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INSIGHTS INTO STOCKPILED FORAGES 路 KEEP YOUR P UP 路 LOW-FAT DDGS OK, WITHIN LIMITS

THE BEEF MAGAZINE

FALL 2013 $3.00

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BALE GRAZING

On the Escarpment

Bill Redrupp, Collingwood, Ont.

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12/20/2010

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Established 1938 ISSN 1196-8923 CATTLEMEN EDITORIAL Editor: Gren Winslow 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 (204) 944-5753 Fax (204) 944-5416 E-mail: gren@fbcpublishing.com

Contents CANADIAN CATTLEMEN · FALL 2013 · VOLUME 76, NO. 11

 G R A Z I NG

Field Editor: Debbie Furber Box 1168, Tisdale, SK S0E 1T0 (306) 873-4360 Fax (306) 873-4360 E-mail: debbie.furber@fbcpublishing.com ADVERTISING SALES Deborah Wilson RR 1, Lousana, AB T0M 1K0 (403) 325-1695 Fax (403) 944-5562 E-mail: deb.wilson@fbcpublishing.com HEAD OFFICE 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Advertising Services Co-ordinator: Arlene Bomback (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 E-mail: ads@fbcpublishing.com Publisher: Lynda Tityk E-mail: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com Associate Publisher/Editorial Director: John Morriss E-mail: john.morriss@fbcpublishing.com Production Director: Shawna Gibson E-mail: shawna@fbcpublishing.com Circulation Manager: Heather Anderson E-mail: heather@fbcpublishing.com President: Bob Willcox Glacier Media Agricultural Information Group Email: bwillcox@glaciermedia.ca Contents of Cattlemen are copyrighted and may be reproduced only when written permission is obtained from the editor and proper credit is given to Cattlemen.

It makes sense in Ontario too

BALE GRAZING ON THE ESCARPMENT  G R A Z I NG

FEATURES Bale grazing on the escarpment . . . . . . . . . 8

Cattlemen and Canadian Cattlemen are Trade Marks of Farm Business Communications.

Bale grazing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Cattlemen is published monthly (with the exception of July and 2 issues in January and October) by Farm Business Communications. Head office: Winnipeg, Manitoba. Printed by Transcontinental LGMC. Cattlemen is printed with linseed oil-based inks.

Figuring out sod seeding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Does low-fat DDGS mean lower performance? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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Canadian forages are a $5.09-billion industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Making the most of stockpiled forages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240.

Debunking the fallacies of feeding wheat to feedlot cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

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Pasture monitoring made simple . . . . . . . 24

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Verified Beef Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Bale grazing tips A Manitoba viewpoint from Kent Dalrymple.

Two newer respiratory pathogens . . . . . . 34 Rumen magnets prevent hardware disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

 R ES EA RC H

Keep your phosphorus up to maintain alfalfa yields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Member

Preventing bloat on fall pastures. . . . . . . .40

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The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Canadian Cattlemen and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists, Canadian Cattlemen and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Canadian Cattlemen and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided. Our commitment to your privacy: At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1. Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-665-1362.

Pasture pipeline dos and don’ts . . . . . . . . 32

Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Newsmakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Straight from the Hip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Vet Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Purely Purebred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Sales and Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Congratulations! Does low-fat DDGS mean lower performance? No. Just limit the amount.

To our Fall survey winner, Jim Wiebe, Canmore, Alta. This month’s survey is on page 4. Cover photo: Bryan Davies Photography

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

C A T T L E M E N · FA L L 2 0 1 3

 COMMENT

By Gren Winslow

the a&w dilemma

Why did their “Better Beef” campaign bug me?

don’t know about you but I found my temper rising when I first read about the A&W burger chain’s “Better Beef ” slogan. If the Twitterverse is any indication I wasn’t alone. But here’s the thing. I really had a hard time putting my finger on why I was getting so upset. In its announcement A&W says, “We care about serving great-tasting burgers and that means caring about what goes into them.” What’s to complain about there? You’d be hard pressed to find a rancher who wouldn’t say the same thing about the beef in his own freezer. In A&W’s case it means they will buy only from select ranches that raise their beef without added hormones or steroids and only use antibiotics for therapeutic purposes. Why would that bother me? I’m sure you know someone who has at least dabbled in this so-called Natural Beef market. There was a time when just the term would raise the hackles on the back of the neck. I can still remember the angry phone calls I received after we ran our first cover story on the “Natural Beef” campaign run by a national grocery chain. But that was a long time ago, and attitudes have changed a lot since then. Today almost everyone is looking for a way to add extra value to their calves. They may have signed on to a value chain such as Ontario Corn Fed Beef. Calf clubs in Ontario have created some very successful fall sales by raising vetcertified pre-vaccinated calves without steroids. Others sell their own beef direct to consumers and promote it as a local product. (While I’m on that topic

you might be interested in the results of a recent study by two Kentucky economists. They sampled 1,000 Canadians to discover what we view as local. Is it the CFIA standard of 50 km? Or is it 160 km, 360 km, provincial or all of Canada? In this study people valued provincial product more than a local one, and anything within 160 km was seen as local.) You can also find plenty of people who are raising cattle without the use of growth-promoting hormones or the antibiotics. Perhaps they are targeting the EU market where if press reports are to be believed the federal government has finally negotiated a higher quota level for EU imports of Canadian beef and pork. Or they simply have customers for their own beef who want it raised this way. The Kotelko family of Spring Creek Ranch at Vegreville, Alta. is a prime example of this group of innovative producers. They’ve been recognized by their peers for their stewardship and their marketing savvy in creating a value chain of ranchers willing to raise Angus-based cattle without implants or non-therapeutic antibiotics to share in what they hope is a premium market. So far, they’ve managed to market their Spring Creek branded beef to Calgary Co-op, Sobeys, Safeway and now they are one of the three ranches selected by A&W along with Meyer Natural Foods in Montana and Tyes Australia. I suppose I felt some irritation that they had to turn to two foreign suppliers to service a Canadian restaurant chain. But that is the same mindset that leads some American cattlemen to do everything in their power to

Even extreme measures can’t guarantee success

interfere with the import of Canadian cattle and beef. A better question might be, what are Canadian producers going to do to convince A&W that they don’t have to look outside the country to fill their orders? Nevertheless I was happy to see that the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association reacted to this announcement, although they didn’t refer directly to A&W in their press release. Instead the CCA noted they appreciate any effort to connect consumers to farmers and their practices, just so long as it doesn’t misinform the consumer. I suppose when you get right down to it, that’s what bothers me too about this announcement. It’s the implication that somehow raising beef without the scientific advantages offered by implants and drugs somehow implies that it is better beef. That is not true. In fact we have a great story to tell about the safety of today’s beef supply. Perhaps it is time to resurrect that campaign to remind consumers that a serving of cabbage contains 1,000 times more estrogen than a steak from an animal given an implant. Or that it is rare to find an antibiotic residue in any cut of beef, and those few never make it to the store shelf. As with all things, the market will determine the success of the A&W campaign. If nothing else it has demonstrated that you can never stop telling the good news about today’s beef. I have to wonder though what the owners of the A&W outlets in Brooks, and High River and all those smaller towns across Canada are thinking about their new slogan today. Perhaps you should ask them. c

Answer our survey — and have a go at winning one of our caps We have a goal to be the best beef cattle magazine in the business. But we need your help. If you could just fill in this survey and return it to me, you would be helping us set the future editorial direction for Canadian Cattlemen. All you have to do is tell me what you like about the magazine, and

We’d appreciate it if you could tell us a little about yourself. It makes it easier for us to keep your main interests in focus  I’m ranching or farming Enterprise Total beef cattle Yearlings on feed/pasture Registered cows Fed cattle (sold yearly) Commercial cows Horses Calves on feed/pasture Other livestock

# of head

If not an owner/operator of a farm, are you:  In agribusiness (bank, elevator, ag supplies, etc.)  Other (please specify)_____________________ My approximate age is:  a) Under 35  b) 36 to 44  d) 55 to 64  e) 65 or over

C a t t l e m e n · fa l l 2 0 1 3

What do you think of: On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you and your family like these features? 5 – I always watch for it; let’s see more of it 4 – I regularly read it and like it 3 – I usually read it 2 – There are things I’d rather read 1 – I don’t want it; get rid of it Regular Columns 5 4 3 Comment Newsmakers Letters

 I no longer take an active part in farming

 c) 45 to 54

what you don’t like. There’s also some space for you to tell us what you would like to see in future issues. Clip and enclose your mailing label. Each month, we will draw one name from all the surveys sent in and send that person a Cattlemen cap. It could be you!

Regular Columns News Roundup Purely Purebred The Markets

Market Talk Sales and Events 2

1 Nutrition Research Special features Calving Issue (Jan.)

CCA Reports Prime Cuts Straight From The Hip

Custom Feedlot Guide (Sep.) Stock Buyers’ Guide (Aug.) Animal Health Special (Sep.)

Holistic Ranching

Beef Watch (May & Nov.)

What would you like to see?___________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 1666 Dublin Avenue How much time do you and your family spend reading Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 Canadian Cattlemen?  Under 2 hours  Over 2 hours

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 THE INDUST RY

NewsMakers Byron David is the new member services representative of the Canadian Angus Association. In this new role he will work on the breed development side of the office and support Byron David technical services and registry staff. He has spent the last three years as a team lead and customer service representative with the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) working on the national ID and trace-back program. Chuck MacLean of Alberta has been re-elected chair of Canada Beef Inc., the industry’s checkoff-funded marketing arm. Arthur Batista of Ecolait was elected vicechair replacing Ontario Chuck MacLean producer Paul Sharpe who completed his term on the board. Jack Hextall of Saskatchewan chairs the finance committee; Jennifer MacDonald from New Brunswick remains chair of the governance committee; Cargill’s Mike Kennedy chairs the planning and priorities committee and Willie Van Solkema from JBS Canada will head up the foreign trade advisory committee. Arden Schneckenburger from Ontario and Kirk Jackson from Quebec replace Sharpe and Gib Drury on the producer side of the board while Van

Solkema, Anthony Petronaci of Canadian Select Meats and Sobeys’ Lonnie Lake replace Brian Read, Robert Bielak and Scott Ellerton on the processor side. Other returning board members are: Grant Huffman, B.C.; John Schooten, Alta.; Trevor Atchison, Man.; Terry Prescott, N.S. and John MacDonald, P.E.I. Jason Bazinet of Lloydminster and Bryan Perkins of Wainwright have been appointed to the Lakeland College Board of Governors. Bazinet graduated from the University of Regina with Jason Bazinet a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is the chief financial officer of Synergy Credit Union. Perkins and his family operate Perkins Farms, a grain and hog farm near Wainwright. He’s also the chair Bryan Perkins and founder of Sunhaven Farms, an organization that is owned by 150 farm families that sell branded pork. He also sits on the advisory committee of the University of Alberta’s faculty of agriculture, life and environmental sciences. C&C Packing Inc. has become the distributor for Creekstone Farms Premium Angus Beef to Canadian restaurants and supermarkets. C&C

Packing Inc. has its headquarters in Montreal and regional sales offices throughout Canada. Creekstone of Arkansas City, Kan., is one of the few branded Black Angus beef programs certified by the United States Department of Agriculture. Shortly after the announcement a fire forced the shutdown of Creekstone’s processing facility. However, the company said it expected to be back at full capacity by midOctober. Terry Hayward of Anola, Man., a former executive director of the Farm Products Council of Canada and Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council will try to gain the federal riding of Provencher for the Liberals when a byelection is called for Vic Toews’ seat. A cabinet minister, Toews who has held the seat for the past 12 years, stepped down from the Commons in July. Hayward, who is currently a business consultant, placed third against Toews in the 2011 federal election. Canada’s Verified Beef Production (VBP) program continues to grow in 2013 with enrollment in the training course up three per cent over last year. The 17,103 producers who have taken the course, so far account for two-thirds of Canada’s beef production. The 1,004 registered operations which are audited alone account for 20 per cent of the country’s production.

Drs. Daniel (Dan) Weary and Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk are joint recipients of the 2013 Metacam 20 Bovine Welfare Award.

The Canadian Association of Bovine Veterinarians (CABV/ACVB) and Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. recently named Drs. Daniel (Dan) Weary and Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk as joint recipients of the 2013 Metacam 20 Bovine Welfare Award. Dan is a professor and Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) industrial research chair at the University of British Columbia and co-founder of UBC’s animal welfare program. Nina is also a professor and NSERC industrial research chair holder in Animal Welfare at the University of British Columbia. They are internationally recognized as forerunners in dairy cattle welfare research, education and extension who have served on various expert committees and contribute to animal care policy both nationally and internationally. c

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C a t t l e m e n · fa l l 2 0 1 3

2013-09-09 12:02 PM

Canadian Hereford Association • 5160 Skyline Way NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6V1 • 1-888-836-7242 • herefords@hereford.ca

 grazing

By Debbie Furber

Bale Grazing on the Escarpment

ntrigued with what he had been reading about practices to extend the grazing season out west, Bill Redrupp was keen to give them a try on his mixed farm located on the foothills of the Niagara Escarpment near the former ship-building community of Collingwood, Ont., on Georgian Bay. About three years ago, he called Canadian Cattlemen for a list of resource people on the subject and went to work setting up a bale-grazing system to winter his herd of 25 Hereford cows. He recently called to say that bale grazing works equally well in his area of Ontario, where there aren’t a lot of cattle to start with and bale grazing is even less common. “Bale grazing using sisal twine seemed to make so much sense — taking the animals to the bales and catching manure in the field,” Redrupp says. “The only negative I could see was feed wastage, but the wastage is of value to the land building up soil.” He started by bale grazing the herd through November and December because he was leery about winter weather conditions, mainly the effects of high winds whipping off the escarpment come January and February more so than snow buildup. Now, the cows bale graze winter long, starting around the first of December. Many years, such as this with ample precipitation and sunshine, he has pasture to graze well into November. Corn stover for late-fall grazing is a bonus every third year in his cash crop rotation, which happened to roll around this year in the midst of abundant forage growth for pasture and hay. The first cut of hay alone nearly covered off the 200 bales needed to see the herd through the winter and a second cut yielded another 135. With the drought of 2012 fresh in everyone’s mind, he is happy to have the carry-over as insurance. Though his farm was on the edge of the drought and had enough pasture, he did have to buy in some hay and considers himself fortunate to have been able to find it close to home from a neighbour who had recently sold his herd. The hayfields and pastures are a 50/50 mix of alfalfa with orchardgrass and brome grass. First-cut bales are moved off to the side to take a second cut and those bales are left to be grazed where they roll out of the baler. He’ll harrow over the residue to accommodate baling the following year. The residue from bale grazing on pasture land is left for the cattle to work into the land, so he’ll change up the location from year to year to prevent heavy buildup in any one area and to treat areas that need special attention. He uses 40-foot spacings between bales whenever they have to be placed. In all, he sets up five 20-acre bale-grazing areas with single-strand electric fences for cross-fencing as needed and another movable wire to give the cows access to about two weeks of bales at a time. He notices that the boost in forage growth from the added fertility and moisture retention really isn’t evident until the second summer after bale grazing. So, it’s working from a forage production standpoint, Redrupp says, adding that he

C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 1 3

The cows graze all winter starting about the first of December.

is particularly happy with the results on an eight-year-old hayfield, where production has not declined and the 50/50 mix is staying stable. It’s also working from an economic perspective and even more so considering that he had been paying someone to do the haying and feed the herd all of the years up to his retirement as a partner in Pricewaterhouse Coopers at Toronto, where he was raised. His mother was originally from the Collingwood area and as a kid he made frequent trips there with his parents to visit relatives. The view from the escarpment over the Georgian Bay was breathtaking and after securing his career in Toronto, it seemed like a good idea to invest in the little 60-acre farm on the slope that had come up for sale. A few years later, he added a nearby farm that included a sizable piece of logged land not really suitable for cropping and went about returning it to its natural state by planting 30,000 white pines. He capped off his holding with the 75-acre farm next to his original farm, taking it up to 275 acres in all. Though the size doesn’t compare to farms he sees out west, like the Douglas Lake Ranch he visited in 2012 while on the World Hereford Conference tour, it’s a fair-size operation for his neck of the woods where agricultural land is now selling for $10,000 an acre and can grow 150-bushel corn crops. Redrupp’s farm is evenly split between cropland and forages for hay and pasture, along with the 50 acres of white pine and spruce forest. Currently, he has a 50/50 crop-share agreement with a local farmer, Colin Walker, who runs a large dairy farm and retails crop inputs. Walker is very knowledgeable about cropping and Redrupp appreciates his willingness to teach him about what he is doing with the land and why. They use a three-crop rotation that includes corn, soybean and winter wheat.

PHOTO: bryan davies photography

Redrupp’s interest in Hereford cattle stems back to a visit to Hereford, England, while on a trip with a business partner. He had a bit of a rocky start in the beef industry, though, when the first cow he purchased and placed in a friend’s care was the one and only cow in the county to be diagnosed with brucellosis back in the days of mandatory testing. He started over again with four Horned Herefords and built up a herd on his own place by paying neighbours to look after them. His Polled Hereford herd of today has been developed using good-quality bulls, retaining heifers from his own herd, and adding quality females from reputable breeders along the way. “I don’t show cattle or promote purebreds, but I do enjoy quality and I am proud of the bloodlines and herd I’ve built on them through the years,” Redrupp says, adding that the sire of his current herdsire out of Bryan and Annette Latimer’s Remitall West herd near Olds, Alta., is the sire of the 2012 grand champion Hereford bull at the Toronto Royal Winter Fair and a paternal brother to the 2013 grand champion Hereford bull at the show in Denver, Colorado. The aspect of the beef industry he probably enjoys the most is animal health and husbandry and his veterinarian has been a great mentor in this regard. When it comes right down to it, he simply likes everything about cattle and the land. Admittedly, Herefords aren’t the most popular breed in the province. The lightcoloured cattle with Continental breeding, such as Limousin and Charolais, are dominant and typically fetch top market prices. He has found a fairly strong market through the Ontario Stock Yards at Cookstown for his 600-weight Hereford calves after weaning in early November. Buyers there recognize the Remitall name and appreciate the quality of the calves, so he has been able to capture

“ Bale grazing with sisal twine seemed to make so much sense.” Bill Redrupp Collingwood, Ont.

premiums for quality when there are premiums to be had. Redrupp sends the herdsire’s ultrasound carcass data on the truck with the calves and the stockyard makes the information available to potential buyers before and during the sale. It helps, too, that a lot of Mennonite farms do business there and they are not usually in the market for large groups of feeder calves all at one time. Trying some swath grazing is next on his to-do list and this was to be the year to get started until the rains came and boosted forage yields beyond his expectations. The challenge of the ever-changing work environment and the opportunity to learn new things every day are all part of the intrigue of farming that holds Redrupp to the land. c www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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3/14/2013 3:24:19 PM

 grazing

By Angela Lovell

bale grazing tips

inter bale grazing has become more popular with cattle producers over the last decade, especially amongst those who have some marginal land where they want to improve fertility and some natural bush or trees to provide shelter for the animals. There always seem to be a few tricks and tips to be learned about bale grazing from those who have been doing it for a while, which is why the recent Manitoba Provincial Pasture Tour stopped at the ranch of Kent Dalrymple, who has been bale grazing for nine years and was willing to share his experiences with the hundred or so cattle producers in attendance. Dalrymple has a 900-head, black Angus cow-calf operation in the St. Ambroise/ Oakville area of the Interlake region of Manitoba, where he rotationally grazes on native/ bush pasture during the summer and bale grazes his mature cows throughout the winter. Only bred heifers, first-calf heifers, bulls and calves are brought back to the home yard to be overwintered. Dalrymple favours large square bales in his bale grazing program because they are easier to handle. He places the bales out every two to three weeks in several paddocks and rotates the cows through them

Dalrymple favours large square bales because they are easier to handle.

PHOTO : Canadian hay & silage ltd.

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www.canadiancattlemen.ca 2013-09-09 12:03 PM

grazing

every four days by opening gates to different areas. He says it’s important to test the quality of the feed and mix better-quality hay bales with lower-quality ones to stretch out the feed supplies and prevent the cows from getting too picky. “The cows will always pick out the best bales and eat them first but if you feed a variety of differentquality bales after two or three days they will finish up the rest,” says Dalrymple. Herd Health

The health of Dalrymple’s calves has improved significantly since he began his rotational/bale grazing system. He believes that keeping them moving prevents health problems and even if the animals appear under the weather, usually moving them to fresh ground and water clears up any problems. Before adopting the system Dalrymple was constantly treating for scours, but he hasn’t had to treat any animals now for several years. Flies are always a nuisance but experiments over the last couple of years with feeding the cattle garlic seems to have reduced fly density and any associated problems with pink eye. Colleen Dalrymple buys bulk ground garlic for about $5 per pound and begins feeding it with minerals around April at the rate of about one cup of garlic to a bag of mineral. The idea, she says, is to get the garlic into the cow’s system so that the odour can be expressed through its skin by the time flies are beginning to appear. “We mix it in and they seem to really like it,” says Colleen. The animals have visibly less flies on them, adds Colleen and they haven’t had problems with pink eye since they began using the garlic. Calving

Finding manpower, especially at calving time, has always been a problem for the ranch and it’s one of the reasons that Dalrymple moved calving from the end of January to April on pasture. “We generally put the bulls out on July 15 and are usually calving around April 15,” says Dalrymple. The mature cows are moved to their summer pastures in groups of 80 to 140 just prior to the beginning of calving and the calves are delivered at pasture with few problems. “We feed the calving cows once a week but find the more we leave them alone the better. We check the cows once a day and the heifers twice a day during calving but we have very few calving problems. We just make sure the cows are up and nursing and that’s all we have to do.” In order to prevent calving problems Dalrymple is selective about the type of cattle he keeps as replacements and finds that younger cows perform better in his low-management system, so the replacement rate is 15 to 20 per cent. He selects for easy calving and low calving weights and culls any cows with bad udders or teats or the wrong temperament. “We select for cows that calve well and are more aggressive with predators; that will stand over their calves all the time for the first few days,” he says. “We want cows that can look after themselves and their calves.” A good year-round water supply is essential and Dalrymple has year-round watering sites supplying pumped well water on www.canadiancattlemen.ca

demand. He makes sure he plans his grazing so the cattle don’t need to walk more than a mile for water or feed. Improved Productivity

Fertilizing with bale grazing has helped Dalrymple improve productivity and has lengthened the grazing season. The low fertility Isofold soils on the ranch generally benefit from the nutrients left behind after bale grazing. He has done regular soil testing to see what nutrient levels are present and how they impact production. Soil samples from two feet down in an area not yet bale grazed contained 22 pounds of nitrogen (N), 12 pounds of phosphorus (P) and 16 pounds of potassium (K). After bale grazing the site with 360 cows for four months the soil sample showed 150 pounds N, 52 pounds P and 36 pounds K. The additional nutrients from bale grazing mean that Dalrymple can get lush regrowth in as little as 60 days after grazing.

e plans his grazing H so the cattle don’t need to walk more than a mile for water or feed

Pitfalls

Any system can have its drawbacks and one of the benefits of bale grazing can also be a bit of a problem. Dalrymple has found that the bale grazing sites can overconcentrate the nutrients in one spot and he tries to avoid this by spreading out the bales over as large an area as possible. Site selection for bale grazing is important to maintain productivity and prevent environmental problems, says Dalrymple. “Nitrogen can start to leach out, especially on sandy soils after a few years and it can work down to six feet so it needs to be watched and you need to be careful how much you allow to build up in the soil,” he says. “If you already have lots of nutrients according to the soil test, it’s best to bale graze only in lower fertility areas and make sure the amount of nutrient you are adding by bale grazing can be used by the plants or there is more risk to the environment. Make sure also you bale graze in an area where there is no risk of run-off of N and P.” Another thing to watch for in the springtime is when the snow is beginning to melt underneath any residue that can cause problems for pregnant cattle. “When the cows are in good shape and heavy with calf in March they will lay on the bale grazing residue and if there are any layers of snow under it, during the spring it can get soft and begin to melt and they can fall through the snow layer and end up on their backs and not able to get up,” says Dalrymple. His solution is to push the snow back during the winter when he places new bales and make sure that they are always placed on the ground, so no snow can build up under any residue that gets left behind. c

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 manageme n t

By Angela Lovell

figuring out sod seeding

here are no hard and fast rules for sod seeding; it’s often a matter of trial and error as Henry Rosing is finding out. Rosing is the ranch manager at EUR Ranch near Lake Francis in the Interlake region of Manitoba, an area with a lot of natural pasture and marginal land for haying. The ongoing challenge for the ranch is to maintain a good percentage of nitrogen-fixing legumes in the species mix on land that isn’t tillable and can’t be easily broken up every few years to reestablish alfalfa as is common practice on more highly productive land elsewhere. Rosing has tried all sorts of ways to introduce more legumes into his pastures and hay land over the years, from broadcasting seed and dragging to mixing seed into the cows’ minerals and letting them act as the seeder. He’s had varying degrees of success and fights a constant battle with brush encroachment. The flood of 2011 certainly didn’t help him in his goal to establish and maintain more legumes in his system. “This land is old Lake Agassiz lake bottom with only four inches of topsoil,” explained Rosing to the 100-plus farmers who visited the ranch as part of the Manitoba Provincial Pasture Tour in August. “It’s poorly drained, flat and stony. It poses a lot of agronomic challenges and because most of the land can’t be tilled it’s mainly natural cattle pasture. The subsoil is calciferous so it floods easily but also dries out easily. We were doing quite well with establishing legumes until the wet cycle of the last six years and the flood of 2011probably cost us all the progress made over the last 15 years.” In 2010 Rosing decided to try sod seeding legumes on some of the hay land in an attempt to regain some of the progress lost but things didn’t go quite according to plan. “In 2010 we sprayed out an area in the fall and intended to do some sod seeding in 2011 and of course we had a severe flood that year and couldn’t get on the land for a couple of years,” says Rosing. “When we did finally get back on the land what we had sprayed out was like a dead blanket on the topsoil and nothing dried out and we were really sorry we had bothered.” Rosing tried sod seeding again this spring, having prepared the site last fall. It’s early days and he’s still learning as he goes, but he has identified that in his situation the main challenges with sod seeding is fertilizing to make sure that the nutrients, particularly phosphorus (P), are available for the plants to germinate and grow and eliminate competition. “For legumes to establish you have to meet their nutritional needs and in our area that usually means supplementing for P, potash (K) and sulphur (S),” says Rosing. “It’s also important to eliminate or reduce competition for nutrients, moisture and sunlight by killing or stunting the existing growth.” Rosing sprayed out the area to be sod seeded with 1.75 litres of glyphosate per acre last September and then direct seeded into the residue this spring using a 65 per cent alfalfa, 10 per cent alsike clover, 10 per cent tall fescue, 10 per cent meadow brome and five per cent timothy mix at 10 pounds www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 equ i p m e n t

A Homemade Wiper Brush encroachment is an ongoing problem at EUR Ranch in the Lake Francis area of the Interlake region and the wet cycle over the last several years has meant that pressure from the native willows and poplars which seem to have a competitive advantage under these conditions, has increased significantly. Chemical solutions to the problem weren’t always effective because the broadleaf herbicides most commonly used for brush control would also eliminate the legume species like alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil and clovers that ranch manager, Henry Rosing had worked so hard to establish and maintain in the native pastures. To try and deal with the problem EUR Ranch has created its own costeffective and simple brush control wiper to selectively target only the undesirable

species. A piece of industrial automotive carpet hangs from the boom which is kept saturated with a 25 per cent glyphosate solution using a commercially available pump system that works on the same principal as a windshield wiper and can be adjusted to send more solution to the carpet as required. The tractor simply drives around and wipes or smears the suckering trees in the pasture with the saturated carpet. “It’s highly selective,” says Rosing. “We can make sure that we miss the grasses and the legumes and all the shorter, desirable species and hit only the taller tree species. We wipe them in mid- to late summer when there is good translocation of the herbicide down to the roots and it will kill or significantly set back these target woody species.”

Henry Rosing toured visiting producers through his latest sod-seeded stand.

per acre. At the same time he broadcast seven lbs. of N, 35 lbs. of P, 25 lbs. of K and 10 lbs. of S per acre. What is crucial is to make sure that the seed is placed deep enough to reach the mineral soil that is below the root mat and the residue. “With these long-existing hay lands quite a thick layer of organic matter in various stages of decomposition builds up over time and a lot of the success with sod seeding is having the “duff ” (residue) partially decomposed before it’s seeded into,” says Rosing. He found that the discs were able to penetrate better where the crop had been killed off the previous fall rather than just prior to seeding as there was less active root material to hamper placement of the seed, which is always a challenge in seeding through sod. “When you are drilling the seed in the spring you have to try and get the seed closer to the mineral soil underneath to get better germination.” Rosing used a John Deere 1560 no-till drill and seeded through 1-1/2 inches of residue with a disc opener. He applied extra weight to the drill and seeded slowly to allow the openers to penetrate to the correct depth and because the ground is stony. “You need a lot of downward pressure,” says Rosen. “We added weights to the drill and drilled really slow through the residue. We also have a packer wheel incorporated in the seeding mechanism that came with the seeding system.” Rosing won’t harvest the sod seeded field until the second year to allow for better establishment and says it’s important from this point on to manage the site carefully to maintain the legumes. “Because this land is so marginal, it’s stony and it’s hard to till, our main goal is to manage the alfalfa for longevity,” says Rosing. “We are willing to take less production because of that. We take one cut and then let the plants mature so they are nice and strong for winter. We will use it in the fall or the early-winter grazing program after the first killing frost and we may swath or strip or whole field graze it depending on the amount of regrowth. We find that under this system we benefit from extra fall grazing and we have a longer-lasting stand.” c

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C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 1 3

 research

By Martin Hünerberg

does low-fat ddgs mean lower performance? The short answer is no, at the right levels

xponential growth of grain-based ethanol production over the past 10 years has led to a steep increase in co-product availability on the feed market. Today, dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) are the most common byproduct included in feedlot diets in Canada and the U.S. So it is not surprising that producers and nutritionists became concerned when ethanol manufacturers began to partially extract oil from corn DDGS. Typically this lowers the fat content from 10 to 12 per cent in regular corn DDGS to five to seven per cent. With roughly half of the fat pulled out, beef producers started to question whether the feed value of low-fat DDGS also decreases with its fat content. Or, put another way, is lowfat DDGS as valuable a feed source as regular DDGS? An industry and science meeting in Lethbridge, Alta. organized by the U.S. Grains Council and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, addressed these concerns and gave new insights on the implications of the oil extraction on the feeding value of low-fat DDGS. Corn oil extraction

Corn oil extraction at the ethanol plant can be carried out in two ways: by separating endosperm, germ, and bran fractions of the kernel prior to fermentation and extracting the oil directly from the oil-containing germ — the front-end process; or by using centrifugation to separate the corn oil from the thin stillage after fermentation — the back-end process. Even though front-end oil extraction yields more and cleaner corn oil, the equipment necessary for front-end oil extraction is about three times more expensive.This front-end process can also reduce oil levels in the remaining DDGS to as low as four per cent. However, owing to the higher capital costs, the vast majority of ethanol plants use the less expensive backend processing. The profitability of oil extraction is extremely high. Assuming an average oil extraction efficiency of 40 per cent of corn

C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 1 3

oil contained in the unprocessed grain, and a retail price of $700 per tonne for corn oil, ethanol producers can recoup their capital investment for back-end separation in less than a year. With tight margins, due to the high price of corn, ethanol producers welcome the additional income. By this fall nearly 90 per cent of ethanol plants in the U.S. are expected to be extracting corn oil. Some of it might make its way back on to the feed market, but the vast majority of it will be utilized by the biodiesel industry. While most of the low-fat DDGS currently available on the feed market has a residual fat content between five and seven per cent, it is not standardized and varies based on how much oil is marketed as well as the oil content of the corn entering the plant. With the increasing demand for plant oil it is likely that fat separation will be used more aggressively in the future, lowering the fat content of DDGS to even less than five per cent making it likely that the nutrient content of DDGS will continue to change in the future. Feeding low-fat DDGS

Fat has more than twofold the energy content of carbohydrates and protein. Thus, the fat content of regular corn DDGS (about 10 per cent) was thought to be the main reason why its feed value is greater than barley or even grain corn. With some of the fat pulled out nutritionists and producers were concerned that this would affect the performance of cattle fed lowfat DDGS. However, the results from the first commercial-scale feedlot study conducted by Dr. Tim McAllister and his team at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada show that low-fat corn DDGS with an average fat content of seven per cent can replace barley in finishing diets at inclusion levels up to 20 per cent without affecting ADG or feed efficiency. Conversely, the feed efficiency of steers on 30 per cent low-fat corn DDGS was lower than steers fed the barley grain-supplemented control diet.

The inclusion level of low-fat DDGS is an important variable in terms of growth performance. This is also the case with regular high-fat DDGS, as cattle fed rations containing high-fat DDGS at an intermediate (20-30 per cent) inclusion level tend to be slightly more efficient than cattle on high levels of DDGS (>40 per cent). However, based on our data, there is no indication that cattle fed low-fat DDGS at an inclusion level of 20 per cent will be less efficient than cattle supplemented with barley grain or high-fat DDGS. Defining the optimal level of DDGS would require more research and may differ with cattle type and source of DDGS. So far, our current estimates suggest lowoil DDGS should not exceed 30 per cent of the diet if priced similar to barley. Overall, we were surprised to see that the switch to low-fat DDGS seemed to have only a minor effect on growth performance. This indicates the cattle utilize the fiber and protein in DDGS even more efficiently than was initially thought. Ruminants are not as good as monogastric animals at digesting fat and levels greater than six per cent can actually impede fibre digestion in the rumen. Past research at the Lethbridge Research Centre and the University of Saskatchewan has shown that the digestibility of fibre in DDGS is high. Now, with roughly half of the fat content of DDGS gone, we are once more surprised about how well feedlot cattle are dealing with the apparent loss of feed energy through the partial extraction of fat from DDGS. Even with the present low-oil DDGS its feed value would appear to be equivalent to barley at dietary inclusion levels of 20 per cent or less. However, the oil levels in DDGS need to be continuously monitored as they are likely to go even lower in the future, a factor that could decrease its future feed value. Researchers at Lethbridge are presently exploring the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as one means of keeping close track of changing fat levels in DDGS.

Environmental impacts

Although there is no immediate need to worry about adverse effects of low-fat DDGS on growth performance, it may have an effect on the level of greenhouse gas emissions and excreted nutrients in the manure. Recent results from a joint research project between Agri-Food Canada and the University of Alberta show the high fat content in non-extracted corn DDGS can reduce enteric methane production in backgrounding and finishing cattle. Methane is a strong greenhouse gas and also represents a loss of feed energy. Consequently, any reduction of methane is a good thing, and some of this positive side benefit may be lost with the reduction in fat with partially extracted corn DDGS. Supplementing with oilseeds produces similar reductions in methane but they seldom fit into least-cost diet formulations. Another concern is the possibility of higher nitrogen and phosphorus excretion. When the starch is converted to ethanol, the fibre, protein, fat, and mineral content of DDGS is concentrated three times higher than in the original grain. With the fat partially removed all the constituents in lowfat corn DDGS, including the nitrogen and phosphorus, are further concentrated. Thus inclusion levels of low-fat DDGS may have to be adjusted in order to match the nitrogen and phosphorus requirements of the cattle, and minimize the level of these nutrients in the manure where they can influence water quality and the formation of nitrous oxide. As a greenhouse gas nitrous oxide is more than 10 times stronger than methane. So the feeding of low-fat DDGS diets may also require some changes to the application rates of manure to match the nutrient requirements of the crop. c Martin Hünerberg (above) is a PhD student at the University of Alberta working under the supervision of Drs. Tim McAllister and Erasmus Okine. His research focuses on the impact of co-products from the ethanol industry on greenhouse gas emission from beef cattle.

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 FORAGES

By Duane McCartney

CANADIAN FORAGES ARE A $5.09-BILLION INDUSTRY

or many years leaders in the Canadian forage industry have tried without success to determine the real economic value of Canadian forage. It’s a massive industry that stretches from the Canadian rangelands to forage seed for lawns and golf courses to alfalfa cubes or timothy hay exported to some far-off country. In reality, forage is Canada’s largest agriculture crop. Doug Wray, chair of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA), says most provinces have measured the direct economic benefits of their own forage industries over the past five years ranging from $650 million in Ontario to $1.5 billion in Alberta. But each study was done somewhat differently so the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association with the support of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada asked Dr. Doug Yungblut of Yungblut and Associates with assistance from Ontario pasture specialist Jack Kyle, to do a National Forage and Grassland Assessment. In addition to the provincial data they used acreage data from the 2011 census and economic values from 2011 whenever possible. They found cultivated forages for pasture, feed and seed production accounted for 33.8 million acres or 39 per cent of the land

in Canada devoted to crop production. The next largest crop was wheat at 20.4 million acres or 23 per cent of arable acres. Another 36 million acres were devoted to native or unimproved pastures.

The fashionable consumer would like grass fed, that in itself is highly challenging, but there are merits to forage/grass diets They put the direct economic value of the entire forage industry in 2011 at $5.09 billion, making it the third-largest value crop after canola at $7.3 billion and wheat at $5.2 billion. It also has to be said that forage is the foundation of the dairy and beef industries, which together contributed $11 billion in direct value to Canadian farmers and generated over $50 billion in economic activity. The indirect benefits such as environmental enhancements could be worth as much again.

However, farm cash receipts, according to Statistics Canada, for all forage production including hay and seed reached only $381.9 million in 2010 and $357 million in 2009. “It’s always difficult to come up with a value for forages since most are not actually sold for cash money” says Kyle. “We had to make some assumptions to make our estimations. Since most forage crops are used on farm it is difficult to put an economic value on the crop. We took the approach to value the nutrients in forages as if they came from grains, which have an established market value. We used numbers from the Alberta and Ontario studies of $97 and $120 per tonne respectively to come up with the overall hay value for Canada. For corn silage we used the University of Wisconsin formula of one tonne of corn silage is equal to the value of eight bushels of grain corn. Using the average price of corn in Ontario in 2010, corn silage had a value of ($5.25 x 8) = $42/tonne. A value of $0.75/animal grazing day in terms of AUM as the cost of grazing a cow and calf pair was used to estimate the value of Canada’s range and pasture lands. “To get the total value of the forage industry, our team added up the economic value of pasture grazing, growing corn silage, the

nitrogen contributed from legumes, the value of all hay and forage seed and the value of cereal silage, greenfeed and cereals used for swath grazing. It came to a staggering $5.09 billion dollars. Now that’s a lot of money.” Certainly a lot more than what Statistics Canada credits to forages. Forage yields and acreages in Ontario and Quebec have declined from the early 1990s to the present due to the shift of forage acres to less fertile soils and cooler growing areas. “Forage acreages are being replaced by higheconomic-valued corn and soybeans crops grown in the longer growing season areas,” says Kyle. “Today Ontario farmers are tearing out fence and brush rows and ripping up pasture fields in order to grow more corn and soybeans.” The number of dairy cows in Quebec has declined in recent years due to increased productivity of individual dairy cows and the upper limit on total milk production due to the quota system. Elsewhere, beef cows have declined. In many cases there is less forage used to feed those animals that remain as other ingredients like byproducts and cereals have replaced some forages. When looking across the country, the dairy industry annually creates $30 billion in economic activity and the beef industry

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FORAGES

contributes another $20 billion to Canada’s economy. According to figures from Ontario it is estimated that forages contributed approximately 59 per cent to the cost of keeping a beef cow and calf for a year and 15 per cent of the cost of raising a beef calf to slaughter. For dairy cows it was estimated forages contributed 41 per cent of the feed cost or 16 per cent of the total cost of keeping a dairy cow for one year. “Overall the forage industry is the backbone of the Canadian dairy and beef industry. All dairy and beef animals eat forages” notes Kyle. “The dairy and beef industry contributes $11 billion at the farm gate which grows into $50 billion at the GDP level to the Canadian economy. Where would the Canadian beef and dairy, horse, sheep and goat, bison and exotic livestock industry be without the high-quality Canadian forage industry? “In Saskatchewan, we found the direct economic value generated by forages was estimated at $740.4 million annually,” said Janice Bruynooghe former executive director of the Saskatchewan Forage Council. “There is potentially $11.2 million to $137 million of direct economic activity to be generated from forage land in Saskatchewan depending on the future direction of climate change policy. In addition, there are indirect economic benefits coming from ecological goods and services such as erosion control, flood control, water quality, wildlife habitat, pollination services and carbon sequestration with a value of $894.5 million — $1.9 billion annually. In total the annual direct and indirect value

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from forages equals $2 billion to $3 billion annually in Saskatchewan.” Don McLennan chairman of the Alberta Forage Industry Network said, “in Alberta, it is estimated the economic value coming from forages is in the range of $1.5 billion annually. This is based on the production and sale of seed, processed forages, hay, and greenfeed. “In addition, approximately $14 million could be generated in the Alberta provincial carbon offset market, pending the approval of forage-related offset protocols. Forages have the ability to be used as feedstock in the biofuel and bioenergy industries. Forages in Alberta generate an estimated $390 million to $1.3 billion annually in relation to environmental goods and services and together, the annual total estimated direct and indirect economic value of the forage industry in Alberta ranges from $2.3 billion to $3.3 billion.” The Canadian forage industry is a significant player in the export forage and forage seed markets. In 2011, the export value of timothy hay and alfalfa products was $100 million and the value of exported forage seed was another $99.6 million. The U.S. and Japan are currently the largest purchasers. In the future, Japan and Korea will likely continue importing at the same level. China and the Middle East especially Saudi Arabia will grow substantially. One of the largest dairy farms in the world in Saudi Arabia requires 1,000 tonnes of imported alfalfa hay per day; so there are huge market possibilities in the future. The report also identified issues facing

the advancement of the forage industry in Canada. Reduced research and development funding, lack of a producer-funded checkoff, transportation logistics and costs for the export industry, segmentation between forage sectors and a general lack of prominence as a crop are challenges facing the industry. However, a number of opportunities were identified. Strengthening links with the livestock industry, growth in organic livestock and crop production, carbon sequestration, agri-tourism, biofuels, new forage export markets and forage seed production were all identified as areas of potential growth for the forage industry. Some of the exciting new innovations coming down the pipeline are the potential to market forage biomass pellets as a fuel source and the possibility of incorporating forage biomass into plastics for use in the consumer and automotive industry. There is a desire to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and to create an environmentally sustainable agricultural system in Canada. The use of perennial forages will play a vital role in the future. This process will continue to grow as new technology emerges to make these applications more economically viable. Forages create indirect value through the ecological goods and services they provide. Forages contribute to control of erosion, wildlife habitat, water regulation, pollination, and carbon sequestration. Forages also contribute to the improvement of the environment and to the public enjoyment and use of the rural landscape. There are currently

attempts at putting a monetary value on the goods and services provided by growing forages in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan that could potentially double the current value of $5.09 billion. Doug Wray concludes, “The overwhelming message from the National Forage and Grassland Assessment report is the forage sector is a major contributor to the overall economic well-being of Canada. However, in the public and government’s view it is undervalued and underappreciated. We have to compete against the highereconomic-valued crops like canola, soybeans and corn. Our forage yields have stayed stable or even declined while those of competitive crops like corn and canola have increased dramatically. Our forage research efforts into forage breeding and forage agronomy have declined dramatically. In some provinces, extension support of forage programs has just about disappeared. Across the board, crop support and risk management programs do not value forages as highly as other crops. Forages do have a significant role to play in the Canadian environment beyond just supplying nutrients to livestock. “This national report builds a strong base of information from which government and industry can respond to domestic and global needs of the forage and grassland industry in Canada.” c Duane McCartney is a retired forage beef systems research scientist based in Lacombe, Alta.

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 manageme n t

By Heather Smith Thomas

Making the most of Stockpiled Forages

r. Bart Lardner has been looking at the perennial species that are suitable for stockpiling under western Canadian conditions. “The definition of stockpiling is accumulation of forage biomass during late summer or fall and then grazing it after the growing season,” says Lardner, a research scientist with the Western Beef Development Centre (WBDC) and adjunct professor in the department of animal and poultry science at the University of Saskatchewan. “This can often provide feed for grazing animals well into the fall and possibly into winter. The limiting factor is buildup of ice/snow that hinders accessibility.” Some years work better for late grazing than others, depending on the amount of snowfall. They conducted a three-year study at the WBDC farm, and each year was different. The first year had a nice open fall and they grazed through December into January. The second year the farm had deep snow by late October. “You have to work with what Mother Nature gives you,” says Lardner. FORAGE SPECIES

Nearly any forage species can be stockpiled, but Lardner suggests using cool-season grasses because they are a little better at

maintaining quality as the season progresses. There has been some research evaluating the brome grasses, fescues, wheat grasses and even some of the legumes. “Cool-season grasses are the best ones to stockpile compared to alfalfa. We see a lot of leaf loss with alfalfa, especially if it is left standing. The cattle would be grazing mostly stems. Even in a windrow you get some leaf loss. This legume is better for a late-summer grazing system than stockpiled for fall/winter grazing,” says Lardner. The wheat grasses, such as crested wheat grass, work well. Some of the ryegrasses like Russian wild rye also tend to hold their protein into the fall. “These are known as both spring and/or fall grazing species. They are also beneficial as a stockpiled pasture,” he says. Some fescues also work well, especially creeping red fescue or tall fescue. The latter is used in some of the wetter areas of the U.S. for stockpiling. Smooth brome grass and meadow brome grass can also work. “We have mostly looked at tame forages, but there is also potential to utilize some of the meadow grasses that a person might choose to pasture into the fall rather than put up as hay,” he says.

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SUPPLEMENTS MAY BE NEEDED

“Typically the quality of stockpiled perennial forage in terms of protein and energy is more than adequate to meet the requirements of a pregnant beef cow in her first and second trimester of pregnancy. As days get colder and temperatures drop well below freezing, with winter wind, the forage may not meet the animals’ requirements and you’ll have to step in with some supplement,” says Lardner.

“ The limiting factor is buildup of ice/snow that hinders accessibility.” Dr. Bart Lardner research scientist

The need for, and type of supplement needed, will depend on the pasture quality and the condition of the cows. “You want them to be in good body condition going into winter grazing on stockpiled pastures, and they can maintain that condition until weather gets cold. This can change from one week to the next, and you may start to see cows lose condition. Using a supplement will add another cost, but you may want to maintain the cows out there because of the advantages of grazing versus drylot feeding. You can provide a little energy supplement to prolong the grazing period as long as possible. “In the study we did here, we found that grazing stockpiled forage is a viable system, but once the winter set in with accumulation of snow and significantly cold temperatures, the cattle did need a supplement. Supple-

menting at 0.2 to 0.4 per cent body weight of the cow with an energy supplement allows the cow to maintain body condition. This is where your costs will start to rise.” GRAZING METHODS

Stockpiled forages can be grazed standing or windrowed. “In our research we used windrows, but a producer may see benefits in leaving it standing, hoping that there won’t be a lot of snow. A heavy snow will lay it down,” says Lardner. “Many producers just leave it standing and graze until snow gets too deep. If some of it is not utilized, you can put the cattle back out there in the spring and maybe use it as a calving pasture. There will be residual forage, and the cows will want to look at something besides hay in a confinement pen,” he says. “I strongly suggest strip grazing any stockpiled forage, to minimize waste. If you have a large pasture I recommend giving the cattle access to about three to four days’ worth at a time. If there’s a legume in the pasture, you want to minimize selective grazing and risk for bloat. Using portable electric fence to limit grazing usually works best.” If you windrow the forage, this is one more cost, but this has some advantages. There is more nutrient quality captured when cutting the forage at optimum stage of maturity while it’s still green, rather than having it continue to mature on the stem and dry out (losing protein and quality) through the fall. “If you leave it standing because you didn’t want the extra cost of windrowing, you do lose some quality. Cutting it at a higherquality stage, it tends to keep that stage — just like hay — rather than becoming drier. The growing season is over so you are preserving it in the windrow. Often during those first snows, in late October or early November, you see the cattle opening up the windrow

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management

and it’s still green — like opening a bale of hay,” he says. THE THREE-YEAR STUDY

“The work we did was to compare two systems — grazing stockpiled pastures versus bale feeding similar-quality forage in a drylot. We allowed a mixed perennial forage stand (80 per cent meadow brome grass and 20 per cent alfalfa) to be stockpiled and we windrowed the feed so we could measure dry matter intake. The other system was harvesting the forage and putting it into round bales, and feeding it in a drylot. We were monitoring several variables, such as the cows and any change in body weight, change in fat reserves, calving season data — to see if there was any effect of the system on reproductive efficiency of the cows,” says Lardner. “We also monitored forage biomass and quality. We looked at legume versus grass component and soil nutrient profile. We also looked at the system economics. Is utilizing stockpiled perennial forages in a grazing system beneficial for that producer versus if he had to harvest it and take the round bales back to the drylot and feed them?” This adds cost and labour in the harvesting and feeding. There are costs in both systems. There’s the cost of harvesting and transportation for the bales, but there is also cost of supplementation when the cattle are grazing the stockpiled forage later in the winter. “Overall, we found the forage quality was very similar between the two systems. The protein level was between eight and nine, the energy level was 56 to 58 per cent TDN. This was more than enough to meet the energy requirements of a gestating beef cow. We found there was no shift in per cent legume and grass, whether we grazed it in the field or harvested it over the three-year period as a round bale. The grass and legume component stayed fairly static at 80 per cent grass, 20 per cent legume,” he says. “We did notice that utilization of the available feed was a bit different (putting the cow in front of the feed versus putting the feed in front of the cow). We found greater utilization in the drylot system because the feed was in a round bale feeder, versus out in a windrow in the field. The negative effect in the field was due to snow accumulation, making some of the feed less accessible. “In other work we’ve done, we find that the deposition of nutrients from urine and feces, and nutrients from the residual feed is beneficial to the subsequent crop the next growing season.” This is where you want those nutrients. “In research we’ve conducted, we’ve found that grazing cattle in a field utilizing stockpiled perennial forage or any type of wintering system that has them out in the field, you are capturing more of the urine, nitrogen, etc. to boost future productivity of that field. That’s the advantage to this system. The cost for supplement is one thing, but capturing these nutrients is a huge benefit.” It reduces the need for commercial fertilizer, and eliminates the cost of loading and hauling manure from the drylot. In looking at the two systems, the cows performed similarly. “Even though we had to step in with extra supplement in the grazing paddocks, the savings in yardage and manure hauling made up for the extra cost of supplementing cattle in the fields. Over the three years, we saw a 15 to 20 per cent lower cost in grazing stockpiled peren-

Over three years of this study grazing stockpiled forage was 15 to 20 per cent cheaper than feeding the same-quality hay in the drylot.

nial forage in field paddocks, compared to feeding the same quality of hay in the drylot,” he says. “We monitored quality of forage from the start of our study to when we had to end it because of weather. There was a drop in protein and energy in the forage in the field, whereas hay quality was very static. It started at eight or nine per cent protein and dropped to about six per cent. We had to then supplement the cows — partly because of their increased demands due to the cold weather/wind chill and partly because of lower protein content of the feed. But by that time we were into December or early January,” says Lardner.

“If a person can get 60 to 90 days of grazing on a stockpiled perennial forage system, this is a big factor in reducing costs. If you stockpile it and can’t get at it because of deep early snow, it is something you can come back to in the spring. It’s not a total loss if you can utilize it with calving cows or cow-calf pairs.” It’s nice to have something you can turn them out on and stop feeding hay. “It helps to try to manage your pastures so you can save some for fall/winter grazing. There are some good spring grazing and summer grazing species, and then you can use your native pastures midsummer. Save some of that grass for later on into the fall. After you wean the calves you can put the

cows out there — and they can use it into the winter. If you don’t overgraze, this provides a fall/winter pasture resource you can count on.” Stocking rate becomes crucial; if you don’t have any grass left to graze in the fall you may have too many cattle for your land, or need to change your grazing management to facilitate more regrowth and sustainability. “Hay sources and availability may be an issue this winter so do your planning in the summer. Start to source your hay stocks for the winter, and bank some fall pasture to allow the cattle to graze well into the winter months.” c

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 research

By Drs. WenZhu Yang, Yuxi Wang and Tim McAllister

Debunking the fallacies of feeding wheat to feedlot cattle

raditionally, beef producers have been reluctant to use large quantities of feed wheat for several reasons. Some are pure fallacies such as the formation of “gluten balls” in the rumen that impede digestion. In fact, gluten is very rapidly digested and is one of the reasons that more than 90 per cent of starch in processed wheat is digested in the rumen. The more legitimate worry of increased acidosis or “hot” wheat rations, often limits the amount of wheat in the diet to 50 per cent or less. In general, wheat is higher in starch and crude protein and lower in fibre than barley, resulting in a total digestible nutrient (TDN) and net energy for gain content that is comparable to corn. However, owing to the number of different types of wheat — soft, hard and durum — the physical characteristics and nutrient content of wheat can vary considerably. On a dry matter basis, the starch content can range from 60 to 75 per cent, crude protein from 10 to 19 per cent and neutral detergent fibre from eight to 11 per cent. The higher protein content of wheat may offer advantages in meeting the protein requirements of backgrounding cattle, but the lower fibre content may also contribute to its increased propensity to cause acidosis. Among cereal grains, wheat has the most rapid rate of starch digestion in the rumen, almost twice that of barley and four times that of corn when processed similarly. Rapid starch digestion in the rumen increases the production rate of volatile fatty acids and if these accumulate, subclinical or clinical ruminal acidosis can occur. However, as with other cereal grains, whole wheat kernels are poorly digested owing to the resistance of the seed coat to attack by rumen micro-organisms, therefore, wheat kernels require processing. The digestibility of wheat increases from about 60 per cent if fed whole to over 90 per cent if properly processed. It is generally recommended that wheat be coarsely rolled in a manner that breaks kernels into two or three pieces while avoiding the production of fines that can promote acidosis. Given the variability in kernel hardness, wheat can be difficult to process as hard wheat kernels shatter if the rollers are set too close. Processing a mixture of hard and soft varieties can be even more challenging. Thus precise roller settings are particularly important in processing wheat as a means of avoiding fines. Kernel hardness is measured on a scale from zero to 35 with Canada West durum being the hardest (0) and soft white spring the softest (35). Increased hardness is generally associated with a decrease in starch digestion, likely because the protein protects starch granules from microbial digestion. However, if hard kernels are processed in a manner that promotes shattering, the risk of a too rapid ruminal starch digestion remains. The degree of processing can be quantified by a processing index (PI), which is simply the weight of a standard volume of grain after processing expressed as a percentage of the

C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 1 3

weight of that same volume of grain before processing. The lower the PI value the tighter the roller settings were during processing. Optimizing the PI is one of the most effective means of ensuring the feed value of wheat in feedlot diets. Recently, we conducted a series of experiments to test how much the PI and the type of wheat affected the amount that could be included in finishing diets. We also looked at the value of elevated levels of the ionophore, monensin, in avoiding acidosis in high wheat diets. Wheat versus barley

Wheat is generally recommended to be fed in combination with more fibrous or slowly fermented feed grains and limited to 40 or 50 per cent of the diet. The first study was conducted to compare the level of wheat versus barley in finishing diets. In this study feed wheat was substituted for barley grain at zero, 30, 60, or 90 per cent of the diet dry matter with the remainder of the diet composed of six per cent barley silage and four per cent supplement. All grains were processed to a PI of 80 per cent. Increasing wheat level from 30 to 90 per cent in the diet linearly increased the duration of time that rumen pH was under 5.8, but the 90 per cent wheat diet had no identifiable impact on cattle health. Digestibility was also similar among the diets. A subsequent study compared the impact of wheat versus barley in coarsely rolled 90 per cent grain finishing diets. In general there was little difference in the performance of steers fed either barley or wheat. Steers fed the 90 per cent wheat-based diet ate about 0.4 kg per day less than those fed barley (averaged 10.3 kg/day). The final live weight and daily gain were not affected by grain type but feed conversion was improved for steers fed 90 per cent wheat compared to 90 per cent barley. Feeding wheat also reduced mean rumen pH and increased the time rumen pH was in the range indicative of subclinical acidosis (11.5 h versus 4.3 h). However, as many studies have shown, subclinical acidosis does not always adversely impact the growth performance of feedlot cattle. The present study was conducted using small research pens so results may differ from large pens where competition for feed can be more intense. However, these studies did clearly demonstrate that wheat can be fed in excess of 50 per cent of the diet with the potential to improve feed efficiency if proper bunk management and grain processing are employed. Impact of processing

A third study compared 90 per cent wheat and barley processed to a PI of 75 or 85 per cent. Steers fed dry-rolled PI 85 per cent grain ate 0.4 kg more of the wheat and 0.2 kg more of the barley-based rations per day than steers fed these PI 75 per cent grains, but it wasn’t enough to alter the daily gain or final live weight. As a result, the feed conversion rate of the PI 85 per cent steers was lower than the PI 75 per cent steers. Steers fed wheat spent 13 per cent less time eating, but ate nine per cent more when they did eat, which

could have contributed to the lower rumen pH described above for wheat, as more starch entered the rumen per unit of time. Carcass traits were similar but steers on the wheat tended to have more liver abscesses. Our results indicated that under small-pen research conditions, wheat resulted in growth performance responses that were comparable to barley even at high levels in the diet. Impact of wheat type on feed value

Soft wheat generally exhibits a faster rate of digestion than hard wheat, however, as described earlier this relationship is dependent on the degree of processing. For this experiment we selected soft versus hard wheat with slightly different protein levels (12.0 versus 13.7 per cent) but similar neutral detergent fibre and starch content. Both wheats were processed to a PI of 81 per cent. There was no difference in feed intake, daily gain, feed conversion rate, or net energy for gain across wheat types as compared to barley. Our results indicate that soft and hard wheat exhibited similar feed value to barley if processed to a similar degree.

Wheat can compose more than 50 per cent of feedlot diets and some of our research showed feed efficiency on 90 per cent wheat was superior to 90 per cent barley

The monensin question

Monensin is known for its ability to improve feed efficiency by lowering feed intake without altering average daily gain. It may also slow eating rates, which may help avoid the low rumen pH that comes with rapid consumption of wheat. To see if a higher rate would improve things in wheat diets we added monensin at the standard rate of 28 parts per million (ppm) and 44 ppm. The higher rate reduced feed intake by six per cent so it may provide some measure of protection against acidosis on wheat diets, but it did not significantly improve daily gain or feed efficiency. Nor did it increase rumen pH compared to the standard 28 ppm rate. Take-home messages

• Gluten balls in the rumen from feeding wheat are a myth. • Wheat can compose more than 50 per cent of feedlot diets and some of our research showed feed efficiency on 90 per cent wheat was superior to 90 per cent barley. • Wheat is a hotter feed than barley so attention must be paid to processing to ensure starch digestion is not too rapid, resulting in subclinical or even clinical acidosis. • Processed properly hard and soft wheat have a feed value similar to barley, but the nutrient content can vary substantially and the degree of hardness can influence processing. • Elevated levels of monensin may help reduce the “hottness” of wheat but other factors such as proper feed adaptation, bunk management and more silage in the diet can also do that. Switching cattle back and forth between wheat and barley diets should be avoided. c Drs. WenZhu Yang, Yuxi Wang and Tim McAllister are research scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre.

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Gelbvieh Stock Exchange Sale Group Don Okell - 403-793-4549 jenty@eidnet.org www.jentygelbviehs.com Gary or Nolan Pahl - 403-977-2057 garypahl@shockware.com www.towerviewranch.com Wade Watson - 403-528-7456 wjw@cciwireless.ca www.watsoncattle.ca 1st Annual Bull Sale March 21, Medicine Hat Feeding Company, Medicine Hat, AB

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 MANAGEME N T

By Debbie Furber

PASTURE MONITORING MADE SIMPLE It’s like taking an EKG of your land

ou don’t need to know every plant in the book or spend hours riding the range to do an effective job of monitoring pasture conditions. “Monitoring must have a purpose, not just create work for you,” says Charley Orchard, a fourth-generation rancher and founder of Land EKG, headquartered at Bozeman, Montana. He figures one or two per cent of your working time, which might add up to three or four days a year, is a reasonable and small investment considering all of your income comes from the land. The objective of land monitoring is to identify trends and implement management practices that promote the positives and address the negatives to prevent declines in productivity (plant community and soil health) and profit over time, he explains. It’s really no different from monitoring systems many other industries have established to consistently and repeatedly measure critical elements to obtain comparable data points over time. The keys are knowing what and where to measure, alongside having a record-keeping system for efficient data comparison and decision-making. Orchard’s EKG Blink monitoring system incorporates those same principles. He has pared down more than 50 years of range

Ted Sutton

Portable grazing cages and weatherproof rain gauges are part of the EKG monitoring kit.

research, his own practical experience, and insight from other grazing notables into simplified measurements that are the most useful to ranchers, whether monitoring native, tame, dryland or irrigated pastures. Orchard set up Land EKG nearly 20 years ago to offer consulting services to ranchers and land managers. In 2003, he took it to the next level by developing an electronic version to record

data and print reports, which led to today’s webbased EKG DataStore program with added photo storage capabilities, search and comparison functions, and professional-style reports for communicating detailed information. Land EKG’s monitoring system is already proving out on more than seven million acres of public rangeland and private ranches in the U.S. It is now available in Canada through

a joint venture between Orchard and Ted Sutton of Cornerpost Consulting at Calgary, who is the former dean of agricultural sciences at Lakeland College, Vermilion, Alta. Sutton says he attended one of Orchard’s introductory sessions a couple of years ago and was immediately impressed by the objective Continued on page 28

Plan to attend the...

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Continued from page 24

measurement methodology, as opposed to subjective evaluations oftentimes required for pasture monitoring. He also appreciated how easy it is to take the key measurements, thereby making it economically feasible and manageable for producers to consistently follow through. Since speaking at the Western Canadian Grazing Conference last December, Orchard and Sutton have kick-started the Land EKG program in Canada by facilitating EKG Blink monitoring workshops at four locations in Alberta. The workshops covered monitoring basics, selecting permanent monitoring sites using either transect sampling or photo stations, taking consistent measurements, and other recording tips, including an introduction to the EKG DataStore program. Monitoring pyramid

They recommend first working with the basic tools and tactics covered in tier one to build

your knowledge and comfort levels. Soil maps, grazing records, grazing cages, rain gauges, and forage recovery pens are simple tools that, together, will give you a lot of the information needed for management purposes. Maps showing soil types, topography, typical plants for various areas of your land and expected production under normal conditions are important because just understanding what’s supposed to be out there is a big deal for starters, Orchard says. Your grazing records for each pasture should indicate herd type, class of animals, stocking density, and dates the animals were moved in and out. Actual precipitation is an important measurement for meaningful production comparisons, he says, adding that local rainfall isn’t taken into account in most pasture monitoring programs. Placing durable rain gauges at key locations will provide accurate annual rainfall measurements across your land base. Recognizing the limitations of conventional rain gauges for this purpose, especially

in remote areas that you might see only once or twice a year, Orchard designed a weatherproof rain gauge that withstands freezing without cracking. A layer of oil rides on top of the water to prevent evaporation, with a dipstick to take the measurement. EKG rain gauges and complete pasture monitoring kits are available for purchase from the website, where you’ll also find details for making rugged grazing cages from standard 52-inch by 16-foot welded wire cattle panels. One panel can be cut into three equal triangle-shaped pieces threaded together to form a pyramid. You’ll eventually need one grazing cage for each permanent monitoring site to protect small areas from grazing so that clippings can be taken to measure basic production levels each year. The cage is also a great place to secure a rain gauge and, with the two measurements in hand, you will be able to calculate your animal days per acre per unit of rainfall. A fenced-off forage recovery pen, approximately 16 x 16 feet, is useful for evaluating

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06/13-21670-03

2013-09-20 12:32 PM

your rest period in the near term. If, after a couple of years, you are seeing increased diversity and desirable plants in the recovery area that aren’t evident throughout the grazed area, you may need to lengthen your rest period during the grazing season. Tier two delves deeper into improving accuracy with the use of hoops to take clippings from random areas, determining dry matter yield per acre, and gaining management insight with the use of decision support systems, such as the EKG grazing index. The grazing index is an annual report card on each pasture’s performance based on four criteria: season of use, year-end residual, rest period, and precipitation. Tame pastures can be indexed for a season or even down to a certain number of days. Other tools added at this level include photographing important pasture elements and Google Earth map training via webinars to learn how to map production and add layers with other soil and plant characteristics for each pasture. EKG Blink monitoring comes in at tier three when permanent monitoring sites with transects and photo stations are added. Overall, the monitoring sites should be representative of your land and management practices, though they may also be set up in areas of special concern to monitor response to a planned management change. Measurements of basal plant cover, per cent bare ground, soil characteristics, and plant and animal species biodiversity are taken once a year from designated points along 100- or 200-foot transect lines at each monitoring site. Clippings from inside and outside the grazing cage are taken to determine annual plant production and calculate utilization. Orchard says this is the level most rancher clients use because the repeatability adds another level of accuracy for management purposes as well as credibility. This will make your information more readily accepted for commercial purposes, such as renewing leases, accessing government programs, and verifying what you do to promote your product or the industry as a whole. Some success stories from U.S. clients using Land EKG information include an Idaho ranch that turned an impending cut in grazing allocation into an increase and a Montana rancher who was able to retain his grazing allocation during the 2000 drought. “EKG monitoring shows in a straightforward way that you are managing for a healthy soil system with diverse plant and animal species, which is the same thing environmentalists and the public want, making it difficult to argue against what you are doing,” says Orchard. Tier four is the comprehensive EKG Pro system that requires plant identification skills and gets into mineral cycling, water cycling, the green cycle (desirable versus undesirable plants) and the yellow cycle (the solar profit area) with several indicators in each category incorporated into a land eco-graph. “Do-it-yourself or contracting the services of Land EKG are the two basic options available to ranchers looking to start with the EKG Blink monitoring program,” Sutton sums up. “Either way, every rancher will benefit from the quality, repeatable and relevant information that monitoring provides. Better management decisions need the very best current information.” For more information or to arrange a workshop in your area, contact Sutton at 403-764-7402 or visit www.ekgcan.com. c www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 STRAIGHT F RO M T H E H I P

By Brenda Schoepp

ALL OUR WEALTH

he weather in Canada most certainly has made its contributions to changing landscapes. As the earth sweats under the sun or gasps under torrents of water, we can only stand back and observe — reacting in a positive and creative way. It reminds me of marketing. We do our best to grow crops and livestock and then watch helplessly as the consumer, from which springs all our wealth, changes course. Like weather patterns they are seasonal, unpredictable and can at times be extreme. To appreciate some of the changes we must first realize that the farmer, the retailer and the consumer are changing. Foreign-born Canadians buy differently and now are also major investors in farmland and in some cases, actively farming. These new Canadians will not contribute to the wheat bin but they will take land to cash crops that are more reflective of their heritage, such as lentils and vegetables. And although you and I may be able to operate new equipment, manufacturers are focusing on making it easier for non-skilled operators as foreign-born farmers and workers to work the land. As we move forward and the vegetable, not protein, is the principal item on the plate, we can expect a shift in the portion size and type of cut that buyers will demand. The offering of international foods continues to increase and Canadians love it. Our family is no different with the international potluck now far more popular than the conventional offerings during our large family

Christmas party. Young adults love to create dishes from around the world and it adds to the flavour, colour and the conversation around the table. In some areas, international offerings must be fresh. In West Vancouver, H.Y. Louie’s stores offer 60 per cent fresh and 40 per cent grocery. The farm store setting with a focus on local food is in big demand. One might assume that this single buy of fresh product is limited to the West Coast, but 63 per cent of Canadian homes have one or two persons in them. This has changed consumer shopping and we see more visits to the grocery store with a smaller spend. In that mix are baby boomers who are healthy and health conscious. They also can spend a little more and want convenience. Grocery Business reports that boomers look for small portions of prepared foods. This is reflected in the top most popular foods of last year which included cake mix, ready-made mojitos, shredded cheese and single-serving coffee. Coffee is indeed a driver in retail as a full 86 per cent of Canadians will have coffee on their shopping list and despite the cost of packaging, the growth in single-serve coffee sales is 105 per cent over last year and overall coffee sales grew by 47 per cent in the last two years. It is vital in the marketing environment today to offer sales and apps via mobile phone and Internet shopping. Why the app? Mobile apps are important but mobile app coupons are a must to get consumers in the store or to expose them to the product such as beef on sale. In surveys 74 per cent of Canadians say they wish to stay connected

with sales and brands through their mobile phone. Not only has producing product taken on a new flavour, retailing food is now a new game and the players may surprise you. In Canada, the top 10 retailers of food include Shoppers Drug Mart (in seventh place) and that speaks volumes to the way people buy food and the food that they buy. Shoppers most certainly will not excel in fresh or in local but they have figured out how to make it all convenient. Organic food sales are on a steady rise especially in meats, baby food and dog food. Fresh is famous now too and a full 10 per cent of the organic pear harvest in the U.S. is exported to Canada. While some countries like the U.K. have reduced organic sales, the rest of Europe and Canada are experiencing rapid growth. Fresh, frozen, organic, natural or conventional there is room for all three retail types. Wholesale grocers such as Costco which is in with the top 10 retailers in North America, discounters such as Target and Wal-Mart, small specialized stores and ethnic which make up a full onethird of all Canadian retail (think T&T Ethnic Mart) are all in the game. On the discount grocery side, Jeff Doucette of Field Agent Canada claims that there is a lot of room for expansion in Canada for super discount stores such as Aldi and Lidi, which focus on selling the most popular items at severely discounted prices. This is tough competition for traditional grocery chains but does not bite into the demographic that wishes for fresh or quality. Discount shopping is defined by customers as a “feel-good experience” (I am proud I saved

money) but customer loyalty is driven by location to their homes rather than brand or store. If you don’t have a car then the discount grocery nearest you is where you shop regardless of age or gender. As for gender, Henk Van Dongen of Fresh Retail reminds us there is really only one customer to remember and that is her. The current economy has been branded the sheeconomy, in recognition of the value of the female customer and her power in the marketplace. The she-economy is the sum of the whole. Retail directors are women (such as Costco’s Oleen Smethurst) and more than half of small and medium businesses in Canada are owned by women (a small or medium business is defined as under $25M) while the product from those businesses make up over 80 per cent of our items for trade. As a consumer she buys food, clothes, houses and cars, appliances, vacations, tools, trucks, tractors and combines. With onethird of farms and ranches owned and operated by Canadian women, the landscape like the weather is indeed changing allowing for a creative and energizing opportunity in agriculture and food. c Brenda Schoepp is a Nuffield Scholar who travels extensively exploring agriculture and meeting the people, who feed, clothe and educate our world. A motivating speaker and mentor she works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and is the founder of Women in Search of Excellence. She can be contacted through her website www.brendaschoepp.com. All rights reserved. Brenda Schoepp 2013

CANADIAN CATTLEMEN NEEDS YOUR

CALVING TIPS & TALES

Friends and neighbours, we are once again looking for your best calving tips and tales for Cattlemen’s January 2014 Calving Special. We’re looking for good ideas, practical advice, or humorous tales and photos to share with fellow readers. A reward will be sent for Tips & Tales printed in this special. Send your calving tips to Calving Tips & Tales (and your address) to CANADIAN CATTLEMEN 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 Email: gren@fbcpublishing.com Fax: 1-866-399-5710

YOUR REWARD: A limited edition Canadian Cattlemen cap

 ENTER BEFORE

NOV. 29, 2013

C A T T L E M E N · FA L L 2 0 1 3

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

respect required for feed ingredients Why the Standard Operating Procedure in VBP is important

One problem with one cattle operation. That’s all it could take for a feed ingredient error to become an industry issue. Not surprisingly, given their significance in the production chain, feedlots have been leaders in information development and managing feed issues. As cattle move from ranches and farms into feedlots, the industry is tested on its ability to manage feed ingredients properly. Feedlots are front and centre. One of the most important Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) with the Verified Beef Production (VBP) Program is “Feed and water: Medicated and nonruminant feed.” It covers standards for receiving and storing medications, mixing in feed or water and ways to avoid crosscontamination. It also includes information on what to do if something goes wrong. The SOP for feed ingredient management in the VBP Program backs the feedlot industry in a number of key ways. Support for individual programs. Canada’s feedlot industry is among the most developed and sophisticated in the world. Many have record-keeping and staff training programs specific to their operation. VBP provides an important industry backup support for individual programs. Averting regulatory overload. One of the simple principles the beef industry has operated by is to be proactive in meeting customer needs. Operating at a high level voluntarily helps prevent regulatory programs being forced on the production level of the cattle industry. Complementing packer affidavits. VBP standards fit hand in glove with

the food industry chain requirements. For example, complementing affidavits required by packers. VBP provides supporting evidence that label requirements or veterinary prescriptions are followed. Training employees. Some feedlots use VBP as a basis to train new employees. This training is particularly important in feedlots during the busy fall run when new employees join the team, or people are tackling new positions. Cross-reference check. The standards in VBP are a simple double check to confirm correct procedures have been followed, and early detection for possible errors. Furthering understanding. The SOP for medicated feed and water ingredients helps all those involved to have a common understanding of the effect these standards have downstream in the marketplace. When something goes wrong. Outcomes outlined by VBP are an important support for individual producers and their industry if something does go wrong. Get market ready

Beef producers know each issue that affects customer confidence is a lesson from the marketplace. The secret is simple: Be prepared. Those who feed medicated ingredients can check the VBP Producer Manual at www.verifiedbeef.org for SOP 2, to help understand industry-sanctioned practices on this issue. Better yet, they can participate in VBP and become registered under the program. That means third-party proof they are doing the right things before someone comes asking.

VBP supports existing feed management protocols in Canada’s cattle-feeding sector.

DEVELOPED BY PRODUCERS. DEVELOPED FOR CONSUMERS

One implant. That’s it. You’re done! Avoid the inconvenience and stress of re-implanting. Do it right. Do it once. For more information, talk to your veterinarian or call our technical service at 1-866-683-7838. Merck Animal Health, operating in Canada as Intervet Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. MERCK is a trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. Copyright © 2011 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved. ® Registered trademark of Intervet International B.V. Used under license.

INDUSTRY There has never been a better time…

OPPORTUNITIES for DIVERSIFICATION in the OPPORTUNITIES CHAROLAIS for DIVERSIFICATION INDUSTRY in the OPPORTUNITIES for There has never been CHAROLAIS DIVERSIFICATION a INDUSTRY better time… in the CHAROLAIS There has never been OCTOBER 26 INDUSTRY MapleaLeaf Charolais Production better time… Sale There has never been Full French & French Influence Over 40 years of breeding OCTOBER 26 a better time… Maple Leaf Charolais Production NOVEMBER 14 Sale Canadian Western Agribition Sale OCTOBER Full French26 & French Influence Right from the show strings Maple Charolais Production Over 40Leaf years of breeding NOVEMBER 22 Sale NOVEMBER 14 Sproule Charolais Full French & FrenchComplete Influence Sale Canadian Western Agribition Dispersal Saleof breeding Over 40 years Right from the show strings 200 White, Red & Black Charolais NOVEMBER 14 Everything sells, NOVEMBER 22 including long Canadian Western Agribition Sale yearling bulls, calvesComplete & herdbulls Sproule Charolais Right from Sale the show strings Dispersal NOVEMBER 23 NOVEMBER 22 & Black 200 White, Red Charolais Wawedash Farms Complete Everything sells, including long Sproule Complete DispersalCharolais Sale yearling bulls, calves & herdbulls Dispersal Sale Canada’s 1st All Red Factor Dispersal 200 White, sells Red Charolais this 300 head sale Everything NOVEMBER 23 &in Black Everything sells, including long Wawedash Farms Complete NOVEMBER 26calves & herdbulls yearling bulls, Dispersal Sale Forsyth Bros Charolais Complete NOVEMBER 23 Canada’s 1st All Red Factor Dispersal Dispersal Sale Wawedashsells Farms Complete in this 300 head sale Everything Over 200 head with mainly White but Dispersal Sale NOVEMBER 26 some Red Factor Canada’sBros 1st All Red Factor Dispersal Forsyth Complete Quality herd – Charolais top herdbulls always sells Everything Dispersal Sale in this 300 head sale used NOVEMBER 26 with mainly White but Over 200 head NOVEMBER 29 Forsyth Bros Charolais Complete some Red Factor Sterling Collection Sale Dispersal Sale Quality herd – topconsignment herdbulls always Longest running sale Over withoffering mainlyfrom White but used with a200 highhead quality some some Red Factor of Canada’s top NOVEMBER 29 breeders Quality herd – top herdbulls Sterling Collection Sale always DECEMBER 6 used running Longest consignment sale Alberta Select Sale with a high quality offering from some NOVEMBER 29 Alberta’s Association Sale of Canada’s top breeders Sterling Collection Sale 50 head from Alberta’s top breeders Longest running consignment sale with something everyone from DECEMBER 6 for with a high quality offering from some French toSelect Red Factor Alberta Sale of Canada’s top breeders Alberta’s Association Sale DECEMBER 10 DECEMBER 6Alberta’s 50 head fromSelect No Borders Saletop breeders Alberta Select Sale with something for everyone from Held in Manitoba this is a quality French to Association Red Factor Sale Alberta’s offering with something for everyone 50 head from Alberta’s top breeders DECEMBER from French 10 to Red Factor from withBorders something for everyone No Select Sale French to Red Factor DECEMBER 18 this is a quality Held in Manitoba Lanoie Bros10 Charolais Cowherd DECEMBER offering with something for everyone Dispersal No Borders Select Sale from French to Red Factor Over 200 Bred Cows & Heifers Held in Manitoba this is a quality White & Red 18 Factor with 20 years of DECEMBER offering with something for everyone Lanoie Bros Charolais Cowherd breeding from French to Red Factor Dispersal Catalogues available online DECEMBER 18 Cows Over 200 Bred & Heifers a month before the sale Lanoie&Bros Charolais White Red Factor withCowherd 20 yearsat of Dispersal breeding www.bylivestock.com Over 200 Bred Cows & Heifers Catalogues available online For more information White & Red Factor with 20 contact: years of a month before the sale at breeding

OCTOBER 26 Maple Leaf Charolais Production for Sale Ful French & French Influence Over 40 years of bre ding

OPPORTUNITIES DIVERSIFICATION in the

 wat e r

By Angela Lovell

pasture pipeline dos and don’ts Peace of mind for a price

pasture pipeline can be a good investment for many cattle producers. The underground pipeline can allow them to graze pastures that might otherwise be inaccessible, extend the grazing season and improve overall herd health. The most economical opportunity to install a pasture pipeline is if there is a well and hydro within two miles of where you want to provide water, says Henry Rosing, ranch manager of EUR Ranch near Lake Francis, which was a stop on the recent 2013 Manitoba provincial pasture tour of the Interlake region. EUR uses various power sources including solar and generators depending on location and installing the pipeline allowed the ranch to increase opportunities for rotational grazing and have healthier cows as part of the bargain. “The pipeline allows us to keep the cows away from the dugouts, which we fenced off and then put the troughs on a ridge,” says Rosing. “The cows are cleaner and because they are on firmer ground they don’t slip and hurt each other.” Cost of installing a pasture pipeline

would be roughly 50 cents a foot plus probably $500 per water trough, which is a reasonable investment given the benefits that it brings, says Ray Bittner, farm production adviser with MAFRI’s Ashern office, who ran through some of the considerations for installing a pasture pipeline with the 100plus producers attending the tour. “From a cattle health perspective it’s cleaner water than any dugout because it’s the same water that the farmer is consuming,” says Bittner. “If you can put the water source on the top of a hill you don’t have to worry about mud and the transmission of foot rot bacteria and things like that. From the environment side, we can avoid riparian areas and low areas where water congregates and runs off, potentially carrying manure with it. There are many different benefits to a pasture pipeline system.” The Pipeline

Use a minimum 1-1/2-inch-diameter DR 17 High Density polyethylene pipe rather than Red Stripe plumbing pipe. “The main reason is the cost,” says Bittner. “Regular Red Stripe plumbing pipe, which is the

high quality that you would use for a submersible well pump or your septic tank is double the cost per foot.” At around 45 cents a foot, using DR 17 High Density pipe will help farmers resist the urge to save money by reducing the size of pipe. “When they use smaller-diameter line they will have pressure loss, so they may put 40 pounds of pressure in one end and end up with five pounds of pressure out the other end,” says Bittner. “In order to get the right combination of a big enough pipe so you don’t have pressure loss and still be affordable you pretty much have to use the DR 17 High Density. We recommend 1-1/2 inch because if you ever want to hook onto it later and add more pipe to it, it’s ideal to go with that diameter. DR 17 also resists cracking and stone bruising. In Manitoba pasture plows can be borrowed or rented from some Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Initiatives offices, conservation districts or other organizations. The pipe should be trenched to a depth of at least six to eight inches in pasture land, but should be deeper if it crosses annual cropland. “If you are going across

NOVEMBER 14 Canadian Western Agribition Sale Right from the show strings

CHAROLAIS INOVEMBERN22DUSTRY

TherSprouleeCharhasolaisneverComplete been Dispersal Sale 200 Whia tbete, Redt&eBlr atcikmChare…olais www.bylivestock.com Catalogues available online For more information contact: a month before the sale at

Sale www.bylivestock.com Manager

For more information contact:

Everything sel s, including long yearling bulls, calves & herdbulls OCTOBER 26 NOVEMBER 23 Maple Leaf Charolais Production Wawedas h F a r m s Compl e t e Sale Dispersal Sale 1-306-584-7937 Sale Manager Helge By 1-306-536-4261 Candace By 1-306-536-3374 124 Shannon Rd Sale Regina, SK S4S Manager 5B1 1-306-584-7937 charolaisbanner@gmail.com Helge By 1-306-536-4261 Candace By 1-306-536-3374 124 Shannon Rd 1-306-584-7937 Regina, SK S4S 5B1 Helge By 1-306-536-4261 charolaisbanner@gmail.com Candace By 1-306-536-3374 124 Shannon Rd Regina, SK S4S 5B1 charolaisbanner@gmail.com

C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 1 3

The pipe should be trenched to a depth of six to eight inches in pasture land. Heavy, durable tire waterers stand up well to abuse by the cattle. photos: Ray Bittner www.canadiancattlemen.ca

water

“ From a cattle health perspective it’s cleaner water than any dugout because it’s the same water the farmer is consuming.” Ray Bittner Farm Production adviser

cropland, you’d probably make a first pass without putting the hose in so you’re already cutting a trench,” says Bittner. “Then you’d do a second pass and try to get it as deep as possible. You can make some adjustments on the plow if you need to get it a little deeper.” Producers need to be aware of what other things are under the ground. It’s not unheard of for producers to cut their phone lines. Permission from the local municipality will be needed if the pipeline crosses road allowances. “We’ve had producers run the pipe through a culvert in order to cross a road without cutting through the road but you should do that with permission from the RM,” says Bittner. The Fittings

Fittings are not a place to try and save money, advises Bittner. Use the best-quality fittings you can to ensure low maintenance and optimum performance of the pipeline for the long term. Don’t use galvanized fittings which can rust out; instead use brass or plastic compression couplers that will probably last 20 to 30 years, says Bittner. “It’s actually recommended when using DR 17 pipe to only use compression couplers from the manufacturer,” says Bittner. “But they are quite large and a bit clumsy and they don’t fit in every application. Farmers like using a brass fitting with barbs that slides into the pipe and is held with a hose clamp because it is smaller and handier.” Brass barbs are also much sharper and better grip the plastic pipe, whereas galvanized are dull and don’t grip nearly as well, he adds. T-Bolt hose clamps with a hex-head bolt work best and should be all stainless steel to prevent rusting. At every place that you want to have a trough the easiest way to attach it to the pipeline is with a saddle, which again should be made of brass. The saddle attaches to the hose, is tightened down and then a hole drilled through the pipe. “The reason we use brass saddles is because they are simple to apply. You don’t have to cut the hose, you don’t have to use a compression fitting or a barb fitting and the www.canadiancattlemen.ca

line won’t separate if you have freezing or inline pressures or anything like that,” says Bittner. A saddle fitting also makes it easy to connect and disconnect the pipeline from the trough using a quick-detach fitting that seals off the line if the producer wants to relocate the trough. The valve that regulates the flow of water into the trough needs to be a one-way valve to prevent water flow from reversing back into the well and also needs to be a high-flow type that opens up to a diameter of at least an inch. “You can just imagine how much faster the water replenishes when you have an inch round hole versus a quarter-inch round hole,” says Bittner. “That’s important because on pastures in the summertime cows come as large groups and when 100 cows arrive you want the valve to open wide and replenish the trough very quickly.” It’s a good idea to hook the pipeline to the house if possible, so you know that all is well. “The benefit to the farmer is the ability to sleep at night knowing that as long as there is water in your house there is probably water in the pasture,” says Bittner. “With solar systems there are batteries that die, there are electronics that die, pumps that die, there is a multitude of pieces and parts that need to be replaced on a semi-regular basis and the certainty of knowing that the water is still flowing is really important to some people.”

The Trough

There are basically three different styles of trough; a traditional galvanized metal trough, a poly-plastic trough or a mining tire. “Mining tires are probably the most desirable for a couple of reasons,” says Bittner. “They’re heavy and don’t move. When a plastic or galvanized trough is empty, they are light and the cows will push them and sometimes they’ll push them through a fence or into an electric fence and ground it out.” Once a mining tire is installed it’s a permanent asset for the farm, whereas galvanized and plastic troughs will need to be replaced every few years because they are more prone to damage and cracking. There are also differences between summer and winter mining tires. Summer tires are larger and are simply laid on the ground with a cement plug in the middle. Winter tires are smaller and have several more mining tires stacked into the ground below to provide warmth from the ground below the frost line that keeps the supply line from freezing in the wintertime and helps keep ice off of the surface of the trough. “For a winter tire to work you need continuous animal movement,” says Bittner. “So for small herds these types of systems don’t work as well because there is just not enough cow traffic to keep the water moving and prevent it from freezing up. But it’s

never a bad investment, it’s just that if you have a small group of say 50 cows you may have to spend more time personally taking ice off the surface. But it does still give you the benefits of leaving the manure farther away from your yard.” Maintenance

A properly installed pasture pipeline should require very little maintenance. “Once this is installed properly and working properly, it’s a mere drive-by to make sure the cattle are fine,” says Bittner. “It definitely saves a lot on labour.” The only ongoing maintenance is to blow out the water line in the fall if the pipeline isn’t being used throughout the winter. It’s not necessary to rent a special diesel air compressor, says Bittner; a standard farm air compressor will do, but patience is the key to making sure all the water is out of the line. Rosing says he hooks up the farm compressor with a truck, opens the valve and blows the line for two to three hours. “It’s a good idea to let it run for a few hours and at first there will be a large continuous stream of water,” says Bittner. “After that slows down to only occasional spurts of water, stop entirely for a while and allow the remaining water in the line to flow back and settle into a low area and then hit it again with another blast of air so that almost all of the water in the pipe is out.” c

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C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 1 3

ď ľ HEALTH

By Roy Lewis DVM

TWO NEWER RESPIRATORY PATHOGENS

e have all heard of corona virus being one of the main causes of viral scours in our newborn calves. It alone with a couple strains of rotavirus are the two main viruses we see in our scours vaccines. It also causes a winter dysentery (bloody diarrhea) in mature cattle especially housed dairy cattle in the winter. What you may not have known is this same virus can be involved in the bovine respiratory disease complex.

C A T T L E M E N Âˇ FA L L 2 0 1 3

The respiratory syndrome is often masked by the other much more prominent viruses such as IBR and BRSV or the main bacterial causes of pneumonia that being Mannheimia Hemolytica, Pasteurella Multocida and finally Histophilus Somnus. There is no respiratory vaccine on the market, which has corona virus antigen in it, but in the future, as vaccines take on a broader spectrum, some company may put in the corona virus to bolster the immunity to respiratory pathogens once again.

We all know that respiratory disease is the No. 1 economic disease in feedlots across Canada so anything we can do to reduce cases is beneficial. Cattle have a lot less lung capacity than other species and yet with the big rumen and digestive process require a lot more oxygen so technically the lungs have very little reserve in them. Hence we have more issues with respiratory disease. A few separate outbreaks of corona virus respiratory disease have occurred and you

generally see some slight depression but overall animals will still look bright. There may be increased nasal secretions and feed intake may go down significantly. In fact the feed decrease may be the first symptom that is experienced. One still has to treat the sick calves as secondary bacterial infections. If there is suppression of the immune system for a number of reasons such as vitamin or mineral deficiency or concurrent disease that is another reason corona virus may occur. You may even have some cattle infected with

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

health

corona and have the enteric form as well. You would then expect to see diarrhea accompany some of the other clinical signs in a small percentage of the infected cattle. So if a group of cattle seems to be sicker than in the past in spite of vaccinating for pneumonia have them checked out. Corona virus may be the culprit. Another bacterial cause of pneumonia that presents in a different way and may be an emerging disease in the United States is Bibersteinia trehalosi. I don’t know if there have been clinical cases in Canada but we should be aware of it with all the trading in cattle and other livestock that goes on. It is very closely related to M Hemolytica which is a primary agent in the whole shipping fever complex. Bibersteinia presents as sudden death, and primarily has been found in Holstein cows in the United States. It has also caused a sig-

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

nificant number of pneumonia and blood infection cases in sheep. The pneumonia veterinarians see on postmortem is indistinguishable from the M Hemolytica form and is undetectable unless the lab does special testing to identify it.

I f the response to your vaccines seems poor get the cattle checked and PM recent deads U.S. veterinarians first noticed this form of pneumonia because it killed cows so quickly, and was fairly unresponsive to antibiotics. Partly this is due to the acute

nature of this pneumonia. The antibiotic simply does not have enough time to work. Also we generally do not expect full-grown cows to develop respiratory disease. It catches us off guard. Even though we now have several good long-lasting macrolide antibiotics out there for treating groups of high-risk calves, this should not alter our vigilance in watching for unusual forms of respiratory disease. If the incidence of treatment or death loss is higher than expected or there have been sudden deaths get some of these animals autopsied by your veterinarian. Finding the root cause will definitely help him/her determine better treatment, biosecurity and preventive measures for your farm. Cow-calf, feeders and feedlot operators have definitely reduced the incidence of pneumonia deaths in Canada over the last decade by combining vaccines that have a

broader coverage, using metaphylactic antibiotics and better treatment antimicrobials together with anti-inflammatory drugs. Feed conversion is better and fewer chronics are present in lots today. So if the response to your vaccines seems poor as expressed by an unacceptable number of pulls and treatments or deaths get the cattle checked and post-mortem any recent deads, especially in the case of sudden deaths. One of these emerging pathogens especially B. trehalosi could be present. Be aware of new advances in the early detection prevention and treatment of respiratory disease. New antibiotics as well as different vaccine combinations are always being developed. c Roy Lewis is a Westlock, Alta.-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 1 3

 animal hea lt h

By Roy Lewis DVM

RUMEN MAGNETS PREVENT HARDWARE DISEASE

raumatic reticuloperitonitis is a term referring to a medical condition caused when an object penetrates through the reticulum, or second stomach causing infection in the abdomen. If a sharp object goes through the diaphragm, the cow can die of heart failure. Hardware disease, as it is more commonly called, drains production since penetration can also cause infection and abscesses with adhesions (scarring). This can lead to the cow losing weight and having intestinal problems. Diarrhea may result and the cows appear to be walking on eggs with a humped back and stiff gait. With advanced hardware disease there may be infection around the heart and brisket edema resulting from the heart failure. When they reach this stage treatment is seldom successful. Occasionally the infection will damage or overstimulate the vagus nerve, which is responsible for rumen contractions. If overstimulated the cow or bull may appear bloated. Grunting from the pain is another common symptom. Veterinarians often diagnose hardware by listening for a grunt with the stethoscope at the same time as doing a withers pinch. The key to this disease is prevention. A heavy exceptionally strong rumen magnet can sit in the reticulum. As ruminal contractions push the feed past this area any ferric-containing metal objects attach to

the magnet. The digestive juices gradually degrade the metal. There is a continual transition of metal being attracted and degraded so the magnets never lose their effectiveness. The magnets are a low-cost investment (cost $3 to $5) and stay in the reticulum for the life of the cow or bull. Modern farms use a lot of large equipment silage choppers and feed wagons that can be the source of metal. For instance, a silage cutter can pick up a chunk of wire in a swath and turn it into many sharp, bite-size pieces. Cattle are indiscriminate eaters. They do not sift through their feed the way some other species such as horses do. This is why we find things such as metal and twine balls in their stomachs. Fortunately the rest of the industry is doing its bit to clean up these extraneous bits of metal. Magnets or metal detectors are used in commercial feed mills today and many equipment manufacturers install large strong magnets on their feed wagons, silage choppers and blowers. It’s amazing how much metal accumulates in only a few days. These magnets need to be cleaned weekly to remain effective. Unfortunately, they don’t protect cows from the bits of metal that are already on the pasture and in hay bales. If you have ever had cows doing poorly, consider hardware disease. A magnet is easily inserted into the animal’s mouth with a plastic balling gun. Just wait to be sure it is swallowed.

Magnets are a low-cost investment and stay in the reticulum for the life of the cow or bull.

In our practice, almost all dairy cows have magnets inserted when they enter the breeding herd. Purebred breeders put a lot of value on their stock and should consider magnets. It may be wise for purebred breeders and commercial producers to put them in valuable breeding bulls or if hardware has been a problem give all breedingage heifers a magnet. They stay in for the life of the animal so are a small investment for a longtime gain. Magnets can often be purchased in bulk for a reduced price. Several brands are on the market and generally speaking the better the quality (strength) the higher the price Barbed Wire Fence

FENCE IS FENCE, RIGHT? WRONG. Cutting corners with cheap fence only leads to more repairs and more cattle getting out. Four point “Ruthless” and two point “Defender” barbed wire from Red Brand keep your herd off the fence and in the pasture where they belong. Since 1889, one brand of barbed wire has stood the test of time – and cattle.

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(most are less than $4). Test them beforehand. Coins, nails etc. should be very hard to pull off; if they aren’t the magnet isn’t strong enough. Two magnets offer no improvement because they attach to one another, which increases the surface but that is all. If an animal requires a post-mortem, the vet can retrieve the magnet for use in another animal. It also provides useful evidence about the source of metal on your operation. I have seen these magnets with fencing staples, chain links, grease nipples, wire, nails, screws — the list goes on and on. Unfortunately magnets will not attract aluminum and some other metals used in today’s modern farming practices. We must try and minimize exposure of cattle to metal objects by keeping pastures clean. Picking up wire fragments when fencing and keeping equipment in good repair all minimize the exposure of our cattle to metal objects. Old deteriorating fences are a very common source.

I f you have ever had cows doing poorly consider hardware disease For every case of clinical hardware disease there are probably 10 subclinical cases where decreased production is the only real sign. In situations where you have one or more cases of clinical hardware yearly or if you are using pastures littered with bits of metal consider magnetizing every animal. This is a small investment, and well worth it. For sure valuable bulls and breeding stock should be routinely given magnets as yearlings when they enter the breeding herd. Place heavy magnets on feeding equipment and be sure and have your vet retrieve a magnet when doing a post-mortem. It can reveal much about how and what types of sharp metal objects your cattle are exposed to. c

Find dealers, expert advice and installation videos at redbrand.com • 800.447.6444

C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 1 3

Roy Lewis is a Westlock, Alta.-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 vet advice

An Industry In Transition — Animal Welfare Gets Top Billing

nimal welfare has become the currency of progress within the livestock industry. Animal welfare advocacy now drives how animals get cared for, how they are raised, how they are transported, and ultimately how they become food. The subject of animal welfare has raised the consciousness of an industry. The world is being told about industry’s commitment to animal welfare through published codes of practice. Public exposure, at one time threatening to the traditionalists, is changing production practices from the farm and ranch to corporate boardrooms. Feigning advocacy is not an option. Through the transition, animal care is finally getting linked to disease prevention, food quality and ultimately food safety. Animal welfare has moved from something we were once skittish to address in an open forum to top billing at national meetings in Canada and the U.S. For years, debate wavered around who or what really propels change in the livestock industry. Who really pushes the wheelbarrow so to say? Although constantly rehashed, it always comes back to the customer, and when you are in the business of food that means the consumer — either directly or through those who vie for consumer attention. Through the transition, welfare organizations at both provincial and national levels were reinvigorated. Topics as far ranging as antimicrobial use and traceability all the way to pain control, animal transport and hot iron branding became items on welfare agendas. Changes have influenced how animals are slaughtered for food and how corporate North America makes buying decisions about eggs, pork and beef products for the bill of fare offered consumers. Stall-free pork, prudent antibiotic use and eggs from hens raised outside laying cages are new and powerful affirmations that corporations have a conscience and consumers listen. A first big step forward for the beef industry was a published code of practice. It was a serious and groundbreaking move for an industry often considered so traditional some described it as fossilized. Animal welfare for the beef industry reached a milestone in August 2013 when the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) senior director for beef quality assurance presented Beef Quality Assurance Guidelines (BQA) for veterinary procedures to the U.S. cattle industry. Almost simultaneously on September 6, 2013, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) announced release of the new Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle. The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, part of the code development committee, endorsed the new code as it defined minimum acceptable standards for cattle care. In its view the code would become a powerful tool for meeting rising consumer, marketplace and

societal expectations relative to farm animal welfare. Animal Welfare is getting top billing at an NFACC-sponsored national conference in Ottawa October 9-10, 2013. It is being advertised as an opportunity to learn about recent achievements in farm animal welfare in Canada and participate in discussion on challenges and future directions. Attendance is open. Important agenda items include: assessment of animal care from a producer and food-service perspective; communication strategies in a crisis; bridging the gap between producer and public views on animal welfare; pain assessment and management; and achieving compliance through association networks. Pain management during and after routine husbandry practices like hot iron branding, castration and dehorning are fundamental issues for the cattle industry in both Canada and the U.S. They appear on every animal welfare agenda both nationally and locally. BQA guidelines (U.S.) suggest operators performing hot iron or freeze branding procedures should seek the guidance of a veterinarian, be trained and competent in the procedure and be able to recognize the signs of complications. Veterinarians can give guidance on the availability and advisability of analgesia or anesthesia for castration of beef cattle, particularly older animals. In Canada, cattle operations that follow the code will, as of Jan. 1, 2016, be required

to use pain control, in consultation with a veterinarian, when castrating bulls older than nine months. Starting January 1, 2018, pain control will be required when castrating bulls older than six months of age. Starting January 1, 2016, the new code will also require the use of pain control to limit pain in dehorning calves at any point after the horn bud attaches itself to the calf ’s skull at about two to three months of age. Adoption of polled (hornless) genetics has steadily gained ground in recent years and is encouraged.

he subject of animal T welfare has raised the consciousness of an industry Humane euthanasia of cattle is another feature of new codes of practice. Published guidelines specifically dealing with euthanasia provide clearer definition of compromised livestock, stress and distress. Euthanasia guidelines, like the ones published by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, go into depth about the human and animal considerations surrounding humane euthanasia in animals.

Guidance is provided on when it’s time to relieve suffering, the proper use of equipment and drugs, and the importance of ensuring death is induced with a minimum of pain and distress. Persons who perform this task must be technically proficient and have an understanding of the relevant anatomical landmarks and protocols used for humane euthanasia in animals. Concepts of animal welfare are being entwined in the international trade of livestock and livestock products. Welfare principles govern major corporate decisions about procurement of meat for manufacturing food. Welfare concerns influence major decisions about marketing animal health products. Withdrawal of zilpaterol, a beta-agonist widely used in finishing cattle across North America, is a classic example of how the impression of one large corporation influences multimillion-dollar decisions by others. Improper handling of downer cows in a Hallmark plant in California caused a complete rewrite of industry procedures across North America. Animal welfare’s top billing has clearly determined where the industry needs to be if it’s going to be sustainable into the future. c Dr. Ron Clarke prepares this column on behalf of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners. Suggestions for future articles can be sent to Canadian Cattlemen (gren@fbcpublishing.com) or WCABP (info@wcabp.com).

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 pasture

By Debbie Furber

keep your phosphorus up to maintain alfalfa yields

fter a prolonged period of depressed beef prices many cattle producers have been operating under a siege mentality when it comes to fertilization of their forage crops. But there is an economic value to fertilizing, especially when it comes to phosphorus, as demonstrated by the five-year Interlake Alfalfa Phosphorus Ramp Project that is winding up this year. Producers attending the recent Manitoba provincial pasture tour had a chance to look at the results of one test site on the farm of Dean Stoyanowski, who farms near Arborg. The plots were treated in 2009 with a onetime application of 11-52-0 that went up in increments from zero to 100 pounds per acre of actual P. In the second year additional plots were added which also varied from zero to 100 pounds of P205 plus 15 to 30 tonnes of cattle manure per acre. The project sought to determine economical rates of P application on alfalfa hayfields by analysing how long the effect of the phosphorus lasted over the five years with no further applications. The plots were harvested for yield and tested for forage P content. Soil was analysed for Olsen P extractable content from 2009 to 2013. Prior to the fertilizer application the soil tested at five parts per million (ppm) P.

As might be expected the untreated plots in the Arborg trial showed no response, and the benefits got better and lasted longer with each higher P application. The biggest response came in the first year after application. Over the subsequent five years the 60 lbs./ac. P treatment produced just under five tonnes of hay per acre. The 80 and 100 lbs./ ac. P plots produced 5.5 tonnes. The zero check strip yielded only 3.5 tonnes per acre. Soil tests showed that with higher amounts of P (90 to 100 lbs./ac.) soil P amounts remained around the 14 ppm range, slightly higher into year four. After the first year the results declined as subsequent crops continued to remove P from the soil but the best responses were still seen at the higher levels of fertilization. “I am often asked by producers what rate should I fertilize at and my answer always comes back to go and soil test your field and if you’re not at a mid-range of around 14 ppm, you could be missing out on a bunch of yield,” says Ray Bittner, a farm production adviser with Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI), which partnered with the Prairies East Sustainable Agriculture Initiative to sponsor the project. “I know everybody wants that magic number but if they go out to the field and they soil

test and they find out that they are below the desired ppm rate of P they know they have to apply according to the soil test recommendations.” It’s equally important to maintain the phosphorus at that level by applying at the rate of removal each year, adds Bittner. “If they let it drop back from there they are going to see less production,” he says. The removal rate of P can vary depending on the crop but in general if you are getting three tonnes of hay per year that is removing 45 lbs. of P, so that will be the rate that you need to add each year to maintain the P content on soils that are testing in the mid-ppm phosphorus range. If you are replacing only the phosphorus that is removed by the crop on low-fertility sites the P will continue to be depleted over time. Soils that test low in phosphorus need to be fertilized at a rate high enough to bring them up to a mid-range of P content and then the rate of crop removal applied each year to make them productive for the long term. It’s important to fertilize at the correct rate to ensure that P reserves aren’t depleted, adds provincial soil specialist, John Heard, who has been involved in similar phosphorus ramp trails across western and eastern Manitoba, but it can also be advantageous to lower

P in soils that have higher-than-desirable P levels. “You can get 40 to 50 pounds of P removal when you fertilize at the correct rate but if you didn’t fertilize the P level could be so low that you would only get a yield that removed five to 10 pounds of P. If a lot goes on as manure, for example, the plants will use it. There is nothing better for P removal from soils than high-yielding crops and highyielding crops depend on soil fertility.” The trial also showed that no matter what rate of P fertilizer was applied it was always economical. “No matter how much fertilizer we put on we always got more back in return. If it was 60 pounds or 20 pounds it didn’t matter, we always got back more over time,” says Bittner. “For every dollar applied we got more than a dollar back in increased hay yield.” The message appears to be that if you want to maximize efficiency and productivity on forage acres the best way is to make sure you fertilize to soil test recommendations. “Our tests showed that if your soil is deficient and you have enough alfalfa plants, financially it was not a waste of money no matter which rate of P fertilizer was put on,” says Bittner. “If producers can maintain the P level at around 14 ppm they’ll probably be happy with the results.” c

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manageme n t

By Heather Smith Thomas

Preventing Bloat on Fall Pastures

as production is normal during rumen fermentation/digestion of feeds, but bloat may occur if cattle can’t get rid of the gas quickly enough by belching (eructation). If gas builds up faster than it can be belched out, the rumen may become so full that it puts pressure on the lungs — and the animal suffocates. Certain types of forage plants are more likely to cause bloat. The rumen content becomes frothy, with gas trapped in the top layer of rumen fluid. Instead of being free gas (more readily belched), the froth covers the opening into the esophagus and the animal is unable to belch. Dr. Bart Lardner, research scientist at the Western Beef Development Center and adjunct professor in the department of animal and poultry science, University of Saskatchewan says a legume component in pastures is important for quality pasture, but when there are periods of late-summer/fall rain, those legumes have a growth spurt with lush new forage. “The cattle select for those plants and may eat too much of the alfalfa or clover component of the stand. If you aren’t managing and monitoring, cattle may get themselves into trouble. If cattle are grazing a legume pasture, or even one that is 50 per cent grass and

50 per cent legumes, there are several things we need to think about,” he says. Some studies have shown that cattle bloat twice as often in October as during summer. Bloat risk increases with cool weather and frost. Cool nights, in conjunction with moderate daytime temperatures delay plant maturity and extend the growing phase — prolonging bloat risk. Heavy dew or frost contributes to higher incidence of bloat in the fall. Stockmen generally think alfalfa is safe to graze after a killing frost, but there is still risk as long as plants are green. The first fall frosts actually increase risk for bloat, preserving the immature stage of plant growth. Frost also disrupts/breaks cell walls, releasing bloatcausing agents and increasing rate of cell breakdown, hastening the fermentation process in the rumen, and possibility for bloat. It usually takes several hard freezes before alfalfa is truly safe to graze. “Be aware of things that will affect the plants. The big issue is not the fact there was a frost, but the length of time it stays below freezing, to actually halt plant growth — and the number of days after that. You have to determine when it is safe to graze that particular pasture. The rule of thumb is to wait at least two weeks after the killing frost. It’s a good idea to have an escape pasture — a place

you could put the cattle if you need to pull them off the risky pasture,” Lardner says. “Bloat is generally preventable. Look at what per cent of the crop is blooming. Wait until at least 70 per cent or more of the plants are blooming, on a late-summer or early-fall pasture (or grazing regrowth after cutting a field for hay).” To avoid bloat on fall pastures, wait until legumes are mature; bloat potential is highest when plants are in vegetative or in pre-bloom stage and decreases at full flower or later. When alfalfa is vegetative the plant is high in protein and moisture and low in fibre. It also helps to have some grass in the pasture. If legumes are only 50 per cent or less of the plant mix in a pasture, this can minimize pasture bloat unless cattle selectively graze the legume and avoid the grass. Legumes can regrow faster than grass after being grazed, so when seeding a pasture, use a species of fast-recovering grass such as meadow brome grass or orchard grass. If bloat is a problem in a rotation system, mow one-quarter of the new paddock in the afternoon or evening (so it will be wilting and drying) and graze it the next day, using portable electric fence to make the animals eat the mowed part first. There are some preventive aids to minimize

“ The benefits of having a legume in your forage stand far outweigh the risks, but a lot of this is just comfort level.” Dr. Bart Lardner Research Scientist

Continued on page 42

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ma nag e m e n t

Non-bloat legumes, such as sainfoin (above) and cicer milkvetch, contain condensed tannins in their leaves that tend to bind the readily digestible plant proteins in the rumen. Continued from page 40

risk of bloat, including mineral mixes that some producers use. “We also have a registered product now in Canada called Alfasure that contains poloxaline for prevention of frothy bloat in cattle grazing legume pastures. This product is in liquid form, to be mixed in the water supply,” he says. There should only be one water source available in the pasture, to ensure that all the cattle will consume the daily dose of poloxaline. When a product is supplied free choice in mineral mixes or blocks, some of the animals don’t eat it. “We’ve had problems with access to the Alfasure product but it is finally available and producers are looking at using it again. A similar product is used in Australia and New

Zealand, and now we have it in Canada. This product helps reduce and break up the bubbles in frothy bloat. As long as the product is in the water source so cattle have to consume it, this helps prevent bloating. A person has to consider the cost, but if you have a pasture where legumes comprise 70 per cent or more of the stand you need to look at using something like this, to safely graze,” says Lardner. Bloat prevention involves managing and monitoring. “Observe what the cattle are eating. Make sure they are utilizing both the grass and the legume component of the pasture. Don’t let them graze it down to the ground; leave some stubble height when you move to the next pasture. If you graze too close, the legume will regrow from the crown out, producing high-quality vegeta-

tive regrowth, which is more dangerous for bloat. You are managing for fibre level in the plants,” he says. Short, lush plants with high protein content and very little fibre are much more risky than mature plants with thicker stems and fewer leaves. It makes a difference how fast or slowly plants are growing. “If you get rain and put cattle into that pasture a few days later when the plants are responding to the moisture with a growth spurt, the regrowth may be risky for bloat. You might want to put the cattle somewhere else where there’s not as much risk,” he says. There’s no substitute for close monitoring. Lush alfalfa is more risky when wet — after a rain or heavy dew, or an early-winter dusting of snow. The cow produces less saliva to mix with feed for chewing/swallowing when feed

is low in fibre and already wet. Saliva inhibits bloat because it contains sodium and bicarbonate, hindering excessive gas production. If cattle are hungry when put into a legume pasture, they are more likely to bloat because they may overeat. “Don’t move the cattle onto a fresh pasture early in the morning. Late afternoon is generally safer,” says Lardner. There won’t be any dew at that time, and the cattle won’t be as hungry if they’ve already been eating other feed before you move them. Make sure they are full when you turn them out. “Also look at stocking density. If you only have a few cattle in that new paddock, they tend to selectively graze the legumes,” he says. If there are more cattle there will be more competition and they’ll tend to eat all the plants.

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The most common bloat-causing plants are legumes like alfalfa and most types of clover, and winter wheat pasture. Plants that present moderate risk include spring wheat, oats and perennial ryegrass. Plants with the least risk include most perennial grasses, bird’s-foot trefoil and lespedeza. “Most alfalfas tend to cause bloat, whether they are the creeping or bunch type. The bunch types are generally best suited for pasture and the creeping varieties for hay, but they all will cause bloat. In a research program Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada tried to select varieties that could reduce bloat risk. The researchers produced a grazing type of alfalfa known as AC Grazeland Br. This one was selected from several different lines. It is not bloat safe, but it certainly has reduced incidence of bloat. Cattle can still bloat on it, but it’s not as dynamite risky as some of the other varieties. AC Grazeland Br can be used with a grass component like meadow brome or tall fescue for pastures,” says Lardner. “There has also been quite a bit of research with some of the non-bloat legumes, such as sainfoin and cicer milkvetch. They have a compound in their leaves called condensed tannins which tend to bind the readily digestible plant proteins in the rumen, reducing their solubility and degradability by rumen bacteria. It’s the digestible plant proteins that can make a forage more bloating. There’s been some recent research trying to incorporate those tannins into alfalfa. This is still ongoing and more studies need to be done to advance that objective,” he says. There is also research working on ways to enable livestock producers to better use the bloat-causing legumes like alfalfa. “There has been greater economic loss because of produc-

ers avoiding the use of alfalfa,” says Lardner. Losing several animals in a bloating episode is costly, but the lost animal performance from not using a legume is also costly. “A producer might select some of the higher-producing sainfoins to produce significant biomass similar to alfalfa, or put them in combination with alfalfa in the same stand. There is research being done on this, and trying to produce disease-resistant varieties and winter-hardy varieties that will last a long time,” says Lardner. “This research needs to be done at multiple locations because one variety might overwinter and persist very well in one area and have significant winterkill in another area. The producer needs to work with the local forage agronomist and ag rep to see what the adaptability of a variety may be in that region. Forage varieties should be selected for hardiness, production, quality, etc. Do your homework before you establish a perennial crop. You want to do everything correctly in seeding because you want a long-term stand. If you don’t manage it properly the year you establish it, you are setting yourself up for an economic loss because that stand will not persist beyond a few years,” says Lardner. These are all factors that enter into the decision of whether or not to include a legume in pastures. “The benefits of having a legume in your forage stand far outweigh the risks, but a lot of this is just comfort level.” c

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 NEWS AB OUT YOU

By Deb Wilson

PurelyPurebred Check our Sales and Events for a fall show or sale near you

n Steer Decision Upheld — After a thorough review process, the Calgary Stampede has upheld its decision to disqualify the Championship steer in the 2013 Calgary Stampede UFA Steer Classic Competition. The stampede’s Agriculture Review Panel reviewed the matter and agreed with the original disqualification. The panel (a group of knowledgeable individuals that had no part in the original decision) cited that the competition’s rules were explicit and clear; drug testing protocols were valid; tests revealed the presence of two substances; and proper guidelines were exercised by the stampede in the rendering of the disqualification. Drug testing of the top two steers in the July 13 competition revealed the presence of two separate drugs (Ibuprofen and Flunixin) in the Grand Champion steer. Event rules clearly state all animals are to be presented without any alterations to their physiological state and free of drug residues, which violate guidelines, as the competition is designated “terminal,” meaning the Champion Steer enters the food system. The two non-ste-

Job Opportunity: Executive Secretary

The Organization: Livestock Markets Association of Canada represents over 100 auction market The Organization: facilities across Canada. Our members use the auction method to achieve the possible price for livestock. Theyrepresents ensure that animals are treated in amarket Livestockhighest Markets Association of Canada over 100 auction humane manner, since good husbandry equals good business. Each member facilities across Canada. Our members use the auction method to achieve the market strives to satisfy the needs of their customers, the welfare of animals, and highest possible They ensure that animals are treated in a the safety price of staff.for It islivestock. LMAC responsibility to encourage and enable each member humanewith manner, since good husbandry equals good business. Each member market the ability, resources and incentives to meet those goals.

strives toThe satisfy Job: the needs of their customers, the welfare of animals, and the safety of staff. The It isExecutive LMAC responsibility to encourage and of enable each member with the Secretary is responsible for all aspects the organizations management. This includes: to meet those goals. ability, resources and incentives - Convention and meeting set-up & preparation. - Agenda development, minute taking & report writing. The Job: - Correspondence as instructed by the Board. The Executive-Secretary aspects of the organizations Submission is of responsible grant proposalsfor andall funding requests. & financial management. management.- Bookkeeping This includes: - Website Administration. - Convention and meeting set-up & preparation. - Development and administration of the National Sponsorship Database.

- Agenda development, minute taking & report writing. Candidate: -The Correspondence as instructed by the Board. You have: - Submission of grant andwith funding requests. - The ability to workproposals independently, direction from a Board of Directors. - Bookkeeping financialinmanagement. - Significant&experience managing not-for-profit organizations. - Extensive skills in governance, financial management & event planning. - Website Administration. - Proficiency with Windows Office applications (Word, Excel, etc). - Development and administration of the National Sponsorship Database.

roidal anti-inflammatory drugs that were detected are prohibited in any quantity under event rules. “This was a serious yet simple issue,” said Paul Rosenberg, vice-president, programming. “The steer was disqualified for a violation relating to two separate drugs within the animal’s system. It’s our responsibility to facilitate a fair competition with high ethical standards for our human participants and high-quality care for all animals. “Our commitment to due diligence means that we’ve addressed a number of issues over the last few weeks including a review of our drug testing protocols that verified three important things: the testing methodology used is appropriate for bovine, blood sampling is valid for drug residue detection and cross-contamination did not occur,” said Rosenberg. “After reviewing the key elements of the decision, we are very confident with the original disqualification.” n The Canadian Gelbvieh Association is excited to have met the requirements to hold its own Gelbvieh show at the Manitoba Livestock Expo in Brandon. The show will be held Saturday, Nov. 2 at noon. n With the North American debut of the 6th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture (WCCA) in Winnipeg, Man., the sponsoring organizations announce their selection of Glacier FarmMedia as the exclusive media outlet for Canada for this international event. Glacier FarmMedia of Canada (parent company of Canadian Cattlemen will be working with the Conservation Agriculture Systems Alliance, the Soil Conservation Council of Canada and the Conservation Technology Information Center in media efforts surrounding WCCA. The company’s media outlets include print, websites, newsletters, applications, events and others. They will run

Suggestions are always welcome. My phone number is 403-325-1695 Email: deb.wilson@ fbcpublishing.com

feature stories to promote the themes of the conference in advance of the event. They also will assist to recruit speakers and suggest topics for the event. After the congress, Glacier will offer its unique perspectives to build on the WCCA effort to help farmers learn more about how conservation and sustainable practices can benefit them. The dialogue on conservation agriculture that is generated in Winnipeg will be available online and continue through websites, YouTube channels and other appropriate media. n We have a new crop of outstanding young cattle enthusiasts in The Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program. For anyone who questions whether young people would make the livestock industry their career choice, the participants in this program will remove that doubt. It is always a pleasure for me to feature these people in my column, as I have had the opportunity to either meet many of these individuals, or write about them in the past. I am almost envious of the mentors who are selected for them, as they are extremely knowledgeable and well known in the industry. This is a fabulous learning and networking opportunity for any young person wanting to make the livestock industry their career choice. I would strongly encourage any young adult with an interest in the livestock and/or meat industry to apply for the program. The only thing we need to add to the cross-section of participants is some passionate, young, agricultural journalists, in my opinion. The support of the following companies has assured the continued success of the program: Cargill, United Farmers of Alberta, MNP (Meyers Norris Penny) and New Holland, along with the support of ALMA (Alberta Livestock Meat Agency) and the CCA. • Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Profiles: — Amanda Elzinga, of Peers, Alta. Mentor:

STRYKER CATTLE COMPANY Complete Purebred Black Angus Female Dispersal 1:00 pm Monday

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Medicine Hat Feeding Company Medicine Hat, Alberta

On Offer: 200 Bred Cows • 50 Bred Yearlings • 80 Heifer Calves 4 Herd Sires

- Working knowledge of the agriculture sector and auction industry.

To apply, send a cover letter, resume and remuneration expectations to:

The Candidate: LMAC or by e-mail attachment (pdf): You have: Attn: Ken Perlich ken@perlich.com - The ability to work independently, with direction from a Board of Directors. Box 1057 Subject Line: LMAC, Executive Secretary -Lethbridge, Significant experience in managing not-for-profit organizations. AB -T1J Extensive skills in governance, financial management & event planning. 4A2 -APPLICATION ProficiencyDEADLINE: with Windows Office applications (Word, Excel, etc). November 7, 2013 - Working knowledge of the agriculture sector and auction industry. 44

C a t t l e m e n · fa l l 2 0 1 3

To apply, send a cover letter, resume and remuneration expectations to: LMAC

or by e-mail attachment (pdf):

Stryker Cattle Company Will & Gladys Stryker, Chad & Megan Stryker P.O. Box 89 Orion, AB T0K 1S0 PH: 403-868-2267 Gladys’s Cell: 403-866-2267 Will’s Cell 403-866-6485

403.782.3888 Cell: 403.350.8541 djhenderson@platinum.ca www.hendersoncattle.com

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

purely purebred

Michael Latimer, executive director of Canadian Beef Breeds Council. Amanda was born and raised near Peers, Alberta, on a dairy farm, which was converted to a cow-calf operation about 10 years ago. Her passion for the cattle industry was realized at a young age, and she always knew she wanted to pursue a career in agriculture. 4-H was a big part of her life, and she completed dairy, horse and beef projects. After high school, she worked at a feedlot for a year, and then moved on to Lakeland College in Vermilion, where she obtained a diploma in animal science and was active in both the Stockmen’s Club and the Judging Amanda Elzinga Club. From there she transferred to the University of Alberta where she earned a B. Sc. in agriculture, majoring in animal science. She spent two summers calving out cows and looking after a purebred herd, and believes the experience gained from working on other operations to be invaluable. Post completion of her degree in December 2011, she started work as a nutrition/production consultant at Co-op Feeds in Edmonton. Still actively involved in the family farm, Amanda hopes to continue to expand her own commercial herd. She is excited for the opportunity CYL is offering her in the form of networking and a mentorship. She is looking forward to broadening her perspective on the cattle industry on both a domestic and international level. — Daniel Doerksen, Gem, Alta. Mentor: Mike McMorris, general manager of BIO in Ontario. Daniel Doerksen was born and raised in Gem, Alta. on his family’s mixed farming and ranching operation. Daniel married Kimberly in 2008 and they have two children Gradey and Kyleah. In high school, Daniel was actively involved in his community including the Gem 4-H Beef Club, serving as vice-president for two years and president for two years. Daniel graduated from Daniel Doerksen Lethbridge Community College with a diploma in animal science in 2005. Among other community activities Daniel serves as the president of the Gem Grazing Association and a volunteer fireman. Together with his family, Daniel runs a purebred Hereford and commercial cow herd where the focus is on raising efficient moderate-framed cattle. They sell bulls by private treaty and use their own bulls in their commercial cow herd. Daniel looks forward to expanding his knowledge and experience of the beef industry and the organizations that develop and implement strategies for success in agriculture, as well as networking in the industry and learning from the experience of others. — Andrea Bertholet, Hartney, Man. Mentor: Rod Guilford. Rod is a member of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council (CBBC), Canadian Angus Association (CAA) and the Canadian Hereford Association (CHA) and represented Manitoba on the Canadian Hereford Association board for nine years. He also owns and manages Guilford Farms, a purebred seed stock operation. Andrea was a 4-H member for 11 years www.canadiancattlemen.ca

and continues to be involved in the local 4-H beef club activities through judging and conducting workshops and demonstrations for members. She was also an active member of the Young Canadian Andrea Bertholet Simmental Association (YCSA) for many years, most recently as the national president from 2010-12. Through the YCSA she was able to travel to Australia in 2010 for the Simmental World Congress. Currently Andrea is involved with the organizing committee for the Manitoba Youth Beef Round Up, an all-breeds junior summer show and educational weekend. Through her involvement in these programs, she has gained many valuable experiences as well as a passion for working with the youth and instilling enthusiasm about the beef industry. She views the CYL program as a great oppor-

cspa_cattleman_0919.indd 1

tunity to expand not only her knowledge but also her network within the beef industry. — Daniel Muir, Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Mentor: Rory Francis is a member of the Canadian BioAccord and is a board member of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, the PEI AgriFood Alliance Inc. and also chairs the advisory board for the Culinary Institute of Canada’s Technology Access Centre. Daniel was a 2010 recipient of an International Livestock Congress Calgary Student Bursary. He moved to southern Alberta to work as a livestock consultant with a focus on Daniel Muir feedlot handling systems, RFID traceability, and traceability along the value chain. Along with his involvement in the Canadian industry, Daniel has travelled to Kentucky to work with the Southeastern Livestock Network LLC

and compare Canadian and U.S. traceability systems. Daniel is currently the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s Environmental Stewardship program co-ordinator. In this role he helps design and administer programs that reduce on-farm environmental risk including erosion control and livestock run-off containment. n Canadian beef exports to mainland China in the first half of 2013 have shown dramatic growth compared to levels from the same time period in 2012. Data from Chinese Customs shows that from January to June 2013, a total of 10,088 tonnes of Canadian beef, valued at over $35 million, were shipped to China. This represents nearly three times the total amount exported in all of 2012 and already surpasses the previous record set in 2002. Rabobank reports beef consumption in China has risen steadily Continued on page 46

C a t t l e m e n · Fa l l 2 0 112:52 3 45 19/09/13 AM

PURELY PUREBRED

Continued from page 45

over the last few years with rising incomes. With local production unable to meet this increasing demand, the Chinese market provides a great opportunity for exports from key-beef producing countries like Canada. Canada is one of only seven countries eligible to export beef to China and currently we have eight beef-processing plants certified for export to that market. The main cuts are short plate, chuck eye roll and top blade but also loin cuts including tenderloin, ribeye and striploin to high-end food-service customers.

 The new Young Cattlemen’s Council (YCC) has been formed with the first official meeting held at the mid-August semiannual meeting of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) in London, Ont. after several years of discussions on the proper structure to tie the council to the CCA. New Holland has committed to support this initiative for the next three years as a Platinum sponsor along with the inaugural meeting sponsor, JBS Canada. At the August 12 meeting, the provincially appointed council members elected four young people nominated to fill four at-large council positions. The initial coun-

Young Cattlemen’s Council (l to r): Ben Fox, Tyson Lowe, Jake Meyer, Warren Schneckenburger, Jeff Yorga, Erika Strande, Brodie Haugan, Eric Buyer and Daniel Muir.

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cil members are: Erika Strande, British Columbia; Jake Meyer, Alberta; Ben Fox, Man.; Daniel Muir, Atlantic Region; Warren Schneckenburger, Ontario; and atlarge directors Tyson Lowe, Alberta; Brodie Haugan, Alberta; Eric Buyer, Saskatchewan and Jeff Yorga, Saskatchewan. The council’s role is to foster discussion of current issues facing the industry among younger producers through meetings and new media channels and bring a youthful viewpoint to CCA committee discussions. Visit the YCC Facebook page at http://www.facebook. com/YCC.beef and Twitter by using the #YCCbeef hashtag.

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 Six Mile Ranch Ltd. has hired Sebastien Stewart as its marketing co-ordinator. Sebastien is a former Red Angus breeder with extensive knowledge of Angus cattle who has been consulting with Six Mile over the past couple years. As the marketing and public relations co-ordinator, Sebastien will focus on promoting Six Mile’s programming and genetics and outsourcing new genetics to advance the herd as well. The Gibsons believe Sebastien will be a great addition to their team of show and sale manager Daryl Leppa, ranch foreman Walter Wall and offi ce manager Rae Tutor. c

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