February 2009 Archives
I was on a kick recently, looking for tractors with high hours. I got a few good responses, including Dan Burton, from Sundre, Alta., who put 40,000 hours on a Case IH 9150 4WD, and Kevin Peters of Randolph, Man., who put 20,000 hours — or so — on a bidirectional Versatile Ford 276.
Today, former Grainews writer Larry Gompf forwarded an article from Successful Farming's website. An auction sale in Illinois in early March will feature a John Deere 4440 tractor, built in 1982, that has only 47 hours on it. The owner's name was Wayne Crooks, who died recently at 83 years.
Here's an excerpt from the article by Greg Peterson:
After the discovery of oil in 1981 on his land, negotiations ensued with oil companies. Henry Energy of Arlington, Texas, reached an agreement with Mr. Crooks in October 1982 for 75 per cent of the oil rights on his 160-acre farm. As part of the agreement, Mr. Crooks retained 25 per cent of the oil rights, plus Henry Energy purchased 800 acres of prime land for him in adjoining Adams County.
But there was one more part to the agreement. Henry Energy purchased a full line of farm equipment for Mr. Crooks, the very pieces of equipment coming up for sale on the March 6th auction.
Still the question remains, why hardly any hours on the tractors and combine?
"He never really attempted farming the land himself," says Jim Sullivan. "He rented it out to a couple different guys over the years. The hours he did put on his equipment was simply to help out his renters."
Click here to read the full article.
I've read a few articles recently where farmers are advised to assess their soil moisture situation and then apply enough fertilizer to make sure the crop has nutrient to match the moisture. To help you estimate your soil moisture situation, I'm posting Les Henry's stubble soil moisture map along with his commentary. The map shows soil moisture levels heading into the winter. That's what you have in your soil right now. The map appeared originally in the February 16 Grainews, page 14.
Here is Les's commentary:
The map is not greatly different from the November 1,2007 map. In brief:
—Manitoba is in good shape as usual. Parts of Red River Valley may have too much stubble soil moisture.
—Saskatchewan more or less follows the soil zones but exceptions are a dry spot around Nipawin in the northeast and a slightly improved situation in the Swift Current area.
—Most of Alberta is still dry, including the usually well-watered central corridor from Calgary to Edmonton.
Once again much of western Saskatchewan and Alberta will have to rely on timely rains during the big water use period of about June 10 to July 20.
I met Bryce Pallister on the way to Louisville two weeks ago. We were both headed to the National Farm Machinery Show. Bryce is a young man with dreams of a music career. He's already well on his way with a video on CMT. Click here to see the video on YouTube. Bryce might also farm with his father, Jim. This sounds like a good combo-career to me.
I'd like to hear about other people who are farming and also doing something on the creative side. Writing books. Painting. Performing. I'd be happy to give them a plug right here on my blog. Please email me or post a comment.
Richard Pedde farms at Indian Head, Sask., but he had a previous career as a trader in Toronto and New York. He has a keen eye for what drives the market, and what causes it to crash. Pedde and Rolf Mirus, professor emeritus and the University of Alberta, co-wrote an article recently about their take on why we're in a financial crisis. Too many people taking too many risks so they can retire young is a major factor, they say.
Here is an excerpt from their Edmonton Journal article:
It is probably not a coincidence that the increased consumer spending and lower savings rate and the desire for early retirement over the last generation or two were accompanied by an increasing number of financial crises. The economic literature shows 38 such crises between 1945 and1971. By contrast there were 139 crises between 1973 and1997 (Eichengreen and Bordo).
Until government and society at large are willing to address the fundamental issue -- namely, the pursuit of early retirement and high consumer spending lead to riskier investment decisions by a significant segment of the population -- all the talk about more regulation of financial practices and institutions cannot change one fundamental fact that we must be ready for repeated financial crises
Pedde has offered to write a similar version of the article for Grainews, with more of an agricultural twist. It will appear in late March or April. Meanwhile, to read the entire Edmonton Journal article, click here.
James Cooper farms near Maldon, a historic town on the Dengie Peninsula in the county of Essex, U.K. He wrote this week to say “he reads my blog with interest,” then went on to share a little about his farming practices. He grows top grade milling winter wheat, oilseed rape (canola) and sometimes peas depending on price. He also has a small beef herd.
James straight combines his canola. Before harvest, he applies glyphosate to stop growth and Pod-stick to prevent shatter. “It seals the pods and does actually work. We think we get about 150 kg more per acre,” he writes. “We know that Pod-stick has worked because of low regrowth and looking at neighbour's fields that haven't had it especially during the wet harvest of 2008.”
He has used Pod-stick for the past two years. It’s a new product from De Sangosse Ltd. “It is important to have a good fungicide program, and not to put the Pod-stick on too late. It contains a latex polymer blend which dries on and doesn't stick in the combine,” he says. He uses a fungicide, Juventus or Caramba, containing metconazole, which also acts as a growth regulator. Folicur, containing tebuconazole, could also be used. “The fungicide is very important to prevent lodging for easier harvesting.”
James has a Case IH 1660 Axial-flow combine. He harvests canola with a standard 1030 header with a Biso sideknife on one side.
He buys combine parts from Manitoba
If you ever wondered about shopping around the world for cheaper parts, James proves it can work.
One of my blog articles that caught his eye was from July 4, 2008. It was about price differences between Canada and the U.S. “I have been buying parts from Miller Farm Equipment at Brandon, Manitoba for a couple of years now as they are a lot cheaper than the U.K., even with taxes and postage. A set of bearings for my combine would have cost about £400 here and I got them for £150 from Canada,” James writes.
I asked how he connected with Miller Farm Equipment. “We were looking for prices on parts in the U.S. and Canada, because we had a U.S.-built header on our old combine, and couldn't get parts in the U.K. very easily. They were the only people to reply to our e-mails,” he answered. “They tell us we spend more money with them than local farmers.”
We introduced Grainews readers to Brenda Campbell in the November issue. The 22-year-old from a cow-calf farm near Sundre, Alta., is in Denmark for a six-month working visit on a dairy. We asked her to send regular reports to tell us what she's doing, how farming in Europe is different from farming in Alberta, and what farming tips she learns that she'd like to try back home.
Here is her third instalment, written February 12:
Denmark, a country founded around 700 A.D., is rich in history. This makes for fascinating traditions, culture and artifacts — all of which I am trying to take in. Aside from national history, the Danish farm where I live has quite a historical story to tell as well.
When this Danish farm was started, six Holstein cows were bought after disease forced the slaughter of the existing shorthorn cattle. This was in 1938. My host father, Frede, believes 95 per cent of his current cows are descendents to one of these, cow number six, born on February 28, 1938. The other five per cent are bought females. These facts can actually be verified through the amazing detailed records kept for each animal since the original six cows were purchased in 1938.
At the present time, such records are customary because in 1982, each farm was given a specific number, which is written on every government issued ear tag. Each animal born on this farm then gets an individual number. No animal in the whole country ever has a duplicate number. This also allows us to easily identify bought or raised cows, as well as approximate age, due to chronological numbering.
Each time a cow is bought, sold, dies, calves, or leaves the farm for more than three days, a paper description needs to be sent to the government within seven days of this event occurring. These records are electronically organized and each farmer gets a sheet of paper corresponding to each cow. He keeps these records indefinitely for future reference. Cow records also include genetic, calving, and milking information. This system is helpful to all purebred breeders, but is also a requirement for all commercial cattle, sheep and pigs.
Although this system is very time consuming, the results are very effective as all animal records are accurate and complete. As Frede says, the government knows where every cow is at all times, but not all the people! I believe parts of this system might be very useful on my family’s farm at home and I will suggest trying a small-scale trial run when I get home. As for a national approach, it seems to work very well for Denmark, so maybe this system can give other countries something to think about.
I'm at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the largest farm equipment show in North America, and I've never been before. It's a lot like the Regina show in June, but bigger and all indoors. I'll be here two days — Thursday and Friday — wandering up and down the aisles, talking to people in booths. I'll write a summary for Grainews on what "catches my eye."
At the show I happened to meet John Sawatzky and Hank Enns, farmers from Altona, Man. (John was on our flight.) I asked what they thought was interesting. For them, it was not the big flashy tractors and combines. Instead it's more the smaller stuff, the interesting gadgets.
As one example, John liked the oil pan drain plug with a quick attach hose. (In the photo, the plug is at the top with the hose, right, and a dust cap, left.) It's called the Femco No-spill System. When you attach the hose, it pops up a valve in the plug so the oil can drain. When you take the hose off, the valve closes. You thread in the plug once and then all you need after that is the quick attach hose. It works really well for plugs that are hard to reach. And if you're emptying into a five-gallon pail and the engine contains more than five gallons of oil, you can easily stop the flow by removing the hose end. Then you go empty the pail, come back and reattach the hose. The simple kit is $60 or so.
I'll describe this and 10 or so other things from Louisville in a Grainews article in March. The list will probably include more little things — under $1,000 — than big things — $100,000 plus plus.
Farmers with allowable net sales in 2007 will get money from the AgriInvest program as early as April. Canadian farmers will receive government contributions without any requirement to make their own matching deposit for the first year — 2007.
As the program is designed, farmers can deposit up to 1.5 per cent of allowable net sales and the federal government matches that amount. But since the banking system is not yet set up for farmers to create an account and deposit their contribution, the government will still honour its contribution. It will deposit 1.5 per cent of your allowable net sales for 2007 in the account it holds for you.
In March, farmers will receive a notice from the AgriStability program administrators. This notice will tell you the funds available in your AgriInvest account. Once you have the notice, you can sign it and send it back to withdraw the funds, or call the program administration toll free at 1-866-367-8506 to arrange for a withdrawal. Michelle Snyder, a media contact with AgriInvest, says you have to wait until you receive the notice before taking action. “The processing time for a request for withdrawal is approximately 45 days,” she adds.
AgriInvest admin hopes to have the program running as designed in time for 2008 deposits. For 2008, the deposit deadline is September 30, 2009. Snyder reminds you that when you complete your tax form for 2008, remember to check the box to indicate you want to participate in AgriInvest. This is similar to the process for AgriStability, she adds.
Agvise Labs posted these handy diagrams on its website. The top strip shows how far apart dry monoammonium phosphate (MAP) granules are in the seed row when applied at five pounds of P2O5 per acre. At that rate, distance between granules is 7.6 inches. This is for seed openers on seven-inch spacings.
Because phosphorus doesn't move very far, that means most seedlings won't have access to the granules. When you increase the rate to 10 pounds, the granules are 3.8 inches apart. That's better. At 15 to 20 pounds, there's a granule for every seed — more or less.
John Lee, a soil scientist with Agvise, says, "It seems like such a simple thing, but most growers who want to cut the rate of fertilizer they use as a starter, do not consider how far apart the dry fertilizer particles or drops of liquid fertilizer are from the seeds at low rates. University research shows that each seed needs to have fertilizer within one to two inches to get the starter affect that we need in our
normal cool spring conditions."
To see the strips for higher rates as well as strips for liquid fertilizer and for other crops, including wheat, please click here.
John Lee reminds you that for wider seed rows, the granules and droplets will be closer together if you maintain the same fertilizer rate per acre. If granules are 3.8 inches apart when applied at 10 pounds of actual per acre on seven inch rows, then granules will be only 1.9 inches apart if your seed row spacing is 14 inches.
This morning I called Mike Owen, weed specialist with Iowa State University. He had been quoted in an article in Dakota Farmer magazine, and I wanted to get a little more information about the topic. The article was about glyphosate-resistant weeds becoming more common in the U.S. Nine weed species with glyphosate resistance have been documented in the U.S. as of 2008. These are rigid ryegrass, horseweed (Canada fleabane), common ragweed, Italian ryegrass, giant ragweed, common waterhemp, Palmer amaranth (a relative of redroot pigweed), hairy fleabane and Johnsongrass.
I asked Owen what crop production practices were in use in the areas where most of these resistant populations developed. He said continuous Roundup Ready cotton and continuous Roundup Ready soybeans. As you can imagine, the selection pressure for resistant weeds is very high in these circumstances.
With a much more diverse rotation in Western Canada, we should be somewhat immune to the development of glyphosate-resistant weeds. One would think. But when I asked Bruce Murray (in the photo), weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, if this is a fair statement, he said, “They will get it faster. But it’s not impossible for us to get it slower.”
And while Roundup Ready canola is by far the most common Roundup Ready crop grown in Western Canada — and usually on a one-in-three or one-in-four rotation — glyphosate is used pre-seed, pre-harvest and post-harvest in many other fields. Glyphosate is a very important product for most Western Canadian farmers. Granted, as Murray points out, these various uses are targeting different weeds and at different times of the year. But he says the one weed that “scares him a little” because it flushes and is often present in small sizes at many of these stages is kochia. He has “no scientific proof to suggest kochia is more susceptible to glyphosate resistance,” but he does think it’s a leading contender.
The myth is "five holed"
In talking with Owen, I said, “I guess the myth that weeds would not develop resistance to glyphosate has been shattered.” He responded, “Yeah, slam dunked, five holed.” (He knew I was Canadian, so he used a hockey analogy.)
Owen encourages all farmers to be proactive to prevent glyphosate resistant weeds from occurring on their farms. You know the steps to prevent resistance for other pesticides — rotate groups, use other cultural methods of weed control, etc. — and Owen encourages growers to use the same practices to maintain the effectiveness of glyphosate.
If you do suspect a resistant population, clean the equipment — especially the combine — after you’ve combined that area. “In three or four years, a combine can take a weed patch and spread the infestation over the entire field,” Owen says. “As a weed scientist, the combine is my job security.” No other piece of equipment is better at spreading weeds around the countryside, especially as farmers get bigger and bigger and combines travel more and more miles.
Charlie Main of Virden, Man., won Scott Garvey’s book, “The Tractor in the Haystack.” The book is a collection of stories from old-tractor hunters around the world. “Each segment focuses on a hunt for a particular old tractor. Some are intentional hunts for a particular machine while others are accidental finds,” Scott says. “I managed to get stories from Canada, the U.S., England, New Zealand and Italy.” The book has photos of these tractors as they were pulled out of collapsed sheds, overgrown brush or some other place, Scott says.
Versatile book winners
We’ve got five copies of Jarrod Pakosh’s book, “Versatile Tractors: A farm boy’s dream.” The book tells the history of the Pakosh family in Western Canada, which leads into the origins of Versatile, the company, and eventually to its 4WD tractor. Winners of the draw are Harold Haugen of Lougheed, Alta., Helen Ross of Young, Sask., Gordon Zabolotney of Kayville, Sask., Leonard Hollister of Cupar, Sask., and Darlene Antonio of The Pas, Man.
Thank you to everyone who entered. Your books are on their way.
More bad news for ethanol. Number one spot in Discover magazine's top 100 science stories of 2008 goes to new energy sources in the post-oil era. And it would seem, based on the Discover article by Ben Hewitt, that corn- (and wheat-) based ethanol will not be part of the long-term plan. "Corn ethanol, aided by a generous subsidy from the federal government, has had the lead in alternative fuels, but recent studies reveal that is is much more costly, both economically and environmentally, than people had thought," Hewitt writes.
He calls the quest to find a replacement for oil, particularly an energy source for trucks, cars and industrial equipment, "surely one of the greatest scientific and technological challenges of our time."
To answer his own question, "If biofuels aren't the answer, what is?" he says: "It is electricity. And it is already making its way into an auto dealership near you."
Another downside to ethanol: Water use
Hewitt gives more evidence why ethanol is not the answer. One point was new to me: water use. Researchers at University of Texas at Austin reported recently that producing corn ethanol consumes 28 gallons of water per mile traveled. Conventional petroleum uses 0.15 gallons.
In another interesting twist, at least one scientist believes we'd be better off taking biomass — such as corn stover, straw, grass, etc. — and burning it to produce electricity rather than breaking down the starch to make ethanol. Hewitt quotes Tim Searchinger of Princeton saying, "The process of converting biomass into liquid fuel uses half of the energy in the feedstock. It's far more efficient to burn the biomass for electricity and then use the electricity in cars."
Electric cars
Chevy will introduce its Volt (shown in the photo) in 2010. Hewitt also reports that Nissan is expected to launch an electric car in the U.S. in 2010. And Toyota is working on a plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) version of its Prius.
