Last year, the Canola Council of Canada asked that question to both farmers and agronomy experts and tallied up what they said. On both sides, crop rotation and nutrient management were the top survey answers.

Before getting further into the survey results though, let’s dive deeper into the perspective of three different farmers.

Andrea De Roo would use agronomy to make better use of available moisture. Christi Friesen wants to reduce competition among canola plants. Scott Mowbray leans toward genetics with improved vigour and cold tolerance so he can seed earlier.

De Roo, a farmer and agronomist from Fairlight, Sask., said that “timely rains and cooler temperatures during flowering to prevent heat blast could give us a big boost.”

No farmer can control the weather, however. Instead, she’s looking at agronomy practices to manage the moisture risk.

“Seeding earlier would solve some of this,” De Roo said. “That gives the crop the opportunity to use early rains and soil moisture more efficiently and shift our flower timing out of seasonal periods of hot temperatures. But we also risk getting hit with frost if we’re too early.”

Friesen, who farms at Brownvale in the Alberta Peace River region, continues to tweak her seeding rate to reach the target canola plant population. The recommended canola plant stand is five to eight plants per square foot.

“Last year, some places were well over 10 plants per square foot and canola in those places choked itself out,” Friesen said. “I think we can lower our seeding rate to find that balance where the plant will flourish and give us the most yield potential. Going into 2025-26, this issue is something we are working on.”

Scott Mowbray, who farms near Cartwright in southern Manitoba, wants a soothsaying tool to spit out the right seeding date. “Having a crystal ball to tell me the exact right time to seed would be most helpful,” he said.

Save that, he would love to see some genetic improvements. “If we could seed even a couple of weeks sooner and not have to stress about slow emergence and flea beetle damage, I think we’d see canola flowering at a more ideal time, with less flower blast and more yield,” he said.

Winter hardiness might be another genetic aspect worth pursuing he added. That would open up the door to fall seeding canola.

In the shorter term, “probably the one thing would be helpful is extending our rotations,” Mowbray said. “We have a three-year rotation for canola right now, but extending it to a four- or five-year should help with disease and insect pressure.”

Survey echoes eyes on rotation

A more diverse rotation was among the choices agronomists and producers had in the 2024 canola council survey. Respondents could only pick one change from the list.

Growers spread their answers over a fairly broad range. The top answer — use more diverse crop rotation — garnered 17 per cent of votes. Next was better nutrient management, at 15 per cent.

Agronomy providers had those same practices in the top two spots, but at 27 and 37 per cent respectively, identifying an extended break between canola crops and improved nutrient management as strong factors in canola yield improvement.

“I’m glad to see the survey results support the other ideas I would have listed as an agronomist,” De Roo says. “Since widening our rotations and (putting more) focus on balancing nutrients by field and zone, we’ve seen our yields stabilize across the farm and increase to some extent.”

Rotation is a proven benefit for blackleg, clubroot and verticillium stripe management in particular, and all three diseases can inflict heavy damage. Balanced nutrition is also well-proven to boost yield.

“These best practices are not a surprise,” said Jason Casselman, agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of Canada. “Canola growers can build yield with the right genetics for each field, a stand of five to eight plants per square foot, and balanced nutrient in line with their yield targets.”

Even with these basics in place though, it takes favourable weather and pest management to carry higher yields through to harvest, Casselman added.

The post One change to improve Prairie canola yield appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Soil acidity below a pH of 5.5 will reduce yield for common crops on the Prairies. Yield loss can be significant in soils below pH 5.0. Lime can be expensive, but may pencil out as the most important fertilizer treatment for soils with strong acidity.

Taylor Wallace has acidic soils – including one field with pH below 5.0. That has to affect yield, he thought. So in the spring of 2023, the farmer from Unity, Sask. gave that field 500 pounds per acre of lime.

A shot of lime reduces acidity. Soil pH below 6.0 to 6.5 starts to hamper phosphorus availability, and this problem gets steadily worse as pH drops. By around pH 5.0, acidity has also released enough aluminum and manganese ions to poison root growth and function.

Wallace paid $530 per tonne for pelletized lime. His 500-pound (227 kg) rate cost him around $120/acre. He based the rate on the experience of a neighbouring farmer, who ran a trial comparing 300, 400 and 500 lbs./ac. The higher rate provided the best results.

“I haven’t seen any results yet,” Wallace says. “Although we did have two fairly dry years in 2023 and 2024.”

Products to increase soil pH include calcitic lime, which is calcium carbonate, dolomitic lime, which also has magnesium, spent lime from water treatment plants and sugar beet processors, and wood ash.

Lime needs moisture to become active, and uniform distribution is key. Lime also requires high rates. One tonne per acre would be considered a low rate to treat soil with pH below 5.0. Wallace applied one quarter of that rate.

Norm Dueck is a consultant for A&L Labs in the Peace River region of Alberta – a region with millions of acres of strong acid soils. He has a lot of conversations about lime. Liming is common practice in acidic soils around the world, and the research is sound, he says. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We know lime will do what it is scientifically proven to do.”

An early 1990s study at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Beaverlodge research centre in northern Alberta looked at lime effects on canola yield and brown girdling root rot. The study site had a soil pH of 5.13 in the top four inches. Researchers applied 7.5 tonnes per hectare (three tonnes per acre) of agricultural grade calcitic lime – primarily calcium carbonate – in May 1991, and tilled it in to a depth of four inches. This increased pH to 6.6 in year one. Canola grain yield increased 37 per cent in tilled soil and 17 per cent in no-till soil. Brown girdling root rot severity went down.

A 1970s Peace Region study, led by Alberta researcher Doug Penney, compared lime benefits for canola, barley, alfalfa and red clover. Researchers limed to a target pH of 6.7. The study concluded that at pH below 5.0, all crops will likely have severe yield loss without liming. For soils with an original pH of 5.0 to 5.5, the lime application increased alfalfa yield 80 to 100 per cent, barley 10 to 15 per cent, and canola and red clover five to 10 per cent.

Despite these results, liming has not taken off in the region. “Sometimes I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall,” Dueck says.

Cost is a big hurdle. Lime cost can vary widely depending on product, location and rate. Transportation is a big component. Soil with pH below 5.0 will need a minimum of two to four tonnes per acre. On top of that, the benefit has a limited lifespan. Lime can be over $100/acre per year, when averaged over time.

However, if acidity affects yield, lime can be the field’s most essential fertilizer.

“In the end, there are no shortcuts or substitutes for raising soil pH,” says John Breker, soil scientist with Agvise Laboratories in North Dakota. “Elsewhere in the world, people have battled soil acidification for centuries, and the answer always comes back to liming.”

Breker has Idaho research showing how quickly yields fall once pH hits a certain threshold. In that study, wheat and barley yields in soil with pH 5.0 were only 60 to 80 per cent of yields in soils with pH of 5.3. The effect started sooner and cut deeper for pea and lentil – yield drop started at pH 5.8 and was down to 50 per cent at pH 5.0.

Where to start?

“The most overlooked factor is the variability of pH within fields,” Dueck says. He has seen many fields that range from below pH 5.0 to 6.5. “You might need two tonnes per acre, or more, on the low pH areas and nothing on the 6.5.”

For a test, farms could start with the most acidic part of their most acidic field. That is what Wallace did. Soil pH probes can quickly identify areas with the lowest pH. With the target area identified, send one composite soil sample to a lab to set the rate.

Lime rate depends on soil buffer pH, a factor of the soil’s cation exchange capacity. Soils with low pH and low buffer pH require a lot more lime. Labs will test soil for pH and buffer pH, and also test lime sources for “calcium carbonate equivalent”. With these tests, labs can provide lime rate guidelines based on lime quality and the farm’s target pH.

Penney, who conducted the lime study in the Peace Region in 1970, is a lime expert. He says lime has “no mobility” in the soil, so it needs uniform distribution. Best results come from powder form applied generally throughout the soil. Penney recommends surface application over dry soil, then heavy harrow to mix dry soil with dry lime, then cultivation to mix it into the top three or four inches.

PHOTO: WARREN WARD

Alternative treatments

Lime is the only real way to increase soil pH. One alternative is to simply live with lower productivity on strong acid soils.

Another alternative is higher rates of phosphorus. This will overcome some of the phosphorus no longer plant-available because of bonds with aluminum and iron.

Some wheat cultivars are more tolerant to low pH. Farmers could ask seed companies if they have data for Canada. Farmers could also look at entirely new crops. Blueberries tolerate strong acid soils. Nova Scotia has strong acidic soils and wild blueberry is the number one export crop in the province. Potatoes, wild rice and commercial grass sod also tolerate acid soils.

Wallace says crop and cultivar decisions may improve results in low-pH soil, and adjusted phosphorus rates may help. But he still sees the need for lime.

“As land becomes more expensive, it becomes more important to get the most out of the land you have,” Wallace says. “Proper soil testing and a variable rate application probably provide the best path to value from lime.”

The post Shot of lime worth the price for acidic soil appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s National Agroclimate Information Service in Regina says a lot of the winter precipitation to date has been lost to the atmosphere.

“While Southern Alberta and much of Saskatchewan has received near normal winter precipitation, warmer than normal temperatures have reduced the snowpack, and increased moisture loss through evaporation and sublimation,” Hadwen wrote in a March 11 email. Bare soil through much of winter added to soil moisture loss.

“Significant late winter snow and early spring rainfall will be needed to help kickstart the growing season with some much needed moisture.”

Given that scenario, farmers across the Prairies will look for ways to maximize yield and minimize risk when finalizing their 2024 plans. The following tips, though targeted at canola growers, can apply to other crops.

Bruce MacKinnon, technical services specialist with BASF in Lethbridge, says most farmers and experienced agronomists in the brown soil zone will be familiar with these tips, “but it’s a good refresher, and will be helpful for areas not prone to being dry.”

Fertilizer rates and placement

Pick realistic yields and fertilize accordingly, he advises. Balanced nutrition will reduce crop stress and can improve results in drought conditions. Recent research from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada shows that adequate sulphur can improve results.

Hilltops often have lower sulphur reserves, so fields with blanket rates of sulphur may need a rate based on hilltop reserves.

Check for nitrogen rates deeper in the soil profile. A six- to 24-inch soil test will be particularly useful in fields with low moisture, says Mike Palmier, agronomist with Max Ag Consulting at Plenty, Sask.

“We have found over the last three or four years of drier conditions that our leftover nitrogen has been moving deeper and deeper into the soil profile with snowmelt and the odd rainfall. To be efficient with your nitrogen usage, it is important to sample down to a second depth.”

If reserves are high and crops do get moisture, tapping into these nitrogen reserves could reduce fertilizer cost per bushel.

As for placement, seed-placed fertilizer does more damage in dry conditions.

“Back off in dry conditions,” MacKinnon says. If possible, keep fertilizer out of the seed row.

Split fertilizer application is an option but involves the cost of an extra field pass. One strategy is to fertilize based on this year’s yield estimates, and use an in-season top up if yield potential increases significantly and soil nutrient reserves are insufficient to feed those yields.

Seed rates and placement

Set a canola seeding rate that results in five to eight plants per square foot. The lower end of the range may be appropriate in dry conditions, but don’t risk a thin stand.

“With only two or three plants per square foot, canola plants will try to fill the extra space with more branches,” MacKinnon says.

Side branches can mature later and slow dry-down, and make it more difficult to time operations, especially harvest. Waiting for thin stands to fill out also leaves more bare ground for weeds.

On the other hand, with a plant stand over seven plants per square foot, Palmier sees “increased inter-row competition between canola plants fighting with each other to pull up the moisture that they need.”

Marissa Robitaille Balog, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, says canola emergence is often lower than anticipated in dry conditions, so factor that into the seeding rate. The rate and target plant density calculators at canolacalculator.ca may be useful.

Aim for a one-inch seeding depth, even if seed is not placed in moisture.

“Seeding deep to chase moisture can result in lower vigour, delayed emergence, uneven stands and more flea beetle susceptibility,” says Robitaille Balog.

And with deep seeding, rain can fill in the furrows and make seed depth even deeper. If seeding to reach moisture, place canola seed at the top of the moisture and pack well to prevent further moisture loss.

MacKinnon reminds growers to consider crusting risk in heavier soils, where rain before canola emergence could create a crust above the seed row. Working through the crust is more challenging for deep-seeded canola, he says.

Palmier recommends precision seeding tools that run between the stubble rows. This placement can reduce seedling mortality.

Insects and weeds

“If the canola crop has only five or six plants per square foot, you need to protect them,” MacKinnon says.

Keep on top of cutworms and flea beetles. Seed treatment protection only lasts so long, so scout to see if extra spray is required. In dry conditions, consider a flea beetle action threshold lower than the normal 25 per cent defoliation.

“The threshold in a thinner, dryer stand may not be the same as in an area with good rains and rapid growth,” says Robitaille Balog.

Weed competition takes up nutrients and moisture, leaving less for the crop. Control weeds while the crop struggles to establish.

Herbicide carryover is another risk. Canola is sensitive to Group 2 herbicide carryover. In dry conditions, the two major breakdown methods — hydrolysis and microbial degradation — will slow down, elevating the risk that these herbicides will remain active longer in the soil. Consecutive dry years increase the risk.

Planning ahead

Stubble management and cultivar selection can also improve crop results in dry conditions. Phillip Harder, research director and hydrological scientist with Croptimistic Technology Inc. and formerly with the Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan, researched the relationship between stubble and soil moisture.

He found that in dry conditions, snow trapped in stubble and available to infiltrate in the spring doubles when stubble height is increased from 10 cm (four inches) to 20 cm (eight inches), for example. He says benefits increase up to about 30 cm (12 inches) of stubble height.

Residue spread also matters. Combines that achieve uniform residue spread across the full width of cut eliminate the need for a stubble-damaging harrow pass. Uniform residue spread improves seed placement.

Cultivars that yield consistently well in a broad range of conditions can lower risk when conditions are tough.

“Variety selection is huge,” Palmier says. In drought conditions, shorter plants with less biomass will often produce higher yields.

“High biomass looks best in June but usually yields the worst in dry conditions.”

MacKinnon says growers in the brown soil zone will often choose mid- to early-maturity cultivars that can beat the heat on flowering. Before making cultivar decisions for 2025, compare field trials and neighbours’ experiences this summer and check on final yields for those cultivars that look great in June.

The post How to get the most out of canola crops when moisture is scarce appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Three tests would enhance farmer understanding of in-field variability in a way that one test cannot.

Soil tests that demonstrate the variability of field conditions might prompt producers to adopt a three-test approach.

According to Fertilizer Canada’s 2022 fertilizer use survey, only 40.7 per cent of Prairie farmers soil sampled each canola and wheat field. In the Canola Council of Canada’s 2022 grower survey, 40 per cent of respondents said they test each field each year. This up from 31 per cent in 2020, but still not a majority.

“Soil testing is grossly undervalued,” says Steve Barron, agronomist with Double Diamond Farm Supply in southern Manitoba.

The most common soil sampling method, for those who do it, is to submit one composite sample per field with cores collected from mid-slope topographies. Mid-slopes are usually the most consistent and larger zones within each field.

If submitting one sample to represent a field, experts say this approach makes sense.

But according to the three-test argument, a mid-slope test doesn’t show the low-performing or inconsistent-performing hilltops and low areas. When farms apply a blanket rate across the field based on the ideal rate for the mid-slopes, large areas may or may not get the right fertilizer rate. Without getting those areas tested, it’s impossible to know.

Tips for triple testing

If producers try triple testing on at least one field this fall, they should select one known to be highly variable. From there, they should submit one composite from mid-slopes, one from hilltops and one from low areas.

“This will help farmers better understand field variability,” says Troy McInnis, agronomy manager for Moose Jaw Co-op in Saskatchewan. “Armed with that awareness, it could open up a comfort level in going down the path of variable rate.”

Starting the journey

Double Diamond Farm Supply is one of many companies with a soil sampling service. When farms hire it to collect a composite sample, the company first creates a field map with 15 mid-slope GPS pins throughout the field.

Sample sites are based on topography, yield and sometimes NDVI imaging maps to identify good target sites for samples. The technician, armed with the map, collects 15 or so cores, divvies them into zero-to-six inch and six-to-12 inch (or six-to-24 inch) bags and submits the two bags to the lab.

If a farm decides to add hilltop and low spot samples, Barron recommends the same technique – 15 cores collected from a few hills (two or three per hill) divvied into zero-to-six inch and six-to-12 inch depths. Repeat the process in low areas.

Another option is to target a specific problem area.

“The only scenario where targeted sampling makes sense is if you’re trying to diagnose a particular problem or figure out why that precise area is producing more,” Barron said.

Warren Ward, canola council agronomy specialist and nutrient management lead, heard of one such scenario during a conversation with his neighbour. The farmer had observed wildly swinging yield within a field that had been short of moisture and was curious about the cause.

“For fields where moisture was the same but yield was surprisingly different, an extra soil sample targeted at one low-yielding area could help with diagnostics,” Ward said.

Results from those low-yielding areas could then be compared with the mid-slope composite to tease out the issue.

Using discoveries

Three samples for one trial field this fall could reveal soil characteristics or nutrient levels that could be solved with targeted management, proponents say.

If results from low areas show significantly lower pH, higher salinity or lower residual nitrogen than mid-slopes, that information can be a stepping stone to further investigation. Perhaps those areas would benefit from lime to increase pH, perennial forage to manage salinity or a higher nitrogen rate.

If hilltops are low in sulphur and the farm plans to seed that field to canola next year, target spreading of sulphur on hilltops could help yields, especially if the mid-slope analysis recommends a sulphur rate that is too low to remediate the hilltops.

“I would suggest contacting an agronomist to talk through management steps,” Ward said. “More soil tests and some check strips may be required to test whether an investment in extra lime or sulphur is worthwhile.”

Most farms don’t take these steps. Fertilizer Canada’s 2022 survey showed only 24 per cent of western Canadian canola growers varied fertilizer rates on a field-by-field basis, and only 13 per cent use variable rate technology to vary by zones.

The same survey showed farms that soil test also have higher yields. But do they have higher profits? That is the question the triple test could start to answer.

Canola growers can get up to $20,000 for soil tests this fall through the Canola 4R Advantage, a program centred around promoting fertilizer best management practices.

Another $20,000 is also up for grabs for consulting services to develop field zone mapping for variable rate nitrogen.

The program requires growers to have a 4R Nutrient Stewardship Plan verified by a 4R designated agronomist. The plan must include the beneficial management practices that will be included in the fertilizer application.

Producers have until Nov. 30 to apply. Relevant expenses invoiced and paid by growers between April 1 and March 31, 2024, are eligible. More information and application portals are available on the Canola Council of Canada’s website.

Funds for soil testing 

Canola growers can get up to $20,000 for soil tests this fall through the Canola 4R Advantage, a program centred around promoting fertilizer best management practices. 

Another $20,000 is also up for grabs for consulting services to develop field zone mapping for variable rate nitrogen. 

The program requires growers to have a 4R Nutrient Stewardship Plan verified by a 4R designated agronomist. The plan must include the beneficial management practices that will be included in the fertilizer application. 

Producers have until Nov. 30 to apply. Relevant expenses invoiced and paid by growers between April 1 and March 31, 2024, are eligible. More information and application portals are available on the Canola Council of Canada’s website. 

The post The benefits of multiple soil tests appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“I like to think I’m pretty good at agronomy,” said Jurke, agronomy director for the Canola Council of Canada and farmer from Lloydminster, Sask. “I scout, follow labels’ rates, set targets. I’m such a nerd that I test drinking water from my well annually. But have I ever tested the water we use in the sprayer? Even just once? Nope.”

Although his weed control has seemingly done the job, he humoured his colleague anyway, and sent a sample from the local municipal well that he taps for his spray tank.

As it turns out, his water is overrun with cations.

Feral cations to watch for in sprayer water include calcium, magnesium and sodium, as well as iron and potassium. These positively-charged ions bond with negatively-charged herbicide molecules, making the latter molecules useless for weed control. The more cations, the more herbicide molecules lost.

“The most sensitive chemical is glyphosate,” said sprayer specialist Tom Wolf, owner of Agrimetrix Research & Training in Saskatoon.

Cations can also affect Group 10 glufosinate as well as Group 1 (“-dim”) chemistries, Group 4 (2,4-D amine) and Group 27 products.

WinField United has conducted thousands of water quality tests across the Prairies. Martin Carr, the company’s agronomy manager for Western Canada, said the Prairies, in general, have a problem with water hardness. Hard water is high in the cations calcium and magnesium.

Water conductivity, as shown on test results, is a general indicator of salt content, including the cation sodium. High-conductivity water is especially common in east-central Alberta and west-central Saskatchewan, according to Carr.

Chemistry class in session

Using the example of calcium and glyphosate, calcium has a plus-two charge, while glyphosate has a negative-one charge. Thus, every calcium cation in hard water can bond with two glyphosate molecules. This creates a new molecule called calcium glyphosate.

“Calcium glyphosate is essentially a rock,” Carr said. “Plants can’t take it in. Plants can’t eat rocks.”

Jurke’s water test showed overall conductivity of 2,246 microSiemens per centimetre (µS/cm) and hardness of 778 milligrams per litre of calcium carbonate equivalent. Both results are high. Water with conductivity over 500 µS/cm could start to affect herbicide performance.

“If conductivity is below 500 µS/cm, the water is probably good for spraying. If the value is around 1,000 to 2,000, further investigation is necessary,” Wolf wrote in his article, “How to interpret a water quality test result,” published on sprayers101.com.

As for hardness, Carr says that “once you’re in that 150 to 300 ppm (parts per million) range, that’s when we start to see tie-up with pesticides. The more you have, the worse it gets.”

Neuter the cations

Farmers could test water from a few local sources to find one with lower cations.

Well water is fairly consistent over time, but if wells close together tap into different water sources, their cation content can vary. Dugout water quality can vary wildly. After spring runoff, it can be clean, “especially if drawn out with a good filter and the operator doesn’t drag the pipe along the bottom stirring up cation-containing mud,” Carr said.

After a hot summer’s worth of evaporation, dugout cations are more concentrated.

“The best and worst water test results I’ve seen have been from dugouts,” Carr added.

High label rates of herbicide can reduce the effect of cations on weed control. Glyphosate at the low rate of 180 grams of active ingredient per acre could see a big drop in efficacy if sprayer water has high cation content.

“At the high rate of 360 grams per acre, farmers may see good response in the field even if half of the molecules are tied up,” Carr said. “However, adding higher and higher rates of glyphosate isn’t good stewardship with regard to resistance.”

He’d rather see farmers focus on multiple modes of action working together to kill a weed and look at the common recommendation to treat water — ammonium sulphate.

It dissolves in water to form ammonium and sulphate. The negatively-charged sulphate ions bond with the cations so they can’t interact with the herbicide molecules. The positively-charged ammonium ions bond with glyphosate to create ammonium-glyphosate, an effective herbicide.

“Plants pull it in thinking they’re getting a shot of ammonium, so there is no reduction in control,” Carr said.

There’s an exception, however, with 2,4-D amine. When spraying it with hard water, materials published by the Saskatchewan government recommend a non-ionic surfactant (such as Agral 90, AgSurf or Companion) at a rate of one litre of surfactant per 1,000 litres of water. The same material says ammonium sulphate has not been shown to work for 2,4-D amine.

Treatment

Mixing order is critical when adding conditioner to treat sprayer water. The conditioner goes in first to tie up the cations. The herbicide follows.

WinField United tests so much water because it sells a lot of water conditioner, Carr acknowledged. It has a proprietary ammonium sulphate product called Crimson NG.

Any input supplier will often have ammonium sulphate in stock.

Agriculture labs that test sprayer water will recommend how much ammonium sulphate to add to counteract cation content. If farms already have water test results from a provincial lab, private agriculture labs can provide conditioner recommendations based on those results.

Carr ran Jurke’s water analysis through the WinField United calculator, which has an “antagonism coefficient” for each cation. It recommended that Jurke add 4.55 litres of ammonium sulphate (34 per cent solution) per 100 U.S. gallons of sprayer water.

If spraying in dusty conditions, Carr would add another 2.83 litres per 100 gallons (0.75 per cent volume per volume) to counter any weed control loss on the foliar level. Dust on leaf surfaces will also have cations, which can tie up glyphosate molecules before they enter the leaf.

“Often, right behind sprayer, where the sprayer kicks up more dust, you’ll find less-dead weeds,” Carr said.

With the extra volume for dusty conditions, the total recommendation is 7.38 litres of ammonium sulphate per 100 gallons, or nine 10-litre jugs for a 1,200-gallon sprayer tank. Using Crimson NG’s suggested retail price, the cost to condition each tank would come out to about $441.

Other options

Other methods to reduce the effect of high-cation water include lower water volumes, urea ammonium nitrate and acidifiers. None of these is as good as switching water sources or adding ammonium sulphate.

Lower water volume reduces the ratio of water cations to glyphosate molecules, but Carr doesn’t recommend this.

“Days of spraying straight glyphosate are probably over, with glyphosate resistance becoming more and more of a problem. Cutting water volume is not considered acceptable for the tank mix partners,” he said.

Most herbicides need coverage to work properly. With lower water volumes, the tank mix is less effective.

Urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) supplies ammonium that can bind with glyphosate to maintain performance, but it doesn’t contain the sulphate that bonds with the cations.

Acidifiers to lower water pH neutralizes the herbicide charge, making them less likely to bond with cations, but this comes at a risk.

“Certain herbicides commonly tank mixed with glyphosate can fall out of solution and at times plug a sprayer if the pH gets too low,” Carr warned.

Jurke opted for ammonium sulphate after receiving his water results, although perhaps not in every tank until he sees clear benefits. He’ll likely start in fields with kochia.

“It would be great if conditioners would help with kochia control,” he said.

They might. Sub-lethal herbicide performance can be a factor in selecting for higher and higher levels of glyphosate resistance in kochia. However, water conditioners can’t fix glyphosate results if the kochia is already resistant.

Jay Whetter is a communications manager with the Canola Council of Canada.

The post The great weed control robbery appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Greg Kostal, president of Kostal Ag Consulting in Winnipeg, said, “sometime in the next 12 months the price will run to $7 per bushel.” Then he added, “I’d be a seller in the $6 to $7 range, and I’d use $6 in my budget spreadsheets.”

Daniel Holman, grain merchant with North West Terminal in Unity, Sask., said he’d budget $6.50.

Peter Wilson, manager of the global supply chain with Australian company JK International, was more bearish. “Peas will beat wheat in terms of gross margin,” he said, but he put the price outlook at $5.25 to $6.25.

In his presentation, Kostal says that if pea prices don’t move up in the next three months, then pea acres in Western Canada will likely drop in 2010.

Holman raised the issue of increased pea subsidies in France, which could reverse a long decline in French pea production. Up to 2009 the subsidy was out to around C$33 per acre, but France has a new subsidy equivalent to C$115 per acre for feed-protein crops, including peas.

Most of the talk in this panel revolved around the Indian market. Canadian pulse exporters rely heavily on the Indian market. Wilson, as an Australian, observes that India is the big importer and Canada is the big exporter, and we need each other. That makes India the market to watch. Strong government involvement in the pulse trade in India could also be a cause for nervousness in Canada.

The post Yellow Peas Hard Pressed To Reach $7 appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 14 — We had a breakfast meeting this morning at the handsome art-filled residence of the Canadian consul general in Atlanta. Brian Oak is the current consul general. Chris Young, director of international affairs with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, joined us. The key discussion topic was the South East United States (SEUS)-Canada Alliance, a new group that brings together politicians and business leaders to discuss trade opportunities. The alliance just had its first meeting in Montreal in November, and the next one will be in Savannah, Georgia June 15-17 of this year. Young expects several hundred people at the conference, including business leaders from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in both countries. I asked Young whether he thought these trade alliances actually worked to “raise all ships” in an economic sense. He thought I was being negative and cynical with my question, but I wasn’t. For an answer, he described the 31-year-old SEUS-Japan Alliance. As a result of meetings and co-operation established through that alliance, many Japanese companies set up in Georgia. One example is YKK — best known for its zippers, but now producing a wide array of products. Its factory in Macon, Georgia produces mostly window frames and door sidings, and employs about 1,000 people. Back when this factory was first built, the founder of YKK became friends with Georgia Governor at the time, George Busbee. When the founder Mr. Yoshida died, Busbee was invited to speak at his funeral in Japan. And when Busbee died in 2004, the consul general of Japan was one of the first to pay his respects.

“Business is about relationships,” Young says. The SEUS-Canada Alliance gives Canadian companies a chance to establish or re-establish relationships in the SEUS region. “Closest relationships are the ones you take for granted,” Young says. “This alliance will help to make sure the fires stay lit.”

After that meeting, we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. museum. Although the Civil War ended slavery in the south, it certainly did not end oppression. Segregation of blacks was legal for 100 years after the Civil War, and King was part of the movement to bring down these segregation laws. King was born in Atlanta in 1929. His father was a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, which is right across from the museum. After returning from university in Boston, King joined his father as a pastor, which gave him time to lead the social justice movement. King believed in the power of non-violent protest and was deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi. “Rivers of blood may have to flow before we gain our freedom, but it will be our blood,” Gandhi said. He also said, “I am always willing to return to jail.” These words inspired King. He encouraged and participated in non-violent protest of segregation laws, and was arrested 14 times for his causes. I can’t do King justice in a couple of paragraphs, but what I found most striking was the speech he made April 3, 1968 in Memphis. He was facing many threats on his life when he spoke these words: “Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And so I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

The next day James Earl Ray shot Martin Luther King Jr. in the face. On April 11, two days after King’s funeral, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act that prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of housing. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan made Martin Luther King Day a national holiday. (Thanks to Amy Pastan’s biography of Martin Luther King Jr. for background information.)

Supper and blues…

We all wanted some southern cookin’ in Atlanta, so we went to a place called Mary Mac’s. It had it all: fried chicken, catfish, ribs, grits, collard greens, black eyed peas, corn bread and peach cobbler. I had super-greasy fried green tomatoes for an appetizer, and ribs (excellent!), black-eyed peas and cheese grits for the main course. The waiter also brought us baskets of cornbread, cinnamon biscuits and yeast rolls. To top it off I had a mint julep with about three ounces of bourbon mixed with a cup of sugary mint syrup. I would have preferred straight bourbon with a mint leaf thrown in.

After we rolled out of Mary Mac’s, some of us went to a blues club called Blind Willie’s. It’s a spitting image of Times Change(d) on Main Street in Winnipeg. We heard a great local blues duo of Nathan Nelson on guitar and David Roth on upright bass. I particularly liked one song. It was a Bo Carter cover about “barnyard justice,” as Nelson says. Here is my favorite line: “Soo cow, you better not kick or I’ll break your leg with a stick.”

I talked with Nelson after the first act. He asked what I was doing in Atlanta. I told him I was on a tour at the invite of the U.S. Embassy to learn about the U.S. government system and now it works. Nelson says, “When you find out, would you let me know?”

The post Jay’s U.S. Tour, Day 9: Atlanta appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 13 — We had another free day to see what we wanted of the city. A small group of us went to CNN in the morning, and then to the Atlanta History Center in the afternoon. Here are some highlights of the day:

The Atlanta History Center has the Swan House mansion built by the Inman family in 1928, the Tullie Smith farm from the 1840s, and a great Civil War museum. Emily Inman came from a well-educated Georgia family. Her mother, Emily MacDougald, led the suffrage movement in Georgia and was regional head of the League of Women Voters. The best story I heard during the Swan House guided tour was about Lizzie McDuffy, one of the family’s black servants. Lizzie’s husband “Mac” was a barber in Atlanta, and while Franklin Roosevelt was resting at his house in Warm Springs, Georgia, he hired Mac to cut his hair. FDR liked Mac so much, he took him to Washington when he became president. Emily Inman insisted that Roosevelt also take Mac’s wife, Lizzie. It seems this didn’t cross Roosevelt’s mind. But in the end, FDR learned to trust and appreciate Lizzie’s presence. She became his unofficial advisor on African American affairs.

The best tidbit from Tullie Smith farm, named after the last resident of the house, was about the traveler’s room. Middle-class southern homes often had a room on the front porch that was left for travelers. Each morning, the mother of the house would check the room to see if anyone had come along in the night. If yes, the traveler would get a big breakfast inside the house with the family. In exchange, the visitor would share news from his travels. This was the one of the few ways people could get information from outside their immediate areas. This warm welcome for strangers is at the root of “southern hospitality.”

I had only a few minutes left for the Civil War museum, but I learned a lot. The gist of the war is that southerners didn’t want the federal government to abolish slavery, which was a key part of the southern economy. The southerners thought they should have their own country and set their own laws. The northerners did not really care about slavery. Their motivation for fighting was to punish the south for treason against the union government. The war started in 1861 and ended four years later with the south surrendering. It was the bloodiest war in U.S. history, with 670,000 soldier deaths. One quarter of all the men in the south died in the war. (The U.S. lost “only” 60,000 soldiers in Vietnam.) What I found sad, but interesting, is that two-thirds of soldiers in the Civil War did not die in combat. They died from dysentery and other diseases caused by filthy conditions in the base camps.

In the morning, we had a boring tour of CNN headquarters. Ted Turner started CNN in Atlanta in 1980, and though the main newsroom is still here, most of the big names work in New York, Washington and L.A. While we were on the tour, CNN was running pundit commentaries on Hillary Clinton and her tear-up the day before the New Hampshire primary vote. These commentaries added absolutely nothing of value for a voter wanting enlightenment on the issues. It made me think of a comment by Jordan Lieberman, the magazine publisher we met in Washington. (See my Jan. 8 entry). He said there are basically four newspapers that influence all other commentators and pundits. These are the Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune and L.A. Times. Everyone else copies them — over and over. That’s what CNN was doing today.

Page one of this morning’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on a poll in which 35 per cent of Georgians say the “water crisis” is their biggest worry. Georgia has had a two-year drought, and apparently everyone is talking about water shortages. The 20-country metro region of Atlanta now has five million people, stretching the water infrastructure. People want the state government to build more reservoirs and do more to reward people for installing low-flow plumbing features. Some also want controls on suburban expansion in the Atlanta area, but Governor Sonny Perdue won’t consider it.

Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 12 — It was a travel day, so we didn’t have any meetings. The big event for today was a hockey game at the Philips Arena, with the Atlanta Thrashers hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. The game had it all — except a fight. I hadn’t been to an NHL hockey game since the Jets left Winnipeg, which was in 1996. Philips Arena is a really nice facility, but the Quebecers in our group said Bell Centre in Montreal is better. Sidney Crosby scored both Pittsburgh goals and could have had a couple more. Atlanta also scored twice, so the game went to four-on-four overtime and then to a shootout. The old man Mark Recchi won it for the home side. It was my first time seeing four-on-four overtime and seeing a shootout. They are way, way more entertaining than a tie.

I got a news release yesterday from the offices of the U.S. Trade Representative and the USDA. These offices had sent a delegation to Mexico City to discuss NAFTA with Mexican officials. NAFTA was fully implemented on Jan. 1 with removal of final duties on a handful of agricultural commodities. These include U.S. exports to Mexico of corn, dry edible beans, and non-fat dry milk; Mexican exports to the United States of certain horticultural products; and two-way sweetener trade.

Here is the lead quote from the release: “NAFTA has been a positive force for our respective agricultural sectors, creating not only dramatic growth in two-way agricultural trade, but providing our farmers, ranchers and processors with the potential to take advantage of new export opportunities, while providing a clear and certain path to enhanced trade,” said Mark E. Keenum, USDA undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.

This comment backs what I said a couple of days ago about there being strong support for trade in these departments. But their actions have to respect the wishes of Homeland Security, and the voices of the many farm lobby groups who don’t always seem to realize the value of trade.

The release also noted that Canada and Mexico are the No. 1 and No. 2 export markets for U.S. agriculture, respectively.  In fiscal year 2007, two-way agricultural trade between the U.S. and Mexico was valued at a record $22.2 billion, a nearly fourfold increase over fiscal 1993 — the year preceding the implementation of NAFTA — when two-way trade was valued at $6.4 billion. In fiscal 2008, USDA predicts two-way trade at $24 billion.
According to Ag Canada data, two-way agricultural trade between Canada and the U.S. was $25 billion in 2005.

Washington, D.C., Jan. 11 — “There is an impression in Canada that Democrats would be bad for trade with Canada, and that a Republican president would be better. I think that’s complete crap.” Maryscott (Scotty) Greenwood said this during our meeting this morning at the
Canadian American Business Council. Greenwood is managing director with the law firm of McKenna Long and Aldridge, and part of her job is to help with the business council. She is also a former Clinton-appointed attachee to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa. The Can-Am business council is there to remind American politicians and business leaders that North America — not just the U.S. — is a global economic force when the nations work together to protect and enhance their integrated economies.

One thing Greenwood is watching is the U.S. Food Safety Initiative, designed to protect the U.S. food supply. It stems from recent scares about tainted pet food from China, E. coli in spinach, and E. coli in imported beef. As the bill is currently written, food could only enter the U.S. through a crossing with an FDA inspection site. The only one along the Canada-U.S. border is at Windsor-Detroit. The bill has been introduced and assigned to committee. Let’s hope the bill gets softened or scrapped before it gets passed. If there is another food scare shortly, it could pass Congress quickly, Greenwood notes.

Before the meeting at the business council, we met with David Biette, director of the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. The institute coordinates all sorts of learning programs, including a mini-UN type program that brings together students from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. for mock NAFTA negotiations. I hope to get more information on this in case you know a young person who might like to go. One thing that came up in our conversation with Biette is a possible border dispute in the Beaufort Sea. There are oil reserves up there, so location of the border is significant. The U.S. wants it to go straight north from the Yukon-Alaska border. Canada wants it to angle more toward Alaska.

We had lunch today at Agraria restaurant in Georgetown. North Dakota Farmers’ Union owns the restaurant, which serves local food, free-range chicken, and wild seafood. The attractive building is right on the Potomac River within sight of the Watergate Hotel. The location sounds great, but the business isn’t doing very well. In fact, the union board brought in two new managers to turn it around. The one manager we talked to had never been to North Dakota.

At the end of the afternoon, I had time to visit one more Smithsonian Museum: National Museum of the American Indian. The museum was designed by Douglas Cardinal, a Blackfoot from Alberta who also designed the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec. Here are some trivia questions for you, based on what I saw:

1. How many bison roamed North America in 1830? A: 50 million
2. How many bison roamed North America in 1889? A: 1,000
3. Who invented the revolver, the first gun that could shoot more than one bullet without reloading? A: Samuel Colt, from Connecticut
4. Who is Rebecca Rolfe better known as? A: Pocahontas (Her father, a Powhatan from Virginia, approved the marriage of his daughter to Englishman John Rolfe in hopes that it would bring peace to his people. It did, for eight years.)
5. Mohawks from Quebec and New York are known for exceptional skill at which job? A: Highrise ironworks. (They helped build the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center, and many other buildings and bridges.)
6. South and North American aboriginals introduced Europeans to four key crops, which the explorers took with them around the world. What were they? A: Corn, potatoes, tobacco and chocolate.
7. What did George Crum, an aboriginal from New York, invent in 1853? A: Potato chips.

Washington, D.C., Jan. 10 — In the January 14 issue of Grainews, which you haven’t seen yet, I write about my wish to have a dry-aged steak. Well, I had one today. One of the Canadians in our group, Ranissah Samah, had been to The Capital Grille on Pennsylvania Avenue, and thought we should all go. (Ranissah is senior policy advisor on the U.S. for the Ontario Ministry of International Affairs. She is based in Toronto.) Actually, she suggested we go yesterday and I shot her down. I can get steak anywhere, and this place would be expensive. So that night we went for Italian instead, and I had a sardine appetizer and a roast duck breast entree with the best polenta I’ve ever had. Tonight we went with Ranissah’s choice, and I’m glad I went. The Capital Grille is within sight of the Capitol Building, a block from the Canadian Embassy, and it attracts Washington’s political elite. Congress is not in session these days, so the restaurant was not packed with attractive young clientele like usual, our server Eric tells us. (Eric is a big jolly dude with slicked-back longish blond hair. He’s a fan of Our Lady Peace, a Canadian rock band.) The restaurant was fairly expensive. I chose a 14-oz dry-aged sirloin — which was the “small” steak — so I could finally say, with certainty, that I have eaten a dry-aged steak. It was thick and delicious. The steak alone was $37. Then you pay for vegetables, potato and soup separately. We also shared a few bottles of wine. It was worth it, for the company and the experience of being there. I am really enjoying my small group of fellow Canadian travelers, and I will remember this meal in Washington forever.

Before the good steak, we had our daily line-up of meetings. Today we met with the Department of Homeland Security in the morning and the Department of State in the afternoon. The main theme was the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will tighten up ID requirements at the borders. The U.S. is way ahead of us on this one, which is good — I suppose — for those Canadian businesses that depend on U.S. tourists. As of June 1, 2009, you need solid proof of citizenship to get into the U.S. by land or sea. You already need a passport to get in by air. To help the situation, the U.S. will introduce a “Passport Card” that fits in a wallet, qualifies as proof of citizenship, and costs less than a passport. In the U.S., a passport — which lasts for 10 years, not the five years that ours is good for — costs $97. A passport card is $45 for first-time applicants and $20 for those who already have a passport. That card has a radio frequency ID code that the border staff can read within 15 to 20 feet of the border station. The cardholder’s RFID number pops up on the screen inside the border office, and the number lifts his or her photo and passport info out of a database. Not only does the card provide proof of citizenship that the border needs, but it should also speed border crossing. It sounds like a good idea for Canada to adopt. For someone who has no plans to fly to the U.S. or anywhere else, the Canada-issued passport card would give them a lower-cost alternative. As an aside, I asked whether it mattered to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security whether Canada issued five-year or 10-year passports, and the people we met said it didn’t. Is the passport office is ripping us off by issuing passports for only five years?

Washington, D.C., Jan. 9 (later) — The most interesting meeting today was with Aleta Botts, one of six staff directors with the House Committee on Agriculture. She works in the House of Representatives offices in the Longworth Building beside the Capitol Building. She and the rest of the committee are in the middle of drafting the new farm bill. The House has an 858-page draft and the Senate has a 1,800-page draft. President Bush says he would veto both versions as they are currently written. So between now and the end of February the House and Senate ag committees have to get together and create one bill that will pass both chambers and win approval of the president.

I get the sense that no matter how the final bill looks, the level of support will not change much, if at all. The U.S. is not likely to reduce its farm support programs unless it has to under a WTO agreement. And even then, it might not. Right now the House and Senate have different numbers for target prices, market loan rates and direct payments — the three tiers of commodity price support. There is also some pressure to level the real (or perceived) supports for southern crops — particularly rice and cotton — with the supports for wheat, corn and soybeans in the Great Plains. House committee leader Collin Peterson has to work with his Senate counterparts to go through the bill line by line to find middle ground, all the while taking advice from interest groups, who are widely varied and relentless, and from the president, who has veto power. We thought making policy in Canada was tough. Writing a U.S. farm bill is a two-and-a-half year process.

Washington, D.C., Jan. 9 — Not everything we see and hear in D.C. comes out of a stuffy meeting room. I heard two neat things about Ulysses S. Grant the past couple of days. Grant was president from 1869-1877, and it was in the famous Willard Hotel in Washington that he invented the term lobbyist. He must have had an office in the hotel and everyone who wanted to bend his ear over some issue would wait in the hotel lobby for their moment. Grant one day referred to these people as “lobbyists,” and the term stuck.

There is a big statue of Grant on a horse out front of the Capitol Building. Seeing him today inspired one of our guides Virgil Bodeen to tell another story about Grant’s dying days. He was poor and had throat cancer and was worried he would die and leave his family with nothing. So Mark Twain encouraged Grant to write his memoirs as a way to make some money. Grant did, and Twain edited them. Most of the stories are about Grant’s many war experiences and not his presidency, Bodeen says, but he says the book is a great read. And it did make some money to carry his family through.

I had time before supper today to go the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. All Smithsonian museums are free and this one is the most visited museum in the U.S. — for good reason. You walk in and right above you are Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis and Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1, the first plane to break the sound barrier. It just gets better. There is a whole room full of First World War planes and another with Second World War planes. You’ll see lots about jets and space travel. Here is some trivia that I learned at the museum. You can test these questions on your family.

1. How many Americans have walked on the moon? A: 12
2. Where were the Wright Brothers from? A: Dayton, Ohio
3. What type of business did the Wright Brothers operate? A: They made and sold bicycles.
4. When was the first Boeing 747 commissioned? A: 1969
5. How many planes did the Red Baron shoot down? A: 80

Washington, D.C., Jan. 8 — Trade is almost a bad word in the U.S. these days. We had two meetings today — one at the Department of Commerce and one at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative — that were “off the record,” which means I can’t report what was said. It wasn’t earth-shattering information by any stretch. It’s just that some government people are sensitive. But the general message I gleaned is that while civil servants in Washington appreciate the close relationship between the U.S. and Canada — and Mexico — many Americans do not share that appreciation. This is reflected in the statements of those running for leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties. Protectionism and security are fashionable. Free trade and the global market are not.

I learned a bit about the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Government and business reps from each country are working together on the dual pronged goal of improved security and improved prosperity. Critics in all three countries fear the purpose is to create a common market and erode sovereignty. Staff at the Department of Commerce recommended I visit the SPP’s web site for more information. You’ll find lots there, including a note under the “myth vs. fact” section that says, “The SPP in no way, shape or form considers the creation of a European Union-like structure or a common currency.” One component of the prosperity agenda is to “Lower costs for North American businesses, producers, and consumers and maximize trade in goods and services across our borders by striving to ensure compatibility of regulations and standards and eliminating redundant testing and certification requirements,” as the web site says. Agriculture regulations are a big part of that. (The Canadian SPP web site is www.spp-psp.gc.ca.) A poster on the wall of the commerce building noted that U.S. exports to NAFTA countries had risen to $360 billion in 2006, which was double the amount the U.S. exported to the rest of the world. You would think that figure alone would be enough to support a pro-trade agenda.

Later in the day…

We had a fun meeting with Jordan Lieberman, publisher of Campaigns and Elections magazine, who provided some background for the party leadership candidates. Here’s a review:

Mitt Romney (Republican) — a Mormon with lots of business experience and lots of money, but he got clobbered in the Iowa primaries because he’s not the kind of guy “you want to have a beer with,” Lieberman says.

Mike Huckabee (Republican) — Baptist minister, farther to the right than George W. Bush, Lieberman says. He’s a likeable guy with not a lot of money behind him compared to others. He won in Iowa but got beat bad tonight in New Hampshire.

Rudy Giuliani (Republican) — Former mayor of New York who guided the city through 9/11. He is pro-gay rights, pro-choice, and leading in national polls. But he got fewer votes than Huckabee in New Hampshire tonight.

John McCain (Republican) — Says he wants to personally find and shoot Osama bin Laden. He comes from a military family, has lots of political experience, and the press and people like him. The geezer won the New Hampshire primary handily over second-place Mitt Romney.

Barack Obama (Democrat) — On a roll with his message of change, but if the race stays close, Lieberman expects the Hillary Clinton machine to start digging up dirt on his past drug use and his middle name: Hussein.

Hillary Clinton (Democrat) — She has experience and passion and her husband, but some don’t view her as likeable. Women went with Obama in Iowa, but Hillary cried on TV last night, and women went back to Hillary in New Hampshire. She won the state primary by a hair over Obama.

Bill Richardson (Democrat) — Lots of experience, especially on the international scene with the UN, etc. Wants the U.S. out of the war in Iraq. He was a distant fourth in New Hampshire.

John Edwards (Democrat) — Lieberman talked about Edwards’ $400 haircuts, but didn’t mention anything else about him. He looks good and this is his second time around. Still, he’s a distant third so far.

After meeting Lieberman, we went to Porter’s pub a few blocks from our hotel to watch results come in from New Hampshire. It was a meeting site for Obama supporters. The place was packed tight but subdued, because Obama lost — which was a surprise. Lieberman and most other pundits and polls predicted Obama would win by 12 percentage points over Clinton. This proves once again that political pundits don’t have any more ability to predict election results than you or I do.

From what I’ve learned about U.S. electoral process in the past day or two, the primaries — which occur in every state — determine how many delegates each candidate gets to send to the leadership conventions in August. If you win 40 per cent of the vote in a state, you get 40 per cent of that state’s delegates. With only the small states of Iowa and New Hampshire counted to date, the leadership races are far from over.

Washington, D.C., Jan. 7 — It’s 9 p.m. and I’ve just returned from supper at a Moroccan restaurant three doors down from our hotel. I’m staying at the Palomar Hotel on P Street, about a mile north of the White House. Washington, D.C. has a reputation for violence but this area around the hotel seems clean and safe.

Before supper, a member of our group — Stephanie Trudeau, who works with the liquor control board in Quebec — organized a visit to the Canadian Embassy. Her friend Jonathan Sauvé is deputy spokesperson with the embassy’s media relations office. The embassy is on Pennsylvania Avenue within sight of the Capitol Building. It has this neat echo chamber just off the sidewalk. It’s like a concrete bandstand with a domed room. A whisper inside this chamber amplifies to a loud voice. The embassy could use this technique to get its message across more forcefully. Sauvé says the biggest issue for the embassy right now is the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which is the U.S. policy that requires passports to enter the country. Air travelers already need one, and the requirement for land and sea travelers has been bumped back to June 1, 2009 at the earliest. Not only would Canadians need a passport to get in, but American travelers who visit Canada would need a passport to come home. The hope is that the U.S. will accept an enhanced drivers’ licence as an alternative, so the one-year delay gives us time to develop one that meets U.S. approval. The travel initiative is one part of a general “thickening” of the border between Canada and the U.S. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security now says “security trumps trade” and this is “worrying,” Sauvé says. This thinking threatens the $561 billion per year in Canada-U.S. bilateral trade. It also reduces competition of North American industries built around an integrated economy. As Sauvé notes, a North American-made car crosses the border seven times before it’s finished. Restrictions on this movement will add costs to North American-built cars, while Asian-made cars come into the U.S. only once. Sauvé also notes that Canada is America’s No.1 energy supplier. One of the embassy’s jobs is to constantly remind U.S. elected officials and media of these facts. But with 170 other embassies in Washington and with a federal election going on, getting the message through is a challenge. Time to turbocharge the echo chamber.

Earlier in the day, we heard a presentation by Alan Levine. The associate professor with American University in D.C. gave a 90-minute introduction to the American republic system of government. I could have listened to Levine all day. He took a potentially dry topic and made it interesting with an animated and enthusiastic style. Every so often he raised his voice to a Jerry Seinfeld falsetto to make a key point. Levine talked about three tenets of the U.S. government system: separation of power, checks and balances, and federalism. I’ll give a brief summary of each:

• Separation of power. There are three key bodies in U.S. government: legislative (which is Congress, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate), executive (the president) and judicial (the Supreme Court). In short, the House and Senate pass laws, the president and his cabinet carry out laws, and the Supreme Court provides a fair and impartial body to settle disputes.
• Checks and balances. Though Congress, the president and the Supreme Court have their separate duties, the spheres overlap to keep checks on each other. For example, the president can veto congressional decisions; Congress can override the president’s veto with two-thirds support in each chamber; the Supreme Court can deem laws passed by Congress to be unconstitutional; Congress can impeach the president; the Senate has to approve all treaties signed by the president; the Senate has to approve key appointments by the president; and while the president can take the country to war, Congress alone can declare war and Congress approves the war budget.
• Federalism. The federal government only performs those duties outlined in the constitution. States control welfare payments, speed limits, whether to have the death penalty, etc. (Most states governments are also set up with much the same system of separation of power and checks and balances.) Local governments are responsible for zoning, education and police. There are 17,600 independent police forces in the U.S.

Levine’s most interesting comments:

1. Since the constitution was first drawn up, in secret, and then passed in 1787, there have only been 27 amendments. All other changes have come through reinterpretation of the constitution by the Supreme Court.
2. Supreme Court judges are appointed for life. That is by design so judges can maintain their “moral authority” without having to fight — and make compromising promises — to get reelected.
3. Elected officials in Washington vote against their party 25 per cent of the time, on average.
4. There are over 87,000 local governments in the U.S., including counties, cities, townships, school boards and “special government districts” (such as water authorities). With federal, state and local government combined, the U.S. has 521,000 government offices. “This system of government was set up to prevent tyranny,” Levine says. “In doing so, it guaranteed that we will not have an efficient government, but given the alternative, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Washington, D.C., Jan. 6 — This was our day to tour the city. We had a three-hour bus tour in the morning, which was very good. We saw the Iwo Jima monument at the Arlington cemetery for American soldiers killed in action. You’ve probably seen pictures of the Iwo Jima monument. It has four or five soliders pushing up the American flag. We also saw exteriors only of the National Cathedral (which looks very old but was built in the 1900s), the Capitol building and the White House.

Mary Speer, the U.S. consul in Winnipeg, told me an interesting story about the White House. She said Thomas Jefferson wanted it painted white to distinguish it from the red brick townhouses in upper-class Georgetown, an old community, now part of D.C. Jefferson wanted the White House to be representative of the common man, not the elite. Interestingly, Jefferson also greatly scaled down the size of the White House plan. Pierre L’Enfant, the man who designed the city of Washinton, D.C., envisioned a huge presidential palace on the scale of Versailles in France. Jefferson didn’t want anything of the sort, so the White House, grand though it is, is a shack compared to what it might have been had L’Enfant got his way.

While the tour was a great introduction to D.C., the moment I though, “OK, I’m in Washington,” came in the afternoon while I was walking around on my own. I hiked the whole length of the “mall”, which stretches from the Capitol building to the 500-foot Washington Monument obelisk to the Lincoln Memorial — a distance of about two miles. It was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where I had my moment. From there, looking east over the large rectangular pool — the one the Forrest Gump waded through to find Jenny — you see the Washington Momument just like in the postcards. The monument completely blocks the Capitol from that vantage point, but if you move 20 paces left or right, the Capitol dome comes into view in the distance. From this same spot, Martin Luther King Jr. made his “I have a dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963. It is when I can stand in the footprints of history that a city comes alive for me.

Inside the Lincoln Memorial, which looks like the Greek pantheon with its marble columns, is a massive tablet etched with Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. Delivered in Pennsylvania Nov. 19, 1863, this is perhaps the most famous two-minute speech in history. Here is the memorable lead line: “Four score and 20 years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” (It reminded me of Jefferson’s White House story.)

I have to hand it to Americans. They do a great job of idolizing their presidents. Franklin Delano Roosevelt has a more modest memorial built among the cherry trees behind Lincoln’s. Carved into Roosevelt’s memorial are not full speeches, but many of his best statements. Roosevelt led the country out of the depression and into the Second World War. He was elected four times, and after his death in 1945 Congress passed the two-term limit for President. Here is one of my favourite Roosevelt passages, spoken during the Depression: “In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice, the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.” Now fast-forward 60 years. I wonder how George W. Bush will be remembered? George McGovern wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post just today calling for Bush’s impeachment. About Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney, McGovern wrote, “They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world.”

Which brings me full circle back to why I’m here in Washington in the first place. The U.S. Department of State hosts 4,500 people a year, from all around the world, for what it calls the International Visitor Leadership Program. I and six other young Canadians are here together for three weeks — at the expense of U.S. taxpayers — to find out how and why the U.S. makes its decisions on trade policy. The underlying goal, I suspect, is to get other nations to like or at least understand the U.S. a little better. The purpose of this diary is to share with you what I learn each day.

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