March 16, 2015

Weed wipers or wick applicators have been around since the early 1900’s.  The use of this technology increased greatly in the United States during the 1970’s and 1980’s when row crop producers of cotton and soybeans applied Glyphosate to weeds. These weeds were taller than their crops so they could selectively apply the herbicide to only the weeds.  Recently, since the development of Glyphosate tolerant crops, weed wipers have become unnecessary in row crop agriculture.  However there is now potential to use weed wipers to control weeds in pasture.
Pasture weeds often grow taller than the desirable pasture plants.  Also, if lightly grazed, the forage plants are grazed and typically the weeds are not grazed, further creating a height difference.  The weed wipers can then be used to apply herbicide to the taller weeds and not to the forage crop.
There are many benefits to using weed wipers.  One advantage is the selectivity of application.  You are only applying the herbicide to the taller target weeds. Another benefit is the reduced herbicide use.  You apply the herbicide to the target weed only, not broadcast sprayed onto the weed, forage crop and soil.  Since you apply the herbicide directly it is not susceptible to spray drift.  Thus you can apply the herbicide on days that would be too windy with conventional spray application.  This allows application close to susceptible crops without risk of spray drift.  Generally, concentrated solutions of herbicide are used so less mixing water is needed to apply the herbicide.
The University of Alberta conducted a study in 2008 on controlling Canada Thistle in pastures in the Parkland areas of Central Alberta.  This study is summarized in the Factsheet “How to Win the War on Canada Thistle, Tips for Pasture Managers” available at http://www.foragebeef.ca.  One of the methods of control they studied was weed wiping.  They compared using a concentrated solution (33% solution) of glyphosate with cost equivalent concentrations of broadleaf herbicides like                         2,4-D, Mecoprop and Dicamaba mix, Clopyralid, and Picloram and 2,4-D mix. This wiping application reduced the Canada Thistle in the stand significantly.  The  2,4-D, Mecoprop, Dicamba herbicide mix reduced the thistle in the stand by 53%.  The Glyphosate herbicide reduced thistle by 63%, the Clopyralid herbicide by 83% and the Picloram and 2,4-D mix by 90%.  Thus weed wiping can be used to control weeds in pastures.
During the summer of 2014 the Ministry of Agriculture, along with Ducks Unlimited Canada, conducted a project looking at weed wiping.  We applied some of these same herbicides from the Alberta study onto two different pasture weed species, Common Tansy and Absinthe Wormwood.  The project was conducted at three sites, Lestock, Watrous and Cutknife.  Preliminary analysis of this project is showing some promising results.   A more detailed project is being considered for the 2015 season.      
For more information on using weed wipers to control pasture weeds contact John Hauer, Regional Forage Specialist, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture at the Kindersley Regional Office at 306 463-5507 or through the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at-1-866-457-2377 or online at www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca.

March 13, 2015

Selecting the most suitable crop variety is a critical farm management decision.  This also holds true for perennial forages.  Seeding forages requires a significant financial investment.  Producers planting perennial forages must live with their forage choices for many years after seeding.  The time and effort taken to select suitable forage varieties that maximize on-farm production goals is well spent.
 
When selecting a forage variety, answers to initial planning questions can help in the selection process.  The first question to ask is what is the intended use of the forage stand?  Most forage stands are grown for hay, pasture or a dual role.  When harvested as a hay crop, the forage stand may include a large proportion of alfalfa or grasses that have a higher yield potential and slower rate of regrowth.  Tap-rooted alfalfa varieties provide greater hay yields.  If the stand is used for grazing, it may include grasses with excellent regrowth potential and a low proportion of alfalfa.  Creeping-rooted alfalfa varieties are better suited for grazing or in low moisture areas in the brown soil zone.  Non-bloat legumes, such as sainfoin or cicer milkvetch may also be used.  Non-bloat legumes can be used in mixtures with alfalfa and/or grasses to improve forage yield, quality and reduce risk of pasture bloat.
 
The next question to consider is what are the soil conditions of the area to be seeded?  Forage species are not equal in their capability to tolerate conditions such as drought, flooding or salinity.  For example, tall wheatgrass, slender wheatgrass, and western wheatgrass all have good salinity tolerance.  However, if using bunch-grass type forage species to control salinity, consider seeding a forage mixture that includes at least one creeping-rooted, saline tolerant grass or legume.  Including creeping-rooted forage species in the mixture will increase ground cover, reduce surface evaporation and reduce surface salt deposits.
 
A third question a producer should also consider is the intended stand duration, or how long the forage stand will remain in production.  Forage species differ in longevity.  A short duration forage stand integrated into an annual crop rotation will contain different forage species than a long lived stand intended for ground cover, reclamation or restoration.  For example if an alfalfa stand harvested for hay will be in production for five years or less, select a variety based on yield potential.  If the stand will be used longer than five years, select a variety with stress tolerance and good disease resistance.
 
For more information on selecting the right forage species, refer to the Forage Crop Production Guide publication found on the Ministry of Agriculture website at www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca.  For further assistance or to speak to a forage specialist contact the Ag Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377 or the Outlook Regional Forage Specialist at (306) 867-5559.

 
February 19, 2015

Crop inputs are often studied individually to determine if they will increase yields.  During the period 2012 to 2014 a number of the AgriARM sites including Scott, Swift Current, Melfort and Indian Head conducted the field pea input study.  Minto Manitoba was added for 2014 only.  In this study they measured impact of individual inputs as well as utilizing a number of them together on field peas.  The purpose was to determine which individual inputs or combinations provided a consistent yield response and economic response.
 
Treatments used were the empty input package which was a seeding rate of 60 seeds/m2 with liquid inoculant and then additional inputs of seeding rate (SR) increased to 120 seeds/m2, foliar fungicide (Fn), seed treatment (ST), granular inoculant (GI) and starter nitrogen fertilizer (Fz).  There was also a full treatment which included all the additional inputs.
 
Results ended up being split into low yielding sites of Swift Current and Indian Head with the other locations being considered high yielding sites.
 
The low yielding sites did not see additive effects from inputs but a couple of individual inputs did result in a significant increase in yield and net returns.  The increase of seeding rates to 120 seeds/m2 resulted in higher yields and the highest economic return.  Seed placed fertilizer at these sites also increased net revenues.  Foliar fungicides increased yield but not enough to offset the cost of the input.   Results from the input combinations generating the highest net revenue are shown in the chart below.
 

February 13, 2015

Effective and efficient grain marketing requires general in-depth knowledge of the marketing conditions of the grain at the global level.
Grain marketing involves at least four players: farmers, grain companies, retailers and consumers. These players can be grouped into two interdependent groups: sellers and buyers. The intermediate players such as grain companies and retailers are both buyers and sellers at the same time.
Canada is a major grain exporting country and needs to sell grain often at a regular interval over the year. In doing so, the grain companies, for example, make contracts with the farmers to sell grains to the retailers who also make contracts with the grain companies for certain quantity as well as quality.
As this mutual but competitive risk management environment involves multiple players, which not only deal with these groups alone, they also deal with the import-export environment, the volatility of the market, exchange rates, tariffs etc. Therefore, the risks are ubiquitous and they are always there i.e. they do not disappear.
How does a farmer mitigate his/her risks then?  A farmer in general faces multiple sources of risk that include weather, pests and market prices. The layers and levels of risks vary from a low risk such as a small variation in price to a insurable risk such as hail damage to a disaster caused by floods, drought etc. So, a farmer mitigates his/her risk by developing both crop production as well as a marketing plan so that it provides him/her with the production of  desired quantity as well as quality products coupled with  a detailed marketing plan to manage grain marketing risk year round.
The Ministry of Agriculture is hosting a grain marketing workshop on Feb 27 2015 in Saskatoon. A number of key speakers from the Canadian Grain Commission, FarmLink Marketing Solutions, Kostal Ag Consulting and RBC Dominion Securities will give presentations at the workshop
For more general information please visit our website: www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca. and for the marketing  workshop information,  please call 1-866-457-2377.

January 22, 2015

‘Regenerative Agriculture’ is a new term that is starting to develop on some farms where producers are looking to improve the soil health on their operation. One component of soil health that has perhaps been neglected in the past is our understanding of how plants and soil microbes contribute to healthy soil.
Australian soil scientist Dr. Christine Jones challenges the conventional model of agriculture which has told us that ‘plants take from the soil’. According to her, nothing could be further from the truth. She states: “Observe what happens in bare soil. It dies, then it blows or washes away. If you could see what happens around the roots of actively growing plants you would want to have as many green plants in your soil for as much of the year as possible. It is not ‘natural’ for the soil to be bare over summer.”
Science has shown us that on a given piece of property, over 95% of terrestrial diversity is within the soil itself (less than 5% is above the ground). Jones says that in order for this soil life to flourish, the soil ecosystem requires fuel in the form of carbon (from green plants) and ‘habitat’ in the form of high root biomass. She further suggests that the soil surface requires year-round protection from erosion and temperature extremes (both highs and lows). According to Jones, it is ‘life’ that gives soil its structure, enabling the infiltration and retention of moisture, restoring water balance across the landscape and reversing the processes of desertification, and it is ‘life’ that provides natural fertility, sequestering carbon, nitrogen and sulfur from the atmosphere and increasing the availability of phosphorus and trace elements in the root zone. According to Christine Jones, the fundamental question in regenerative agriculture is: “how do we get life back into the soil?”
There is increasing recognition of the fundamental importance of soil microbial communities to plant productivity. According to Jones, many biological functions are compromised by commonly used agricultural practices. She outlines four basic principles of regenerative agriculture, proven to restore soil health and increase soil carbon and nitrogen.
1. The first principle is the maintenance of year-round living cover, via perennial pastures on grazed land and/or multi-species cover crop on farmed land. Almost every living thing in and on the soil depends on green plants (or what was once a green plant) for its existence. The more green plants, the more life.
It’s well accepted that groundcover buffers soil temperatures and reduces erosion, but it is perhaps less recognized that actively growing green groundcover also fuels the liquid carbon pathway which in turn supports, among other things, mycorrhizal fungi, associative nitrogen-fixing bacteria and phosphorus solubilising bacteria – all of which are essential to both crop nutrition and the formation of stable humified carbon.
2. The second principle is to provide support for the microbial bridge, to enhance the flow of carbon from plants to soil. This requires reducing inputs of high analysis nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers that inhibit the complex biochemical signaling between plant roots and microbes.
3. The third principle is to promote plant and microbial diversity, The greater the diversity of plants the more checks and balances for pests and diseases and the broader the range of microhabitats for the soil organisms involved in nutrient acquisition, nutrient cycling and soil building.
4. The fourth principle is that land responds positively to the presence of animals provided management is appropriate. Rotational grazing of livestock on perennial pastures is the fastest and most economical way to improve soils. As well as the benefits arising from  the addition of manure and urine to soils, high  intensity short duration grazing increases root exudation and stimulates the number and activity of associative nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the root zone, which fire up in response to defoliation and provide the extra nitrogen required by the plant for the production of new growth.
For more information on this topic, you can contact Trevor Lennox, Regional Forage Specialist in Swift Current at 306-778-8294, or trevor.lennox@gov.sk.ca , or you can view a collection of papers by Christine Jones at the following website: www.amazingcarbon.com

 
The advantages of crossbreeding in the cow herd can be significant to your cattle operation. Many operations currently use the same breed of bull year after year, often with cows of the same breed.  Herd performance could benefit greatly by taking advantage of genetic diversity in future calf crops and replacement females by using a crossbreeding system.
 
Crossbreeding is the process of breeding parents of two different breeds, with the intention to create offspring that share the desired traits of both parents. It takes advantage of something called heterosis or hybrid vigor. Simply put, heterosis is an increase in productivity due to crossbreeding. One might assume that a calf coming from a sire of breed A and a dam of breed B would perform at an average of its parents levels. However, this is not the case, as calves from crossbreeding events actually perform at a greater level than the average of their parents.
 
Two types of heterosis exist – individual heterosis, as in a crossbred calf, and maternal heterosis, as in a crossbred cow. By using crossbred cows we can take advantage of both types of heterosis if we so choose.
 
The greatest improvements that crossbred cows can offer are in reproductive efficiency.
We see higher reproductive rates, increased reproductive longevity and less frequent need for replacement. In addition, greater calf survival rates and greater calf weaning weights have also been well documented.
A variety of crossbreeding systems are used. They vary by number of cattle breeds, number of breeding pastures required, frequency of changing sire breeds and whether or not replacement heifers are retained within the system or purchased from outside the system.
A first generation cross of sire breed A and cow breed B produces what are known as F1 females.
A terminal cross of F1 females bred to a bull of breed C offers the greatest advantage from heterosis.  It offers maximum maternal heterosis and results in a 24 percent increase in the pounds of calf weaned per cow exposed above the average of the parent breeds.
 
Characteristics of a good crossbreeding system are:
1.    Easy to implement and maintain
2.    Properly utilize the strong points of different breeds
3.    Optimize the amount of hybrid vigor
4.    Produce a uniform product
 
As with most things in life, deciding on the best crossbreeding system is an exercise in compromises. A producer needs to weigh the pros and cons of several crossbreeding systems and pick the one that is best for his/her particular conditions.
 
For more information you can contact Travis Peardon at (306) 867-5504 or by email at travis.peardon@gov.sk.ca or contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.

October 20, 2014

Livestock producers make a myriad of daily decisions during the course of a year to produce a product to be sold. On occasion, knowing which of the decisions enhanced profits and which decisions were costly, is relatively clear. More often than not, decisions are made without a clear indication whether the course of action was the best possible outcome.

Calculating your actual cost of production is one example of a management activity that can generate significant value. If you do not know what your cost of production is, how do you know what level your marketing effort must obtain in order to break even and generate a profit? An excellent resource to assist in calculating your cost of production is available on the Western Beef Development Center website at: http://www.wbdc.sk.ca/economics_current.htm#copnow

Beyond generating a break even, analyzing the information used to do the calculations by comparing various parameters against industry benchmarks can assist producers in deciding where changes could be made to further enhance profitability. Participating in the western Canadian Cow-Calf survey is one way to see how your production system compares in relation to other producers across western Canada. The survey can be done online (http://www.wbdc.sk.ca/wcccs.htm) or by hard copy. All information is kept confidential and aggregated for reporting purposes. For participating you can choose to receive a report summarizing your productivity measurements which can be compared directly against the aggregated averages.

Knowing the weight of an animal has value at several points during the course of production. Actual birth and weaning weights can assist with evaluating past bull purchases in order to make decisions regarding future bull purchases.  Accurate doses of parasite control products can be used when the weight is known, avoiding costs associated with over application or the consequences of poor product performance if not enough product is applied. Marketing decisions become easier to make when weights can be taken rather than guesstimated by eye. The Saskatchewan Livestock Traceability Rebate can assist with the purchase of equipment used for tracking, such as ultra-rugged IP67 rugged scale heads and scanners.

For further discussion regarding cost of production, benchmarking or the livestock traceability rebate contact your Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Regional Livestock Specialist or call the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.

October 2, 2014

Youth often think that studying agriculture in university means becoming a farmer.  However, agriculture is not just farming but can lead to many other opportunities.  One in eight Canadian jobs are involved in agriculture or the agri-food sector, and that’s more than 50,000 jobs in Saskatchewan.
Taking agriculture in university can lead to several exciting careers such as a food scientist, veterinarian, accountant, sales representative, farmer and others.  Even if you are not certain about going into agriculture, take an introductory course in university.  Getting a taste of agriculture may just make you want to take more courses.  It is key to find an area that interests you, whether its livestock, marketing or agronomy.
I grew up gaining experience in the best of both worlds; growing up on a farm and studying agriculture in university.  I was already on the agriculture path when I completed high school, but then I took my first entomology course at the University of Manitoba, and I was hooked! From there, my interest in agriculture took off.  There are issues in agriculture, as in any industry, and being one of the people creating solutions – that’s exciting!
During the Canadian Western Agribition (CWA), there will be a thinkAG Career and Education Expo in the morning and afternoon of November 26 and 27, 2014.  These half-day workshops are focused towards Grade 9 through Grade 12 students, giving an introduction to the agriculture industry, information on industry labour and why agriculture matters (more than ever).  Students will be given a hands-on look of agriculture on the various career paths as well as information on post-secondary education.  Teachers must register their classes before October 18, 2014 using the form available on www.agribition.com/thinkag-career-expo.
Recent university graduates often wonder whether they made the right choice with their degree.  However, even if you did not take agriculture in university, various science or business degrees with proper experience will help.  Agriculture is constantly evolving.  Whether you’re working for a crop input company, implement dealer, marketing or accounting firm, or even the government in the Ministry of Agriculture, the opportunities are endless.
For more information on careers in agriculture, please visit www.saskatchewan.ca/thinkag; talk with your teacher or guidance counsellor; or contact your local Saskatchewan Agriculture Regional Office.

August 15, 2014

As harvest approaches in this part of the province, farmers will be keeping an eye on the weather forecast.  Time can be a limiting factor for many producers as they race against shorter days and cooler temperatures to get the crop in the bin while the quality is still available.  Some producers will look to hire custom combiners, while others will want more security and control to get the job done and will rent or purchase additional combine capacity.  There will also be operators looking to do some custom combining.  So what is the going rate for custom combining this year?  That depends…
The Ministry of Agriculture has an updated Custom and Rental Rate Guide for 2014-15 that gives detailed information regarding guidelines for machine ownership, operating costs, custom rates and rental rates for farm machinery.  This information is provided as a guideline and should be interpreted and adjusted for individual situations.  There is also an online calculator that has been updated to provide approximate costs for renting equipment or obtaining custom farming operations from another farmer.  An alternative use for the calculator is when farmers share equipment and need to establish the value of the machinery and/or farming operation that is being contributed to each farm.
As before there is an option on the calculator to customize details for a particular situation, such as cost of the machinery, acres covered per hour, labour cost and so on.  It also allows users to calculate the costs associated with the combination of up to three pieces of farm equipment.  The Farm Machinery Custom and Rental Rate Guide Calculator is available online by following the link: http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=f4b84942-e058-4b5f-92eb-b4f5435bc9d6 .
Machinery costs are comprised of both fixed and variable costs.  Fixed costs are the costs of ownership, and won’t change as the machine sees more use.  These are costs such as depreciation, interest, insurance, storage.  Although the yearly expense will not change by adding more acres, the cost per acre or per hour will go down.  Variable costs include repairs, fuel and oil, and labour; these costs will fluctuate according to use of the machine.
For more information on custom rates stop by the Swift Current Regional Office or contact Kari Burnett at (306) 778-8216 or by email at kari.burnett@gov.sk.ca; call the Swift Current regional office at (306) 778-8285 or contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.

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