Manitoba seeding operations are underway, but weather delays have put cereal crop plantings a couple weeks behind the five-year average.

Historically, seeding progress by the end of the first week of May is 40 to 50 per cent done for spring wheat, oats and barley, as well as grain corn. Other crops like canola, flaxseed and soybeans typically follow. For canola, the bulk of acres are seeded the third week of May. 

"However, with cereal planting being pushed back later than normal, other crop types will likely be pushed back as well," says Manitoba Agriculture cereal specialist Pam de Rocquigny.

A late spring this year delayed planting, but ongoing favourable weather conditions should advance activity.

"Over the past five years, we have seen an amazing ability of producers to seed a large amount of acres in short time frame," de Rocquigny says.

She adds that yield potential holds for crops seeded in May, and that most crops remain at 80 per cent or more of average yield potential, even if seeded in the last week of May. 

Farmers are assessing survival and establishment of winter wheat and fall rye crops. Winterkill and injury have been reported in some fields, although fall rye is generally rated good to excellent.

De Rocquigny says winter wheat survival and emergence was variable mostly because of the stage of the crop going into winter last autumn.

"Some acres had only just emerged due to dry conditions and were only one to two leaf stage going into winter; some other acres had not yet germinated and only germinated this spring," de Rocquigny says. 

Cooler spring temperatures slowed winter wheat development and might affect stand establishment, she adds. Most of those issues, however, are only being reported in the southwest, with other regions reporting the crop is okay.

Fertilizer applications on fall cereal acres have been ongoing.

The cool weather earlier this spring, (and in some cases, excess moisture), also slowed pasture and hay growth, Manitoba Agriculture reported in its latest crop report. This delay has pressured producers' feed supplies as they wait to move their cattle to pasture. Hay shortages are reported throughout the southwest, causing many cattle farmers to resort to alternative feed rations.

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More Saskatchewan farmers began seeding this week, but some are still in the starting blocks.

In its weekly crop report released Thursday, Saskatchewan Agriculture said eight per cent of the provincial crops was seeded. That compares to the five-year average of 16 per cent.

The greatest progress is in the southwest at 29 per cent due to drier conditions. Little to no seeding has been done across the northern grain belt or in east central regions near the Manitoba border. That area received about 30 centimetres of snow on the last day of April.

Brett Halstead, who farms in the Nokomis area about 150 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, started seeding on Sunday. He was surprised at how well his fields had dried over the past couple of weeks.

"We really had no rain late last summer and fall, so I guess there was probably lots of room for it in the soil," he says.

Halstead was happy to be back on the land.

"It was nice to get going again. It seemed like we were so much delayed compared to other years, but looking back, I started seeding this year the same day as last year."

Seeding delays are occurring in a triangular area bordered by Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert. The runoff contines as water runs from one slough to another. Radisson area farmer Laura Reiter hopes to start seeding sometime next week, as long as it doesn't rain. She remains optimistic that there will be enough time to get most of the crop planted.

"I'd like to think we'll get a fair bit of it, but there is a possibility that 500 to 600 acres will stay away from the drill," she says. "It just depends on what the weather does for the next little while."

Mid-week weather models indicated that rain was a possibility over much of the province on Saturday and Sunday. The northeast is one area that doesn't want any rain.

"There have been a couple of guys try (seeding early in the week), but they shut it down," says Wayne Bacon, a farmer in the Kinistino area. "There were too many (wet) areas they had to go around."

He adds anything more than 15 millimetres of rain on the long weekend would cause more problems.

Warm, windy weather over most of the last week improved topsoil moisture conditions across the province. Saskatchewan Agriculture estimates 24 per cent of cropland has surplus topsoil moisture, 71 per cent adequate and five per cent short.

Farm safety becomes a concern as the seeding window begins to narrow. Growers will need to put in long hours on the field, but there are limits.

"It is never worth something permanent happening to you or your family over rushing to get things done," Halstead says. "I know there are times when you want to keep working all night or something like that -- but if you are tired, it is just better just to go to bed."

After struggling last year through one of the most unusual planting seasons ever, it looks like Ontario farmers are back on track.

Rachel Faust, technical marketing manager for Chatham-based Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited, says as of mid-week, planting was progressing extremely well.

"It's full throttle ahead here," she says.

Faust estimates almost 100 per cent of the corn and two-thirds of soybeans were planted in eastern Ontario.

In southwestern Ontario, in heavier clay soils, about 70 per cent of the corn and 30 per cent of soybeans are planted.

"People thought planting got off to a slow start, but timing-wise it seems like a normal year," she says. "If Ontario farmers can get all their corn in by the middle of May, they can't ask for more."

Faust says planting conditions are ideal for soil moisture and heat. In Ontario, rain fell sporadically as temperatures started climbing significantly through the week. That followed an extremely chilly start to the week, with frost warnings in many areas.

"Farmers are still planting into moisture, and with the warm temperatures, seeds will be quick to germinate," she says.

She is particularly encouraged about the timely planting for soybeans. Pioneer research has shown early planting results in yield increases.

One hiccup concerns potassium levels in soybeans, which the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food estimates to be less than ideal in up to 20 per cent of Ontario fields.

It says fields with under 100 parts per million of potassium in soil test results may suffer significant yield losses, especially in dry years. A 50 bushel per acre crop removes about 70 pounds per acre of potassium.

As wildfire season gets an early start in parts of Canada this year, Alberta Agriculture has released some risk management steps to take on-farm in an effort to minimize the threat.

Department officers recommend assessing the risk to farms or acreages. Property in or near forests, and those containing large dry grassland areas are at a high risk. Officials recommend farmers also consider whether it would be practical to evacuate animals if forced by wildfire. High risk wildfire conditions include dry early spring conditions prior to grass and tree leaf emergence and sometimes later in the summer, once the summer heat has dried the usual spring wetness. Windy days also increase risk.

Alberta Agriculture says there are three main options that farmers can consider when making their wildfire plan. Each option depends on the size of the farm to determine whether it would be a realistic choice.

- Shelter in-place: soak down the area around the yard and create a fire break around the yard and animals

- Plan to evacuate: with sufficient time and preparation, evacuate the farm family and a small number of animals until the risk is gone

- Release the animals: if there's little or no warning, open the gates or doors to give the animals a chance to find safety on their own while the family is evacuated

The department also recommends farmers be prepared with a fire and evacuation plan, have a fire extinguisher, tools and water available to use to fight any small fires that start in the yard, train staff and farm residents on fire plans and identify nearby sources of water.

A fire plan manual is available from the provincial government here.

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Although the official results have not yet been released, the first projections for Quebec's maple syrup harvest look optimistic. Preliminary estimates show the results may even surpass last year's 96 million pounds.

"We are almost certain that the harvest this year will be better than last years," says Paul Rouillard, deputy director of the Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec, the federation that represents maple syrup producers in Quebec. "However, we prefer to wait for the survey results conducted by the AGECO group to know the final results."

Preliminary results estimate the provincial average has reached as high as three pounds per tap, compared to 2.2 pounds per tap last year, and 2.6 pounds per tap in 2011. This year's results may beat the record harvest of 109 million pounds in 2009.

"The very good harvest this year is explained in large part by the weather that was exceptionally conducive to sugaring during March and April," Rouillard says. "That's to say, nights that were below freezing point, however not too cold, and nice days above freezing point, but rarely past 10 degrees."

Some producers noted this year as being the earliest start to the season that they can recall. Some were boiling as early as the first week of March in parts of the province, including areas that often don't start boiling until the beginning of April.

"It was a fairly early season, and we never had super warm days, but everyday was very consistent and we always had cold, clear sap, which made the great clear quality of the syrup this year," says Dale Macfarlane, a maple syrup producer in the Quebec region of Haut-St-Laurent.

The final results of the harvest will be released in mid-June. There are more than 43 million taps in Quebec. Quebec alone provides up to 90 per cent of the world's supply of maple syrup and maple syrup products represent $266 million annually for the province.

University of Saskatchewan researchers are working with the food industry from the ground up to reduce the amount of sodium in bread and processed meat -- including investigating wheat varieties.

Research includes looking at wheat varieties and how, during baking, wheat interacts with sodium. That means wheat breeder Pierre Hucl is examining the large range of wheat varieties in the university's Crop Development Centre.

Health Canada provided the impetus for the research by introducing stricter salt content guidelines in 2016. The World Health Organization reports Canadians are among the highest consumers of salt in the world.

According to Health Canada, bread and baked products are the largest source of salt in the average diet, accounting for 14 per cent. Commercial bread has between 450 and 550 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams. The new proposed limit is 330 milligrams, which creates production challenges such as dough stickiness.

"When you start removing salt, it influences how dough is formed," says researcher Mike Nickerson. "This could have a huge impact on not only the processing line, but on the quality of the bread. You don't get the same loaf volume and it's a really poor quality bread. Removing the salt allows more water to adhere to the dough structure, giving the stickiness feeling."

Nickerson's work will focus on how proteins and starches interact with water, yeast and salt to find out how sodium controls dough structure. Meanwhile Pierre Hucl, will screen a large range of wheat varieties in the University of Saskatchewan Crop Development Centre database.

"The best case scenario is that one of these varieties shows extra strength in these low salt environments," Nickerson says. "But we may also get an indication of possible genetic markers or how we can improve that variety going forward."

Salt is also a fundamental ingredient in processed meats, such as ham, sausage, bacon and wieners. Sodium provides flavour, acts as a preservative and has water holding capabilities to improve texture. This is important because consumers tend to avoid products with too much liquid in the packaging.

Meat scientist Phyllis Shand has been working on the project for three years.

"Some of the gains we have made might be a little too expensive right now, but if the cost of some of the ingredients goes down, they will also be good alternatives," she says.

Flax meal or enzymes could be part of the answer. Shand is optimistic a combination of tweaking ingredients and procedures could work.

Funding for the research is provided by Saskatchewan's Agriculture Development Fund and the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has implemented an interim local food policy.

In a news release, the CFIA states that the temporary policy is in place while it reviews and modernizes its current food labelling rules.

In the meantime, CFIA has defined the term local as "food produced in the province or territory in which it is sold, or food sold across provincial borders within 50 kilometres of the originating province or territory."

The food labelling review will include input from stakeholders, industry and consumers and include reviews of food labelling regulations, guidelines and policies.

CFIA states the interim policy came into effect immediately and will remain in place until the review is complete.

Under the previous policy, the CFIA interpreted the terms local, locally grown, or any similar term to mean that the food originated within a 50 kilometre radius of the place where it was sold, or the food sold originated within the same local government unit (such as a municipality) or adjacent government unit.

CFIA states that it's important to note that claims such as "local" are voluntary and industry is encouraged to add qualifiers like the name of a community to provide consumers with additional information.

Full information is available here.

Canadian restaurants that make pizzas on-site will soon pay less for their mozzarella cheese.

An Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada news release earlier this month says a new milk class has been created. It includes standardized mozzarella cheeses strictly to be used on fresh pizzas at establishments registered with the Canadian Dairy Commission under terms and conditions approved by the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee.

The new class will favour the development of the market for mozzarella in the restaurant sector, the news release states.

"The Dairy Farmers of Canada and the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association have been collaborating with the CMSMC on finalizing this proposal for a few months now," says Wally Smith, president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada. "It is the farmers' sincerest hope that this class will bring growth in sales of cheese in the restaurant pizza category."

The CDC will begin registering restaurants for eligibility to buy mozzarella cheese at the new price on June 1, says Thérèse Beaulieu, the assistant director of strategic communications with the DFC.

"The price has been negotiated between the dairy farmers and the restaurants," says Beaulieu, explaining the price of cheese has been an issue with the restaurant industry for a number of years. "We said, let's sit down and discuss this instead of always fighting, and work out a new, acceptable price to both farmers and restaurants."

The CRFA is congratulating the dairy industry for the decision.

"This new restaurant mozzarella cheese class responds to longstanding concerns raised by CRFA on behalf of our members and fresh pizza makers across the country," says Garth Whyte, president and CEO of the CRFA.

Canada's restaurant industry purchases $2.5 billion worth of dairy products annually.

Oats

Prairie cash bids for oats range between $3.60 to $3.70 a bushel in Saskatchewan and $3.75 to $4.05 a bushel in Manitoba. May is traditionally a difficult time to source oats given road bans, wet yards and the pressure of seeding. But such cash values are, in my opinion, an opportunity to catch up on sales, unless you are looking to see what crop threats might emerge into the 2013 growing season.

New crop Prairie cash bids range between $3.05 to $3.15 a bushel in Saskatchewan and $3.20 to 3.50 a bushel in Manitoba. Considering those numbers, farmers may want to consider thinking about a target to forward-price some portion of their expected 2013 oat production.

There has been little to no recent reaction from the market with respect to tightening quarterly grain stocks as reported recently by Statistics Canada. Current rate of usage suggests Canadian year-end stocks of only 383,000 tonnes (very tight), with little hope of replenishing supplies in the year ahead.

Barley

The feed barley market continues to hold steady at solid values across the Prairie region. Spot cash bids in Manitoba range from $5.15 a bushel in the northwest to $5.55 a bushel in the Red River Valley, with a similar range in Saskatchewan. Southern Alberta feeders continue to bid about $6.20 to $6.30 a bushel for immediate movement, and $5.40 to $5.70 a bushel moving into north central areas of Alberta.

The supply and demand situation as projected below for both 2012-13 and 2013-14 remains tight. But old crop cash values appear to have stalled, and prices could weaken should American corn pricing conditions deteriorate. Of course, the opposite is true should the corn market take-off this summer like it did last year. But that is not the gamble I wish to take with profitable old crop cash bids now available.

The Prairie cash feed barley market has seen little change since prices bumped up early last week. Many feedlots have their immediate needs covered after the demand push last week. Seeding has been in full swing this week. Much of Saskatchewan is drying out quicker than expected, and the latest expectations about spring seeding on the Prairies is that farmers may not switch to shorter growing season crops as much as was previously feared. 

New crop cash bids are not looking particularly attractive at this time. They're at $3.70 to $4.10 a bushel in Manitoba, $3.60 to $4.00 a bushel in Saskatchewan, $4.80 to $5.00 a bushel delivered into southern Alberta's Feedlot Alley and $4.00 to $4.40 a bushel in more northern areas of the province.

StatsCan pegged 2013 Canadian barley acreage at 7.24 million, down from 7.4 million last year. With an acreage abandonment rate of 10 per cent and a 10-year yield average of 57 bushels per acre, that puts production around 8.1 million tonnes, which does not put us on track to rebuild Canadian barley carryout.

The possibility of a large 2013 U.S. corn crop would serve as a wet blanket for the entire North American feed grain complex in the year ahead, and that is indeed a concern. But fall-delivered cash bids are already reflecting some of that negativity. With the possibility of some weather-scare rallies for the corn market still ahead (even if just temporary), PFCanada sees a possible new crop barley pricing opportunity, not what we are seeing today.

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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.