Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-03-12, Page 13Fr Tires-Advocr, re, .Vfurch 12, 1997 FARM__LIMATE Edible Bean Day features research results of no till white bean trials By Brenda Burke T -A Reporter EXETER - No till white beans. may save farmers money and at the same time, help preserve the en- vironment. According to Chris Gillard, a re- searcher at the Huron Research Sta- tion and Ridgetown College, going no till may result in a slightly lower yield and shorter plants that take a few days longer to mature. "These differences, I don't think you should really worry about," said Gillard when presenting bean trial results to Edible Bean Day par- ticipants at the South Huron Rec- reation Centre last Tuesday., When considering the costs of tilling, soil erosion and environ -- mental decline, . these slight dis- advantages may be worth it, point- ed out Gillard, adding no till beans won hands down_ in the plant emer- gence department,_even in wet con- ditions: • "The conventional (beans) did eventually come, but it took a rain to get them out," he said of the lo- cal trials initiated in 1994. Edible Bean Day included 13 in- formation sessions and 16 ex- hibitors. The morning program fea- tured sessions on AgriCorp, field services, weed control, bio- technology, white bean variety de- velopment and an edible bean•up- date from an American perspective. Al South, vice chairperson of the Ontario Bean Producers' Marketing Board, hosted the afternoon ses- sion; he discussed agriculiure cuts. "They have cut agriculture about as lean as ttiey can cut it," he said, Wlm Karelse, plant manager at the Ailsa Craig location of The Great Canadian Bean Co., Inc., displays Roman/ Cranberry beans as well as white beans at Edibles can Day held at the South Huron Rereation Centre last Tues- day. adding a 25 to 30 per cent cut to ag- riculture within the next few years would not be surprising. Roger George, chairperson of the Canadapt Agricultural Adaptation Council, informed the group thd'or- ganization has 17 board directors, many of whom are area farm lead- ers. He talked about how Canadapt helps finance ideas and mentioned its plan to manage grant funds "in a lean, mean way." • He commended the federal gov- ernment for having the foresight to support Canadapt, adding the move will help farmers become more self-reliant and start up. new ven- tures. "There is money out there, he said, adding people are feeling pos- itive about the agri-food sector these days. "I think that together, and we must do it together, there is a very bright futurefor the Canada Ag in- dustry," he concluded. Topics of bean breeding and bio- technology were covered by Tom Michaels, a crop science professor at the University of Guelph. "Cloning is all the rage in the newspapers right now," he began, adding the method has taken .place in plants "for a long, long time." He talked • about how . bio- technology fits into the bean breed- ing scheme. He claimed trans- formation, taking a piece of DNA . from another source and putting it into beans, may become com- monplace in the future. He spoke of genetically en- gineered plant's that have an ex- tended shelf life and are resistant to herbicides, insects, disease and stress. He also mentioned the im- portance of molecular markers, which indicate gene types. "We can tell the difference be- tween every bean out there, based on this (DNA) technology," he said, adding many beans in Ontario do not differ from one another. Martin Huzevka, General Manag- er of .the Ontario Bean Producers' Marketing Board, updated par- ticipants on new pick and moisture charts. Describing these charts as "more fair to more people," he ex- plained how wet and dry years were compared in order to come up with charts for 1997 drying charg- es. "We end up saving money, we believe, in the long run," he said. Edible Bean Day also included a presentation by An Schaafsma, a Ridgetown College research sci- entist in field crop pest man- agement. He described a project he was in- volved with on leafhoppers, the most important bean pest in South America. Whereas local farmers Brussels livestock sales BRUSSELS - Sales at Brussels Livestock for the week ending March 7, 1997. Fed Cattle: 903 Cows: 336 Veal calves: 264 Lambs and goats: 198 Stockers: 1402 The fed steers and heifers sold 52 higher. Cows sold on a strong market. Veal sold on a very strong active trade with Iambs selling on a fully active strong market. On Friday the stocker calves sold 52-53 higher with the yearlings selling steady. There were 571 steers on offer selling from 90.00 to 95.00 to the high of 103.00. There were 336 cows on offer selling from 40.0010 62.00 to the high of 73.00. There were 15 bulls on offer selling from 55.00 to 68.00 to the high of 81.00. There were 264 veal on offer selling: Beef - 80.00 to 111.00; Hol - 70.00 to 85.00; Plain hol - 50.00 to 70.00. Lambs: Under 50 Ibs.192.50 to 220.00; 50-79 lbs. 145.00 to 237.50; 80-94 lbs. 155.00 to 182.50; Ovei 95 lbs. 140.00 to 145.00; Sheep: 50.00 to 68.00 Goats: 540.00 to 5140.00 Stockers Steers: Under 400 lbs. 66.00 to 112.00 400-499 lbs. 86.00 to 117.00 500-599 • 86.00 to 116.00 600-699 83.00 to 110.00 700-799 85.00 to 104.00 800-899 87.50 to 108.75 900 and over 83.50 to 107.50 Heifers: 300-399 61.00 to 105.00 400-499 64.0010 100.00 500-599 73.50 to .100.50 601-699 68.00 to 99.00 700-799 79.00 to 5.50 800-899 76.50 5.00 900 and over 75.5 86.50 Plain stockers: 38.00 to 55.00 Denfield Livestock Sales Market report for Tuesday. March 4. 1997. The market at Denfield traded on a very strong active de- mand at prices 52.00 to 54.00 higher on all classes of fed cattle. Cows sold strong at steady prices. Stockers sold strong at higher prices and pigs. sows and boars sold fully steady. Don Eedy and Mark Vanderploeg. Denfield sold 11 heifers aver- age weight 1314. average price 99.43 to a high of 104,25 pur- chased by M.G.I. Packers. • • Peter Verstraete. Bothwell sold 2 heifers average weight 1258 average pnce 92.86. Mike Pickering. Dashwood sold 4 steers average weight 1379 average puce 99.31 to a high of 103.75 purchased by Holly Park. Ross Duff. Croton sold 6 steers average weight 1383 average price 97.31 to a high of 100.25. Henry Duff, Croton sold 4 steers average weight 1393 average price 97.99 with sales to 101.50. - Gord Hardy, Lucan sold 10 steers average weight 1360 average pace 94.98 with sales to 102.25 purchased by M.G.F. Packers. Steve Vokes. Petrolia sold 4 steers average weight 1223 average ppce 95.69. Morley Hodgins, Parkhill sold 13 steers average weight 1380 average pace 92.83. Bob Hodgins. Lucan sold 14 steers average weight 1445 ...erase price 91.48. Dunbar Cox, Strathroy sold 6 steers average weight 1390 average price 93.50. Albert McGregor Parkhill sold 4 steers average weight 1313 average price 94.77. Doug Case, Exeter sold a cow 1530 lbs. at 63.75 and a bull at 1880 lbs. at 61.00. Jim Watson, Tupperville, sold 2 bulls average 2050 Ibs. at 60.12 Choice stars 92.00 - 96.00 sales to 104.00 Good steers 88.00-92.00 Choice exotic cross heifers 92.00-96.00 sales to 104.25 Good heifers 87.00-92.00 Common and medium 75.00-80.00 Good cows 48.00-56.00 sales to 63.75 Canners and cutters 38.00-45.00 Shells 20.00-30.0p Bulls 50.00-61.00 Good veal 85.00-90.00 Plain veal 50.00-70.00 Yearling stars 85.00-95.00 Yearling heifers 85.00-90.00 Pigs. 40-601bs. 110.00-125.00 Sows 58.0043.00 Bon 50.00-55.00 1. may detect . 12 to 15 leafhoppers per leaf, he said it's not unusual for some South American farmers to witness 40 to 50 leafhoppers per leaf. He's discovered bean varieties that are "quite resistant" to the pest, adding leafhopper resistance is a long-term goal in the 'edible bean industry. The day also featured a humor- ous, encouraging talk - by Peter Johnson, a crop advisor with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in Mid- dlesex County. Naming his ses- sion Setting the Sights for the 1997 Crop, he drew laughter from the au- dience, especially when he com- plained about last year's wet condi- tions. He also admitted he finished combining corn on Dec. 22. "You guys don't have control over the weather but you do have control over a lot of things," he mused, stressing the importance of wise management practices. He advised farmers to depend on good bean varieties. "We have a lot of varieties and we're improving all the time," he said. "Use that technology." Weed control was,mentioned. "It blows us away how much the weeds decrease the yield," Johnson said, advising farmers to watch for clumps of ragweed and horsetail in their fields. "I'm not saying we need perfect weed control," he admitted. "With the variety of products today, ;there's no excuse for poor weed control." He recommended spraying for disease and insect control, especial- ly white mold and leafhoppers. "You babied the corn crop he - cause you thought it was king," he mused, adding Kean crops must now he treated as a priority. He also offered tillage and rota- tion tips. "We more than double the yield by going to the right rotation," he said, explaining the necessity of ro- tating crops with different diseases and avoiding growing beans more than one year in four. To conclude Edible Bean Day, Martin Huzevke, general manager of the Ontario Bean Producers' Marketing Board, provided an up- date on the White Pea Bean market of 1997. He claimed Ontario is witnessing a decline in bean crop acreage from 154,200 acres in 1995 to 113,250 last year and 102,000 for 1997. "The navy bean productions drag down the edible beans in Canada," he said. "Sixty thousand acres (of navy beans) will be probably the lowest we've seen in the boards' history." Despite this decline, he explained eastern Ontario is producing more beans. "Are we coming to the bottom end of the cycle?" he asked, adding supplies could dwindle. On a closing note, he reflected on last year's harvest. "We had a tough harvest. It was not your fault. It was Mother Na- ture's...The 1996 marketing was therefore a challenge this year." -He encouraged farmers to keep producing white beans; explaining its cycle "is coming full circle...in a relatively flat market place." Mil<I'� 13I '1 AN(I PAIN Should have been listed in the small phone book under Hartman Mike instead of under Mike's Blast and Paint 237-1178 Page 13 Suppliers of quality Shur -Gain Feeds and Animal Health Products VARNA 233-9219 "Small in size - Big in service" Hours: Mon. -Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. J STOCK UP THIS SPRING WITH SAVE 204 PER LITRE ON SELECTED OIL PRODUCTS March 15 - April 15/97. $$$$$$ CASH DISCOUNTS $$$$$$ AVAILABLE IN 1 L., 4 L., 20 L.t AND 205 L. BARRELS HODGINS' FARM SERVICES • CORBETT CALL DAVE 294-0517 WELDERS!! WELDERS!! WELDERS!! WELDERS!! INTRODUCING: U7 E )[1]QkODMC�U G=A® ,o o.A� • Arc Welders • FLUX and MIG Welders • Oxygen & Acetylene Cutting Equip. • Accessories Now available at: BCOME' FARM EQUIPMENT - EXETER, ONTARIO 1.519.235.2121 1.800.2652121 WELDERS!! WELDERS!! WELDERS!! WELDERS!! y7"4"i -' ^� AT WORK I11 RURAL COFAF1UflITICS • .ysrvt+aa' . ...,,,,, ,,,, a na Young Canadians know that education, continuous skills dpielopment and meaningful work experience are absolutely essential to get a good start in today's job market: The Government of Canada is addressing these issues through the Youth Employment Strategy which offers a range of programs to assist young people... school o work ■ The transition from school to work is never easy. But help is available. Youth Internship Canada IYIC) provides young Canadians with on-the-job experience and the chance to develop skills in a field that interests them. For example, the Youth Entrepreneurship component of YIC . can help young people who are interested - in establishing their own business. • Create your own job. Be an entrepreneur. The First Nations and Inuit Youth Business Program offers mentoring and financial support to youth living on reserves or in recognized communities who arc interested in starting their own business. ■ Out of school and unemployed? Start a day care, adopt a park or run a recycling program in your community. Youth Service Canada lets you gain valuable work experience, earn some money and help your community while working with other young people and local business or community associations. ■ You've got your degree. NOw you need hands-on experience. Science Horizons places recent university graduates with experienced scientists and program managers for up to a year, allowing them to work on cutting-edge research in the fields of agriculture, environment, heritage, marine and oceanic research, natural resources, engineering and new technology. ■ Earn while you learn. Here's your chance to design an Internet web page, develop or upgrade computer skills and hone your promotional abilities. The Community Access Program Youth Employment Project, run by Industry Canada, introduces unemployed or underemployed youth to Internet technology, while putting their rural communities on-line. CAP will provide up to 5,000 rural communities with access to the information highway by 1998. For more information on these and other youth programs call the Government of Canada Youth Info Line at 1-800-935-5555 or visit the new youth web site at http://www.youth.gc.ca Govemment Gouvemement of Canada du Canada Scholarships Agriculture is a high-tech industry. And it needs highly trained people to keep' it moving forward. The Agriculture and Agri -Food Canada National Scholarships program assists students in pursuing advanced degrees in a broad range of science disciplines related to agricul- ture and agri-food. Eligible fields of study include botany, animal sciences, microbiology, agricultural engineering, veterinary medidne, agricultural economics, information technology and others, (1aIlac ri