Rural voice magazine column November 2009
By John Beardsley, Freelance Journalist
Crop Sales and Service specialist
For Brussels Agromart
Soybean yields in North America have been stalled over the past 20 years as pests like aphids and Soybean Cyst Nematodes take hold. When farmers plant certified seed it allows seed companies to put profits back into research and development. Companies like Syngenta, Monsanto and Dupont are spending millions of dollars a day in research and development. With these investments by the seed industry we may finally see the soybean yield trends going in the same positive direction as the corn yield trend has.
For many years breeders have used both northern and southern hemisphere growing seasons to get 2 crops a year. This has cut the ten year cycle from the first cross to the introduction of a new commercial variety down to 5 years. DNA mapping and other technological razzle dazzle has allowed breeders to insert traits into the best part of the soybeans genetics to improve yield.
This spring saw the commercial introduction of long season ”Roundup Ready 2 Yield” varieties that growers are hoping will give them more bushels in the bin. This new yield trait is being used by all soybean seed companies except DeDell and Pioneer. This innovation is supposed to deliver yield increases of 7-11 percent. The promoters use the illustration of this technology delivering 5 extra beans per plant which on two hundred thousand plants per acre would give producers an extra 500 bushels on a 100 acre field.
Pioneer is taking a different direction and is developing its own 2nd generation herbicide resistance soybeans. Their system is called “Optimum GAT”. They have also released a new “y” series lineup of superior yielding varieties. Pioneer developed the “y” series using traditional breeding and hi-tech selection methods. Whether this introduction will allow Pioneer breathing room until Optimum GAT soybeans are commercially available remains to be seen.
There are other advances for soybeans in the research pipeline. Some are quality traits such as soybeans which will have heart healthy Omega 3 fatty acids. Syngenta seeds (which many of you would know as NK) is working on Callisto herbicide tolerant beans to address the problem of glyphosate resistant weeds. Other companies are planning to use Liberty Link soybeans. Dicamba herbicide resistance is another option which will be soon be available.
So does this mean you should abandon a favourite Round up Ready variety and jump to “Roundup ready 2 yield” soybeans? There are many factors which influence yield. Last year’s launch of soybean inoculants with nodulation triggering technology yielded on average an extra 2 bushels per acre. Seed treatment advances such as Cruiser Maxx have also added bushels per acre. Other management factors such as seedbed preparation, planting date and depth add to yield as well. This year soils that were fed enough potash had higher yields and less aphid damage than those that were deficient. Natural factors such as rainfall and temperature can often have much more impact than genetics on final yield.
There are still compelling economic reasons to grow conventional varieties. Ironically,we can thank Biotech for creating a lucrative niche market for non genetically modified beans. Before the introduction of Biotechnology, food grade soybean premiums were only a few cents per bushel. This year popular Identity Preserved varieties such as S03W4’s commanded a premium of up to $3 per bushel. Growers will have to sharpen their pencils when considering which variety to grow. Soybean farmers will have lots to talk about when the seed sales reps start to call. Invite them in; you’ll both learn something.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Please pass the mayonaise
Don't read this article on local food; go to http://www.eatrealeatlocal.ca/ and watch a short video. Seriously, watch the video, download it, send the link to all your friends and contact lists. It should be required reading for every politician and bureaucrat.
Pig farmers will have to examine these latest government handouts and determine if the glass is half empty or half full. I would like to thumb my nose at all government programs. They are all made up of half measures and ad hoc vote buying, All farmers should look instead to the only viable long-term solution to our perpetual farming crisis; local food.
So why will local food be better than waiting for Loblaws to buy Ontario Beef instead of American or, if you are really lucky, western Canadian beef? Well, let’s look at some success stories. West Grey Premium Beef has been featured in this magazine but suffice it to say they you can now buy beef that is purchased locally and featured at the best local restaurants; they proudly display it in signs in their menus or displayed in the windows. Green’s Meats in Wingham is another success story, as are The Beefway in Kincardine, Elora Road Meats, and Metzgers in Hensall. West Grey and Metzger’s are slightly different to many in the list, in that they are federally licensed, so they can sell their products more easily to the rest of Canada or even to Loblaw’s. Loblaw’s, who are back on the airwaves claiming that, in season, they use 40 percent local produce (as if this wasn't bad enough for being so low ... ) put an artificial barrier on Ontario meat by requiring federal inspection. But West Grey Meats don't lose any sleep waiting for Galen Weston to call, instead they out-sell him on quality and consistency and gradually educate the restaurant owner that quality has a price but it also has a reward...loyal customers that will tell their friends - the cheapest advertising.
Local food success story number two -Buddha Dog Restaurants. Buddha Dog will gladly "make you one with everything" at their stores in Picton, Toronto or now in Collingwood. Not only is the food heavenly, but it is also supporting a vast array of local food producers. The store in Picton (which I am more familiar with) has a huge map of the county with every producer that provides them with food ingredients. They range from the Caribbean-born woman who only makes jerk sauce to the local abattoir that makes these pepperette-sized hotdogs. They have many wineries on this huge map of the county not because they are licensed but because they use local wine in some of their sauces. Buddha dog employees directly or indirectly tell the local food story with every hotdog. They sell Pop Shoppe pop rather than national brands and make amazing fruit smoothies in season from local fruit and vegetables. You can get the full Buddha Dog story at www.buddhafoodha.com .
I have not been a big promoter of organic food but I have discovered that local food doesn't necessarily mean organic food. It is like the square versus rectangle, all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares. What most people don't realize is that conventional locally produced food has a smaller environmental footprint than organic food grown in the states and trucked in. If you want to preserve the rural nature of Midwestern Ontario, buy local food. Demand it at your grocery store and walk past the American strawberries and only eat local. Buy Ontario-grown if not local, and Canadian above American, Mexican or anywhere else in the world. Shop at the farmgate whenever possible and also support your local farmers market. If you want to support local crop farmers use ethanol blend gasoline. Buy bio-diesels additives.
You also support Canadian crop growers when you buy soymilk or tofu and all of the meat products produced locally. Examine your dairy milk, cheese and ice creams -if it doesn't have the blue cow it could be made with butter oil from the States and New Zealand. Goat milk and goat milk cheese, yogurt and ice cream are usually made from Canadian goat milk but you might want to check with the Ontario Dairy Goat Co-operative in Teeswater to be sure. Gay Lea products not only are made from Ontario Milk, it is also a cooperative that pays the members a share of the profits, unlike Saputo Kraft or Parmalat where profits go out of the country. Finally, watch the video at www.hellmanns.ca, click on the real food logo or http://www.eatrealeatlocal.ca and eat Hellmann's mayonnaise guilt free.( I am not being paid to say this)
Hellman’s Mayonnaise contains 650mg ALA per serving, which is 50% Daily Value for Omega 3 ALA, and NO TRANS FAT which is the only fat you need to worry about. Hellmann's is made with 100% Canadian eggs, a dash of Canadian vinegar and a lot of pure Canadian canola oil…. much of which, this year, is grown in Bruce and Grey counties.
Please write me about your favorite abattoir or local food restaurant that isn't in this list so I can write about them here or on my blog at www.ontarioagriculturematters.blogspot.com Send me your emails to agriculturematters@scsinternet.com.
Pig farmers will have to examine these latest government handouts and determine if the glass is half empty or half full. I would like to thumb my nose at all government programs. They are all made up of half measures and ad hoc vote buying, All farmers should look instead to the only viable long-term solution to our perpetual farming crisis; local food.
So why will local food be better than waiting for Loblaws to buy Ontario Beef instead of American or, if you are really lucky, western Canadian beef? Well, let’s look at some success stories. West Grey Premium Beef has been featured in this magazine but suffice it to say they you can now buy beef that is purchased locally and featured at the best local restaurants; they proudly display it in signs in their menus or displayed in the windows. Green’s Meats in Wingham is another success story, as are The Beefway in Kincardine, Elora Road Meats, and Metzgers in Hensall. West Grey and Metzger’s are slightly different to many in the list, in that they are federally licensed, so they can sell their products more easily to the rest of Canada or even to Loblaw’s. Loblaw’s, who are back on the airwaves claiming that, in season, they use 40 percent local produce (as if this wasn't bad enough for being so low ... ) put an artificial barrier on Ontario meat by requiring federal inspection. But West Grey Meats don't lose any sleep waiting for Galen Weston to call, instead they out-sell him on quality and consistency and gradually educate the restaurant owner that quality has a price but it also has a reward...loyal customers that will tell their friends - the cheapest advertising.
Local food success story number two -Buddha Dog Restaurants. Buddha Dog will gladly "make you one with everything" at their stores in Picton, Toronto or now in Collingwood. Not only is the food heavenly, but it is also supporting a vast array of local food producers. The store in Picton (which I am more familiar with) has a huge map of the county with every producer that provides them with food ingredients. They range from the Caribbean-born woman who only makes jerk sauce to the local abattoir that makes these pepperette-sized hotdogs. They have many wineries on this huge map of the county not because they are licensed but because they use local wine in some of their sauces. Buddha dog employees directly or indirectly tell the local food story with every hotdog. They sell Pop Shoppe pop rather than national brands and make amazing fruit smoothies in season from local fruit and vegetables. You can get the full Buddha Dog story at www.buddhafoodha.com .
I have not been a big promoter of organic food but I have discovered that local food doesn't necessarily mean organic food. It is like the square versus rectangle, all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares. What most people don't realize is that conventional locally produced food has a smaller environmental footprint than organic food grown in the states and trucked in. If you want to preserve the rural nature of Midwestern Ontario, buy local food. Demand it at your grocery store and walk past the American strawberries and only eat local. Buy Ontario-grown if not local, and Canadian above American, Mexican or anywhere else in the world. Shop at the farmgate whenever possible and also support your local farmers market. If you want to support local crop farmers use ethanol blend gasoline. Buy bio-diesels additives.
You also support Canadian crop growers when you buy soymilk or tofu and all of the meat products produced locally. Examine your dairy milk, cheese and ice creams -if it doesn't have the blue cow it could be made with butter oil from the States and New Zealand. Goat milk and goat milk cheese, yogurt and ice cream are usually made from Canadian goat milk but you might want to check with the Ontario Dairy Goat Co-operative in Teeswater to be sure. Gay Lea products not only are made from Ontario Milk, it is also a cooperative that pays the members a share of the profits, unlike Saputo Kraft or Parmalat where profits go out of the country. Finally, watch the video at www.hellmanns.ca, click on the real food logo or http://www.eatrealeatlocal.ca and eat Hellmann's mayonnaise guilt free.( I am not being paid to say this)
Hellman’s Mayonnaise contains 650mg ALA per serving, which is 50% Daily Value for Omega 3 ALA, and NO TRANS FAT which is the only fat you need to worry about. Hellmann's is made with 100% Canadian eggs, a dash of Canadian vinegar and a lot of pure Canadian canola oil…. much of which, this year, is grown in Bruce and Grey counties.
Please write me about your favorite abattoir or local food restaurant that isn't in this list so I can write about them here or on my blog at www.ontarioagriculturematters.blogspot.com Send me your emails to agriculturematters@scsinternet.com.
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