It's unusual to see farm equipment working in Manitoba fields in late November -- but that's exactly what happened this year.

Cool, wet weather dominated Manitoba's growing season, bringing fears that most crops would see a drastic drop in yields. But fears were abated as the wet summer gave way to one of the warmest fall seasons on record.

Potato growers, especially those with processor contracts, were just as relieved as everyone else as they set to work harvesting approximately 79,000 acres planted in the spring.

Tom Gonsalves, business development specialist – potato with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives says his department estimates the cultivated acreage is down by about 2,000 acres over previous years. 

Frost in early October halted harvest with about 1,000 acres of crop left in the ground. Despite the growing problems during the summer, harvest showed a yield of 275 hundred weight per acre, more than making up for the problems.

Warm weather also improved the moisture content of potatoes and their colour, both important characteristics for processors.

Gonsalves explains that in 2002, those same fields didn't produce much more than 230 hundred weight per acre.

"The increase is due to farmers' commitment to productivity," he says. So even though the number of acres in production has dropped slightly over the years, the crop meets the market demand.

Potatoes grown for table consumption fared just as well. Tom Whitmore, vice president of Peak of the Market, Manitoba's vegetable marketing board, says overall the harvest was good. Whitmore adds that production is down five percent from the record setting crop of 2008-09, but that indicates a return to near normal production, not a shortage. 

The biggest weather problem was the warm weather in September because it warmed the potatoes in the ground.

"You want those potatoes going into the bins cold, so they're not growing. This year they were warm" Whitmore says.

He says there weren't too many other issues at harvest.

"Quality is generally good but the percentage that is No. 2 is a little higher. Colour isn't an issue in table potatoes," he says.

There may be some future losses in table potatoes due to the frost in October, but Whitmore says the only way to determine loss is waiting to see which show damage in storage.

Peak of the Market isn't worried about keeping its customers supplied.

"We will be shipping for 12 months of the year, as usual," Whitmore says.

As potatoes began rolling in to the two processing plants in Price Edward Island this fall, it became relatively easy to determine when they were harvested.

Maybe not the exact date, but at least whether they hit the warehouse before the first of a series of heavy frosts which began in late October. Heavy rains in October pushed the harvest on many farms past Remembrance Day.

"We're finding a big difference between what was dug before the frost and what came after," says Gordon Campbell, manager of the McCain's plant in Borden-Carleton, at the recent annual meeting of the P.E.I. Potato Board.

His comments were echoed by Dwayne McNeill, who looks after raw product buying at the Cavendish Farms plant in New Annan. He told the meeting: "The stuff dug in late October is almost black in colour."

Terry Curley of Monaghan Farms says his company is finding the same thing. He sells much of his product for the production of potato chips in markets as close as Nova Scotia and as far away as Southeast Asia.

He says there are no colour issues with everything harvested before the frost.

All three men are confident the situation can still be turned around with proper storage. McNeill says the problem is caused by too much sugar in the spuds. Heat control in storage can bring the levels down.

"Hopefully the colour will return over the next few months," Campbell adds.

Curley says he has been through a similar situation before and in that instance, proper ventilation and temperature control corrected the problem. He says he was "cautiously optimistic" the same thing would happen this year.

Both Campbell and McNeill also say there were a number of potatoes coming to their plants with hollow heart. However, overall quality of shipments was "pretty good."

A "soft" market for french fries has already resulted in Cavendish Farms cutting the acreage it buys from producers by 15 per cent. P.E.I. processing was shut down during the last week of November and another shutdown is planned for the last week of December. If the market does not improve in 2010, the company is planning to shut down its two plants in New Annan for a week every two months.

Even with the market changes, Campbell says his company expects to use all potatoes it has under contract.

While many Canadian cattle producers have struggled through years of low returns, there are still some parts of the industry where money can be made.

The purebred beef industry again flexed its muscle with strong sales at the Canadian Western Agribition, held last week in Regina.

Sales highlights included a $67,500 half interest in a Charolais bull calf; a $26,000 Red Angus bull; $25,000 for a two-thirds interest in a Black Angus bull calf; $16,250 for a half interest in a Hereford bull; and a Simmental bull that sold for $20,000.

Bruce Holmquist, chair of the purebred beef events at Agribition, also confirmed the number of purebred cattle shown and producers exhibiting cattle were at their highest levels since 2003.

"It's really good to see the confidence the exhibitors have in bringing their product to town. Because of Agribition's presence and influence, producers get tremendous value for their dollar," he says.

Agribition deems itself Canada's premier marketplace for beef genetics, which Holmquist says ensures the attendance of purebred beef producers. It also drives interest in and value for the livestock shown during the week-long event.

"It's a great opportunity for the commercial cattle industry and the public as a whole to come and see some of the best genetics in the world."

Clear Lake Charolais from Tiger Lily, Alta. -- a relative newcomer to the purebred beef business -- made the biggest purchase at Agribition, acquiring half interest in a bull calf from Prairie Cove Charolais of Bowden, Alta. for $67,500.

"When I saw the animal it intrigued me," says Tim Facette of Clear Lake Charolais. "It was top quality and I hadn't seen something like that. The quality and genetics of the animal brought me to it. In the farming industry, you have to go after what you think is the best. Average doesn't survive any more; you have to be above."

Because both farms have half interest in the bull, they will share in the returns this bull can generate.

"We've had interest from all over the world. We've had interest from the United States, Finland, Sweden and Norway in purchasing semen from the bull," says Tim Bullick of Prairie Cove Charolais.

While purebred beef sales were strong during Agribition, breeders confirmed that off-farm sales are a bit more challenging this year, considering the financial hardships of commercial cattle producers.

"I talk to commercial guys and they say there's really no money (in the cattle business) across North America, so it (off-farm sales) is not as good," remarks Glen Bender of Bender Shorthorns at Neudorf, Sask.

Bender had the top-selling animal in the Shorthorn sale at Agribition -- $6,400 for a bull calf that was purchased by a couple of buyers from Australia.

There still is confidence though about a turnaround coming for Canadian beef producers.

"I've been fortunate to travel in different parts of the world and there is a world wide shortage of protein. The demand is there, the challenge is getting it off this continent and into those markets," Holmquist says.

Severe drought conditions in large areas of Alberta hit many cattle producers hard in 2009. With forage and pasture production drastically reduced, many are now facing significant increases in feed costs this winter.

It is estimated that as much as 74 per cent of the cow herd, representing about 1.3 million breeding females, is affected by the dry conditions, says Ben Schrader, chair of the cow/calf committee with Alberta Beef Producers.

Schrader notes fall pastures are currently under severe stress and with no sub-soil moisture, there is a good chance the drought will continue into 2010. Feed prices in many areas have already doubled, forcing producers to rely on supplemented straw rations.

ABP hopes producers will be eligible for assistance and is looking into the matter.

"The drought is exacerbating the current sell down already hitting the industry," Schrader says. Assistance, he says, "could help slow down the continuing sell down and loss of infrastructure."

Agricultural production gives government and taxpayers the biggest bang for their buck, suggests a new study on the economic impacts of public spending across Quebec.

"The evidence is clear," says Maurice Doyon, an agro-economics professor at Laval University and co-author of the study, funded by the province's agriculture producers' organization. "In terms of job creation and economic activity, farming is the best sector.  Even better, that activity occurs in rural regions that need it most."

Carried out in the spring, the study compiled and compared data from various government sources regarding public investments, employment and gross interior product for several sectors and regions of the province in 2007.

One finding was that agriculture production and the processing of those products generated 174,000 direct and indirect jobs and more than $13 billion in revenues.

Seventy per cent of agriculture produce grown in Quebec is processed within the province and the study found that's by far the highest rate in Canada. The study also determined the processing sector creates more jobs than any other industry in the province.

Notably, the study found an investment $100 million created 1,042 jobs in the agriculture/food processing sector. The same value of investment creates 846 construction jobs, 834 jobs in the cultural sector, 469 jobs in the gas and oil sector, 591 in finance and 320 in the public service.

"For me that was a big surprise," Doyon says. "We always tend to look at agriculture as a relatively small industry in terms of overall revenues generated. But when you compare it to other fields of activity, you realize that it is in fact an extremely important field."

That importance is greatly increased, he adds, when geography is taken into account.

Through comparative analysis of two rural regions -- northern Abitibi-Témiscamingue and the Lower St. Lawrence -- the study concluded that each job related to agriculture production in those regions was equivalent to 22 and 30 jobs respectively, in the city of Montreal.

"We discovered that, in relative terms, agriculture was as important economically to those regions as the port of Montreal is to that city," said Doyon says.  "So if agriculture production is stopped in those areas, it's the equivalent of shutting down the Port of Montreal."

And, he points out, displaced rural workers have a harder time finding new jobs than city residents.

At the same time, agriculture production and food processing produces $3.9 billion in tax revenues, roughly half of which goes to the Quebec government. Doyon notes the agriculture industry receives about $900 million a year in provincial funds.

Some of that money, he adds, goes to the development of relatively small provincial sectors like beef, lamb and some cereals.

"The goal of the study isn't to tell government not to cut or reform their subsidy programs," Doyon says. "But the results highlight the economic importance of agriculture as a whole (and) the social impact that changes to those programs can and would have on people and places."

Year-round availability is one of the local food movement's biggest challenges. But no more, says a processing group in Ontario's Norfolk County. It's found a way to quick freeze fruit and vegetables so they're harvest fresh and abundant.  

Next spring the county will welcome a $5 million, 65,000 square foot food processing facility dedicated to what's called individual quick-freeze technology.

Delhi-based Naturally Norfolk Inc., owner of the facility, describes IQF as a manner of freezing each fruit or vegetable item separately, and at the peak of harvest. This captures the commodities at their best and preserves them for consumers throughout the year.

The technology also helps eliminate the clumping that often accompanies packaged frozen fruit and vegetables.

The project received a $1 million boost from the province last week, through the Ontario Rural Development Fund. It was yet more evidence Ontario is turning to agriculture to help it recover from the recession.

And it was welcome news to the traditionally tobacco-dependent Norfolk region, which continues reeling from the industry's collapse.

"This project will not only increase production of locally grown fruits and vegetables, creating new job opportunities, but it will also establish innovative ways to process and market Ontario produce to a wider, international market," says Rick Johnson, Parliamentary assistant to the minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs.

Indeed, the facility will result in nearly 50 job opportunities now and up to 85 more jobs within the next five years.

Naturally Norfolk has been on the move this fall with a series of management-related announcements. The latest is the signing of a six-month contract with Guelph-based BioEnterprise, a commercialization agent, to provide strategic direction. BioEnterprise helps agri-food, life sciences and bioproducts companies expand.

Biodiesel will be used for the first time in Canadian cold-weather rail service.

Canadian Pacific and Natural Resources Canada have teamed up for the pilot project.

The federal government says it intends to regulate an average five per cent renewable fuel content based on the national gasoline pool by 2010, as well as implement a requirement for an average two per cent renewable content in diesel fuel and heating oil by 2011 at the latest.

"Rail is already the most efficient means to move goods long-haul," says Fred Green, Canadian Pacific president and CEO. He says the project will be an opportunity to test the reliability of biodiesel in cold weather.

Biodiesel, a cleaner renewable alternative to traditional fuels, is made from either vegetable oil or animal fats. Biodiesel reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter and also acts as a natural lubricant.

As part of the five-month test cycle, CP will operate four diesel locomotives between Calgary and Edmonton.

Canadian Pacific states it will undertake routine detailed mechanical examinations of the locomotives in the pilot project. The information gathered will be used to determine if a biodiesel mixture of five per cent (B5) has any significant adverse effects on a locomotive or its associated systems in cold-climate operation. Impact to reliability, potential changes to the overhaul or maintenance work scope and reviews of specific components on the locomotives will also be monitored.

The pilot project is part of the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative, which supports projects that demonstrate how renewable diesel fuel will perform under Canadian conditions.

The Canadian Wheat Board recently released its latest Pool Return Outlook for the 2009-2010 crop year.

A bit of a surprise to me, but wheat values are up between $1 and $10 per tonne from the October PRO. Both durum and malt barley values are unchanged.

Pool A feed barley is up $7 per tonne. The first Pool B feed barley PRO is at $152 per tonne. Overall market fundamentals remain weak, despite some strengthening in the past month.

The following are the Canadian Wheat Board's Pool Return Outlooks detailing estimated payments to producers for grain delivered during the 2009-2010 (August/July) crop year, in Canadian dollars per tonne, basis in store St. Lawrence/Vancouver.

Source: Canadian Wheat Board

                         2009/10    2009/10 

                                     PRO        PRO  

 --Wheat--                         November    October

1 Canada western red spring 14.5%   271.00     261.00

1 Canada western red spring 13.5%   249.00     245.00

1 Canada western red spring 11.5%   221.00     219.00

3 Canada western red spring         199.00     197.00

1 Canada prairie spring red         198.00     197.00

1 Canada prairie spring white       196.00     194.00

1 Canada western red winter 11.5%   206.00     205.00

1 Canada western red winter         193.00     192.00

1 Canada western extra strong       219.00     215.00  


CW Feed                             151.00     149.00

 --Durum--

1 CW amber durum 14.5%              227.00     227.00

1 CW amber durum 11.5%              206.00     206.00

3 CW amber durum 13.0%              189.00     189.00

3 CW amber durum                    182.00     182.00


 --Barley                                         

1 CW barley Pool A                  152.00     145.00

1 CW barley Pool B                  152.00      NA

Select 2-Row CW                     208.00     208.00

Select 6-Row CW                     190.00     190.00  

Wheat

The CWB says that since the October PRO, the international economic situation has shown signs of improvement, decreasing perceived risks in a number of markets, including wheat futures. Speculative money flowing into U.S. wheat futures markets has pushed prices higher, despite weaker supply-demand fundamentals.

Traditional price relationships between U.S. wheat futures markets have been altered with Chicago futures at the time trading at or above Kansas and Minneapolis.

Relationships between world currencies remain volatile. The Euro has trended upward since early 2009, recently breaking above the US$1.50 US range. The Australian and Canadian dollars have also strengthened, following a similar pattern. The strength of the European and Australian currencies against the American dollar is providing some support for the international wheat price structure.

The United States Department of Agriculture released updated World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates on Nov. 10. The USDA increased the 2009 world wheat production estimate to 672 million tonnes and now forecasts world wheat stocks will build by 24 million tonnes this year. The USDA increased production and export projections for Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

The large supply of low priced wheat in these regions is expected to limit exports from traditional wheat exporting countries.

Heavy rains have caused significant damage to the wheat crop in Brazil, which has negatively affected the milling characteristics of their crop. The crop is currently estimated by the USDA at 4.5 million tonnes, compared to 6 million tonnes last year. Brazil is forecast to import 6.5 million tonnes, compared to 6 million tonnes last year, which should help support the international market.

High temperatures forced early maturity and harvest in Eastern Australia, while light rains in Western Australia caused some harvest delays. Quality uncertainty and harvest delays continue to support Australian wheat prices.

The new CWB PRO for No. 1 Canadian Western Spring 13.5 wheat is up $4 to $249 a tonne, while the fixed price contract today is $244 a tonne. These prices are the equivalent delivered to a Saskatchewan elevator of about $5.19 and $5.06 a bushel respectively.

Just for comparison sake, spot delivered bids for equivalent wheat at grain elevators in North Dakota are available averaging $5.80 a bushel.

Mike Jubinville of Pro Farmer Canada offers information on commodity markets and marketing strategies. Call 204-654-4290 or visit www.pfcanada.com to find out more about his services.