January 25, 2010
Purchasing Used Farm
Equipment from a Dealer
An Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development inspector says
that, by following a few basic steps when buying used farm
equipment, a purchaser can help shield themselves from
future problems.
“Purchasing good used farm equipment can be a way of
reducing equipment costs on your farm,” says Robert Martin,
farm implement inspector, Edmonton. “There are several
things you can do at the time of purchase to avoid any potential
disputes with the dealer later on.”
Martin says it is very important to physically and thoroughly
inspect the equipment at the dealership. “Do not assume the
condition until you have seen it. Ask the dealer for an on farm
demo of the equipment if possible and practical. Rent the
equipment from the dealer for a day or two to see if it is suited
to your farming operation. Ask questions and be as informed
as possible regarding to condition of the equipment.”
Used equipment carries no warranty unless it is specified on
the sale agreement. If any warranty is discussed and agreed
upon, make sure it is written on the sale agreement.
“If repairs to the equipment are negotiated with the dealer,
include the details and terms of the repairs on the sale
agreement,” says Martin. “Ensure the sale agreement contains
a full description of the equipment – make, model, year, serial
number, hours and attachments to the equipment. The sale
agreement must be signed by the dealership and the
purchaser.”
For further information on purchasing used farm equipment,
call 310-FARM (3276) from anywhere in Alberta and asked to
be connected to Robert Martin, farm implement inspector.
Contact: Robert Martin
310-FARM (3276)
This Week
Purchasing Used Farm Equipment
from a Dealer
1
Mustard Production for Alberta
2
Maximizing Value from Backgrounded
Calves 2
Creating Value in Value Chains
3
Producer Risk Management Meetings
3
Agri-News Briefs
5
January 25, 2010 – page 2
Mustard Production for Alberta
Mustard is a significant special crop that has a farm gate value
ranging from about $50 million to $100 million annually. In
Canada, mustard production is focused primarily in the
southern prairie regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan, involving
370,000 to 740,000 acres (150,000 to 300,000 ha) and
producing up to 300,000 tonnes of mustard seed annually.
Canada is a world leader in condiment mustard seed
marketing, accounting for 70 to 80 per cent of global exports,
annually.
“Mustard is a relative of canola but tends to be more tolerant to
drought, heat and frost,” says Dr. Ross McKenzie, agronomy
research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural
Development. “Mustard has allowed producers in the drier
regions to add an oilseed crop to their rotations, which has
helped disrupt pest cycles, increase moisture use efficiency and
increase farm income.”
To achieve optimum mustard yield and quality, the first
important step is field selection based on previous crop and
residue conditions. Using diverse crop rotations that include
three or four different crops is generally the most desirable
crop production practice.
“Mustard is commonly grown in rotation with small grain
crops,” says McKenzie. “Ideally, mustard should follow a cereal
crop. Generally, mustard is not subject to the same insect or
disease pressures as cereal crops. A break of several years
between canola and other mustard types is needed to minimize
volunteers that would contaminate the grain and lower the
grade.
“Mustard should not follow pulse or oilseed crops. Under high
potential yield conditions, mustard is susceptible to the disease
sclerotinia (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), which also affects most
pulse crops such as pea or lentil and oilseed crops such as
canola, flax or sunflower.”
A factsheet, Mustard Production for Alberta
(Agdex 143/20-1) was recently produced and is available from
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. The mustard
factsheet topics include:
• mustard types and uses
• production and variety selection
• cropping systems and rotations
• water use and yield
• benefits and establishment
• seeding and fertilizing
• weed control, disease management and inspect pests
• harvesting, drying and storage
To view this factsheet, visit the Alberta Agriculture website at
www.agriculture.alberta.ca/publications.
Alberta Agriculture’s publications and other resource material
can also be ordered by calling 310-FARM (3276).
Contact: Dr. Ross McKenzie
403-381-5842
Maximizing Value from
Backgrounded Calves
“With last fall’s calf prices being unacceptable, many cow calf
producers had chosen to keep their calves over the winter on a
backgrounding ration to try to market the calves into a stronger
market,” says Ken Ziegler, beef specialist, Alberta Agriculture
and Rural Development, Rocky Mountain House. “However,
with expensive forage costs from last summer’s drought,
additional grain has been used to offset the need for forage in
the ration. This has resulted in added gains and lowered the
cost per pound of gain. The challenge is to keep the cost per
pound of gain below the value of the additional pound gained.”
In a stable price scenario, Ziegler says it is critical that the
weight gain of the cattle is cheaper than the market price for
that pound of gain. If the weight gained is 75 cents per pound
of gain and the selling price is 85 cents, then the feeding
venture is adding value to the calf even though the margin is
slim. “The question is whether the calf prices will stay stable,
rise, or drop, which leads to choosing when to market the
cattle.”
Another challenge producers face is trying to maximize the
value of the calf when selling it. Many marketing choices exist
that vary in advantage. Factors like risk of price and shrink
come into play that will eventually affect the net profit in the
seller’s pocket.
“The web site, www.foragebeef.ca, contains some excellent
factsheets in its marketing folder which can help with these
challenges,” says Ziegler. “Shrink is a common reality that is
not always fully understood that affects profitability. A number
of well-written factsheets on shrink are among the wide array
of marketing factsheets available on the site.”
Known by its address, www.foragebeef.ca provides producers
with an excellent assortment of information relating to both
current Canadian agricultural issues and technical information
on forage and beef production.
There are three levels of information within the technical
section of the site. Level one is the straight forward ‘cut to the
core’ type of information that visitors may want on a particular
topic. Level two is for the reader that wants more information
Cont’d on page 3
January 25, 2010 – page 3
about a particular topic, while level three is a collection of
scientific review papers, research abstracts or summaries and
links to research communities through out Canada and the
world.
“As with any researching, you’ll come to the point where you’ll
want to talk with someone,” says Ziegler. “Because marketing
conditions affect management practices, it is important that
you contact someone that is credible to the topic area and your
situation. People from government or from private industry will
be able to help you best. To contact someone from Alberta
Agriculture and Rural Development, dial 310-FARM toll free.”
Contact: Ken Ziegler
403-845-8204
Creating Value in Value Chains
Creating Value in Value Chains is a one-day business
intelligence workshop with a follow up day being held February
16 and 17, 2010, in Red Deer, Alberta.
“This workshop is an excellent opportunity for those involved
in livestock or fresh food value chains or other strategic
alliances to find out about the local and international tools
available,” says Margurite Thiessen, value chain specialist,
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Stony Plain. “If you
are working on collaborative efforts to deliver products in the
livestock or fresh food sectors, you will want to let your staff
and chain partners know about this workshop.”
The workshop itself features a number of excellent speakers
and presentations.
“Michael O’keeffe, is a company director and advisor to fresh
food firms globally, and is a founding coordinator of the Global
Fresh Food Innovation Network, which is a group of fresh food
companies from the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia who share
best practice and innovation ideas,” says Thiessen.
“O’keeffe’s interactive session highlights the execution lessons
from successful value chains and the challenge of partnering
with retail customers. Value chain diagnostic tools such as
material flow, information flow and relationship audits will also
be presented. Michael will draw on a series of international
case studies from the UK, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia
to illustrate the benefits to primary producers and processors
from participating in retailer-aligned value chains. The case
studies cover a range of sectors including beef, lamb, pork,
eggs and produce.”
Other speakers include:
• Randy Baldwin, CMC., principal, Kelwin Mangement
Consulting has over 25 years of business management,
development and planning experience in the agriculture
industry. He will be presenting on the meat value chain
resources identified for the potential for the livestock
industry interest.
• Ross Drever, software engineer, Drever Technical Solutions
Inc., provides custom software development along side
enterprise support services to keep businesses running
efficiently. Ross will be presenting information on an
inventory model being tested with one Alberta meat value
chain. He will discuss the application and technology
requirements for its potential use in other meat value
chains.
• Dr. Sven Anders, assistant professor, department of rural
economy, University of Alberta, who is focused on value
added meat marketing and a member of the Alberta
Veterinary Research Institute (AVRI) Council, along with
Gregory Bott, graduate student and student member of
Agriculture and Food Council, will present information on
an international beef value chain research project they are
working on with Australia.
“Following the workshop there is opportunity to sign up for
one-to-one discussions on February 17, 2010,” says Thiessen.
“These sessions are available to your company to meet with
Michael O’keeffe to ask more questions related to the
diagnostic tools and creating value in your chain specific to
your value chain project or development. When you register
please indicate your interest in booking one of these sessions.”
The program is made possible through Growing Forward and
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.
Registration is $45 per person (including GST. and lunch). The
registration deadline is February 9, 2010. To register, phone
1-800-387-6030.
Contact: Margurite Thiessen
780-968-3513
Pat Ramsey
403-652-8303
Producer Risk Management
Meetings
Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) and Alberta
Agriculture and Rural Development are holding a series of 18
producer risk management meetings the week of January 25 to
January 29, 2010.
“At these meetings, information on current soil moisture
conditions will be compared to previous years as we approach
spring,” says Barry Yaremcio, beef and forage specialist. Alberta
Agriculture, Stettler. “AFSC will discuss risk management tools
available such as forages and pasture insurance, AgriStability,
AgriInvest, and the new fat cattle price insurance program.
Cont’d on page 4
January 25, 2010 – page 4
Alberta Agriculture staff will discuss strategies for managing
and feeding livestock under dry conditions with emphasis on
using annuals for grazing to reduce stress on perennial
pastures.”
The following is a list of meeting locations. All meetings start at
1:00 pm.
South Region
Jan. 25
Oyen
Canadian Legion
Jan. 26
Medicine Hat
Exhibition Grounds
Grandstand Banquet
Room
Jan. 27
Foremost
Foremost Community Hall
Jan. 28
Lethbridge
Sandman Hotel
Jan. 29
Strathmore
Strathmore Civic Centre
Jan. 25
Hanna
Hanna Legion
Jan. 26
Olds
Olds Legion
Jan. 26
Stettler
Ag-Plex
Jan. 27
Ponoka
Moose Hall
Jan. 28
Castor
Castor Community Hall
Jan. 29
Wainwright
Wainwright Communiplex
Jan. 25
ElkPoint
Elk Point Pioneer Circle
Jan. 25
Peace River
Belle Petroleum Centre
Jan. 26
Grande Prairie Stonebridge Hotel
Jan. 26
Smoky Lake
Ukranian Nation Hall
Jan. 27
Tofield
Tofield Community Hall
Jan. 27
Mayerthorpe
Mayerthorpe Diamond
Centre
Jan.28
Westlock
Westlock Inn
Central Region
North Region
Contact: Barry Yaremcio
310-FARM (3276)
January 25, 2010 – page 5
Agri-News Briefs
Bedding Plants Production
Workshop
Marketing – What Every Rural
Business Needs to Know
The Bedding Plants Production Workshop is an excellent
opportunity to learn about methods for growing high quality
bedding plants and hanging baskets, as well as gaining further
knowledge about the industry, industry trends, energy
conservation ideas and disease management. Business and
marketing tips with a focus on attracting more customers
round out the agenda. The workshop is being held at the Crop
Diversification Centre North in Edmonton on February 24,
2010. This one-day workshop is sponsored by the Alberta
Greenhouse Growers Association (AGGA) and organized by the
Greenhouse Resource and Extension Assistance Team (GREAT).
Registration is $63 (includes GST) for AGGA members and $84
(includes GST) for non-members. Session handouts and lunch
are included. Seating is limited to 40 participants, so early
registration is recommended. To register, call 780-489-1991.
For more information and workshop details, e-mail
drmirzagreen@gmail.com or mohyuddin.mirza@agga.ca.
Today, businesses seeking above-average results must
understand and manage other elements of their business
equally well. One of the most important of these is marketing.
Whether a novice or experienced when it comes to marketing,
this workshop will provide information about why marketing
needs to be the first and foremost thing to consider when
developing or diversifying your business plan. Learn to choose
and implement essential marketing tactics and see how other
agribusinesses use these techniques to boost their sales and
profitability by attending this marketing workshop in Airdrie on
March 9, 2010. Registration is $50 (lunch included). For more
information, go to www.farmcentre.com/workshops.