The Rural Voice, 2005-09, Page 64Advice
Website tracks soybean rust
.A new website sponsored by the
Ontario Soybean Rust Coalition
(OSRC) provides weekly updates on
the spread of Asian Soybean Rust in
the Southern United States and
scouting information for Ontario.
The wehpage — accessed through
the Ontario Soybean Growers (OSG)
at http://soybean.on.ca/rustinfo.php
— provides valuable maps of Ontario
with information about soybean
growth stages. rust treatment
recommendations for Ontario
growers. and scouting information by
county. There's also a Zink to the
website hosted by the United States
Department of Agriculture website
providing the latest updates in
confirmed rust cases in the Southern
states.
Ontario is part of an extensive
North American network of crop
scientists all working to monitor,
forecast, and control the spread of
this disease. Early detection of Rust
is key to minimizing its spread and
its effect on yields. and this website
will help get information out quickly
and effectively.
The maps posted on tae website
use GPS technology from Laresco, a
London-based land resource
company. Crop scouts frequently
check the growth stage and health of
plants at dozens of sentinel plots
across the province and upload their
findings. The website is updated
every Thursday.
Although it's unknown if the
disease will come to Canada, it's
essential to have these information
avenues in place. OSG's website
was built with dial-up internet users
in rural areas in mind so maps and
images will download quickly.
Earlier this summer All soybean
growers in Ontario received a special
issue of Top Crop Manager focusing
on Soybean Rust, sponsored by
OSRC. Rust identification cards
were also among the resources sent
to growers in recent months.
The Ontario Soybean Rust
Coalition is a group of key industry
players — including government,
60 THE RURAL VOICE
growers. researchers. and chemical
companies — committed to
providing resources to tackle the
debilitating crop disease.
Coalition members include: E.I.
du Pont Canada Company,
OMAFRA, OSG, Syngenta Crop
Protection Canada Inc, Dow
AgroSciences Canada. Bayer
CropScience, Monsanto Canada.
Pioneer Hi -Bred Limited, Syngenta
Seeds. and John Deere & Company.
Funding for this project was
provided in part by Agriculture and
Agri -Food Canada through the
Agricultural Adaptation Council's
CanAdvance Program.(
Mental health
resources
available
The Canadian Agricultural Safety
Association (CASA) is pleased
provide a compilation of mental
health resources and contacts
available across Canada.
"This is a busy time of year.
Long hours on the tractor. limited
resources, unpredictable weather and
markets can lead to incredible
pressures. In an effort to provide
access to resources CASA has'
compiled provincial lists of agencies
that provide mental health
resources." said Marcel Hacault,
Executive director of CASA.
The lack of availability of
specialized support services is a
significant barrier in many rural
areas.
"There is a wealth of mental
health services that are not readily
accessible to farmers." said Glen G.
Blahey, CASA Chairman. "By
providing links to local resources we
hope to remove that particular
roadblock. Specialized support
services and local mental health
professionals are identified."
Interested parties are invited to
visit the CASA website www.casa-
acsa.ca <http://www.casa-acsa.ca/>
or phone 1-204-452-2272 for more
information. 0
Grain Markets
The market gives,
takes awag
Dame Gordon
is a
commodities
specialist
with LAC.
Inc.. Hyde
Park. 519-
473-9333.
By Dave Gordon
August 19, 2005.
Last month 1 stated that what the
market gives. it also takes away. It is
30 days later and the bleeding is still
continuing, albeit at a slower pace.
Ontario producers are taking a double
whammy with the strength of the
Canadian dollar.
Market bulls had hoped that the
USDA would come out with bullish
reports on August 12 but were sorely
disappointed with the numbers. But.
it must be kept in mind that. even
though a survey was done. it was too
early to count pods on soys or to
weigh cobs. All they could do was
cob count and extrapolate their final
numbers using historical figures as a
guide.
CORN:
The USDA projects this corn crop
to yield more than 139 bu/acre. which
sounds friendly when compared to
2004 figures, but the futures market
was probably trading 135 - 136
bu/acre. Even though the difference is
not very big, it is still enough to give
the funds a reason to sell their
position. Really what they are
probably thinking is that there is no
need to own corn futures right now
and will only step back in if the
September report lowers the yield
significantly or when combines hit
the field and report lower than
expected yields. The U.S. drought
monitor is still showing a fairly large
area of drought in Illinois even
though the total area has been
reduced. It appears that northwest
Illinois has still not received enough
rain to alleviate their extreme dryness
so it is difficult to imagine that the
corn crop in this area will have much
hope of maturing properly.
In Ontario, recent rains have