Automobile panels from wheat straw. Cigarette paper from flax. Flower pots from potato starch. Textiles from hemp.

All are bioproducts -- industrial goods made from crop fibre.

Throughout the world, companies are beginning to use biomaterials, including agricultural fibre, to produce everyday items.

It's part of a small but growing movement by manufacturers to replace petroleum-based composites, such as plastics and fibreglass, with renewable biofibres in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

And Manitoba farmers are well positioned to provide them with the fibre they need, says Doug Chorney, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, the province's general farm organization.

Manitoba's crops generate 4.7 million tonnes of straw every year, less than half of which is actually required for livestock and soil improvement, Chorney told a recent international biofibre conference in Winnipeg.

Burning crop residue is strictly regulated in Manitoba. This potentially leaves large volumes of straw available for secondary uses, such as supplying the growing biofibre market, says Chorney, a grain and oilseed producer.

Exports are critical for Manitoba's agricultural and agri-food industry, which generates 9.5 per cent of the province's gross domestic product. He says biofibre could become a valuable contributor.

"Clearly we are not going to eat our way to new markets, so we need to do more with what we currently have."

Manitoba is in a good position to produce agricultural biofibre, especially from flax and hemp, because its climate and soils are well suited to growing those crops, says Jeff Kraynyk, agri-energy manager for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives.

"The future is very promising," Kraynyk says.

The Manitoba government actively promotes the bioproducts industry. Its goal is for the sector to generate annual revenues of $2 billion by 2020, with 80 per cent of that coming from rural and northern communities.

The Winnipeg-based Composites Innovation Centre, a government-industry corporation that develops composite materials for manufacturers, helps support the effort.

Manitoba currently has 43 firms involved in researching, developing or producing bioproducts.

The province has had mixed success with projects in the past. A large strawboard manufacturing plant west of Winnipeg went bankrupt 10 years ago. A similar project proposed for southwestern Manitoba never got off the ground.

But Chorney says biofibre projects can succeed if they use proven technology, are competitive and sell to established markets.

Develop strategies to protect your bottom line from dramatic spikes in input costs.

Ontario farmers should consider corn rootworm resistance to Bt control in the American corn belt a "wake-up call," says a University of Guelph researcher.

Jocelyn Smith of the university's Ridgetown campus says corn rootworm resistance has been reported in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa and South Dakota. In laboratory studies, Iowa State University researchers have shown that rootworms collected from Bt-corn fields with rootworm damage in 2010 had three times greater survival than beetles collected from fields without reported problems.

Smith says rootworm is already a serious corn pest and a "formidable opponent" for long-term management. The biggest problem is with continuous corn planting and one method of control, which creates what she calls "a perfect storm for resistance development." Repeated use of the same management tactics year after year puts significant selection pressure on rootworm populations against that tactic, she adds.

However, there's hope. Smith says Ontario's diverse agricultural landscape and typical corn-soybean-wheat rotation has likely helped prevent Bt resistance from taking hold in the province, and should continue to do so.

Nonetheless, she says, it's important to remain vigilant.

"Rootworms have a long history of adapting to whatever control methods are used against them," she says. "They have developed resistance to multiple groups of insecticides that were widely used in the U.S. for larval and adult beetle control and within the last 20 years have adapted to a corn-soybean crop rotation in many areas of the corn belt."

Smith says in Ontario and many parts of the U.S., crop rotation remains the best management option for corn rootworm control. Larvae that hatch from eggs laid in the soil in late summer and fall will die in the spring if they do not have corn root tissue to feed on.

"Planting a crop other than corn following a corn crop will ensure the death of almost all rootworms deposited in the field the previous year," she says.

After several years of warmer and longer growing seasons, it was "back to reality" for Nova Scotia vegetable growers this year, according to horticulturalist Viliam Zvalo.

Zvalo, who advises Nova Scotia vegetable farmers, says yields varied from region to region, with some crops doing well and other yields reduced.

"It was a challenging season, for sure," Zvalo says. "We had poor weather during pollination and poor crop establishment. Squash and pumpkins did not do well. I don't have any hard statistics, but what I'm hearing is that there is about a 25 per cent decrease in squash yields."

Mainland Nova Scotia had a very wet spring, followed by hot and dry weather in July. "We've had a warm October, but we also had frost in September," Zvalo says. "I talked to producers who were harvesting tomatoes in early and mid-October, but they would have had a perfect spraying program."

Spraying has been complicated by the sheer amount of rain the province has seen. Zvalo notes that "we no longer seem to have normal rainfall. We get these extreme weather events, with six inches of rain in two days. That leaches nutrients from the soil." The wet weather has meant some leafy crops have been washed out. Rain combined with warmth has also provided perfect conditions for disease.

Although it hasn't been a great year for the heat-loving crops such as tomatoes and peppers, Zvalo says cold crops – primarily cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage – are doing quite well. But, again, conditions have varied. Even though Nova Scotia is a small province, there were tremendous regional weather variations this summer and fall, with the Annapolis Valley getting a fair amount of heat, while farmers in Cape Breton were hammered by storms.

Weather variations are one of the factors that have led the fall harvest to be "all over the place," according to Donna Crawford, administrative co-ordinator for the non-profit commodity group Horticulture Nova Scotia. "The harvest has not been easy because it's so wet, and in some areas the ground is staying wet even when the sun is shining."

Crawford says she has heard rutabaga farmers in Cape Breton have had "serious pest problems" with root maggot the chief culprit. "Squash has been very poor this year as well. Commercial farmers aren't getting the kind of yield they were expecting – we're going to run out of squash very early this year."

Commercial beet growers are also likely to run out, Crawford says, but that's because of a spike in demand. "Beets are the elite new crop of the year. Go into any restaurant in Nova Scotia and you'll notice lots of baby beets and beets in salad. Pickled beets have made a resurgence too."

A major restructuring by Canada's largest meat processor could translate into higher returns for hog farmers, industry officials hope.

By streamlining its operations to improve the bottom line, Maple Leaf Foods may eventually be in a position to bid up its purchase prices for market hogs, says Andrew Dickson, Manitoba Pork Council's general manager.

He admits, though, that will take time.

"There's no direct benefit to a producer at this moment," Dickson says. "But as the company develops its business and improves the money it makes from the product by adding more value, it will be successful and in a stronger position to pay producers more."

Maple Leaf last week announced sweeping changes in its meat business to "reduce operating costs and increase productivity," according to a company statement.

It says $560 million will be spent over three years "to establish a world-class prepared meats network."

The plan includes closing eight plants and distribution centres, upgrading three others and building a new $395 million prepared meats facility in Hamilton, Ont.

The investments will create some 1,150 new jobs. But closures will eliminate about 2,700 employees, for a net loss of approximately 1,550 positions. Most of the workforce reductions will occur in 2014, the company says.

Maple Leaf's two major hog slaughter plants in Brandon, Man. and Lethbridge, Alta. will remain.

Dickson calls it significant that the company is consolidating its slaughter operations in Western Canada. The move is especially good for producers in Saskatchewan, where over half the market pigs raised in the province go to the Brandon plant, he states.

Maple Leaf's reorganization comes in response to increased competition from American processors which are larger, more efficient and aided by a strong Canadian dollar which favours imports. An estimated 25 per cent of consumer pork products sold in Canada originate in the U.S.

Dickson says the long-term prospect of higher hog prices is good news to producers struggling to emerge from a deep financial hole created over the last four years.

Producers have been severely stressed by chronically low prices which are only beginning to recover, plus high feed costs and trade barriers such as the U.S. country of origin meat labelling rule.

The number of hog farms in Manitoba is currently around 500, compared to three times as many 10 years ago. Many producers have gone out of business completely. Those still operating include three large corporate networks and dozens of Hutterite colonies.

The growing popularity of a leaf recycling program in Quebec's Mauricie region is proving to be a win-win-win initiative for farmers, urbanites and municipal governments.

Under the program, area residents are being asked to pack their dead leaves in biodegradable paper bags that the municipalities sell for a quarter.  The leaves are then picked up and delivered to participating farms, where they are composted and spread in fields.

"It's something that allows us to do our part for the environment while adding to the value of our soil at little cost," says Louise Villeneuve, a small fruit and vegetable producer near the village of Saint-Étienne-des-Grés, just north of Trois-Rivières. Her farm is one of 41 in the region accepting bags of leaves.

That's almost double the number of farms that participated when the program was created three years ago by several partners, including the local branch of Quebec's provincial farmers' union, the Union des producteurs agricoles, or UPA.

In previous years, residents used plastic bags that had to be emptied by hand on farms. 

According to Villeneuve, who was one of the original program participants and is the UPA spokesperson for the project, she produced five tonnes of compost from the 4,000 bags of leaves she received last year. There were 39 farms participating last year and they composted roughly 500 tonnes of leaves and other vegetal material raked up from urban landscapes.

She notes that local municipalities pay $50 per tonne to dispose of that material in dumps.

"That's a major savings for them (and) we get material we want and need," said Villeneuve.

She says that the 41 participating farms in 2011 will likely receive a record amount of material -- and she hopes that both the numbers of participants and the amount of material collected will continue to grow in future.

"It's an excellent program (and) it's unique in Quebec to my knowledge," Villeneuve said in an interview. "But hopefully our efforts will inspire others to do something similar. It's good for everyone involved."

Many producers may regard the goods and services tax as a non-issue when it comes to farm production.

That's because of the basic rule that production is zero-rated. In other words, sales are taxable, but at a rate of zero per cent and any tax paid on business inputs is recoverable.

But as Ted Nibourg, farm business management specialist with Alberta Agriculture points out, the rules can quickly become complicated for diversified operations.

He notes the supply of animals, poultry and bees is zero-rated, but the sale of horses and donkeys, as well as fur-bearing animals such as mink, are subject to tax. There are even special rules for rabbits: if they're raised for meat, they're zero-rated, but if they're sold as pets, they are taxable.

When it comes to products like cut flowers, sod, processed wool, maple sugar candy, gravel or feathers, they're all subject to tax.

The sale of grains or seeds, hay, silage and fodder crops depend on the quantity and use of the final product. When sold for food for human consumption or feed for farm livestock, they are zero-rated.

But when grains or seeds are packaged for bird seed or pet food, they're taxable. Nibourg says Canada Revenue Agency has established guidelines based on seed size. Small seeds in packages exceeding 125 grams and large seeds, such as peas and beans, sold in quantities greater than five kilograms are zero-rated.

Hay sales also depend on the quantity sold. For example, CRA policy states that a supply of hay must be more than one large bale or its equivalent. Nibourg says this equates to 1,650 pounds or 750 kilograms. So, for the sale to be zero-rated, producers selling square bales must sell at least 33 bales weighing 50 pounds (23 kilograms) each.

When it comes to land rent agreements, land rented on a cash basis is subject to GST, but crop share agreements are zero-rated since payment is in the form of zero-rated production.

Add in the complications of a provincial or harmonized sales tax, and GST is not a simple tax. If in doubt, seek professional advice.

Rural Saskatchewan residents are urged to take precautions to avoid infection with hantavirus, especially when cleaning up rodent-infested barns or other buildings.

The warning comes after the recent death of a middle-aged adult in west-central Saskatchewan after contracting the virus.

The province's deputy chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, says the hantavirus is rare, but caution is advised against having any contact with deer mice.

Humans are most often exposed to the virus by breathing in air particles contaminated by deer mouse saliva, urine or droppings containing infectious particles. Deer mice are primarily found in rural areas and have large ears and eyes and a white belly. The common house mouse, which has no white on the belly, is not a carrier.

There have been 21 hantavirus cases in Saskatchewan since 1994. With the exception of a single case in Quebec, hantavirus is confined to Western Canada. The four western provinces reported a combined total of 70 cases since 1989. About one-third proved to be fatal.

Hantavirus infections begin with fever, muscle aches, cough, headaches, nausea and vomiting. In rare cases, the symptoms may get worse and develop into Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. HPS can progress rapidly into serious lung complications.

Individuals who develop a fever or respiratory illness within one to six weeks of a potential exposure should seek immediate medical attention.

There are a few steps to follow before cleaning barns, sheds and other buildings where deer mice may live. Shahab says the building should be ventilated by opening doors and windows for at least 30 minutes before cleaning. If mice droppings are spotted, do not sweep or vacuum them away - that's when the virus can become airborne. Instead, Shahab says to wear gloves, then use a wet mop or cloth to soak the area with a dilute bleach solution. Throw the mouse droppings in a plastic bag for disposal.

Hands should be washed afterwards and a bleach disinfectant used to mop the whole area.

Exposure to hantavirus can be greatly reduced by plugging any openings that might allow rodents to enter a building. Proper storage of human and animal food is also important, along with keeping yards clean and storing woodpiles above ground.

North American oat stocks look set to tighten up next year. Oats remains cheap on a relative basis to other crops despite the outlook for tighter supplies.

Oat prices have slipped this year and look to strain supplies in two ways.

Their low cost may lift demand from the U.S. horse-feeding industry that is already eager to avoid paying a hefty premium for corn.

Oats have also lost price ground to canola and wheat -- the two largest volume Canadian crops -- and may fall out of favour with farmers deciding in early 2012 what they will plant for next year.

So far, oats do not appear price competitive as a 2012 cropping option...but there is still time to change that market perspective.

Canada is by far the world's biggest oat exporter, shipping nearly two million tonnes annually, and supplies U.S. millers such as General Mills, Quaker Oats and Ralcorp to make cereals, oatmeal and granola bars.

Millers have apparently covered much of their supply needs through 2011, but next year looks to be a concern as supplies drain down, as acreage continues to erode in favour of other cropping options.

It will not take long for millers and the U.S. horse-feeding industry to chew through supplies after Canadian farmers harvested a third straight small crop this autumn. But with millers well-stocked for now, oats fell to the biggest discount versus corn in at least three years in late August. This was before corn prices weakened and narrowed the price spread somewhat, but still at a wide US $3.10 a bushel over oats in the nearby deliverable positions.

Overall, North American crop year-ending stocks next summer are projected to decline to 1.464 million tonnes, the smallest in five years. Canadian stocks are seen tumbling to 801,000 tonnes, according to our PFCanada estimate below. U.S. 2011-12 oat ending stocks are projected at only 663,000 tonnes, half what they were two years ago.

Canadian Oats Supply and Demand
 
                                     PFCanada
000 tonnes         09/10   10/11      11/12
Supply
Carry in           1,527   1,170        769
production         2,906   2,480      2,887
Imports               17      25         20
Total Supply       4,450   3,674      3,676
 
Demand
Total Domestic     1,205     970        950
Exports Grain      1,502   1,337      1,350
Exports - Food       574     598        575
Total Exports      2,075   1,935      1,925
Total Demand       3,280   2,905      2,875
 
Ending Stocks      1,170     769        801

Still, stubbornly, cash and futures prices for oats have not yet risen to reflect next year's supply worries, but I still believe that thin stocks will eventually push up prices, or at least narrow the gap with other cereal grains over time.

Much depends on how large a crop Western Canadian farmers intend to plant in 2012.

There's a new wrinkle to the oat story. The Canadian government plans to dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board's marketing monopoly over western wheat and barley starting with the 2012-13 crop, which farmers of course will plant next spring.

An open market may make those grains more attractive to farmers than oats. But for now, it remains uncertain how the marketing system change for wheat, durum and barley -- if and when it occurs -- will factor into the 2012 planting mix.

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.