agripost february 27 2015

February 27, 2015 1The Agri Post

History PreservedBy Harry Siemens

It was a great day for his-toric preservation, for thePembina Threshermen’s Mu-seum, the extended Elias fam-ily, and others as the Hasketelevator, also known as EliasSeed Plant, moved from thesite where the Elias family builtit in 1944 with help from manyothers, to place it where willstand on the museumgrounds west of Winkler. Bernie Wiebe of B B Wiebe& Sons Ltd of Osterwick,Manitoba took on the task ofmoving the elevator from it’slocation near Hasket to movewest and then north. It alsotook Manitoba Hydro em-ployees cutting and re-at-taching at least 12 power linesthat hung too low for the 40-foot plus structure as itmoved to its new home. Wiebe and his two sons,and the rest of the movingcrew took the better part oftwo days to move it ontoblocks and move it half a milealong the edge of the field sothey could get it to the rightroads for its journey to theMuseum. “While not tackling some-thing this high before, ourpast experiences moving allkinds of buildings through-out Manitoba,Saskatchewan, and Alberta

Abe and Shirley Unger of California and Sylvia Josse ofWinnipeg looked on as the movers, B B Wiebe and Sons wait forthe Manitoba Hydro crew to cut the last set of power linesbefore moving onto the yard of the Pembina Threshermen’sMuseum.

The Hasket elevator moves down the main street of the Pembina Threshermen’s Museum nearWinkler to stand for all to see beside the Hasket store.

helped us through this onetoo,” said Wiebe. He said to move it onto theblocks and eventually ontothe beams and get a solidbase, they had to knock offabout two feet of the bottomof the elevator because ofwood rot. However, the restof the structure is in greatshape. Bill Reimer, one of the Vice-Presidents for theThreshermen’s Museum saidthe board had looked at get-ting an elevator for a numberof few years. One of the rea-

sons is because thesewooden elevators are fastdisappearing from the coun-tryside. When something didbecome available, it was toobig and too far away. This onewas close, smaller and itwould fit into the Museum’syard. “We are happy to preservethis one at the museum,” hesaid. “We have a flour millthat we didn’t have a placefor - we think it will fit in verywell.” Reimer said volunteersshingled the roof last spring

because it still had the origi-nal shingles when the Eliasfamily built it in 1944 and werein poor shape. Now withsome additional funding andvolunteer help, they will re-pair the bottom of the struc-ture, and then Wiebe willcome back and move it ontoits new foundation, right nextto the Hasket Store movedthere some years ago. Sylvia Josse of Winnipegand Shirley Unger of Califor-nia, the two family memberspaying for the $20,000 mov-ing bill took in the two-day

move, happy to see it happen. “Maybe it was a dream tohave some artefacts of myfather’s [George G. Elias] his-tory reside somewhere and bekept for future generations toenjoy in some way,” is howShirley responded as to whythis was happening. “Afterdad died, during the auctionthinking about things andhow things could be pre-served, and talking with BillReimer from the museumabout the various buildingson the farm yard, and both thefamily and museum had inter-est in preserving the eleva-tor.” Shirley said it is a historicevent not only for the two sis-ters, but also for their family,and for the people of the prov-ince of Manitoba. “It is an honour and privi-

lege for us to be here,” shesaid. “It is something daddreamed of and we assuredhim many times that we wouldpreserve something and leavea legacy for him. It concernedus a little about how it wouldstay there on the farm, butnow we know it is in goodhands.” Sylvia said it would take afew months to get it intoshape for people to actuallywalk through the elevator. “The museum has a grainmill that is waiting for a home.The first floor of the annexpart is where the grain mill willgo. The second floor in theannex will house some histori-cal artefacts from the EliasSeed Farm. We thank the mu-seum for taking on this projectand preserving this greatpiece of history,” she added.

February 27, 20152 The Agri Post


By Les Kletke

According to the president of Manitoba Beef Producers the checks and balances ofthe Canadian system are working. Heinz Reimer acknowledged that the discovery of an animal with bovine spongiformencephalopathy (BSE) is not a good thing for the Canadian cattle industry still, the factthat it was found without entering the food chain should add to confidence in theCanadian system. “It has been a number of years since there was a case of BSE and there is an allowablenumber of cases under regulations,” said Reimer. “So this is not a panic situation, andthe fact the animal did not enter the food chain supports the system we have in place todetect these animals.” Reimer said that mainstream media made the item more a case than the beef industrydid.“The prices have moved up a bit the week after the animal was found and that tells methat it was not really an issue,” he explained. He cites the drop in value of the Canadiandollar as having more of an impact in the market. “The lower dollar has American buyers in the market place and we see strength inevery sector of the market, there is not one segment that is really hot or none that islagging back. The market is strong,” Reimer continued. The current upswing in prices is part of the industry in his view. “The cattle businesshas always had 10 year cycles and this is a peak in the cycle,” said Reimer. The anomalythat he sees is the market missed the last peak. “We should have seen strong prices 8 or 9 years ago but we missed that because of anumber of factors, one being the BSE even then and other things that followed it. If youadjust for inflation we are probably right where we should be with this market,” he said.“I remember 6 cwt weight calves selling for $1,000 in 2003 and that is not that far off fromwhere we are.” Reimer said he is encouraged by the young people showing up cattlemeetings. “We have young people interested in the business because it is viable again, somefellows held on through the tough times and are selling out, and that is creating oppor-tunity for the next generation to get into the business,” he said. “The down times werenot attractive to bring new people to the business.”

Manitoba Beef Producers(MBP) is continuing to moni-tor the developments sur-rounding a confirmed case ofbovine spongiform encepha-lopathy (BSE) in a beef cowin Alberta. Although any case of BSEis a concern, MBP is encour-aged that the various proto-cols in place led to the dis-covery and display thestrength of Canada’s BSE sur-veillance program. “That the animal was foundthrough the national BSE sur-

Cattle Associations CommendBSE Surveillance Programs

veillance program shows theprogram is working,” saidManitoba Beef ProducersPresident Heinz Reimer. This recent case is the firstsince 2011. The CanadianFood Inspection Agency iscontinuing to investigate buthas confirmed that no part ofthe animal’s carcass enteredthe human food or animal feedsystems. The South Korean ban oc-curred just after InternationalTrade Minister Ed Fast com-pleted a trade mission to

South Korea. Fast even par-ticipated in a cooking dem-onstration, where he pre-pared Canadian beef for hisSouth Korean partners. If South Korean officialsact as agreed and CFIA pro-vides the necessary infor-mation as soon as it is, avail-able the expectation is thatthe suspension may only“Last days,” said JohnMasswohl, Director of Gov-ernment and InternationalRelations for the CanadianCattlemen’s Association.

Amidst Confirmed BSE CaseBeef Prices Move Up

Farmers are always lookingfor a better way of doingthings and with better technol-ogy come improved profits. Allen Leigh Security & Com-munications of Brandon hascome out with the first inno-vative Implement Camera that

CameraCameraCameraCameraCameraTTTTTechnologyechnologyechnologyechnologyechnologyGivesGivesGivesGivesGivesFFFFFarmersarmersarmersarmersarmersMoreMoreMoreMoreMoreOptionsOptionsOptionsOptionsOptions

allows farmers to seecolour in a completelydark environment suchas in an air-seeder tank. White LED Cameraseliminate the annoyingand restrictive reflectionissues common with IRnight vision cameras,giving the operator amuch clearer picture. This im-proved visibility allows forbetter decision making. Thetechnology allows you toclearly see the tanks’ grainand fertilizer levels, as well asflow patterns. Knowing thatthere are no complicationswith seeding or har-vesting operations re-duce down time andwaste, all the whilemaking the life of thefarmer safer and lessstressful.

Above: A white LEDImplement Camera allowsfarmers to see colour in acompletely dark environment.

Below: Camera images takenin complete darkness.


by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected]

By Dr. Jon Gerrard

Today’s column may take a little different route, path,direction if you like. First off, I want to get a couple of myths out of the way. Foryears, eating butter was bad, and for many it still may not bethe greatest thing to eat, but after re-looking at old studiesbutter, in total isn’t all that bad. I’m not here to present all kinds of research, you can findthat anywhere, and if all else fails, google it. I’m here to saythat for so many years, the dairy industry and dairy farmershad to fight all that negative publicity that someone put outthere, including governments. Then of course, eggs, a Big Mac meal and other goodiescontaining bad cholesterol are totally bad for you and espe-cially your family. In this case, the Golden Arches had enoughmoney to spend to counter much of that bad publicity, but stillmany people felt guilty, me included, waiting in the line-upswith the other bad people, eating bad food. Again, don’t get me wrong, this stuff with loads of every-thing and repeats every day may tend to help you gain weight.However, several weeks ago, stories came out that maybe justmaybe after all; this stuff isn’t that bad for you. It is a bit likediabetes, if your body isn’t producing enough insulin, thendiet, staying away from certain sugary foods, and walking is anoption. I digress. In July of 2013, my doctor looked me in the eyesand said, Harry if you don’t change some things, a year fromnow you will be asking for medication, meaning I’d be adiabetic in one year. Both my wife Judith and yes me, althoughnot quite so fast as she, said no way. Placing the results ofbeing diabetic on top of my heart issues wasn’t a good idea. One year later, this same doctor’s office called after anotherset of tests, Harry you are not a diabetic. Wow the change indiet and walking most mornings is paying off. Well, last fall my heart wasn’t performing that well either, soI increased my walking, changed my diet even more, andcombined with taking on the would-be diabetes and shelvingthat disease, I’m doing much better, thank you very much. The reason I share this here is because while research changesand someone busts a myth or two it doesn’t give us license toget back to our old habits. The thing that I like the most is the fact I can eat eggswithout a guilty conscience and know that they are good forme, and I’m supporting yet another group of farmers. I eatvery little processed foods, mostly fresh meat, fruits, veggies,and a sliver of dessert here and there. Let me remind you though, what you eat in private shows upin public. Another negative has to do with the fact that people, andmany in the media keep calling BSE, that dreaded brain-rottingdisease, Mad Cow. It isn’t mad cow - calling it that just givesfarmers and the sick cow a bad rap. If you can’t say the longname that BSE stands for, don’t. This came to my attentionwith the case of BSE in Alberta this past week, the first onesince 2011. Shutting the border in 2003, with our first case of BSE, hurtthe cattle and beef industries, and destroyed many farmfamilies, and even some lives because it just about broke theonce thriving industry. And it had nothing to do with what thecattle people did or didn’t do. One of the worst-case scenariosI’ve witnessed in my years of farm reporting. The seven yearsof bad pork prices could be a close second. Here is a statement from the Manitoba Beef Producers(MBP), which continues to monitor the developmentssurrounding a confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephal-opathy (BSE) in a beef cow in Alberta. Although any case of BSE is a concern, it is great the variousprotocols in place led to the discovery and displays thestrength of Canada’s BSE surveillance program. “That the animal was found through the national BSEsurveillance program shows the program is working,” saidManitoba Beef Producers President Heinz Reimer.

The recent report of the Small Scale Food Manitoba workinggroup provides a positive view of how to move forward for farm-ers involved in this vitally important sector. It represents theresult of substantial efforts of small-scale producers and proces-sors over the last year while working with a government, whichhas caused considerable distress to this sector over the last sev-eral years.

Unfortunately, the valuable input and necessary representation of this group were onlytemporary and have been discontinued. The disbanding of the working group at a time when itis needed most to ensure the recommendations are actually implemented is a mistake. A regularcontinuation of the working group is what is needed to hold the government’s feet to the fire tomove quickly on action. The recommendations, while substantial, are often generalized in nature. For example, onerecommendation is to, “Develop a plain language guidebook.” Surely, there are no better peopleto be involved in developing the guidebook than the experienced members of the workinggroup. The fact that the government did not set specific target dates for implementing recommenda-tions when releasing the report on January 14 is a red flag regarding our government’s respon-sibility in following through with action. Why did the government adopt the general recommen-dations without deadlines and targets for implementation? Every day that this work is incom-plete is a day when uncertainty, instability and tensions will continue in the small-scale localfood sector. The working group did an excellent job in identifying problems in the current approach by thegovernment. For example, “Small scale producers do not fit well into the present model ofapplied continuing education and extension delivery.” Another example is the, “Confusionabout what constitutes a direct sale of farm products.” The report sadly did not provide anyclarification on this confusion, and the government has not committed to a clear and consistentapproach. Such deficiencies must be addressed quickly if this critically important sector is tothrive. The government needs to get its act together so that different arms of the same department areno longer praising a food processor one day and punishing it the next. Many issues also occurfor both small producers and processors as well as for larger ones. So the recommendation to“Facilitate a process to allow small scale producers and processors to organize themselves,”needs to be considered and whether such an organization needs to be separate from the Key-stone Agricultural Producers (KAP) and the Manitoba Food Processors Association (MFPA),or if these organizations have the capacity to adapt and well represent small local producersand processors. Small local producers and processors will and must make that decision them-selves – but perhaps KAP and MFPA should be given a chance to present reasons why andhow they can adapt to help this group of producers and processors, and how they would moreeffectively work with organizations like the Farmer’s Markets Association of Manitoba. Additional issues like on-line marketing still need addressing. It is likely that more issues willarise and the working group is needed to ensure such issues are addressed and addressedquickly to avoid the damaging past mistakes of this government.

The use of pesticides in agriculture worries many people. This concern stems from agenerally poor understanding of the science and testing that regulates these substances,and from an unhelpful media. In January, on the science 2.0 website, Hank Campbell dida great job of explaining how benign the products really are and how the process leads tothis conclusion by using an image familiar to people, namely a shot of Scotch.

Campbell writes, “Imagine you read a headline claiming that drinking Scotch was linked to massive brain damage and suddendeath.” Pretty scary stuff. Folks might immediately move all sorts of bottles from the liquor cabinet to the garbage bin, eventhough people themselves have had all sorts of personal experience drinking Scotch without ever seeing any of these cata-strophic results. Few people would get excited; however, if the first sentence of the article noted that, “It would take 10,000 shots of Scotchto get that dangerous effect.” In a nutshell, this is the problem that laypersons have with reading sensational headlines and reports based on toxicology.There are far too many “scary” headlines and far too few real-world explanations of what scientists have really looked at. Noone is going to down 10,000 shots of Scotch in one sitting. But, as Campbell points out, that’s, “How a large number oftoxicology results get portrayed – and the public doesn’t know it unless they read the fine print.” Further complicating matters is the common practice of adding a surfactant to whatever chemical is under study in order toimprove its uptake. Again, the average person generally doesn’t know about any of this. And again, Campbell has a goodexplanation. A surfactant is, “Basically a detergent that breaks the natural surface tension of something, such as between achemical and animal tissue. A famous surfactant experiment in K-12 science labs is a needle and water. When laid flat, a sewingneedle will be held up by surface tension and float on top of water. If you add a little bit of detergent, however, that surfactanteliminates the surface tension and the needle immediately sinks.” So what about a slow build-up of a particular toxic substance over time? That’s actually one of the reasons scientists usethings like surfactants and “gavage” (tubes going straight into the stomach) dosing. They are trying to “Simulate in a shortamount of time what might be happening after buildup over many years. Using these methods in a month for a rat is about 30of our months, so 90 days in their test was almost 8 years.” And these tests are replicated multiple times. The whole process and the end result are actually kind of boring, because it’s monotonous and nothing sinister is going on.Boring is good. Boring is what we want. Unfortunately, boring isn’t what brings everyone’s eyes and ears to the various newsoutlets, and without that attention they can’t sell enough expensive ad space to make a living. One needs to remember that the“news” business isn’t just about news or keeping the public informed; it’s also very much about selling advertisements. It’s not unusual for scientists to increase the orders of magnitude in a study all the way up to the equivalent of 10,000 shotsof scotch and it’s interesting to see the results. But like Hank Campbell says, “Understanding how chemicals work in the realworld will make the public feel a lot better.” Now there’s an idea worthy of pouring a couple of fingers of scotch and raisinga toast!

Another Shot of Scotch

Questionable NDP TacticsLets Down Small Scale

Producers and Processors

Myth Busters


I got a note this week from Dr. Elmer Stobbe who has retired to the west coast, informing me of thepassing of Jim McCutcheon of Carman. The world has changed and now a guy in B.C. tells me of thedeath of a fellow in Carman, that’s what the internet has done. We sometimes think that changes come in one Big Bang but in reality, they seep into our lives, as

the internet and minimum tillage have. Jim McCutcheoncould tell that story better than anyone could and Dr.Stobbe and I reminisced about the factors that broughtit about. “The drop in the price of Roundup,” said Stobbe.“We could talk all we wanted but until farmers saw theeconomics it didn’t matter. I first met Jim in 1978 when the U of M DiplomaClass of 1979 visited his farm on what was then called

the Summer Tour. He had converted his Carman area farm to zero till at a time when recreation tillage(as we now call it) was a major summer activity. McCutcheon was either a visionary or a lunatic fringe depending on how you viewed the idea, butRoundup was $30 a litre and he was using it instead of a deep tiller to control the weeds on his farm.He told us about the importance of a sprayer and how it needed to be in top-notch condition toapply the products he was using on his farm. He was an interesting presenter though not what wetypically thought of in farm information at the time. Now nearly 40 years later we accept the concepts McCutcheon was developing as a pillar inwestern Canadian agriculture. Not everyone has converted to the gospel of Zero Till but tillage ismuch reduced from what it was 4 decades ago. Looking back, I now see the value in those out of the box farms we visited on Summer Tour, andhow some of the ideas they were based on moved to mainstream, and more importantly, I see howimportant people like Jim McCutcheon are to the evolution of our industry. He was willing to takesome steps away from the masses of the time and try something new; he made a commitment to thepractice and followed it, when conventional wisdom said otherwise. People like Jim have had a great impact on our industry, and maybe we need to give a few more ofthe outside the box thinkers another look. Our industry lost a great one in Jim, and he would be the last to take credit, he would just smile andcarry on.

BSE is back in Canada, and South Korea has now respondedby halting all imports of Canadian beef. The Canadian FoodInspection Agency (CFIA) announced recently that it hasconfirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)in a beef cow in Alberta, a first since 2011. The announcement was eerily reminiscent of 2003, whenCanada found its first native BSE case that plunged an entireindustry into a deep economic depression overnight. With thiscase, the entire Canadian cattle industry is still holding itscollective breath. South Korea’s move is evidence that moreinformation is needed to reassure markets, and fast. To be clear though, the global food safety landscape is adifferent place than it was back in 2003. Depending how youcount cases of BSE, this is likely Canada’s 18th native case, sowe have a number behind us. Regulators and industry are moreaccustomed to manage these cases now. But most importantly,consumer perceptions have changed everywhere, and politi-cians are aware of that. We know more about BSE and its linkto the human variant of mad cow, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, arare, fatal disease. Even if risks are awfully low, some nervouscountries like South Korea remain highly cautious. Back in 2003, BSE was a troubling unknown in the generalconsciousness. The US was still BSE-free and Japan, a majorexport market for the US and Canada, was just coping with theaftermath of its first native case a few years earlier. At the time,more than 100 McDonalds’ restaurants closed for more than aweek and beef sales dropped 35 per cent in a year. With more than 180,000 cases found worldwide now,countries are less likely to use BSE as an excuse to pull thetrigger and issue embargoes against each other. Very few BSE-free countries remain. Norway recently found its first case andnothing happened. In Canada, BSE has never been regarded as a food safety issueby consumers themselves. Back in 2003, after Canada found itsfirst native case, domestic demand for beef went up 5% withinnine months after the announcement, even if retail prices barelydropped. But internationally, the politics are very different. China is dealing with this issue right now in the wake of itsbaby formula scandal. When food safety is top of mind forconsumers, science often takes a backseat to fear. Anxietymanagement often leads to irrational dogmatism. According to a recent food safety survey, Canadians are themost trusting consumers in the world. Therefore, it is obvi-ously difficult for many Canadians to understand how foodsafety situations can be so intricate. Aware of the broader complexities, the CFIA is nowfrantically working to determine how the latest animal becameinfected and to trace out all animals deemed to be of equivalentrisk so they can be destroyed. It may take weeks, perhaps afew months, before knowing the true cause of this latest case.In the era of globalized food safety intelligence, time is ofessence. Finding this confirmed case suggests that our system isworking. It took just one week between the samples being

Dear Editor: The province recently concluded a public consultation for a review of operating guidelines forthe Red River Floodway, Portage Diversion and Fairford Water Control Structure. The regularity and severity of flooding that landowners and communities have experiencedover the last several years have taken a financial, physical and emotional toll. Several commonthemes were heard throughout the review process, and of particular concern was a “mistrust ofgovernment.” In fact, the review committee heard this concern so often that it ensured it wasnoted on several storyboards throughout the meeting rooms. The committee is focused on issues such as a lack of any requirement to notify municipalitiesnorth of the Floodway when it has gone into operation, and a perception that emergencysummer operation of the Floodway mainly benefits Winnipeg. Another issue is the negativeimpact of flooding on water quality for people and wildlife. I anticipate the committee will make sound recommendations in its final report at the end ofFebruary, but only the government can address the issue of mistrust. The NDP must treat flood-affected farmers, cottagers and landowners fairly and stop putting out false information, such asclaiming the average payment per farmer for the 2011 flood was $300,000 while documentsshow it was less than $70,000. The mistrust of government threatens to remain a stumblingblock to the resolution of these issues, regardless of how reasonable property owners may be.Shannon MartinMLA for Morris/Conservation and Water Stewardship Critic

Lack of Trust in Floodway DecisionsWhen Out of the Box Becomes Mainstream

Countries Less Likely to Use BSEto Pull the Embargo Trigger

By Sylvain Charlebois

taken from the animal inAlberta to the CFIAconfirming the results. Backin 2003, the process tookmonths. Such a diagnostic shouldbe supported by readilyavailable data on theanimal’s origin, age andfeeding regiment to reassuremarkets. Further delays willsuggest that our foodtraceability systems arelacking. In light of SouthKorea’s decision, to seeother countries follow suit isnot impossible, particularlyif the animal is younger thanwhen the ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban wasimplemented in 2004. It isbelieved that feeding cattlewith meat and bone meal topreviously uninfected cattlecauses BSE. As for consumers lookingfor a better deal at the meatcounter, they will likelyneed to wait a little longer.The impact on markets wasmuted, given that it isconsidered an isolated case. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois isProfessor of Food Distribu-tion and Policy at theUniversity of Guelph’sCollege of Business andEconomics.


By Kate Storey

Public demand to buy food directly from farm-ers is growing. In Manitoba the government re-sponse has been slow and the regulatory hurdlesare discouraging. The recent release of Advanc-ing the small scale, local food sector in Manitobais a first step but farmers are asking if it willreally make any difference. Many farmers are willing to sell a side of beef,a few dozen eggs or a bag of potatoes to theiracquaintances. Indeed, farmers have been directmarketing since agriculture began. At one time,governments encouraged them in the art of safefood production and processing. For example,remember the 4-H lesson on how to properlybutcher a chicken for sale. At one time, farmdirect sales accounted for a significant percent-age of food purchases. Many citizens knew theirfarmer. Then came the agribusiness revolution andfarmers were encouraged to abandon their smallenterprises and specialize to fill commoditymarkets. People became consumers and withintwo generations, the social link between tableand farm was broken. Now, corporate grocery stores rule the foodsystem with a massive, complicated and expen-sive network of middlemen who ensure a con-stant supply of every food imaginable, in andout of season. In order to keep this food ascheap as possible, efficiencies must be foundand corners cut. Citizens have gradually no-ticed that, although food is plentiful, the qual-ity and taste have changed. Occasional food re-calls and stories of factory conditions have con-tributed to a general worry about industrial foodquality. Consumers grumble and keep going tothe grocery store anyway, but a growing num-ber of citizens are seeking their food directlyfrom farms. Some farmers are answering the demand. Di-rect food sales at the farmgate and farmers’ mar-kets are expanding. Networks are developing tostreamline sales; the internet and word of mouthare used. Governments jump on the bandwagonand proclaim their support for local foods, how-ever little support is provided for small localfood producers. Other farmers do not see selling food to aneighbor as marketing and cannot believe thatanyone could make a living that way. They havebought into the idea that bigger is better andtaken it one step further to believe that smalleris bad. This type of thinking has led to thecommodity associations, which represent farm-ers’ also adopting the notion that small farmsare inferior. These commodity associations arethe lobby groups to government who advanceregulations that ignore the needs of small-scalefood producers and actively discourage farmgatesales and farmers’ markets. When challenged, government and commod-ity associations talk about food safety. A lookat the regulations show that many have nothingto do with food safety and everything to dowith making small farms disappear. Internationaltraceability, export protocols, food sizing, fancypackaging, double washrooms, double signaturesand paved parking lots are not necessary whenthe farm is small and the consumer can questionthe farmer directly. Governments have mandated commodity as-sociations to focus on expanding export mar-kets with no focus on small-scale food. Smallproducers continued to operate until attentionwas drawn to these issues when a popular farmwas first commended by government and thenraided and fined by over a regulation technical-ity. The resulting public furor was loud andlong. When faced with public outrage, agovernment’s strongest defense is to commis-sion a report.

Fast Facts: Small Scale FoodReport is Food for Thought

The people selected for the Small Scale Food Manitoba WorkingGroup included three small-scale direct marketing farmers. Fivewere staff from associations representing heavy weights likeParmalat, Maple Leaf Foods and Canada’s biggest egg conglomer-ate, Burnbrae Farms. Chair Wayne Lees should be commended formaking an extraordinary attempt to advance the small-scale localfood sector in the report the group produced, Advancing the smallscale, local food sector in Manitoba: a path forward. Many of therecommendations are welcome. The Report estimates about 3% of Manitoba food is sold directlyfrom a farmer at the farmgate or farmers’ market. It then suggeststhat this market share could be grown to 10% by 2020. If directmarketing is seen to be in direct competition with commodity agri-culture and industrial operators see 10% as the difference betweenprofit and loss, will they be willing to give up a share of theirmarket? One recommendation in particular has made direct marketing farm-ers wonder if the consultation was futile. The report recommendsthat small scale food producers create their own association and useit, not to lobby government, but rather to work inside the other,larger associations. Small producers are busy and do not have thecapacity currently to create such an organization. The report doesnot offer any ideas for funding either. Furthermore, the report doesnot acknowledge the power imbalances inherent in these strugglesfor share of the agricultural market. The report recommends that associations, “Foster a diversity ofproduction methods,” and recognize small-scale producers, “Aslegitimate members of the commodity group.” The report then goeson to call for, “A collaborative, inclusive context among the existingboards, small scale specialty producers, government policy ana-lysts and consumers.” Small farmers are understandably scepticalthat large associations can make these changes given the vestedinterest of commodity associations in the status quo. Is collaboration possible? In the past, government labelled smallfarms as inferior, mandated commodity associations to replace smallfarms in favour of export oriented industrial production systemand gave them a virtual monopoly. Now the associations are beingasked to embrace diversity and give up a piece of their market. Public support for small farms is strong and getting stronger. Asthe report points out, commodity associations “Have been granteda social license to provide a predictable supply of food to thepublic.” But the growing popularity of small-scale food and farm-ers’ markets is a sign that the public wants more. The question iswhat will governments do to make a real place for small-scale pro-ducers at the table? Kate Storey is a Manitoba farmer and direct marketer.

The not-for-profit Canada-US Grain and Seed Trade Task Group re-cently published new information that will help commercial grain han-dlers and buyers understand the regulations on cross-border trade. Included are new options for commercial handlers to obtain aphytosanitary certificate for US, Canadian or commingled grain ship-ments to third countries loaded at elevators in either country. The websitenow provides four trade modules, covering US producer deliveries, Ca-nadian producer deliveries, seed trade and the new commercial moduleas well as industry news updates. Although, the Canadian Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act of2011 ended the mandatory marketing requirement for western Canadianfarmers and changed several aspects of the commercial trade, includingthe elimination of end-use certificates international requirements stillneed to be met. One of the requirements is that wheat, durum, and barleyare still subject to phytosanitary regulations. “US and Canadian government agencies in both countries clarified therequirements governing how phytosanitary certificates are issued forcommodities transshipped through either country,” said Tyler Bjornson,Interim Executive Director of the Canadian Grains Council. “The newrules provide more transparency about the origin of grain, but they canbe complex. Now grain handlers and buyers can reference the new com-mercial module and share their questions and comments on the website.” “This new information should answermany of the questions that commercialtraders had following the open-markettransition about cross-border trade op-portunities in both countries,” said GaryMartin, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the North American ExportGrain Association. “We are very pleasedto provide this kind of support that hasonly been possible because so manygrower and industry stakeholders onboth sides of the border have been will-ing to work together.” The information is posted on thegroup’s website canada-usgrainandseedtrade.info.

Grain Collaborators Publish NewCommercial Trade Information


A new US NASA satellite now orbiting Earthwill scan land surfaces for the next three years todetect moisture held in the topmost layer of soils.Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scien-tists will use these soil moisture measurements tohelp improve our understanding of processes thataffect weather and climate, and in turn, agricul-tural production. On January 31, NASA launched the Soil Mois-ture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite from Cali-fornia. This mission will produce the most accu-rate, highest-resolution global maps of soil mois-ture, temperature and freeze-thaw cycles ever ob-tained from space. The information will be par-ticularly useful for the agriculture sector by help-ing to improve weather prediction and crop pro-ductivity models, monitoring areas affected bydrought or excess moisture and improving floodforecasts. “The SMAP satellite will become an important source of soil moisture data for Canada, andSMAP data will support agriculture across the country,” said Dr. Heather NcNairn, a ResearchScientist with AAFC. The SMAP mission, headed by NASA, is a large-scale collaboration with scientists, governmentsand universities in both the US and Canada. In 2012, an AAFC team from Ottawa and Winnipeg ran a large field campaign, or validationexperiment, called SMAPVEX12. “Soil and plant measurements we collected in the Portage La Prairie–Carman area of southernManitoba were used to calibrate and validate SMAP processing models,” said Jarrett Powers,Manager, Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office, AAFC, Winnipeg. “These data are nowavailable to scientists worldwide.” For the duration of the SMAP mission, at least three years, AAFC will provide NASA with datafrom AAFC’s network of nine soil-monitoring stations in Manitoba and five in Ontario installed atprivate farm sites. That information will be used to assess data coming from the satellite and test soilmoisture mapping products.

Maps from SMAP satellite data will helpAAFC researchers monitor surface soilmoisture conditions that affectagricultural production and updatemodels used to predict crop yields. Thenew information will help Canadianproducers make informed farm-operation decisions based on changingweather, water and climate conditions.

Soil Moisture MissionRockets into Next Phase

Photo courtesy of NASA/Bill Ingalls


By Harry Siemens

On February 16 and 17 a World Trade Organization, appeal panel heard the final US appealfor the US Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling (M-COOL) and how it is in violation ofAmerican trading obligations. Manitoba Pork General Manager Andrew Dickson, who heard the appeal in Geneva, saidthis case is precedent setting. “Many countries are looking to protect their home marketsand using regulations to do that is a bug bearer of the advocates for free trade,” Dicksonsaid. “We all know as producers, that free trade is good for farming. It encourages marketsto open up; it brings greater returns to producers and lets countries play to their greaterstrengths.” He said in this particular case, Canadian farmers are good at producing beef and pork andwant to access those markets. The M-COOL case will lay out the ground rules or setjurisdictional precedents for how the system makes changes on trade disputes on regula-tory systems. “It’s very key that we win on this case because it’ll have long term implications for othermeasures that other countries might be thinking of trying to put into place to protect theirproducers from competition from countries like Canada,” added Dickson. The WTO appeal panel will report its ruling in late April or early May and if the US loses,Canada and Mexico will be in a position to begin the process of introducing retaliatorytariffs on US imports. Dickson said that process would take some time, which may give the US an opportunity toresolve the issue before retaliatory tariffs come into effect. Governments and industry alike estimate the impact of M-COOL on the Canadian cattleand hog sectors in 2012 to be around $1.1 billion dollars per year. Karl Kynoch, the outgoing chair of Manitoba Pork said support in the US for resolution ofM-COOL to avoid retaliatory tariffs is building. That is a good thing because more and morepeople recognize, again no one but the lawyers benefit from retaliations. Kynoch said, in discussions with US pork producers attending the Minnesota and IowaPork Congresses recently, the desire to resolve this issue is building. “As M-COOL gets closer to a head, the one thing in the US made very clear to us inmeetings at the Minnesota and Iowa Pork Boards, the pork producers in the US want M-COOL resolved,” he said. “They’re doing what they can with their Senators, with theirCongressmen, who ever they can talk to. The one thing we don’t want to get into is traderetaliation, having tariffs and duties and if we don’t get it resolved by the end of this yearthat could be where we’re headed.” Kynoch stated the big change in the US in light of the WTO rulings on the matter is thatmany of the rock solid supporters of M-COOL see the writing on the wall and recognize theyneed to address and resolve the issue.

WTO Hears M-COOL Appealas Need to Resolve Builds


By Les Kletke

Some would ask why the province needs another farmgroup to speak on its behalf, and Brent VanKoughnetacknowledges it is a legitimate question. “Especially in what is a mature crop,” said the Execu-tive Director of the newly minted Manitoba Wheat andBarley Growers. “There are groups formed when a cropestablished itself with significant acres but these cropshave been around a while.” VanKoughnet said the need for a new group came aboutwith the changes to the CWB.“A lot of these things were handled by the CWB but nowthere is a need for a group to speak on behalf of wheatand barley growers and administer the check off fundsthat go to research and market development.” He citesthe Canola Growers, and Pulse Growers groups that de-veloped as production of the crops grew. He is most clear about what the group is not, a policygroup. “We are a part of Cereals Canada and they do agood job of that and getting information from their mem-bers,” he said. “Manitoba needed a group to work withthe groups in Alberta and Saskatchewan [each has sepa-rate wheat and barley organization]. Ideally we wouldlike to see the 5 groups come together with a westernCanadian approach but we need to get an organization inplace that can take those steps.” The group will also form a parent organization forprojects that seek funding from government programsfor Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) or theWestern Grain Research Foundation. The group had its first annual meeting in Winnipegearlier this month and attracted 150 people. The proceed-ings featured the election of three board members to joinpart of the existing ad hoc board. “That helped with the continuity, and many groupssaid they wished they had done that,” said VanKoughnet.“We will elect the other half next year, but this allows theBoard to continue functioning without redefining all theroles and focus of the group.” VanKoughnet is confident the group will find enoughissues to keep it busy while staying out of the policyarena. “We have no intent of going there, we are focusedon the market development and research of these twocrops,” he said. “That is the role of a producer group.”

By Harry Siemens

During a recent meetingbetween the hog industryand the Manitoba NDPgovernment agreement wasreached in a conditionalapproval for a limited num-ber of new barns in theprovince. Andrew Dickson, theGeneral Manager ofManitoba Pork Council(MPC) said do not look forany ribbon cutting andbarn openings any timesoon though. “Limited re-laxation,” said Dickson af-ter a group representing theindustry met once againwith government represen-tatives. “What they areprepared to do is contem-plate a pilot project, to in-clude a limited number ofbarns using alternativetechnology to the aerobicdigester. It is not wideopen.” In 2008, the Manitobagovernment established apermanent moratorium onhog barn construction orexpansion in southeasternManitoba, the Red RiverValley Special ManagementArea, including the CapitalRegion, and the Interlake,and then extended thoserestrictions to the entireprovince in mid-2011. While economic hardtimes hit the hog industryfor several years, continu-ing into 2014 solid profitsoffered hope to producers.Yet, for the industry inManitoba, the ban keptprocessors’ capacity op-tions limited. Dickson saidthe project has to comethrough MPC for reviewand they will indicate to theprovince whether theproject is in line with theprovincial limitations. Afterthe Council review, theproject is submitted to theprovince. “Not that we are approv-ing them, but we are sup-posed to review themahead of time and then in-dicate to the province as towhether these things will fitin terms of being alterna-tive technology,” he said.“My gut feeling is we willget some through that way

Hog Barn Expansion ReceivesConditional Approval

“Limited relaxation,” saidAndrew Dickson, of MPCafter a group representingthe industry met once againwith government represen-tatives. “What they areprepared to do is contem-plate a pilot project, toinclude a limited number ofbarns using alternativetechnology to the aerobicdigester. It is not wide open.”

because the province isalso very determined to getsome through.” Dickson stated that thereare two caveats that pro-ducers need to bear in

mind. The first caveat isthat barn projects will needto be accepted at the locallevel in each community toavoid the public pushbackthat was seen in the 1990s. “We have to build themin places where there is suit-able space as much landbase so they can handlethe manure in an environ-mentally sustainable wayas laid out by province,”said Dickson. “The manurehas to be injected and theapplication rates have to beat the phosphorous annualcrop removal rate.” Dickson said there has tobe two different streams ofmanure. First, applicatorsmust apply the manure onarable land, in other wordsinjected into the soil, thesoils cannot have morethan 60 parts per million,and government willstrictly control the applica-tion rates. Regulators alsowish to see the location ofany new facility to be inwestern Manitoba with a

connection to a processingplant in some way. The province will allow forexample a nitrogen ratewhere the applicator puts onthree times the level for a par-ticular field, but must take thefield out of rotation for ma-nure application over thenumber of years needed tocome back to the appropriatelevel. He said the province doesnot want to see any build upof phosphorous in the soil.In fairness, most of the soilsin western Manitoba are de-ficient, at about 17 to 18 partsper million. Dickson hopes the prov-ince will be to see some addi-tional production eventually,especially finisher barns toincrease the finishing capac-ity so they can start to fill theplants better. The second caveat is thatinvestors need to be found.This may be problematic be-cause of the history of hogproduction over the last sev-eral years, stated Dickson.

One in five of all known life forms on earth are a beetle. From the Tiny feather-wingedbeetles to the giant Titan beetle, they are found on every continent and have adapted toevery terrestrial and fresh water ecosystem. Beetles, known scientifically as Coleoptera, play an important role in agriculture. Theyrecycle soil nutrients, eat live and dead plant and animal tissue, can help control weeds, andeat insect pests like aphids, slugs, and caterpillars. Their hard work leads to healthier soil,and less competition for resources like light, nutrients, and water, which results in increasedcrop yields and reduced pest management costs for farmers. “I do think that beetles are the coolest and most intriguing creatures around. Several fieldsof science, including agriculture, use beetles as a research tool,” said Dr. Patrice Bouchard,Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) coleopterist. Beetles have been successfully used by AAFC scientists as biological control agents toaddress weed problems in crops and rangelands. Mogulones crucifer, a weevil from thebeetle family for example, has recently provided much relief to rangelands in western Canadaaffected by Houndstongue, a weed highly toxic to livestock. Beetles are not always an ally to farmers. Invasive beetles can damage or destroy cropsand trees. If not understood and managed, they can cause significant losses to the agricul-ture sector by feeding on plants and eating up crop yields before harvest or after harvestwhen grains are stored. Take the rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae), which has been a pest of stored grain for morethan 4,000 years. To help deal with this ancient pest in Canada, AAFC researchers in Manitobadiscovered a new way to control it using extracts from peas. Due to increased international trade, more types of beetles not yet present in Canada areintercepted at our borders each year. Research by AAFC helps identify allies from adversar-ies and works to ensure our borders stay open. You can find out more about these important insects in The Book of Beetles: A Life-SizeGuide to Six Hundred of Nature’s Gems, edited by Dr. Bouchard. “I hope that this book will generate more interest in this group of insects and lead toimportant scientific discoveries in the future,” he said. The book is written to appeal to professional and armchair beetle enthusiasts alike. Basicbiological information is given for each beetle, along with a map showing where it is foundin the world, its conservation status and information on its cultural and economic signifi-cance.

A full agenda has been prepared for the 2015 AGM ofthe Manitoba Sheep Association that will be held on Sat-urday, March 7 in Portage La Prairie. This year’s AGM will include speakers on parasites andintensive lamb production. As well, there are 11 Resolu-tions to be discussed and voted upon by members.Amongst the resolutions are the Canadian Sheep Fed-eration tag levy, association financial support, the pro-hibitive cost and difficulty for emergency drug release andgreater accessibility to sheep medications, the number ofwool depots in the province, and the US M-COOL ob-struction for lamb exports. For more information contact Jennifer [email protected] or call 1-204-421-9434.

Manitoba Wheat andBarley Growers

Building a Foundation

Double Agents... Ally and an Adversary

PPPPParasites Tarasites Tarasites Tarasites Tarasites Topic for MB Sheep AGMopic for MB Sheep AGMopic for MB Sheep AGMopic for MB Sheep AGMopic for MB Sheep AGM


Many weaned dairy heifers go from eating high quality milkreplacer and calf starter in a nice cozy calf barn to being kickedoutside and being fed leftovers from the lactating cows. Replace-ment heifers fed in this way, often fail later-on to reach their fullpotential as milk cows. In contrast, dairy heifers raised on a goodnutrition program, which promotes steady good growth have abetter chance at making good milk and good profit. Such economic success is really the end-result of implementinga good heifer-feeding program from 3 months to 24 months of agein replacement dairy heifers. This program is based upon threetimeless, yet simple targets:1. Reach 540 – 600 kg at 22 - 24 months of age at 1st calving andenter the milk-line.2. Reach 380 – 430 kg at 13.5 – 15 months of age, show strongheats and be ready for first breeding.3. Allow for 800g of gain per day after they reach puberty untilcalving. To attain steady growth rates, many universities around theworld have collectively advised that young replacement dairyheifers should consume a palatable diet designed with an energylevel of about 65 – 69% TDN. Some extension references aremore definitive and dictate a dietary metabolizable energy of 2.3Mcal/kg, diet. These research and field trial energy values are usually basedupon above freezing temperatures, when little, if any significantmetabolic energy is used to keep heifers, warm. In order to make Canadian cold weather energy adjustments,we should use the guideline of: for every 1 °C drop in tempera-ture below 0 °C, most cattle TDN energy maintenance require-ments increase by about 2%. That means we should increase theabove heifer energy requirements in their diet by 40 – 50% whenthey are braving -20 to -25 °C temperatures (with wind-chill) inan outside pen. Protein levels in the same heifer rations are not usually affectedby winter temperatures. Three to six month old animals need adiet of 16 – 18% protein, while older animals from six months tobreeding age need a 15 -16% diet. After dairy heifers are bred at14 – 15 months of age, these protein levels can lowered to 13 –14%. Finally, about three weeks before they calve, one shouldimplement a well-balanced 16 – 17% protein transition diet witha modest energy level. Such close-up rations for replacement heifers are similar tothose fed mature cows, but are still important. In addition, supple-mental mineral and vitamins in the transition diet should comple-ment the forage. Water is important too, and a clean good supplyshould always be provided. Luckily, sound diets for dairy heifers formulated along thesenutritional parameters should not be complex. It could meanproviding a good quality mixed alfalfa-grass hay and a nutritious16% heifer grain ration fed to younger calves, or providing aTMR (total mixed ration) containing limited amounts of high-energy barley or corn silage, complimented with a grassy hay,mixed with grain and a supplemental protein source. No matter what type of diet is being fed to dairy heifers, it isequally critical as to how replacement heifer diets are fed. Here isan outline of some key points of a typical dairy heifer bunkmanagement program:- Segregate heifers - Avoid feeding small younger animals pennedwith older heavier animals. Bred heifers should be segregatedfrom un-bred ones. As pregnant heifers get closer to calving, theyneed their own pen and a “transition” ration.- Check feed bunks - If bunks are licked clean, it’s a good sign tofeed more heifer diet, so all energy requirements are met duringcold weather. Reduce the amount fed if one has lots of leftovers.- Check on your heifers – By nature, they will have a socialpecking order. You should be aware of animals that don’t readilycome up to the feed bunk. It is also a matter of providing enoughinitial bunk space and then more eating area as they get older.- Provide appropriate shelter - Replacement heifers should beable to get out of the direct wind. Wind-chill decreased by 5 °C;saves 10% in additional dietary energy used to keep warm. Extraclean bedding should be put down on a frequent basis addinginsulation against cold ground.- Scrape the pens - In melting weather, occasionally clean theconcrete pad adjacent to the feed bunk. It doesn’t make sensethat heifers should be forced to stand in mud, melted water andmanure as they are eating. A good feed/management program should be designed for dairyreplacement heifers that simply meet their own brand of nutrientrequirements. Raising dairy heifers in this way returns them tothe dairy barn as successful 1st calf cows. Afterwards, given thebest milking cow nutrition should transform them into good ma-ture dairy cows for many lactations to come.

Two Manitobans are in the top 24 vying for the one ofthe 16 mentorship positions with the 2015 Cattlemen’sYoung Leaders (CYL) Development Program. Breanna Anderson of Swan River and Wilco van Meijlof Brandon made the top cut out of almost 70 applicants. Open to producers between the ages of 18 and 35 theCYL Development Program provides a combination offormal and informal opportunities to learn from existingbeef cattle industry leaders and other youth organiza-tions undertaking mentorship opportunities. Theprogram is about opportunity to explore a potentialcareer choice or rewarding provincial/national producerorganization involvement, while gaining essentialbusiness connections and learning tools along the way.

Cattlemen’s Young LeadersAnnounce Semi-Finalists

“The program continues to grow due in no small partto the quality of our graduates and their enthusiasm forthe program and our industry. CYL alumni have done anexcellent job promoting the program to their peers andencouraging youth to apply,” Program CoordinatorJolene Noble said. “With each year and new set ofapplicants, I am even more impressed with the calibre ofindividuals in the Canadian beef industry.” The finalists will be selected at the CYL Spring Forum,which will be held from March 26-28, 2015 in Saskatoon. After final selection, CYL candidates will be paired witha mentor for a nine-month mentorship in their area ofinterest. The mentors are handpicked to best suit eachindividual CYL and set them up for a very successfuland productive year.

RRRRReplacement Dairy Heiferseplacement Dairy Heiferseplacement Dairy Heiferseplacement Dairy Heiferseplacement Dairy HeifersNeed Good NutritionNeed Good NutritionNeed Good NutritionNeed Good NutritionNeed Good Nutrition


By Les Kletke

It is only a few hours in anairplane or two days of harddriving and yet agriculture insouthwest Florida is a worldaway from southernManitoba. As southwest Florida facedits first February frost in adecade, Mike Greenwell ex-plained, “We are in peak pro-duction, a frost now wouldhave the greatest impact on ourproduction that is possible.”Greenwell grew up in CapeCoral, Florida and spent 10years in the outfield for theBoston Red Sox before return-ing to Cape Coral and gettingcomfortable in another field.Today has 10 acres of veg-etable production and a 300-cow beef herd. His son and daughter-in-lawraise horses for the barrel rac-ing circuit and have buyerscoming to visit from as faraway as Australia. Greenwell explained thatproduction stops June to Au-gust. “That time is just toohot here,” he said. “We don’thave much in the ground,though we do have the dragonfruit which is a cactus andgrows year around.” The cac-tus originates in southeast Asiaand produces a bright pinkfruit that is close to a kiwi intexture.”

Producers who market their crops on their own or through a broker will soon have access toreliable and timely crop and price data at their fingertips. A funding package of $742,725 willenable the wheat industry to analyze gaps in crop data and price reporting for grains and offer aweb solution that provides industry with timely, accurate and transparent market information. The project is being spearheaded by the Alberta Wheat Commission with financial supportbeing provided by the federal government. “This site will be a valuable source of market information for farmers and other industryplayers,” said Levi Wood, President of the Wheat Growers. “Improving the flow of informationmakes for more competitive markets, and will give farmers another tool to help them in theirseeding and grain marketing decisions.” The Wheat Growers see the development of the website as a one-stop shop for marketinformation, including information on grain prices, crop estimates, grain movement, stocks,domestic use and export numbers. The project will identify the crop and price data needs for all participants in the grains valuechain including primary producers, elevators, processors and transporters and offer an unbiasedand verifiable online source for that data. Making this data available to producers and theirbrokers is expected to enhance and improve the market for all participants, most specificallyfarmers.

Grain Market Information Depot to go OnlineGrain Market Information Depot to go OnlineGrain Market Information Depot to go OnlineGrain Market Information Depot to go OnlineGrain Market Information Depot to go Online When a Frost in February Can Kill

Mike Greenwell is at home in a tractor as he was in left fieldplaying for the Boston Red Sox. He has 11 acres of vegetableproduction that peaks in February.

“We can’t get enough ofthem and are trying to propa-gate the trees with cuttings,”he said. “When the cutting isstressed it starts to root andthat has worked well for us.” Greenwell was concernedabout the frost that was calledfor in February and threatenedmuch of the area’s crops. “Wehave nothing we can do; all ofour irrigation is drip irrigationso we can’t mist the crops asthey do in orchards. We cantry to cover some of it butmostly we just hope it doesn’tget that cold.” The frostspared the area and vegetable

growth continued with a signof relief. Greenwell’s view of the beefindustry is different than mostManitoba producers as well.“Getting into the beef indus-try was the best thing I everdid, the returns have been bet-ter than any other enterprise.”He began building a herd ofBranford cattle 6 years ago andnow has 300 cows. The breedis a cross of Brahman and Here-ford cattle that can withstandthe extreme heat of summersin Florida and the dark skindoes not sunburn.


Whether you chose to use implants in your production model or not I think it is important for us all to understand the science behindhormones and the beef industry. Hormones are naturally occurring substances in all living things, including animals, humans, and plants. When I look up ‘growthhormone’ in my medical dictionary I find the following definition, “A substance that stimulates growth….that directly influencesprotein, carbohydrates, and lipid (fat) metabolism and controls rate of skeletal and visceral (any large internal organ) growth.” Hormonal growth implants can be used to promote this growth, especially in animals that are deficient in natural hormones, such ascastrated bull calves. The implants, which are placed in an area not used in food production like under the skin in the ear, allow theanimal to use feed nutrients better. So what does this mean? It translates into improved weight gains and a more efficient use of feed and water. This has a tremendousimpact on the amount of resources used and the pounds of beef produced. Canfax statistics indicate that over a period of 30 years,Canada has slaughtered 20% fewer cattle but produced 11% more beef. These significant improvements can be attributed to improve-ments or changes in practices such as animal genetics, feeding management and the use of hormones. So, more beef cattle fed for a shorterperiod of time means less feed and water used, reduced environmental impact and more food produced for people. As well, there is awelfare component, as one of the main reasons male bull calves are castrated is to reduce aggressive behaviour and to prevent fightingand possible injury to other animals. But what about human health? All drugs and additives used in Canada’s livestock industry are approved for use by the VeterinaryDrugs Directorate under Health Canada and have been reviewed for human and animal safety, and, random samples are taken fromcarcasses and tested for residues. Implant safety has also been reviewed by the World Health Organization and the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations and they have cited no concerns regarding the use and level of hormones in beef that would posea risk to human health. As noted earlier hormones occur naturally and are present in plants and animals, so there is no product that can claim to be hormonefree. To compare hormone levels in common foods and in our own bodies refer to the following table:

Source: Adapted from Alberta Beef Producers, albertabeef.org/page/worried-about I have previously written about the importance of new markets opening up to Canadian producers, including those in Europe andAsia. All new markets provide opportunities for Manitoba producers and producers across Canada. Some Canadian producers maychoose to pursue Europe as a marketing alternative, which means no added hormones. There is demand for this product and withdemand, there will be supply from somewhere. In the end, the choice to use specific products or not in your operation should be based on your individual marketing goals. There aremany opportunities out there for individual producers to take advantage of and I encourage all producers to understand the sciencebehind this and other issues. Your voice matters, so whether or not you choose one form of marketing over another you can still speakfor your industry using the facts. For more information on the research and science around hormones and beef production, I encourage you to visit the Beef CattleResearch Council website at beefresearch.ca or beefresearch.ca/blog/growth-promotants. Melinda German is General Manager of Manitoba Beef Producers.

By Les Kletke

“It is a business for the kids, they make the decisions and dothe work,” said Michael Nesom about Townsend Farms. TheWoodridge farm operated by Dawn, Michael and their children ismuch more than something to keep the kids busy. This south-eastern farm is a mix of traditional agriculture with computer agemarketing that appeals to an upscale market. Michael works in Alberta and helps with the business planningbut he is very clear the four Nesom children age 11 to 17 decideon the ventures and work on the day-to-day operation. They have had good results with their pasture-raised chickensand are expanding not only the number of chicken for 2015 butalso the type of fowl. Last year they sold 150 chickens so thatflock is being expanded to 900. “They also have guinea fowl andGolden Turkeys as well to hit another market,” said Nesom. Their approach to production is to use heritage breeds for allspecies. “They are hardier and work better under the productionregime we have here,” he explained. The farm raises hogs of the Large Black variety and the animals

The Science ofHormones

True Family Venture

are outside except for farrowing time. “They have a barn that isused for farrowing but otherwise the hogs are outside and need tobe hardy enough to handle the weather.” They have noticed thebreed has some drag in litter size and might grow a bit slower thanconventional varieties. “They work in this system and provide atasty meat that consumers prefer,” said Nesom. Michael added that the slaughter of heritage breeds is the key totheir revival. “You have to have a use for the animal; they won’tsurvive as a breed if no one is eating them. When they are slaugh-tered and eaten, people will raise more,” he explained. “It issomething we talked about in the marketing plan of the farm.” The farm’s beef operation is based on a Belted Galloway herd,because the breed is extremely hardy. “They have long hair toprotect them from the cold in winter and from the flies in sum-mer,” he said. Again the breed has a bit of production drag andtakes 30 months to get an animal to market, but the feeling is thequality of meat more than makes up for it. Currently the herd is composed of one bull, 6 females and soonthey will introduce a new bull for bloodlines. “We wanted a project for the kids and this is a great one,” said Annastasia and her belted Galloway bull Quark.

Sophia with her registered horned dorset ram Kronos.

Nesom. The farm is much more than a project but rather a lessonin life. Everything is done by the rules and meat goes throughgovernment-inspected plants, the marketing is done convention-ally as well as internet orders, and decisions are made by thegroup who then has to follow through. Even the feed inputs are considered in the overall business planand the consumer response to GMOs. “We have a feed mill thatmixes the feed to our specification and uses non-GMO crops,”said Nesom.

Hyrum (in charge of poultry production) and Reuben(in charge of pork production) testing new recipesfor sausage production.


Do you operate both a farm and a business? Do you know thatyou need to discuss this with your insurance broker? All policiescontain limitations and one very basic one is that a farm policycovers farm property and operations while a commercial policycovers business property and operations. A farm policy will not automatically cover business exposuresand property. This is not to say it can’t but you need to discussthis and make the necessary arrangements for the added expo-sure. Otherwise, the insurance policy may not respond at thetime of a loss. A few examples of business operations are custom combining,doing business work in your farm shop, storing business usemachinery in your machine shed or selling a product from yourhome. In any of these situations, you may find yourself withoutcoverage. More specifically at the time of the claim, if it is dis-covered that the workshop is used to manufacture a product andthey have not been made aware of the commercial business op-eration. The building insurance and all of its contents, even if it islisted on the policy, may not be covered at all. It is possible thata loss that has nothing to do with the business operations (i.e.:hail damage) could also be declined. This would mean no pay-ment for the loss simply because you did not talk to your brokerabout your operations. Talk to your insurance broker about all of your activities today.Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from those whounderstand your business. Andy Anderson is an Associate Insurance Broker specializingin General, Life and Group Benefits for Farm and Business. Hecan be reached at 204-746-5589, F: 866-765-3351,[email protected] /rempelinsurance.com /valleyfinancial.ca.

By Peter Vitti

Putting out free-choiceloose mineral to nursing beefcows isn’t a particularly dif-ficult job, but it is an essen-

How Much Mineral Are Your Beef Cows Eating?tial one. It’s a recommendation that Ihave made for years, becausewe need to maintain or elevatetheir post-calving mineral sta-tus that helps them cycle be-

fore the start of the breedingseason and conceive earlywithin weeks of letting out thebulls. In addition, we shouldfeed cattle mineral in properfeeders and then monitor its

consumption by cows to as-sure they are eating sufficientmineral. Unfortunately, many peoplefollow the feeding directionson the mineral bag’s label, butdon’t check on how muchmineral their beef cows actu-ally consume on a daily basis.In many cases, they feed toolittle, which could allow a pos-sible macro- or trace-marginaldeficiency to develop andcould easily lead to poor preg-nancy rates. Others dump intoo much, where they are con-stantly digging out uneatenrock-hard mineral, which iswasteful. Recently, I received a callfrom a veterinarian nearEdmonton. She said that a cli-ent; a 300 cow-calf operatorphoned her and thought theyhad a copper deficiency intheir herd. Many of their cowshad shown no signs of heat acouple of months after calv-ing and often failed to catchduring the breeding season.Within a few minutes of ourconversation, she said that theherd showed subtle symptomsof a copper deficiency andasked me what I thought ofsignificantly increasing thecopper levels formulated in acommercial mineral that herclient was feeding. Without judgment of thecopper status issue, I askedhow much mineral was fed ona daily basis to this cowherd.The vet replied that she didnot know. Her clients visitedtheir cattle grazing pastureabout once a week and she as-sumed they put out a coupleof bags of commercial mineral. At the end of our conversa-tion, I gave her the best rec-ommendation that I knew forfeeding most commercial low-salt beef mineral: feed 50 – 100grams (2 – 4 ounces) per headper day. For a 300 cow-calfoperations: (70 g x 300 cows x

7 day)/25-kg bags = 6 bagsshould be provided on aweekly basis. For those people that wishto keep tract of the amount ofmineral that their cattle con-sume on a daily basis the stepsto determine cattle mineral in-take are:1. Count how many cows andestimate how much total min-eral is to be fed to them.2. Fill each mineral feeder withone bag of mineral.3. Come back a few days later.4. Estimate/measure theamount left in each feeder, and5. Do the following calcula-tions.- (7 feeders (for 300 – cows) x25 kg mineral) – (about 1/3mineral leftover) = 117 kg- 117 kg/300 cows/3 days =130 g per head per day.- 4.6 ounces (divide grams by28) per head per day. Upon review of these re-sults, a built-in variability ex-ists in how much mineral thatcows (and growing calves) ac-tually eat. If consumption issignificantly outside the 50 –100 grams target, it is com-mon to mix 1/3 salt with 2/3mineral to either increase ordecrease cowherd mineral in-take. Producers might alsodouble-check the nutrition ofthe cows’ total diet and makesure that cattle don’t avoid orgravitate toward mineral feed-ers, because something is un-balanced. Regardless of type andamount of loose mineral fed,it is always a good idea to haveenough mineral feeders for thewhole herd. One feeding sta-tion should be set for every30 – 50 cows. They should beplaced where cattle make fre-

quent visits. Moving mineralstations closer to watersources increases mineral in-take by cows, while movingfeeders farther back from thewater will often decrease min-eral intake. I suggest that producerscheck mineral feeders every 3to 4 days, while others say aweekly trip is fine. It seemsto me that more visits made tomineral feeding sites by pro-ducers, the better the chancesof achieving optimum mineralintake by cattle. Lastly, the actual conditionof mineral feeders should bechecked out on occasion. Al-though each mineral feedershould contain enough goodquality mineral and be easilyaccessible to all cows, it shouldprotect cattle mineral fromwater, wind and sunshine.Water dissolves many solubletrace minerals. A strong windwill easily blow away smallmineral particles, while sun-light degrades its vitamin con-tent. Well-designed feedersshould also be durable to with-stand cattle abuse as well assurvive our weather. I believe that replacing oneor two damaged mineral feed-ers, putting enough loose min-eral in all feeders, and occa-sionally checking out howmuch minerals are being con-sumed; helps most post-calv-ing beef cows meet their min-eral and vitamin requirements.It supplements essential min-eral and vitamins of the rest ofthe cows’ diet in order to getthem ready for the upcomingbreeding season. It’s all partof sound feeding programs,which helps fertile cows be-come pregnant.

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By Joan Airey

Now is the time to map outhow you plan to plant yourvegetable garden. Taking thetime to record what vegetablevarieties grew best fromapples to zucchini is a greatway to improve your veg-etable garden. Big Beef hybrid tomatoeswere the best producers in mygarden in 2014. A neighbourstarted them since she had ahundred percent germinationshe gave me some to trans-plant for my own use. I foundout this year that Pontiac po-tatoes make the best oven friesusing the recipe from theManitoba Canola Producerson the Great Tastes ofManitoba website. In the Veseys catalogue, Ifound a package of All SeasonBlend cauliflower and broccoliseeds. I started them undergrow lights then moved themto the greenhouse before trans-planting. This gave two fami-lies fresh cauliflower and broc-coli from the beginning of Julyuntil October plus we had afew extra to share with familyand friends. In 1992, Bob and BrendaEisler decided to invest in agreenhouse at a cost of lessthan twenty-five hundred dol-lars. This gives them ripe to-matoes a month earlier thanplanting them in the gardenand extends their growing sea-son late into the fall. It alsogives them a place to start theirown bedding plants, have anearly crop of lettuce, greenonions and spinach for freshsalads. They replenish the soilin their greenhouse every yearby adding composted manure.Besides tomatoes, they growcucumbers and cantaloupe. The Eisler’s have builtframes covered with green-house plastic to have early po-tatoes or to extend their greenbeans growing season into thefall. They have also built ascreened frame for protectingtheir strawberries from chick-ens and chipmunks. Many varieties of lettuce canbe started in the garden evenwhen it is hot outdoors. Weenjoyed a mixed package oflettuce planted in August un-til October 24 this year. Thatwas the day the men spread aload of compost on the gardenor we could have enjoyed freshlettuce for a few more days.Once the sun is low enough inthe south it is possible to growlettuce and miniature herbsindoors in a planter in a southwindow. With last year’s bountifulcarrot harvest, everyone islooking for places to store awinter’s supply of fresh car-rots. One way is to dig thecarrots let them dry if theground is damp and then putthem in large clear plastic bags

Planning Ahead Can Extend YourGrowing Season by Weeks

with several sheets of papertowel. Make sure to punch afew holes in the bags. Or youcan layer them with damppeat moss in an old canner orcopper boiler and store themin your cold room. These seed companies havewebsites full of gardening in-formation.Veseys - veseys.comStokes - stokesseeds.comT & T Seeds - ttseeds.comWilliam Dam Seeds -

damseeds.comGarden Making -gardenmaking.com. If you are looking for a gar-dening show to listen toDuayne Friesen has one on1220 Saturday mornings at9:15 called the Lawn and Gar-den Journal. Dorothy Dobbieis on CJOB 680 at eight Sun-day mornings. I’m told CBChas a gardening show, whichis great too, but so far I haven’thad a chance to listen to it.

Early Boy tomatoes growing in Eisler’s greenhouse in lateSeptember 2014.

Above: Cover for greenbeans during a frostwarning.

Right: Beans withcover lifted on a warmday after a frost.

Raised Strawberry beds protected from birds by netting overrubber hose.

agripost february 27 2015

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