Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Saskatchewan dairy producers are eligible for $400 in funding assistance as part of a Johne’s Disease prevention initiative, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Surveillance Veterinarian Dr. LeeAnn Forsythe. The initiative is being supported by CanWest DHI, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) through the Agricultural Adaptation Council's CanAdvance Program, provincial agriculture ministeries and dairy farmer organizations from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and the Westgen Endowment Fund.
Johne’s Disease (JD) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, a distant relative of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. The disease is a contagious, chronic, progressive bacterial infection that causes thickening of the gastrointestinal tract, thus restricting absorption of nutrients. The clinical signs of an animal infected with JD are chronic diarrhea and weight loss. The average incubation period is five years, but can range from two to 10 years. The main tests for JD have been fecal culture and a blood test for antibodies.
On Ontario dairy farms, research suggests that 15 to 30 per cent of herds contain animals infected with JD. A serological survey of dairy farms in Saskatchewan in 2001 found that 43 per cent of herds had at least one animal infected with JD, and 24 per cent had two or more.
In May 2005, the Milk ELISA test for JD became available for use by Ontario dairy producers through CanWest DHI. This test was validated by Dr. Steve Hendrick, who was at the Ontario Veterinary College at the time, but who is now located at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. This test allows milk to be tested for JD during the normal collection of milk samples, making it very convenient for evaluating the presence of JD in a herd.
CanWest DHI is located in Ontario, and they collect and test milk samples for dairy farmers participating in the Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) program. CanWest DHI has received funding from the Agricultural Adaptation Council's CanAdvance program to train veterinarians in Western Canada.
In Saskatchewan, the veterinarians are trained by Dr. Hendrick to conduct on-farm JD risk assessment tests and to counsel producers on the best management practices to reduce the risk of JD. Calves are most susceptible to infection, so the risk assessment emphasizes keeping the calving area free of manure.
In Saskatchewan, there is funding in place to train up to 18 veterinarians and to complete risk assessments on up to 40 dairy farms.
CanWest DHI charges DHI-participating producers $9 per Milk ELISA test, plus a $50 handling fee, and non-participating producers $10 per test, plus a $75 handling fee. Producers will receive a $400 credit against their DHI account when the DHI veterinarian submits a herd report to the provincial DHI co-ordinator.
For more information, contact:
Dr. LeeAnn Forsythe
Surveillance Veterinarian
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-6069
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Agricultural Industry Marketers Host Korean Journalists
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Why would the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) host a delegation of foreign journalists?
The answer soon becomes clear when we find out who the guests are.
Some of the province’s most recent visitors represented publications with readerships ranging from 30,000 to over 900,000 people.
In January, Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector hosted a pair of Japanese food writers. This time, it was the Koreans’ turn to be brought to Canada by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canadian Embassy in Seoul.
The group—consisting of Yim Ho-Yeoun of The Eating-Out Management Magazine for Restaurant Owners, Kim Dong-Youn of The Korean Economic Daily, Kim Yong-Deok of The Monthly Food Industry and Kim Sei-Dong of Munhwa Ilbo (Evening Daily Newspaper)—was accompanied by Jong-Hoon Kim, Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy in Seoul and Jake Thomas, an International Market Development Officer with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. They traveled across Western Canada seeking information on beef, canola, functional foods, food preparation and food safety.
During their one-day stop in Saskatchewan, STEP and SAF organized a program that showcased Saskatchewan companies and their products. The delegation began their program with a tour of CanMar Grain Products, where they sampled the company’s golden roasted flax seed. They also met with Chef Rob Fuller, the owner of Zest Restaurant in Regina, to learn about various food preparation techniques, and they were subsequently treated to a luncheon of Saskatchewan’s finest cuisine—locally produced, of course.
SAF hosted the luncheon at Zest Restaurant for the visiting delegation and the Saskatchewan producers who supplied products for the meal.
Chef Fuller created a variety of unique dishes featuring golden roasted flax from CanMar Grain Products (www.roastedlfax.com), organic beef and pearl barley from Poplar Valley Organics (www.cluborganic.ca), lentils from Diefenbaker Seed Processors Ltd. (www.dspdirect.ca), bison from Canadian Prairie Bison, saskatoon berries from Prairie Berries (www.prairieberries.com) and Riverbend Plantation (www.riverbendplantation.ca), canola oil from Canola Info (www.canolainfo.org), sour cherries from Over the Hill Orchards (www.overthehillorchards.ca), and wild rice from Points North Wild Rice Company (www.pointsnorthwildrice.com).
During the afternoon, the visiting journalists met with Saskatchewan suppliers and listened to presentations by SAF and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on food safety and Canada’s food inspection/regulatory system.
This event was another example of how STEP, SAF, AAFC and the Canadian diplomatic corps work together to create an exceptional opportunity to showcase Saskatchewan companies and their products to potential international buyers.
For more information, contact:
Christall Beaudry
Membership and Communications Specialist
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
(306) 787-7919
Joan McConnell
Marketing Co-ordinator
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-6154
Why would the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) host a delegation of foreign journalists?
The answer soon becomes clear when we find out who the guests are.
Some of the province’s most recent visitors represented publications with readerships ranging from 30,000 to over 900,000 people.
In January, Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector hosted a pair of Japanese food writers. This time, it was the Koreans’ turn to be brought to Canada by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canadian Embassy in Seoul.
The group—consisting of Yim Ho-Yeoun of The Eating-Out Management Magazine for Restaurant Owners, Kim Dong-Youn of The Korean Economic Daily, Kim Yong-Deok of The Monthly Food Industry and Kim Sei-Dong of Munhwa Ilbo (Evening Daily Newspaper)—was accompanied by Jong-Hoon Kim, Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy in Seoul and Jake Thomas, an International Market Development Officer with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. They traveled across Western Canada seeking information on beef, canola, functional foods, food preparation and food safety.
During their one-day stop in Saskatchewan, STEP and SAF organized a program that showcased Saskatchewan companies and their products. The delegation began their program with a tour of CanMar Grain Products, where they sampled the company’s golden roasted flax seed. They also met with Chef Rob Fuller, the owner of Zest Restaurant in Regina, to learn about various food preparation techniques, and they were subsequently treated to a luncheon of Saskatchewan’s finest cuisine—locally produced, of course.
SAF hosted the luncheon at Zest Restaurant for the visiting delegation and the Saskatchewan producers who supplied products for the meal.
Chef Fuller created a variety of unique dishes featuring golden roasted flax from CanMar Grain Products (www.roastedlfax.com), organic beef and pearl barley from Poplar Valley Organics (www.cluborganic.ca), lentils from Diefenbaker Seed Processors Ltd. (www.dspdirect.ca), bison from Canadian Prairie Bison, saskatoon berries from Prairie Berries (www.prairieberries.com) and Riverbend Plantation (www.riverbendplantation.ca), canola oil from Canola Info (www.canolainfo.org), sour cherries from Over the Hill Orchards (www.overthehillorchards.ca), and wild rice from Points North Wild Rice Company (www.pointsnorthwildrice.com).
During the afternoon, the visiting journalists met with Saskatchewan suppliers and listened to presentations by SAF and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on food safety and Canada’s food inspection/regulatory system.
This event was another example of how STEP, SAF, AAFC and the Canadian diplomatic corps work together to create an exceptional opportunity to showcase Saskatchewan companies and their products to potential international buyers.
For more information, contact:
Christall Beaudry
Membership and Communications Specialist
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
(306) 787-7919
Joan McConnell
Marketing Co-ordinator
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-6154
Saskatchewan Producers Sign Up For CASS Program
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Farmers and ranchers who want to learn how to farm and ranch more successfully—or who want to learn a new trade that can provide off-farm income—can turn to the Canadian Agricultural Skills Service (CASS) for assistance.
CASS supports training to enhance or develop the skills and knowledge necessary to improve farm production or management practices, gain off-farm employment, or create or expand a business venture.
Those already participating in CASS appreciate the help it provided, and are confident that their new skills will lead to a more profitable future, either on farm or off - people like Mylo Chubb of Assiniboia:
“The CASS program gave me an opportunity to look into other fields of work," he says. "I’m a rancher. We are 100 per cent livestock. We have a cow-calf operation, along with yearlings, and we also custom graze. All our land was seeded back to grass in 1988 to 1990. We have approximately 3,500 acres. I used the program money to train for the oil patch. I am basically diversifying toward the oil and gas sector, with the anticipation that it is really going to open up here in south-western Saskatchewan.”
What are the expected results of the program?
This program will help increase the income and profitability of farmers through learning activities that have been validated through a skills and needs assessment process and the development of an Individual Learning Plan (ILP).
Assistance is provided to access training in areas such as improved farm practices, business management, accounting, finance, human resource management; training for other employment, or training to acquire skills to start a new business.
Dawn Anhorn and her family farm north of Hafford. “With the help of CASS, I am taking an office administration course at the Academy of Learning in North Battleford," she explains. "This will help me get off-farm income to help with our farming. I think it is great that they are helping people who normally would not be able to afford to do anything like this."
Anhorn will finish her training in July, and then her husband will start a heavy equipment operation course, also with CASS assistance.
"To other people considering taking advantage of CASS, I would say 'Go for it!' It paid for my tuition. It is helping to pay for mileage. This will help us make ends meet. Times are tough. We have a beef cow-calf operation. This will be a way to supplement our income.”
Farmers and their spouses with a net family income of $45,000 or less are eligible to apply for CASS. Beginning farmers are also eligible for some services, regardless of income.
To find out more about CASS, call the toll-free number 1-888-887-7977. Program application forms can be down-loaded from the SAF website at:
http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/about_us/apf/cass_factsheet2005.asp
For more information, contact:
Gerry Holland
Business Planning Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-4051
Adrienne Jensen
Acting Provincial CASS Co-ordinator
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 933-6016
Farmers and ranchers who want to learn how to farm and ranch more successfully—or who want to learn a new trade that can provide off-farm income—can turn to the Canadian Agricultural Skills Service (CASS) for assistance.
CASS supports training to enhance or develop the skills and knowledge necessary to improve farm production or management practices, gain off-farm employment, or create or expand a business venture.
Those already participating in CASS appreciate the help it provided, and are confident that their new skills will lead to a more profitable future, either on farm or off - people like Mylo Chubb of Assiniboia:
“The CASS program gave me an opportunity to look into other fields of work," he says. "I’m a rancher. We are 100 per cent livestock. We have a cow-calf operation, along with yearlings, and we also custom graze. All our land was seeded back to grass in 1988 to 1990. We have approximately 3,500 acres. I used the program money to train for the oil patch. I am basically diversifying toward the oil and gas sector, with the anticipation that it is really going to open up here in south-western Saskatchewan.”
What are the expected results of the program?
This program will help increase the income and profitability of farmers through learning activities that have been validated through a skills and needs assessment process and the development of an Individual Learning Plan (ILP).
Assistance is provided to access training in areas such as improved farm practices, business management, accounting, finance, human resource management; training for other employment, or training to acquire skills to start a new business.
Dawn Anhorn and her family farm north of Hafford. “With the help of CASS, I am taking an office administration course at the Academy of Learning in North Battleford," she explains. "This will help me get off-farm income to help with our farming. I think it is great that they are helping people who normally would not be able to afford to do anything like this."
Anhorn will finish her training in July, and then her husband will start a heavy equipment operation course, also with CASS assistance.
"To other people considering taking advantage of CASS, I would say 'Go for it!' It paid for my tuition. It is helping to pay for mileage. This will help us make ends meet. Times are tough. We have a beef cow-calf operation. This will be a way to supplement our income.”
Farmers and their spouses with a net family income of $45,000 or less are eligible to apply for CASS. Beginning farmers are also eligible for some services, regardless of income.
To find out more about CASS, call the toll-free number 1-888-887-7977. Program application forms can be down-loaded from the SAF website at:
http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/about_us/apf/cass_factsheet2005.asp
For more information, contact:
Gerry Holland
Business Planning Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-4051
Adrienne Jensen
Acting Provincial CASS Co-ordinator
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 933-6016
Pound-Maker Investments Launches Share Trading Program
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
If you own shares that you would like to sell, or if you would like to acquire shares in Pound-Maker Investments Ltd. (PMI) of Lanigan, the company just made it a whole lot easier to do so.
Pound-Maker recently launched a web-based program in which any existing shareholder or member of the public may enroll as a “Participant” in the Share Trading Program, and then submit offers to sell or buy existing shares of the company.
Sheri Pederson looks after the program at PMI.
“We needed an easier way for people to let others know that they have shares for sale," she explains. "Our company has grown and been around for over 35 years now, and some of our shareholders are not in the farming business anymore. We needed a way for them to liquidate their shares and to let the public know that there are shares available to purchase.”
PMI will post summaries of all offers that are received through its website—including the number of shares that the participant is offering to buy or sell, the bid or asking price for the shares, the date the offer was made and the expiry date of the offer. PMI will then attempt to match as many buy offers with as many sell offers as possible at monthly “Trading Sessions” that will be held on the third Friday of each month.
“Our lawyer has a lot of influence in it because of his background,” explains Pederson. “It all had to be passed by the Saskatchewan Securities Commission before we could even attempt to go with it. Whether you are an existing shareholder or an individual interested in purchasing shares, you must enroll by printing the enrollment form that is on the share trading website and filling it out.
“On that enrollment form, there are a number of options. If you are a company, you fill in the incorporation date. If you are an owner of shares already, you must list the shares that you have, so we can ensure that one entity is not purchasing more than a certain percentage of the shares in the company. Once you are enrolled, I would send you back a PIN number and, from that point on, you can actually submit your buy or sell forms online.
“It is not like an auction where, if something matches, it falls off right away. The offer remains posted until the session closes and then, if there is a match, the shares are sold. If you went to our current trade share information right now, you would see the current share offerings. You also have the option of making a change offer if you so wish. If two offers are the same, the first one in gets it.”
Peterson says there are only a few people registered in the system as of yet, but she expects interest in the program will increase once word gets out.
Full details of the Share Trading Program are available at: http://www.pound-maker.ca/sharetrading.htm
Pound-Maker was originally established under the name Pound-Maker Feeders Ltd. in 1970, when about 50 local area farmers joined together to build a 2,500-head cattle feedlot to create an alternative market for their grain. By the mid-'80s, it had expanded to 8,500 head, and expanded dramatically once again in 1991 when the company increased capacity by 10,000 head and built a 10-million-litre-per-year ethanol plant.
Pound-Maker Feeders was then renamed Pound-Maker Investments Ltd. and reorganized as a holding company for local investors/shareholders, with the integrated feedlot and ethanol plant spun off into a new subsidiary operating company, Pound-Maker Agventures Ltd. (PMA).
For more information, contact:
Sheri Pederson
(306) 365-4281
sheri@pound-maker.ca
http://www.pound-maker.ca/sharetrading.htm
If you own shares that you would like to sell, or if you would like to acquire shares in Pound-Maker Investments Ltd. (PMI) of Lanigan, the company just made it a whole lot easier to do so.
Pound-Maker recently launched a web-based program in which any existing shareholder or member of the public may enroll as a “Participant” in the Share Trading Program, and then submit offers to sell or buy existing shares of the company.
Sheri Pederson looks after the program at PMI.
“We needed an easier way for people to let others know that they have shares for sale," she explains. "Our company has grown and been around for over 35 years now, and some of our shareholders are not in the farming business anymore. We needed a way for them to liquidate their shares and to let the public know that there are shares available to purchase.”
PMI will post summaries of all offers that are received through its website—including the number of shares that the participant is offering to buy or sell, the bid or asking price for the shares, the date the offer was made and the expiry date of the offer. PMI will then attempt to match as many buy offers with as many sell offers as possible at monthly “Trading Sessions” that will be held on the third Friday of each month.
“Our lawyer has a lot of influence in it because of his background,” explains Pederson. “It all had to be passed by the Saskatchewan Securities Commission before we could even attempt to go with it. Whether you are an existing shareholder or an individual interested in purchasing shares, you must enroll by printing the enrollment form that is on the share trading website and filling it out.
“On that enrollment form, there are a number of options. If you are a company, you fill in the incorporation date. If you are an owner of shares already, you must list the shares that you have, so we can ensure that one entity is not purchasing more than a certain percentage of the shares in the company. Once you are enrolled, I would send you back a PIN number and, from that point on, you can actually submit your buy or sell forms online.
“It is not like an auction where, if something matches, it falls off right away. The offer remains posted until the session closes and then, if there is a match, the shares are sold. If you went to our current trade share information right now, you would see the current share offerings. You also have the option of making a change offer if you so wish. If two offers are the same, the first one in gets it.”
Peterson says there are only a few people registered in the system as of yet, but she expects interest in the program will increase once word gets out.
Full details of the Share Trading Program are available at: http://www.pound-maker.ca/sharetrading.htm
Pound-Maker was originally established under the name Pound-Maker Feeders Ltd. in 1970, when about 50 local area farmers joined together to build a 2,500-head cattle feedlot to create an alternative market for their grain. By the mid-'80s, it had expanded to 8,500 head, and expanded dramatically once again in 1991 when the company increased capacity by 10,000 head and built a 10-million-litre-per-year ethanol plant.
Pound-Maker Feeders was then renamed Pound-Maker Investments Ltd. and reorganized as a holding company for local investors/shareholders, with the integrated feedlot and ethanol plant spun off into a new subsidiary operating company, Pound-Maker Agventures Ltd. (PMA).
For more information, contact:
Sheri Pederson
(306) 365-4281
sheri@pound-maker.ca
http://www.pound-maker.ca/sharetrading.htm
Canaryseed: Not Just Bird Feed Anymore?
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are making significant strides in the development of canario, a type of canaryseed that may have potential human applications, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Special Crops Specialist Ray McVicar.
“Canario is the market trade name that the industry has developed for those canaryseed varieties that are smooth and hairless, or glabrous. It does not have the small hair on the seed that causes the dust to be very itchy and irritating on your skin.”
Canada is the largest producer and exporter of canaryseed in the world, and Saskatchewan is home to 95 per cent of that production.
Through an Agriculture Development Fund (ADF # 20010108) project, the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, under the direction of Dr. Pierre Hucl, has successfully developed canario varieties that are not as irritating to the skin, and also produce better yields.
“Dr. Hucl’s program has developed a number of hairless varieties. This makes the crop much easier to work with, and reduces the risks of throat, breathing and more serious health problems,” says McVicar.
Canario yields have been lower than regular canaryseed, until now.
“When the first variety of canario was released—CDC Maria—it was typically lower yielding than the other two varieties that have been grown for many years,” says McVicar. “It also had higher bushel weight because, without the hair, it packed down more. Dr. Hucl has released varieties that are equal in yield to the old standard, itchy type of canaryseed.”
McVicar explains that all canaryseed is currently used for the bird food market only. No human consumption is allowed and, in order to start to look at the human consumption market, one would have to have the hairless type.
This is where canario shows promise. The recently approved canaryseed check-off, sanctioned by the provincial government through the creation of the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan, will now make it possible to explore potential new markets for canaryseed, concludes McVicar.
“The commission will be looking closely at potential new uses for canario when it undertakes its strategic planning session in the next few weeks.”
For more information, contact:
Ray McVicar
Special Crops Provincial Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-4665
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are making significant strides in the development of canario, a type of canaryseed that may have potential human applications, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Special Crops Specialist Ray McVicar.
“Canario is the market trade name that the industry has developed for those canaryseed varieties that are smooth and hairless, or glabrous. It does not have the small hair on the seed that causes the dust to be very itchy and irritating on your skin.”
Canada is the largest producer and exporter of canaryseed in the world, and Saskatchewan is home to 95 per cent of that production.
Through an Agriculture Development Fund (ADF # 20010108) project, the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, under the direction of Dr. Pierre Hucl, has successfully developed canario varieties that are not as irritating to the skin, and also produce better yields.
“Dr. Hucl’s program has developed a number of hairless varieties. This makes the crop much easier to work with, and reduces the risks of throat, breathing and more serious health problems,” says McVicar.
Canario yields have been lower than regular canaryseed, until now.
“When the first variety of canario was released—CDC Maria—it was typically lower yielding than the other two varieties that have been grown for many years,” says McVicar. “It also had higher bushel weight because, without the hair, it packed down more. Dr. Hucl has released varieties that are equal in yield to the old standard, itchy type of canaryseed.”
McVicar explains that all canaryseed is currently used for the bird food market only. No human consumption is allowed and, in order to start to look at the human consumption market, one would have to have the hairless type.
This is where canario shows promise. The recently approved canaryseed check-off, sanctioned by the provincial government through the creation of the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan, will now make it possible to explore potential new markets for canaryseed, concludes McVicar.
“The commission will be looking closely at potential new uses for canario when it undertakes its strategic planning session in the next few weeks.”
For more information, contact:
Ray McVicar
Special Crops Provincial Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-4665
Monday, April 10, 2006
Prince Albert's Meridian Bison Company Takes The High Road to Value-Adding
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Two friends of over 20 years, two neighbours and an undying entrepreneurial spirit: that pretty much describes Terry Rock and Michel Dubé. The former is a retired wildlife biologist; the latter, a businessman who owns a successful fishing lodge at Oliver Lake in northern Saskatchewan. Together they launched the Meridian Bison Company in 2001.
“I have had some land up here for quite a while,” says Dubé, “and I was renting it out to my neighbour. Terry had 160 acres at the time—he just approached me to see if I wanted to raise livestock. He was more interested in elk because he had worked quite a bit with wild elk as a biologist. I said, 'No, not elk. It isn’t something that interests me.' We were just talking, and he asked, 'How about buffalo?' I said, 'Buffalo? OK.' I started researching this a little bit. We started fencing that spring, and put our first animals in there in October of that year.
“We raise them until they are 24 months, slaughter them and sell the meat almost exclusively at the retail level to individuals. We have a list of clients we have developed, and people contact us, or we contact them once in a while to find out if they want some meat, and they can buy one pound or a whole animal if they want.”
Between them, Rock and Dubé now have about 1,200 acres of land in hay and pasture.
“There are 200 acres here, 300 acres there: three or four parcels of land in all. Not everything is fenced. Some of the land is used to grow hay, which we bale. We have about half of the land fenced off at the moment. We pretty much grass-feed our animals. We use the hay mostly in the winter to supplement their grazing. They graze from, basically, June 1 to December 1, depending on snow conditions.”
Every two weeks or so during the winter, the partners bring in 25 to 30 round bales that they run through a bale processor.
“It basically shreds the hay. We put two of the 1,500-pound bales on the machine, and it shoots it out on the side. We sometimes supplement the hay with oats to maximize the cows' protein and health levels so their breeding success is higher.”
The company has customers in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert, and has also created a niche serving the francophone community as far away as Manitoba and Alberta by placing advertisements in the provincial French weekly L’Eau Vive.
"It is snowballing," says Dubé of the company's market, "and we have an e-mail marketing list that has also helped get the word out.”
The pair is looking at doubling their herd within the next two years. They want to diversify into two different areas: one is an on-farm retail store which will feature all types of meat and value-added products like patés and prepared meals; the other is the creation of a separate herd of purebred Plains bison. (Their animals are currently a Woods/Plains bison crossbreed.)
“We realize that, in order to be successful financially in this operation, we have to value-add," explains Dubé. "We make jerky and pepperoni. Right now, in Saskatchewan and any other agricultural areas in Canada, we are not paid what we need to be paid to be economically viable. The price of commodities, whether they are grain beef, bison or anything else, is low and in Saskatchewan, particularly so, because of the nature of the economy.”
Dubé is thankful for his business experience.
“It certainly has helped, because I don’t have a formal business education. We are able to navigate through the different steps and jump through the different hoops to bring about a profitable situation. And we are also not scared to try things out because, in business, you have to try things to succeed. Sometimes you do, sometimes, you don’t. Hopefully you do.”
For more information, contact:
Michel Dubé
The Meridian Bison Company
(306) 764-5554
Two friends of over 20 years, two neighbours and an undying entrepreneurial spirit: that pretty much describes Terry Rock and Michel Dubé. The former is a retired wildlife biologist; the latter, a businessman who owns a successful fishing lodge at Oliver Lake in northern Saskatchewan. Together they launched the Meridian Bison Company in 2001.
“I have had some land up here for quite a while,” says Dubé, “and I was renting it out to my neighbour. Terry had 160 acres at the time—he just approached me to see if I wanted to raise livestock. He was more interested in elk because he had worked quite a bit with wild elk as a biologist. I said, 'No, not elk. It isn’t something that interests me.' We were just talking, and he asked, 'How about buffalo?' I said, 'Buffalo? OK.' I started researching this a little bit. We started fencing that spring, and put our first animals in there in October of that year.
“We raise them until they are 24 months, slaughter them and sell the meat almost exclusively at the retail level to individuals. We have a list of clients we have developed, and people contact us, or we contact them once in a while to find out if they want some meat, and they can buy one pound or a whole animal if they want.”
Between them, Rock and Dubé now have about 1,200 acres of land in hay and pasture.
“There are 200 acres here, 300 acres there: three or four parcels of land in all. Not everything is fenced. Some of the land is used to grow hay, which we bale. We have about half of the land fenced off at the moment. We pretty much grass-feed our animals. We use the hay mostly in the winter to supplement their grazing. They graze from, basically, June 1 to December 1, depending on snow conditions.”
Every two weeks or so during the winter, the partners bring in 25 to 30 round bales that they run through a bale processor.
“It basically shreds the hay. We put two of the 1,500-pound bales on the machine, and it shoots it out on the side. We sometimes supplement the hay with oats to maximize the cows' protein and health levels so their breeding success is higher.”
The company has customers in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert, and has also created a niche serving the francophone community as far away as Manitoba and Alberta by placing advertisements in the provincial French weekly L’Eau Vive.
"It is snowballing," says Dubé of the company's market, "and we have an e-mail marketing list that has also helped get the word out.”
The pair is looking at doubling their herd within the next two years. They want to diversify into two different areas: one is an on-farm retail store which will feature all types of meat and value-added products like patés and prepared meals; the other is the creation of a separate herd of purebred Plains bison. (Their animals are currently a Woods/Plains bison crossbreed.)
“We realize that, in order to be successful financially in this operation, we have to value-add," explains Dubé. "We make jerky and pepperoni. Right now, in Saskatchewan and any other agricultural areas in Canada, we are not paid what we need to be paid to be economically viable. The price of commodities, whether they are grain beef, bison or anything else, is low and in Saskatchewan, particularly so, because of the nature of the economy.”
Dubé is thankful for his business experience.
“It certainly has helped, because I don’t have a formal business education. We are able to navigate through the different steps and jump through the different hoops to bring about a profitable situation. And we are also not scared to try things out because, in business, you have to try things to succeed. Sometimes you do, sometimes, you don’t. Hopefully you do.”
For more information, contact:
Michel Dubé
The Meridian Bison Company
(306) 764-5554
Alfalfa Helps Improve The Profitability of Cattle Production
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Inputs now comprise such a large share of farm production costs that producers are starting to rethink their approaches to production, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Forage Development Specialist Trevor Lennox.
“One of the tools cattle producers have is legumes," he says. "I work with cattle producers, and alfalfa is by far the best resource we can work with because it fixes its own nitrogen and produces such good quality forage."
Insufficient nitrogen is the main factor limiting forage production potential on the prairies, he says.
“Water is your number one driving factor; next is nitrogen. With legumes, we have a plant that can provide a lot of its own nutrition. Meanwhile, our atmosphere contains 78 per cent nitrogen. It is a huge, vast resource of nitrogen. We just need to harness the power of legumes to pull nitrogen out of the air and fix it in the soil.”
Nitrogen fixation occurs mainly in the roots of legumes that form a symbiotic association with a bacteria species called rhizobia.
“Nitrogen fixation is directly related to the ability of legumes to accumulate energy through photosynthesis. Thus, leaf removal decreases nitrogen fixation, and leaf regrowth increases the potential for nitrogen fixation. Legumes not only fix nitrogen for their own needs, they are also able to supply nitrogen for non-nitrogen-fixing forage crops. In fact, they primarily supply nitrogen to forage plants following decomposition."
While legumes are still growing, mycorrhizal fungi can form a bridge between the root hairs of legumes and nearby grasses. This bridge facilitates the transport of fixed nitrogen from legumes to linked grasses. Depending on the nitrogen content of the soil and the mix of legumes and grasses in a pasture, legumes can transfer between 20 and 40 per cent of their fixed nitrogen to grass during the growing season.
Think of it this way: a pasture composed of at least 20 to 45 per cent legumes—on a dry weight basis—can provide the majority of the nitrogen needed by the forage stand.
When alfalfa constitutes a significant portion of the forage stand, it has the potential to fix 70 to 198 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year. Under irrigation conditions in southern Alberta, a pure stand of alfalfa has been shown to fix up to 267 pounds per acre per year. It is far cheaper to include a legume in a forage mix than to plant a grass and make annual applications of nitrogen fertilizer.
On another level, Lennox believes including legumes as part of the forage mix is necessary if nitrogen fixation is to provide a source of nitrogen for the pasture system.
“Rotational grazing is a management tool that has been shown to help maintain the proportion of alfalfa in mixed pastures,” he says.
But can cattle graze safely on pure alfalfa?
“When grazing cattle on pastures with a high component of alfalfa, bloat is a very real management problem," says Lennox. "However, a product called Alfasure is now available to control bloat. It has been on the market for a couple of years. In a series of grazing trials conducted across Western Canada, Alfasure has been almost 100 per cent effective at eliminating bloat in cattle.”
According to reports from those trials, yearling heifers grazing alfalfa gained an average of 1.5 to two pounds per day, and steers gained between two and 2.5 pounds per day. Stocking densities were two to three times higher on straight alfalfa than on grass and grass/legume pastures.
“When applied at the recommended rate, Alfasure costs 15 to 25 cents per head per day, depending upon the weight of the animal," says Lennox. "The drawback is that it needs to be applied through water, which requires restricting livestock access to only one watering source.”
To find out more about this product, contact your local veterinarian or the manufacturer (Rafter 8) in Calgary at 1-800-461-8615.
Fort more information, contact:
Trevor Lennox
Forage Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 778-8294
Inputs now comprise such a large share of farm production costs that producers are starting to rethink their approaches to production, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Forage Development Specialist Trevor Lennox.
“One of the tools cattle producers have is legumes," he says. "I work with cattle producers, and alfalfa is by far the best resource we can work with because it fixes its own nitrogen and produces such good quality forage."
Insufficient nitrogen is the main factor limiting forage production potential on the prairies, he says.
“Water is your number one driving factor; next is nitrogen. With legumes, we have a plant that can provide a lot of its own nutrition. Meanwhile, our atmosphere contains 78 per cent nitrogen. It is a huge, vast resource of nitrogen. We just need to harness the power of legumes to pull nitrogen out of the air and fix it in the soil.”
Nitrogen fixation occurs mainly in the roots of legumes that form a symbiotic association with a bacteria species called rhizobia.
“Nitrogen fixation is directly related to the ability of legumes to accumulate energy through photosynthesis. Thus, leaf removal decreases nitrogen fixation, and leaf regrowth increases the potential for nitrogen fixation. Legumes not only fix nitrogen for their own needs, they are also able to supply nitrogen for non-nitrogen-fixing forage crops. In fact, they primarily supply nitrogen to forage plants following decomposition."
While legumes are still growing, mycorrhizal fungi can form a bridge between the root hairs of legumes and nearby grasses. This bridge facilitates the transport of fixed nitrogen from legumes to linked grasses. Depending on the nitrogen content of the soil and the mix of legumes and grasses in a pasture, legumes can transfer between 20 and 40 per cent of their fixed nitrogen to grass during the growing season.
Think of it this way: a pasture composed of at least 20 to 45 per cent legumes—on a dry weight basis—can provide the majority of the nitrogen needed by the forage stand.
When alfalfa constitutes a significant portion of the forage stand, it has the potential to fix 70 to 198 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year. Under irrigation conditions in southern Alberta, a pure stand of alfalfa has been shown to fix up to 267 pounds per acre per year. It is far cheaper to include a legume in a forage mix than to plant a grass and make annual applications of nitrogen fertilizer.
On another level, Lennox believes including legumes as part of the forage mix is necessary if nitrogen fixation is to provide a source of nitrogen for the pasture system.
“Rotational grazing is a management tool that has been shown to help maintain the proportion of alfalfa in mixed pastures,” he says.
But can cattle graze safely on pure alfalfa?
“When grazing cattle on pastures with a high component of alfalfa, bloat is a very real management problem," says Lennox. "However, a product called Alfasure is now available to control bloat. It has been on the market for a couple of years. In a series of grazing trials conducted across Western Canada, Alfasure has been almost 100 per cent effective at eliminating bloat in cattle.”
According to reports from those trials, yearling heifers grazing alfalfa gained an average of 1.5 to two pounds per day, and steers gained between two and 2.5 pounds per day. Stocking densities were two to three times higher on straight alfalfa than on grass and grass/legume pastures.
“When applied at the recommended rate, Alfasure costs 15 to 25 cents per head per day, depending upon the weight of the animal," says Lennox. "The drawback is that it needs to be applied through water, which requires restricting livestock access to only one watering source.”
To find out more about this product, contact your local veterinarian or the manufacturer (Rafter 8) in Calgary at 1-800-461-8615.
Fort more information, contact:
Trevor Lennox
Forage Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 778-8294
Thunder Rail a Made-In-The-Northeast Solution to Branch Line Closures
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Around Arborfield, everyone has high hopes for Thunder Rail, a homegrown railway initiative designed to alleviate the consequences of the closure of the local CN line five years ago.
“We had to raise between $285,000 to $300,000,” explains Thunder Rail General Manager Danny Edwards. “We didn’t really have to go out and canvas for shares; people overwhelmingly came to us. It was almost more than we could handle. Everybody is on board with it."
Thunder Rail was formed out of necessity brought on by the closure of the branch line. The RM of Arborfield and the towns of Arborfield and Zenon Park convinced CN to sell them the branch line instead of tearing it up. At that point, Carlton Trail Rail took it over and ran it for five year, but they decided that it wasn’t profitable. Carlton Trail left, and the locals were left with no choice but to form their own short line rail company.
Thunder Rail's shareholders are 50 local people or companies. The two major investors are Arborfield Dehy Limited and Arborfield Grain Producers Ltd., and there are 48 other smaller shareholders.
“The company is doing very well for its first year,” says Edwards. “I have only been in the short line business for six months myself, so it is difficult to compare it to anything. My background is fertilizer, chemicals, farm input sales. I have learned so much, and the learning curve is very steep."
Thunder Rail has 19.5 miles of their own line, and they use some of CN’s main line out to Murphy Siding, so in total, the short line covers approximately 23 miles. The company doesn't own any cars, but it does have its own locomotive and all the necessary track maintenance equipment such as snow ploughs, ballast regulator and tamper and tie inserters.
Thunder Rail's major clients are its two major shareholders, explains Edwards.
“In Arborfield, the dehy plant is the main industry. Without the railroad, it wouldn’t survive. We can’t afford to ship that much product out of here by truck. Without the rail line, the dehy industry is gone, and the town is in big trouble. We had to make the rail work.”
Now that the new company is going strong, there are a few things in the works.
“We want to see the dehy do well here and the town stay in good shape, and we also want to expand. It seems that CN would like to see someone else do the main car handling and assembly work for them, so all they have to do is pull up with the engines, hook up and go off to the coast. I foresee a lot more branch line closures, and, since we are already established in the northeast, there will be room for us to expand."
The company is projecting handling around 500 cars annually, but there are projects under way that might bring that number up to 700 or 800 cars.
"Things happen very quickly in the railroad business," says Edwards. "You never know, we might get a phone call tomorrow from people who tell us, 'Hey! We would like you to run this for us.'”
For more information, contact:
Danny Edwards
General Manager
Thunder Rail
(306) 769-8663
E-mail: thunderrail@sasktel.net
Around Arborfield, everyone has high hopes for Thunder Rail, a homegrown railway initiative designed to alleviate the consequences of the closure of the local CN line five years ago.
“We had to raise between $285,000 to $300,000,” explains Thunder Rail General Manager Danny Edwards. “We didn’t really have to go out and canvas for shares; people overwhelmingly came to us. It was almost more than we could handle. Everybody is on board with it."
Thunder Rail was formed out of necessity brought on by the closure of the branch line. The RM of Arborfield and the towns of Arborfield and Zenon Park convinced CN to sell them the branch line instead of tearing it up. At that point, Carlton Trail Rail took it over and ran it for five year, but they decided that it wasn’t profitable. Carlton Trail left, and the locals were left with no choice but to form their own short line rail company.
Thunder Rail's shareholders are 50 local people or companies. The two major investors are Arborfield Dehy Limited and Arborfield Grain Producers Ltd., and there are 48 other smaller shareholders.
“The company is doing very well for its first year,” says Edwards. “I have only been in the short line business for six months myself, so it is difficult to compare it to anything. My background is fertilizer, chemicals, farm input sales. I have learned so much, and the learning curve is very steep."
Thunder Rail has 19.5 miles of their own line, and they use some of CN’s main line out to Murphy Siding, so in total, the short line covers approximately 23 miles. The company doesn't own any cars, but it does have its own locomotive and all the necessary track maintenance equipment such as snow ploughs, ballast regulator and tamper and tie inserters.
Thunder Rail's major clients are its two major shareholders, explains Edwards.
“In Arborfield, the dehy plant is the main industry. Without the railroad, it wouldn’t survive. We can’t afford to ship that much product out of here by truck. Without the rail line, the dehy industry is gone, and the town is in big trouble. We had to make the rail work.”
Now that the new company is going strong, there are a few things in the works.
“We want to see the dehy do well here and the town stay in good shape, and we also want to expand. It seems that CN would like to see someone else do the main car handling and assembly work for them, so all they have to do is pull up with the engines, hook up and go off to the coast. I foresee a lot more branch line closures, and, since we are already established in the northeast, there will be room for us to expand."
The company is projecting handling around 500 cars annually, but there are projects under way that might bring that number up to 700 or 800 cars.
"Things happen very quickly in the railroad business," says Edwards. "You never know, we might get a phone call tomorrow from people who tell us, 'Hey! We would like you to run this for us.'”
For more information, contact:
Danny Edwards
General Manager
Thunder Rail
(306) 769-8663
E-mail: thunderrail@sasktel.net
Training Needs Assessment Under Way For The Saskatchewan Organic Industry
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
The Saskatchewan Organic Directorate (SOD) has received funding from Saskatchewan Learning’s Sector Partnerships Program to carry out a training needs assessment study of the Saskatchewan organic sector, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Agri-Business Development Specialist Don Perrault.
“The organic sector in Saskatchewan is growing rapidly and encompasses approximately 1,200 producers in all areas of the province," he says. "Saskatchewan is a leader in the organic sector in Canada. Based on an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) survey conducted in 2003, about one-third of all Canadian organic producers are located in Saskatchewan. Fifty-eight per cent of all land in organic production in Canada is in Saskatchewan."
Perrault believes organic production presents an excellent growth opportunity for this province.
“This is due to our abundance of agricultural land and our reputation for a clean environment. The markets for organic food are strong, and are growing at 15 to 20 per cent per year. It is also one of the sectors in agriculture that continues to be profitable.”
For this reason, SAF has identified organic farming as an opportunity area.
“We have a good toehold in this industry. We need to motivate producers to take advantage of the opportunities in this market."
Education and training are critical elements in expanding any new sector of the economy, Perrault explains.
“We hope that the training needs assessment will provide insight into the needs of the organic industry and the appropriate learning models which will help propel this sector forward.”
The study will also look at the feasibility of an Organic Learning Centre in the province. A steering committee made up of representatives from the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, the Sagehill Business Development Corporation, the Carlton Trail Regional College, the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Arts and Science, the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate, the Prairie Ursuline Centre at Bruno and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food has been put in place to provide direction to the study.
In January, Lorraine Beaudette of Sage Management Services of Saskatoon was retained to carry out the needs assessment.
“She has already established contact with many of the certification bodies in the province and a few producer groups," says Perrault. "Over the next few weeks, Sage Management Services will be surveying the various organic sector stakeholders to obtain their views on future learning needs, preferred delivery methods, use of technology and other areas of interest.”
For more information contact:
Don Perrault
Steering Committee Chair
Agri-Business Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 953-2361
dperrault@agr.gov.sk.ca
or
Lorraine Beaudette
Sage Management Services
R.R. 3, Gs 303, Box 9
Saskatoon SK S7K 3J6
(306) 956-3136
sage@yourlink.ca
The Saskatchewan Organic Directorate (SOD) has received funding from Saskatchewan Learning’s Sector Partnerships Program to carry out a training needs assessment study of the Saskatchewan organic sector, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Agri-Business Development Specialist Don Perrault.
“The organic sector in Saskatchewan is growing rapidly and encompasses approximately 1,200 producers in all areas of the province," he says. "Saskatchewan is a leader in the organic sector in Canada. Based on an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) survey conducted in 2003, about one-third of all Canadian organic producers are located in Saskatchewan. Fifty-eight per cent of all land in organic production in Canada is in Saskatchewan."
Perrault believes organic production presents an excellent growth opportunity for this province.
“This is due to our abundance of agricultural land and our reputation for a clean environment. The markets for organic food are strong, and are growing at 15 to 20 per cent per year. It is also one of the sectors in agriculture that continues to be profitable.”
For this reason, SAF has identified organic farming as an opportunity area.
“We have a good toehold in this industry. We need to motivate producers to take advantage of the opportunities in this market."
Education and training are critical elements in expanding any new sector of the economy, Perrault explains.
“We hope that the training needs assessment will provide insight into the needs of the organic industry and the appropriate learning models which will help propel this sector forward.”
The study will also look at the feasibility of an Organic Learning Centre in the province. A steering committee made up of representatives from the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, the Sagehill Business Development Corporation, the Carlton Trail Regional College, the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Arts and Science, the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate, the Prairie Ursuline Centre at Bruno and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food has been put in place to provide direction to the study.
In January, Lorraine Beaudette of Sage Management Services of Saskatoon was retained to carry out the needs assessment.
“She has already established contact with many of the certification bodies in the province and a few producer groups," says Perrault. "Over the next few weeks, Sage Management Services will be surveying the various organic sector stakeholders to obtain their views on future learning needs, preferred delivery methods, use of technology and other areas of interest.”
For more information contact:
Don Perrault
Steering Committee Chair
Agri-Business Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 953-2361
dperrault@agr.gov.sk.ca
or
Lorraine Beaudette
Sage Management Services
R.R. 3, Gs 303, Box 9
Saskatoon SK S7K 3J6
(306) 956-3136
sage@yourlink.ca
Canaryseed Check-Off In Effect May 1
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Canaryseed growers can look forward to improved market development now that the canaryseed check-off is in effect, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Special Crops Specialist Ray McVicar.
“The check-off is now in place, with the Government of Saskatchewan approving the regulations to establish the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan (CDCS)," he says. "So we have a brand new organization mandated to support research into new uses for canaryseed, including human consumption; to support plant breeding and agronomy research; and to attract other development support, such as government funding that is only available with matching money.”
McVicar feels the CDCS will put growers in the driver’s seat.
“In January and February of 2005, the Canaryseed Association of Canada (CAC) hosted information meetings in Saskatoon and Eston to discuss the check-off with producers and industry representatives. At each meeting, the CAC used a secret ballot to survey growers' support for the check-off. Of those growers who completed the ballots, 73 per cent supported the check-off. "
The canaryseed check-off has been discussed at grower meetings and field days, as well as in a number of news releases and farm publications for the past two years. There have been numerous opportunities for growers to voice their opinion and ask questions about the check-off.
The check-off is mandatory but refundable. The check-off level will be $1.75 per net tonne on commercial sales of canaryseed. Canaryseed grown for seedstock will be exempt. Growers will be registered if they have sold canaryseed within the past three years. There will be two opportunities per year for producers to apply for a refund.
The CDCS has hired Levy Central of Saskatoon to administer the check-off. The company has provided information packages to explain to buyers of Saskatchewan canaryseed how to deduct the levy and submit it to the commission. Levy Central also administers the check-offs for the Saskatchewan Canola, Flax and Mustard Development Commissions. The CDCS office will be established alongside the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission office in Saskatoon.
“The check-off will begin on May 1, 2006," says McVicar. "The interim board of directors will begin strategic planning within the next month to set the priorities for market research and development.”
For more information, contact:
Ray McVicar
Special Crops Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-4665
Canaryseed growers can look forward to improved market development now that the canaryseed check-off is in effect, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Special Crops Specialist Ray McVicar.
“The check-off is now in place, with the Government of Saskatchewan approving the regulations to establish the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan (CDCS)," he says. "So we have a brand new organization mandated to support research into new uses for canaryseed, including human consumption; to support plant breeding and agronomy research; and to attract other development support, such as government funding that is only available with matching money.”
McVicar feels the CDCS will put growers in the driver’s seat.
“In January and February of 2005, the Canaryseed Association of Canada (CAC) hosted information meetings in Saskatoon and Eston to discuss the check-off with producers and industry representatives. At each meeting, the CAC used a secret ballot to survey growers' support for the check-off. Of those growers who completed the ballots, 73 per cent supported the check-off. "
The canaryseed check-off has been discussed at grower meetings and field days, as well as in a number of news releases and farm publications for the past two years. There have been numerous opportunities for growers to voice their opinion and ask questions about the check-off.
The check-off is mandatory but refundable. The check-off level will be $1.75 per net tonne on commercial sales of canaryseed. Canaryseed grown for seedstock will be exempt. Growers will be registered if they have sold canaryseed within the past three years. There will be two opportunities per year for producers to apply for a refund.
The CDCS has hired Levy Central of Saskatoon to administer the check-off. The company has provided information packages to explain to buyers of Saskatchewan canaryseed how to deduct the levy and submit it to the commission. Levy Central also administers the check-offs for the Saskatchewan Canola, Flax and Mustard Development Commissions. The CDCS office will be established alongside the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission office in Saskatoon.
“The check-off will begin on May 1, 2006," says McVicar. "The interim board of directors will begin strategic planning within the next month to set the priorities for market research and development.”
For more information, contact:
Ray McVicar
Special Crops Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-4665
Thursday, March 30, 2006
The Art of Selecting the Right Forage Species
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Within Saskatchewan, a number of producers are making the transition from grain to grass and are expanding their livestock operations. Making this decision requires taking time to investigate what forage opportunities are available, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food’s Agri-Business Development Intern Sarah Sommerfeld.
“There are many opportunities out there, in various forms," she says, "but they all come down to one central idea— seeding a perennial or annual for grazing, silage or baled dry forage.”
Prior to seeding perennial forages, producers must select a species that is suitable to their specific area, says Sommerfeld. Forage selection should be based on these criteria: soil type and characteristics, time of grazing, longevity, end use, competition, forage quality and yield potential. Specific species are better adapted to soils that are prone to salinity, flooding or drought. Tall wheatgrass, slender wheatgrass and reed canarygrass have good flooding tolerance, while alfalfa, crested wheatgrass and meadow brome harbour poor flooding tolerance.
Species that are suitable for production on saline soils include members of the wheatgrass family and altai wild rye grass. In areas that are prone to drought, producers could select crested wheatgrass, alfalfa, smooth bromegrass or Russian wild rye grass.
Depending on what time of year the forage will be grazed, the producer should choose the species that offers the greatest yield potential and forage quality. Crested wheatgrass is the best source for early spring grazing, and meadow bromegrass provides optimal forage production from late May to mid-July. Native grasses provide better grazing in late June to August.
“The longevity of various perennial species does differ, but the rule of thumb – ‘take half, leave half’ – should be practiced to maintain plant health and vigour," she says. "‘Take half, leave half’ refers to using only 50 per cent of the forage produced. This practice ensures that there is adequate plant material remaining for the growth and development of a healthy root system – which ultimately dictates the longevity of the grass species. Tame grasses can be safely grazed to various heights, but the general recommendation is to maintain between four to six inches of growth.”
If the decision has been made to seed a mixture, it is important to remember to select species that are suited to the site and complement production.
“A mixture can be as simple as two species, or as complex as several species. There are benefits and costs to seeding a mixture. With a mixture, forage production can be more consistent throughout the grazing season, but a single-species stand provides more uniform growth and re-growth.”
Sommerfeld notes that animal gains can be higher when grazing on a mixture, but animal selectivity can be greater, creating the need for a more intensive grazing management plan.
A mixed grass stand may have greater longevity, as more adapted species thrive and replace less suitable species, but this can result in loss of plant diversity and the benefits from seeding a mixture.
For additional information or assistance regarding seeding forages for grazing, contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.
For more information, contact:
Sarah Sommerfeld, BSA
Agri-Business Development Intern
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 867-5557
Within Saskatchewan, a number of producers are making the transition from grain to grass and are expanding their livestock operations. Making this decision requires taking time to investigate what forage opportunities are available, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food’s Agri-Business Development Intern Sarah Sommerfeld.
“There are many opportunities out there, in various forms," she says, "but they all come down to one central idea— seeding a perennial or annual for grazing, silage or baled dry forage.”
Prior to seeding perennial forages, producers must select a species that is suitable to their specific area, says Sommerfeld. Forage selection should be based on these criteria: soil type and characteristics, time of grazing, longevity, end use, competition, forage quality and yield potential. Specific species are better adapted to soils that are prone to salinity, flooding or drought. Tall wheatgrass, slender wheatgrass and reed canarygrass have good flooding tolerance, while alfalfa, crested wheatgrass and meadow brome harbour poor flooding tolerance.
Species that are suitable for production on saline soils include members of the wheatgrass family and altai wild rye grass. In areas that are prone to drought, producers could select crested wheatgrass, alfalfa, smooth bromegrass or Russian wild rye grass.
Depending on what time of year the forage will be grazed, the producer should choose the species that offers the greatest yield potential and forage quality. Crested wheatgrass is the best source for early spring grazing, and meadow bromegrass provides optimal forage production from late May to mid-July. Native grasses provide better grazing in late June to August.
“The longevity of various perennial species does differ, but the rule of thumb – ‘take half, leave half’ – should be practiced to maintain plant health and vigour," she says. "‘Take half, leave half’ refers to using only 50 per cent of the forage produced. This practice ensures that there is adequate plant material remaining for the growth and development of a healthy root system – which ultimately dictates the longevity of the grass species. Tame grasses can be safely grazed to various heights, but the general recommendation is to maintain between four to six inches of growth.”
If the decision has been made to seed a mixture, it is important to remember to select species that are suited to the site and complement production.
“A mixture can be as simple as two species, or as complex as several species. There are benefits and costs to seeding a mixture. With a mixture, forage production can be more consistent throughout the grazing season, but a single-species stand provides more uniform growth and re-growth.”
Sommerfeld notes that animal gains can be higher when grazing on a mixture, but animal selectivity can be greater, creating the need for a more intensive grazing management plan.
A mixed grass stand may have greater longevity, as more adapted species thrive and replace less suitable species, but this can result in loss of plant diversity and the benefits from seeding a mixture.
For additional information or assistance regarding seeding forages for grazing, contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.
For more information, contact:
Sarah Sommerfeld, BSA
Agri-Business Development Intern
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 867-5557
ACAAFS Program Still Accepting Applications
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Mid-way though its mandate, the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Saskatchewan (ACAAFS) program is still inviting applications from the province’s agriculture and agri-food communities, according to the Saskatchewan Council for Community Development (SCCD) executive director, Laurie Dmytryshyn.
The SCCD administers ACAAFS, the successor to the Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development Secretariat (CARDS) program, on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Nationally, this is a five-year, $240 million program designed to position Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector at the leading edge, to capture new opportunities. Saskatchewan's share of the ACAAF program, in the amount of $3.22 million annually, is delivered by the ACAAFS committee of the SCCD.
In essence, this is a grant program with three pillars, Dmytryshyn explains.
The first pillar is called Industry-Led Solutions to Emerging Issues. This pillar is attractive to agriculture and agri-food organizations—both for-profits and not-for-profits. It is designed to provide funding to assist industry in testing new ideas and approaches of importance to their sectors. Funding is also provided under this pillar for the development of new value-added products and processes. A good example of this is the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre's HAACP Technician Certificate Program.
Pillar II – Capturing Market Opportunities by Advancing Research Results – provides funding to organizations so they can address the pre-commercialization gap. Both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations can get funding for feasibility studies, business plans and marketing plans, and to complete engineering and product prototypes. The goal of this pillar is to help commercialize research done by industry, universities and/or government. The maximum grant under this pillar is $500,000, or 50 per cent of the cost for for-profits and 70 per cent for not-for-profits.
The last of the three pillars is called Sharing Information to Advance the Sector. It provides funding to assist industry in gathering, analyzing and sharing information that will shape the future of the sector. Industry organizations are eligible for up to 70 per cent funding for projects that demonstrate significant industry benefits.
“As an added development," explains Dmytryshyn, "we recently announced our new Speaker Sponsorship Program. Funding is available for speakers from the agriculture and agri-food sectors, just as long as they are dealing with issues of importance to industry. We will provide funding in amounts ranging from $2,500 up to $10,000 per application. The program covers 50 per cent of the speaker's fee and travel expenses."
Program details can be accessed by visiting the ACAAFS website at www.sccd.sk.ca/acaafs.
For more information, contact:
Laurie Dmytryshyn
Executive Director
Saskatchewan Council for Community Development
(306) 975-6849
www.sccd.sk.ca/acaafs
Mid-way though its mandate, the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Saskatchewan (ACAAFS) program is still inviting applications from the province’s agriculture and agri-food communities, according to the Saskatchewan Council for Community Development (SCCD) executive director, Laurie Dmytryshyn.
The SCCD administers ACAAFS, the successor to the Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development Secretariat (CARDS) program, on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Nationally, this is a five-year, $240 million program designed to position Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector at the leading edge, to capture new opportunities. Saskatchewan's share of the ACAAF program, in the amount of $3.22 million annually, is delivered by the ACAAFS committee of the SCCD.
In essence, this is a grant program with three pillars, Dmytryshyn explains.
The first pillar is called Industry-Led Solutions to Emerging Issues. This pillar is attractive to agriculture and agri-food organizations—both for-profits and not-for-profits. It is designed to provide funding to assist industry in testing new ideas and approaches of importance to their sectors. Funding is also provided under this pillar for the development of new value-added products and processes. A good example of this is the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre's HAACP Technician Certificate Program.
Pillar II – Capturing Market Opportunities by Advancing Research Results – provides funding to organizations so they can address the pre-commercialization gap. Both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations can get funding for feasibility studies, business plans and marketing plans, and to complete engineering and product prototypes. The goal of this pillar is to help commercialize research done by industry, universities and/or government. The maximum grant under this pillar is $500,000, or 50 per cent of the cost for for-profits and 70 per cent for not-for-profits.
The last of the three pillars is called Sharing Information to Advance the Sector. It provides funding to assist industry in gathering, analyzing and sharing information that will shape the future of the sector. Industry organizations are eligible for up to 70 per cent funding for projects that demonstrate significant industry benefits.
“As an added development," explains Dmytryshyn, "we recently announced our new Speaker Sponsorship Program. Funding is available for speakers from the agriculture and agri-food sectors, just as long as they are dealing with issues of importance to industry. We will provide funding in amounts ranging from $2,500 up to $10,000 per application. The program covers 50 per cent of the speaker's fee and travel expenses."
Program details can be accessed by visiting the ACAAFS website at www.sccd.sk.ca/acaafs.
For more information, contact:
Laurie Dmytryshyn
Executive Director
Saskatchewan Council for Community Development
(306) 975-6849
www.sccd.sk.ca/acaafs
Blaine Lake farmer Preserves Doukhobor Dugout House Heritage
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
If you are driving around the Blaine Lake area on any Saturday from May 20 to August 26, you might want to stop in at the Doukhobor Dugout House on the edge of the North Saskatchewan River Valley.
This is the site of one of the earliest Doukhobor settlements in the province, and perhaps the only one left with remnants of a dugout house, according to Brenda Cheveldayoff, a local landowner and grain producer who, with her husband, has taken an interest in protecting this part of the rich Doukhobor heritage.
“I ended up with this land because, with all the movement in Doukhobor history, a lot of the land went up for sale, and my great-great-grandfather purchased the land in 1925. When my dad passed away, I acquired the land. I had always been curious about its history, and I thought professionals should document it. Research revealed that there were as many as 300 people, and perhaps more, who lived at the site as early as 1899.”
To get to the bottom of this, Cheveldayoff contacted the Department of Archaeology at the University of Saskatchewan, which led to some subsequent research and excavation work.
“Every artefact found in the house has significance—an oven door, a button, some pottery, an old shoe. All are poignant memories of life in those five early years, 1899 to 1904.”
These five years were also used to plane and build a more conventional settlement up on top of the valley. Down below, the rudimentary dwellings provided temporary shelter, Cheveldayoff believes.
“The back wall of the dugout house was all dirt. They used some rock to shore it up. There was a freshwater spring just in front of the house, which is likely why they settled there in the first place," she says. “One dugout dwelling was home to nine families, who cooked and slept in an area of about 436 square feet. During one winter, five babies were born—one of them is buried at the top of the hill to the north. With no money and little resources, these vegetarian pacifists were bent on survival. As men went to work on the railroads in the summer months, the women hitched themselves to the ploughs to turn over land for gardens.”
Doukhobors were good farmers, and still are today. They did a lot of the ploughing by hand, with women pulling the plough to break the prairie soil. Cheveldayoff works with members of the Doukhobor community during the summer to re-enact some of the past activities.
“We do the pulling of the plough from May to August on Saturdays. Visitors might encounter Peter Verigin, who enticed his people to move to Saskatchewan; or Leo Tolstoy, to whom Doukhobors owe the financial resources for their trip through the gift of his book royalties—both of these historic figures will be encountered in period costumes.”
During the rest of the week, the Cheveldayoffs carry on their regular farm activities. Brenda is always on the lookout for new information about her very special heritage site.
“Our documents show there were 57 villages assembled in Saskatchewan, but there is no evidence of dugout houses, except with this one.”
The Doukhobor Dugout House is open, rain or shine, every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the summer months. Tour times are 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
For more information, contact:
Brenda Cheveldayoff
Doukhobor Dugout House
Blaine Lake
(306) 497-3140
http://www.doukhobordugouthouse.com
If you are driving around the Blaine Lake area on any Saturday from May 20 to August 26, you might want to stop in at the Doukhobor Dugout House on the edge of the North Saskatchewan River Valley.
This is the site of one of the earliest Doukhobor settlements in the province, and perhaps the only one left with remnants of a dugout house, according to Brenda Cheveldayoff, a local landowner and grain producer who, with her husband, has taken an interest in protecting this part of the rich Doukhobor heritage.
“I ended up with this land because, with all the movement in Doukhobor history, a lot of the land went up for sale, and my great-great-grandfather purchased the land in 1925. When my dad passed away, I acquired the land. I had always been curious about its history, and I thought professionals should document it. Research revealed that there were as many as 300 people, and perhaps more, who lived at the site as early as 1899.”
To get to the bottom of this, Cheveldayoff contacted the Department of Archaeology at the University of Saskatchewan, which led to some subsequent research and excavation work.
“Every artefact found in the house has significance—an oven door, a button, some pottery, an old shoe. All are poignant memories of life in those five early years, 1899 to 1904.”
These five years were also used to plane and build a more conventional settlement up on top of the valley. Down below, the rudimentary dwellings provided temporary shelter, Cheveldayoff believes.
“The back wall of the dugout house was all dirt. They used some rock to shore it up. There was a freshwater spring just in front of the house, which is likely why they settled there in the first place," she says. “One dugout dwelling was home to nine families, who cooked and slept in an area of about 436 square feet. During one winter, five babies were born—one of them is buried at the top of the hill to the north. With no money and little resources, these vegetarian pacifists were bent on survival. As men went to work on the railroads in the summer months, the women hitched themselves to the ploughs to turn over land for gardens.”
Doukhobors were good farmers, and still are today. They did a lot of the ploughing by hand, with women pulling the plough to break the prairie soil. Cheveldayoff works with members of the Doukhobor community during the summer to re-enact some of the past activities.
“We do the pulling of the plough from May to August on Saturdays. Visitors might encounter Peter Verigin, who enticed his people to move to Saskatchewan; or Leo Tolstoy, to whom Doukhobors owe the financial resources for their trip through the gift of his book royalties—both of these historic figures will be encountered in period costumes.”
During the rest of the week, the Cheveldayoffs carry on their regular farm activities. Brenda is always on the lookout for new information about her very special heritage site.
“Our documents show there were 57 villages assembled in Saskatchewan, but there is no evidence of dugout houses, except with this one.”
The Doukhobor Dugout House is open, rain or shine, every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the summer months. Tour times are 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
For more information, contact:
Brenda Cheveldayoff
Doukhobor Dugout House
Blaine Lake
(306) 497-3140
http://www.doukhobordugouthouse.com
Saskatraz: Attempting To Build a Better Bee
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
As a joke, they call it Saskatraz, after Alcatraz, the infamous California prison. It's a project to weed out bees vulnerable to two of the greatest dangers to Saskatchewan bee colonies: tracheal and varroa mites.
The project is funded through Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food. It was initiated by members of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association (SBA) through donations of money and colonies, in an attempt to find the most productive, most resistant stock, says SBA president Tim Wendall.
The selected colonies have been put in an isolated beeyard in an attempt to determine or develop mite resistant stock that will also perform well in honey production. Tracheal and varroa mites cause great trouble for beekeepers. Several treatments have been developed in the past. The first treatment controlled mites in the U.S. for 10 to 12 years, until the mites developed resistance.
“Then another chemical came along," explains Wendall. "It was initially developed for small hive beetles, which somehow came into the southern U.S. and decimated colonies. This chemical was wax-soluble, so residues were found in the bees’ wax, and mites develop resistance to it after four or five years of use. American mites are now resistant to both these chemicals, so they have major problems down there.”
Because of Saskatchewan’s closed border policy, there are only a few pockets of infestation in the province, but the mites are showing resistance to the chemicals.
“We thought the best direction to go would be to find a genetic solution, if possible," says Wendall. “That is what we are trying to do with Saskatraz. Albert Robertson, who has been an SBA director for the past four years, has worked quite extensively with genetic markers, and he has isolated certain gene combinations in other species. He was put in charge of this program because of his scientific background. It takes a lot of his time, so he has decided not to run as director for this next term so he can concentrate his efforts to the project at hand.”
The Saskatraz beeyard is at an isolated location in the Quill Lakes area, north of Wynyard.
“It is just a normal beeyard, except that there are no other beeyards around. We don’t want to re-infect any non-project colonies, and we especially don’t want any outside drones mating with stock that we want to develop out of this beeyard.”
Any bee that is showing susceptibility to mites will be removed from the beeyard, says Wendall.
“There is no chemical treatment going on here. The entire colony has been infected and the whole colony has been equalized. Now they are on their own. The initial beehives that were put in there were provided by producers in the province who selected a few of their best colonies out of maybe 30,000 or 40,000 beehives in Saskatchewan."
This is an exciting project for the association, explains Wendell.
“Some bees show some susceptibility, and there are some that show encouraging signs, although it is still pretty early in the project.
“I would think that there are beekeepers around who are trying to do the same thing within their own breeding programs, but with not nearly the continuous monitoring that we are implementing. You have to have a non-invasive way to monitor mite levels within the beehives. That takes people. We just got another grant that will enable us to hire a couple of people to monitor this project. You need someone to pull slides every week, to count mites, to see if the bees have been chewed.”
The adult mite lives off the adult bees' “blood” or lymphatic system, thereby shortening the bees’ lives. The female mite goes into the cell of a developing larvae and lays eggs which hatch and feed off the larvae. Wendall says that Saskatraz has attracted the attention of some noted international bee scientists. The mites are simply that nasty.
“They just suck the blood of the bees. Once the numbers go up, they just collapse the hive. The bees can’t deal with it. With Saskatraz, the colonies that are going in are lifers.”
For more information, contact:
Tim Wendell
President
Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association
(306) 564-2315
http://www.saskatchewanbeekeepers.ca/
As a joke, they call it Saskatraz, after Alcatraz, the infamous California prison. It's a project to weed out bees vulnerable to two of the greatest dangers to Saskatchewan bee colonies: tracheal and varroa mites.
The project is funded through Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food. It was initiated by members of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association (SBA) through donations of money and colonies, in an attempt to find the most productive, most resistant stock, says SBA president Tim Wendall.
The selected colonies have been put in an isolated beeyard in an attempt to determine or develop mite resistant stock that will also perform well in honey production. Tracheal and varroa mites cause great trouble for beekeepers. Several treatments have been developed in the past. The first treatment controlled mites in the U.S. for 10 to 12 years, until the mites developed resistance.
“Then another chemical came along," explains Wendall. "It was initially developed for small hive beetles, which somehow came into the southern U.S. and decimated colonies. This chemical was wax-soluble, so residues were found in the bees’ wax, and mites develop resistance to it after four or five years of use. American mites are now resistant to both these chemicals, so they have major problems down there.”
Because of Saskatchewan’s closed border policy, there are only a few pockets of infestation in the province, but the mites are showing resistance to the chemicals.
“We thought the best direction to go would be to find a genetic solution, if possible," says Wendall. “That is what we are trying to do with Saskatraz. Albert Robertson, who has been an SBA director for the past four years, has worked quite extensively with genetic markers, and he has isolated certain gene combinations in other species. He was put in charge of this program because of his scientific background. It takes a lot of his time, so he has decided not to run as director for this next term so he can concentrate his efforts to the project at hand.”
The Saskatraz beeyard is at an isolated location in the Quill Lakes area, north of Wynyard.
“It is just a normal beeyard, except that there are no other beeyards around. We don’t want to re-infect any non-project colonies, and we especially don’t want any outside drones mating with stock that we want to develop out of this beeyard.”
Any bee that is showing susceptibility to mites will be removed from the beeyard, says Wendall.
“There is no chemical treatment going on here. The entire colony has been infected and the whole colony has been equalized. Now they are on their own. The initial beehives that were put in there were provided by producers in the province who selected a few of their best colonies out of maybe 30,000 or 40,000 beehives in Saskatchewan."
This is an exciting project for the association, explains Wendell.
“Some bees show some susceptibility, and there are some that show encouraging signs, although it is still pretty early in the project.
“I would think that there are beekeepers around who are trying to do the same thing within their own breeding programs, but with not nearly the continuous monitoring that we are implementing. You have to have a non-invasive way to monitor mite levels within the beehives. That takes people. We just got another grant that will enable us to hire a couple of people to monitor this project. You need someone to pull slides every week, to count mites, to see if the bees have been chewed.”
The adult mite lives off the adult bees' “blood” or lymphatic system, thereby shortening the bees’ lives. The female mite goes into the cell of a developing larvae and lays eggs which hatch and feed off the larvae. Wendall says that Saskatraz has attracted the attention of some noted international bee scientists. The mites are simply that nasty.
“They just suck the blood of the bees. Once the numbers go up, they just collapse the hive. The bees can’t deal with it. With Saskatraz, the colonies that are going in are lifers.”
For more information, contact:
Tim Wendell
President
Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association
(306) 564-2315
http://www.saskatchewanbeekeepers.ca/
Saskatchewan Marketing Organic Products in Europe
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
For the past six years, the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) have successfully joined forces to lead delegations to BioFach, the world's largest organic trade fair, held annually in Nuremburg, Germany.
Together, the partners have successfully raised the profile of Saskatchewan’s organic industry via participation in the Canadian Pavilion at the show, according to SAF’s International Business Development Specialist Renata Bereziuk.
“BioFach is of interest to the producers and processors of organic and natural products, including raw materials, convenience foods, grains, seeds, pulses, herbs, spices, flavourings, cosmetics and consumer goods, as well as organic farmer and processor associations and health food suppliers."
Over the past number of years, the European Union’s (EU) organic food sector has created a tremendous opportunity for Saskatchewan certified organic products. At present, Saskatchewan ships organic wild rice, grains, pulses, seeds and flour to the EU, but Canada is in danger of losing access to EU markets because the EU has implemented a mandatory organic standard and certification system. In order to maintain access to the EU organic market, trading partners were to be on a third-country equivalency list by December 31, 2005. Canada has been granted a one-year extension. Officials from the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are highly optimistic that Canada will successfully obtain third-country equivalency.
“In past shows,” explains Dale Botting, President and CEO of STEP, “the Province of Saskatchewan has had by far the largest Canadian presence at the show. Organic agriculture provides a niche marketing opportunity that this province is well-suited to fill."
Companies that have participated in past shows noted a lot of interest in the Saskatchewan companies, he says. By setting up appointments prior to the show and then walking the show, they were able to obtain solid leads for follow-up.
One such success story is Naturally Nutritious Foods Inc. of Spalding, owned by Eric and Betty Leicht. Their company has been growing and processing organic grains and pulses since 1991. Mr. Leicht believes that attending BioFach is the best way to meet European and American organic importers, wholesalers and retailers.
“We have been going to BioFach for five or six years now," he explains. "Europe has been quite aggressive in organics—more so than Canada. The European demand for organic products continues to increase. The U.S. market is increasing also."
One of the ways the Leichts work the show is to bring small samples of some of their grains, just to give potential customers an idea of what they have.
“European and American companies are our biggest markets, so we socialize with their agents while we are at the fair. There are eight or nine halls at the show, and each is very large. There are about 35,000 visitors to the show every year. The more they see you, the better it is," Leicht says.
Naturally Nutritious markets primarily peas, lentils, split peas, oats, barley, wheat, durum, spelt, flax and mustard.
“Most of them take our products and either small-package them or put them on the retail shelves,” Leicht says. “In the case of cereals, they may use them for flour. They are ending up in specialized stores, but more and more are finding their way into supermarkets, which are getting into organics all around Europe.”
STEP’s Botting notes that, in 2006, participation by Saskatchewan companies was down slightly, as was the case with Canadian participation, in general, due to a poor crop year and market access concerns.
“It will be STEP’s—and SAF's—goal to use BioFach to maintain contacts with international buyers, and to ensure that Saskatchewan is the first place that comes to mind when buyers think of organic products," he says.
To find out more about BioFach, visit: http://www.biofach.de/main/d3zq3jg8/page.html
For more information, contact:
Renata Bereziuk
International Business Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
306-787-8541
Dale Botting
President and CEO
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
306-787-9210
Eric Leicht
Naturally Nutritious Foods Inc.
306-287-3954
For the past six years, the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) have successfully joined forces to lead delegations to BioFach, the world's largest organic trade fair, held annually in Nuremburg, Germany.
Together, the partners have successfully raised the profile of Saskatchewan’s organic industry via participation in the Canadian Pavilion at the show, according to SAF’s International Business Development Specialist Renata Bereziuk.
“BioFach is of interest to the producers and processors of organic and natural products, including raw materials, convenience foods, grains, seeds, pulses, herbs, spices, flavourings, cosmetics and consumer goods, as well as organic farmer and processor associations and health food suppliers."
Over the past number of years, the European Union’s (EU) organic food sector has created a tremendous opportunity for Saskatchewan certified organic products. At present, Saskatchewan ships organic wild rice, grains, pulses, seeds and flour to the EU, but Canada is in danger of losing access to EU markets because the EU has implemented a mandatory organic standard and certification system. In order to maintain access to the EU organic market, trading partners were to be on a third-country equivalency list by December 31, 2005. Canada has been granted a one-year extension. Officials from the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are highly optimistic that Canada will successfully obtain third-country equivalency.
“In past shows,” explains Dale Botting, President and CEO of STEP, “the Province of Saskatchewan has had by far the largest Canadian presence at the show. Organic agriculture provides a niche marketing opportunity that this province is well-suited to fill."
Companies that have participated in past shows noted a lot of interest in the Saskatchewan companies, he says. By setting up appointments prior to the show and then walking the show, they were able to obtain solid leads for follow-up.
One such success story is Naturally Nutritious Foods Inc. of Spalding, owned by Eric and Betty Leicht. Their company has been growing and processing organic grains and pulses since 1991. Mr. Leicht believes that attending BioFach is the best way to meet European and American organic importers, wholesalers and retailers.
“We have been going to BioFach for five or six years now," he explains. "Europe has been quite aggressive in organics—more so than Canada. The European demand for organic products continues to increase. The U.S. market is increasing also."
One of the ways the Leichts work the show is to bring small samples of some of their grains, just to give potential customers an idea of what they have.
“European and American companies are our biggest markets, so we socialize with their agents while we are at the fair. There are eight or nine halls at the show, and each is very large. There are about 35,000 visitors to the show every year. The more they see you, the better it is," Leicht says.
Naturally Nutritious markets primarily peas, lentils, split peas, oats, barley, wheat, durum, spelt, flax and mustard.
“Most of them take our products and either small-package them or put them on the retail shelves,” Leicht says. “In the case of cereals, they may use them for flour. They are ending up in specialized stores, but more and more are finding their way into supermarkets, which are getting into organics all around Europe.”
STEP’s Botting notes that, in 2006, participation by Saskatchewan companies was down slightly, as was the case with Canadian participation, in general, due to a poor crop year and market access concerns.
“It will be STEP’s—and SAF's—goal to use BioFach to maintain contacts with international buyers, and to ensure that Saskatchewan is the first place that comes to mind when buyers think of organic products," he says.
To find out more about BioFach, visit: http://www.biofach.de/main/d3zq3jg8/page.html
For more information, contact:
Renata Bereziuk
International Business Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
306-787-8541
Dale Botting
President and CEO
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
306-787-9210
Eric Leicht
Naturally Nutritious Foods Inc.
306-287-3954
Friday, March 24, 2006
Age Verification Will Enhance Canada's Access to World Beef Markets
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Age verification is the way of the future for Canada’s beef industry, as both the country and Saskatchewan rebuild their export markets, according Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Livestock Development Specialist Bob Klemmer.
“Saskatchewan, like elsewhere in Canada, is very dependant on export markets," he says. "When BSE came along, we lost all of those export markets, and we are just starting to gain them back. Prior to BSE, Canada exported over 60 per cent of its annual beef production.”
Several of Canada’s main export markets, including the USA and Japan, have requirements around verifying the age of animals or the age of beef from animals for import.
“Dentition, of course, is available to identify cattle/beef under 30 months of age destined for the U.S.," he explains. "Japan, however, requires that imported beef be verified as being under 21 months of age, which requires other methods of verification, such as the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency’s (CCIA) voluntary and free-of-charge birth-date registration system and database.”
While Japan and the USA accept the CCIA’s birth-date registration system for age verification for export, Cam Daniels, the vice president of the Canadian Beef Export Federation (CBEF), says that, currently, there are not enough age-verified cattle to fill Japanese orders for beef under 21 months of age.
“We need more birth-date-based, age-verified beef to be available for export," Daniels says. "So I invite all beef producers to get their beef cattle and calf birth dates registered with the CCIA database. Indications are that age-verified calves are receiving a premium in some markets”.
One of the reasons why producers should register the age of their calves is that more young beef will then become available for export.
Producers will benefit from this, especially if they retain ownership through to slaughter, comments SAF’s Klemmer.
“The registration makes sense, especially to people who hang on to their calves because they will get direct benefit from it. But for producers in general, it also makes sense because you just don’t know what will happen next year in terms of your calf crop. You may decide to hang on to some of them, or you may decide to take an ownership position in a feedlot. In that case, you need to have those numbers in the database.”
Producers should know that feedlots with ties to beef packers trying to fill the Japanese export market will be looking for age-verified calves, and may have to bid more aggressively for these calves, he says.