OPINION

Frost clock ticking on continent's field crops

The frost clock is ticking on several of Canada's major field crops. When will it freeze and how hard? - Questions soon to be answered from the Prairies to Ontario.
This summer doesn't yet compare with the lost summer of 1992, but recent data put growing heat units at 137 below normal in Ontario; by comparison, 1991 and 1995 were above normal. Lately, rainfall in the eastern Corn Belt has been sporadic at best, consistent with a La Niņa effect as equatorial water temperatures remain slightly below normal.
In 1992, Ontario had the coldest July in 100 years. July, 1996, was no barn burner when it came to speeding along crop development.
On the Prairies, spring seeding was late, with 24 per cent more spring wheat planted in Saskatchewan. Canola acreage dropped by 34 per cent. Crop development is two weeks behind normal in some areas. Only 13 per cent of Saskatchewan's wheat crop was at dough stage on July 31, compared with a five-year average of 33 per cent. The earliest date for a potential killer frost on the Prairies is Sept. 3. Alberta is also reporting crops behind normal one to two weeks.
The Ontario Corn Producers Association (OCPA) recently estimated a two-to-one chance that an early frost will result in larger-than-normal amounts of Grade Five and sample grain due to the tremendous amount of late-planted corn this year. OCPA has been working with crop insurance personnel to develop a pricing mechanism to cushion growers from this possibility. Nothing seems to develop in this area without a crisis situation.
Many growers have planted soybeans rather than edible beans as they can withstand frost better. White bean acreage dropped to 80,000 acres from 115,000. Statistics Canada estimates soybean acreage at 1.95 million, up from 1.82 million last year. To date, few grain crops have come off with the expected good yields farmers earlier thought possible. Rye had excellent yields, with heads half-full to empty. Wheat turned into a surprise as fusarium hurt yields and quality in some areas. The U.S. has been hit with fusarium as well as with kernel bunt disease, which the Chinese have exploited to try to depress world wheat prices.
The Canadian Wheat Board's director of weather and crop surveillance feels "there is a significant frost danger and that's the red flag we're raising now", according to the Globe and Mail.
A Pro Farmer crop tour found lower-than-expected soybean pod numbers in parts of the eastern Corn Belt.
With one eye on the jet stream and the other on the electronic commodity price screen this year, marketing correctly has seldom been as challenging.
Hugh Zimmer grows tobacco and corn in Oxford county.

Agriculture needs partners

Someone recently asked me, "Who is providing leadership to agriculture?" I do not think that it was a rhetorical question. With no disrespect intended for those in positions of leadership today, the grassroots is feeling a vacuum in leadership, resulting in a sense of directionlessness and frustration.
Where are the obvious sources of leadership? Traditionally, one might think of Queen's Park or Parliament, but increasingly governments are reverting to more traditional models of "less government". Farmers consider themselves to be fiercely independent and have usually preferred self-governance over direction from government. Governments' withdrawal from micro-management certainly fits with our traditional values, and with today's "bottom up" rather than "top down" leadership models. Only it's just so much easier to leave the leading to someone else. After a full day in the fields, it's not easy to start thinking industrial strategy. It's not surprising that we still tend to tie ourselves to the word that comes down from government.
It is time that leadership came from agriculture. And it's time that we took a good look at our governance structure. Most if not all commodity groups are led by boards composed entirely of producers in the specific sector. Looking outside to industry, however, there are few, if any, boards composed entirely of insiders. Indeed, good governance suggests that a variety of viewpoints, skills and experience are required on corporate and public sector boards. School boards are not composed entirely of teachers, hospital boards of doctors, corporate boards of employees, and yet by legislation the supply-managed boards are composed entirely of producers of the specific commodity. There is strength in diversity and farmers are not using it.
This insularity is leading to tunnel vision. Is this how the industry wishes to be led? I doubt it. The industry wants to be directed with confidence, mission, bold vision and leadership. Agriculture needs an infusion of energy and direction. It's time we opened up our boards to consumers, processors, educators, health care professionals and other partners.
Now, before the naysayers say it can't be done, take and minute and look at some success stories. Agriculture in the Classroom developed as a partnership between agriculture and education, professional and volunteer. Few would question its success in bringing first-rate agricultural education to the urban child. At another level, look at the partnership between the auto-makers and their suppliers. Auto part maker Magna International's success is partly a result of forging a close working relationship with customers, the auto-makers, and meeting their needs. It's time that commodity producers sat down with their customers and discussed the challenges and how they can successfully meet them together.
Leadership involves risk-taking. It involves trust. It's time that farmers looked to successful industry for models. In Ontario and Canada we have a lot going for us - our soils, climate, education, skills, proximity to market. We also have challenges - the weather, foreign competition, trade rules, government policy. It's time that we stopped looking backwards, stopped finding every reason in the book why it can't be done and started embracing every reason why it can be done.
Virginia McLaughlin farms in York Region.

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Retail rebate. Ontario farmers can claim refunds of the provincial sales tax they pay on materials bought to build or modernize farm buildings. But act now, this is a time-limited government offering. The temporary retail sales tax rebate has been established for the commercial farmers who buy materials used exclusively for farming purposes. The Ontario government will rebate the retail sales tax paid on the purchase of building materials and on the cost of building qualified farm structures purchased between May 8, 1996 and Mar. 31, 1997. According to government officials $20 million has been set for the tax relief fund. Farmers will have to submit proof that they purchased building materials or have been billed for work performed under the terms of a written contract between the two dates. Commercial farmers who enter into a written contract for materials to be supplied and installed into a structure used exclusively for farming purposes will also be eligible, as long as the work is completed within the allotted time. The sales tax rebate applies to building materials, such as, wood, nails, and paint. But there are stipulations farmers should be aware of. Certain charges do not qualify and there are no rebates for purchasing, leasing, or acquiring an existing structure. Copies of a program information sheet, as well as the general refund application form, can be obtained from your local Retail Sales Tax office or the Ministry of Finance at 1-800-263-7965. All rebate applications must be received by the Ministry of Finance's Retail Sales Tax Branch on or before Dec. 31, 1997.

Solid apple market. Although Ontario apple growers won't be eating much apple pie this fall, growers say that the market will still be good. The number of apples on the trees this year is down compared to last year's season, says Gary Ireland, variety apple grower in Simcoe. Growers all over Ontario have dealt with more scabbing, insect and frost damage this year than they have in the past. Along with the low volume, growers are experiencing lower quality. But it's not necessarily bad news. Lower numbers could help increase size, lower harvest costs and improve returns, says Ireland. "Even though there won't be as many apples, the apples on the trees will be larger because the tree has more nutrients to put into those apples," says Ireland. Ireland foresees a good market this year because there are small apple crops all around the growing belt. Ultimately, "we have to wait and see what happens in Washington first," says Ireland. "We've heard Washington doesn't have huge crop, but a very manageable one." - SW

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Despite the media uproar, the number of British cows infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), otherwise known as Mad Cow Disease, has declined dramatically as a result of a 1989 ban on the use of sheep offal in rendered feeds. The source of BSE is thought to be offal from sheep infected with scrapie, a nervous disorder. But what is the source of scrapie?
Despite the fact that scrapie has infected sheep in Europe for centuries, the source of the disease has never been determined - until now. The New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities and the University of Iceland have found evidence that hay mites may be the disease carriers.
Six different species of mites were collected from scrapie-plagued Icelandic farms, Discover magazine reports. Researchers injected ground-up mites into the brains and abdomens of white mice. After a year, 20 per cent of the mice developed scrapie symptoms - a wobbly walk, difficulty grasping and a rigid tail.
Antibody tests confirmed the presence of prions - Mad Cow Disease is believed to create these brain-destroying proteins - in the brains of the mice.
If sheep do get scrapie from ingesting mite-infested hay, a simple way to control the disease is to wrap bales of hay in plastic. The mites, researchers say, are very sensitive to temperature and humidity.

Will corn and soybean prices get fatter if the population gets thinner?
Only time will tell if a new fat supplement made of fibre from the hulls of corn, soybeans and oats will trim calories in everything from chocolate to cheese.
Z-trim, developed by U.S. Agriculture Department researcher George Inglett, is the latest fat substitute. Olestra, the first zero-calorie fat substitute, has fallen out of favour after side effects, including diarrhea and cramps were reported.
Inglett says Z-trim will not make consumers sick because its ingredients are generally considered safe. The United States Food and Drug Administration will begin tests on the product later this year.
Inglett says the product could be on store shelves next year.

Sources close to the U.S. Department of Justice inquiry into alleged price fixing and shareholder fraud at Illinois-based grain company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) say two ADM senior executives were notified by mail during the week of August 4 they would be indicted by a federal grand jury in September. The two executives, reported to be Michael D. Andreas, ADM vice president and son of ADM chief Dwayne O. Andreas, and Terrance S. Wilson, head of ADM's corn processing division, will face charges that they participated in a scheme to fix production levels and prices in the worldwide lysine market. Separate sources claim the Department of Justice has granted immunity against prosecution to two executives of ADM lysine competitors who also participated in the price-fixing scheme. One of the two is whispered to be an executive with a Japanese lysine maker who, like Andreas and Wilson, was taped by ADM insider Mark Whitacre and the FBI, openly discussing how to raise the price and divvy up the global lysine market.
On Aug. 14, the Chicago Tribune reported that Justice and ADM officials were negotiating a deal whereby ADM would be fined US$400 million for its corporate role in the lysine shenanigans.
The key to the ADM offer is what it asks in return for the money: no criminal prosecution of Michael Andreas and Terry Wilson.
Further details are coming to light. The FBI has tape recordings of ADM executives:
- Admitting they paid employees of competitors to deliver industrial technology to ADM;
- Dickering, once the market collusion in the lysine market was in place, on what prices to charge to big lysine users - and key ADM clients - Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms. One senior ADM executive resolved the question by reportedly stating - on tape - "(Expletive) Tyson. They have more money than us. (Expletive) Perdue. Raise it 20 cents." Lysine prices, report two sources, leapt 20 cents.
While ADM alleges company mole Mark Whitacre "stole" US$6.5 million, Whitacre has claimed publicly for a year the money was given to him - often by Michael Andreas - as performance bonuses. Says the source: logic suggests the FBI would inquire whether other ADM executives received the same type of financial windfalls. The FBI is already said to be tracing "many" offshore accounts of ADM executives.
Where does all this leave ADM? In big, big trouble.