“Overall, I think one of the bright spots in a really dark economic situation in the province is our agriculture and agri-food sector,” Rob Roach said. “It’s still producing. It’s still providing an essential service. It hasn’t closed down in the way a lot of businesses have.”

And as Alberta works to rebuild its economy after “one of the worst (recessions) we’ve seen in recent memory,” agriculture could play an important role in those efforts.

“Unlike some other industries, the disruption in agriculture will be less severe,” said Roach. “The industry doesn’t have to restart. It doesn’t have to worry about whether there are still going to be buyers for our products. Agriculture will be spared some of those challenges.”

But there could be challenges, he added. Already, some countries are implementing protectionist policies that could limit or block trade.

“Anxiety is high and they may want to set inward-looking policies as a knee-jerk reaction,” said Roach. “The sector will have to work against that to some degree.”

However, the already-strong reputation of Canada’s agriculture industry may be enhanced.

“I think it’s a real chance for Alberta and the Canadian agricultural system to show the world that we are a high-quality reliable supplier of food to the world,” he said. “Alberta has been helping to feed the world for decades and decades, so this is a real opportunity for us to build on that post-pandemic.

“I think there’s a really bright future ahead.”

— Jennifer Blair reports for Alberta Farmer from Sylvan Lake.

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“All of the members of the Western Grain Elevator Association are doing everything in their power to keep the grain supply chain functioning” during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Wade Sobkowich said Tuesday.

“That means we’ll continue to take farmer deliveries, but there will be some differences when the farmer delivers to the country elevators in how he or she interacts with the elevator staff.”

When you arrive at the elevator to deliver grain, you may be asked to stay inside your vehicle if you’re feeling ill or if you’ve been in contact with someone who is sick. Some elevators might ask you to stay inside your vehicle, regardless of how you’re feeling.

Either way, farmers should avoid entering the receiving office, said Sobkowich. Many elevators are operating with a skeleton crew right now and others have put procedures in place to ensure workers maintain the proper distance from each other.

“That keeps employees at safe distances from each other, and it also allows workers to be kept in the wings in case somebody falls ill and they need to be replaced by another worker who is trained and skilled at that particular function,” he said.

Any load receipts, he said, would be brought out to the truck.

“Those types of procedures are being implemented throughout the grain supply chain in order to keep people safe and to keep grain flowing,” said Sobkowich, adding each elevator’s protocols might differ slightly.

“Each company is taking a look at it and trying to implement procedures, but it’s fluid. It’s evolving over time as we learn more and as circumstances change.”

Parrish and Heimbecker, for example, said last week it would be “limiting the amount of customers at our location(s)” and asking farmers making deliveries to remain in their trucks wherever possible. Effective Monday it added a “locked-door policy” for its elevator offices.

The company’s locations are still operating, but grain cheques are now being put in the mail daily and farmers visiting P+H locations are now asked to call ahead to discuss methods to deliver grain, make payments or pick up or drop off seed or inputs.

Cargill’s Prairie grain elevators and ag retail sites are still open, but the offices at those sites are closed to walk-in traffic and farmers are asked to call ahead to co-ordinate deliveries and pickups.

Paterson Grain elevators are also still open but staff are “eliminating all but the most critical face-to-face meetings with customers,” CEO Andrew Paterson said on the company’s website.

Changes in company policy may cause delays when delivering grain, but so far things are going smoothly, Sobkowich said.

“I haven’t heard of any delays yet,” he said. “In the month of March, we’ve been moving a lot of grain trying to recover from the blockades, but that’s not to say there haven’t been delays when it comes to producer deliveries.”

That could change if supply chain workers are forced to stay at home, he added.

“If there is a place where the grain supply chain is going to start to show delays, it’s going to be workers refusing to come to work,” he said.

“The government has been making it known that it wants people to stay at home — but it needs to be clear that the grain supply chain is critical. It’s very important that the language coming out of the provincial governments and the federal government be clear that, if grain is essential, these workers need to work with these new safety protocols that are being implemented.

“We’re operating on the basis that we are essential and that, when the government tells the people to stay at home, they’re not talking about critical people in the supply chain.”

— Jennifer Blair reports for Alberta Farmer from Sylvan Lake. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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“Not if we can help it,” Fertilizer Canada CEO Garth Whyte said Thursday.”We’ve weathered all the rail system disruptions that we had over the last six months, and now, with COVID-19, we’re doing OK.

“We’ve put contingency plans in at our manufacturing plants, at our storage terminals, and our retail outlets across the country to make sure that employees are protected and that farmers get the fertilizer they need.

“Stocks are pretty well in position, and once farmers start up in a couple weeks, we should be OK.”

Fertilizer Canada is working closely with provincial and federal governments, as well as national ag organizations, to ensure COVID-19 safety measures don’t have “unintended consequences” on fertilizer distribution.

“We’ve implored government to not forget about us,” Whyte said. “We’ve really been pushing that fertilizer is an essential commodity that’s got to get to our farmers.”

“A lot of the directions around COVID-19 have been from an urban point of view, but we’re there to remind them that we need to make sure that we don’t blindside the agriculture industry with any changes.”

The federal government announced Wednesday that trade between Canada and the U.S. would remain mostly uninterrupted despite closing the border to non-essential traffic.

But the real concern right now is potential trucker shortages across North America, Whyte said, adding that trucking regulations may need to change to reflect the current emergency situation.

“They may have to work longer hours, so they shouldn’t be impeded by hours-of-work legislation,” he said. “It’s got to be safe and secure, of course, but if it is, then let’s make sure we’re doing everything possible to get fertilizer to the growers when they need it.”

While the Canadian Trucking Alliance isn’t yet experiencing problems, Fertilizer Canada will be monitoring the situation.

“We’re ramped up, but (seeding) is not going to happen for a couple more weeks, so we’re monitoring and preparing now.”

So far, the response from governments has been “overwhelmingly supportive,” he added.

“They basically understand the importance of agriculture and agribusiness and their inputs as a major part of their COVID-19 contingency planning,” said Whyte.

“It’s critical that we have a successful planting season this spring that hopefully leads to good yields at harvest this fall. If we have a strong agriculture sector, it can play a major role in Canada’s economy, especially with everything going on.

“As we try to get out of this pandemic and potential recession, one of the shining lights will hopefully be agriculture.”

— Jennifer Blair reports for Alberta Farmer from Red Deer.

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“Our members are committed to minimizing disruptions to the Canadian fuel supply as a result of the pandemic response,” Canadian Fuels Association spokesperson Jason Vaillant said in an email.

“Our members are working tirelessly to maintain operations while keeping our employees and communities safe through this challenging time.”

Association members have all activated their existing business continuity plans in response to the pandemic.

Federated Co-operatives, now in the midst of a labour lockout as well as pandemic protocols at its Regina fuel refinery, said Wednesday its on-site work camp “will continue to ensure that the temporary operations personnel on site are isolated” and not travelling in and out of the facility.

FCL on Tuesday also announced it would defer the refinery’s spring turnaround until at least May 15. The turnaround “typically sees an influx of hundreds of additional workers on site.”

The Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) is part of Saskatchewan’s critical infrastructure network, FCL said, and “wants to assure residents that the refinery will continue to produce fuel during this time.”

FCL also said March 6 it had already launched early spring delivery of fuel to Prairie farmers. Ron Healey, the co-op’s vice-president of ag and consumer business, said “we have positioned fuel to be as close to our farm customers as possible.”

Alberta’s UFA, one of Canada’s largest distributors of fuel for the agriculture industry, has increased cleaning in all of its stores and facilities. And while the co-operative has seen increased demand for products such as cleaning supplies and face masks, fuel supplies so far seem unaffected.

But that could change, Vaillant added.

“This is a very dynamic situation, and we will continue to monitor and respond accordingly,” he said.

“We are part of Canada’s critical infrastructure, and we will continue to work collaboratively with federal and provincial governments to maintain the operation of refineries, terminals, and the fuel supply chain.

“Our focus remains on continuing to provide secure and reliable access to transportation fuels for Canadians.”

— Jennifer Blair reports for Alberta Farmer from Red Deer. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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“This is hitting us all very hard. Frontline responders are routinely called out to sad situations, but things are always harder when there’s children involved,” said Sgt. Mike Numan of the Rocky Mountain House RCMP.

Catie Bott, age 13, and her twin sisters Dara and Jana, both 11, were playing on a grain truck being loaded at their farm near Withrow, about 60 km west of Red Deer, when they became buried in canola, Numan said.

Details of exactly what happened weren’t released, but flowing grain is extremely dangerous because it exerts a “tremendous pull,” according to the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association. A person can become engulfed and rendered helpless in as few as three seconds and fully buried in 20 seconds or less.

“Adults at the farm were able to free the children from the grain and immediately began CPR,” said Numan. “A short time later, the emergency medical services personnel arrived and continued CPR.

“Despite their efforts, they were not successful in reviving the 13-year-old and her 11-year-old sister, who both died at the scene. Their 11-year-old sister was taken to the hospital in Edmonton via STARS air ambulance, and succumbed to her injuries at 3:18 this morning.”

The Bott family — father Roger, mother Bonita, and surviving son Caleb — was too distressed to speak following the accident, but said in a statement they have no regrets about raising their children on the farm.

“Our kids died living life on the farm. It is a family farm, and we do not regret raising and involving our kids on our farm. It was our life,” said the Bott family’s statement.

Numan choked back tears as he read the statement.

“The RCMP expresses its deepest condolences to the family and the local community, and is committed to providing them with the victim services support they may require in the aftermath of these sudden deaths,” he said.

Provincial Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier also expressed condolences to the family.

“My thoughts are with the family of the three girls who died in the Hamlet of Withrow and my heart aches for them today. As a father myself, I believe no parent should have to bear the loss of a child,” he said in a statement.

“I join Albertans in expressing grief and sympathy for the parents of these girls as they go through this unimaginable sorrow.”

A crisis management team is at the elementary school in nearby Condor — which the girls attended up until two years ago — offering grief counselling to students and staff during this “very confusing and difficult time,” Wildrose School Division superintendent Brad Volkman said.

“This, of course, is a very sad time for the staff, the students, the families, and the community connected with Condor School,” said Volkman, adding the family remained “very much connected” to the school.

“In a small, tight-knit community like Condor, they are known well by our staff and our students. The family still supported the school in tremendous ways, taking part in attending Christmas concerts and bringing baking for the staff and students.

“They will be sorely missed.”

— Jennifer Blair is a reporter for Alberta Farmer Express at Red Deer, Alta. Follow her at @FairfieldJen on Twitter.

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A University of Manitoba study found only 17 per cent of Canadian farmers read their whole grain contracts — and that’s a mistake, says a grain industry expert.

“For every grain buyer out there, the terms can vary substantially,” said Janelle Whitley, manager of policy development for the Canadian Canola Growers Association.

“There isn’t just one company offering the same thing across the board. There’s a lot of variability.”

Most farmers are just too quick to sign a contract without understanding what it means, she said.

“Your signature essentially means that you have read and understand it, and once you sign, it’s very difficult to back out or cancel a contract. It is a legal, binding document, and you are locked into it.”

So what should you look for?

That’s the question Whitley’s association tried to answer during a review of grain contracts it undertook last year.

The first potential pitfall is that the document you’ve been handed to sign may not be the entire contract.

“Often there are two parts to the contract,” said Whitley, adding the second part typically lists with terms and conditions.

“You see language such as, ‘This contract incorporates the terms that are available on request.’ There may be another part of your contract that you’re not seeing when you go in and sign it.”

Delivery terms were another frustration for farmers.

“This is not so much an issue this year, but last year with the rail transportation issues, delivery was a huge problem, and there were lots of complaints,” she said, adding delivery terms “vary substantially” between grain companies.

In some cases, contracts give grain companies the right to change delivery location, so producers need to be prepared for that by asking the right questions.

“You might want to ask questions like, ‘How much notice am I going to get if I change locations? How far am I going to have to go? Can I get some compensation for that if I have to haul to a different location?’”

But companies being able to extend the delivery period is the “most common frustration that we hear,” said Whitley.

“Almost every single grain company does have the right to extend the delivery period,” she said.

“When you sign the first page of your contract, you’ll have a delivery month normally, and in the fine print on the back of the page, the contract will say that the buyer has the right to extend the delivery period if the grain cannot be accepted within the original period.

“There’s a lot of variability out there, right from 30 days extension to 180 days extension. That’s quite different in terms of how you manage your time and how you manage your storage.”

Last August, the federal government ruled grain companies must pay farmers to store their grain as protection against unaccepted grain deliveries.

“Every grain company has to offer storage or receive a penalty if they do not accept your grain within the original or extended delivery period,” said Whitley, adding the provision only applies to companies licensed under the Canadian Grain Commission.

“If you happen to have a contract where it doesn’t offer storage payments, I would recommend contacting the Canadian Grain Commission.”

Producers must negotiate their own storage payment, however.

“The way the bill was written was to allow flexibility in terms of being able to negotiate what works best for you, but also flexibility for some of the commercial buyers to be able to manage their storage.”

But, again, you won’t be able to raise these types of matters if you haven’t read that contract.

“The devil’s in the details,” said Whitley. “It is important for you to read your contract from start to finish.”

If you ask for changes and the grain company rep agrees, then put it in writing, she added.

So why is someone’s word not good enough? That’s in the contract, too.

“Every single grain contract out there contains language that says the company is not bound by anything their representative says,” said Whitley.

“If your elevator manager or the person you’re dealing with on the phone offers you special delivery terms, get it in writing, because if there’s a conflict, they’re not bound by what is said on the ground.”

Jennifer Blair is a reporter with the Alberta Farmer Express

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“Even though we do have some connections with feed now, biosecurity is still our best tool in preventing the spread of PED,” said Dr. Julia Keenliside, veterinary epidemiologist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Edmonton.

The province is reopening the animal health biosecurity programs that are part of Growing Forward 2. The next round of funding was set to start April 1, but has been opened earlier; the cap for funding has now also been raised to $150,000, up from $30,000.

“Because PED is here to stay in North America, we have to make long-term changes to our biosecurity,” said Keenliside.

“This will allow producers to get more quickly onto the application process and start improving their biosecurity on the farm.”

The first case of PED in Canada was found in Ontario on Jan. 22, and the virus has since been confirmed on 27 farms — 24 in Ontario and one each in Manitoba, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. Traceability has played a critical role in finding the source of the virus in these cases — and in preventing future ones, said Keenliside.

In the first reported case in Manitoba, a trailer with Alberta hogs on it had unloaded at the same place as a trailer from the infected farm several days before the disease was confirmed on the farm.

“The risk of exposure was probably pretty small,” Keenliside said. “But we do know that pigs — especially finisher pigs — can be infected before they show clinical signs.”

Manitoba agriculture officials contacted their Alberta counterparts “quite quickly” to let them know of the risk. AARD tracked the trailer and learned it had been sanitized prior to visiting other farms.

“Even though the risk was low, we did contact those farms, as well as the truck wash and the driver, to alert them to the situation.”

The “key in this process” was the premises identification program, which asks that producers register their livestock operations in order to track the location of animals during a disease outbreak, said Keenliside.

“We were able to use that system to track producers quickly and advise them that a trailer that had been infected had been to their farm,” she said.

“The premises identification program is one of our most important tools in fighting PED.”

But the ability of first-responders to access program information “can be hampered” because of an out-of-date database.

“Producers need to make sure their information is up to date because farms change and ownership changes rapidly,” said Keenliside.

“Having this information will help us do the tracebacks.”

The application form for on-farm biosecurity funding is available online. Producers can apply online or by phoning one of the numbers on page 2 of the form.

— Jennifer Blair is a reporter for Alberta Farmer Express at Red Deer.

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“It had collapsed in the middle of the night,” said Munro, an Innisfail-area grain farmer.

Since early December, more than a dozen barns have collapsed in central Alberta, including one in Ponoka that killed more than 30 cattle. A mix of record-high snowfalls and structural issues is believed to be the cause of the collapses.

Munro was “concerned” about the 33-year-old building, which was similar in design to a neighbour’s dairy barn that had started sagging under the heavy snow load in mid-December. Munro estimates there was around 18 inches of snow on the roof at the time of its collapse.

“Snow never stayed up on that roof ever before,” he said. “It was a tin roof with a fair slope to it, and snow always slid off.”

But because of its size, “it was almost impossible to get the snow off it. (Central Alberta farmers) are going to have to figure out how to get the snow off our roofs,” said Munro, who has been busy removing snow from his house and other outbuildings since the collapse.

Munro had two combines, two tractors, a swather, and a truck in the building, which he says is now “toast.”

“It’s about $120,000 to replace the building,” he said.

And though the building is on his insurance policy, the collapse isn’t covered.

“It caught me by surprise,” he said. “I thought when we were insuring it, we were insuring it for everything.”

That’s a common misconception, said Gord Cowan, president of Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta.

“Each company has different wording (for their insurance coverage), and each wording deals with collapse differently,” Cowan said. “We urge all insureds to make sure they’re discussing with their broker the specific coverage that they’re buying.”

Most of the recent cases involve older buildings that don’t meet current building code requirements, he said.

“We’re seeing buildings where the failures are structural in nature,” said Cowan. “Rafters are too far apart, and they’re simply not capable of handling the load.”

Even if a building that has collapsed is listed on an insurance policy, a claim may be denied if it isn’t built to current standards.

“It’s important, as a farmer or rancher, to make sure we’re doing our due diligence and making sure our buildings are up to code,” said Cowan.

Producers who are worried about the snow load should watch for sagging and other signs of distress in their structures.

“Generally speaking, a building will start to show some signs of collapse ahead of time,” said Cowan, who urged producers to call their insurance companies at the first sign of any problems. That advice comes too late to help Munro, who may not be able to afford to rebuild the shed without insurance.

“We really don’t know where we’re headed in the grain markets,” he said. “I wouldn’t blame anybody for being a little cautious at this point in time.”

— Jennifer Blair is a reporter for Alberta Farmer Express at Red Deer, Alta.

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“We need to think as an industry, not just as sector components,” said marketing specialist Kim McConnell, one of a trio of respected industry veterans who have spent the past year consulting players in the sector from across the country.

McConnell, along with Alberta cattlemen David Andrews and John Kolk, was asked to undertake the initiative in the wake of a stinging critique by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, which slammed the Canadian beef sector for being complacent and lacking a strategy to succeed.

The institute highlighted a number of troubling issues, including that in 2011, Canada received $3.74 for each kilogram of beef it sold in the U.S., while Americans sold us their beef, often from Canadian-raised cattle, at an average of $6.55 a kilogram. It also found American beef exports, on a value basis, have increased six times faster than Canadian ones since 2005.

The report from the Straw Man Beef Industry Initiative, released Dec. 30, calls for the creation of a new beef council and a step-by-step “results-based” strategy to make the industry more profitable, grow the national herd, and make Canadian beef the “preferred” choice at home and abroad.

BIXS 2.0

Among the recommendations are a call for more checkoff dollars for marketing and research, and creating a “BIXS 2.0” that would drive improvements in beef quality and profitability. But the key to the whole effort will be how well industry leaders work together, said McConnell.

The report recommends creating a “Council of Beef Leaders,” with its members capable of ensuring their “individual sector and association interests are parked at the door.” The group would meet twice a year and the focus would be on driving change, not creating yet another association, said McConnell.

“We do not need another organization in this industry, but (we need an) industry forum where senior representatives from all sectors of this supply chain can meet and share insights and ideas and then work together to solve them,” he said. “This is a case of where the sum is greater than the parts.”

But whether the industry sectors will be able to bring down their “many silos” to collaborate remains to be seen, he added.

“This is an industry that takes great pride in its independence, and working collectively on those areas that will advance the whole industry is going to be a challenge,” said McConnell.

The call to create BIXS 2.0 (short for Beef InfoXchange System) is another key recommendation. It would “collect, input and store all data (from genetics to production to carcass)” with the goal of improving both beef quality and profitability. Although this type of data is routinely shared between packers and feedlots, individual producers often don’t know how well their cattle rate unless they’re getting that information from a feeder to whom they regularly sell.

The current version of BIXS needs to be revamped by March and has to meet the needs of all users, the report says.

“It is imperative that the common repository be operational, efficient and sustainable,” it states.

The report calls on government to help fund and promote BIXS 2.0, saying the system needs to cover two million calves annually. It should also include information on production protocols, notably antibiotic use, and cattle genetics.

Increased national levy

To fund promotion of the system and to ramp up beef marketing, the report proposes several possible funding models, including an increase of the national levy from the current $1 per head at time of sale to up to $5. It also says a packer checkoff should be considered, but doesn’t suggest a figure.

Ultimately, it will be up to industry leaders to determine how they wish to proceed with the recommendations.

“We offered some thoughts on what should be in the plan, but the industry’s the one that needs to put that in place,” said McConnell.

The report recommends the new leaders council be led by an “independent” chair and have two reps each from the Canadian Beef Breeds Council, Canada Beef Inc., the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, and the National Cattle Feeders Association. As well, it recommends there be two youth reps (the president of the Young Cattlemen’s Council and one other) and a “senior representative” from the packing industry.

Colin Jeffares, who recently retired as Alberta’s assistant deputy minister of agriculture, has been retained to convene the first meeting of the leaders council.

— Jennifer Blair is a reporter at Red Deer and Glenn Cheater is an editor-at-large in Edmonton for Alberta Farmer Express.

Related stories:
Co-operation key to improving Canadian beef industry (blog), Dec. 31, 2013
BIXS reboot expected to ease access to carcass data, Aug. 28, 2013

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In the midst of an appeal at the World Trade Organization to quash COOL in the United States, Ritz has been working to gain supporters in the U.S. in an effort to halt non-science-based trade practices that could have far-reaching implications for Canadian agriculture.

“COOL has the potential to really send shockwaves through our industry, right back into the feed grain sector. It certainly creates a tremendous disparity on our livestock sector,” Ritz said during a recent interview at the Agri-Trade event here.

And the potential economic impact of COOL continues to climb. “We’re seeing that number grow to some 10 cents a pound in cattle, and the pork number is almost doubling,” Ritz said.

“It’s to the point where, like a good investment portfolio, you have to have more than one buyer, and that’s what we’re seeking to do with the agreement in the European Union and working in the Pacific Rim to get more access there, so we’re not just dependent on the U.S. market.”

Though the U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner, Ritz says the relationship has become one-sided. “At the same time the Americans talk a good deal on the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and expanding trade, they do everything within their power to make it on their terms only. That’s not good trade policy.”

As with other non-science-based trade barriers, Ritz sees COOL as “a political solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.” Consumers in the U.S. are well versed in the similarities between our science-based food safety approach and the way we raise our cattle, he said.

“There’s a number of times those animals can and do cross the border back and forth as they’re finished and end up on someone’s dinner table. There isn’t the concern that COOL tends to try to address.”

U.S. meetings

As Canadian, Mexican and U.S. meat sectors work on the appeal, Ritz has been meeting with state senators and congressmen to reinforce to those who are sitting on the fence that “it’s not comfortable there.”

In the six months since the injunction to stop the implementation of COOL failed, about 100 American state-level senators have signed on to support the appeal. “There’s been a huge ground shift down there,” he said.

The sudden change in attitudes may be in response to the promise of retaliatory measures against the U.S. if they proceed with implementing COOL. In June, Canada released a long list of items imported by the U.S. that may be targeted, including fresh meat, processed foods and other agricultural products.

“Our list is concerning to a lot of state-level senators and congressmen, and that’s intentionally why it’s done,” Ritz said. “It’s to give as comprehensive a list as possible to show them that there will be harm that goes back to the U.S., as well as a higher price to the consumers of pork and beef products in the U.S.”

Non-science-based trade barriers are a growing concern in Canada’s agriculture industry, according to the minister. “They’re far more hurtful than the actual tariff barriers because they’re applied in an indiscriminate way, and there’s no way to adjust the market for them. They sort of catch you out of the blue.”

The Canadian government is looking at other such trade barriers as well, including those related to low-level presences of GM crops and maximum residue limits in grain.

“The efficacy of testing now is so much more that zero is no longer zero,” said Ritz, adding that Canada is not immune. “We have zero tolerance, and we’ve begun the consultations on how we move away from that plateau as well.”

— Jennifer Blair is a reporter for Alberta Farmer Express at Red Deer, Alta. This article appears in the Nov. 25, 2013 issue.

Related story:
Cattle industry seen likely to shrink if COOL stays, Nov. 28, 2013

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