"Free" Hay from Ontario/Maritimes...???

[dickens]

OK, as I scroll down, MY previous post is directed to tawnyamac, not lynne-adi

For what it's worth, can't we all just get along?

[cakadu]

Here is an article from a local paper:

ALARMS RAISED OVER 'CONTAMINATED CORN': - AMERICAN FEED SHIPMENT REJECTED IN
LACOMBE
August 11, 2002
Central Alberta Adviser
1 / Front
Lea Hilstrom
Lacombe County, Alberta, officials don't hold out much hope they can ward
off fusarium head blight infestation for long without the intervention of
the provincial government.
The story says that the county recently enacted a zero-tolerance policy on
knowingly importing grain and feed that is infected with the
crop-debilitating disease.
The story adds that 150 rail cars carrying American corn for
drought-stricken, feed-needy cattle and hog producers were diverted from the
Lacombe Agricore elevator shortly after the declaration was made July 30.
Officials said there was a high possibility the corn was contaminated.
Keith Boras, Lacombe County agriculture services manager, was cited as
saying that the threat of having the disease introduced into Alberta --
considered one of the last disease-free strongholds in North America -- is
high now that more farmers are being forced to source feed outside
drought-stricken Alberta.
Red Deer County officials decided last Tuesday to allow infected feed into
the county under strict management guidelines because of the feed shortage.
With adjoining municipalities allowing the feed in, Lacombe County has
little hope of averting contamination if the disease infects fields in
neighbouring counties, said Lacombe County Reeve Ray Prins.
The fungus, fusarium graminearum, causes the head blight in wheat, barley,
oats, rye, corn, and triticale.
It's impact on grade and yield has made the discounted infected feed popular
with feed-needy and cash-strapped Alberta farmers.
Wheat and barley infected with fusarium head blight may contain mycotoxins
which cattle can only handle in amounts less than 10 parts per million.
Hogs can tolerate only 0.5 parts per million.
It has reduced yields in Manitoba fields by 50 to 70 per cent.

_______
Now I happen to live in Red Deer County and I must say that I am concerned about the slippery slope that we are going down. Like it or not, dickens brings up a good point and we need to think more about the big picture and long-term. The impact of having fusarium here will be long-lasting and costly indeed.

I agree with countryguy that the prices being charged are short-sighted and not forward thinking. Given the current climate I can't blame people for charging these prices, but there comes a time when he have to quit working this as an adversarial system i.e. you made money because grain was so low, the calves were too high etc., etc. Again, we have to think for the long term and when the cattle and sheep guys aren't here to buy the hay, then what will you get for it?

I know it is very tough to have to sell off animals - we did about 3 years ago because we were getting overwhelmed with work and something had to give, so I can empathize with the attachment to animals and how hard it is to see them go. Having said that though, I think there is a great deal of difference in the "attachment" when you derive your whole livelihood from the animals and have put a lot of years in building up stock, a reputation etc. etc. and the one built when you have another job or something to go to when the cows are gone. What are these people going to do, especially if they are older and have spent their entire lives working cattle, growing grain and hay? What programs are in place now to help them deal with this huge change in their lives? How do you go from being self-employed to having to find a "job" working for someone else?

I think it's a whole lot more involved than just being attached to animals.

[cowman]

My Dutch hog farmer neighbor tells me that just about all the feed in the Netherlands has fusarium. Said it never was a big deal. He just laughs at the stories that pigs can't eat it. One way or the other its coming here and why would Lacombe county even bother to try to keep it out? Red Deer county and Lacombe share a common boundary.
I agree that some people are going to have a tough time adapting to a new way of life. It would have been helpful if the various governments could provide some retraining(like they did for the cod fishing industry) rather than try to save a dying situation. Hay from down east is nice but it won't make it rain!
In a way it is kind of ironic that people who are worth millions in assets are getting government aid. I mean they own their land, they own their cattle, they own their machinery. I don't think they would starve if they had to sell it all. Compare that to the starving kids in Africa.

[jmillang]

We have been importing feed forever from Fusarium affected areas. We are concerned about the level of infection and how we can slow the spread but to indicate that Lacombe County is free of fusarium is a bit silly. I was talking with two feed companies the other day an dboth indicated that they do test for fusarium on selected lots of grain purchased locally and both have found fusarium in locally grown feed. so to think that stopping the importation of corn is a bit like closing the gate after the cow is out the door.

[cakadu]

If fusarium is nothing to worry about, then what is the purpose in having at least one person tasked with studying it and/or keeping it out full time? It wasn't too long ago that we were reading a number of articles in papers about this "problem" and how we were trying to keep it out. Didn't the Minister even make comment on it?

This is a vicious cycle that seems to never have an end. If it takes a greater hold here and the grain guys have to start dealing with reduced yields and that whole scenario, what have we gained?

Maybe it is unrealistic to think we can keep it out and not have it affect us, but once on the slope, it's pretty hard to get off.

As for Dutch agriculture, they've had to come out with some pretty strict regulations over the years so how little of a problem was it over there?