it is key analysts consulted by Reuters to making the most basic foods. said the market will scrutinize This is why many countries the fine print of the new pol- keep their wheat production SEC_MIDGE11_T_AFE.qxd 1/5/12 2:24 PM Page 1 icy and its implementation to for domestic use. It is not like buenos aires / reuters

A

soy, which countries need to import from producers such as Argentina, Brazil and the United States,” Alvarado Ledesma said. “The new system should neutralize the distortions that the discretionary quotas had imposed,” he added. “It will

“The new system should neutralize the distortions that the discretionary quotas had imposed.” manual Alvarado Ledesma

allow farmers to finally be paid a fair market price for their wheat, which will motivate production at a time of great financial need for farmers, who have been hit hard recently by drought.” Argentina’s grains sector will receive about $10 billion less this season due to the dry weather, mainly affecting corn

and soy, Alvarado Ledesma said. The new wheat scheme will cap total exports to ensure sufficient domestic grain supplies, but will end the gradual quota system to give growers more control over sales. Farmers hated the quota system, saying it killed profits while trying to tamp down domestic bread and pasta prices. The system still applies to corn, but officials are working to revamp that as well and an announcement is expected next month. Argentina, Latin America’s No. 3 economy, is a leading global exporter of soybeans, corn and wheat. The country’s brisk economic growth in recent years has been fuelled in part by high global grain prices.

Need for dollars

Argentine farmers are currently harvesting wheat and planting 2011-12 soybeans and corn. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange has raised its outlook for the 2011-12 wheat harvest to 14 million tonnes from an earlier 13.6 million.

Brazil tops the list of buyers of Argentine wheat. “It remains to be seen how this new scheme is put in practice, but if it guarantees better prices for wheat producers, it could stimulate wheat production which has remained stagnant since the beginning of the 2000s,” said Ignacio Labaqui, a local analyst with Medley Global Advisors. The government needs the dollar inflows that would come with more wheat exports as it scrambles to protect its trade surplus. A positive trade balance has been a pillar of economic policy since 2003. The surplus has allowed the central bank to accumulate foreign currency reserves, which the government has said it could use again next year to pay debt. “ The elimination of the past wheat system probably aims at generating a larger exportable surplus in order to boost exports and strengthen Argentina’s declining trade surplus,” Labaqui said.

New ICE Canada grain contracts off to slow start

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Traders took a cautious approach to new IntercontinentalExchange grain futures and options contracts introduced Jan. 23 as the exchange looked to capitalize on the approaching end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly. ICE Futures Canada, based in Winnipeg, launched new milling wheat, durum and barley contracts for delivery in October and later, after the wheat board’s marketing monopoly on western wheat and barley expires in August. On the first day, the milling wheat futures contract traded just three times. Durum and barley did not trade. “I think it’s going to start timidly, and that’s not a surprise,” said analyst Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research.

With only deferred contracts to trade, initial interest was bound to be lighter than it would be if there was a spot month to trade, Penner said. Grain companies and farmers have been signing forward contracts since midDecember for delivery after the CWB monopoly ends, but that activity seems to have slowed, too, Penner said. “It’s going to take time and take confidence,” said Errol Anderson, president of Pro Market Communications. “Everyone’s looking at everyone else right now (saying) ‘who’s first?’” Much of the volume in ICE’s new milling wheat contract is expected to come from spread trades against wheat listed on other exchanges, which offers opportunities for profit on price differences.

Farm group decries BASF decision to move German biotech unit to U.S.

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Germany’s giant association of farming co-operatives said a decision by BASF to transfer its research into crops with genetically modified organisms from Germany to the U.S. and other countries will be “disastrous for Europe as a location for agricultural industries.” The German chemical company plans to move its biotech unit in Limburgerhof to North Carolina, some other research to Belgium and Berlin, and halt development and commercialization of all products targeted solely at cultivation in the European market. “Because of this development, I believe it is essential that a political and social climate is created in which biotech companies are not forced to transfer their activities abroad,” said Manfred Nuessel, president of co-operatives association DRV.

Constant protests by opponents of GMOs over the years, including repeated destruction of fields with GMO crops in Germany, have caused great uncertainty about the future of such biotech crops, Nuessel added. BASF had received European Union permission in 2010 for commercial cultivation of its GMO potato Amflora, which is used for industrial starch production, not food. But in 2011, BASF said it planned to cultivate just two hectares of the GMO potato Amflora in Germany and 15 hectares in Sweden. EU policy on GM crops has long been politically fraught, with a majority of consumers opposed to modified foods, but the bloc relies on imports of about 30 million tonnes of GM animal feed each year. Several countries, including France and Germany, are imposing bans on cultivating GM crops despite EU safety approval.   

23

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

CWB’s winter rail program expects high volumes

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hamburg / reuters Oilseeds analysts Oil World cut its forecasts of 2012 soybean crops in key exporters Argentina and Brazil by a combined 3.8 million tonnes, which could help raise demand for U.S. soy on global markets. The cuts follow drought in parts of South America, and despite some recent rainfall, a return to hot and dry weather is forecast, Oil World said.   Oil World’s forecast of Argentina’s 2012 soybean crop was cut to 50.0 million tonnes from the 52.0 million tonnes it forecast in December. But that would still be an increase over the 49.2 million tonnes harvested in 2011 in Argentina. “It is questionable whether a decline in the Argentine soybean crop below last year’s 49.2 million tonnes can be prevented,” Oil World said. Oil World said it has cut its forecast of Brazil’s 2012 soybean crop to 71.0 million tonnes from the 72.8 million it forecast in December – down from the 75.3 million tonnes harvested in 2011. The U.S. is the largest soybean exporter, followed by Brazil and then Argentina. The Argentine Agriculture Ministry says corn will be hit harder than soybeans, with yields forecast to drop by 20 per cent to 50 per cent.

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High winds and a lack of snow created this erosion in the MacGregor area.  photo: luc gamache

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The Canadian Wheat Board’s winter rail program is expected to be one of the highest-volume years ever. “This is very good to see,” said CWB spokesperson Maureen Fitzhenry. “There was a big crop and a lot of demand.” The 2010-11 program transported 840,000 tonnes of wheat and durum to transfer elevators in Eastern Canada, and Fitzhenry said volumes this year are double what they were at the same time one year ago. “Last year we had a lot of problems with the Canadian Pacific Railway giving us the capacity and service we needed,” Fitzhenry said. “Since we started in November, we’ve had very good service at all railways.” The board did not say how much grain has been shipped so far, saying that is commercially sensitive information. The winter rail program transports grain from Western Canada and already stored supplies from Thunder Bay, Ont., to eastern export facilities, while the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence seaways are closed for the winter. The grain is primarily exported through the Port of Quebec, which has cleaning and drying capacity for grain. The 2009-10 program transported 1.4 million tonnes of grain, versus 1.35 million tonnes in 2008-09 and 1.2 million tonnes in 2007-08.

24

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

India farmers refuse to sell in a bid to push up prices Farmers are demanding the government increase its support prices in line with higher farm input costs By Rajendra Jadhav jalgaon, india / reuters

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sually around this time of the year, Jalgaon city in western India is abuzz with trucks ferrying mountains of fluffy white cotton to its markets. But this year, farmers have been blocking roads with burning tires and refusing to sell their produce in a bid to force the government to prop up crop prices which they say barely cover costs. “Look at input costs. You are raising the price of fertilizers, electricity, seeds and not raising the price of cotton,” farmer Yuvraj Vaman Patil, who has been holding on to most of his 1.9-tonne harvest, said at a recent rally. Patil is not alone. In recent weeks, thousands in farm belts from the state of Maharashtra in the west to Andhra Pradesh in the south have been out on the streets, demanding the government hike support prices of farm commodities to match rising costs. Price is the unique spur to these protests in Asia’s third-largest economy, a change from opposition largely focused on global trade policies and driven by local leaders to tap the weighty farm vote. Farmers in the cotton-growing district of Jalgaon, for example, want the government to pay 6,000 rupees ($112.8) for 100 kg of cotton, nearly double the support price of 3,300 rupees. “Support prices do not reflect the rise in production costs,” said Raju Shetty, a farmers’ leader and member of parliament. “We are demanding a rise in

Farmers plow a field before sowing cotton seeds in Kayla village, about 70 km (43 miles) west of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad July 21, 2011. India’s food price index rose 7.58 per cent in the year to July 9, government data recently showed. REUTERS/Amit Dave

support prices of almost all commodities considering the higher cost of fertilizer, electricity and labour wages,” says Shetty, who last month led a cane farmers’ protest in Maharashtra.

Higher prices

With about half of India’s 1.2 billion people making a living from

farming-related activities, the farmers’ protests are piling pressure on the economy which is already struggling with high inflation and slowing growth. With farmers clamping down on deliveries, prices of commodities such as sugar cane, cotton and onions have jumped and traders are feeling the squeeze.

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Ramesh Patil, a trader in Jalgaon, had committed to sell cotton to a Mumbai-based exporter in the first week of December, expecting peak crop arrivals at local markets in November. But Patil was forced to trek out to local villages to deal directly with sellers — who asked a higher price. “I didn’t have any choice but to pay farmers high prices and buy cotton. I could see prices in the world market were falling, exports prices were falling, but since I had this commitment I had to buy at the higher price. I can’t default,” Patil said. Cotton arrivals at markets in Maharashtra from the beginning of the cotton year on Oct. 1 until Dec. 25 stood at 1.4 million bales of 170 kg each, nearly half of the 2.77 million bales during the same period a year ago. New Delhi is also feeling the heat as higher prices secured by sugar cane farmers in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have prompted millers to call for an increase in exports. Exports will trim local sugar supplies and harden prices, putting further pressure on food inflation. In the top sugar-producing state of Maharashtra, millers finally agreed to pay higher prices after farmers refused to sell produce at lower levels. But the millers are now calling on the government to allow more sugar exports over and above the one million tonnes agreed in November to ensure they can offset that outlay with higher prices in the world market.

Food subsidies

Cash-strapped state and central governments can’t always afford to jack up support prices as New Delhi is already saddled with a big fiscal deficit and higher support prices will only push up the food subsidy bill. Food subsidies in 2011-12 are

“If the government can raise electricity and fertilizer prices, why can’t it raise cotton prices?” Avinash Lotan Patil

likely to touch 800 billion rupees to one trillion rupees ($15 billion-$18.8 billion), much higher than 605.7 billion estimated in the budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee informed lawmakers this month. The government’s plans to expand a multibillion-dollar food subsidy program may make it tougher to meet its target to cut the fiscal deficit to 4.6 per cent of GDP in the fiscal year that ends in March. The Food Security Bill, introduced in Parliament this month and expected to win easy approval, would guarantee cutprice grains to 63.5 per cent of the population, adding as much as $7.5 billion to New Delhi’s subsidy burden. Analysts and traders say raising support prices will also make it difficult to arrest food inflation. Mukherjee said this month the fertilizer subsidy bill for 2011-12 will hit 900 billion rupees, more than double the budget estimate, despite decontrolling prices of a few fertilizers. Protesters say government policies like decontrol of phosphatic and potash fertilizers to trim its subsidy bill led to an almost 100 per cent rise in their prices in a year. Avinash Lotan Patil, a 43-yearold cotton farmer from Jalgaon, puts it simply. “If the government can raise electricity and fertilizer prices, why can’t it raise cotton prices?” he asks.

25

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

NEWS

Food industry wants say in new legislation By Alex Binkley CO-OPERATOR CONTRIBUTOR / OTTAWA

Food safety is a job for the companies that make food, and government should focus on setting nutrition and health standards and policing the industry. That’s the pitch being made by large processors as the federal government prepares to revamp food-safety legislation. “Let’s not lose perspective: We can’t regulate bugs out of our food,” said Chris Kyte, president of the Food Processors of Canada. “That takes good production and processing practices. Heavy-handed federal regulations don’t keep people safe.” The overall food-safety record of Canadian food processors is good and the industry had lots of expertise that government should be drawing on as it prepares legislation, said Kyte. While industry officials participate in regular consultations with federal departments and agencies, they’re still waiting for an opportunity to discuss what Ottawa is considering for the food-safety legislation, said Susan Abel, senior director of product safety and food regulation with Food & Consumer Products of Canada.

Because of the importance of agri-food exports, the legislation also has to keep up with reforms being implemented in the U.S. and other key markets, industry officials say. “Many of Canada’s trading partners, in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and outside, have already revised their legislation to meet the needs of the 21st century,” said Albert Chambers, executive director of the Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition, which has members ranging from farm groups to food retailers. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has launched consultations on proposals to improve its regulation-making process, said Chambers, but that doesn’t mean industry will get to comment on the legislation. Chambers recently wrote to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq asking for “government/stakeholder consultation.” In the letter, he states that industry has been actively improving its food-safety procedures and is eager to lend its expertise as Ottawa considers new food-safety rules. The legislation was promised last month in the final response from Ottawa on 57 recommendations from special investigator Sheila Weatherill to prevent a repeat of the deadly 2008 listeria outbreak.

A woman checks for prices in a supermarket in Rome.

Probe finds Italian crime syndicates control a big part of food business MILAN / REUTERS

O

rganized crime in Italy controls agricultural and food businesses worth 12.5 billion euros (US$16 billion) a year, or 5.6 per cent of all criminal operations in the country, according to a parliamentary investigation. It has spread its involvement through the entire food chain from acquisition of farmland to production, from transport to

supermarkets, said Coldiretti, Italy’s biggest farmers’ group. “Italians find an additional invitee at their table: criminal organizations that eat up what Italians should have eaten,” Coldiretti quoted Italy’s chief anti-Mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso as saying. Mafia-like criminal groups often dictate producer and consumer prices in their own favour by undercutting prices paid to farmers for their products and inflating prices paid

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by consumers in food stores, Coldiretti said. The Italian agriculture and food industry also suffer from the manufacture and sale each year of an estimated 60 billion euros’ worth of poor-quality foreign food that masquerades as top-quality Italian brands ranging from cheese to ham to wine, Coldiretti said. Grasso said Italian laws should be tightened to help fight the grip of organized crime on agrobusiness.

26

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

India’s farmers struggle to adapt to changing consumer tastes A carbohydrate-rich diet has left India with the world’s largest diabetes population By Jo Winterbottom and Rajendra Jadhav shivthar, india / reuters

A

jit Govind Sable’s family have owned their farm in India’s western Maharashtra state for 10 generations, which even for a region that has been farming for more than 10,000 years is long enough to witness plenty of changes. Tw o g e n e r a t i o n s b a c k , they started cultivating sugar cane here in Shivthar, a village in Maharashtra’s highlands near the Krishna River. India’s most industrialized state soon became its largest sugar producer. Today, it’s not sugar the 35-year-old Sable is talking about as he sips sweet tea in the front yard of the low, twostorey farmhouse where half the ground floor houses his turmeric crop. He’s discussing peppers, which he is now growing under polythene plastic coverings. Like an increasing number of farmers in India, Sable is exploiting a shift in taste towards fruits and vegetables among Indians. “My colleagues grow flowers under poly,” Sable says. “But the investment for that is too much for me, so I’m trying out peppers. You can’t eat flowers if you can’t find buyers for them,” he notes. While many Indian farmers are eager to adjust to changing diets in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, the gov-

A farmer prepares a pile of radishes in his vegetable field on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. Rising wealth is prompting Indian food culture to change towards more vegetables and fruit. REUTERS/Amit Dave

ernment continues to subsidize the cultivation of wheat, sugar and rice crops to ensure basic food needs for the country’s half a billion poor. The result is overflowing stocks of these carbohydrateheavy staples and a huge subsidy bill that is adding to a ballooning budget deficit. India, many agricultural experts say, is spending billions to prop up a traditional farm

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What’s in it for you? In addition to helping reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, planting trees on your property will also reduce soil erosion, create wildlife habitat, enhance the beauty of your property and even provide lasting health benefits.

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sector at the expense of investment in new crops and agricultural innovation. But in a country where one out of five Indians goes hungry, the government has had to focus on foods that fuel or fill — carbohydrate-heavy wheat, rice and sugar. About 36 per cent of women and 34 per cent of men in India are underweight. The costs of that undernourishment is high in terms of health care, lost productivity and poor quality of life. At the same time, a growing urban middle class is consuming more higher-value, highprotein foods, which is stoking food price inflation — as well as changing business and farm models in rural India. The food chain in India is undergoing deep change. “There is a view that this is a structural shift and pulses, milk, meat, eggs, fish, protein items — these are sectors where you need to concentrate,” Abhijit Sen, who sits on the government’s planning committee, said in a speech on June 5.

Rising middle class

Those shifts have been under way for years but are accelerating with rapid urbanization and the expansion of India’s middle class. India is getting wealthier as well as healthier. Its eight per cent annual growth, second only to China among major countries, is boosting incomes rapidly in the trillion-dollar economy. Per capita income surged to $1,265 in 2010 from $857 in 2006 — a nearly 50 per cent increase — according to the World Bank and IMF. Middle-class households are expected to grow 67 per cent in the next five years, bringing over 53 million households into an annual income bracket between 340,000 and 1.7 million rupees ($7,600-$38,000). B i j a y Ku m a r, m a n a g ing director of the National Horticulture Board, says having more money than your parents is pushing up demand for high-protein foods.

Manitoba Cooperator Ad size: 2 cols x 100 Insertion date: Thurs. Jan.26, Feb.16 & March 8, 2012 Position: Well Fwd News

“A dietary transformation is underway in the country and demand for high-value, vitamin and protein-rich food such as fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, poultry, meat and fish is increasing.” International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

“Rising income levels are allowing people to spend on high-value stuff,” he says. “People are more aware of health. They are increasing their intake of fruits in their regular diet.” In 2009-10, Indians boosted spending on fruit and vegetables by nearly nine per cent over the year earlier. They shelled out almost 31 per cent more on meat, eggs and fish. Spending on cereals, on the other hand, was flat. “A dietary transformation is underway in the country and demand for high-value, vitamin and protein-rich food such as fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, poultry, meat and fish is increasing,” the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said in a study this year.

Food security

Years of eating an oil-rich, sugary diet high in carbohydrates have left many Indians with a paunch and a health problem. India has the world’s largest diabetes population at just below 51 million people, while heart disease is the single-largest cause of death. Yet hunger is endemic among the country’s 500 million poor. The gover nment of Pr ime Minister Manmohan Singh is drafting a Food Security Act that promises to expand subsidized wheat and rice well beyond the current 30 per cent of the population in a country that is home to 40 per cent of the world’s malnourished children. That could mean India spending about $25 billion a year on providing cheap food or about nine per cent of total spend-

ing this year — more than four times the expenditure on health care. While the farm sector is slowly diversifying, it is a declining contributor to growth, despite providing a living to more than half the country’s workforce. About 600 million Indians are dependent on farming — half the population of 1.2 billion — even though agriculture makes up only 14.6 per cent of the economy and has been declining from 30 per cent a decade ago. The average size of farms in India is a mere 1.33 hectares — about the size of two soccer pitches — and that figure has been steadily declining. Fa r m e r s a r e f i n d i n g i t evermore difficult to make ends meet. The introduction of high-yielding seed varieties and increased use of fertilizers and irrigation spawned the Green Revolution in the 1960s that allowed India to become self-sufficient in grains. But experts say agriculture innovation and efficiency has stalled in recent years and farmers are getting squeezed by rising costs and inefficient agronomy. Since the mid-1990s, an estimated 150,000 small farmers have committed suicide, according to the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University, most of them over debts. Increasingly, voices in government and among experts are calling for a different approach, one that curbs subsidy spending, tackles inflation and boosts agricultural production of higher-value foods.

27

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

The devil is in the details when tracking farm finances and creating forecasts Financial expert says producers can use free software to assist in preparing farm budgets and forecasts By Shannon VanRaes CO-OPERATOR STAFF / BRANDON

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t’s the details that make for accurate budgeting and forecasting on your farm operation, just as in any business, says Kevin Gamble of BDO Dunwoody in Portage la Prairie. “First you need to stop and think about what kind of information you need for your production, and start from there,” he told producers at Ag Days in Brandon. There may be a few stragglers using the old pen-andp a p e r m e t h o d o f t ra c k i n g expenses, revenues and profits, but Gamble said free software is available. Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives offers a free online tool, as does the University of Idaho. When financial planning, Gamble recommends creating forecasts for average, aboveaverage, and below-average conditions, as well as worstcase scenarios. “We find that lenders look very favourably on farms that use forecasting budgets and plan for different situations,” he said. The information you bring to your accountant at the end of the year isn’t enough to create a detailed budget or forecast for the year ahead, he said. However, your accountant can help you set up the tools you need to improve your record-keeping and forecasting. “One of the most important steps to success is knowing your cost of production,” he said. “Spreadsheets are a powerful tool.” Id e a l l y, y o u w a n t t o b e looking at your forecasts and budgets on a monthly basis, updating and verifying as you go, he added. “This isn’t something you should be looking at once a

“Death tried to take me early. I was born with a congenital heart defect, and without treatment, I wouldn’t be alive today.” ~ Janell Melenchuk

year,” Gamble said. “I think profitability can be increased by any sort of planning and forecasting because you get a better handle on you costs. And if you know your historical costs, you can compare them to industry averages and you can see where you might be falling short.” [email protected]

“We find that lenders look very favourably on farms that use forecasting budgets.” KEVIN GAMBLE

Kevin Gamble of BDO Dunwoody in Portage la Prairie speaks to producers at Ag Days in Brandon.

PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES

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28

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Sioux County, Iowa: Ground zero for U.S. farm booms Last month an area farmer spent $1.5 million for 73.4 acres By P.J. Huffstutter sioux county, iowa / reuters

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f there is an epicentre of the nation’s farmland boom, it can be found here amid the rolling hills of northwest Iowa. A fortune is being plowed into the dirt of Sioux County, where well-heeled farmers and wealthy investors compete fiercely for some of the most fertile land in the corn belt. Prices across Iowa have been among the heartland’s fastest growing — up 261 per cent since 2000 — and have more than tripled in Sioux County. Locals could not be more pleased about such prosperity — or more nervous about a potential pullback in values. In what has been termed the “Iowa effect,” farmers and ranchers across the nation now routinely look at record-setting deals in this 768-square-mile county as a benchmark for America’s 408 million acres of cropland. “I hear people talk and it’s not in a good way,” said Bill Te n t i n g e r, p re s i d e n t - e l e c t of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, who runs his family’s hog farm in Les Mars, Iowa, in south Sioux County. “People see these prices and think, ‘Well, if land in Iowa sells for $20,000 an acre, then why can’t my farm in Illinois or

Minnesota or Nebraska sell for that much?’”

Good reasons

Locals here will tell you exactly why : rich soil, favourable weather trends, a high concentration of livestock and biofuel operations, and an intensely competitive farming culture. Those are some of the reasons why prices, which cracked $13,000 an acre two years ago, have now hit $20,000. “Not all dirt is the same. Some dirt is astonishing, compared to other dirt,” said Jim Rogers, the billionaire commodities investor and author. “But it ultimately comes down to economics: How much does that land cost, what crop can you grow on that land, what price you can get for that crop, and how much it costs you to produce that crop.” In early December, farmer Leland Kaster paid $20,000 an acre for fields next to his dairy near Hull, Iowa. If Kaster were to grow corn on his new 73.4 acres, he’d be able pull in about $1,250 per acre in gross revenues next year, given futures market prices and average corn yield. More simply put: It would take the Kaster family more than half a generation to recoup their money — and only if corn prices remain relatively high. But Kaster’s bid has wider implications.

Auctioneer Jeffrey Obrecht talks to prospective buyers during an auction of three separate farms totalling more than 473 acres of rich central Iowa soil in Traer, Iowa last month. The share of Iowa farmland being sold by auction, rather than private deals, has doubled to nearly 10 per cent in recent months.  REUTERS/Jeff Haynes

“We call it the Iowa Effect,” s a i d Ne b ra s k a a u c t i o n e e r Randy Ruhter. “When prices go up there, prices go up elsewhere.”

Life left

Despite the dangers of extrapolating Sioux County’s land values for outside guidance, and given that the federal ethanol subsidies quietly expired last year, some people still

believe there is plenty of life left in the local boom. That faith prompted town officials in Hull — home to nearly 2,200 people, eight churches and no stoplights — to join the land rush: The town’s economic development team bought a nearby 80-acre parcel two years ago for $1 million. City administrator Les Van Roekel insists the deal was a

savvy move. Area crop and dairy farmers clamoured to cash-rent the land, after a local cheese plant recently announced plans to double the amount of milk it processes each day. Local leaders are shopping for more land, either to buy or trade. “We’re somewhat in a bubble here,” Van Roekel said. “But I think we’re going to be fine.”

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29

The Manitoba Co-Operator | January 26, 2012

COUNTRY CROSSROADS connecting rur a l communities

Doing it right on the trapline Lifelong trapper says years of effort spent educating the public and modernizing the ancient trade is now paying dividends By Daniel Winters co-operator staff / virden

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bout 25 would-be trappers young and old were on hand at the local Legion Hall for a hands-on trapper education course last

week. In one corner, two men were busy learning how to flesh beaver pelts over their knees with a sharp knife, and on display on long tables were tools of the trade, from a dog-proof “Conibeartrap-in-a-bucket” for catching wily raccoons to a “Ram” power snare affixed to a sturdy log. The training course, now mandatory for firsttime buyers of a $5 fur harvester’s licence, is aimed at getting new entrants off to a good start and “modernizing” the ancient trade with up-todate, approved, humane traps and techniques, said Grant Armstrong, one of two certified trapping instructors on hand for the two-day course. From the Manitoba Trappers Association’s perspective, the course is one way of bringing a new generation of trappers into the business, and making sure they know how to do it right. “We wanted to make sure that the new trappers were trained properly. That meant getting rid of a lot of the old fallacies in the industry,” said Armstrong, a professional trapper with 45 years of experience running a registered trapline in the Turtle Mountains near Boissevain. “Prior to about 1950, if a guy was a trapper, he didn’t share his trapping secrets with anybody,” he added. “People had to rely on stories that might not be true. It was almost impossible to get somebody to show you how to trap.” Nowadays, a profusion of information abounds, from books and videos to websites offering up every imaginable trick for harvesting fur. Also, the tools have gotten better. The days of gigantic steel leghold traps with teeth are long gone, and modern trappers have access to new tools that have passed stringent testing protocols. The Conibear and Ram power snare — both

Two students flesh beaver pelts during a two-day trapper education course at Virden's Legion Hall.  Photos: daniel winters

Canadian inventions — that dispatch target species with a minimum of suffering are two examples of fur-harvesting devices to emerge from that process. New rubber-jawed, coil-spring, paw-restraining traps are more compact and easier to hide in the dirt and snow, and cause virtually no fur or limb damage because the animals struggle less. Foxes, for example, are sometimes found asleep in them, added Armstrong. “I’ve seen it,” he said. “I’ve let foxes go out of those SoftCatch traps.” It makes sense to use them, not only because

Conibear-trap-in-a-bucket placed on a log avoids nontarget species.

Professional trapper and certified trapping instructor Grant Armstrong teaches about 25 future fur harvesters during a two-day trapper education course at Virden’s Legion Hall.

A Ram power snare, invented by Bruce Bertram from Birtle, Man.

they are more efficient and effective but because their adoption has improved the industry’s image in the eyes of consumers who buy fur garments. “There has been more proactive changes in the past 10 to 15 years in the industry as a whole than in the entire history of trapping in this country,” said Armstrong. Training new trappers helps to improve returns for the industry, which in Manitoba is worth $2 million to $3 million per year to the economy. But the 5,000 licensed trappers in the province receiving fur cheques are only part of the picture. The industry also supports trap manufacturers and sellers, lure dealers, fur graders and buyers, garment retailers, and exporters, he said. Modernizing the fur trade has lessened public concerns about the humane treatment of wild animals, and government has also stepped in to defend trapping and the seal hunt, even in the face of the evermore outlandish antics of antifur activists, who would rather “go naked than wear fur.” Former governor general Michelle Jean, who famously ate raw seal heart, and Liberal MP Justin Trudeau’s defiance in the face of criticism of his fur-clad family postcards, show that public support of trapping and hunting as a long-standing Canadian tradition exists — something that couldn’t have been imagined just a decade ago. “I think in recent years, after all the efforts to educate people about grassroots industry in this country, there has been a change,” said Armstrong. Trapping serves as an effective tool for managing wildlife populations, said Dean Brooker, manager of West Souris River Conservation District, which sponsored the training course along with Tundra Oil and Gas. Participants learned about fur management, pelt preparation and the history of trapping in Canada. Of the students, there was a good balance of youths and men with white beards. “That’s why we put the courses on. It gives people the opportunity to learn hands on,” he said, adding that trapping also helps rural folks and farmers see an economic and cultural benefit in maintaining biodiversity, sloughs and wildlife habitat. [email protected]

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The Manitoba Co-Operator | January 26, 2012

COUNTRY CROSSROADS

RecipeSwap

Send your recipes or recipe request to: Manitoba Co-operator Recipe Swap Box 1794, Carman, Man ROG OJO or email: [email protected]

The greens of winter

Linguine with Kale

Pork and Cabbage Casserole

You can cook this up in no time!

Here’s a satisfying meal sure to please someone in after a long day working outside in cold weather.

1 lb. kale, stems removed, leaves cut into bite-size pieces 3/4 lb. linguine 2 tbsp. olive oil 6 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated Salt and pepper to taste

Lorraine Stevenson Crossroads Recipe Swap

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abbage or kale? If your family’s origin is European, chances are your great-greats survived the dark, cold months eating a whole lot of one or the other. Our ancestors couldn’t explain it, but they knew both kept strength up and sickness away in the days of extremely meagre diets. Today we know cabbage and kale are nutritional workhorses, as sources of many health-giving minerals and vitamins, including vitamin C. Kale was hardy enough it grew year round in dreary but less-frigid winters of northern Europe too. The Scots kept “kale yards” in fenced enclosures, where they protected it as best they could during the coldest months. Likewise, stashedaway cabbage was also survival food. A certain nose-turned-up-ness developed for both in time, as potatoes supplanted kale toward the end of the 18th century, and cabbage was dissed as poor people’s food. Yet both, hung on in cultural dishes too, in our much-loved cabbage rolls and the delicious, hearty soups of countries such as Portugal and Holland. Back “in style,” kale and cabbage are nowadays endlessly written up in fine culinary magazines, with recipes galore to accompany. Not merely their nutritional value gives kale and cabbage their staying power on our dinner plates. Well prepared, both are delicious ingredients in a whole range of meals and dishes. Here are several recipes selected from the website of Peak of the Market (www.peakmarket. com) you might like to try. Kale isn’t so readily found in smaller grocery stores but I do see it in regularly in Safeway and Superstore.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Add kale. Simmer one minute or until kale begins to wilt. Add pasta. Cook eight to 10 minutes or until al dente. While pasta is cooking, heat oil and garlic in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring two minutes until heated through. Remove from heat. Drain pasta and kale. Transfer to serving bowl. Add oil and garlic. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Toss before serving. Serves 4.

Portuguese Caldo Verde “Green soup” from Portugal that tastes as delicious as it smells. 1 lb. kale 6 oz. Portuguese chorizo sausage, sliced 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 2 large garlic cloves, minced or puréed 4 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin 2 qts. cold water

Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and fry until lightly coloured; about 10 minutes. Remove from pot with slotted spoon and reserve. Add remaining oil to pot; add onions, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about five minutes. Add garlic and potatoes, turn heat to medium high; sauté three to five minutes until onions and potatoes begin to colour. Add water, cover and simmer over low heat until potatoes can be mashed easily, about 25 minutes. When potatoes are soft, turn off heat and use a potato masher to thoroughly crush and blend. Add sausage, return to heat, and simmer five minutes to bring the flavours together. Stir in kale and cook five minutes until bright green and tender. Serves 6.

Braised Cabbage and Apples

©THINKSTOCK

A delicious side dish.

Recipe Swap We always enjoy hearing from you. Send us your favourite recipes or ideas for food columns. To contact us by mail please write to:

Manitoba Co-operator Recipe Swap Box 1794, Carman, Man. ROG OJO Or email: [email protected]

4 tbsp. butter 1 large onion, sliced 2 tbsp. sugar 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 2 lbs. red cabbage, chopped 2 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced 1-1/2 c. chicken broth 1/2 c. dry red wine 1 bay leaf Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot; melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for about four to five minutes, stirring, until softened. Reduce heat to low and stir in sugar and vinegar. Add cabbage and apples. Stir to coat well. Stir in broth, wine, bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium and let come to boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let cabbage simmer until tender, 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serves 8.

1/4 c. butter 1 onion, chopped 8 c. green cabbage, shredded 1 c. light cream 1/2 tsp. dried sage, crumbled Salt and pepper to taste 4 pork chops, fat trimmed 1/2 c. dry white wine 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

In large skillet; melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion and cabbage, stirring often, until cabbage is wilted, about seven minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes longer. Stir in cream, sage, salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for five minutes or until cabbage is tender and sauce is thickened. In another skillet, lightly sprayed, cook pork chops over medium-high heat until brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Remove and set aside. In pork chop skillet; stir in wine and bring to boil over high heat. Stir into cabbage mixture along with parsley. In shallow casserole large enough to hold chops in single layer, spread half of cabbage mixture. Arrange pork chops on top and cover with remaining cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, in preheated 350 F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and chops are tender. Serves 4.

Traditional Cabbage Rolls These take a little extra care and time but good food is always worth the work! Sauce: 1 can (28 oz./796 ml) tomatoes 1/2 c. tomato paste 2 tbsp. brown sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper Rolls: 12 large green cabbage leaves 3/4 lb. ground beef 3/4 lb. ground pork 1-1/2 c. white rice, cooked 1 onion, finely chopped 1 tsp. fresh dill, chopped 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper

Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Set aside. TO MAKE SAUCE: In a three-quart saucepan; combine tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. TO MAKE ROLLS: In a four-quart saucepan; heat three inches water to boiling. Cook cabbage leaves, one or two at a time until leaves are pliable, about two minutes. Drain leaves well on paper towels.

In a large bowl; combine beef, pork, rice, onion, dill, salt and pepper. Place well-drained cabbage leaves on counter. Spoon four tablespoons meat mixture near the base of each leaf. Fold bottom of leaf over filling and fold each side over the centre. Roll up from the thick end of each leaf. Place rolls, seam-side down, in greased baking pan. Pour sauce over rolls. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake cabbage rolls 40 to 45 minutes at 350 F or until mixture is bubbly and rolls feel firm when pierced with a fork. Serves 12.

31

The Manitoba Co-Operator | January 26, 2012

COUNTRY CROSSROADS

W

inter has finally arrived in Manitoba. There’s been talk in the coffee shops about the possibility that it might not come this year, but most people are smarter than that. Like death and taxes, winter is non-negotiable. Actually, taxes are negotiable, to a degree. Certain, but negotiable. Winter is also certain, and entirely non-negotiable. We get what we get, and this year we’ve been exceptionally fortunate. Even the cold snap of last week was relatively mild compared to the cold snaps of past winters. A few days of -25° weather doesn’t qualify as a harsh winter, and this winter seems destined to go down in history as one of the mildest ones on record, and unless something changes, one of the least snowy as well. Of course that could all change in a moment. Andrew and Rose Jackson sat at the breakfast table on Saturday morning by themselves, enjoying the rare peace and quiet of an empty house. “It’s warmer out this morning,” said Andrew. “The sheep seem happier.” Rose nodded. “It’s hard to tell with sheep though,” she said. “True enough,” said Andrew. “They are a little harder to read than cows.” He stared out the window for a moment. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “Good for you,” said Rose. “And how does that feel?” “Scary,” said Andrew. “I found that too, the first time I tried it,” said Rose. “It gets better,” she added reassuringly. “Very funny,” said Andrew. “I know,” said Rose, picking up her coffee cup. “But do tell, what have you been thinking about?” “I have been thinking,” said Andrew, “about selling the farm.” Rose paused, her coffee cup suspended in mid-air. “To whom?” she said. “To Randy, of course,” said Andrew. “Who did you think?” “Randy would have been my first guess,” said Rose. “And after that I would have stopped guessing.” She took a thoughtful sip of coffee. “You think he’s ready for that?”

The

Jacksons By Rollin Penner

Andrew shrugged. “I’ll probably never think he’s ready for that,” he said, “so I don’t think I’ll base anything on that.” He took a sip of his own coffee. “And anyway, I’m not planning to sell tomorrow.” “No?” said Rose. “When then? Next week?” “Yeah maybe,” said Andrew. “Or next year. Or the year after. Something like that.” “Maybe we should do one thing at a time,” said Rose. “This year we get Brady married off. Next year we sell the farm to Randy. And the year after that we can do something with Jennifer. Take her out for ice cream or something.” “Yeah,” said Andrew. “Although that doesn’t seem entirely fair.” “You don’t think so?” said Rose. “Not really,” said Andrew. “Randy gets stuck

with the farm, Brady gets married, and Jennifer gets ice cream? What makes her special? Don’t you think the boys will be jealous?” “Well, when you put it that way,” said Rose. “Seriously though,” said Andrew, “Jennifer is an issue.” “It’s always been an issue,” said Rose. “What to do with Jennifer?” “I used to think she and Randy would take over the farm together,” said Andrew, “but I’ve come to the conclusion this farm ain’t big enough for the both of them.” “You don’t think so?” Rose seemed surprised. “I think Randy and Jenn get along just fine.” “That’s not what I mean,” said Andrew. “I mean the farm literally isn’t big enough for both of them.” “Oh, I see,” said Rose. She pondered that for a second. “It’s working for you and Randy though,” she said. “Why not for the two of them?” “Well, the thing is,” said Andrew, “we’re not going to give them the farm, we’re going to sell them the farm. Which means they’ll have more debt to carry, and that means less profit for quite a few years. Not enough for two.” “Perhaps we could give them a super good deal,” said Rose. “Perhaps we could,” said Andrew. “But that would mean we might not be able to spend two months every winter in Arizona.” “Forget that,” said Rose. “Exactly,” said Andrew. “It has to be a fair price. I’d hate to end up like old Milton Brown.” “Milton Brown?” said Rose. Andrew nodded. “Milton sold his farm to his son for half of what it was worth, back in the ’80s, and two years later his son sold it to some rich German for twice what it was worth, and guess which of them gets to spend two months every winter in Arizona?” “The German?” said Rose. “Maybe,” said Andrew. “Definitely not Milton.” “Well Randy would never do that,” said Rose. “I know he wouldn’t,” said Andrew. “Especially if we make sure he can’t.” “I do look forward to winters in Arizona,” said Rose. “So do I,” said Andrew. “Believe me, so do I.”

Looking after an orchid This plant is really not hard to grow or care for By Albert Parsons FREELANCE CONTRIBUTOR

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arden centres and retail shops were offering a great variety of orchids — most of them phalaenopsis or moth orchids — during the pre-holiday season because they make such great gifts. If you received one as a Christmas gift or if you purchased one as a gift to yourself, you might be wondering how to care for this exotic newcomer to your indoor landscape. The phalaenopsis orchid, although it looks and sounds exotic, is not that difficult to grow and it is not as particular about its care as you might think. The lovely flowers of the phalaenopsis orchid do indeed resemble brightly coloured moths and thus the name makes sense, as the Greek word phaluna means moth. These orchids are quite happy in the temperatures of our homes during the winter, as long as you do not let the location get too cool in the daytime or remain too warm at night. Some people move their orchid to a cooler location for the night. The most suitable temperature range is from 18 to 28 C. Phalaenopsis like strong, indirect light; at this time of year they can be located in front of a window but as the sun gets stronger they will need to be protected from the strong rays of the midday sun. Orchids are epiphytes in their natural

Orchids come in a variety of colours and are not as difficult to care for as you might think. PHOTO: ALBERT PARSONS

tropical surroundings, where they grow high up on tree trunks and branches where there is a fair bit of air movement. In the home, locate an orchid where there is good air circulation. They also demand high humidity, so if you think that the air in your home is too dry, place the pot on a pebble tray. Growing several other plants near the orchid will also raise the humidity around the plant. Some people do not fertilize orchids when they are blooming while others

continue to use a balanced liquid fertilizer at one-quarter strength at each watering. When being encouraged into bloom, however, they must be fertilized. Keep the foliage clean by periodically wiping the stiff leaves with a damp cloth, and ensure that the planting medium, which will be material perhaps containing bark, perlite, or sphagnum moss or some combination of these materials, does not completely dry out. On the other hand, allow the medium to

become somewhat dry before you water again. Overwatering will be damaging to the roots and therefore to the whole plant. The more blooms and buds on the spikes, the longer the plant’s bloom period will be. The natural bloom period for phalaenopsis orchids is from December to May, and the blooms will last up to three months. When the last blooms fade, look for small, fleshy bumps or nodes on the flower spike and then count up three nodes from the bottom of the spike — ignore the driedout ones and don’t count them. Cut the spike off a couple of centimetres above the third green node. With any luck, and if the plant thinks it is still bloom time, a new flower stalk will grow from one of the nodes. Phalaenopsis orchids come in a wide array of colours, including white, pink, cranberry and yellow with lots of variations and blotches of contrasting colours. They are absolutely stunning and add an exotic touch to any interior. If you did not receive one for Christmas or buy one for yourself, perhaps you will treat yourself to a “post-Christmas” present and get one of these lovely flowering plants to enjoy during the remainder of our long winter. Albert Parsons writes from Minnedosa, Manitoba

32

The Manitoba Co-Operator | January 26, 2012

COUNTRY CROSSROADS

Breakfast of champions Interactive program part of AITC-M By Darrell Nesbitt Freelance contributor

T

he bodies and minds of students at two area communities were nourished when the famous Made in Manitoba Breakfast program was featured, connecting students to where that food came from. The breakfast and agriculture education program is one of a number run by Agriculture in the Classroom-Manitoba Inc. (AITC-M), a non-profit organization supported by individuals and the agriculture industry. “Being a rural community, staff decided the Made in Manitoba Breakfast would be a worthwhile opportunity to explore,” said Jon Zilkey, principal of Hamiota Schools. “Sometimes students, and adults for that matter, don’t realize where their food comes from. The program gives us a chance to highlight the good work people do in agriculture around our community.” A healthy menu was dished up to the 252 students plus staff attending the Hamiota Elementary and Collegiate in early December, and the week prior students and staff at the K-8 Binscarth School gave thanks to local producers and the importance of agriculture, when the breakfast was delivered to their school. Thanks to friends of the program — The Monsanto Fund, Bee Maid, Countryside Farms, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, Manitoba Canola Growers, Manitoba Egg Farmers, Manitoba Pork Council, Parrish and Heimbecker Ltd. and Richardson International — the menu includes flax pancakes, hardcooked eggs, pork sausage, canola margarine, honey, and smooth chocolate milk, all produced by Manitoba’s farm families. “The breakfast is a true celebration of agriculture,” said Johanne Ross, AITC-M executive director. “Volunteers

at the Hamiota and Binscarth breakfasts acted as a face to the food and help students understand that food production starts on the farm but then involves many more aspects of the industry to get past the farm gate to their plates.” Ross said the following folks volunteered at the Hamiota/Binscarth breakfasts: Binscarth — David Wray (grain/ canola), George Graham (grain), Gerry Cook (grain), Pat Orsak (MAFRI), Adele Pizzey (grain-seed farm), Annabelle McDonald (grain-seed farm) and Leanne Tibatts (MAFRI). Hamiota — Victoria Gilby (Cargill), Georgine Mann (beekeeper Mann Apiaries), Gwenda Skayman (MAFRI), Kelvin Tiller (MASC, grain/cattle), Kevin Hyndman (hog producer), Barry Chappell (grain), Kendall Heise (grain) and Mark and Cindy Morton (dairy). Along with the agricultural producers from a variety of sectors, student volunteers such as the Hamiota Student Council are involved in various facets of the breakfast including preparation, serving and cleanup. Over the course of the 2011-12 school year, the very popular Made in Manitoba breakfast will visit approximately 50 schools in the province. “Thanks to the Monsanto Fund, AITC-M is expanding the program to 30 new rural schools, allowing us to feed more tummies and nourish more minds with new curriculum-linked resources,” added Ross. To enhance awareness of agriculture in Manitoba schools and to develop an appreciation and awareness of the importance of agriculture — socially and economically — are among the objectives of the AITC-M, which reaches those goals through a variety of programs, opportunities and supporters. Darrell Nesbitt writes from Shoal Lake, Manitoba

Hamiota Grade 1 students (l to r) Riley McTavish, Rudy Bond and Jeanne Villell, gave thumbs up to the food served.  photo: darrell nesbitt

A puzzler

Geraniums hold no mystery Or so I always thought. But I gazed in wide-eyed wonder At this one peculiar pot. Two different types of blossoms One single stem — unbroken One-half Patricia Andrea Blooms never fully open. The other just a regular Now here’s the fascination No bees or breezes in the room To induce cross-pollination. Surely someone out there Understands why this is so I yearn to find the answer Would Albert Parsons know?

  Photo: eva krawchuk

Eva Krawchuk, Winnipeg

Does size and colour matter?

  ©thinkstock

Study shows that different plates can influence portion size By Julie Garden-Robinson NDSU Extension Service

When we use colourful tablecloths surrounding our plates, are we affecting how much food we serve ourselves? I usually use my white plates for special occasion meals. Do I serve different amounts on my white plates versus the brown ones? My antique white dishes from around 1905 are considerably smaller than my recently purchased plates. Could plate size affect my family’s portion size, too? A recently published study in the Journal of Consumer Research explored how and why plate and tableware colour might affect the amount of food we serve or eat. Researchers Koert Van Ittersum and Brian Wansink set up several experiments to test these theories. We know from previous studies that using larger bowls and plates often results in people dishing up larger portions for themselves. Eating larger portions means that we are consuming more calories, which can result in larger waistlines and wider hips through time. Just 100 extra calories per day can add up to a 10-pound weight gain in a year. Being overweight or obese is linked to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, joint problems and many other health issues. Many nutrition experts recommend that we use smaller plates, which appear fuller with the same amount of food. The researchers noted that since 1900, dinner plates, on average, have increased in size from 9.6 inches to 11.8 inches. That’s almost one-fourth larger. Our perceptions of portion size may be affected by an optical illusion. If you have read a book that shows optical illusions, you may have seen an example in which two filled-in circles (black dots) are surrounded by different-size circles. In the “Delboeuf illusion,” two black dots of the same size can appear different in size, depending on the size of the surrounding

Reply from Albert Parsons Here’s an explanation for Eva: The “Patricia Andrea” geranium mentioned in the poem is the one commonly called the tulip geranium. Such a plant is called a chimera, which is a plant that has cells of more than one genotype (genetic makeup) growing in adjacent tissues of the plant. This often occurs in hybrid plants. I have had a single geranium plant produce two distinctly different coloured blooms. Plants with variegated leaves often display this characteristic as well — some non-variegated leaves will appear, or sometimes leaves totally lacking any green at all.

circle. The researchers explored the idea of how food portions act as the dots and the plates as the circles in an optical illusion at our dinner table. They explored how the contrast between the colour of the food and the colour of the plate influenced how much food people served themselves. They also explored how the colour of the tableware and plates influenced how much food people served themselves. Based on the researchers’ results, you probably will want to make sure there is a difference between the colour of your food and the colour of your plate. You might want to go easy on the contrast between your plates and your tablecloth. They found that people served themselves more food if the colour of the food matched the colour of the plate. For example, people who ate pasta with marinara (red) sauce took more food when it was served on a red plate. They also served themselves more food when pasta with Alfredo (white) sauce was served on a white plate. The participants served themselves less when the plate matched the colour of the tablecloth. If they had white plates on a white tablecloth, they served themselves a little less. If you are having a buffet, choose luncheon-size plates instead of dinner-size plates. Be sure that you have some contrast between your food and plate colour so you and your guests can distinguish portion size. On the other hand, if you have family members who do not eat enough, such as many elderly people or those with eating disorders, the researchers suggested providing larger dinnerware so they do not underserve themselves food. Julie Garden-Robinson, PhD, R.D., L.R.D., is a North Dakota State University Extension Service food and nutrition specialist and associate professor in the department of health, nutrition and exercise sciences.

We want to hear from you! If you have any stories, ideas, photos or a comment on what you’d like to see on these pages, send it to Country Crossroads, 1666 Dublin Ave., Wpg., Man. R3H 0H1, phone 1-800-782-0794, fax 204-944-5562, email [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you. Please remember we can no longer return material, articles, poems or pictures. — Sue

33

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

LIVESTOCK H USB A N DRY — T H E SC I E NC E , SK I L L OR A RT OF FA R M I NG

U.S. cattle placements fall six per cent Marketings are down two per cent CHICAGO / REUTERS The number of cattle that flowed into feedlots in December fell six per cent, according to the Jan. 20 U.S. government cattle-on-feed data, a decline analysts had expected because of severe drought and high corn prices. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s placement data came in nearly on target with expectations, it confirms continued placement declines in the coming months which should underpin cash cattle prices and keep beef costs at retail near record highs, said analysts. The USDA quoted December cattle placements down six per cent from a year ago at 1.683 million head, compared with analysts’ average estimates for a 5.8 per cent decline. Industry experts attributed the placement shortfall to a year-long drought in the southwest United States that reduced the number of available cattle. Also, some cited corn prices last month that surged more than seven per cent due to drought conditions in Argentina for the placement shortfall. “There is no real surprise in the report because everything was pretty close to what was expected,” said Dan Vaught with Vaught Futures Insights. “One could argue that because the placement number matched expectations, it could be somewhat supportive for futures. But, early-week futures gains suggests the report had already been baked into the market,” he said. The government also showed a four per cent increase in feedlot cattle supplies from a year earlier, which was nearly in line with a 3.3 per cent gain expected by analysts. And, USDA said cattle marketings last month were down two per cent compared with a year ago versus estimates for a 2.8 per cent decline.

Man dies of bird flu BEIJING / REUTERS A man in southwest China died of bird flu Jan. 22 after three days of intensive care treatment in hospital, the official Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Health as saying. The 39-year-old — who died in hospital in Guiyan, capital of Guizhou province — began suffering from fever on Jan. 6. The virus has become active in various parts of the world, mainly in east Asia during the cooler months. The current strain of H5N1 is highly pathogenic, kills most species of birds and up to 60 per cent of the people it infects. Since 2003, it has infected 573 people around the world, killing 336.

Instant info. With the Manitoba Co-operator mobile app you can stay up to date on all things ag. Download the free app at agreader.ca/mbc

Bright outlook for cow-calf sector North American beef supplies are shrinking as U.S. shifts from being a major importer to a net exporter because of a slumping greenback

Canfax senior analyst Brian Perillat presents a positive market outlook for cow-calf producers at Ag Days.

By Daniel Winters CO-OPERATOR STAFF / BRANDON

I

f you thought calf prices were good this winter, just wait until next fall. During the tail end of the 2011 calf run, 550-weight feeder prices averaged around $1.60 per pound. Barring macroeconomic disasters affecting consumer purchasing power in major markets, calves could punch higher next fall to $1.75 per pound, Brian Perillat, manager and senior market analyst for CanFax, said at Ag Days last week. “If things fall into place, there’s that potential,” he said. A global shortage of cattle, drought in Texas and Oklahoma, soaring U.S. beef exports driven by the slumping greenback, excess packer and feedlot capacity, and continued low heifer retention numbers are all working together to put the cow-calf producer in the driver’s seat, he said. Downside risks exist, however. A hard landing in China; the unknown “domino” consequences should Greece exit the euro zone; and tensions in the Middle East, with their potential for sending oil prices skyward, could derail the good times by pinching the pocketbooks of the middle class, said Perillat. “I’m very bullish on the fundamentals of cow-calf sector just simply on the supply side,” said Perillat. “Tighter numbers on the supply side are going to bring prices higher.” Heifer retention in Western Canada is up 8.2 per cent, but only 2.8 per cent

in Manitoba and down 2.4 per cent in Eastern Canada, which indicates at best a “stabilization” year, rather than a full-on expansion, he said. With older ranchers exiting the industry on a high note, ample supplies of dispersal sale bred cows even at $1,400 per head have meant that a lot of $900 open heifers are going to feedlots. “It’s not the old cattle cycle where everybody is going to keep every heifer, breed her and then dump calves on the market in two years,” he said. Buying or retaining bred heifers is a “low-risk” investment, mainly because the salvage price of cull cows for ground beef in the coming years is likely to prop up prices, he added. Also, weather conditions in the U.S. will result in less calves coming to market for at least three years. The outlook for cattle feeders is less bright, even with fat cattle hitting a record $1.25 per pound in the U.S., simply because calves are so expensive, as is the corn and barley needed to put pounds on. “It’s not as fun for them. They are going to feel the squeeze, but the cowcalf producer is going to get the benefits from a tighter market,” said Perillat. The drought in the southern states has shrunk the American herd, which is already at record lows. Hardest hit were Texas and Oklahoma, two states where there are twice as many cattle as in Canada. For Canada to take up the slack, the herd would have to grow by 15 per cent, meaning that even strong

PHOTO: DANIEL WINTERS

“It’s not the old cattle cycle where everybody is going to keep every heifer, breed her and then dump calves on the market in two years.” BRIAN PERILLAT

Canfax senior analyst

growth in cattle numbers wouldn’t affect North American supplies. Significantly, the U.S. became a net exporter of beef for the first time ever. Compared to 2006, when the country imported two billion pounds, it had net exports of 750 million pounds in 2011. That equals a 2.75-billion-pound shift in beef usage, or the sum total of all of Canada’s production being shifted out of the U.S. market, he said. “That has tightened up consumer supplies and helped our prices,” said Perillat. Chicken production south of the border is heading lower, mainly due to high feed costs and slumping demand. Pork prices haven’t kept up with beef lately, and that may crimp beef’s rise. But both competing commodities are more dependent on the price of grains, and don’t have the flexibility in feeding alternatives that beef enjoys, said Perillat. [email protected]

34

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

Closing gender gap seen key in food security fight Narrowing gender gap could help 100 million out of poverty By Nigel Hunt london / reuters

A

policy aimed at ensuring future security of food supplies must centre around the world’s 500 million smallholder producers, many of whom are women who farm less than two hectares of land, a leading United Nations official said Dec. 14. “Unless they are at the centre of the future strategies for food security, we will not get it right,” David Nabarro, the UN secretary general’s special representative for Food Security and Nutrition said. Nabarro said the food security challenge was about ensuring access as well as expanding production over the coming years. “Our main concern right now is with the very unequal access to the food which is already being produced. Although there is enough food to go around right now, over 900 million people are chronically hungry,” he said, at an event organized to coincide with a Chatham House conference on Food Security. Ann Tutwiler, deputy director general (for knowledge) at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, told the conference that improving the productivity of women farmers was a key goal. She noted that studies in Burkina Faso showed women smallholder farmers had access to fewer inputs such as fertilizers, resulting in an average drop in yields for sorghum, for example, of 41 per cent. “If we narrow that (gender) gap, we can help more than 100 million people out of poverty and hunger,” said Shenggen Fan, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Hidden hunger

Fan said around two billion people were affected by “hidden hunger” as they don’t get the micronutrients they need. This

Salvadora Ampie, 52, feeds her chickens at the Ticauntepe town, some 25 km (16 miles) south from Managua in Nicaragua. Ampie benefited from Daniel Ortega’s government program called “Hambre Cero” (Zero Hunger). REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

can damage health and mental development. “The challenges remain, particularly as the population continues to grow,” adding some projections suggested there would be more than 10 billion people by the end of the century. “Business as usual is not enough. New technologies are needed and they have to be smallholder friendly, environmentally friendly and gender friendly,” he said, adding women farmers had less access to land, water and agricultural services. UN’s Nabarro said smallholder farmers were “the most impor-

Register Today

On-Farm Food Safety Workshops The Manitoba and Canada governments are hosting a series of on-farm food safety program workshops. The workshops will provide training and information to help prevent, detect and control food safety risks on your farm through National On-Farm Food Safety Programs. Plan to attend the workshop in your area.

For grain, oilseeds, pulse and special crops farmers ExcelGrains Canada is the national on-farm food safety program for grain, pulse and special crops farmers. A workshop will be held: Thursday, February 9

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1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Registration is required. Call your local Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) GO Office.

Your Farm. Your Products. Your Plan.

You could be eligible for funding that will help implement national on-farm food safety, biosecurity and traceability programs on your farm through the Growing Forward Food Safety Program, for Farms. For program information, contact your local MAFRI GO Office.

FoodSafety-MBCoop#3ver2.indd 1

tant actors” in determining the ways in which water, land and energy were available for future generations. “They can prove to be very effective as custodians of the environment. They can also, if they are not helped, have a negative impact on the environment,” he said. Nabarro said smallholder farmers were most easily able to

improve production if they are helped to organize into groups such as co-operatives. Michael Nkonu, executive director, Fairtrade Africa said investment in production organizations was a key priority. “Producer organizations are going to be a key area of making the change and we need to continue to focus on that,” he told the conference.

“Unless they are at the centre of the future strategies for food security, we will not get it right.” David Nabarro,

special representative for Food Security and Nutrition

F.X. Aherne prizes awarded at the Banff Pork Seminar

G

arrett Gerbrandt of the Puratone Corporation in Niverville is one of three pork industry innovators honoured with the F.X. Aherne prize for innovative pork production, presented at the 2012 Banff Pork Seminar, held Jan. 17-20. Gerbrandt received the award for his invention of unique, livestock-friendly loading plates for finishing farms, which are used throughout the Puratone corporate farm system. Dale Heptonstall of Sunterra Farms in Acme, Alta. earned the prize for his invention of a tail-docking length guide for farrowing. The guide improved consistency of application of protocols and supported better communication between farrowing and finishing departments, which in turn supported improved production efficiency. The guide also supports overall high standards of animal care. Mary Haugh and Peter Jones of LMR Inc. in Listowel, Ont.

12-01-05 12:50 PM

(l-r) Dale Heptonstall of Sunterra Farms in Acme, Alta.; Garrett Gerbrandt of the Puratone Corporation in Niverville, Man.; Michael Dyck, chair of the Aherne award committee; and Mary Haugh and Peter Jones of LMR Inc. in Listowel, Ont.  photo: supplied

received the award for their invention of the “Longarm” — a uniquely designed animal-handling tool that requires up to 70 per cent less time to clear a pen. It supports easier, faster and safer animal handling. Held since 1972 in Banff, Alberta, the Banff Pork Seminar is co-ordinated by the depart-

ment of agricultural, food and nutritional science, University of Alberta, in co-operation with Alberta Pork, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development and other pork industry representatives from across Canada. More information on this year’s conference is available at www. banffpork.ca.

35

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

column

Deciding when a horse’s time has come Other than serious injury, deciding when to end a horse’s life involves some subjective judgment Carol Shwetz, DVM Horse Health

A

t times the decision to euthanize is clearly obvious, even with an apparent immediacy. It is a self-evident ending when the horse has a fatal injury or an unrelenting illness. However all scenarios are not so straightforward, especially when individuals are confronted with situations of illness, injuries or aging that slowly taints the quality of a horse’s life. Such circumstances are not uncommon within the aging equine population. These experiences often affect the individuals involved in intensely emotional ways. Owners faced with such a dilemma with their beloved equine companions often agonize and anguish over such a decision, doing their best to make a wise and timely choice. The decision is equally taxing whether the horse is a sport champion or a child’s pony. Veterinarians can act as a guide, informing and educating owners about the animal’s conditions and present available options. Ultimately the decision rests with the horse’s guardian. Certainly there are written guidelines outlining animal suffering and pain, yet quality of life is subjective. The sensitivity of individuals to the pain and suffering of another being varies greatly. Furthermore horses, as sentient beings, have varying abilities to tolerate/deal with illness and pain as well. Clear decisionmaking is blurred by advances in medical treatment. This further compounds the emotional burden of owners whom often want to know that they have done everything they possibly could. “When is the time right?” No one really knows the answer to that question for sure. Mindfully looking to and reading the horse itself will bring the most genuine of answers as to “good quality of life.”

If they make it through to spring they temporarily seem to rebound, making a recovery when green grass returns. Although appropriate dental care and dietary management can be of value to these horses they often gradually fail.

Sparing hardship

Owners aware of such a declining pattern may elect to euthanize their horse on a beautiful fall day after a “good” summer’s life, sparing the horse the hardship of another winter. The next question, although more subjective, has answers equally valid. Has the horse’s approach/attitude to life changed? As horses become weary with chronic illness such as laminitis, arthritis, or heaves they become dull, disinterested, and indifferent to the happenings surrounding them.

Another question to consider is, “Does the horse require care and financial commitments that are beyond the owner’s capabilities and bank account?” This is not a question of judgment, but one of high pragmatic and practical relevance. Financial and caretaking responsibilities that become burdens can have far-reaching consequences for the family and the animal. Under the stewardship of nature a horse’s fate is clearly deter mined. When human beings become steward and guardians of horses, much of their care is determined from our perspective. All aspects of their care, including euthanasia, are best done in honour of their dignity. Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alberta.

Sharing Ideas and Information for Efficient Pork Production

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Quality of life

Can the horse move and/or does the horse move comfortably? Movement is inherent to the nature of a horse and thus intimately linked with its quality of life. Horses that no longer share in the companionship of other horses, eating, travelling together, and grooming one another, distress mentally and physically. The next question to ask is, “Can the horse eat well?” Not all horses rationed on gruel diets are content about their fate. Can the horse maintain an appropriate body weight throughout all the seasons? Often aged horses that are dentally challenged can no longer maintain their body condition well enough to remain comfortable when the winter season arrives. A moderate body condition is necessary to stave off the bitter cold of winter. These horses generally show their struggle with weight loss in the late winter/early spring.

The horse’s quality of life through all seasons is a key factor in determining when it is the right time to euthanize an older or health-compromised horse.   Photo Kathlyn Hossack

Improved AI strategies to increase the genetic impact of stud boars Experiences with loose housing Advances in sow nutrition Evaluation of manure-processing technologies Importance of finisher benchmarking Essentials of piglet survival Finisher management and value chain success The state of Lake Winnipeg Workplace health and well-being for pork producers Diseases in Manitoba: an update

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36 1

The ManitobaCo-Operator Co-operator || January 2012 The Manitoba October 26, 6, 2011

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FeeD/GRAin Feed Grain Hay & Straw Hay & Feed Wanted Feed Wanted Grain Wanted Seed Wanted Sewing Machines Sharpening Services Silos Sporting Goods Outfitters Stamps & Coins Swap Tanks Tarpaulins Tenders Tickets Tires Tools

SeeD/FeeD/GRAin pedigreed Cereal Seeds Barley Durum Oats Rye Triticale Wheat Cereals Various peDiGReeD FORAGe SeeDS Alfalfa Annual Forage Clover Forages Various Grass Seeds peDiGReeD OiLSeeDS Canola Flax Oilseeds Various peDiGReeD puLSe CROpS Beans Chickpeas Lentil Peas Pulses Various peDiGReeD SpeCiALTy CROpS Canary Seeds Mustard Potatoes Sunflower Specialty Crops Various COMMOn SeeD Cereal Seeds Forage Seeds Grass Seeds

TRAiLeRS Grain Trailers Livestock Trailers Trailers Miscellaneous Travel Water Pumps Water Treatment Welding Well Drilling Well & Cistern Winches COMMuniTy CALenDAR British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba CAReeRS Career Training Child Care Construction Domestic Services Farm/Ranch Forestry/Log Health Care Help Wanted Management Mining Oil Field Professional Resume Services Sales/Marketing Trades/Tech Truck Drivers Employment Wanted

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AGREEMENT The publisher reserves the right to refuse any or all advertising for any reason stated or unstated. Advertisers requesting publication of either display or classified advertisements agree that should the advertisement be omitted from the issue ordered for whatever reason, the Manitoba Co-operator shall not be held liable. It is also agreed that in the event of an error appearing in the published advertisement, the Manitoba Co-operator accepts no liability beyond the amount paid for that portion of the advertisement in which the error appears or affects. Claims for adjustment are limited to errors appearing in the first insertion only. While every endeavor will be made to forward box number replies as soon as possible, we accept no liability in respect to loss or damage alleged to a rise through either failure or delay in forwarding such replies, however caused, whether by negligence or otherwise.

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CAUTION The Manitoba Co-operator, while assuming no responsibility for advertisements appearing in its columns, exercises the greatest care in an endeavor to restrict advertising to wholly reliable firms or individuals. However, please do not send money to a Manitoba Co-operator box number. Buyers are advised to request shipment C.O.D. when ordering from an unknown advertiser, thus minimizing the chance of fraud and eliminating the necessity of a refund where the goods have already been sold. At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Informa-

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tion Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1. Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-782-0794. The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Manitoba Co-operator and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Manitoba Co-operator and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Manitoba Co-operator and Farm Business Communication assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

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37

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

AUCTION DISTRICTS

BUILDINGS

BUILDINGS

Parkland – North of Hwy 1; west of PR 242, following the west shore of Lake Manitoba and east shore of Lake Winnipegosis. Westman – South of Hwy 1; west of PR 242. Interlake – North of Hwy 1; east of PR 242, following the west shore of Lake Manitoba and east shore of Lake Winnipegosis. Red River – South ofHwy 1; east of PR 242.

The Pas

Birch River

Swan River Minitonas Durban

Winnipegosis

Roblin

Dauphin

Grandview

Ashern

Gilbert Plains

Parkland

Birtle

Riverton Eriksdale

McCreary

Lundar

Langruth

Neepawa

Gladstone

Rapid City

1

Brandon

Carberry

Boissevain

Killarney

Pilot Mound Crystal City

Elm Creek

Sanford

Ste. Anne

Carman

Mariapolis

Toll Free:1-877-239-0730 www.mcdiarmid.com/farm

Lac du Bonnet

Beausejour

Winnipeg

Austin Treherne

Westman

Waskada

Stonewall Selkirk

Portage

Souris

Melita

Interlake

Erickson

Hamiota

Virden

Arborg

Gimli

Shoal Lake

Minnedosa

Reston

STRONGEST POSTS INDUSTRY-WIDE

Fisher Branch

Ste. Rose du Lac Russell

St. Pierre

242

Morris Winkler Morden

Altona

Steinbach

1

Red River

AUCTION SALES AUCTION SALES Manitoba Auctions – Interlake

MCSHERRY GUN AUCTION SAT. FEB. 4TH @ 9:30AM

12 Patterson Dr, Stonewall, MB OVER 250 GUNS Modern; Vintage; Military; Rifles; Handguns Ammo; Decoys; Hunting Accessories All Selling Unreserved! WE ACCEPT PROXY BIDS ! Stuart McSherry (204)467-1858 or (204)886-7027 www.mcsherryauction.com NEXT GUN SALE: Sat. March 24, 2012 MCSHERRY AUCTION SITE

ESTATE & MOVING AUCTION SAT. JAN. 28TH @ 10:30AM 12 Patterson Dr., Stonewall, MB 1926 BA visible gas Bowser; 60’s jukebox; 3 pinball machines, 1) 60’s, 2) 80’s; Various quality pop signs; Coca-Cola door bars; Oil cans; Quality antique furniture; 1800’s cast 7ft hall stand w/mirror; DR suite; BR suite; Parlor chairs; Glassware; Railway caboose lanterns; Many unique items! LARGE AUCTION. GO TO WEBSITE

Stuart McSherry (204)467-1858 or (204)886-7027 www.mcsherryauction.com

AUTO & TRANSPORT AUTO & TRANSPORT Auto & Truck Parts REMANUFACTURED DSL ENGINES: GM 6.5L $4,750 installed; Ford/IH 7.3L $4950 installed; GM Duramax; new 6.5L engines $6500; 12/24V 5.9L Cummins; other new/used & reman. engines available. Thickett Engine Rebuilding, 204-532-2187, Binscarth. 8:00am-5:30pm Mon.-Fri. SELF CONTAINED AIR SEAT, like new, perfect for tractor, truck, RV, $500 no taxes. Phone (204)436-2505, Elm Creek.

AUTO & TRANSPORT Semi Trucks & Trailers 2006 FREIGHTLINER HIGHWAY TRACTOR, new rubber, can be daycabbed, fleet maintained. $25,000; Westfield 830 auger w/5-hp electric motor; Westfield 741 auger w/gas motor. Phone: (204)348-2064, cell (204)345-3610.

BEEKEEPING BEEKEEPING Bee Equipment 690 POLY SURROUNDS; 385 with nests; 75 poly shelters, various makes. Phone: (204)435-2253.

BUILDING & RENOVATIONS BUILDING & RENOVATIONS Roofing

WINTER BLOWOUT!! 75 truckloads 29 gauge full hard 100,000PSI high tensile roofing & siding. 16 colours to choose from. B-Gr. coloured......................70¢/ft.2

Multi-coloured millends.........49¢/ft.2

Ask about our blowout colours...65¢/ft.2 BEAT THE PRICE INCREASES CALL NOW

FOUILLARD STEEL SUPPLIES LTD. ST. LAZARE, MB. 1-800-510-3303

We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you want to sell it fast place your ad in the Manitoba Co-operator classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help. 1-800-782-0794.

10X22 OFFICE BUILDING on skids, fully insulated wired & 2 electric heaters, laminate flooring, 2x6 roof & floor, 2x4 walls, two 36x36-in sliders, outswing door. (306)524-4636, (306)528-7588 AFAB INDUSTRIES IS YOUR SUPERIOR post frame building company. For estimates and information call 1-888-816-AFAB(2322). Website: www.postframebuilding.com CONCRETE FLATWORK: Specializing in place & finish of concrete floors. Can accommodate any floor design. References available. Alexander, MB. 204-752-2069.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

OPPORTUNITY! On farm processing & packaging business for the health food industry

INCLUDING ALL machinery, inventory, customers & markets across Canada. Excellent profits from weekly cash flows

FAX: 403-362-7510 EMAIL: [email protected]

BUSINESS SERVICES BUSINESS SERVICES Crop Consulting

FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS We also specialize in: Crop Insurance appeals; Chemical drift; Residual herbicide; Custom operator issues; Equipment malfunction; Yield comparisons, Plus Private Investigations of any nature. With our assistance the majority of our clients have received compensation previously denied. Back-Track Investigations investigates, documents your loss and assists in settling your claim. Licensed Agrologist on Staff. For more information Please call 1-866-882-4779

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT 1981 CASE W20B WHEEL loader, well maintained, $23,500. www.waltersequipment.com (204)525-4521 WANTED: GOOD CLEAN D6C Cat w/power shift & angle blade in good running condition. Phone: (204)524-2476.

FARM MACHINERY FARM MACHINERY Fertilizer Equipment FERTILIZER SPREADERS 4T, $1,000; 4T stainless, $2,500; 5T, $4,000; 6T, $3,000; 8T, $8,000; 8T Tender, $3,000; 16T Tender, $5,900; PU Sand Spreader, $3,500. Phone (204)857-8403.

FARM MACHINERY Grain Bins

FARM MACHINERY Grain Handling

WALINGA GRAIN VACS Tired of shovelling out your bins, unhealthy dust and awkward augers? Walinga manufactures a complete line of grain vacs to suit your every need. With no filters to plug and less damage done to your product than an auger, you’re sure to find the right system to suit you. Call now for a free demonstration or trade in your old vac towards a new

Walinga agri-Vac! Fergus, On: (519) 787-8227 carman, MB: (204) 745-2951 Davidson, SK: (306) 567-3031 FARM MACHINERY Haying & Harvesting – Baling CASE-IH 8575 LARGE SQUARE Baler, GC; Inland 4000 square bale picker, GC; 2004 1475 NH haybine, VGC. Phone (204)467-5984 leave msg, Stonewall.

NH 1441 DISC MOWER CONDITIONER 15-ft. $17,900 OBO. Call Gary 204-326-7000 Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com

FARM MACHINERY Haying & Harvesting – Various REBUILT CONCAVES Rebuild combine table au-gers, Rebuild hyd. cyls, Roller mills regrooved, MFWD housings rebuilt, Steel & aluminum welding, Machine Shop Service, Line boreing & welding. Penno’s Machining & Mfg. Ltd. Eden, MB. (204)966-3221, Fax (204)966-3248.

Combines FARM MACHINERY Combine – Case/IH 2008 5710 BOURGAULT AIRDRILL, updated to 5810, comes w/6550 Bourgault tank, done 6500 acres, $168,000, OBO. Phone:(204)352-4037, evenings.

FARM MACHINERY Combine – John Deere 1990 9600 JD, 2900 sep hrs, 914 p/u, long auger, hopper-topper, 2-spd cyl, new tires, new chopper knives after 2011 harvest, in VGC, $55,000. OBO. Phone:(204)239-7874, Austin, MB.

FARM MACHINERY Grain Elevators 80-FT. BUCKET ELEVATING LEG w/3 phase 10-HP electric motor. Phone (204)886-3304.

Harvest Salvage Co. Ltd. 1-866-729-9876 5150 Richmond Ave. East BRANDON, MB. www.harvestsalvage.ca New, Used & Re-man. Parts

Tractors Combines Swathers

FYFE PARTS

1-800-667-9871 • Regina 1-800-667-3095 • Saskatoon 1-800-387-2768 • Winnipeg 1-800-222-6594 • Edmonton “For All Your Farm Parts”

Combine ACCessories FARM MACHINERY Combine – Accessories 1993, 1995, 2000 JD 925 Flex Platforms, 25-ft. w/PU Reel, Poly skids $6000-$16,500; 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003 JD 930 Flex Platforms, 30ft PU Reels, Poly skids $7900-$18,900; 2007 JD 630 Hydra Flex Platform, 30ft., PU Reel, Poly skids, Full Fgr Auger $28,500; 06 JD 635 Hydra Flex Platform, 35-ft., PU Reel, Poly skids, Full Fgr Auger $27500. Call Gary (204)326-7000 Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com 1994 CIH 1010 RIGID platform 25-ft w/PU Reel $5500; 1997, 1999, 2002 CIH 1020 Flex Platforms, 30ft w/PU Reels, Poly skids, mint condition $12,500- $16,500. Call Gary (204)326-7000 Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com

JD 212 PU PLATFORM 6-belt $950-$2500; JD 214 PU platform 7-belt $3450; JD 914 PU platform 7belt $7500. Call Gary (204)326-7000 Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com NEW ELMERS 30-FT. HEADER Trailers w/flex kit $3000; New Arc Tec 30-ft. Header Trailers w/flex kit $2950; New Arc Fab 36-ft. Header Trailers w/flex kit, front dolly wheels, $5500; New Arc Fab 38-ft. Header Trailers w/flex kit, front dolly wheels, tandem rear suspension axles $6500. Call Gary (204)3267000 Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com

2004 JD 7320 MFWD, 16x16 Partial Powershift Trans, LH Reverser, 3400-hrs $49,500. OBO; 1982 JD 1040 w/cab, 3-pth, JD 175 Loader, $12,900 OBO; 1961 JD 3010 Diesel, real nice, $6,900 OBO. Phone: Gary (204)326-7000, Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com 2004 JD 7320 MFWD 3-PTH, JD 740 loader, joystick, 7-ft. bucket, LH reverser, 16x16 partial powershift trans, 3,820-hrs, free shipping in MB or SK, $67,900 OBO. Garry (204)326-7000, Steinbach, MB. www.reimerfarmequipment.com 2004 JD 7520 MSWD, 5400-hrs, 741 self-leveling loader/ grapple, PS/LHR, exc-cond, $72,500, OBO, would trade for 200HP MSWD tractor. Phone:(204)239-7874 Austin, MB. 4455 MFWD, 3PT, 15-SPD, w/wo FEL; (2) 4250 MFWD, 3pt, 15-spd; 2950 MFWD, 3pt, w/260 s/l FEL; 4640 3pt, 3 hyd’s; 4440 quad, 3 pt; 2555 CAH, 3pt, 4600-hrs, w/146 FEL; 3140 3pt, new paint, tires, hi/low shift, mint 1830 3pt. We also have loaders, buckets, grapples to fit JD tractors. BEN PETERS JD TRACTORS LTD 204-828-3628 shop, 204-750-2459 cell, Roseisle. JD 4240 W/CAB, 148 FEL, 3-PTH; 1830 w/3-PTH, FEL avail; 4010 w/cab, side door, 3-PTH, 46A loader; 280 & 740 FEL w/grapple, bucket, joystick. (204)828-3460.

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – 2 Wheel Drive

NEW & USED TRACTOR PARTS NEW COMBINE PARTS

STEVE’S TRACTOR REBUILDER specializing in JD tractors in need of repair or burnt, or will buy for parts. JD parts available. Phone: 204-466-2927 or cell: 204-871-5170, Austin.

Large Inventory of new and remanufactured parts

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

STEINBACH, MB. Ph. 326-2443 Toll-Free 1-800-881-7727 Fax (204) 326-5878 Web site: farmparts.ca E-mail: [email protected] FARM MACHINERY Salvage GOODS USED TRACTOR PARTS: (204)564-2528 or 1-877-564-8734, Roblin, MB.

FARM MACHINERY Specialty Equipment POTATO EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS seed cutters, treaters, live bottom truck boxes, trailers, pilers, conveyors, clodhoppers & much more. Visit our website at www.gallantsales.com Call Dave 204-254-8126.

Spraying EquipmEnt

1982 HAGIE 647 HIGH-CLEARANCE 4WD diesel Sprayer, 80-ft updated boom, 500-gal, MT flow control, outback guidance, new nozzles, $9000OBO; MF200 Swather, 30-ft, 1500-hrs, updated knifedrive, VGC, $19,000OBO. (204)529-2104.

FOR SALE: JD 7700 combine, D, equipped to dohemp, trade for 500-bu. of Canola or cash; JD 8820 Titan II, good condition, trade for Canola. (204)655-3458.

1995 JD 7200 MFWD 3-PTH, JD 740 loader, joystick, 7-ft. bucket, grapple, high hrs but excellent shape, free shipping in MB or SK, $42,900 OBO. Garry (204)326-7000, Steinbach, MB. www.reimerfarmequipment.com

www.fyfeparts.com

2011 JD 9770 COMBINE, Premier cab, 615 PU, small grains concave, Contour Master, 22.5-ft. auger, duals, 55 engine hrs, like new. Phone (204)467-2109, after 8:00pm

3 2011 635F FLEXHEADS & 2 2011 635D Draperheads, very low acres, like new. Call Ron @ (204) 272-5070 or (204) 626-3283.

WANTED: 570-BU. OR LARGER batch dryer. Phone (204)655-3458.

1982 JD 1040 W/CAB 3-PTH, JD 175 loader, $12,900 OBO. Garry (204)326-7000, Steinbach, MB. www.reimerfarmequipment.com

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

FARM MACHINERY Grain Dryers

NEW MC DRYERS IN STOCK w/canola screens 300-2,000 BPH units. Why buy used, when you get new fuel efficient & better quality & control w/MC. Call Wall Grain for details (204)269-7616 or (306)244-1144 or (403)393-2662.

TRACTORS FOR PARTS: IHC 1486, 1086, 886, 1066, 966, 1256, 656, 844, 806, 706, 660, 650, 560, 460, 624, 606, 504, 434, 340, 240-4, W9, WD6, W6, W4, H, 340, B-414; 275 CASE 4890, 4690, 2394, 2390, 2290, 2090, 2470, 1370, 1270, 1175, 1070, 970, 870, 1030, 930, 830, 730, 900, 800, 700, 600, 400, DC4, SC; MF 2745, 1155, 1135, 1105, 1100, 2675, 1500, 1085, 1080, 65, Super 90, 88, 202, 44, 30; JD 6400, 3140, 5020, 4020, 4010, 3020, 3010, 710; Cockshutt 1900, 1855, 1850, 1800, 1655, 1650, 560, 80, 40, 30; White 4-150, 2-105; Allis Chalmers 7045, 7040, 190XT, 190, 170, WF; Deutz DX130, DX 85, 100-06, 90-06, 80-05; Volvo 800, 650; Universal 651, 640; Ford 7600, 6000, 5000, Super Major, Major; Belarus 5170, 952, 825, 425; MM 602, U, M5; Versatile 700, 555, 145, 118; Steiger 210 Wildcat; Hesston 780. Also have parts for combines, swathers, square & round balers, tillage, press drills and other misc. machinery. Buying machinery, working or not. MURPHY SALVAGE (204)858-2727 or toll free 1-877-858-2728

2005 JD 9760 STS combine, 1100-hrs, duals, contour w/2009 JD 635F flex head, $144,500. Phone: (507)993-0720 .

CUSTOM BIN MOVING: Large Flat Bottom Bins & Hoppers. Also Buying & Selling used bins. Phone: (204)362-7103. Email: [email protected]

NEW GSI GRAIN DRYERS FOR SALE. Canola screens, propane/NG, single or 3-phase. Efficient, reliable, and easy to operate. Significant early order discount pricing now in effect. Call for more information. 204-998-9915 www.vzgrain.com

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – John Deere

FARM MACHINERY Hay & Harvesting – Mower Conditioner

2000 JD 930 FLEX platform PU reel, full finger auger, poly skids, reconditioned, $17,900 OBO; 2006 JD 635 Flex, PU reel, FF auger, poly skids, single pt, looks like new, $27,900 OBO; 2000 JD 925 Flex, PU reel, FF auger, poly skids, real nice, $15,900 OBO; 2007 JD 630 flex, PU reel, FF auger, poly skids, single pt, beautiful platform, $28,900 OBO; Over 20 Platforms in stock, many more coming in, all makes. Garry (204)326-7000, Steinbach, MB. www.reimerfarmequipment.com

BIG BINS & FLOORS at old prices, 20,000-56,000bu. bins holding prices until spring. NEW MOISTURE CABLES! Call Wall Grain for details (204)269-7616 or (306)244-1144 or (403)393-2662.

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

1983 MF 860 COMBINE, 9001 belt PU, chopper, chaff spreader, 24.5x32 tires, rear traction tires, rebuilt engine, new rad, VGC, always shedded, $7,800; JD 800 SWATHER, 18-ft. head, good shape, $900; JD 9350 PRESS DRILLS 2x10 rubber press, fert attach & markers, 1981 god condition, $3,500; JD 7000 PLANTER 8x36, fert attach & markers, good conditioner, $3,500. Phone (204)828-3396, Graysville. 70-FT. SUMMERS HEAVY HARROW, $15,000; Phoenix 42/53-ft. harrow, flexheads I-H 820, $2,000; 1020 25-ft., $6,000; 30-ft., $8,500; JD 925, $6,500; 12 wheel rake, $6,000; 14 wheel, $7,000; Vermeer hyd rake, $4,000; NH 9-ft. mower $2,200; IH 9-ft., $1,800; Haybuster 256+2 shredder, 4,000lb creep feeder, $1,200; Harsh 350 feedmixer cart, $6,000; Roorda feed cart, $2,000; 12-yd. JD scraper, $12,000; Haybuster 106 rockpicker, $2,500. Phone (204)857-8403. DISCS WISHEK 14FT $16,000; Kewannee breaking disc $20,000; IH #770 16ft $8000; DMI 7 shank ripper $10,900; Sunflower 14ft ripper $12,000; New 400-bu gravity wagon $6700; 600-bu $12,000; New 13ft wagon $3000; Large selection used gravity wagons $2000 up; Used grain carts 450-1050bu; 4000lb creep feeder $1200; 150-bu feeder cart $750; Harsh 350 mixer wagon $6000; Mohrlang 420 mixer w/truck $6000. (204)857-8403 FOR SALE: ACD15; JD420C; NH499 hay bine; 2003 258 hayrake. Phone:(204)828-3269 leave msg. FOR SALE: HD FRONT 3PT hitch to fit JD 40-42-44 series, can be adapted for all tractors, incl rear mount. $1200. Phone Arborg: (204)376-2604. GEHL 120 MX MIXMILL, always shedded, $2,500 OBO. Phone (204)937-2631. HAYBUSTER 2650 BALE SHREDDER, hyd deflector, big tires. Phone (204)242-2784, please phone for details.

2002 FLEXICOIL 67, SUSPENDED boom, 90ft. air curtain, 1000/gal tank, 100/gal rinse tank, $22,000 OBO (306)921-8217, Melfort, Sk.

JIFFY ROUND BALE SHREDDER, used very little, always shedded, asking $8000. Phone:(204)436-2192, Elm Creek.

Tillage & Seeding

KWIK KLEEN GRAIN SCREENER, 5 tube $4000; 7 tube $6500; Hutchinson #1500 $1750; Hutchinson #3000 $5000; Hicap 5-48 $2500; 10ft land leveller $2150; Lowe hydraulic post auger $2250; Danuser post auger $575; 8ft Lorenz snowblower $1700; Schweiss 8ft $1000; Gehl #6625 Skidsteer $13,900; New Holland #455 $6500; 10in. skidsteer tracks $750; New grapple bucket 66in. $1600; JD tractor cab $600. (204)857-8403

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Air Seeders 1997 EZEE-ON 28FT AIR SEEDER, 10-in. spacing, 175-bu. tank, rubber packers, harrows $30,000. Call Gary (204)326-7000 Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Tillage FOR SALE: 3400 WIL-RICH field cultivator, 50.5-ft, 4 row harrows, excellent condition; 2001 Flexi-Coil 5000 air seeder, 57-ft, 7.2-inch spacing, rubber packer, tow-between 2340 tank, like new. Phone:(204)324-9300 or 324-7622.

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Various 8-ROW JD 7200 VACUUM planter, 36-in. spacing, dry fert & row cleaners, $7,500; 8-row Alloway cultivator, $1,200; Elmers 8-row band sprayer, $1,200; Phone (204)857-8400, Portage.

TracTors FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Allis/Deutz 1987 DUETZ 7085 FWA, open-station, 85hp, 5900-hrs, Allied 794 FEL $18,000. (204)525-4521 www.waltersequipment.com

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Case/IH

MANURE SPREADERS NH 195, $5,500; NH 500bu, $9,000; New Idea 3634, $4,000; H & S 400-bu., $3,500; Gehl scavenger, $2,500; JD 1,500-gal slurry, $2,500; Meyers 550 for poultry horse, sheep manure, $11,900; Henke 36-in. rollermill, $5,000; Farmhand mixmill, $1,500; Allied 2795 loader, $4,500; Dual 340 loader, $2,000; Dual 320 loader, $1,500. Phone (204)857-8403. MID SIZED LOADER COMPLETE w/mounting brackets, hoses, spool, fittings, dirt bucket, bale fork, angled or straight dozer blade, $4,000. Phone (204)637-2090. SCRAPERS FOR SALE!!! Cat, Laplante, Allis, Letourneau, converted to hyd., can direct mount. Will also do custom conversion. Looking for cable scrapers. Phone Borderview Enterprises toll free 1-866-602-4093. TD9 PARTS, 10-FT DOZER blade, 5/8-inch & 3/4inch logging chains, various lengths. Phone:(204)378-2763, Riverton. USED EQUIPMENT: 1995 JD tractor 8300 MFWD, 3PT, P/S, less than 5800-hrs $77,500; Brand new 2011 Parker 739 grain cart w/tarp SALE PRICE $24,900; 2004 JD 630F SALE PRICE $20,500; 2004 JD 635F SALE PRICE $23,900. Please visit website at www.genag.com or call Shelton Kehler 701-330-7401 or Tom Wiebe 204-312-0604

1988 CASE-IH 7130 TRACTOR, 4900-hrs, MFD, duals, $38,000 OBO. Phone: (204)352-4037 2006 CASEIH DX55 TRACTOR, w/lx 360 loader, fwa, 1-hyd, 3-PTH, 927-hrs. Phone:(204)825-2641. CIH 784 tractor, 3-pth, loader, $10,900. Call Gary (204)326-7000 Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com INTL INDUSTRIAL 484 W/INDUSTRIAL loader factory cab & air, 4,500 actual hrs, tractor is in excellent condition, price $13,500. Phone (204)853-7755, Wpg.

HEADERS, TRAILERS & ACCESSORIES. Arc-Fab Industries. 204-355-9595 [email protected] www.arcfab.ca

38

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

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FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

SCRAPER FOR SALE BY TENDER Council of the Rural Municipality of Grey hereby offer for sale by tender the following: Allis Chalmers 108 Scraper Serial #1493 Capacity – Strut 8.4 cubic yard, Heaped 11 cubic yards 16.00x20 tub type 16 ply tires. Tenders must be sealed and marked “Scraper Tender” and received at the R.M. of Grey Municipal Office 27 Church Avenue East Elm Creek, MB by 4:30PM Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012. Highest or any tender shall not necessarily be accepted. Additional information or appointments to view scraper may be obtained by contacting the undersigned. Aurele Ricard Public Works Foreman 204-750-1175 or Municipal Office 204-436-2014

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WANTED: 23.1X26 TIRES; ACETEYLENE torch set; Drill press; Dozer blade for 800 Versatile; JD 8row 30-in. corn planter; Cast iron sausage stuffer; Cast iron feed cooker; Maple syrup tapping equipment. (204)685-2376, Austin. WANTED: ALLIED 795 LOADER to fit 1175 Case. Phone (204)781-7988. WANTED: A VERSATILE 580 Sprayer in working condition. Phone:(701)593-6168.

M SE R: 12345 2010/ 12 PUB Joh n Sm i t h C om p a n y Nam e 123 E x a m pl e St . T ow n , P r ovi nce, PO STA L CO DE

The Icynene Insulation System® • Sprayed foam insulation • Ideal for shops, barns or homes • Healthier, Quieter, More Energy Efficient®

www.penta.ca

Your expiry date is located on your publication's mailing label.

WANTED: GRAPPLE FORKS for JD 265 loader. Also 4020 JD engine or tractor for parts. Phone (204)768-3664, Ashern. WANTED: Ford Versatile 1156 tractor JD 2520, 3020, 4000, 4020 or 4620 powershift ‘69-72 JD 6030 tractor without cab JD 370 disc Phone: (306)423-5983.

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Agent for T.E.A.M. Marketing Monday Jan. 30 - Sheep & Goat Sale with small animals - 12Noon Saturday, Feb. 18 - Bred Cow & Heifer Sale - 10am Regular Cattle Sales every Tuesday 9AM

Sales Agent for HIQUAL INDUSTRIES Livestock Handling Equipment for info regarding products or pricing, please call our office.

IRON & STEEL 2 1/8, 2 3/8, 2 7/8, 3 1/2-in oilfield pipe; 3/4, 7/8, 1in sucker rod; 4.5, 5.5, 7-in., 8 5/8, 9 5/8s casing pipe. (204)252-3413, (204)871-0956. FREE STANDING CORRAL PANELS, Feeders & Alley ways, 30ft or order to size. Oil Field Pipe: 1.3, 1.6, 1.9, 1 7/8, 2-in, 2 3/8, 2 7/8, 3 1/2. Sucker Rod: 3/4, 7/8, 1. Casing Pipes: 4-9inch. Sold by the piece or semi load lots, taking Spring bookings. For special pricing call Art (204)685-2628 or cell (204)856-3440.

For on farm appraisal of livestock or for marketing information please call Harold Unrau (Manager) Cell 871 0250 Auction Mart (204) 434-6519 MB. Livestock Dealer #1111

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Angus

LIVESTOCK

STEWART CATTLE CO. & GUESTS BULL SALE 50 Black Angus bulls & 4 Simm X Angus bulls, February 23, 2012 at 1:30pm Neepawa Ag-plex, Neepawa, MB. Contact Brent Stewart (204)773-2356 home, (204)773-6392 cell. View catalogue online at www.stewartcattle.com

LIVESTOCK Cattle Auctions

FEEDER/SLAUGHTER SALES Every Friday 8AM Receiving open until 11PM Thursdays Presale Sundays BRED COW/FEEDER/SLAUGHTER SALE Monday, February 13 9AM SHEEP & GOAT SALE 1st & 3rd Thursday of Every Month February 2nd & 19th 1PM Gates Open Mon.-Wed. 8AM-4PM Thurs. 8AM-11PM Friday 8AM-6PM Sat. 8AM-4PM For more information call: 204-694-8328 or Jim Christie 204-771-0753

www.winnipeglivestocksales.com Licence #1122

FENCING

ATTACH YOUR MAILING LABEL HERE

GRUNTHAL LIVESTOCK AUCTION MART. LTD. GRUNTHAL, MB.

1-800-587-4711

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted CCIL 24-26-FT. DEEP TILLER w/mulchers in good condition, model 806 or 807. Phone (204)662-4580, Cromer, MB.

LIVESTOCK Cattle Auctions

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Black Angus BLACK ANGUS HEIFERS FOR SALE bred to Black Angus bulls, start calving about Apr 6th, 2012. Dale Smith (204)876-4798, Snowflake, MB. BLACK ANGUS & POLLED Hereford bulls for sale, yearling & 2 yr olds. Semen tested, performance records & delivery available. Call Don Guilford (204)873-2430, Clearwater. BOTANY ANGUS & LEANING SPRUCE STOCK FARMS have for sale yearling Black Angus bulls. These bulls are fed a grower ration. For performance information and prices contact Ryan. Come early, a deposit will hold your purchase until spring. Contact Ryan Shearer (204)824-2151 or Lyall Edgerton (204)483-2913. CATTLEMAN’S CONNECTION BULL SALE March 2, 2012, Heartland Livestock, Brandon. For catalogue or more information call BROOKMORE ANGUS, Jack Hart (204)476-2607, (204)476-6696 or email [email protected] CRANBERRY CREEK ANGUS BULLS for sale. Bulls are Reg. & will be semen tested before delivery May 1st. Hand fed & very quiet. These bulls are beefy & will add pounds to your calf crop. Please call for weights & EPD’s. Pics by e-mail also avail David & Jeanette Neufeld (204)534-2380, Boissevain.

FREE STANDING PANELS FOR SALE: 30ft 5-bar panels, made out of 2 7/8” pipe $425/panel. Phone Brent (204)642-3026

REGISTERED BLACK ANGUS BRED heifers for sale bred to Black Angus bull. Due to start calving late March. Call Don Guilford (204)873-2430, Clearwater.

GENERATORS

REGISTERED BLACK ANGUS BULLS for sale, low birth weight & very quiet, no disappointments, epd & delivery available. Phone:(204)843-2287, Amaranth.

DIESEL GENERATOR SET. BF8M1015C, rebuilt Deutz Diesel, 400 KW, 60 cycle, 600 Vac. New generator, automatic shut down, $29,000. Blue Ball, PA (717)351-5081

TOPVIEW ACRES HAS 20 Black Angus bulls for sale. Free delivery & board until April 1st. For pictures and information call (204)546-2150 or (204)648-3280. Email: [email protected]

Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Classifieds. Call our toll-free number and place your ad with our friendly staff, and don’t forget to ask about our prepayment bonus. Prepay for 3 weeks and get 2 weeks free! 1-800-782-0794.

We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you want to sell it fast place your ad in the Manitoba Co-operator classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help. 1-800-782-0794.

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39

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Black Angus

PRAIRIELANE FARMS LTD

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Simmental

Rendezvous Farms

SATURDAY APRIL 14th, 2012 1:00 pm on the farm 12 miles west of Souris, MB Contact: Blaine Canning 204-858-2475 Michael Canning 204-858-2457 or visit website at www.prairielaneangus.com

Bull & Female Sale February 13

REGISTERED PB RED ANGUS bulls, 2 yr olds & yearlings w/low birth weights. Phone: Ren-Ele Red Angus, (204)526-2424, Bruxelles.

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Charolais

Ste. Rose Auction Mart Ste. Rose du Lac, MB

PUREBRED BERKSHIRE TAMWORTH, CHESTER White Boars & Guilts for sale. Nationwide delivery available. Contact Troy Callingridge (204)828-3317, (204)379-2004 or cells (204)750-2759 (204)750-1493.

Selling 82 beefy Simmental Bulls

LIVESTOCK Swine Wanted

18 MTH OLD POLLED PB Charolais bulls for sale. To view the bulls check our website www.reddiamondfarm.com We semen test, guarantee & deliver. Phone Michael Becker (204)348-2464, White-mouth. BRED CHAROLAIS ANGUS CROSS cows & heifers. Phone (204)447-7007. FOR SALE: PB CHAROLAIS bulls 1.5 yr olds & yearlings, Polled, some Red factor, some good for heifers, semen tested in Spring, guaranteed & delivered. R&G McDonald Livestock (204)466-2883 or (204)724-2811, Sidney, MB.

nutrition digestion prevention

Farming is enough of a gamble, advertise in the Manitoba Co-operator classified section. It’s a sure thing. 1-800-782-0794.

Selling 57 Red & 25 Fullblood Bulls

Ste. Rose du Lac, MB David Maguet

RIOCANADA

=

1.888.762.3299

Gerald Maguet cell 204 447-5037

2-9 YEAR-OLDS, RED ANGUS cross, bred black angus & quantock herford, out June 1st. Full herd health program, age verified, will preg check. Phone:(204)238-4849. 30 RED ANGUS X cows bred Red Angus and easy calving Simmental bulls, start calving July/August. Phone: (204)325-8691 or (204)325-2820.

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Hereford

35 RED ANGUS/CHAR X bred heifers $1400; 20 mature Char X bred cows $1100. Phone Larry (204)267-2438 or (204)871-0867, Oakville.

EXCELLENT HEREFORD BULL, VERY quiet, was used on heifers, 5 1/2 yrs old, only reason for selling: end of bloodline. Phone: (204)242-4302.

75 CHAROLAIS SIMMENTAL X cows for sale. Your pick from 140, closed herd. Cows are all home raised, have vaccination program. Cows expose to Char & Simm Bulls from May 15th to Aug 15th. Heifers exposed to Red Angus bull from May 15th to July 15th. Preg checked & Ivomeced. Heifers had 1st shot of Scourguard. Ray Girard (204)383-5958 house, (204)886-7550 cell, Lake Francis, MB.

POLLED HEREFORD & BLACK Angus bulls for sale, yearlings & 2 yr olds available. Semen tested, performance records & delivery available. Call Don Guilford (204)873-2430, Clearwater.

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Simmental FOR SALE: PB BLACK Simmental bull, Polled, good legs & feet, papers avail, asking $3,000. Call Mark (204)252-3158 or cell (204)872-2029.

Kopp Farms Simmentals

Specialty LIVESTOCK Specialty – Goats

February 20, 2012 - 1:00PM

80 HOME RAISED BRED heifers Angus/Simmental X bred to Red & Black Angus bulls. Start calving mid-March, all vaccinations & treatments current. Performance guaranteed. Horner Cattle Company (204)867-2087 or (204)867-7117, Minnedosa. COMPLETE DISPERSAL: 210 excellent bred heifers & 60 2nd calvers Red & Black Angus X, bred Charolais and Red Angus. Also 130 very good Char X cows, bred Charolais. All done Pfizer Gold. Call (204)447-0184.

PB YEARLING SIMMENTAL BULLS, 9 Red, 1 Black, from Top Performance AI Sires. Birth weights 80-106-lbs, yearling weights 1,400-lb average. Weaning weight gain per day 3.47-lbs. Weaning to yearling gain 4.44-lbs per day. Will keep till FOR SALE: 7 BRED cows Charlois-Red Angus Cooperator bull ad.indd 1 calves at foot. Wanted: Spring. Wilcox Simmentals (204)723-2735,Rendezvous Ernie cross 3 with month old cell (204)526-7183, Pat cell (204)526-7060. Small sq straw bales. Call (204)749-2018 or (204)723-0747 cell. FOR SALE: MIXED BREED beef herd, bred to 5 yr old PB Red Angus bull, calving Apr 2012. Would consider partnership or lease arrangement. (204)571-1254. LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO feed calve & pasture cows for the 2012 season. Mostly Black Angus cows, starting to calve Apr 15th. Call Darrell (204)937-3719, Roblin, MB.

COMPLETE HERD DISPERSAL 50 Boer Cashmere cross, 10 mth to 4 yr old goats, $175 each. Phone (204)646-2157.

LIVESTOCK Livestock Equipment 2002 GEHL 8285 SILAGE wagon, $9000. Phone: (306)898-2123.

B E E F

Offering Approx. 100 Bulls

Home/office: 204/447-2054 cell 204 447-7573

LIVESTOCK Cattle Various 99 PRE-CALVING 99 CALVING 99 PRE-BREEDING 99 FREE9DELIVERY 99 LOWEST9COST-TO-FEED

P. QUINTAINE & SON LTD. 728-7549 Licence No. 1123

ON THE FARM - AMARANTH, MB

Rendezvous Farms

WANTED: BUTCHER HOGS SOWS AND BOARS FOR EXPORT

LIVESTOCK Cattle Various

8th Annual Bull & Female Sale

Also selling 27 heifers View catalog at www.transconlivestock.com Sales Consultant: Wilf Davis 204 834-2479

REAL ESTATE Motels & Hotels

LIVESTOCK Swine For Sale

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Red Angus

DENBIE RANCH IS PROUD to offer an excellent set of long-yearling and yearling bulls for sale. We have a great group of Red Angus bulls along with a good selection of hybrid bulls, who are half-bred Angus & half-Simmental. The long yearlings are the perfect age bulls, developed on grass so they will stand up for a long time and big enough to go out and breed any size of cow with no problems! The yearling bulls are also a great group out of breed leading A.I. sires as well as our own herd sires! Contact Denbie Ranch at (204)447-2473, or 447-7608 and 447-7057.

LIVESTOCK Horses – Donkeys

Swine

Monday, 1:00 p.m.

18 MTH OLD PB Red & Black Angus bulls for sale. To view the bulls check our website www.reddiamondfarm.com We semen test, guarantee & deliver. Phone Michael Becker (204)348-2464, White-mouth.

REAL ESTATE

MAMMOTH/STANDARD FEMALE DONKEYS BORN May 2011. Weaned, dewormed, good working stock for cattle, sheep & goats. Parents good guard animals. Phone: (204)425-3131

8th Annual

34th ANNUAL BULL AND HEIFER SALE

Horses

B U L L S

Offering Approx. 40 Heifers

Semen tested & guaranteed Remember, bull shopping doesn’t have to be a gamble. Kopp Farms produces bulls that are beneficial to the beef industry.

View Catalogue & Sale Videos Online www.koppfarms.com For Information or Catalogue Inquiries call 204-843-2769 Edmunds Cell: 204-856-3064 Steven’s Cell: 204-843-0090 LIVESTOCK Cattle Wanted

TIRED OF THE HIGH COST OF MARKETING YOUR CALVES?? 300-700 LBS. Steers & Heifers Rob: 528-3254, 724-3400 Ben: 721-3400 800-1000 LBS. Steers & Heifers Don: 528-3477, 729-7240 Now CoNtRaCtiNg calves for delivery Sept 1 - Nov. 15

Contact: D.J. (Don) MacDonald Livestock Ltd. License #1110

ALTERNATIVE POWER BY SUNDOG SOLAR, portable/remote solar water pumping for winter/summer. Call for pricing on solar systems, wind generators, aeration, powerflex fencing products. Carl Driedger, (204)556-2346 or (204)851-0145, Virden. EZE-FEEDER FOR YOUR CATTLE OR OTHER LIVESTOCK NEEDS. Feeds grain, rolled grain, pellets, or other forms of dry bulk commodities. Electric or Hydraulic. Feed Bins Available. Reimer Welding 1-877-695-2532. FOR SALE: 285 LUCKNOW mix wagon w/scales, in good shape, $13,000. Phone:(204)648-3983 or (204)638-7634. FOR SALE: PEERLESS ROLLER mixmill; Calving Pen; Calf Pullers; Steel Panels; Calf Warmer. Phone (204)385-2527. HEAVY BUILT CATTLE FEED bunks & troughs 3/8” thick steel, 500-gal capacity, 3.5ft x 16.5ft, good for grain, silage or water. Phone: (204)362-0780, Morden. HIGHLINE 7500 BALE SHREDDER $7500. Call Gary (204)326-7000 Steinbach, MB www.reimerfarmequipment.com PORTABLE WINDBREAKS, CALF SHELTERS, free standing rod & pipe panels, fence line & field silage bunks. Also sell Speed-Rite & 7L Livestock fence equipment, drill pipe & sucker rod. Phone (204)827-2104 or (204)827-2551, Glenboro. RETIREMENT SALE: MOBILE CALF chute w/scale, calf sled, sling, creep panel, calf hoodies, semen tank, squeeze chute, tub w/bifold door. Call (204)728-6080.

MISCELLANEOUS WANTED WANTED: REAR TIRE RAIL duals and tires to fit 18.4x38. Phone: (204)838-2397

ORGANIC ORGANIC Organic – Certified ORGANIC PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA CO-OPERATIVE (OPAM). Non-profit member owned organic certification body, certifying producers, processors and brokers since 1988. Phone: (204)567-3745, Miniota, Manitoba. Email: [email protected]

PERSONAL SINGLE? CANDLELIGHT MATCHMAKERS can help you find each other! Everyone deserves a Happy Relationship. Confidential, Photos & Profiles to selected matches. Affordable, local, 5 recent Weddings & an Engagement! Serving MB, SK, NW Ontario. Call/Write for info: Box 212, Roland, MB, R0G 1T0, (204)343-2475.

PETS PETS & SUPPLIES German/Dutch Shepherd Puppies

Find it fast at

RANCHES, GRAINLAND, BUILDING LOTS, Buffalo farm, homes, mobile homes, hunting land, pastures, hayland, hobby farms, large & small. We got them all. Call Harold (204)253-7373, www.manitobafarms.ca RANCH FOR SALE: NE, NW & SE 4-32-22 Crown Lands approved by MAFRI for transfer to purchase of Dianne Mayuks unit at Pine River 15 quarter township 31 & 32 Range 21 & 22W to purchase private land & apply for unit transfer Contact Dianne (204)263-5296. Comment on or object to this unit transfer write direct MAFRI Agriculture Crown Lands PO Box 1288, Minnedosa, MB. R0J 1E0 or e-mail [email protected] TENDERS FARMLAND FOR SALE S 1/2 of SW 1-7-8W Approx 40 cult acs, approx 80-acs total, 3.5 million BTU boiler, 5000 head nursery barn, 2500 head finisher barn, 4.3 million gal Earthen manure storage, 600-volt, 3-phase power, 14 ac w/yard, 50x80 shed, 60x120 shed, 40x50 shop, 3 cattle shelters w/corrals (seperate ownership title of 5.9 ac, 2000 sq/ft 2-storey home built in 1983). N 1/2 of SW 1-7-8W approx 65 cult acs, approx 80-acs total. SE 1-7-8W approx 135 cult acs, approx 180-acs total. NW 1-7-8W approx 145 cult acs, approx 160-acs total. W 1/2 22-7-8W approx 293 cult. acs, approx 310-acs total. SW 32-6-7W approx 115 cult acs, approx 160-acs total. W 1/2 of NE 6-7-7W approx 74 cult acs, approx 80-acs total. NE 8-6-8W approx 125 cult acs, approx 159-acs total. NE 9-6-8W approx 125 cult acs, approx 142-acs total. NE 15-6-8W approx 100 cult acs, approx 163-acs total. SW 16-6-8W approx 95 cult acs, approx 165-acs total. SE 17-6-8W approx 108 cult acs, approx 109-acs total. NW 25-6-8W approx 86 cult acs, approx 155-acs total. NE 33-6-8W Approx 125 cult ac, approx 145 total ac, 1600 sq ft home of 11 yrs, att 2 car garage, fin bsmt, both floor heated, heat pump, plenty of good well water, 40x60 quonset, 3-1600 & 4-1350 bus steel bins. Highest or any tender not necessarily accepted. Purchaser will be responsible for 2012 taxes starting March 1, 2012. For any additional info call Gilbert (204)751-0185 or Romeo (204)723-0077. Marked & Sealed tenders will be received by the undersigned for the above described land up to 12:00pm Jan 31, 2012. Submit offers to: Farmland Tenders, Box 490, Notre Dame de Lourdes, MB R0G 1M0. Any other offers will be considered invalid.

REAL ESTATE Farms & Ranches – Wanted GOOD QUALITY GRAIN & Cattle Farms wanted for Canadian & Overseas Clients. For a confidential meeting to discuss the possible sale of your farm or to talk about what is involved, telephone Gordon 10:35:26 AM or Gentles (204)761-0511, 1/19/2012 www.farmsofcanada.ca Jim McLachlan (204)724-7753, www.homelifepro.com Home Professional Realty Inc. WANTED: GRAIN & LIVESTOCK farms for both foreign & domestic buyers. Considering selling w/2012 or 2013 possessions. Now is the time to discuss all options. Professional service & confidentiality guaranteed. Call Rick Taylor (204)867-7551, HomeLife Home Professional Realty Inc., www.homelifepro.com

REAL ESTATE Land For Sale PASTURELAND 1/2 SECTION ON South 10-17-13W in the Municipality of Lansdowne; 2004 26-ft. flat deck trailer w/loading ramps w/two 7-ton axles, c/w 4 semi holders & straps. Ken Oswald (204)386-2223.

RECREATIONAL VEHICLES Snowmobiles

FLOCK OF BRED MIXED breed ewes & ewe lambs, Suffolk Ram & guard Llama sell w/flock. Phone (204)571-1254.

4 adorable shepherd puppies. 3 males and 1 female. father is pure bred german shepherd and mother is 1/ 2 german and 1/2 dutch shepherd, both parents are excellent farm dogs. All puppies are tan with black noses, ears and tail. they are used to cats. they have their first shots, are dewormed and have been vet checked. They are ready to go Jan. 21st. $300 each. (204) 466-3103 [email protected] Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Classifieds. Call our toll-free number and place your ad with our friendly staff, and don’t forget to ask about our prepayment bonus. Prepay for 3 weeks and get 2 weeks free! 1-800-782-0794.

FARM SPECIALIST: COUNT ON GRANT TWEED, informed, professional assistance for sellers & buyers. Call (204)761-6884 anytime, or www.granttweed.com. Service with integrity.

RECREATIONAL VEHICLES

LIVESTOCK Sheep For Sale

MORE SELECTION MORE OFTEN MORE DEALS...

REAL ESTATE Farms & Ranches – Manitoba

We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you want to sell it fast place your ad in the Manitoba Co-operator classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help. 1-800-782-0794.

BIGGEST HELMET SALE EVER! “Canada’s Largest Helmet & Shield Selection & MUCH MORE!” For Snowmobiles, Motorcycles, Motocross, ATVs, Scooters & Mopeds. 981 Main Street. Wpg (204)582-4130. WANTED: JD LIQUIDATOR SNOWMOBILE or Liquifire; Also wanted older TNT or RV Squidoos or any other free air snowmobile. Phone (204)728-1861. Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Classifieds. Call our toll-free number and place your ad with our friendly staff, and don’t forget to ask about our prepayment bonus. Prepay for 3 weeks and get 2 weeks free! 1-800-782-0794.

40

The Manitoba Co-operator | January 26, 2012

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Hay & Straw

RECYCLING

D OIL OT

BuyUsed Used Oil Oil ••Buy NOTRE •• Buy Buy Batteries Batteries DAME ••Collect CollectUsed Used Filters Filters • Collect Oil Containers • Collect Oil Containers USED • Antifreeze OIL & Southern,Southern Eastern, and Manitoba Western Western FILTER Manitoba DEPOT Tel: 204-248-2110

es Containers

nitoba

FIRST & SECOND CUT hardcore round bales of Alfalfa/Grass mix. Feed tested & no rain. Phone: (204)836-2434, Swan Lake. FOR SALE: 190 MILLET bales, asking 2 cents per lb. Call (204)526-0936 or (204)248-2291. FOR SALE: 600 MEDIUM square bales, 1st crop, Timothy/Alfalfa, feed test & delivery avail. Call (204)268-5615 or (204)268-4218, ask for Martin. FOR SALE: BIG ROUND 2011 1st cut Hay/Alfalfa mix. Phone (204)571-1254. FOR SALE: ROUND ALFALFA and brome Hay bales and round straw bales delivered in 40 bale loads. Phone:(204)483-2551 or (204)724-4974.

Glycol recovery services Specialized waste removal Winter & Summer windshield washer fluid Peak Performance anti-freeze ( available in bulk or drums )

Proud Supporter of Manitoba Businesses & Municipalities

LARGE ROUND ALFALFA/BROME BALES. Phone: (204)859-2724 evenings, Rossburn MB.

Collection of plastic oil jugs

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

WANTED: DAIRY, BEEF, GRASS & Straw bales in large square bales. Phone Mark 1-800-371-7928, Winnipeg.

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Feed Wanted

“Your feed grain broker”

Brokers of high/low vomi wheat and barley, corn, rye, feed pea canola and soybeans. Farm pickup prices available. Darcy Caners 204-415-3485 [email protected] Colin Hoeppner 204-415-3487 [email protected] Brian Harland 204-415-7123 [email protected] Fax 204-415-3489 www.pvcommodities.com

The only company that collects, recycles and re-uses in Manitoba! 888-368-9378 ~ www.envirowestinc.com

PEDIGREED SEED PEDIGREED SEED Cereal – Various DURAND SEEDS: CERT AC Carberry & Harvest & Kane wheat; Souris Oats; Conlon Barley; CDC Bethune & Sorrel flax; Mancan Buckwheat; Canola & Forage seed. (204)248-2268,(204)745-7577, NotreDame. JAMES FARMS LTD: AC Barrie Wheat, Tradition Barley, Leggett & Summit Oats, Hanley Flax, Various Canola, Sunflower & Soybean seed varieties, Forage seed. Customer processing. Seed treating & delivery available. Early payment discounts. For info call (204)222-8785 or toll free 1-866-283-8785, Winnipeg.

“Naturally Better!” Soybean Crushing Facility (204) 331-3696 Head Office - Winkler (888) 974-7246 Jordan Elevator (204) 343-2323 Gladstone Elevator (204) 385-2292 Somerset Elevator (204) 744-2126 Sperling Elevator (204) 626-3261

**SERVICE WITH INTEGRITY** www.delmarcommodities.com

Toll Free: 888-974-7246 SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Hay & Straw 1ST CUT ROUND ALFALFA grass bales, no rain, approx wgt. 1,450-lbs. Phone (204)871-1129. 2500 MEDIUM SQUARE BALES Timothy hay, horse quality, stored in hay shed. Also 500 large round bales Alfalfa/Timothy mix, no rain, can deliver. Phone: (204)372-6937. 300 4X8 SQUARE BALES of Perennial rye grass and 50 bales of Annual rye grass. 1400-1600lbs, $15/bale. Phone: (204)723-5002 or (204)526-5225 Notre Dame. 3X4 OAT STRAW BALES. Phone Chester or Lynn (204)746-2053, Morris, MB. 400 LARGE ROUND RED Clover Hay bales; 700 large round volunteer Canola & Wild Oats Bales; Hardcore & half net-wrapped, feed tested. Delivery avail. Jim Kaleta (204)638-7800, Dauphin. ALFALFA HAY MIX, 1ST & 2nd cut, round bales approx 1600-lbs, can deliver. Phone Bill (204)822-4962 leave message, or cell (204)325-3240, Morden.

2007 DAKOTA ALUM SUPER B grain trailers; 2000 Doepker steel tridem grain trailer; 1991 Fabrex 50ft walking floor aluminum bulk trailer (tridem); 2 1991 Arne’s hyd steel push-off trailers; 1967 trailmobile alum tridem end dump. Phone: (204)764-2449 45-FT. FRUEHAUF TRAILER, SAFETIED, new brakes & drums, complete rigging for round bales, $5,500 OBO. Phone (204)636-2450. BRANDON TRAILER SALES “You will like our prices!” “It’s that Simple!” “Let’s compare quality & price!” “Certainly worth the call!” Phone (204)724-4529. Dealer #4383

CCA TOWN HALL MEETING

SEED / FEED / GRAIN

5 LOCATIONS to serve you!

TRAILERS Trailers Miscellaneous

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Manitoba

WANTING TO BUY 30-TON Dark Red Northern potatoes & 10-ton white Granger potatoes. Koshowski Potato Growers (204)638-8415, Dauphin.

Specializing in: • Corn, wheat, sunflower, canola, soymeal, soybeans, soy oil, barley, rye, flax, oats (feed & milling) • Agents of the CWB • Licensed & bonded

FOR SALE: 1996 SOKAL 48-ft. fifth wheel ground load cattle trailer, 4 compartments, good condition, asking $10,000. Phone (204)375-6547.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

PEDIGREED SEED Specialty – Potatoes



2011 & 2012 EXISS ALUMINUM LIVESTOCK TRAILERS: SELLING OFF STOCK FOR NEW IN-VENTORY UP TO $1,500 IN SAVINGS DIRECT TO YOU. 18-ft., 20ft. & 24-ft. Gooseneck starting at $14,200. Avail at SOKAL INDUSTRIES LTD. Phone: (204)334-6596. Email: [email protected]

STOCK TRAILERS GN Titan 7x24 $5500; 7x22 $3500; 6x18 $3500; 6x20 $3000; 6x16 BP $2750. New Decks for 3/4-1ton Trucks 9ft $2350; 11ft $2850; 11ft service body $1200; 48ft Loboy trailer $6500; Double axle dolly $2000. (204)857-8403

SANDERS SEED FARM FDN, Reg. Cert. Domain Kane, Cert. Carberry, Harvest Wheat, Manitou, MB. Phone (204)242-4200 or (204)242-2576, Daniel Sanders.

FEED OATS 28-32 LBS/BU. Clean but light $2.00/bu at farm. Phone: (204)722-2023 McAuley, MB.

TRAILERS Livestock Trailers

WANTED: FARM LABOUR on cattle operation, working w/cattle & equipment. Fax resume to Yellow Rose Farms (204)535-2072.

CAREERS Professional

Office Manager P. Quintaine & Son Ltd. We currently have an opening for an individual with exceptional time management, organizational, and multitasking capabilities to work as Office Manager. Responsibilities: • Prepare financial statements for review by accountant • Strong decision making and problem solving skills • Provide outstanding general administrative support to both internal employees and external customers • Perform general photocopying, faxing, mailing, file maintenance Qualifications: • Accounting background preferred • Knowledge of livestock industry an asset • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written) • Ability to operate standard office equipment We thank all applicants for their interest, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Please submit your cover and resume to: P. Quintaine and Son Ltd. Box 29 R.R. # 5 Brandon, MB R7A 5Y5 Email: [email protected] Fax: 204-729-8744

NEW ARC FAB COMBINE platform trailers in stock 30-ft., 36-ft., 38-ft., 40-ft. w or w/o dolly wheels. Dealer inquiries welcome. Garry (204)326-7000, Steinbach, MB. www.reimerfarmequipment.com

PUGH SEEDS: CERT KANE, AC Barrie, Somerset Wheat. Souris Oats. Conlon Barley. Reg & Cert Sorrel Flax. Phone (204)274-2179, Bill’s cell (204)871-1467, Barry’s cell (204)872-1851, Portage.

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Feed Grain

SILVER WEANLINGS IS LOOKING for a fulltime hog barn worker. Silver Weanlings is a 2800 sow barn unit located 7-miles south west of Arborg, MB. Weekend work will be required. Experience an asset, but not required. Starting wage $13.90/hr. Please forward all resumes to [email protected]

1-204-724-6741

ROUND BALES 1,200 1ST cut alfalfa grass, excel-lent condition, 1,300-lbs, $32; 200 2nd cut, 1,300-lbs, $40. Phone (204)625-5225 or (204)625-2702, Elphinstone.

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Hay & Feed Wanted

FARMERS, RANCHERS, SEED PROCESSORS BUYING ALL FEED GRAINS

SASKATOON, LLOYDMINSTER, LETHBRIDGE, VANCOUVER, MINNEDOSA

OAT STRAW ROUND BALES, baled by JD 567 baler. Freight available. Phone:(204)234-5411.

STRAW FOR SALE: Rye grass 1,500 bales; Oats, 575 bales; All in big square bales 4x4x8, can deliver. Phil Cormier (204)771-9700, La Salle, MB.

CAREERS Help Wanted

Heated/Spring Threshed Lightweight/Green/Tough, Mixed Grain - Barley, Oats, Rye, Flax, Wheat, Durum, Lentils, Peas, Canola, Chickpeas, Triticale, Sunflowers, Screenings, Organics and By-Products √ ON-FARM PICKUP √ PROMPT PAYMENT √ LICENSED AND BONDED

FOR SALE: ROUND BROM & alfalfa mix bales, excellent condition, also round wheat straw. Can deliver. Phone:(204)324-9300 or (204)324-7622.

We BUY used oil & filters

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

We are buyers of farm grains. SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted WANTED: A SEED GRAIN cleaner for wheat & barley, capacity 40-bu or more per hr. Phone (204)848-2485 Fax (204)848-4659.

BUYING:

www.cattle.ca/townhall

  • Vomi wheat    • Vomi barley   • Feed wheat    • Feed barley   • Feed oats    • Corn   • Screenings    • Peas   • Light Weight Barley You can deliver or we can arrange for farm pickup. Winnipeg 233-8418 Brandon 728-0231 Grunthal 434-6881 “Ask for grain buyer.”

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA • Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed “ON FARM PICK UP”

1-877-250-5252

Vanderveen Commodity Services Ltd. Licensed and Bonded Grain Brokers

37 4th Ave. NE Carman, MB R0G 0J0 Ph. (204) 745-6444 Email: [email protected] Andy Vanderveen · Brett Vanderveen Jesse Vanderveen

A Season to Grow… Only Days to Pay!

February 9, 2012. 2:30 PM at the community hall in Pipestone, MB. Beef producers, come and get a first-hand account of the many initiatives the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is involved in on your behalf and the progress we are making toward improving industry competitiveness for the long term. Learn more and RSVP at www.cattle.ca/townhall or call 403-275-8558. Meetings sponsored by Farm Credit Canada.

Contact Denis or Ben for pricing ~ 204-325-9555

NOW BUYING Confection and Oil Sunflowers, Brown & Yellow Flax and Red & White Millet Licensed & Bonded P.O. Box 1236 129 Manitoba Rd. Winkler, MB. R6W 4B3

We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you want to sell it fast place your ad in the Manitoba Co-operator classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help. 1-800-782-0794.

CAREERS CAREERS Help Wanted CHRISTIAN RANCH WORKING WITH KIDS from single parent, foster and group homes requires fulltime year-round Horsemanship Instructor, Summer Barn Staff plus Counselors and Other Staff May - August. Salary plus housing. [email protected] www.brightwoodranchcamps.com RM OF WALPOLE NO. 92 LOCATED IN SE SASK. AT WAWOTA, SK REQUIRES MOTOR GRADER OPERATOR. Applicant must have skills and experience in maintenance and operation of heavy equipment including a grader, back-hoe, tractor w/attached mower. Have a valid 3A drivers license (minimum). Duties include but not exclusive to: Grading, mowing, backhoe operation maintenance of roads, shop, tools, and equipment, installing culverts, and signs, etc. Must be willing to work inconsistent hours, dictated by weather. Resume should include previous experience, references and salary expected. Please submit your application to the RM Office at Box 117, Wawota, SK S0G 5A0, on or before 2:00pm Wednesday, February 8, 2012.

SALES AGRONOMIST REQUIRED GJ Chemical Co. Ltd. in Altona MB is looking for a full time Agronomist/salesperson. We are a full service retail dealing in: Seed, Seed Treatment, Seed and Pest management chemicals, Liquid fertilizers, custom application by air and ground, crop planning, crop scouting, and soil sampling. DUTIES WILL INCLUDE: •   Crop planning, crop scouting, pest  management recommendations •   Providing services and products to our  customers •   Developing relationships with our current  and new customers •   Day to day operations at retail as needed;  willing to learn all aspects of this retail Experience in Agronomy/Retail is an asset but  we  are  willing  to  train  and  assist  an  individual  that  shows  interest  in  making  this  line  of  work  a  career  and  has  some  background in agriculture.     ie. farm background or Diploma or Degree  in Agriculture. We will provide a competitive  salary and benefits. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. 

Please send your resume to : GJ Chemical Co. Ltd Box 1648 Altona MB., R0G 0B0 Attention: Ted

CAREERS Sales / Marketing LOOKING FOR A CHALLENGE? Horse Country & Hearts of the Country, are two unique Manitoba magazines that share similar demographics, but are unique in their editorial mandates. Publishers are looking for an experienced Advertising Sales Representative. The ideal candidate must have proven experience in print advertising sales, accurate knowledge of a rural Canadian audience, database experience, high-speed internet, and a strong desire to match clients with campaigns. Candidates must have good communication skills, be independent, creative, honest, dependable and excited about the potential of both magazines. Commission with advancement opportunities, send resumes to contact@ horsecountry.ca. Phone:(204)372-6121. Do you want to target Manitoba farmers? Place your ad in the Manitoba Co-operator. Manitoba’s bestread farm publication.