The National Future Farmers Network wrapped up its first meeting earlier this week, with 45 participants from throughout Canada representing various types of farming. Observers from farming organizations and the federal and provincial governments also attended. 

“The diverse experience of participants today allowed us to address several issues which concern these young farmers on an everyday basis," says Minister of State (Agriculture) Jean-Pierre Blackburn. "The discussions that we have held with young farmers were especially productive. Together, we explored the various opportunities offered by this very innovative sector. We have also identified promising ideas to help young farmers face their challenges." 

“The future of agriculture lies in the hands of young and beginning farmers and we need to find more ways to help them take the reins of the farm business," says Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "While this group faces many unique challenges, this Network will give us another opportunity to hear first hand about how we can help maintain and grow this important sector." 

Following the Network, young and beginning farmers will have the opportunity to carry on with the discussions already held, and to further define the innovative solutions they have identified. 

Besides, the presence of observers from farming organizations, as well as the federal and provincial governments, will help spread the information collected during the Network far and wide across Canada. Everyone will then be aware of the innovative and promising solutions discovered by young and beginning farmers, in order to further energize and modernize the sector. 

“This national network is a great initiative to renew -- a first step that the Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec hopes will result in a longer-term approach and real action with regard to agricultural sustainability in Canada,” says Yohan Perreault, senior vice-president of FRAQ. 

“Having this opportunity to participate in the NFFN is comforting. We all recognize and have experienced a diverse range of challenges pertaining to young farmers in our country,” says Leona Dargis, member of the Canadian Young Farmers' Forum. “I am appreciative to be able to have an influential voice in creating positive change towards a dynamic future for the Canadian agricultural industry.” 

“We are pleased by the content and direction in which Minister Blackburn has focussed discussions on young farmer policy,” said Ian Richardson, Canadian Young Farmer Forum President. “We look forward to continuing that dialogue in the immediate future." 

This network allowed for constructive discussions on a variety of subjects that are of importance to future farmers, such as access to capital, farm transfers, skills development, information about programs, access to agricultural land, profitability of the sector and the necessity to promote a positive image of agriculture. It found that young farmers share the same concerns no matter where they come from in the country. 

For more information on young farmers and the National Future Farmers Network, please visit www.agr.gc.ca/youngfarmers.

BHP Billiton has turned away from its plan to take over Saskatchewan's PotashCorp, but says it will continue with plans to develop its own mine in the province. 

Earlier this month, Investment Canada Act denied BHP's bid to take over PotashCorp. BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers expressed disappointment at the failure to take over PotashCorp, but says the company is committed to Canada and a disciplined approach to shareholder value.

"We plan to develop a significant presence in the potash industry in Saskatchewan. As part of those plans we will continue to progress our Jansen Project and other development opportunities," Kloppers states in a news release issued earlier this week. 

"Our core business strategy of diversifying our investments across geographies and commodities differentiates us and, more importantly, continues to deliver value to our shareholders and the communities and countries where we operate." 

The Jansen Project is a proposed conventional underground potash mine located about 140 kilometres east of Saskatoon. BHP anticipates Jansen to grow over a period time to eventually reach a production capacity of approximately eight million tonnes of saleable potash per year. 

The Saskatchewan Grain Car Corporation will now give priority to leasing its hopper cars to Saskatchewan Shortline railways. 

The SGCC has a fleet of approximately 900 covered grain hopper cars that have historically been leased to Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway to transport western grains. In recent years, the railways have been able to increase rail car turnaround times and as a result, have reduced the number of rail cars required for grain movement. This has created the opportunity for the SGCC to offer its hopper cars to shortline railways. CN and CPR will still have the opportunity to lease excess rail cars not used by the shortline railways. 

The SGCC hopper cars will be made available to Saskatchewan shortlines on a first come, first served basis at commercial rates. 

Roger Gadd, president of the Saskatchewan Shortline Railway Association says the group is pleased with the decision. 

"A secure supply of good quality hopper cars is critical for some of our members to take advantage of new business opportunities and better serve the needs of shippers," he says. 

Jim Reiter, the minister responsible for highways and infrastructure, including the SGCC, says that by leasing provincial hopper cars directly to Saskatchewan shortlines, the benefits of provincial ownership of the cars go directly to producers and shortline railways in Saskatchewan. 

When it comes to meat processing in Ontario, there's a new kid in town. 

Through the province's Rural Economic Development Program, $1 million is being committed to help ready-to-eat food processor New Food Classics move its manufacturing facility from Calgary, Alta. to St. Catharines, Ont. 

The company, which supplies major retailers such as Wal-Mart, is taking over a former chicken processing plant that closed last winter in St. Catharines. 

New Food Classics says St. Catharines is closer than Calgary to its major markets in eastern Canada and the United States. 

"With the newly retrofitted facility in St. Catharines, New Food Classics will have adequate capacity to meet current customer demand, with significant potential for future manufacturing capacity expansion which means potential for new jobs," says company president Brian Cram. 

This initiative will create up to 150 new jobs in the short term and as many as 400 new jobs over the next five years. 

The province says the facility will increase the product demand from local meat producers and processors. Processing capacity in Ontario is a limiting factor in the meat sector's growth, and a weak link in the value chain.  

Provincial Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell says investments like these increase the demand for local food and help strengthen local economies.

A Canadian national symbol is creating plenty of headaches for rural municipalities in Saskatchewan. 

Beavers are thriving in areas receiving record amounts of rain. In the past, trappers helped to keep the beaver population in check, however, pelt prices are very low right now. 

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities passed a resolution at its recent mid-term convention asking the provincial government to establish a $20 beaver bounty. 

Wes Black, the reeve for the rural municipality of Porcupine, says his small community has already spent more than $50,000 to remove beaver dams this year. 

"We have two men, at least four hours a day, doing beaver control with a backhoe. We have done this since April 1. This is just removing dams from the previous night's work. There are times where we are doing some of these dams twice a day." 

The dams are re-routing water flow and causing extensive infrastructure and property damage. 

"Right now, we have several roads that are washing out.  What happens is that they are plugging up culverts and backing up streams. The infrastructure is suffering because of the damage they are doing," Black says. 

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud is not ruling out the possibility of a beaver bounty. 

"We are looking at everything we can right now. I'm not sure at this point whether that (a bounty) is where we will go," Bjornerud says, noting the issue is also a matter for the department of environment. "Maybe we can get conservation officers to help in the areas where (the beavers) are causing the biggest problem." 

The Saskatchewan government has experience with bounties as a way to reduce wildlife populations. Between November 2009 and March 2010, it paid $20 per coyote in an effort to protect domestic livestock. More than 71,000 bounties were collected in what rural municipalities say was a successful program, even though some environment groups expressed strong opposition. The federal and provincial governments have also added beavers to the 2011 wildlife damage compensation program. 

"This change will make sure there is help for producers when a beaver dam floods a crop or other wildlife causes damage to crops or forages," says Gerry Ritz, federal agriculture minister. 

Saskatchewan Crop Insurance administers the wildlife damage compensation program. There are no premiums and producers are not required to be crop insurance customers to be eligible for benefits. It is cost-shared by the federal and provincial governments and provides 100 per cent compensation for all claims over $150.

Nova Scotia must act to protect farmland -- and the costs should not be borne by farmers. 

That's one of the key recommendations in a report on agricultural land preservation released Oct. 25 by the provincial department of agriculture. 

Called Preservation of Agricultural Land in Nova Scotia, the report points to four main causes for the loss of farmland: abandonment, land taken out of production because of development, soil depletion and rising water levels. 

Nova Scotia has lost more than a third of its active farmland over the past 100 years. During that same period, the province's population has doubled. 

"Preservation of the capacity to grow food and support the rural economy benefits Nova Scotia in general and those who benefit should share in the cost of protecting agricultural land," says the report, whose lead author is Richard Williams. "Farmland is frequently the most valuable and largest single asset a farm family owns and preservation without recognizing the cost to those farmers is not fair when all society benefits from protection of a natural resource." 

The report, written after extensive public consultation, comes while the largely rural Kings County is embroiled in controversy over a proposed development on land currently zoned agricultural. 

Doug Hennigar of Greenwich, N.S., is one of the Kings County farmers trying to sell a portion of his farmland for development. 

Hennigar says he welcomes the notion of compensating farmers for maintaining agricultural land, but he is skeptical. 

The Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture is cautiously optimistic about the report and says it is "encouraged by the recommendations." The federation supports preservation of agricultural land, as long as farmers are compensated. 

"We have read the report (and) like what we see," says NSFA president Richard Melvin. 

In the media release announcing the publication of the report, the provincial department of agriculture remained non-committal when it comes to accepting the recommendations, thanking the land review committee which authored the report and saying the government will  "establish ways that Nova Scotians can help shape the future of agricultural land use." 

Other recommendations in the report include banning the sale of topsoil from certain lands and suspending agricultural tax exemptions on land not actively being farmed. 

For his part, Hennigar thinks there is no farmland crisis in Nova Scotia.

A recent agreement signed by members of Alberta's beef industry and the province establishes guiding principles to provide the foundation for livestock traceability.  

Alberta is the first to sign an agreement as the country moves towards a national beef traceability system, according to Rob McNabb, general manager operations with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association. 

"Alberta is not waiting," he says. "We stand behind the principles as the basis of our commitment as we move forward." He adds that Alberta is ready to champion acceptance of the principles across the country to avoid the potential for a "mishmash" of ten different systems. 

McNabb sees the agreement as a significant first step and an integral component of a health and risk management strategy designed to provide open access to foreign markets and to differentiate Canadian products from major competitors, like the United States. 

The main focus of the guiding principles is to ensure the industry remains competitive without a big cost to any particular sector of the beef value chain, according to McNabb. He notes producers have already made a significant investment in the cost of tags and technology. 

"Our concern is not to overwhelm other sectors such as auction marts, assembly yards and transportation that tend to pass their costs back to the primary producer. We need to sort out what is a balance between concern for public health and the cost to accommodate a rapid response to any incidence of disease, which has a huge public benefit." 

The principles of the traceability agreement are:

• Technology must recognize the way industry conducts its business.
• Costs must be assessed against the real benefits prior to implementation.
• Traceability will expand as technology improves.
• Industry standards must recognize the limitations of technology.
• Producer's information must remain confidential.

Ontario's 28,000 grain and oilseed farmers can now pencil out risk online. 

The Grain Farmers of Ontario have launched an electronic risk management program calculator to coincide with the release of the 2010 pre-harvest payment information by Agricorp, the province's corporate entity in agriculture for risk management. 

The calculator helps farmers assess risk according to their farm's 2010 production, under a range of price scenarios. 

Erin Fletcher, manager of public affairs and communications for the organization, says producers can enter their individual acreage and crop mix into the calculator, and change the coverage levels to determine the best possible outcome. 

"The goal of risk management has always been predictability and bankability," she says. "GFO wants to ensure that's achieved in a comprehensive and accessible format." 

The calculator will also allow growers to enter an expected post-harvest price to run potential post-harvest scenarios. 

Fletcher says the organization is optimistic about the future of the risk management program in Ontario. Participation is a key factor in the evaluation of the program and also may determine future eligibility for growers. 

Fletcher says the risk management program was always intended to be invested in for the long term. "GFO hopes this will continue to be a consideration for those determining their participation in 2010," she says. 

The RMP calculator is available on the GFO website at www.gfo.ca/rmp.

The federal government is providing $1.8 million towards a $2.9 million poultry science cluster, one of several research clusters formed as part of the Growing Forward Agri-Innovations program. 

The Canadian Poultry Research Council, made up of representatives of the four national feather boards and the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council, is managing the cluster and putting $600,000 into the pot. The remaining $459,000 is coming from other industry and government sources. The cluster will support ten research projects over the next three years under three themes: enteric poultry diseases, avian influenza and bird welfare. 

"This initiative focuses a wide range of intellectual and financial resources on key issues faced by our industry and is a significant step towards strategic investment in the future of the poultry sector," the CPRC says. 

B.C. Broiler Hatching Egg Commission director Calvin Breukelman calls money invested in research "definitely a benefit at the farm level," noting he has personally benefitted from past broiler breeder research at the University of Alberta.

With the size of equipment in many parts of Canada growing larger by the year, health and safety officials are warning farmers to be mindful of power lines. 

Darryl Pederson is a health and safety advisor with FortisAlberta. He has been in the electrical utility business for 22 years and he is a journeyman power line technician. He spoke last week at Agri-Trade 2010 in Red Deer, Alta. 

He says fires and tire blow-outs can occur when machinery comes in contact with live power lines. Drivers can suffer burns, amputation or death. 

While overall farm accidents with power lines have declined since 2007, Pederson says power line accidents involving seeders and sprayers have increased. Alberta has had 35 reports of contact with power lines in the 2009-10 season. 

While farm equipment has continued to grow over the years, in many cases, original power lines installed decades ago on shorter poles are still in use in rural communities. Pederson recommends producers be familiar with rules in their own province. In Alberta, farmers should pay specific attention to rules regarding equipment parked and operating near power lines and to rules for equipment passing under power lines. 

Farmers should also know the minimum clearance rules when setting up a farm yard, he says, or when building new structures, bins or other storage. For example, in Alberta, when farm equipment is parked and operating, there must be a minimum clearance of seven metres. 

There are also height restrictions for equipment travelling on the roads. In Alberta, the maximum height for travelling cross-county is 4.2 metres, while height restrictions for equipment travelling on roads and highways is 5.3 metres. Anything higher, and Pederson recommends calling the power company. 

Pederson says the rules are universal if a producers' vehicle comes in contact with a power line: don't get out of the vehicle if you don't have to and tell any bystanders to stay at least 10 metres away. 

If you're forced to get out of the vehicle, Pederson says to jump clear, land on both feet and don't touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Then, get at least 10 metres away from the vehicle by taking small, short jumps. If you're not sure if you're far enough away to walk normally, try shuffling your feet. If you can feel the electrical current in your legs -- a tingling sensation -- then go back to hopping. 

Awareness of provincial rules and of surroundings is key to staying safe while working around power lines, Pederson states.

During the course of any given day, I get questions on price outlook for any number of commodities -- canola and wheat are the obvious biggies, but also oats, barley, flax, peas and more. 

And while I could talk about individual commodity fundamentals, quite frankly, these days that doesn't seem to matter as much. All markets -- stocks and commodities of all kinds -- are marching to the beat of the same drum. 

Market conditions have turned quite volatile lately with trader sentiment shifting rather dramatically between bullish and bearish this past week. All equity and commodity markets are hanging on the next tidbit of news on the China monetary policy and the European Union as it grapples with its suffocating debt issues. 

The news this week, so far, seems to be all about China, all the time. 

Driving the broad-based sell-off this week were fears China will raise interest rates and place tighter controls on consumer prices and agriculture commodities to control inflation. A report Tuesday in the China Securities Journal cited unnamed sources and stated the government may unveil a set of controls, including measures to limit consumer price increases and punitive policies aimed at speculation on agricultural products. The report comes amid mounting concerns the country will hike interest rates. 

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Tuesday that "market supply and consumer prices are related to the interests of the people and merit close attention." Food costs are at the heart of China's inflation worries, with the likelihood of price controls building as global agriculture commodities rallied this year. 

China's central bank chief, meanwhile, says the country is under "pressure" from excessive capital inflows into the country, and China's ministry of commerce says it would work with other government agencies to curb inflation. 

Traders say a boost to interest rates would dilute the strength of Chinese demand for a range of commodities. At the same time, price controls could reduce the amount Chinese companies are willing to pay for grains and oilseeds. 

China is the world's largest importer of soybeans and accounts for 61 per cent of total United States soy export sales through the first nine weeks of the 2010-11 marketing year. You can see how the China question reflects very directly on price trends in the soy complex and, in turn, all commodity markets. China’s buying has been at the forefront of soybean and soyoil price rallies of the past two months, propelling the commodities to 26- and 27-month highs. 

Prospects of China actively fighting inflation triggered widespread selling in every commodity sector this week. Individual commodity fundamentals are out the window. Instead, ruling the trading day are fears of China "possibly" slowing what until now seemed insatiable buying. And those fears have triggered massive speculative long liquidation across the board. 

But we have been though these rumoured threats of a slowdown in Chinese demand before, and perhaps with a brief pause, the Chinese inevitably just keep buying. 

In fact, when this corrective downside price action in the ag markets finally does subside with the spec long liquidation process exhausting itself, you can bet it will be the Chinese who are there to pick up the pieces as key buyers -- albeit it at lower price levels. If there is a real need for many commodities in China, as it still appears to me, a tighter monetary policy and price controls wouldn't likely have a major near-term impact on demand longer term. 

So while there are other factors at play influencing these markets, China at this time is largely guiding price action. 

But also be aware, grain markets have come up a long way since the summer rally began. The fundamental reasons for the large price increases have been well chronicled. The factors include smaller-than-expected corn acreage in the United States, declining U.S. corn yield prospects, a rapid rate of corn use for ethanol, a torrid pace of U.S. soybean exports, rising world vegetable oil demand, a significant decline in wheat production in Russia and Kazakhstan, crop problems in Western Canada and a poor start for the U.S. winter wheat crop. 

La Nina weather conditions have also raised some concern about southern hemisphere crops. In addition, overall demand prospects for U.S. commodities were supported by the declining value of the American dollar and rising energy prices. 

But the uptrend in crop prices has now stalled with a lot of these fundamental issues, and while not necessarily resolved, are now well known and, to a large extent, factored into the marketplace. 

Except for brief retreats, ag commodity futures prices have been trending steadily higher since the end of June. What we are seeing now is a first real downward corrective shock to the system. 

Although the uptrend has stalled, there is still a lot of uncertainty about crop supply and demand conditions. Uncertainty about Chinese demand, U.S. ethanol policy, energy prices, weather and 2011 acreage may yet result in a wild and wooly winter-spring ahead, but should provide good underlying support for prices after this spec shake-out subsides.

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.