The United Voice of Agriculture in Saskatchewan.

Updated: Monsday, August 23 at 11:34 pm.

APAS logo

Aug 30-Sept -3

The Canadian Grain Commission has recently received inquiries regarding the changes to the calculation of moisture shrinkage. As you are aware, primary elevators that artificially dry grain must do so in accordance with Canadian Grain Commission Order 2010 – 34 – Calculation of moisture shrinkage allowance for grain artificially dried at primary elevators. An operator of a licensed primary elevator may dry tough, damp, moist or wet grain at the elevator in accordance with orders of the Commission.

Effective August 1, 2010, licensed primary elevators were no longer allowed to include a 1.1% moisture rebound factor for grain artificially dried at their facilities.The calculation of moisture shrinkage allowance formula can be found at: http://grainscanada.gc.ca/legislation-legislation/orders-arretes/2010/2010-34-eng.htm.

If any additional shrinkage, above the formula allowance, has been deducted from your gross weight, contact the delivery point and request the appropriate refunds be made.In addition, there is an online calculator for your convenience at: http://grainscanada.gc.ca/guides-guides/drying-sechage/cwldd-pprsc-eng.asp. By simply inputting the original moisture, the final moisture and tonnage delivered, it will calculate your gross dry tonnes delivered.Should you require further clarification, please contact the CGC at 1–800–853–6705

 

 

Aug 23-27

The big news last week was the permanent closing of the XL beef plantr in Moose Jaw, the hostile takeover bid of Potash Corp and the joint announcement by FNA and APAS offering a significant discount on new FNA memberships for APAS members. 

According to the crop reports from the week of Aug 10-16, less than one per cent of the crop has been combined. When broken down by crop, six per cent of the winter wheat and fall rye and three per cent of the lentils and peas have been combined. The five-year provincial average (2005 to 2009) for this time of year is five per cent combined. The wet and cool weather has delayed crop maturity and slowed harvest. 

Doug Faller, APAS Policy Manager did get a chance to swath his canola last week, just ahead of Sunday's big rainfall. This week, the APAS team are all in the office following up on various projects and planning for the September CFA Managers' Meeting which will be held on Sept 23 and 24 in Saskatoon.

On Monday, APAS staff worked on a variety of upcoming projects, including the development of a new sponsorship program and the coordination of a special Weather Network report on the continuing rains and current crop conditions. 

On Tuesday morning, notice went by fax or email to all District One Reps to announce that there will be a District Conference Call on Wednesday morning at 8 am. And on Tuesday afternoon, APAS will launch our RM Election pages to provide all even numbered RMs with all the appropriate materials required for the upcoming APAS Rep elections.

On Wednesday, APAS executive management participated in a District One Conference call. In the news this week, the stalemate continues between Canada and Mexico over canaryseed exports. Mexico has new weed seed regulations that hold and test any shipments from Canada found to contain quarantine weed seeds.The zero tolerance policy includes wild buckwheat and stinkweed. The Canadian Special Crops Association has responded by extending the period for export contracts. Canada is Mexico's largest supplier of canaryseed. 

August 16-20

On Monday, Bob Freisen of FNA-STAG is at the APAS office to meet with APAS Executives prior to the joint District 4 & 5 meeting that will take place later today in Humboldt.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) will be hosting a joint District 4 & District 5 Representatives meeting on Monday, August 16 in Humboldt, Saskatchewan.  Attendees will include APAS RM Reps and local RM council members.The meeting begins at 3:00 pm at the Bella Vista Inn on Highway 5. 

Following the meeting and prior to dinner, Greg Marshall, APAS President and Bob Friesen, CEO of the Farmers of North America’s Strategic Agriculture Institute (FNA-STAG) will be announcing an important new partnership to benefit APAS members across the province.

And in other news,XL Foods Inc. announced last Friday that it has served notice to employees that the Moose Jaw plant will be shut down permanently within 90 days.

Brian Nilsson, CEO of XL, said the closure is for business and economic reasons, citing the Alberta-based company's failure to reach a new contract with the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

About 140 employees have been picketing the plant since they were locked out in September 2009.

Union officials held a meeting with employees at the Moose Jaw & District Labour Council offices to discuss the closure. Norm Neault, president of Local 1400, said employees were surprised and disappointed by the announcement. ``It's a big hit to this community,'' he said. ``The fact they were locked out for a year and they did not close it, they brought in CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) in April to preserve their accreditation and did not give any indication there was going to be a complete closure.''

Neault said the union hopes to negotiate a closure agreement with XL that would deal with severance and job retraining.

Mayor Glenn Hagel called the closure of XL Beef a very sad day for Moose Jaw.``One cannot help but be most sympathetic to the people most affected by this and that's the employees of XL Beef,'' he said. Hagel said the closure shows how much Moose Jaw needs to continue to develop economically.

APAS' BOD met by conference call on Tuesday morning to discuss the issue and to prepare APAS official response on behalf of Saskatchewan's agricultural community. On Tuesday afternoon, APAS staff met to discuss the XL closure, current weather conditions and the risk and implications of an early frost and the significant media response to yesterday's announcement regarding the APAS-FNA partnership.

 

August 9-13

The latest crop report from the Ministry of Agriculture indicates that Saskatchewan producers have over 82 per cent of the hay crop cut and 60 per cent baled or put into silage; though high humidity and rain showers continue to slow haying progress in some parts of Saskatchewan. Thunderstorms continue in many parts of the province, dropping hail and large amounts of rain, and leaving crops one to two weeks behind normal development in most areas of the province. The majority of crop damage is being caused by flooding and hail, insects, disease, gophers and wind.

General Manager Nial Kuyek and President Greg Marshall are back in the office this week, updating the staff on the recent CFA meeting and getting up to speed on current office activities. The APAS team will be busy over the next few weeks finalizing the planning and agendas for the CFA Managers Meeting in September and the Food Symposium in November, both being hosted in Saskatoon this year.

On Monday, Greg, Nial and Doug spent the morning providing each other with updates recent meetings and projects, while Aj was at Over the Hills Orchard with the crew of the Saskcess series. The afternoon was spent in a group discussion to plan and coordinate a number of important meetings to be held throughout the remainder of the week.

On Tuesday, the APAS executive and staff will spend a large portion of the day managing independent projects, updating various media, completing weekly reports and returning calls missed during the past several weeks. 

On Thursday, Nial and Doug will be traveling to Saskatoon to meet with representatives from the Canola sector to discuss contract issues and concerns that have been raised by the membership at recent AGMs. As well on Thursday, APAS and ACC Farmers Financial will be meeting with officials from Western Economic Development to explore funding options in order to develop an agricultural merchant bank in Saskatchewan. In addition, Nial and Doug met with the Canola Development Council and the Canola Growers of Saskatchewan to discuss projects and plans that are of mutual interest. 

On Friday , the Economic Trade & Strategic Growth and the Environment Committees will be meeting in Saskatoon to further discuss and develop policy positions on a variety of current issues.  For more information, please click HERE.

While on the topic of committees, welcome to the following new committee members

For more information about our Policy Committees, click HERE. 

 

August 3-6, 2010

Monday was a civic holiday across Canada, so APAS staff spent the long weekend celebrating the remaining days of summer with family and friends. President Greg Marshall is back from the Halifax CFA Semi-annual summer meeting, but General Manager Nial Kuyek will be away on vacation throughout this week traveling the North East US. 

Meanwhile, Policy Manager Doug Faller has been working with a number of affiliated groups to refine the agenda and planning for the 2010 Food Symposium that will be held in Saskatoon this November. Doug and his committee have an exciting and imaginative agenda planned for attendees that will be interactive, engaging and thought-provoking.

In addition , this week we received a note from Brian O'Hearne, President of eWeatherRisk, Inc. As a follow up to eWeatherRisk's presentation at a recent APAS AGM and the high volume of calls that have been received from Saskatchewan producers interested in these programs, Brian O' Hearne sent additional information for interested APAS members. To download and review the PDF presentation, click [HERE]. To learn even more, contact your local APAS Director or call Brian directly at 913 749 7738 or email him at brian.ohearne@eweatherrisk.com.   

 

 

July 26-30

Saskatchewan producers have 66 per cent of the hay crop cut and 38 per cent baled or put into silage, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture's weekly Crop Report.

The quality of the hay crop is rated as 19 per cent excellent, 58 per cent good and 10 per cent fair. Haying has progressed furthest in the south, where 73 per cent of the crop has been cut and 47 per cent baled or put into silage. Haying is progressing slowly due to high humidity; however, the relatively clear weather during the past week has allowed producers to make up some of the time lost in previous weeks. Thunderstorms continue in parts of the province, dropping hail and large amounts of rain.

Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 29 per cent surplus, 68 per cent adequate and three per cent short. Topsoil moisture on hay land and pasture is rated as 18 per cent surplus, 77 per cent adequate, four per cent short and one per cent very short.

The warmer weather in the past two weeks has helped advance crops; however, most are still one to two weeks behind normal in development. Eighty-three per cent of the winter wheat, 88 per cent of the fall rye, 89 per cent of the triticale and 79 per cent of the peas are in good to excellent condition. Seventy-seven per cent of the spring wheat, 83 per cent of the durum, 78 per cent of the oats, 76 per cent of the barley, 80 per cent of the flax, 71 per cent of the canola, 81 per cent of the mustard, 77 per cent of the lentils, 78 per cent of the canaryseed and 97 per cent of the chickpeas are in fair to good condition.

 

At the APAS office, with Communications Consultant, Aj Thakker back following a fantastic trip to Southeast Asia, daily updates resumed as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture hosts its Semi-Annual Meeting from July 27 - 29. APAS participants to the Halifax meeting are President Greg Marshall, Directors Arlynn Kurtz and Todd Lewis, and General Manager Nial Kuyek. For more information, click HERE

For more information, please feel free to contact Senior Administrative Assistant, Tara Pelle in the office at 789-7774 ext 111 between the hours of 8:00am and 4:30 pm. 

 

For a look at the previous weeks' activities, click HERE

Coming Up...

calendar

JULY 2010 

July 20 -  Grains & Oilseeds Committee Meeting

July 27- 29 - CFA Semi-Annual Meeting - Halifax, NS

AUGUST 2010

Aug 13 - Environment Committee Meeting, Saskatoon. 

Aug 13 - Economic, Trade and Strategic Growth Committee Meeting, Saskatoon.  

Aug 16 - District 4 & 5 Meeting - 3:00 - 5:00 PM (followed by supper) in Humboldt , SK. For more info , email Tara at admin@apas.ca 

Aug 17 - APAS BOD Conference Call

Aug 25 - District 1 Conference Call at 8 am hosted by Ernie Briggs & Arlynn Kurtz. Dial in to 1-866-832-4447.

Aug 26 - Meetign with Marketing Representive, Canadian Operations,  Magsaysay Global Services, Inc. 

Aug 30 - Southern Crown Land Conservation Committee 

SEPTEMBER 2010

Sept 2 - SFPA Golf Tournament, Saskatoon

Sept 23 & 24 - CFA Managers Meeting, Saskatoon

OCTOBER 2010

Oct 19-21 -  CFA Board Meeting - Ottawa, Ont

NOVEMBER 2010

November 17-18 - Saskatchewan Food Symposium - Radisson Hotel, Saskatoon  - details tba 

November 18 & 19 -APAS Semi Annual meeting, Radisson Hotel, Saskatoon

Nov 21-23 - CBA Annual Convention

Nov 23-27 - Agribition

DECEMBER 2010

Documents and Downloads

EWeather Risk Management  - Saskatchewan Weather Ideas Powerpoint

The summer edition of the APAS newsletter and back editions are available [HERE].

EG&S Symposium presentations available [HERE].

A Federal MP Contact List available for download [HERE].

Federation of Rural Municipalities (FCM)  call for a vision for rural sustainability. Download the PDF [HERE].

BEYOND FREEFALL: HALTING RURAL POVERTY. Final Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry.  Download the complete report [HERE].

 

Audited financial statements from 2008

CFA Activity Report - December 2009

CFA Activity Report - January 2010

APAS is Saskatchewan’s general farm organization formed to provide farmers and ranchers with a democratically elected, grassroots, non-partisan, producer organization based on rural municipal boundaries. As the united voice of thousands of agricultural producers in Saskatchewan, we strive to represent the views of a wide variety of agricultural stakeholders in order to form comprehensive policies that can benefit all sectors of society.