agripost february 26 2016

February 26, 2016 1The Agri Post

Rare Triplets BornBy Harry Siemens

A cow having triplets is veryrare, for sure. The odds for acow having triplets is about 1in 105,000, but for this cow tohave three females, three ofthe same gender, the odds areabout one in 700,000, said Dr.Kerri-Rae Millar, a mixed ani-mal veterinarian at theMorden Vet Clinic. Dr. Millar commented onwhat happened to her brotherJay Sprott, a cow calf pro-ducer at Miami, whose RedAngus Simmental 1,500pound cow had 3 healthy fe-male calves, 90, 80, and 70pounds on Feb 11, 2016. Ihave been fortunate enoughto deliver a set from a dairycow, diagnosed on ultra-sound, a set in another dairycow, and have my ownbrother have a set within thelast 8 months, specialist no,lucky vet yes, she said. Her brother, Sprott was notanticipating this at all. He hadgone out to the barn, movedher into a maternity pen, andwhen he came back there werethree calves, all healthy.They were all born by them-selves which is also fairlyunusual with triplets, too.Quite often they get tangledup and sometimes need a littlehelp, said Millar a vet basedin Morden.

Lots of reasons when acow has twins for being borndead, or born weak and thendying, said Dr. Millar. Es-pecially to have three that arealive, strong and healthy ispretty awesome. Getting apicture in the morning of threehealthy calves sure beatsgetting a call at three in themorning asking for help. Sprott, Dr. Millars youngerbrother calves out about 400cows and raises his own feed,corn silage and alfalfa. Askedwhen he knew this cow wasgoing to have triplets, he said

he did not. She had the firstone, weighing about 90 to 95pounds, put her in a pen byherself and figured that wouldbe a pretty good year for her,he said. Lo and behold Icome out in the next check andshes had another two calves,all three up sucking and ev-erything. Sprott, who is 29 years oldand a seasoned cattle pro-ducer of 12 to 15 years saidthe Red Angus Simmentalcross cow did not look anybigger than she normally was,and after having three calves,

did not look smaller, weigh-ing maybe 1,500 pounds.With three calves, 90, 80 and70 pounds, that is a lot ofweight he admitted. Sprott loves farming, lovesthe animals especially, hasfarmed all his life, starting intothe cattle business buyingone for 4-H, at 10 years old,kept on expanding since then.When I graduated from theAg Diploma course at the Uni-versity of Manitoba in 2007, Iquickened the expansion, andexpanding since then, hesaid. He farms with his parentsRick and Lynn Sprott, makingthe cattle his project, but con-verting more and more of thecrop land into cattle land.When Im converting grainland into to cattle production,I mean Im using it to growcorn silage, alfalfa for hay andannual ryegrass also for hay,said Sprott. I also seeded 160acres of pasture thats closeto my yard so I can rotationalgraze for my fall cows andcalves them out in mid Au-gust to October. We have abase of 960 acres that couldbe used for grain productionand I also have another 180acres of alfalfa for hay, whichI rent from other grain farm-ers that they use for their ownrotation in their grain opera-tion. I have native pasture at

Jay Sprott, cow-calf producer from Miami said the female tripletcalves are almost invaluable as top-notch replacement heifers.

By Les Kletke

The new president of the Manitoba Canola GrowersAssociation said the next couple of years would requiregood management to make a profit on any crop. We are at a time where we will need to make decisionson the best economic return from crop inputs not justmaximizing yield, said Chuck Fossay who was electedPresident at the Associations recent meeting inWinnipeg. The remainder of the executive includesClayton Harder of Narol as Vice President, Brian Chorneyfrom Selkirk as Secretary and Jack Froese of Winkler asTreasurer. Fossay said that while he expects genetics of the cropto keep increasing at much the same rate they have seenin recent years, it might not be in the producers bestinterest to target maximum yields. With prices of thepast years we have been targeting higher yields and wemight find that our best return is at 45-50 bushels an acreinstead of 60, said Fossay. That is something we mighthave to look at as an association and making recommen-dations about where the best return for producers is. He said that while current prices are lower than whatthey have been in recent years there is still a possibilityto turn a profit on the crop. Depending on theinput costs that producers have they should be able tosee some positive returns but the margins are tight, hesaid. Fossay cited budgets from a presentation by Dr.Michael Boelje at Crop Production Days and said whileit seems strange, for a producer it is best to lock in pricesthat minimize loses. He said, Locking in losses, mightbe the best strategy for you if you cannot pencil out areturn, at least it should be close to break even. According to Boeljes presentation high land costs isone of the reasons producers in the corn belt would notbe able to see a profit this year. We are also havingsome of those concerns with land prices though not tothe extreme of American farmers but there is a real con-cern out there about rent prices especially when landlords hear of profits the past couple of years, but thoseare not the case going into 2016, said Fossay. Fossay said that canola producers are seeing the ad-vantage of the lower Canadian dollar. There is no doubtthat is our advantage at this time and if the dollar staysaround 72 cents (US) we should be alright but againeverything depends on the weather, acknowledgedFossay.

TTTTTough Times Call forough Times Call forough Times Call forough Times Call forough Times Call forGood ManagementGood ManagementGood ManagementGood ManagementGood Management

February 26, 20162 The Agri Post

Jay Sprott, runs a 400 cow-calf operationnear Miami, Manitoba and one cow justgave him a set of triplets all female, allhealth and born naturally.

Miami, Lariviere and Langruth. While not dwelling on some of the realbad years in the past, the last number ofyears being in the cattle business is goodhe noted. Really nice. Hopefully it staysat least like this for quite a few moreyears, he added. I like working withthe animals, its fun. Hopefully, the cattlemarket stays strong so Im able to keepdoing it and make a good living.

Triplets continued...

1,500 pound Red Angus Simmental cross cowgave birth to 3 female calves, 90, 80, and 70pounds.

JMB Renaissance 444B, owned by Judy Hart and Bert McDonald (JMB Charolais, Brookdale,MB) and Travis and Nicole Foot (Footprint Farms, Esther, AB) was awarded the covetedCharolais Banner B.O.S.S. Show Bull of the Year Award for 2015. The Banner of Show Sires (B.O.S.S.) award system, developed in 1984, is administered bythe Charolais Banner and is a proven method of keeping track of show ring winnings. Pointshows are spread evenly throughout Canada to ensure fairness. JMB Renaissance 444B excelled in the show ring and was named National Junior ChampionBull at the Canadian Western Agribition and Grand Champion Bull at the Manitoba Ag-Ex. Renaissance, a polled bull sired by KCF What-A-Boy 104Y out of a G4 Acres Stimo 156Sdaughter, can be viewed at jmbcharolais.com. Semen packages are available.

Charolais ShowBull of the Year


By Les Kletke

The Keynote presenter at CropConnect warned producers that tough times are coming inthe business of crop production. It is not normal to make 300 or 400 hundred dollars an acre and that is what happened thelast couple of years, said Michael Bohlje Professor in the Department of AgriculturalEconomics and the Center for Food and Agricultural Business at Purdue University inIndiana, US. We have seen a run up in land prices accordingly. He went on to say that at a land auction in Iowa last year, the cash rent reached $500 anacre and a producer had to pay two years rent up front. The landlord suspects the fellowwont have the money so he got his rent up front, good for him, said Boehlje. But thatdoes not pencil out when corn is below $4 a bushel. He then said he had locked in hissoybeans at what guaranteed him a loss but that that was the best he could do this year. I will stay in business at that level, he said. I might not if I wait for the market to godown. He fully expects a correction in the market place but does not expect it to be as drastic asthe crash in the 1980s. Farmers today are not as leveraged and not as many of them are asextremely extended, he said. That is a case of the tail wagging the dog, that wont happenin this correction because we have farms with equity that will buy land when it comes to themarket and it will not crash as drastically. He expects that land prices could fall by as much as 20%. Rent prices tend to lag behindso we will not see as drastic a correction as soon but they will come down to more reason-able levels, he said. Boehlje also has a farm operation in Iowa and said that his local John Deere dealer has 8new planters in stock. And when I talked to him, he said he expects to have 7 next year. Ithink he is optimistic to believe he will sell one. We are seeing machinery prices off 40% from last year. There are good deals on usedequipment and you can buy a one-year-old combine that still has a lot of life in it for 40%less than last year. That is a good deal if you can afford it and if you need it. He warns about buying equipment because it is a lower price than last year. Do youneed the machine and can you cash flow it? asked Boehlje who pulled no punches withthe audience and told them, To write these things down, you have a better chance toremember it.

Tough Times Notas Bad as the 80s


The Ag industry and my role in it continues to intrigue me as the ball keeps rolling on.I keep writing about it, eluding to it - Theres something in the air, thats different, and Imnot sure I can put my finger on it, quite just yet. Theres an intensity amongst producers, a self-determination that almost gives me

goose bumps when in its midst. The whole realm of marketing, processing, distribution of those commodities farmers grow, andentering the global marketplace like never before. Every farm conference has some expert talking about social media and how peoplecan use it more effectively, to reach further and further yet making the world smaller and smaller. Dr. John Carr is a livestock vet consultant who hangs his hat in Australia because that is where his wife can work from best. Johnis a hogs best friend because he actually loves hogs, and his goal, while making sure the producers make money, is to give that hogthe best life possible in the six months it spends on this earth. What I like about him is the fact he has a great balance because in the end when its all said and done, we can do all kinds of nicethings for the animal, but if the producer loses out, we have nothing. Dr. Carr feeds pigs in about eight or nine countries around the world meaning he is the consultant for producers in those areasmaking sure the pigs welfare is looked after while doing the best for the producer. I chase after Dr. Carr using email and Skype and find him in all these different places, henceforth articles about him appear in thispublication from time to time. While attending the CropConnect Conference in Winnipeg, I waited for Dr. Carr and his assistant Gerry from, Taiwan, as theywere to leave Brandon at 9 am and arrive in Winnipeg at 11:15 so I could interview them both. You see, John had to catch a flightto Ukraine at 2 pm. While it all worked out, some tense moments, but good stuff that I will print here in future articles. Jerry from Taiwan says the hog industry in Canada, the parts he was able to see in a week, are very impressive, especially howfarmers look after their pigs, and making sure they have the highest biosecurity protocols to not only keep the pigs safe, but tokeep the diseases from spreading. This thing I started writing about at outset is turning the Canadian farmer into an even better farmer, one who looks after theland and environment, uses the best research and technology, to keep the land safe, make a profit, and most important of all, feedthe world with great, healthy, safe food. Im somewhat suspect, and yes I still come from an older school, but initially all the scrutiny from do-gooders, environmental-ists, safe food police, and the like made me nervous because I dont want our farmers and farm leaders to capitulate too much. ButIm beginning to sense that maybe, just maybe, all this intensity, somewhat self-inflicted, but also intensified from the outside istelling us, the farmers were ok - were doing it right. And were coming out on top because we are doing it right. I dont say thatfrom an arrogant viewpoint, Im saying that from practical applications and reality. Farmers are the best inventors, researchers, and adaptors when it comes to making it more efficient, and more cost effective. Tobe continued. A producer from Miami, although somewhat tongue-in-cheek complained how doing away with the CWB monopoly is drivingup land prices. While hard to grab real numbers and make the comparison, this farmer says hes convinced removing the monopolydid it. In his case, it hurts because he wants to see his son start farming. How could removing the monopoly of the CWB raise farmland prices, you may ask. With farmers having the ability to sell theircrops where they so choose, and growing the crops that can make them the most money, and not having the old crony CWB peoplearound to harass them for wanting to be their own bosses. I use to call it paralysis by control, now intensity because of freedom.Wow - this one too shall be continued

It looks like I am going tobe staying in this corner ofthe page, there was thoughtof me going to a place withanother kind of pages. TheUpper House in Ottawaattracted my attention and I

was considering applyingbut my application has notarrived and upon carefulconsideration, I am contentto stay here and not pursueappointment to the Senate. There was also thought ofgoing into productionagriculture with the newrelaxed rules regardingcannabis production. I calleda few friends from universitydays who I know had beeninvolved with productionand research of product use

Youre Safeat the time and they did tellme that if plant breeds haddone their work anywhere itwas indeed with this crop. Oh man that stuff is 100times stronger than it used tobe, said one of my buddies

who asked not to benamed. Ordinaryweed is way betterthan it used to be.He lost his train ofthought in what I canonly imagine was acloud of smoke. I called anotherfriend who I knewhad a more agronomic

bent to him and THCproduction. This was a guywho did not watch hisprofits go up in smoke. Heknew what he grew andmarketed it properly. Longbefore the talk of gettingclose to your customer andnot selling a commodity hewas about customerrelationships and deliveredwhat the customer wantedwhen he wanted. This guy was a master ofjust in time delivery before itwas a phrase in mostcompanys logisticsdepartment. Dont bother,he said. The market is goneand when the governmentgets into it their wont beany margins left. What about producing forthe legal market and cashingin on the new governmentrules? I asked thinking itwould be like getting in onthe ground floor of lotterieswas a few years ago. Dont do it, he said.The real margins are goingto be gone. There is nomoney in a crop that hasthat many producers, thegovernment is going to turnit into a commodity, youmight as well grow alfalfa. I continued on with theeconomic discussion but tono avail, he was sure thiswas not going to beworthwhile. So it looks like I am goingto be continuing doing thesame thing I have for the lastdecade or two, and fillingthis corner of the page withmy views on the industry offood production.I was just that close to getinto the recreational businessbut I guess it was just toolate. Not much, hope for thatSenate appointment if theydont send me an applica-tion. Hey Justin how aboutsome follow up on thosepromises?

Intensity and What Else

By Elmer Heinrichs

The CanadianFoodgrains Bank is hopingfor another successful yearas they anticipate thisyears summer GrowProjects across Canada. Amanda Thorsteinsson,communications officerwith the Foodgrains Banksaid that it was formed indirect response to the fam-ine in Ethiopia some 30years ago and has evolved.Currently, they do a vari-ety of work there, includ-ing responding to differentemergencies. In Ethiopia, they are re-sponding to three projects,including the El Niodrought that is happeningright now. But a lot of whatwe do, is helping small-scale farmers who own one-and-a-half to three acres ofland in Ethiopia, adapt tochanging weather condi-tions and learn to grow

Foodgrains Bank is Hopeful as itLooks Toward Summer of 2016

enough food to feed theirfamilies for the entire year,said Thorsteinsson. The CanadianFoodgrains Bank wasfounded in 1983 and is apartnership of 15 churchand church-based agen-cies working together toend global hunger. Ap-proximately 40 countries arebeing helped by the orga-nization through relief aid,agricultural projects, train-ing and nutrition programs,education and advocacy. Harold Penner, regionalrepresentative for theFoodgrains Bank recalls, Icame home from India in1969 to see piles of wheatall over the prairies, andpeople and farmers weretalking about how to getthis grain to people inneed. Then, when theCFGB was formed, the 1984famine in Ethiopia becameits first major response. Presently there are ap-

proximately 250 growingprojects across Canada.Last year 5,750 acres ofManitoba land was de-voted to the CanadianFoodgrains Bank GrowProjects, where Manitobaboasted between 35-40projects. The annual growingprojects contribute ap-proximately half of the do-nations received by theFoodgrains Bank. Eachyear, the Canadian govern-ment provides them with$25 million in matching fi-nancial support.Thorsteinsson saidprojects are decided on bya project officer, which theCanadian government maymatch on a four-to-one ba-sis. She adds that theFoodgrains Bank is over-whelming grateful for thesupport they get from Ca-nadians, especially in ruralCanada. The way growing

projects come together asa community, to show loveto their neighbours over-seas, is incredible to seeand we are very grateful forthis support. Today, 30 years later, theFoodgrains Bank is still in-volved in Ethiopia. Of the42 countries in which it isworking, no country hasmore projects than Ethio-pia. Currently, 14 differentprojects worth almost $4.6million are operatingthroughout the country.


by RolfPenner

PennersPoints

[email protected]

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is designed to entrench the interests of foreign corporationsat the expense of our sovereignty and democratic processes. Its Investor State Dispute Settlement(ISDS) mechanism gives foreign corporations the right to sue our government if they believe futureprofits will be reduced as a result of democratically enacted measures. ISDS puts a chill on publicinterest regulation, easing foreign corporations access to resources and commodities. The TPP alsohas more insidious ways of overturning democratic decision-making andimposing a corporate-friendly agenda. One is its attack on our supplymanagement system. Supply management is a Canadian innovation that ensures subsidiesare not needed to keep farmers in business and ensure the population hasenough dairy, eggs and poultry. It is built upon three pillars: importcontrols, cost-of-production pricing to farmers and producer disciplineto ensure enough, but not too much, is always produced. If the TPP is ratified, the border will be opened wider, increasingimports, primarily from the USA. The implications for the dairy sectorare severe.

The TPP would immediately allow imports equal to 3.25% of Canadascurrent fresh milk supply, with increases of 1% (compounding) per yearfor the next 18 years. 80% of these milk imports must be processed in Canada, and would likely bemixed with Canadian supplies. Imported US milk may contain synthetic Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). This drug wasbanned for Canadian dairy herds in the late 1990s, the outcome of a democratic process involvingcitizens, scientists, dairy farmers, and the Senate. The ban is based on clear evidence that the drugincreases disease and suffering of cows. It is more difficult to assess human health effects ofconsuming milk from rBGH-induced cows, however many consumers remain wary and avoid it. TheTPP includes a commitment for Canada and the US to discuss their food safety rules for dairy witha view to harmonization. If the TPP is adopted, the difference between Canadian and US milk willbe diluted, and potentially disappear. NAFTA opened Canadas doors to high protein milk components produced in the USA. The TPPwould remove all tariffs on US whey after 10 years. It would also allow New Zealand to increasedairy exports to the USA. In turn, even more of the USs excess milk protein would be dumped intoCanada. This causes a number of problems. Butter is popular again after decades of being blamed for high cholesterol. In the 1970s the dairysector had to adjust production to avoid creating butterfat surpluses. Margarine with trans fats isnow seen as the unhealthy choice, and consumers are switching back to butter and whole milk.Today, dairy faces a structural milk protein surplus. The cost of removing surplus protein compo-nents eats into farmers returns for milk. Processors have new ways to separate proteins from fluid milk, which they market as MilkProtein Isolates (MPIs). MPIs are added to certain dairy products to increase yields. Separatingmilk components, then processing, storing and transporting them to reintroduce them in other foodsis a drastic departure from fairly simple fermenting or cultivating whole milk into butter, cheese,yogurts and quark and a practice that may ultimately undermine consumers confidence. Processorscan import MPIs tariff-free, and due to the world-wide structural surplus, they are very cheap. Thisleaves dairy farmers in Canada with even more surplus skim milk powder and higher costs to get ridof it, putting pressure on the farm gate price. Thus, the TPP reduces dairy farmer incomes byexacerbating the butter-protein imbalance in addition to taking away a portion of our domestic fluidmilk market. Our system ensures milk is produced and processed in every province, within a reasonabledistance from both farmers and consumers. More intense, capital intensive processing to makeprotein components with longer shelf life would promote larger, centralized plants and eliminatedairy farming in less populated regions, namely the Maritimes, northern Ontario, interior BC andVancouver Island. A vicious circle would ensue, eroding supply management and concentratingproduction and processing. Centralization would also impair climate change mitigation. Supplymanagement minimizes GHG emissions by keeping production and processing close to whereproducts are consumed. Supply management is a treasure of Canadas agriculture policy and the envy of dairy farmersaround the world who suffer with price volatility, debt, uncertain markets and unfair contracts. TheTPP is a direct assault that cannot be cheered because it might have been even worse. Jan Slomp is the President of the National Farmers Union. Formerly an Alberta dairy farmer, henow farms near Courtenay, BC.

Hank Campbell from theAmerican Council on Scienceand Health has written agreat new column on therural/urban divide. Urbaniteslike to think of themselves assmarter than the rubes thatlive out in the sticks. Butwhen it comes to respectingscience, rural folks are milesahead of their city cousins. The old tripe is that citydwellers tend to have moreeducation, make more money

ProScience?Talk to

Farmers

and are therefore moreenlightened. But asCampbell tells us, Urban-ites are more likely toaccept fad medicine; morelikely to believe organicfood has no chemicals; lesslikely to vaccinate theirchildren; more likely tobelieve electric cars are moreefficient than gasoline-powered ones; and morelikely to believe natural gasfracturing is polluting water.Instead of showing anappreciation for scientificproofs, these views are morein line with treatingimportant issues like thelatest fashion trends. Who knows more abouthow to use all sorts of dataand measurements tooptimize a specific processthan farmers? How about

running a business onmargins so thin they dontseem to even exist? Orfiguring out how to growmore and more food withless environmental strain,fewer inputs and even lessland than ever before, allwhile the global populationkeeps increasing. Its farmersusing science and thescientific method who do allof this. We do it so well thatthe rest of the world prettymuch takes it for granted.

Campbell points out thatthere is also a rural andurban divide when it comesto tackling disease. He talksabout the Zika virus that isnow in the news becauseits causing birth defects inSouth American children. Inthe United States, they havesome of the same mosqui-toes that carry this disease,and pretty much as soon asthe news started to spreadabout Zika, urban elitesjoined in a chorus ofanything but DDT totackle the problem. Rural folks, who are themost affected by mosqui-toes and therefore thedisease potential generally,have different thoughts.They are just finewhacking mosquitoes withchemicals and many of themknow there is no ecologicaldaisy chain where losing afew mosquito species wouldmake any difference at all inour ecology. A number ofurbanites on the other handhave a mythical belief . . . inthe century-old philosophythat there is a balance ofnature in which, as RonBailey writes in The End ofDoom: Each participant inthe climax ecosystemsupposedly is fitted tightlyinto niches as a result ofcoevolving together. Onceachieved, the climax state isexquisitely balanced unlessdisturbed. Science tells us otherwise.The issue has way more todo with who gets some-where and survives. Justbecause disease-carryingmosquitoes exist and havesurvived a long time doesnot automatically makethem important. Yet this iswhat urban elites oftenmistakenly believe. Just liketheir mistaken fear of DDT,that just because thegovernment banned it DDTmust be dangerous. The DDT ban has waymore to do with politicalgrandstanding than soundscience. Forty years ago abook called Silent Spring

kicked off the chemo-phobiafad with help from a song byJoni Mitchell. They got anearly victory with DDT andhave unsuccessfully beentrying to duplicate the resultsever since. Scares have beenmanufactured over alar onapples, glyphosate, atrazineand GM crops, just to namea few. The urban elites wouldprobably be surprised toknow that, even though DDTis still banned in the UnitedStates, the EnvironmentalProtection Agency regularlyshows foreign governmentshow to spray it for mosquitocontrol and even insidehomes in some cases. Rural people on the otherhand are probably the least

chemo-phobic, Campbellreminds us that , Themarketing hook for 2-4,Dafter World War II was thatit could replace the hoe andfarmers, the ones workingthe hoes, have embracedscience ever since. Urbanpeople are terrified ofchemical spraying; ruralpeople know it is essential. Farmers have alwayslooked to science forprogress and, to be fair,urbanites usually do as sowell. But not nearly with thesame consistency. Campbellhopes that the Zika virusWill get everyone looking atdata objectively once again.That would be nice, but theodds are probably against it.

By Jan Slomp

TPP Attacks Democracy andSupply Management


Replacement Cost coverage is very different fromActual Cash Value coverage. RPL Cost coverage has the intent to put you back towhere you were before the loss. Therefore, the pre-mium and limits of coverage are not based on the cur-rent resale value of your building. They are based onthe cost to rebuild similar size and quality without al-lowing for any deduction of depreciation. Replacementcost coverage includes the cost of new materials,todays labour costs, debris removal, site accessibility,winter heating while under construction and currentbuilding codes. Actual Cash Value is based on age, size and qualityof the building, condition and use, location and theselling price of surrounding properties. Most Comprehensive Homeowners policies todayguarantee the replacement of your home if you are in-sured to full replacement cost according to industrystandard rebuilding cost evaluators. This is a greatbenefit because if the cost to rebuild is higher than thelimit of coverage on your policy, the insurance com-pany will pay these extra costs to put you back in thesame situation you were prior to the loss. This meansno out of pocket costs for you. Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance fromthose who understand your business! Andy Anderson is an Associate Insurance Brokerspecializing in General, Life and Group Benefits forFarm and Business P 204-746-5589, F 866-765-3351,[email protected] / rempelinsurance.com/ valleyfinancial.ca.

By Harry Siemens

Korey Peters of Randolph, Manitoba farms as part of afamily diversified grain and hog farm called Herbsigwil FarmsLtd. on 5,000 acres. Recently they decided to diversify even more by invest-

ing in a Brock corn and grain drying system. Wereputting up a dryer system for corn, with some op-

tions leaving the canola screens in it, so we candry some other crops, too, said Peters, wholeft a music teaching in 2012 to return to thefamily farm, this time as a partner. Weve beengetting into corn a little bit more and moreover the last few years. Buying a planter a few

years ago, this doubles up for soybeans, a rotarycombine and a corn header last year.

While corn acres were around 300 acres in 2015, theirintention is to increase that to 800 to 1,000 acres in 2016.The new drying system going in this summer is a continu-ous drying system, with an 8,400 bushel wet bin that willcontinuously fill the dryer and then a 1,000 bushel littlesurge bin connected to a forced air system, piped to which-ever bin they choose. Peters said the farm grows a combination of grain andfeed corn, but the farms location has several feed millsclose by, Hylife and Maple Leaf and HyLife is building anew feed mill at Kleefeld only four miles away. He sees thisas an opportunity to sell feed corn to those feed mills, inaddition to their grain. Making a conscious decision to get more into corn issomething they have talked about for a few years. Being inthe hog industry and having manure available for applica-tion it made sense to go into corn since they can apply themanure. Obviously we wish wed done it earlier when thecorn price was at record high levels, but I was just comingback to the farm at that point, now it seems like the nextstep in the production for us, said Peters. It stretchesout our harvest a little bit; were looking forward to it. The farms cropland also includes winter wheat, canola,soybeans and spring wheat. Were cutting back our win-ter wheat acres, soybeans are up, and corn will be up too,said Peters. Soybeans, corn, canola, and more spring wheat

Family Farm Invests in New Corn and Grain Drying Systemwith the new varieties of spring wheat coming out, whichare so good, were into spring wheat a little bit more. Weuse to do a lot more winter wheat, 3 or 4 years ago, about1,400 acres, but started to cut back. This year, their rotation is 1,000 acres of beans, 1,000 ofcorn, canola 1,500, while winter wheat will be down to about450 acres, which they planted last fall and the rest will bespring wheat. Coming back to the family farm was a difficult transitionfrom teaching he said but would not change the decision.Its been great! I still get asked it from time to time, mostrecently at the Young Farmers conference in Winnipeg howits going and do you miss it, he said. Yes I miss somethings, where vacation comes in exactly opposite timesfrom summer to winter. The summer is a little busier and thewinter a little slower, allows me to continue my profes-sional development as I call it going to conferences, alsogives me time off to go on vacation. Peters added that hisgolf game has suffered in summer, but for him being on thefamily farm is worth it.

Korey Peters of Randolph, Manitoba farms as part of a familygrain and hog farm, Herbsigwil Farms Ltd. raising pigs anddiversified crop on 5,000 acres.

RRRRReplacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Veplacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Veplacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Veplacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Veplacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Valuealuealuealuealue


By Harry Siemens

Mike Lee is a crop con-sultant, operating a websitecalled Agronomy-Ukraine,a view of farming and agri-business from the BlackSea region includingUkraine, Russia, Belarusand Kazakhstan. Lee is active on Twitter,has a team of crop scoutswho help him with croptours at strategic times ofyear to report to his website,by subscription only, to getaccurate and up to datecrop reports from that re-gion. In a recent interview, Leesaid recent mild tempera-tures and rain has meltedsnow cover across centraland southern Russia andeastern Ukraine. As tem-peratures returned to moreseasonal averages lastweek the melt water, whichhad pooled and failed todrain through the frozensoil, turned to ice, he said. Several issues going onhere that are worth notinghe explained. Rain onsnow is not a good thing, itspeeds up thawing but italso collapses the structurereducing air spaces be-tween ice crystals whichare what gives snow its in-sulating property, saidLee. A bit like very oldloft insulation that has lostits integrity and is now halfthe thicknesses it waswhen it went in twentyyears ago. Lee said then there is ice,which has the real capacityto do some damage. Meltwater and rain collectedinto low-lying depressionswas unable to drainthrough frozen soil beforetemperatures dropped andit turned into ice. Wheresnow has melted com-pletely the ice is obviousbut we also are finding icewhen we dig through thesnow, he said. Ice thathas formed beneath thesnow is, perversely, insu-lated from any rise in tem-perature and in all probabil-ity will be around now untilthe snow thaws sometimein March. At this time we donthave verifiable informationfor Ukraine but based onwhat we see near the Rus-sian Ukraine border andanecdotal evidence sug-gest there is a similar issuein eastern Ukraine, Leesaid. We wont be able tofully assess the extent ofany damage and yield. He said the market has notpicked up yet although he

Winterkill Threatens Russianand Ukraine Crops

does not think it is cata-strophic at this stage, butright now, the crops arefairly exposed, with ice capsstarting to form, nevergood for winter crops, andstill a lot of winter to go. Lee said things in Ukraineare carrying on as before.The conflict in easternUkraine, while not settleddown in the rest of thecountry things are pro-gressing as normal. Still achronic shortage of cash,no realistic credit termsavailable, businesses aremostly working at generat-ing and conserving cash,he said. Prices across theboard in farm commoditiesare down, which is nothelping things. The ex-change rate, the same as inCanada relative to theUnited States dollar is alsomaking the commodities,wheat in particular,favourable on the widermarket. While not certain, hethinks Russia still has theexport tax in place and arequite keen to expand theirexports next year. I thinkgoing forward into thisyear, 2016 and 2016 harvest,I think we will see bothUkraine and Russia export-ing quite competitively be-cause they need to gener-ate cash dollars to bring

into the country, particu-larly Ukraine. Russia doeshave oil to sell, althoughprices there are low too,said Lee. Ukraine will con-tinue down the road of in-creasing exports and push-ing. Lee said it is interestingin Ukraine, where this year,they have embarked on apolicy of deregulationacross the agriculturalsphere. There was a lot ofdead wood legislation andarchaic procedures, andprocesses in place with nopurpose whatsoever, saidLee. The new minister ofagriculture pursued a veryvigorous deregulationpolicy and have removedmany of the old rules andregulations and simplifiedprocedures in particular forimports and exports, im-ports of fertilizers and ex-ports of grains, commodi-ties, and so on. He seesUkraine continuing for-wards with the backing ofthe west. Russia will do it becausethey can export competi-tively because of the ex-change rate differences onthe rouble. The problem isthey will continue to exportinto a marketplace that isalready over subscribedwith stocks and commodi-ties, he added.

Mike Lee at AgronomyUkraine reports on Black Sea agriculturalnews, weather risks, winterkill putting Russian and Ukrainewheat at risk.

We crop tour Ukraine and Russia so you dont have to, saidMike Lee an international crop consultant, operating a websitecalled Agronomy-Ukraine.


By Peter Vitti

Recently, I gave a dinner presentation to a group of beefproducers and outlined the importance of feeding a goodmineral program to pre-calving cows. Afterwards, I wassurprised by the number of questions about the possibil-ity of a copper deficiency hidden in their beef cattle. Withthe calving season approaching, only weeks away, we allagreed that our cattle mineral feeding programs must as-sure pregnant cows receive all the copper that they need. With much of this discussion that centred on feedingcopper, its interesting to realize that cows before calvingrequire it only in very small amounts. Beef cattle should consume a daily total of 125-140 mgcopper in order to satisfy all their vital and performancefunctions. After it is consumed, absorbed, and retainedcopper does not become part of any final structural com-ponent in the body (aka 99% of calcium is found in bones).It sits in many enzyme systems as an invisible on/offswitch, which are involved in many vital chemical reac-tions. In most subsequent copper deficient cases, beef cattlefail. They do not consume enough copper in their feed(primary deficiency) or excess antagonistic nutrients suchas molybdenum and/or sulfates in the feed (or from water)tie up biologically usable copper (secondary deficiency).As a result, the deficiency symptoms can be very subtleand often similar to other nutrient deficiencies or even areassociated with non-feed related issues. Here is a practical checklist broken into three categoriesthat I use to investigate the possibility of a primary orsecondary copper deficiency in any pre-calving cowherd:- General Lethargic cows and calves, poor milking cows(slow growing calves), unexplained morbidity (sickness)or mortality (deaths), higher incidence of injury, poor growthon replacement heifers, failure to maintain overwinter BCS,poor hoof condition.- Health Higher rates of scours, respiratory (pneumonia)and other common cattle diseases, greater susceptibilityto bacterial, viral and other disease, poor response andrecovery from disease, higher rates of treating cattle, higherrates of sudden death, poor vaccination takes (includingmeasured titres).- Reproduction Silent heats in cows and heifers, highpercentage of open cows, high incidence of early embry-onic deaths, difficult calving season, poor calving percent-age, post-calving problems, delayed or failure to recycleafter calving and getting rebred and spread-out calving/breeding seasons. From this checklist, if a producer suspects an underlyingcopper deficiency in his/her cowherd, before calling a vet-erinarian to take blood samples and send them away forcopper testing - Stop right there! I suggest that foragesamples (and pasture when available) are tested first.Test for copper as well as sulphur, molybdenum, calciumand zinc. This is good first-step advice. A few years ago, I workedwith a feed mill, who supplied a typical loose cattle mineralto a cow-calf operator, whose cows had suffered from poorpregnancy rates and other aliments for many years. Wesuspected some type of trace mineral deficiency (not nec-essarily copper at the time) in several of the owners pas-tures, because his troubles seem to originate from a spe-cific area of the farm. Forage tests came back and showed that their molybde-

Make Sure Good Copper Status Exists in Your Pre-Calving Beef Cowsnum level was 5.0 ppm (dm. basis), which could signifi-cantly tie up dietary copper in the total cattle diet. As aresult, the feed mill fortified copper to the mineral in a morebiologically available form (chelated organic copper) andadjusted the total dietary copper fed; to a ratio of at least2:1 copper to molybdenum in the diet. By blocking theinference of molybdenum, these cows responded withhigher conception rates in the following breeding season. In this particular case, we didnt take any blood samplesfor copper testing, but this practice is common amongstveterinarians, when determining copper status in a cow-herd. Blood collection is simple to do and copper analysisis relatively inexpensive. One should keep in mind that since blood pulls copperfrom the liver (re: liver stores most of the copper in thebody), testing blood/serum copper levels is only a goodscreening tool in the most advanced deficiency cases. Al-though, liver copper levels are the most reliable test for

verifying poor copper status in cattle, the downside oftaking liver biopsies is high degree of stress to the animal,time-consuming, expensive and the results taken from sickanimals are questionable. Regardless, the general recommendation for correcting averified copper deficiency in many cowherds can be astraightforward matter of feeding cattle a well-balancedcommercial mineral containing supplemental copper. TheNRC copper requirement for young and mature cattle is nomore than 15 mg/kg of diet (dm. basis), which takes care ofthe beef animals basic copper requirement and also takesinto account the antagonistic effects of upon dietary cop-per by moderate molybdenum or sulphur levels in forages,other feedstuffs or water. Therefore, a purchased mineral containing 1.500 - 3,000mg/kg of dietary copper and fed at 50-100 grams per headper day should prevent or solve most copper deficientproblems.

Ag Canada has secured export market access forlive breeding cattle and live breeding swine to thecountry of Georgia. Under the agreement, Canadian cattle and swinebreeders can immediately begin exporting to this mar-ket. Georgian breeders also benefit by gaining accessto Canadas world-class animal genetics. Canadian in-dustry estimates that the total gains from access tothis new market could be worth up to $2.5 million an-nually. In 2014, two-way trade between Canada and Geor-gia was $90.3 million, with Canadian exports to Geor-gia totaling $14.2 million and imports from Georgiatotaling $76.1 million.

Canada Gains Market Access for LiveCanada Gains Market Access for LiveCanada Gains Market Access for LiveCanada Gains Market Access for LiveCanada Gains Market Access for LiveBreeding Cattle and Swine to GeorgiaBreeding Cattle and Swine to GeorgiaBreeding Cattle and Swine to GeorgiaBreeding Cattle and Swine to GeorgiaBreeding Cattle and Swine to Georgia


By Les Kletke

Michael Bohlje is clearabout tougher timescoming in agriculture. Boehlje is a professor inthe Department ofAgricultural Economicsand the Center for Foodand Agricultural Businessat Purdue University inIndiana, US and was theopening Keynote speakerat CropConnect inWinnipeg in mid February. We are in a cyclicalbusiness, he said. Wesaw some good years butit is not normal forproducers to make 3 or400 hundred dollars anacre. Those times dontlast and they didnt thistime either we are alreadyseeing a down turn. Bohlje said that he hasalready locked in thissoybean prices for thisyear. At loss, you maybe surprised at that but Idont see we are going toget above the cost ofproduction, and I thinkthis is the best that I cando to minimize my losses. He offered elevenmanagement tips tosurvive the difficult timesand to be around for thenext boom.1. Intense cost control.You have to be aware ofyour costs, not yourcosts per acre, saidBoehlje. Your costs perbushel. That is what youare selling and you needto know when you aremaking money. This is atool to use for manage-ment decisions as well asmarketing. You have tohave a handle on what it

Tips to Survive theMost Difficult Times

costs to grow a crop andwhat you should be doingto get more for it.2. Margin management.Be aware of things likeseed costs and if you aregetting a good return fromspending extra money.There are all kinds oftraits included in seedtoday, but are they whatyou need and are yougetting a good return onthe extra cost of buyingthat seed.3. Seed was only one ofthe examples he cited andsaid that enterpriseanalysis was a criticalmanagement tool fordeciding which parts ofthe farm were makingmoney and then breakingit down to see what wasmaking money in thoseoperations.4. Execution of Proce-dures. He is clear farmsneed an SOP (StandardOperating Procedure).You can not be doingthis haphazard in thisenvironment. You have todo things in a set way anddetermine a way that isthe most economical. Heacknowledged thatagriculture is a businessthat requires changinggears on the fly but thereneeds to be a set proce-dure that anyone canfollow.5. Buying right. Twothings affect your bottomline, where you sell butwhere you buy is just asimportant. Make sure thatyou buy your inputs atthe right price.6. Logistic Management.You need to be aware of

the cost of transportationof the items on your farm,too often this is overlooked but contributes agreat deal to the cost ofoperation a farm, saidBoehlje.7. Holistic management.His holistic approach tofarming seems at oddswith his strong view ofenterprise analysis but heexplained, You need tomanage the entire farm asone unit, and to bemaking decisions that arelong term for the good ofthe entire operation. Theentire farm has to beprofitable to stay inbusiness and that isgoing to be the challengefor the next couple ofyears.8. Debt/Capital ratios.Know how much debtyoure carrying and howmuch you can afford,said Boehlje. You mighthave to reduce your debtto survive.9. Simplify and automate.This relates to cuttingcosts, you have to keepyou labour costs down. Isthere something you cando to make the operationsimpler, or that you canautomate? Look at thosecosts long term and if youcan afford to make thechanges, he said.10. Do fewer thingsbetter. You have tofigure out what makesyou money and do itbetter and more of it,said Boehlje. Youcannot do all things andyour neighbour might dosome things better thanyou. Know yourstrengths and work onthem.11. Data management.Have the data from yourfarm and use it to analysewhat works for you. Thereare so many ways tocollect data and programsto analyse it, use themand make the toughdecisions on your farmwith your data and asharp pencil not youhear, said Boehlje. He is optimistic aboutagriculture and said goodtimes will be back but notin the next two or threeyears, and they will notlast forever. Good timesnormally last about half aslong as bad times, so beready to take advantageof the good times whenthey are here and putsome money away toweather the next stormthat is coming, he said.We are in a cyclicalbusiness.

Micheal Boehlje of Perdue University told those attendingCropConnect there are tough times coming in agriculture andgave them tools to prepare. Photo by Les Kletke


By Les Kletke

Doing the little things, right can have a big impact on afarms bottom line. Doing the little things better can have amajor impact on the bottom line. Kristjan Hebert who operates Herbert Grain Ventures insoutheastern Saskatchewan has established himself on theagriculture meeting circuit for a talk called Baby Steps to Big-ger Profits: The 5% Rule. Herbert tells audiences that increasing yield and marketingby 5% and decreasing costs by 5% at the same time can havea 117% impact on the bottom line. Herbert who was a finalistfor the Saskatchewan Outstanding Young Farmer in 2013 hasbeen on the speaking circuit since completing the Texas A &M executive agriculture program and was one of the present-ers at Crop Connect in Winnipeg in February. Dr. DannyKlinefelter of the TEPAP program at Texas A & M calls, Hebertone of the most progressive young famers he knows. His message is simple and his delivery direct. Have a plan,know your cost of production, and lock in profit. It is themainstay of his message and he walks producers throughexamples that support his calculations. Most producers agree they could do things 5% better orsave 5% on their costs but are supersized to find the totalimpact of the small changes. Hoping for unicorns and settling on good enough are veryreal when it comes to under-performance on your farms bot-tom line. Lets focus on small improvements, balancing per-fection and logistics, and aiming for excellence. The simpleresults will surprise you, he said. Hebert is an advocate of you knowing your farms own num-bers and comparing them to benchmark numbers rather thanworking with recommendations from general farm numbers. In his opening remarks, he began the presentation by tellingproducers they should read Good to Great and start to putsome of these practices into place on their farms. Judging by the standing room only crowd that was on handfor his presentation in Winnipeg a lot of farmers plan on tak-ing the baby steps to making bigger profits in 2016.

In the 2016 release of the Canadian Agricultural Out-look Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reports theforecast of farm income in the agricultural sector forthe previous and current calendar years (2015 and2016), and looks ahead ten years to longer term trendsthat could impact the agriculture sector. Farm incomesare forecasted to reach record levels for Canadian farm-ers in 2015, and to remain above average for 2016. A projected increase in both crop and livestock re-ceipts contributes to these strong income levels forthe sector in both 2015 and 2016. An increase in globaltrade and greater demand for agricultural commoditiesby developing countries present opportunities to fur-ther grow the Canadian agriculture sector. Net cash income in 2015 is estimated to increase by6% over 2014 nationally, reaching a record $15.0 bil-lion. Average farm-level net operating income in 2015is forecast to be $77,287, which is 8% higher than 2014.A decline of 9% to $13.6 billion is expected in 2016, still14% higher than the 2010-2014 average. Average networth per farm is expected to reach $2.7 million in 2016. In the 2015 Canadian Agricultural Outlook, the pro-jections for Manitoba showed a decline in both totalcash receipts and total family income by 7%. ForSaskatchewan total cash receipts was forecasted togrow by 1% and total family income to increase 5%. The low Canadian dollar has improved the competi-tiveness of Canadian agriculture and food products inexport markets, contributing to higher farm cash re-ceipts. Livestock receipts in Canada are expected toincrease by 2% to $26.2 billion in 2015 and crop re-ceipts are expected to have increased 2% to reach$30.7 billion in 2015, and remain virtually unchangedat $30.6 billion in 2016. Even lower crude oil prices aresignificantly reducing farmers diesel and gasoline ex-penses.

Kristjan Hebert says doing the small things right can make a bigdifference on the bottom line of your farm.

For a Big Impact Do the Little Things RightHoping for unicorns and

settling on good enough arevery real when it comes to

under-performance on yourfarms bottom line.

Photo by Les Kletke

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By Harry Siemens

A new hog barn is setopen in the province withan Open House on March4 at the Suncrest Colonyjust off the intersection ofhighways 59 and 52. Colony Hog Boss BobKleinsasser describes it asa 800 sow farrow to 80pounds using open grouphousing with 125 sows pergroup at 28 square feet persow. Our sow barn is shot,50 years old, and we are 500sows, farrow to finish rightnow, he said. Well fin-ish as many as we can andthe rest were selling asIsoweans and once we getthis new barn a little bit paiddown, it is not cheap tobuild, well build a new fin-isher barn, too. When asked how muchthe new sow barn cost theColony, Way too much,he said. One of the biggestcost factors was the ex-change rate that, added 20percent more than what

Suncrest Colony OpensNew Hog Barn in Manitoba

they had figured on fromthe time they started mov-ing dirt back in May 2015.Most of the equipmentand materials come fromthe US, even if it comesfrom overseas, like our BigDutchmen electronic sowfeeders; still need paymentin American dollars, saidKleinsasser. Well sell theIsoweans, paid in Americandollars, and that is whywere doing it otherwisewed look for a barn to fin-ish them here. While preferring to finishthem in Manitoba, it is im-possible to find a finisherbarn here because MapleLeaf has tied up everyavailable barn in the coun-try. Kleinsasser said that rightnow their plans are to shipthe Isoweans in biggerbatches of 1,200 pigletsthrough Provistas ProlinePork Marketing. To do thisthe colony has to collectfour weeks worth of pigsto make one truckload of

The Suncrest Colony is the first to open a new hog in years in Manitoba, also opening the first new sow barn with sow grouphousing in line with the new regulations under the new Pig Code.

1,200. Additional freightcosts are $2,000 to the USwhether they ship 500 pigsor the 1,200. Well be in-troducing pigs into thebarn in about four to fiveweeks, seal off the sow endand then start breeding,while continuing to buildthe farrowing and nurserysection, which will take an-other three to four monthsto do, he said. While some companiesare converting existingbarns to the new requiredgroup housing, SuncrestColony felt it might workbetter with a new buildingwhere they can start fromscratch. Long term plan-ning seemed the bestcourse over the long runhelping the Colony to buildnew instead of rebuildingtheir old barn. Seven yearsago we built a new lagoon,a manure storage that in-cluded enough animal unitsto almost double our pro-duction, said Kleinsasser.If you have the animal

units, manure storage youcan actually build a new fa-cility. However, if a producerwants to increase the num-ber of animals and does nothave the animal units toapply that manure to theland, he said it is impos-sible. If you have 300 sowsfor example and you wantto go to a thousand sows,you cant build becauseyou have no manure stor-age, said Kleinsasser. Welost 100s and 100s of pro-ducers because their barnswere too old, and didnthave the manure storage toincrease production. Theprovince will not give thepermit for the lagoon to doso.

In Suncrest Colonyscase, they also have 9,300acres of land to apply andincorporate the manure. In addition to the hogs,the colony is well diversi-fied running a 22-cow dairy,20,000 layer chickens and20,000 breeder broilers.

By Harry Siemens

As producers plan for and market bigger hogs com-bined with the ever increasing need for processingcapability the industry has seen many changes inhow pigs are raised but at the end of the day, makingsure the consumer not only gets what they want andensuring the larger body perceives they are getting itright is the ultimate goal. Dr. Mike Brumm, the President of Brumm SwineConsultancy said, to accommodate todays heaviermarket weight hogs, pork producers need to be look-ing at increasing the size of their feeders. Brumm explained since 1977 in the United States,producers have added 1.3 pounds per year to thecarcass weight of market hogs and extrapolates that15 years from now the pig is going to be 20 to 25pounds heavier than today, so feeders need to bebigger. Number one, the biggest point on a pig, di-mension wise, is the shoulder width, said Brumm. Your code of practice has a table on feeder width,on shoulder width, and basically it said, at todayssale weights, our feeder holes need to be at least 14inches or 35 centimetres, he explained. If theyreless than that, big market weight pigs cant all get inthe feeder holes because theyre just too big. Brummsaid the second dimension is from the front edge ofthe feeder to where feed is presented, because as thepig grows bigger its nose gets longer. In 1997, Harold Gonyou at the Prairie Swine Centredetermined that 10 inches or 25.5 centimetres fromthe front lip to feed presentation on a dry feeder wascorrect for a 97 kilo or 215-pound pig recountedBrumm. Remember were selling a 127 kilo pig in the US onaverage today. That means weve got to make thesefeeder spaces bigger, he said. Whether theyre thewet-dry shelf or a dry feeder, weve got to make theeating activity of a pig enjoyable, have a quality eat-ing experience. Dr. Brumm said this is a sure bet, pigs next year willbe bigger than this year.

The federal government has ear marked up to $255,487 inorder to help the goat industry prepare for mandatory na-tional identification and traceability requirements. This funding, under the Growing Forward 2AgriMarketing Program (Assurance Systems stream), willhelp the Canadian National Goat Federation (CNGF) imple-ment a plan for a mandatory identification and traceabilitysystem under the 2015 amendment to the Health of Ani-mals Regulations. I am very pleased that CNGF has received this funding,which will allow us to put in place the necessary compo-nents for goat producers for when traceability regulationscome into effect, says Beth Peers, President of the Cana-dian National Goat Federation. There are approximately 225,000 goats in Canada on 6,000farms. The primary exports are meat, cheese, and live ani-mals.

Making RMaking RMaking RMaking RMaking Room foroom foroom foroom foroom forBigger HogsBigger HogsBigger HogsBigger HogsBigger Hogs

Goat Traceability and Identificationto be Implemented


By Joan Airey

Over the past sixteenyears, one of the most dif-ficult areas in growing mymarket garden businesshas been hiring reliable sea-sonal staff to assist withtasks in the garden such asweeding and harvesting.Productivity in any busi-ness increases when theworkers have a stake in thebusiness, whether it isprofit sharing or ownership.The family model workswell because it providescontinuity and allows eachperson to contribute fromtheir skill set. One persondoes not have all the skillsnecessary for a business,so a lot can be gained frompartnership, saidStephanie Dillon of BrownSugar Produce. So I wasecstatic when Teri, ourdaughter and her husbandJon made the decision toreturn to join the familybusiness. This filled the im-mediate needs of workersfor the upcoming season,but also provided me witha succession plan. Fromworking together this year,weve been able to identifyeach of our areas ofstrength and plan to makethe best use of eachpersons skills and inter-ests as we move the busi-ness forward to the nextgeneration. Mom started supplyingrestaurants with producesince our very first Chef,Ilse Mohn, who was theChef at Lady of the Lake,found us at the FarmersMarket. We have been sup-plying Lady of the Lake formore than fifteen years withWild Flour Caf coming onboard when it opened.Remingtons has takenproduct occasionally forover twelve years, but withthe addition of Chef MikeGareau to their team thisyear and plus myself andJon to our farm, we hadmore capacity so they be-gan ordering vegetablesregularly this season. Prai-rie Firehouse opened inDecember 2015 and havebeen giving us weekly pro-duce orders, said TeriJenkins. Starting in 2016 BrownSugar Produce plans to in-troduce a standard weeklydelivery called The VeggieLovers Club which oper-ates like a CSA (CommunityShared Agriculture) pro-gram. Customers will signup in the spring for a 16-week delivery that they willpick up from a central loca-tion in Brandon. They ex-

Prairie Firehouse Cafs Teri Jenkins and her mother Stephanie Dillon delivering vegetables forPrairie Firehouses Grand Opening in December co-owner Chef Rebekah Roberts.

Keystone Agricultural Producers 32nd annual meeting concluded recently after the passing of 19resolutions, including a call to the federal government for a universal producer payment securityprogram for all commodities. As well, delegates passed two resolutions addressing poor rural cell-phone service. Rural Manitobans,said many delegates, pay the same price for cell service as others in the province, but receivesubstandard service due to a lack of towers or poor signals. Delegates also called for Manitoba Hydro upgrades that will meet the needs of modern agricultureat a reasonable cost. Some used the example of a farmer who could not use his welder to fix farmequipment while his children had the computer turned on. Other resolutions addressed inadequate flood compensation as a result of the 2014 flood, taxes onfamily farmland transfers, the need for forage research to address soil salinity and understaffing atManitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. During the meeting, Dan Mazier was acclaimed as president. A farmer from Justice, he served hisfirst term in the position last year and was vice-president before that. Justin Jenner, a Minnedosafarmer, and Glenn Young, a producer from Cypress River, were acclaimed as vice-presidents.

Demand for Brown SugarProduce Skyrockets

pect this will help makethings a bit easier for themin the busiest part of theseason (not having to takeindividual orders and de-liver to homes) and allowthem to spend more time onthe farm growing theveggies. Jon, Teris husband wasborn in Prince Edward Is-land and some of his firstmemories are of spendingtime in his dads large gar-den. Jon eventually movedto British Columbia to workon an organic farm. Follow-ing that, he worked gettinghis carpentry apprentice inCalgary and for an organicproduce retailer where hemet Teri. In 2012, they moved toNova Scotia where heworked on a large organicfarm with 300 acres of pro-duce crop production.Since they came toManitoba, he has beenworking at Patmore Nurs-eries in Brandon and pro-ducing crops for BrownSugar Produce at his andTeris farm near Rivers. There is a much higherdemand for fresh, local pro-duce in Brandon than I ex-pected. When we arrivedStephanie already had alarge group of loyal cus-tomers, and that has con-tinued to grow this seasonas we have increased ourproduction. I find it amaz-ing how connected peoplefeel to the farm through oursocial media pages. Some-times I meet customers andthey feel like they alreadyknow me because they fol-low the farm on Facebook.Being able to connect withyour customers in this wayis essential, as our busi-

ness is all about relation-ships. Teri is usually theone behind the camera, sothe rest of us get our pho-tos taken often, said JonJenkins. The main farm near Bran-don uses organic methodsas much as possible, whichmeans limiting the use ofchemicals. Using naturalfertilizer, composted cowmanure, planting less in-tensively, and the use oftractor cultivation andhand tools to controlweeds, as well as the useof things like row covers toexclude pests. Joni and Teriplan to certify their farmnear Rivers within the nextfew years. My dad Paul Dillon rana used farm equipmentbusiness, Harvest Salvagein Brandon for nearlytwenty five years beforeselling it eight years ago.He helps with the businessmanagement, accounting,big-picture planning,equipment maintenanceand repair, infrastructure,and some of the tractorwork. Though he doesntget much time to do it, heprefers Harley drag racingand collecting rare motor-cycles to farming, saidTeri. In direct marketing, anyavenue where we can inter-act with our customers out-side of a market setting iscritically important. Socialmedia works well becauseof the ease of posting pho-tographs and informationand reaching a wide audi-ence of people who Likeus as well as potential cus-tomers, often family andfriends of existing custom-ers. In the digital age, so-

cial media is the new wordof mouth. Interactions hap-pen a lot more often andreach a larger audiencemore quickly which meansits important to always beproviding new and intrigu-ing content to engage ouraudience. Because we area local family business, re-lationship marketing is alsoa key part of what we do.Social media is a great wayto make sure people feelconnected to the farmerswho are producing the food

they eat. We can showpeople how the food is pro-duced, when new crops areavailable, where we are go-ing to be when and receiveimmediate feedback fromour customers. For me, thepoint of social media on ourfarm is not to sell what weare producing, its to sharewhy we are doing it, whichcan range from things thatI see or do in my day to daywork that are exciting , edu-cational and even justfunny! With the addition of

a smart phone to the toolson the farm this winter, wehave also joined the socialmedia platforms Instagram( I n s t a g r a m . c o m /brownsugarproduce) [email protected] have a websitebrownsugarproduce.comand on Facebook, saidTeri. Brown Sugar Produce hasa variety of garden produceavailable year round. Terispoke at the recent SmallFarm Conference in Bran-don.

KKKKKAP Calls for Better RAP Calls for Better RAP Calls for Better RAP Calls for Better RAP Calls for Better Rural Servicesural Servicesural Servicesural Servicesural Services


By Les Kletke

It was not only the high priceof beef that caused consumersto back off on their purchasesbut the over supply of othermeats in the North Americanmarket at the same time as beefprices were escalating. This isthe word from Brad Magnussonwho delivered the Market Out-look for Catalyst Credit UnionAg Day on behalf of severalCredit Unions across Manitoba. There is a great deal ofchicken and pork that is beingcarried over and is contributing

Too Much Meat Pressures Beef Market Outlook

Lower commodity prices in recent years may haveslowed the pace of farmland value increases, but thecost of renting land has been slower to react, accord-ing to J.P. Gervais, Farm Credit Canadas (FCC) chiefagricultural economist. This makes the question of whether to buy or rentland even more complicated and its one of the mostcommon questions Im asked when presenting for in-dustry and FCC events across Canada, Gervais said.There is no single answer, only a number of consid-erations. As commodity prices decline and input costs in-crease, the temptation is to discontinue renting land.However, not renewing a lease may mean shutting thedoor on the opportunity to farm that land again in thefuture. As a renter, there are a few basic steps to followwhen considering your options. Knowing your costof production and making projections about revenueare critical in determining your ability to pay for rentedland, said Gervais, adding that producers should alsofactor in fixed costs, such as equipment, when con-sidering a lease. Next, producers need to discuss the situation withtheir landlord to see if they can agree on a price ad-justment that reflects the economic conditions. Asin any negotiation, consider putting yourself in theshoes of the opposite party to help in reaching anagreement, Gervais said. Landowners may be reluc-tant to reduce cash rents, and choose to wait for moresignificant downturns in market conditions beforedoing so.Some other considerations for leasing farmland in-clude:- How much of a premium are you required to pay toretain control of the land until the outlook of betternet returns? The premium is defined as the differencebetween the actual cash rental rate and the rental ratethat you need to break-even.- How does paying a premium affect your farms li-quidity? Successive years of negative returns candrain your working capital and challenge your overallfarming operation. Set a target for working capital equalto 30 per cent of your planned expenses. Balancing the need to secure land for the long-termand managing the financial health of your operation isa difficult exercise, Gervais said. Nobody can pre-dict the future with accuracy. The only available op-tion is to run scenarios and position your business tobe able to take advantage of future opportunities andface emerging challenges.

There is too much meat in the market placeaccording to Brad Magnusson who deliversthe crops and livestock outlook for ManitobaCredit Unions.

to the slow down in beef sales, saidMagnusson a Market Analyst withMagnusson Consulting Group. He said these factors would have amuch longer impact than if it wasmerely a run up in prices that had con-sumers backing off of beef purchases.People are also over estimating theimpact of the increase in cow num-bers in the US, he said. Certainlythey are a factor but they are not theonly factor in the market place. Themarket has to deal with the excess ofpork and chicken that are in freezersat this time and has to clear the mar-ket. He said that the beef industry is

heading into a critical time of the year in terms of market-ing. When the barbecue season begins in the US the beefindustry has to be ready to take its share of the market andif it does not get a good start to the barbecue season thatcan have longer term impacts through the summer and thatis not going to be good for the return to cattle producers. Magnusson said the unknown is how much pork andchicken will be discounted to compete and take its placeon the grills of America. There is a lot of protein in thosefreezers and the industry wants to move it, so their mightbe some deep discounts in the stores, but traditionally thebarbecue season is about beef and when the price is highconsumers shift to a lower price cut. We might not see theback yard grill have as many steaks, it might be more ham-burgers but people like to barbecue beef, he said. He pointed out that higher processing amounts and somerestricted trade are factors causing the glut. There wererecord kills of pork in December of 2015 and that is in themarket now, we also have the restriction of trade to Russia,and Russia buys a lot of meat from North America but thatis not happening now. That meat is in the market place, hesaid. Magnusson does not ignore the increase in cattle num-bers in the US herd but said it is not the only factor affect-ing prices at this time. We are seeing cow and heifer num-bers up across the US and that will mean more beef eventu-ally, he said.

What to ConsiderWhen Renting

Farmland

Photo by Les Kletke


By Harry Siemens

Despite the recently introduced additional 11-step pro-gram to apply for a permit to build a new hog barn inManitoba in certain areas, it will still take renewed con-fidence from the financial institutions and other inves-tors to make it happen. Ron Kostyshyn, Manitobas Agriculture Minister saida pilot project introduced last April offers the opportu-nity to build the barns required to meet the needs of theprovinces processors for hogs while safeguarding theenvironment. In April 2015, the Manitoba government approved thePig Production Special Pilot Project Evaluation Proto-col, a plan under which pork producers in Manitobacan apply for permits to build new or expand existingswine barns. Kostyshyn speaking to reporters as part of ManitobaAg Days in Brandon recently, said in partnership withManitoba Conservation and Manitobas hog produc-ers, the pilot product calls for a two-cell manure storagesystem in place of the anaerobic digester philosophy todeal with nitrogen and phosphorus and other environ-mental safeguards. In partnership with Manitoba hog producers and theDepartment of Conservation and other stakeholders,weve seen some noticeable changes, he said. Con-centration levels have been reduced in order to applyand theres always the buffer zone of applications indesignated areas from waterways and opportunities. Kostyshyn said there is recognition that environmen-tal sustainability is possible and, in talking withManitobas hog producers, there is an interest in build-ing new barns under the pilot project adding the nextchallenge is attracting the investment required to buildnew barns. When asked about the state of the hog industry inManitoba over the last four years, he calls that a mov-ing target. We know supply and demand plays intothat, obviously with the COOL somewhat being on theradar screen right now, will that accelerate the price forhog production or hog prices in the province ofManitoba; Im hoping it does, said Kostyshyn. Alsowe have to maintain the operations of the HyLifes andMaple Leafs when we move into further hog produc-tion in Manitoba. We continue to work with labourforces, with employees down at Maple Leaf, but there isalso a shortage of hog numbers to process. He hopes to see the province maintain 100 percentoperation at the plants and continue to provide morejobs in the local market. When asked if he sees any new signs of increasinginvestments from hog producers he said, Weve hadconversations with the Manitoba hog industries andthey are out looking, researching for investors in barns,and putting in more hog operations. The reality as we all know is that a lot of the hog barninfrastructure is getting up in age and the industry istalking to us, to investors, is my understanding. So werehoping to see that continues to happen. Kostyshyn said price guarantees are always the driv-ing force at the end of the day for the financial investorswho want a fair return on their investments. Now theopportunity and whether we will have more barns is Ithink just a matter of the hog industry working withother agencies to make it become a reality indefinitely,he said. He also noted that he does not view the new regula-tions as hampering the industry or food production inthe province. I dont think you should use the wordhampered, but more the due diligence, environmentalsustainability, and the Save Lake Winnipeg bill are thereto do just that, he said. But I think there is an oppor-tunity geographically throughout the province ofManitoba that can accommodate sustaining hog barnsin the province, and still do it in a safe environmentalmanner in partnership for all of us. At the end of the day, we appreciate the hog indus-try and we as government, will do anything we can towork with it, and provide some financial stability in thelong run, he added.

By Les Klekte

Bran Magnusson isneither a proponent noropponent of the CanadianWheat Board and whathas developed in theCanadian grain marketingsystem since the Boardwas removed as the singledesk seller of Canadiangrain. He said the marketing ofgrain has changed forCanadian farmers and ithas resulted in more onfarm storage being builtthat allows farms to getgrain to delivery points atdifferent times of he year.We used to see theBoard come into themarket place in lateNovember and buy agreat deal of grain, whenthey called for deliveriesat that time, he said,They would sell thatgrain and come back tofarmers with delivery callsin February. Magnusson said thatnow marketing has movedto later in the year andfarmers have built largerstorage facilities withaccess to good highways.The most common typesof loans that farmers aretaking is to build binyards close to highways,said Magnusson a formeremployee of ManitobaCredit Unions who stillworks closely with CreditUnions. He said the strategy issomewhat self-fulfilling.As grain companies waitfor the crop to come off inSouth America beforemaking offerings, grainfarmers are holding thecrop and the marketpatterns move in thatdirections. He said thecharts show that themajority of marketinghappens later in the yearand that is a trend thatwill continue, as we aremore aware of crops inother parts of the world. He advised farmers totake advantage of higherprice offerings that comeabout from variousreasons. You see thehighest prices from graincompanies in the earlydays of trade shows, hesaid. Go to FarmProgress Show or AgDays for Tuesdaymorning not Wednesdayafternoon. Often by thenthey have filled theirrequirements and priceshave dropped off. Magnusson advisesfarmers to be aware ofeven slight movements in

Photo by Les Kletke

Brad Magnusson tells producers that marketing patterns have changed since removal of theCWB.

How to Market Grain andWhen to Market Has Changed

price and take advantageof any run up in prices.He also advised thatfarmers should bemarketing anytime theycan lock in a profit. Over80% of the grain notpriced is sold in thelowest quadrant of themarket, h1e said.Producers wait for ahigher price and then sell

after the peak has passed.Get ready to sell, be in aposition to sell, knowwhat your costs ofproduction are and thenwhen you make a profitsell. He said that manyproducers would now behappy to take the pricesthat were offered atharvest. How many of

you would be happy tosell the crop for what youcould have gotten atharvest time? he asked agroup of producers at aCatalyst Credit Unionmeeting, Those areoptions we have to beaware of and be in a placeto take advantage of, theway grain is marketed haschanged.

Manitobas AgMinister Proud ofAccomplishments


By Elmer Heinrichs

For 2016-17, area seeded tofield crops in Canada is fore-cast to increase for oilseedsand pulse crops while the areaseeded to grains remains rela-tively flat compared to 2015-16, reported Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada in its Feb-ruary outlook. In western Canada, the areain summer fallow is forecastto continue its downwardtrend, which will open upsome area seeded for crops. Total crop production isforecast to increase slightly to84.7 metric tonnes (Mt) buttotal crop supply will decreaseslightly due to lower carry-instocks. What is noteworthy is thatthe production and supply ofgrains and oilseeds (G&O) inCanada is forecast to decreaseslightly while the productionof pulses and special crops(P&SC) is expected to in-crease significantly. In general, world grain pricesare expected to be pressureddownward by abundant sup-plies of grain globally but theimpact on grain prices inCanada will be mitigated bythe low value of the Canadiandollar.

In the last year, I have reviewed in detail the somatic cell count (SCC) records fromdozens of DHI-monitored and robot barns. As a result, I re-educated myself as to thedynamics of reducing high SCC in any particular herd in order to achieve a lower inci-dence of mastitis and higher milk production. My first review started with an average 125-cow dairy barn, whose monthly herd SCCseem to hover just below the milk-board penalty of 400,000/ml with some top milk pro-ducers topping 3 to plus 9 million SCC. In six months of evaluation, I would like to takethe credit that I put together a fantastic SCC-fighting nutrition and management pro-gram, but that is not what happened. This producer was forced to cull out about a dozenpersistent culprits that scored SCC over one million and now maintains a herd SCC ofabout 225,000/ml. In addition, the herds milk production increased by 2.5 kg. This individuals case is not unique, because it is no secret that high SCC bulk tankrecords rob this dairy and others of otherwise good health, milk production and revenue.Consider the following relationship between SCC and milk production outlined in thefollowing table (Philpot and Nickerson, 1991):

Somatic Cell Counts as related to Milk LossSCC (cells/ml) Estimated milk loss (lb/year)* % milk loss100,000 400 3300,000 1,000 7500,000 1,300 9600,000 1,400 10800,000 1,600 111 million 1,700 12>1.6 million >1,700 >12

*based on 14 15,000 lb milk/cow/year

In addition to these milk production losses, there is also a loss of milk quality to the milkthat is produced by high SCC cows. White blood cells from high SCC milk containsnatural enzymes that breakdown valuable milk protein and fat. As a result, milk proces-sors do not want high SCC milk because casein protein levels are significantly lower,which negatively impacts such milk end products like cheese yield. There is also someevidence that SCC deterioration of milk leads to reduced fluid milk storage life. Nobody should argue with this evidence that lowering SCC leads to higher milk pro-duction. However, I have learned that all available SCC records whether they come fromDHI, robot or any other SCC record keeping system should be routinely reviewed, so aneffective plan of action can be taken. Consequently, here are some my own revelations to effectively combat high SCC inlactating dairy cows that I learned by examining many recent SCC reports:

- Its a numbers game - A high milk-producing cow with a modest SCC count canproduce the same total amount of cells as a modest milk-producing cow with a high SCCcount. For example: A 40-kg cow x 200,000/ml SCC = A 20-kg cow x 400,000/ml. Theircontribution to the bulk tank should be the same. Similarly, a 10-kg cow x 200,000/ml is alower contributor.

- There is a Million SCC club - I always take note of the lactating dairy cows that score1M SCC/ml and more. Their SCC multiplied by milk production often yields a substantialSCC contribution to the bulk tank. On the DHI records, these cows are reported on theHSLST. On the robot records, I find similar cows by transferring and sort them on myexcel spreadsheet.

- There are a few bad apples - Never was a clich so true to me. For example, if onelooks at the same HSLST sheet, their biggest SCC violators make the biggest contribu-tions. I know of cases where the dairy producer is milking several hundred cows, andless than a dozen cows contribute up to 40% of his bulk tank SCC. I know of a couple ofcases where the highest SCC cows were culled and the whole herd SCC easily dropped100,000 points.

- Impact of corrective action - Culling or therapeutic treatment of dairy cows in theMillion SCC club has a significant impact on the rest of the herd. I also found thatimplementation of a solution that reduces SCC in the second highest group of SCC cowswith records of 200,000 - 800,000/ml will also lead to lower whole herd counts. Thatsbecause, these cows have relatively high milk production, which gives them modestcontrol of the bulk tank.

- Law of diminishing results - The first 50,000 cell/ml of an individual cow SCC recorddenotes shed body cells, while the rest of the record is white-blood cells fighting infec-tion. Therefore, lowering the SCC of a herd by the same rate with a SCC of 200,000/mlversus another herd with a SCC of 300,000/ml can be more difficult to achieve in theformer.

Like myself, I believe that many dairy producers can start reducing high SCC in theirdairy herds by a periodic review of all their available SCC records and apply some ofthese revelations in an effective corrective manner.

High Somatic CellCounts Rob GoodHealth and Milk

Production

Ag Canada Sees More Pulsesand Special Crops

For 2016-17, area seeded inCanada is expected to decreasemarginally as a 24 per cent in-crease for winter wheat is morethan offset by a 2 per centdecline for spring wheat. In western Canada, springwheat has competition fromdurum, oilseeds and pulses,which is expected to limit theseeded area. Production isforecast to increase by 5 percent to 23.3 Mt because ofhigher yields. Although small compared toOntario and Quebec,Manitoba is the largest cornproducer in western Canadaand had near record yields in2015. Similar to barley and oats,rye area is gaining in easternCanada although total areas aresmall when compared to west-ern Canada. The high price ofrye over the past two years,and low input costs, are mak-ing rye an attractive croppingoption. For the crop year to-date,movement of Canadian canolais brisk on support from strongexport buying, active crushpace and the devalued Cana-dian dollar. Exports to-date are17 per cent ahead of last yeardue to strong Chinese, Japa-nese and Mexican buying.

Canola prices are forecastabout $20/t higher than lastyear on support from the lowerCanadian dollar and tighten-ing world vegetable oil sup-plies. For 2016-17, seeded areafor canola is forecast to in-crease by 4 per cent, to 8.4million hectares on attractivereturns compared to otherfield crops. For soybeans, domesticprocessing of soybeans shouldsee a record 2.0 Mt, up 12 percent from last year on strongdemand for meal and oil. For 2016-17, dry pea seededarea is expected to rise by 14per cent from 2015-16 to arecord 1.7 Mha because ofhigher potential returns rela-tive to other crops, good lo-gistical movement and solidexport demand. The area seeded to dry beansis forecast to fall marginallyfrom 2015-16 to 0.11 Mha dueto lower potential returnscompared to other crops, par-ticularly soybeans and corn. For the current crop year,grain prices are expected toaverage slightly higher thanthe 2014-15 level, with theexception of durum, oats andflaxseed. For lentils and, to alesser extent, peas, prices haveaveraged significantly higherthan last year.


The value of hard work,a sense of responsibilityand pride in a job welldone are characteristicsthat all parents want tonurture in their children.There is nothing moregratifying than seeingyour child accomplishgreat things through hardwork and determination. Farm kids are luckybecause they see first-hand how to accomplishtasks successfully, bestewards of land andlivestock, and take pridein hard work. However,raising a successful,smart and savvy farm kiddoesn't have to come atthe price of their safety. Discussions concerningthe issues of farm safetyand children often can becontroversial andemotionally charged, butthere is one point thateverybody agrees on, thedeath of even just onechild is a horrific tragedy. Its important thatparents and caregiversunderstand that childrenarent miniature adults.Even the most advancedeight-year-old is still achild. And these wonder-ful young people donthave the experience,physical strength orunderstanding to alwaysmake the right choice,handle large equipment

Smart, Savvy andSafe Farm Kids

or be entrusted withcomplicated farmingtasks. Children grow andprogress through differentstages of physical, mentaland emotional develop-ment. Physically, childrenare different than adults.Some children are big fortheir age, thats true, buttheir stamina, strength,and fine motor skills arestill developing. Mentally,children dont alwaysunderstand consequencesof risky behaviour. Eventhe most mature childdoesnt have the lifeexperience or criticalthinking skills to alwaysmake the best choices.Emotionally, childrenhavent developed theskills to balance impulsesagainst risk or to alwaysknow when to ask forhelp. Take a critical look atyour child. Do theyalways make the bestchoices? Are they alwaysphysically capable ofdoing mundane tasks?Do they act impulsively?All children do impulsivethings, arent alwaysphysically up to the taskand sometimes makepoor choices. Its up toparents and caregivers toestablish boundaries andguidelines, not just ineveryday life, but also

when it comes to farmsafety. Risk taking is animportant part of growingup. Children that takeage-appropriate risks andengage in age-appropri-ate tasks stand a betterchance of growing upinto skilled, capable, andconfident adults. TheNorth American Guide-lines for ChildrensAgricultural Tasks is anexcellent resource thatparents and caregiverscan use to guide deci-sions about what kinds offarming tasks are age-appropriate. These areguidelines, you know yourchild best, but rememberto take into considerationthat parents oftenoverestimate their child.Be critical and be truthfulabout your child's abilitywhen determining whattasks are appropriate. Childrens safety on thefarm just doesn't end withassigning appropriatefarming tasks. It alsodepends on their rolemodels and decisions thatthose adults makeregarding safety on thefarm. According to theCanadian AgriculturalInjury Reporting, therewere 248 agriculturalfatalities among childrenand youth in Canadaunder 15 years of age.Although 71% of the

agricultural fatalitiesamong children werework-related, in 8 out of10 cases, the victim wasnot a

agripost february 26 2016

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