GrainsWest Spring 2020

Spring 2020 Grains West 6 Short-termreaction, long-termvision FOR SOME, SPRING 2020 WILL BE a challenge. Farmers who were forced to leave their crop in the field over winter face a definite marketing disadvantage. The necessity of harvesting crops whose value is diminished or that may even have to be plowed under will also impede spring seeding. This raises immediate questions about crop insurance, which we tackle in “Late expectations” on page 18. Focused on financial coverage, the story also touches upon the implications for the feed sector of the high volume of low-quality feed ex- pected to enter the marketplace. The story also addresses the marketing impacts on spring-harvested grains, as does our Mar- ket Monitor column (page 44). Part two of this spring harvest discus- sion expands on the implications of the excessive moisture and early snowfall that have complicated Alberta harvests since 2016. “Essential calculations” (page 21) ex- amines how hard-hit farmers are modify- ing their agronomic practices in response. The adoption of earlier maturing wheat varieties is one partial answer to the weather problem. Breeders at the Univer- sity of Alberta are assisting farmers in this respect by creating higher yielding wheat varieties that are also better suited to Al- berta’s growing conditions. Breeder Dean Spaner and his team produced five regis- tered varieties in 2018/19 alone while the program has the added benefit of develop- ing the young agricultural scientists who will continue to push variety production forward. This is the topic of “Impressive research” (page 46), our Grain Science News column. Solutions for dealing with excess mois- ture in grain are needed. With so much crop coming out of the field practically dripping in recent years, drying and dryers are top of mind. Owning a dryer system and paying for custom drying are not the only options available. “In-bin options” (page 36) is all about the use of low-tech grain drying techniques. So-called natural aeration is the cheapest grain conditioning method, but how prac- tical and effective is it? We talk to experts about the latest research conducted on low-tech, in-bin solutions. Two more forward-looking stories you’ll read in this spring issue of GrainsWest in- clude the cover story. “Keep on Truckin’” (page 24) takes a ride-along with Alberta’s custom grain haulers. Half of all farmers rely on commercial truckers to move some portion of their crop. While entry into the field has lately been complicated by changes to Class 1 licensing requirements, and a looming driver shortage is definite- ly a problem, the industry is working to recruit new people. On a similar note, the on-farm labour shortage continues to impact the indus- try’s bottom line. “Help! I need some- body,” (page 40) examines the precarious nature of the Canadian farm workforce. We visit two farm operations now dealing with the reality of an aging workforce and the scarcity of new recruits available to replace these skilled and experienced labourers. Year after year, tough weather and scarce labour return as nagging topics, so there’s a real danger we’ll tune them out. Focusing solely on fixing immediate problems and not so much on long-term solutions, we risk compounding their effects. EDITOR’S MESSAGE AWINNING MAGAZINE We work hard to give GrainsWest readers fresh insight into the issues that affect the livelihoods of wheat and barley farmers. We’re proud to have recently received a pat on the back for our efforts. The magazine took the gold twice in the Canadian FarmWriters’ Federation 2019 awards competition. “ Crisis control ,” by Ian Doig, the cover story of our winter, 2019 issue took The Dick Beamish Award for press feature. The top honour in the technical feature category, The Peter Lewington Award was given to our spring, 2019 cover story, “ Moisture math ” by Trevor Bacque. To read both of these stories, visit grainswest.com and click on Back Issues. BY IAN DOIG • ILLUSTRATIONS BY KYLEMETCALF Ruralcrimesurgebrings increasedvigilance,deterrenceandbetterpolicing CRISIS CONTROL Spring 2019 Grains West 22 ITHCERTAINPOCKETSOF WesternCanadabeingdealt losinghandsatharvestyear afteryear,graindrying ismoving froma “nice tohave” toa“need tohave.” Starting in2016,wicked fallweather hasplagued thousandsof farmers. Today,withmanyopting for straight-cut options, thewait time toget intofields becomesall themoredangerouswhen unpredictableweathermay strong- arma farmer’sharvest.Asa result, grain sits,and sits,and sits somemore. Meanwhile, farmerscontinue tobite theirnails, stressmountsand tough financialquestionsbegin to loom. FEATURE BY TREVOR BACQUE • PHOTOS BY ANTHONY HOULE Farmersarebullishongraindryers,buthavetheyrunthenumbers? MOISTURE MATH Any farmerwillattest to theirdesire ofa safe,uneventfuland timelyharvest. However,withweatherpatternsand farmingpracticeschanging,many choose to stopwaitingand start pushing. InAlberta, it’smostcommon to seewheat,canolaandmaltingbarley as the topcrops tobe tossed in the dryer.At timespulsecropsmaybe dried, too. FARMERFOCUS ScottKellerneverused todrygrain above 19percentathisNewNorway farm.However, the last threeyears the weather forcedhishandanddrying becamenecessary to salvage the crop.Hehashandled the jobwitha 1995 IBECVertec5500 thathasa700 bu/hrcapacity. Itusuallydries400 to 500bushelsata time,butcanbeas lowas 150 if thegrain is soppingwet. Since2016,Kellerhasdriedmore than 500,000bushelsofhisgrain,which, onaverage, isabout80percentofhis annualcrop. Twenty-fouryearsago,Keller’s father paid$30,000 for thedryerandKeller seesno reason tomesswithagood thing.Theyhave twowetbins—4,000 and2,200bushels—and fourdry hopperbinswitha totalcapacityof Overthepastthreeyears, NewNorway farmerScott Kellerhasusedhis23-year- olddryertosalvagehisown cropwhiletakingoncustom drying forneighbours.