The event, held in Canberra, Australia from Aug. 24 to 27, and organized by Bayer CropScience and the Australian youth organization Future Farmers Network, was set up to build on the inaugural summit held in 2013 in Calgary.

Themed “How to feed a hungry planet?,” this week’s event was built up from a projection that by 2050, over nine billion people will live on the planet — but with even less agricultural land available to produce food.

Also in Australia during the conference were Grainews/Country Guide field editors Lisa Guenther and Scott Garvey, who over this week heard, spoke to, photographed and filmed the delegates, their mentors, conference speakers and organizers at work — and we’ve linked to their reports, photos and videos here.

Video: Mentoring future farmers

Summit organizers explain why mentoring future farmers is important — and discuss what they expect the summit’s youth delegates to take away from the event.

Video: Food challenges in focus

Here we see summit moderator Simon Pampena put the spotlight on Pu Hu, one of the event’s youth delegates.

Video: One representative’s perspective

Lisa meets Lexi Salt, who as an Ontario student attended the Calgary conference as a youth delegate, and this week served as an alumni mentor.

Video: Granddaughter of the revolution

Here Lisa meets with Norman Borlaug’s granddaughter Julie Borlaug. Norman Borlaug, who died in 2009, is credited with starting the “green revolution” of the 1960s. The younger Borlaug talks about the activities of the institute that now bears his name — and what she sees as the future of agriculture.

Video: How Australian ag benefits from biotech

Belinda Cay of the Grains Research and Development Corporation of Australia discusses how new crop varieties have improved yields on that continent, including on her own family’s farm.

Two to represent

Coming out of the conference, two delegates — Australia’s Laura Grubb and Kenya’s Samba Ouma — were picked by their peers to travel to Rome later this fall to present the delegates’ joint effort, the Canberra Youth Ag Declaration, at a meeting of the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security.

Photo gallery: A role for research

Delegates visit the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) station at Ginninderra, on the north side of Canberra, and learn more about wheat breeding, precision agriculture, integrated weed management, broad acre cropping, and livestock/sheep production and welfare.

“I believe that young people have so much potential to contribute to solutions on global and local food challenges,” FFN chair Georgie Aley said in a release ahead of the conference.

“Australia is a key country in terms of modern agriculture and an ideal host for this event,” Bernd Naaf, member of the board of management for Bayer CropScience, said in the same release.

“We are very proud to have such bright minds and great organizations on board to commonly build a sustainable global network of future leaders and strong partners in agriculture.” — AGCanada.com Network

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In this video, staff at the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) talk about ways to increase pulse consumption by blending it with other products.

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Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development is continuing to assess how crop and livestock producers have been affected by dramatic flooding in the southeast part of that province.

Recent media reports cite Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson saying it’s only after the water recedes that the full extent of the impact will be known.

Initial reports suggest most of the damage is isolated to areas along river banks and creeks, Olson recently told the Bloomberg news service. Officials are also monitoring the integrity of dams used for farm irrigation, Olson said.

Communities in southern Alberta experienced heavy rainfall beginning on June 19 and some 75,000 residents of Calgary, the province’s largest city, were evacuated. Three deaths have been reported outside of the metropolitan area.

Just prior to the start of the flooding event, the province released its regular crop report, which showed more than 85 per cent of the province’s crops were rating good to excellent, and good moisture levels were reported throughout much of the growing season.

In Saskatchewan, growers have been largely spared any major weather events so far, and seeding has essentially wrapped up with an estimated 98 per cent of the 2013 crop in the ground, putting the crop on pace with the five-year average.

Crops are off to a good start this year, despite a late start, the Saskatchewan ag ministry’s crop report said. Soil moisture ratings are very good — though sometimes too good, with five per cent of the province rated excessive. 87 per cent of the province is rated good/excellent for surface soil moisture, while 84 per cent is rated good/excellent for subsoil moisture.

Warmer temperatures are needed to enhance crop development which has been slowed by the cool spring and to allow spraying to be completed. Currently, spraying is estimated to be 47 per cent completed.

Many areas of Manitoba received significant amounts of rainfall over the past several days. Impact to crops is being assessed and will depend on the stage of crop development and duration of the excessive moisture conditions.

The southwest region experienced moderate to heavy rainfall over last week with amounts ranging from 30 to 200 mm. The heaviest amounts fell in the Pipestone and Reston areas, where some localized overland flooding was experienced.

Manitoba’s northwest also saw variable weather with periods of higher winds, at-or-below-seasonal temperatures, and scattered thundershowers. By the week’s end, all areas of the region were affected by rains and heavy thunderstorms, with precipitation amounts from 75 to 125 mm.

Warmer temperatures were welcome for crop growth in Manitoba’s central region, where some areas also saw some significant rain over the weekend. Areas hardest hit included Headingley (10 to 125 mm), St. Francois Xavier (75-90), Mather/Cartwright (100), and Gladstone (75-90)_.

Rainfall amounts from 12 to 25 mm fell this past weekend in Manitoba’s southeast, where cropland moisture levels are rated at 90 per cent adequate and 10 per cent short.

Isolated thundershowers through the week brought accumulations of 20-40 mm to some localized areas across Manitoba’s Interlake region, between Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba.

Areas from Moosehorn to Gypsumville were the hardest hit, with water ponding in most fields. General showers on Sunday accumulated to 20 mm across the region.

Earlier in the week, crops showed rapid development, given warmer conditions. Producers made excellent progress with herbicide applications; progress by crop type ranges from 80 to 100 per cent complete. First-cut haying operations continue with average yields. — AGCanada.com Network

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“South winds that carry aster leafhoppers from the southern U.S. arrived more than a month later in 2013 than in 2012. This is a factor in lower numbers this year,” said this week’s Canola Watch report from the Canola Council of Canada.

“Late infestations are still possible, but the indication so far is that aster yellows will not be a major issue in 2013,” the report said.

In his weekly report on the Call of the Land radio broadcast, Alberta Agriculture pest specialist Scott Meers said plants such as dandelions show evidence of the disease, which indicates the reservoir is there — but Prairie-wide, leafhopper numbers are low.

For producers who still have concerns, the Canola Watch report provides spraying guidelines and an address where producers can send suspect plants for testing for the disease.

Cereal leaf beetles

Meers said cereal leaf beetles are a problem in wheat and barley in southern Alberta this year. While there was hope that parasitoids would reduce the numbers, “It looks like it’s going to be need to be treated, at least in some areas.”

In central Alberta and into the Peace, there are reports of cutworms thinning crops, especially canola, Meers said.

Flea beetles

In this week’s Manitoba insect and disease update, provincial pest specialist John Gavloski says flea beetle populations have been at levels requiring insecticide applications in canola, with some fields requiring more than one application and some reseeding due to thin stands.

Gavloski said when canola gets to the three-to four-leaf stage in most instances it will be able to compensate for the feeding by flea beetles. Later-seeded fields will still need to be monitored for flea beetle feeding.

Gavloski also said there has been cutworm activity across the province, and the report includes photos for identification and control recommendations.

Diamondback moth trap counts are high in eastern Manitoba, but there have been no reports of larvae so far, the report said.

Other topics in this week’s Canola Watch report include scouting for cutworms, bees and canola, top-dressing fertilizer, aerial options for weed control and rescue treatment for a hailed crop. — AGCanada.com Network

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The WSJ reported Wednesday that U.S. meat packing giant Smithfield Foods, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said it submitted an offer March 25 in connection with a “potential packaged meats acquisition,” which was rejected April 10.

Smithfield’s filing said it had, since January, contemplated and evaluated “a potentially significant acquisition of a large business in the packaged meats sector.”

Smithfield, in its filing, also said its board met in April to discuss options including “the acquisition of a large business in the packaged meats sector with which Smithfield had already had preliminary discussions.”

The WSJ and the Globe report that sources familiar with the matter confirmed the offer was for Toronto-based Maple Leaf.

Smithfield announced last month it had agreed to a US$4.7 billion takeover by China’s Shuanghui International.

The Globe reported Thursday that the sources familiar with the company said a number of international firms have expressed interest in acquiring some or all of Maple Leaf — including U.S. food producers Kraft Foods and Hormel Foods and Mexican baked goods company Grupo Bimbo.

The potential buyers are said to be on the lookout for acquisitions to help supply the growing meat market in Asia. — AGCanada.com Network

Related stories:
Chinese packer to buy U.S. pork giant Smithfield, May 29, 2013
Maple Leaf loss widens on lower meat sales, May 2, 2013

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Cloudy days don’t provide the photosynthetic activity required for many herbicides, including Group 10 glufosinate. And nights near freezing, followed by days with highs that barely reach 10 C, won’t provide high metabolic activity required for best results from Group 9 glyphosate.

But it’s “the art of the possible” for farmers with acres to cover, as they struggle to give their crops the best start with timely weed control. So the council suggests growers follow best management practices for getting the most out of those herbicide applications.

Performance is on a sliding scale. Cloudy days with highs of 10 C after a night near 0 C will tend to result in herbicide performance at the low end. Sunny days with highs of 15 C after a night of 3 C will provide improved control. Sunny days with highs of 20-25 C after a night of 10 C will provide optimum control.

Cool humid conditions are also prime conditions for herbicide injury to the crop. The leaf cuticle (waxy layer) is thinner allowing more rapid uptake of herbicide into the plant and cool conditions reduce the speed at which the herbicide is inactivated in the crop.

This can lead to a flash of injury in the crop — which is temporary in most cases and, once good growing conditions return, the crop recovers and yield loss is rare.

Talk to your local product rep to see how a chemical company will support the use of its product when applied in cool temperatures, the council advises — and set expectations according to weather conditions.

Questions and answers

Clark Brenzil, the weed control specialist with the Saskatchewan ministry of agriculture in Regina, provided some insight to the council regarding some common questions:

What would 0 C mornings and 10 C highs with cloud and rain do for herbicide efficacy?

In this case, herbicide activity on that cloudy cool day would be next to zero. Biological activity would have stopped during the night, and would not start up again until the plant warmed to at least 5 C — and even then it would be very slow. A few hours between 5 C and a daytime peak of 10 C would not be enough warmth to get plant metabolism going to a point where herbicide was all that effective, especially with the cloud. No biological activity equals no herbicide activity.

Ideally, you want a day or two of warm sunny days and night time lows of 4 C or higher before spraying. If applied more than 48 hour before the event, efficacy on living plants will be improved and the plant will continue to decline when it warms up again.

Are there any herbicides that work well in these conditions?

Group 4 herbicides — such as clopyralid (in Lontrel) — tend to be less impacted by cool weather because they are somewhat plant-persistent (that is, are not quickly deactivated) in susceptible species and will remain active in the plant after the weather turns again. In addition, they are less associated with a particular site of action in the plant, because they are mimicking the plant’s natural growth regulators.

Soil-residual herbicides in any group have a certain performance edge under adverse weather over their non-persistent counterparts. The soil residue re-exposes the plant to the herbicide when conditions improve and the weed control takes place then. Beware of the potential for injury in these cases since the cold has shut down the tolerant plant’s mechanism for ridding itself of the herbicide but the soil residue still allows the herbicide to build up in the plant as the uptake from the roots continues as long as the plant continues to respire.

Some non-Group 4 herbicides such as Amitrol 240 are also plant-persistent and as a result will pick up where it left off when it got cold — if the target was treated ahead of the cold weather. Keep in mind though that treating during cold weather can also slow the movement of the herbicide from the leaf surface into the plant and leave it vulnerable to wash off or other degradation.

Would lower efficacy of an early spray be better than waiting a week for better conditions, if it means the weeds are that much bigger?

Growers should not get in a panic to spray when cold and grey. Calendars are human inventions and plants don’t look at them. If it is cold, the “time” from a plant growth perspective has slowed to a snail’s pace or stopped. It will resume when temperatures warm up again. The point is under cool/cold temperatures and cloudy rainy conditions the plants will not continue to get bigger.

Herbicides in general tend to work best in warm sunny conditions when weeds are actively growing and cycling nutrients into their growing points. In these conditions, weeds will take in herbicides most efficiently.

Waiting to spray need not be lost time, though, as growers can use the time to scout for target weeds and sizes, get the sprayer ready, choose products, check with manufacturers on tank mixes they’d like to use, and have those products on hand.

If they are forced to wait until weed progress is less than ideal, there are some management practices that can address when some weeds have grown beyond their control stage for the chosen herbicide.

Rather than go at rates higher than the label, which can damage the crop, consider a tank mix. If not, the label rate may set back the weeds enough that the crop can out-compete the weed. This may take two applications if canola closure is still a couple weeks away. — AGCanada.com Network

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All three Prairie provinces are reporting virtual completion of seeding in their latest crop reports.

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development says 97 per cent of the crop is in the ground, which is in line with the long-term-average.

Emergence is estimated at 63 per cent, ahead of last year’s 55 per cent. Precipitation was general throughout Alberta. It’s expected that one per cent of the province’s acres won’t be seeded due to excessive moisture, particularly in the area northwest of Edmonton.

Crop spraying progress in the province averaged 8.3 per cent completed. The impact of insect populations has been minimal thus far this year, AARD added.

With the precipitation, surface soil moisture conditions have improved in all regions of Alberta with the exception of the northeast. Provincially, 83 per cent of the province is rated good/excellent. Regionally, only the northeast, at 58 per cent good/excellent, is rated less than 90 per cent for surface moisture.

Hay and pasture crops are in good condition, reflecting the moisture received over the past 10 days. Some reductions to dryland first-cut hay yields are expected in southern Alberta due to the prolonged dry conditions this spring. Provincially, hay and pastures are rated one per cent poor, 18 per cent fair, 62 per cent good and 19 per cent excellent.

The Saskatchewan ministry of agriculture’s latest report says 96 per cent of the 2013 crop is in the ground, significantly above the five-year (2008 to 2012) average of 89 per cent seeded for this time of year.

One year ago, 96 per cent of the 2012 crop had been seeded. Despite wet field conditions in many areas, emerged crops were in good to excellent condition.

Regionally, 93 per cent of the crop is seeded in the southeast while the remaining regions each have 97 per cent of the crop seeded. Much of the province received significant rainfall which has slowed down field operations. The Kinistino area, southeast of Prince Albert, reported the greatest amount of rainfall at 93 mm.

Across Saskatchewan, topsoil moisture on crop land is rated as 10 per cent surplus, 84 per cent adequate and six per cent short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as four per cent surplus, 86 per cent adequate and 10 per cent short.

The majority of fall cereals are in the tillering to jointed stages of crop development while most spring cereals are in the emerging to tillering stages. The majority of pulse crops are emerging and in the vegetative stages and flax crops are mostly in the pre-emergent or emerging crop stages. Canola and mustard crops are emerging or at the seedling stage of crop development.

Some reported crop damage this week was due to localized flooding, frost and insect damage from flea beetles, cutworms and pea leaf weevil. Farmers are busy finishing seeding and controlling weeds.

Seeding progress in Manitoba is estimated to be 94 per cent complete. There remain some areas in the southwest and central regions where seeding is not as advanced.

However, progress was made over the past week and favourable weather conditions will allow producers to continue seeding, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives reported.

Stand establishment is generally rated as good to excellent for most crop types. However, the excess moisture in some areas did impact crop emergence and plant stands, mainly in the low areas of the fields. Weed control is a priority for producers as crops continue to advance.

Increased flea beetle activity in the earliest-seeded canola fields has been reported. — AGCanada.com Network

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Canola seedlings can’t penetrate the crust, and often curl back and die, the council said in its most recent Canola Watch publication.

No research has been conducted to show the best ways to break up crusting and free the crop. If a few plants have emerged, it may be best to leave them be, said the council.

Fields with plant counts as low as one to two per square foot evenly throughout the field are probably better to be left alone than reseeded as of this calendar date, the council says,

Very low plant counts can produce reasonable yields — as long as those plants are closely protected throughout the rest of the season and weed competition is kept in check.

Fields reseeded at this date have lower yield potential than a field seeded in mid-May, the council notes, and face a much higher risk of fall frost losses.

Soils with a higher percentage of clay will crust more in the weather conditions that encourage crusting, as clay tends to bind together much more than sand or loam soils. Clay soil granules are small enough to almost glue together with moisture and remain “cemented” when dry.

Loam and sandy soils have larger granules and therefore do not bind together as tightly.

Higher organic matter (OM) will amount to less crusting because OM, even though it acts as a binding agent for soil particles, only holds particles loosely.

Soils with high sodium and low calcium also have a higher tendency to crust.

Fields that are wet, then quickly dry due to wind and heat, are likely to crust.

Generally, soils in a moist state will not crust. In fact, the best cure for soil crusting is rain.

Tillage practices, however, can also play a role. Clay soils that are wet and then dry quickly can crust with any tillage practice. In general, fields with long-term no-till will have a lower risk of crusting because OM tends to be higher in a no-till situation.

Every tillage practice performed breaks down the stubble and OM, and therefore will increase the chances of soil crusting.

Packing during seeding is used to firm the soil around the seed. Increased packing pressure will compact the soil particles more ,and therefore can increase the chance of soil crusting. Reduce packing pressure in wet conditions, the council recommends.

Opener/packer combination is also a variable to watch. An opener that creates more soil disturbance can decrease the chances of soil crusting due to simple fracturing of the soil base. However, too much disturbance can also increase soil crusting by breaking down the soil base, which then has a higher chance compacting when packed.

There are no reliable solutions, the council says, other than to wait for rain. Some growers have reseeded the worst sections of fields.

A light harrowing might help, the council suggests, if nothing has come through. Do a couple passes, then assess whether canola seedlings are being ripped out of the ground. Harrowing too close to emergence can be harmful to a shallow-seeded crop such as canola, and may not be worth the risk.

Using a roller may be worse than harrowing when soils are wet below the crust, the council warns. Instead of cracking up the soil surface, a roller could turn the whole topsoil zone to concrete. — AGCanada.com Network

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