Barb Wire

Here’s a charming photo with which to end the week. It was taken by Lynne Trask of Pink Mountain, B.C., back in July, just before 4-H achievement days for the North Peace district. It was sent to us this week by Joan Trask, who frequently sends photos to the Producer.
Ty Trask, far left, has obviously spent a lot of time with his steer, Skipper, because the animal is calm enough to allow Ty himself, Logan, Sara and Grace Trask sit on him without feeling the need to get up and make a fuss about it.
Calm animals stand a better chance in the show ring, and so it was with Skipper, who won reserve champion at the achievement day.

Another day, another dozen news release from the RCMP. I always read them, especially the ones concerning rural Saskatchewan and Alberta. Today they report failed break-in at a Lloydminster area farm that occurred at 4 a.m. Aug. 24. As usual with these releases, there are none of what I consider the interesting human details, namely whether the residents were home, whether they called police and whether they were frightened out of their jammies (or into them!) by the incident.
But the police do offer this advice: “Lloydminster RCMP would like to remind rural residents to keep an eye out for suspicious or unknown vehicles or people in that area at unusual hours. (They) would also like to remind residents to ensure all of their residence doors and windows are locked when they are away or at night. It is suggested that residents leave exterior house and yard lights on during the night as well for (preventive) measures.”

I’ve written in blogs past about Temple Grandin, arguably the world’s foremost expert on livestock handling. I met her when she visited the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon last year and made her usual positive impression on veterinary students and the public.
Grandin has been in the news again lately with a few more tributes to her expertise. In late July, she was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the largest cattle group in the United States.
A new release recounting the announcement said Grandin has revolutionized the way cattle producers handle livestock.
“She has reminded the world that one person really can make a difference,” said Tom Field of the NCBA. “Beyond this industry, she has given renewed hope to autistics around the globe.”
Grandin credits her autism with her ability to visualize facilities and stimuli as animals do. Her life story was the subject of a television movie aired earlier this year on HBO, starring Claire Danes in the lead role.
That movie, simply called Temple Grandin, has been nominated for 15 Emmy awards. Emmy winners are scheduled to be announced Aug. 29.

This newspaper had great success in the annual writing, design and photography awards presented by the American Agricultural Editors Association. Staff members won 19 awards, a strong showing within an organization of more than 400 agricultural journalists and photographers. Winners were announced at a convention in St. Paul, Minn., on July 27. I’ve written about the full list of WP awards in my column that appears in the Aug. 5 issue. As promised in that column, here are some (but not all) of the winning photos taken by staff members William DeKay and Mary MacArthur. I expect DeKay will post some of the others on his own blog, which can also be found at www.producer.com, when he’s back in the office.

Here we are, facing a beautiful summer long weekend. Are camping and barbecues on the agenda? Perhaps a meal featuring hotdogs, those perfect campfire stalwarts, is planned?
Well, don’t eat them too fast. Savour them, because there might soon be a new dog in town.

On the heels of news about the choking hazards presented by wieners comes a new product designed to minimize the risk. The Kinder Cut looks like an ordinary wiener, until it is cooked. Then it expands into a star-shaped cylinder. Eight longitudinal slits appear only when the hot dog is cooked. The idea is that air could still pass between the meat and a person’s airway should the hotdog become lodged in the throat. I guess the bun is another story.
According to Meatingplace.com, the Kinder Cut was patented by Gene Gagliardi in 1991 but it has never been commercially produced. That might soon change.
Adults seem to have little trouble with hotdogs, but they are a choking risk for kids. A round chunk of hotdog can fit all too snugly in a child’s airway. If someone has found a safer way, more power to them. It’s another choice for consumers.
I just hope the new hotdogs, when they reach the market, will fit on a stick, stay on a stick while being roasted in a campfire, and accept adequate amounts of relish and mustard when they’re done.

Camping is a favourite summer activity for many farmers. It’s an opportunity to get away from the routine, even if only for a weekend. You see some different country, commune with nature, and do a little boating or water skiing or fishing. It’s a chance to get sticky from marshmallows and get stinky from campfire smoke and/or lack of available showers.
I’m not much of a camper. Once you’ve worked in a camp for many months at a time, the idea of camping for leisure loses its luster. Adding to my ambivalence are two recent news stories that could make one wonder if the simple pleasures of camping are no longer as safe as they once were.
As I write this, the fate of Marie and Lyle McCann of St. Albert, Alta. is still unknown. Their motor home was found burned near Edson, Alta., on July 16 and the McCanns themselves haven’t been seen since July 3. The longer their absence, the more worrisome it becomes, and the less likely there will be a happy outcome. Whatever their fate, it’s a cautionary tale that all campers must be taking to heart.
Today brought news from the RCMP in Qu’Appelle, Sask., about travel trailer break-ins that occurred July 23 or July 24 at the Katepwa Provincial Park. None of the occupants were around at the time of the thefts, but televisions, clothing, alcohol and electronic equipment were taken.
RCMP gave the following advice: “When at parks, please familiarize yourself with neighbouring vehicles and people. If you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, take a description, licence numbers and contact police.”
Seems as though even innocent activities like camping have their nasty side, but don’t let it dissuade you from enjoying some camping fun this summer. Just be careful out there!

Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is the exact height that I imagined him to be. Like many of you, I don’t see federal political bigwigs in person that often. The in-person interviews of Ignatieff and other politicians of similar political importance, generally fall to reporters, who have greater expertise and more frequent practice in following and quizzing.
But on the rare occasion when a politician appears in my sights, he or she is often taller or shorter than I thought. Not so for Ignatieff. He’s medium height, lean and appears to be a good listener.

This observation was made last weekend on the Guenther dairy farm north of Osler, Sask. Ignatieff and entourage visited the farm to see first-hand the effects of rain and cropland flooding.
They picked a good place, because Chad Guenther said the farm has received about 27 inches (686 millimetres) of rain this spring and summer. His mother, Gaye, has had water in the basement of her farm home for seven weeks and counting.
Joe Guenther, Chad’s father, said he’s never seen conditions like this in all his years of farming. Crops on about 300 acres of the family’s 1,600 total are unsalvageable, although Chad said he thinks they’ll harvest something from the rest even if his father isn’t so sure.
“I’m very optimistic that our bins will still fill this year. But Dad has seen more bad years than I have.”
Chad acknowledges that the Guenther acreage is small compared to many farms, where problems created by excess rainfall are made that much worse because of large input costs.
While media types were waiting around at the Guenthers for Ignatieff to meet privately with farm leaders, Chad gave a tour of the farmstead, which had been dressed up with numerous loads of gravel to make the access passable for visitors.
You can see the problems faced in the cow yard in one of these photos. Try as they might to provide dry places for the outdoor cattle, weather and available space did not co-operate.
Ignatieff emerged for a brief scrum with reporters, noting his greater understanding about fallout from the flood and the effects it is likely to have this year and possibly longer.
“You can’t do farm policy from Ottawa,” he said, in reference to the need for better business risk management programs. “We have to rebuild these things from the farmgate up. We’ve got to … sit on some bales together and work this thing out.”
He was speaking figuratively, because I noticed the Guenther’s hospitality arrangements had provided Ignatieff with a wooden chair. The farm leaders got to sit on the bales.

The idea came to me about 18 months ago. Wouldn’t it be cool to attach a camera to a cow and see what happened? Well, now we know what happened. The Western Producer Cow Cam is due to be launched on this website any moment now. It features a slice of life as a cow sees it.
It’s a video of a different sort, and oddly compelling, as stated in the above ad created by graphics editor Michelle Houlden.
The time span between inspiration and implementation involved a lot of perspiration. First, there was the not inconsequential matter of finding a suitable cow. Fortunately, I know people. Specifically, my sister Heather and brother-in-law Norman Dodd just happen to have a herd of purebred Simmentals, many of which are calm enough to accept video duties.
NHD Raven 17R, whom Heather said is something of a pet (except when separated from her calf while stuck in a squeeze chute getting electronics attached to her head) and was suitable for the task. The fact that Heather and Norman’s cattle herd and market garden operation are located in a scenic part of southern Alberta, at the foot of the Rockies, was an added bonus. How better for a cow to capture spectacular scenery as well as pasture grass?
It took Heather and I a while to get the camera set up just right. It was a new piece of equipment and Raven was a bit impatient with all our fiddling. You can catch a glimpse of Heather at the start of the video, when she releases Raven to start her 3.5 hours of recording.
That’s Raven’s halter strap, ear and long eyelashes that you see throughout her video and it might be the closest any of us ever comes to seeing life as a cow does. I was worried that the video would feature hours-long shots of the ground as Raven grazed. Fortunately, the cow was skilled. She shot lots of interaction with other cattle, a clunky encounter with a creep feeder and tender moments shared with her bull calf.
As the shortened version of the video was being prepared, staff members saw various segments and found themselves mesmerized by the content. Of course, we’re all aggie types, which might partially explain it. But I’m hopeful that Raven’s work will be of interest to a wider audience.
Would anyone find it so engrossing that they’d watch all 3.5 hours? Well, Michael Raine did. The Producer’s farm management editor and the guy with the most video and technical expertise, watched the whole thing more than once and edited it into a manageable size. Apart from Raven herself, his is the largest contribution to the project. Likely he now dreams of that pasture whenever he closes his eyes.
Check out the results and let us know what you think.

We are preoccupied with rain here in Saskatchewan. Come to think of it, we are usually preoccupied with rain — the lack of it, not the abundance of it. Having received 99 millimetres last week in Saskatoon, and with nearly every weather reporting station in the province reporting at least 150 percent of normal moisture levels for this time of year, we think about rain A LOT.
And not in the most complimentary of terms.
Crops are doing poorly, not just in Saskatchewan but in southern Alberta and Manitoba as well. Farms and towns have been flooded. Ditches are full. Feedlots are mucky. Water seems to be everywhere. Every day brings new rain clouds.
Is there a silver lining in every cloud? If so, we have enough lining to coat every dime in farmers’ pockets.
We set our minds to finding these silver linings. Here is a list. Add to it if you can:

1. There is an abundance of lakefront property.

2. There are more songbirds.

3. And more insects for songbirds to eat.

4. Rain brings a colourful array of wild flowers.

5. Cattle are ecstatic with the grass tickling their tummies. And there are many swimming opportunities.

6. It’s a unique experience to complain about too much rain instead of not enough rain.

7. Proof that John Palliser was wrong?

8. Detours caused by flooding open up new tourism vistas.

9. There’s a pond for every duck.

10. Savings are realized on water delivery costs.

11. This weather reduces wear and tear on irrigation sprinklers and pivots.

12. It recharges the water table, sloughs and aquifers for future use so we won’t have to complain about drought next year.

13. There is plenty of hay, if we can get it.

14. Less time is spent applying sunscreen.

15. Who doesn’t love a good mud bog?

16. Opportunities for weed identification are abundant.

17. The deck is now a dock.

18. There are great sales potential for winter wheat seed.

19. Grasshopper problems are minimized because they hate cold, wet weather.

20. Hope floats.