Canadian cattlemen

THE CASE FOR CARBON STORAGE · FEED EFFICIENCY TESTING AT HOME

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Contents canadian cattlemen · november 2016 · Volume 79, No. 11

 S E E DSTO C K

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getting the genetics right 14  seedstock

FEATURES The case for carbon storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Getting the genetics right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

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Beating back burdock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 For the love of animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 What’s the margin?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Verified Beef Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

 FO R AG E

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Beating back burdock

Congratulations!

To our November survey winner, Carol Grafton, Prince George, B.C. This month’s survey is on page 66.

Cover Photo: Supplied by Gemstone Cattle Co.

32

Comment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Newsmakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Our History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Research on the Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Prime Cuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Vet Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Free Market Reflections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Straight from the Hip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 CCA Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 News Roundup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Purely Purebred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 The Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Market Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Sales and Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

3

 COMMENT

By Gren Winslow

Playing the long game in Europe

I

t may seem facetious to be commenting on trade negotiations at a time when the bottom is still falling out of most cattle markets but let’s say it’s a long-term view.

When speaking of the Canada-EU trade deal, or more properly the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), long term is the only way to look at it.

After years of crusty negotiations it seems almost inconceivable that one of Belgium’s six regional parliaments, Wallonia, could demand more concessions at the last moment, and bring the whole process to the brink of collapse.

A Canadian comparison might be if a couple of counties on Prince Edward Island at the last minute called a halt to the deal on behalf of Canada.

As this issue was going out the door, the Belgians had agreed on a compromise that, according to media reports, would suspend the private arbitration of dispute settlements and provide greater protection to EU farmers.

These changes still had to clear the Belgium parliament and be ratified by the 27 other EU governments, before they could even be put before Canada. One can only hope Prime Minister Trudeau and Trade Minister Freeland take a good hard look at these last-minute changes before they sign off on this agreement.

About the only thing clear from this mangled negotiation is the fact that it will be some time before it comes into force, if ever.

The small number of producers and importers interviewed for our story on CETA this issue will certainly be happy to see the treaty signed. So far, Canadians have had to carve out a share of the duty-free quota that we share with the U.S., Australia, Argentina and several other countries. This treaty would give Canada 60,000 tonnes tariff free, all to itself.

From the point of view of most Canadian beef producers, however, they aren’t likely to care too much one way or the other.

There has never been any thought of Europe removing its restrictions on beef from cattle treated with hormone implants.

But that’s not the only restriction that will likely limit Canadian access to the tariff-free beef quota that is promised under this agreement.

According to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association the technical negotiations on market access requirements for the EU still remain a challenge. The EU is still stubbornly refusing to accept the safety of antimicrobial washes that Canadian packers use to clean and disinfect hides, carcasses, cuts and trim during processing.

Without an agreement on the use of carcass washes it is unlikely any of the larger Canadian plants will have

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

much interest in expanded trade with the EU, no matter how much tariff-free quota or hormone-free cattle are available.

At this point, Mark Klassen of the CCA says the only avenue available to gaining acceptance of the carcass washes is to make submissions to the European Food Safety Authority. Industry representatives have started this process but the expectation is it will take at least another year to get through this first step.

Assuming the science is approved by the food safety authority, and that is far from a given, Canada would still need to seek approval for this change in requirements from each member state at the political level through the European Commission.

“The timeline for this aspect is uncertain and in the past requests such as those made by the U.S. for feed safety interventions for poultry simply never progressed further,” notes Klassen.

The upshot of all this is that even if Canada and the EU did sign this agreement the only people it would affect would be the people who already have EU-ready cattle in place to be slaughtered at an EU-approved plant, which is not a long list.

I have no idea how many people or cattle this would involve but it can’t be too many given our beef sales to the EU over the past year (in Canadian dollars).

Belgium, ironically, hasn’t bought any beef from Canada in the last two years, although it did spend nearly $500,000 in 2013.

As for the rest here are Europe’s purchases of Canadian beef and veal last year: Austria (0), but to be fair Austria imported between $70,000 and $150,000 over the previous five years; Bulgaria (0); Croatia (0); Cyprus (0); Czech Republic (0); Denmark ($162,338); Estonia (0); Finland ($604,473); France ($2,096,118); Germany (0); Ireland (0); Italy ($13,775), but purchased from $2.3 million to $1.3 million per year between 2011 and 2014; Latvia (0); Malta (0); Netherlands ($3,778,904); Poland (0); Portugal (0); Romania (0); Slovakia (0); Slovenia (0); Spain (0); Sweden ($2,862); U.K. (0), it used to buy $1.0 million to $2.5 million per year but dropped off the last two years.

In 2015 the EU in total bought $6.66 million worth of beef and veal from Canada, making them our sixthlargest export market for that year, well behind the U.S. China, Mexico, Japan and Hong Kong and just slightly ahead of the Philippines.

Since there is obviously the potential for sales in a handful of the 28 countries I suppose we should not totally discount the EU as a future market for our beef, but you will have to be willing to pay the price to go after it.

As I mentioned before, this is a long-game view. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 THE INDUST RY

NewsMakers Three well-known members of the cattle community were inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame last month. They are: Cor Van Raay of Iron Springs helped mould Alberta’s modern feedlot sector. Starting with just 50 head of cattle, his business grew to be one of the largest feedlot operations in CanCor Van Raay ada. He also helped launch several successful agribusinesses, including Butte Grain Merchants Ltd., Western Tractor, Van Raay Land Inc., and Sungold Specialty Meats Ltd. — one of Canada’s largest producers of lamb. In 2014 he presented a major financial gift to the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College to launch the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program to give young people the tools to be successful in the modern agriculture industry, and ensure agriculture remains a significant driver in Alberta’s economy.

Bob Prestage of Camrose has dedicated more than 50 years of his life to the development and marketing of breeding beef cattle and genetic programs in Alberta and across Canada.

Bob Prestage Early in his career, he developed the progeny test program for beef cattle, significantly improving the genetic pool of the Canadian cattle industry. After founding Wicklow Angus in Camrose, he worked on raising the profile of Angus cattle in Canada and internationally. During his career he selected, and exported thousands of cattle to more than 20 countries, including marketing the first cattle to Russia to support the Alberta cattle industry’s recovery from BSE. He has hosted numerous international delegations, and judged at international cattle shows. A former reeve of Camrose County, Prestage has received numerous industry and community awards including induction into the Alberta Angus Association Hall of Fame as a Breed Builder.

Dr. John Kennelly of Edmonton has served the dairy industry as both a researcher, professor and as chair of the University of Alberta’s department of agricultural, food and Dr. John Kennelly nutritional science and

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

later dean of the faculty of agricultural, life & environmental sciences (ALES). During his research career he discovered, documented and translated into practice breakthroughs in dairy nutrition and feeding systems that resulted in major productivity gains. He also founded the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar, doubled the size of the Dairy Research Technology Centre, and led the establishment of the Agri-Food Discovery Place.

We were saddened to hear of the peaceful passing of B.C. feedlot operator Bill Freding in his sleep on October 18 at the age of 73.

As a sign of respect the B.C. Livestock Producers CoBill Freding operative postponed its special Kamloops calf sale on October 29, the day a service celebrating Bill’s life was being held at his Southern Plus Feedlots in Oliver. Born on a purebred Hereford ranch in Princeton Freding received a bachelor of science degree and master of agriculture economics from the University of British Columbia before he started ranching in Chilcotin region. He and wife Darlene moved to Oliver in 1988 to start up their feedlot business. Southern Plus Feedlots eventually became the largest cattle-feeding operation in the province. In time they also established a commercial winery and a branded line of Okanagan’s Finest Angus Beef. Bill was a past president of the B.C. Association of Cattle Feeders and director of the National Cattle Feeder’s Association.

AltaLink, Alberta’s largest regulated electricity transmission company, has donated $655,000 to Edmonton’s University of Alberta to establish a scholarship endowment named the AltaLink Masters Scholarship in Rangeland Disturbance Ecology. The scholarships will allow graduate students with the university’s Rangeland Research Institute to study how rangeland ecosystems function to help land managers and others better manage and safeguard the rangelands that cover 43 per cent of Alberta’s agricultural land base.

Agricultural consultant Douglas Yungblut will compare the economics of beef cow grazing versus cash cropping in southern Ontario during the Canadian Forage & Grassland Association’s annual conference at the Fair-

mont Hotel in Winnipeg, November 15 to 17.

For more details see www.canadianfga.com.

Northlands reached an agreement with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association last month to host the annual Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) in Edmonton for two more years. There was some concern that the 43rd annual CFR would be the last in Edmonton. CFR and Farmfair International combined generate $50 million in economic activity for the City of Edmonton.

Dave Brand, owner of Apex Land & Livestock, was elected to the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association board of directors at the CASA’s 22nd annual farm safety conference and AGM held in Charlottetown, P.E.I. last month. Wendy Bennett, executive director of AgSafe remains as chair and Jeff Shaw, SAFE Farm co-ordinator, SAFE Work Manitoba has been named vice-chair. CASA is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and safety of farmers, their families and agricultural workers.

For more visit www.casa-acsa.ca.

The Beef Cattle Research Council is holding a webinar on swath and bale grazing strategies across the country on Wednesday, November 23. The schedule is: 4 p.m. in B.C.; 5 p.m. in Alberta; 6 p.m. in Saskatchewan and Manitoba; 7 p.m. in Ontario and Quebec; 8 p.m. in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

If you can’t make that time, the webinar will be recorded and posted online at a later date. All registrants will receive a link to the recording. To register visit the BCRC website at www.beefresearch.ca.

Farm Management Canada (FMC) and the Canadian Association of Diploma in Agriculture Programs (CADAP) are looking for applicants to their 2016-17 Excellence Awards for Agricultural Students. Three scholarships are up for grabs with the firstplace winner receiving $1,500. Students are asked to submit a multimedia presentation, a video, a Twitter chat, a blog or a Wiki, on how they, as a future member of the agricultural industry, propose to bridge the information and awareness gap between producers and the general public.

Details can be found at www.fmc-gac. com. The deadline is May 5, 2017. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 our histo ry

Duke and Duchess of Windsor Visit their E.P. Ranch Reprinted from Canadian Cattlemen, May 1950

P

rinces being where they are, and demand at peak levels, only one thing could bring more pleasure to Alberta ranchers, a visit by Alberta’s Royal Rancher, the Duke of Windsor and his Duchess. And as if by royal edict their arrival in Calgary brought the first real springlike weather, the only disap­ pointment being that the owner’s visit to the E.P. Ranch at Pekisko was limited to a single day, and their visit to Alberta a mere four days, the last spent amid the grandeur of the mountains at Banff.

Both the Duke and Duchess had news of their plans for their Alberta ranch. The Duchess spoke of renovations and bright­ ening up the place, but on their brief inspection found the buildings and the ranch generally had been kept in better repair than had been anticipated.

The Duke had more news. Asked shortly after his arrival if his plans for enlarging the livestock operations at the ranch might include a change from Shorthorns to Here­ fords, he replied, “Some consideration is being give to such a change. He readily agreed that his property lies in the heart of the Hereford ranching country, and that there might be more interest and more profit in the Whitefaces.

But, whatever breed he may continue as his purebred stock, he made it clear that his prime intention was the production of commercial cattle, rather than a continua­ tion of strictly purebred activities.

On their first visit since 1941, the Duke and Duchess found both the weather and Alberta roads much improved. The Duke was impressed by the highway from Calgary to High River, and the road on to the ranch he also found better than on former visits.

Questioned on rumours that he might sell his 4,000-acre property, the Duke denied the rumour, his tone as much as his words, revealing, the warm spot in his heart, as he said, “After all, this is the only land in the world I have ever owned.” His voice held the same note of pride any rancher displays when he speaks of “his spread.”

The Duke gave every indication of being a dyed-in-the-wool Albertan, too, when he gave the impression of the usual pro­

8

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

The Duke and Duchess on the steps of their E.P. Ranch home, and meeting friends in Calgary.

prietary attitude in taking his Duchess to Banff. It was her first visit to the Canadian Rockies, and in his words “She enjoyed it very much.” How many of us have taken a newcomer to Banff and returned with the same glow.

Visiting in Calgary and at Pekisko, the Duke renewed many old friendships with Alberta cattlemen, talking over his plans with his old acquaintances, and accepting their advice and counsel on his problems.

When it was suggested that he should become a member of the pioneer “Western Stock Growers’ Association,” he promptly remembered he had been honoured many

years ago with a honorary life membership in the organization.

Stopping in High River, the couple on their return to Calgary were enthusiastic over the fine Memorial Community Cen­ tre, the library, the activities of the younger members’ club and also a meeting of Cattle­ men that was underway. The Duke attended the meeting for a time, and took an interest in the discussions.

World traveller though he is, the Duke readily recalled by name many of the early acquaintances of his original and sub­ sequent visits to Alberta, George Lane, Senator Dan Riley, Senator Pat Burns, Guy Weadick and many others. He also recalled with a smile the rodeos that had been held at the E.P. Ranch. He only regretted that he had never so far been fortunate enough to see the famed Calgary Stampede, and while it would be impossible for them to be in Calgary for the 75th anniversary celebra­ tion this summer, they hoped some year to be able to be in Calgary for the Stampede.

The owner of the E.P. confessed he was quite interested in Alberta oil, and reminded reporters that he had drilled on the ranch during the war years, but without success. He said he had no intention of drilling again — at least not alone. But later in his visit, he did meet with oilmen, attended their luncheon and reportedly reached an agreement for possible future searches for oil on his land.

He also revisited, while in Calgary, the No .1 branch of the Canadian Legion and looked over the shovel he had used as the Prince of Wales in 1919 to turn the first sod for the Legion Building which later became the home of the largest branch of the orga­ nization in the Empire.

The Duke and Duchess before leaving Alberta reiterated their intention of return­ ing for another visit to their ranch, possibly this fall, when, the Duke said, he hoped also to get in a spot of hunting. And in future, they hoped to be able to spend more time at their Alberta home… not, they hastened to add, that it would be their permanent residence, but it would be home more frequently.

For more of the past from pages of our magazine see the History Section at www. canadiancattlemen.ca. c

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REWRITING THE BOOK ON

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 researc h

By Debbie Furber

Dr. Edward Bork, Mattheis Chair, Rangeland Ecology and Management, University of Alberta.

The Case for Carbon Storage

G

ood-news stories for beef producers are beginning to flow out from a massive dataset collected during a three-year carbon benchmarking study done to evaluate the effects of long-term grazing on native grasslands of Alberta.

Some of the findings won’t surprise beef producers who see the positive effects first hand, but this is the first time they have been quantified across Alberta, says Dr. Edward Bork, Mattheis Chair, Rangeland Ecology and Management, University of Alberta.

This is also just the start of a much broader effort to define and quantify the benefits society receives from Alberta’s native grasslands. The long-term goal is to encourage development of policies and markets that reward grassland managers for maintaining and improving those benefits. A group of Bork’s colleagues has proposed a similar project on tame forage lands.

The benchmarking study involves

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an unprecedented 114 native grassland sites where the provincial government has maintained a monitoring system of permanently fenced-off grassland exclosures on public grazing lands. Some were established as recently as 20 years ago and others have been in place for 70 years.

Most are now around 50 years old. The sites are located across six natural subregions. From driest to wettest they are the dry mixed grass, mixed grass, central parkland, foothills fescue, montane, and upper foothills.

Public rangelands are typically grazed on rotational plans under moderate stocking rates to maintain range health and allow for other uses based on information collected by local rangeland agrologists.

Soil, forage and litter from inside and nearby outside of each enclosure were sampled to assess the impact of grazing on carbon storage above and below ground, plant diversity, biomass and soil health.

Grazing and carbon storage

When you are out there managing native grassland, know that there is a huge pool of carbon beneath your feet, Bork says.

Research by others since 2000 indicates that temperate grasslands cover eight per cent of the world’s surface and hold more than 300 gigatonnes of organic carbon, 97 per cent of which is in the soil. Of Alberta’s nine million hectares of grazing land, more than 6.5 million hectares are native grassland. The benchmarking study estimates that prairie and parkland native grasslands are currently holding approximately 140 million tonnes of organic carbon in the soil, litter and vegetation.

As of yet, no scientific consensus has been reached on how soil carbon responds to grazing. Increases, decreases and no change have been reported, but most of those studies have looked at only one or two sites.

Bork says his group wasn’t surprised to find that grazing reduced carbon stored in surface vegetation and litter — after all, cattle consume biomass to produce beef.

The encouraging finding was stable and even minor increases in root mass and soil organic matter under grazed conditions.

“In five of the six regions, we observed a subtle bump in total soil organic carbon in the top foot of soil, suggesting grazing may be helping maintain higher carbon levels, at least in the mesic (moist) soil zones,” he explains.

“After 18 months in the field we found that grazing may be responsible for helping stimulate more rapid degradation of litter. While some say this is no good because the carbon released is just respiring into the atmosphere, what remains uncertain is perhaps the litter is being partly incorporated into the soil.”

Further analyses of the benchmarking data, will evaluate how factors, such as changes in plant species composition, soil moisture and temperature, and the complexity of soil microbe communities might influence where, when and how grazing changes carbon accumulation.

“When we looked at below-ground carbon in root biomass, we found more roots under grazing in the wetter regions, a pattern paralleled by shoot biomass as well. This suggests that ongoing grazing under those conditions may be stimulating plant growth.

Regardless of the mechanism, these results reinforce the notion that maintaining some grazing is critical for promoting energy flow and turnover of roots in the ecosystem, at least under moderate stocking rates.”

Continued on page 12

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Continued from page 10

Preliminary trends on greenhouse gas emissions from a subset of the benchmarking sites shows lower carbon dioxide emissions from grazed soils, particularly from early June until mid-August.

Another preliminary finding indicates a trend toward increased uptake of atmospheric methane in grazed soils. This is in line with other Alberta studies that have recently reported positive greenhouse gas uptake of carbon dioxide and methane in grazed soils.

A related study is comparing this methane-scrubbing action under continuous grazing and high-intensity-low-frequency (mob, pulse) grazing scenarios. Results so far show methane uptake is improved when plots are intensively defoliated and then given a long rest period.

What is carbon storage worth?

Additional soil, litter and vegetation samples were collected from native grasslands paired with adjacent croplands. Maps from Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute showing land areas for each land-use change were referenced to determine the value of total carbon stored in native grasslands and croplands today and to peg the value of carbon lost because of the shift from native grassland to cropping through the years since settlement.

The Alberta Climate Change Emissions Management Corporation currently values carbon dioxide equivalents at $15 per tonne and that will double early next year.

This is basically a tax paid by large emitters in Alberta that goes into a fund to pay for practices that have been proven to capture greenhouse gases to offset emissions.

At $15 per tonne, the approximately 140 million tonnes of carbon currently retained in prairie and parkland native grassland in Alberta because they are not cropped is nearly $8 billion.

Approximately 30 per cent of the carbon mass has been lost across prairie areas. The loss is even more dramatic in the parkland, where nearly 50 per cent of the carbon mass has been lost. All of the carbon no longer in the soil is now in the atmosphere potentially contributing to global warming, Bork adds.

The value of carbon lost due to cultivation across more arid grasslands of southeastern Alberta is $4.2 billion. Across the parkland, because the area is larger and contains a lot more cropland than the prairie areas, the loss is $11.3 billion.

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“These are mind-blowing numbers,” Bork says. This is a particularly big deal in Alberta because the carbon offset market will pay approximately $1 per acre per year to farmers who practise minimum tillage to help restore carbon. Ironically, he adds, while native grasslands continue to store the most carbon per acre, there isn’t a market incentive to maintain it, putting that carbon at further risk of loss due to land-use conversion.

Other great news stories

Grazing improved plant diversity across many subregions. The largest increases were in the moderate-precipitation regions of the parkland and foothills fescue areas.

The greatest overall plant diversity, with or without grazing, was in the three wettest environments of southwestern Alberta.

Ironically, while native grasslands store the most carbon per acre, there isn’t a market incentive to maintain it “This is important because more diversity leads to more habitat for other organisms and also serves as a form of insurance to mitigate fluctuations in growing conditions (temperature and moisture) over time,” Bork explains.

The perception that grazing might be leading to an increase in introduced plant species was found to be true, but only in regions that receive more than 350 millimetres of annual growing season precipitation, most notably the montane and upper foothills areas of the southwest. Otherwise, whether grazed or not, introduced species made up about 10 per cent of the plant community, suggesting that grazing isn’t necessarily the universal vector for increases in introduced species.

Some studies have implied that introduced species are harmful. Others say species that are productive, such as quality forage plants, may enhance overall productivity to the benefit of grazing cattle and wildlife.

“In our study, introduced species appear to have had a role in boosting productivity of grazed range in the three wetter study regions. This indicates that grazing may be important in helping stimulate and maintain

plant productivity over time. While some people have suggested that cattle should be removed from public rangeland, the counter argument could be made that grazing is critical to maintaining ongoing productivity,” Bork says.

The percentage of woody cover was five per cent or less in all but the two wettest regions, where it was close to 20 per cent inside the enclosures. Grazing significantly helped to keep shrub encroachment in check in the montane and upper foothills regions, reducing it from near 20 per cent to 12.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.

The findings on soil health indicate that native grasslands are superior to annual crops and tame pasture in all three measures: porosity, aggregation (sizes of soil particles) and maximum water availability as measured by a soil’s ability to deliver water to plants under increasing drought stress in the lab.

“Ultimately, native grassland is doing much more than providing forage or storing carbon for that matter. These ecosystems are healthier overall than cropland and tame pasture, although more work needs to be done to more fully understand the differences,” Bork concludes.

Other studies related to grazing and native grasslands include examining: how differing grazing systems influence response to drought and how microbial communities might come into play; interviewing producers on land management to understand how various practices might affect biodiversity; and residual feed intake and grazing behaviour in a cow-calf system.

A bee abundance and biodiversity study has already identified 140 species of bees collected from native grasslands and found a positive relationship between bee abundance, range health and forage quality.

These studies are tied to the Rangeland Research Institute established by the University of Alberta in 2012 to draw attention to the importance of rangeland research and streamline leading-edge research and knowledge transfer. The institute’s primary facilities include the university’s Kinsella Ranch in the parkland region near Edmonton and the Mattheis Ranch (donated in 2010 by Edwin and Ruth Mattheis) in the dry mixed grass prairie region near Brooks.

The university is also working closely with Alberta Environment to maintain a research presence at the former Ag Canada research substations at Onefour in the far southeast, and near Stavely in the foothills south of Calgary. c

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 cov er sto ry • s e e dsto c k

By Richelle Wiseman

Getting the Genetics Right O

n 1,500 acres in eastern Alberta, Arno, Tim and Daniel Doerksen are hard at work getting ready for their Gemstone Cattle Company’s second annual bull and female sale in Brooks, Alta. in December. The sale will include purebred Hereford and Angus bulls as well as Hereford, Angus and Here­fordAngus-cross commercial heifers.

The Doerksen family has been farming and raising Hereford cattle on this farm for almost a century and while the present generation is now focused on the future of Gemstone Cattle Company, it owes a lot to its past.

Daniel’s great-grandfather, Peter Doerksen, came to Gem, Alta. in 1932 to a piece of land offered by the Canadian Pacific Railway within today’s Eastern Irrigation Dis-

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trict. At the time Peter noted that the land was covered with thistles, which indicated to him that it was fertile and a desirable place to settle.

Peter’s son Jake Doerksen worked the farm and now his sons, Arno and Tim, along with Arno’s son Daniel, operate Doerksen Farms. Arno, Tim and Daniel run Gemstone Cattle Company as part of Doerksen Farms. The entire operation includes purebred Hereford and Red Angus, a commercial cow herd, feed and cash crops grown under irrigation, as well as a feedlot.

Arno has been raising Herefords for over 40 years and he and Daniel have developed their own breeding program and have chosen to raise moderate-framed cows, and to closely track genetic traits through line-breeding. Their breeding cattle are

primarily raised on forage without grain supplements.

Selections are thus made to generate moderate-framed cows and bulls which are more efficient at converting forage into beef in their environment, and reinforce soughtafter traits such as longevity, fertility, easy calving, and easy keeping.

The feed-efficiency factor is not a guess.

The Canadian Hereford Association (CHA) initiated residual feed intake (RFI) research three years ago to test feed efficiency in the breed, and the Doerksens had bulls in the project from the beginning. One year, 23 of their 26 bulls in the test group of 1,000 animals scored in the top 18 per cent for RFI. “I think our low RFI scores have to do Continued on page 16

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Daniel Doerksen credits their line breeding program for the consistency that has resulted in low RFI scores for feed efficiency by their breeding bulls.

Continued from page 14

with line breeding the right type of cattle and the consistency in the pedigrees that we have developed,” says Daniel. Last year, the Doerksens entered Hereford and Angus bulls into the RFI trials. They have had their purebred Angus herd for two years and have already seen good results.

“We feel we are on the right track with the Angus genetics we’re using,” says Daniel. “At this point, while the Angus association doesn’t generate RFI EPDs, we are able to compare the results from the Angus bulls to the Hereford bulls in our herd, and they stack up well.

“Our cows work for us, not the other way around,” says Daniel, who knows their cattle have done well on forage, as they continue to pressure both herds to be feed efficient.

“We have seen the positive impact of line breeding with Herefords and how it has concentrated the genetics and improved consistency,” adds Arno. “Only recently have we had DNA tests available for specific factors like RFI and Leptin. The testing results suggest we are on the right track with our breeding program.”

Now, as this field of research into beef cattle genetics is expanding, Arno and Daniel are using available genetic testing data to refine their selection process. They believe there is an opportunity here for cow-calf producers to improve profitability by selecting genetics for feed efficiency.

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According to the CHA website, selecting for RFI may result in as much as a nine to 10 per cent reduction in cow herd maintenance costs, and a 10 to 12 per cent drop in feed intake. Results from the CHA’s RFI trials go to the University of Alberta research centre, Livestock Gentec for analysis, and then the information is made available to the breed associations and the breeders.

Dr. John Basarab, the senior beef research scientist for Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, is responsible for taking the data from the RFI trials and calculating the RFI value for each animal tested.

“Part of why I think the Doerksen bulls have a low RFI is because they are subjected to an extensive grazing environment, and they have selected the animals for efficiency,” says Basarab. “There are many herds raised in the same conditions, but I think with the Doerksens, it is how they select which bulls to use and which cows to keep that has worked.

“What makes Arno and Daniel unique is unclear,” Basarab says. “Maybe it is because they are more diligent than others with their breeding program. If Arno had been measuring RFI 10 years ago, and no one else had, then absolutely his results could be explained. But he hasn’t been able to use RFI values for selection. So it is likely his location, breeding, good management and record-keeping that has helped to produce those results. He has picked the animals

that would perform the best under his conditions.”

“The value of the RFI research is that it is giving the producers a tool for selecting for feed efficiency,” says Dr. John Crowley, a research geneticist at Livestock Gentec.

“Over the last decade or two, Arno could have been indirectly selecting for feed efficiency. Now that he has direct measurements for feed efficiency, he can focus on that trait and increase it faster.”

For the Doerksen family, going forward with the business also includes a strong respect for history and family values. Contributing to their community is one of those values. In spite of the demands they face in managing the various aspects of Gemstone Cattle Company and the crops, the three men and their families are actively involved in their local community and church.

“We all enjoy farming and working with cattle, and the people involved in the agriculture industry,” explains Arno.

Since 1993, Arno has provided strong leadership to the cattle industry in several positions including chair of Canadian Beef Export Federation before it was merged into Canada Beef. As chair of the Alberta Beef Producers, he helped direct the beef industry through the 2003 BSE crisis and encourage the restoration of market access for Canadian beef products into international markets. He also chaired the Animal Health Committee and the Beef Quality

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seedstock

and Grading Committee of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. In 2005, Arno received the Alberta Centennial Medal for Agriculture Industry and Community Leadership and in 2012 was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Service to the Canadian Beef Industry.

He stepped away from his role at Doerksen Farms for a time to serve a term as an Alberta MLA from 2008 to 2012 for the Strathmore-Brooks riding where he gave voice to the farming and ranching community on key issues such as property rights and Alberta’s labour force challenges.

Daniel has brought new ideas to the table such as Gemstone’s purchase of a purebred Red Angus herd two years ago. By closely following genetic research trends, he hopes to continue to develop Gemstone’s selection process to raise the most efficient, lowmaintenance and profitable cattle possible for his part of the world.

While raising a young family, Daniel also contributes to the community as the volunteer Deputy Fire Chief for the community of Gem and chair of the Gem Grazing Association since 2010. He was also involved with the Cattlemen Young Leaders Program and worked with young researchers in 2015 as part of the Beef Cattle Research Council’s mentorship program to make foreign researchers more familiar with the Canadian industry.

The three have developed a successful system for managing the ranching and farming sides of the business in tandem.

Within this team structure Tim focuses on the crops.

“We utilize barley and corn for silage in the feedlot business,” he says. “We grow grain corn that we use as high-moisture grain in the feedlot as well. After we combine the corn, the cattle can graze on the stover which is an excellent grazing source, and this extends our grazing season by a month or two,” he adds.

Cash crops supply another revenue stream and a valuable rotation for the feed crops.

Having irrigation available provides them with a wide range of possible options that include flax, canola, alfalfa seed and, on occasion, certified canola seed. “Ultimately,” says Tim, “it’s about diversification and looking for opportunities for the best returns.”

The Doerksens know from experience that raising moderate-framed cattle is more profitable in the long run. Their cows are better forage converters, calve easier, and live longer, thus producing more calves over their lifespan. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Their Second Annual Gemstone Fall Bull and Female Sale will include purebred Hereford and Angus bulls, as well as Hereford, Angus, and Hereford-Angus crossbred heifers. The cattle will be grazing right up to sale time, weather permitting.

“Our cattle are presented in their working clothes so that they display their natural thickness and fleshing ability,” Arno explains.

With the solid history of family, hard work, and good management, the Doerksens are

hopeful as they look ahead to the future of their operation and the Canadian industry.

The goal for Gemstone Cattle’s breeding program remains the same, get the genetics right and you will raise cattle that work for you and your customers.

To learn more about the Gemstone Cattle Company Fall Bull and Female Sale, December 7 at the Bow Slope Shipping Association market in Brooks visit their website www. gemstonecattle.ca or call 403-641-2886. c

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

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 seedsto c k

By Debbie Furber

Benchmark brings feed efficiency home

Mike and Daicya Munton

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

B

enchmark Angus near Warner, Alta., has worked diligently to earn its reputation as “your carcass source.” Not content to rest on Benchmark’s laurels of consistently raising topranking marbling and muscling bulls in the Canadian Angus Association’s registry, the Munton family is aiming to up the bar by doing it more efficiently.

A year ago this fall, Benchmark became the first Angus ranch in Canada to set up a GrowSafe system to measure individual animal feed intake at the ranch as part of its bull and heifer development program. The first bulls to go through the feed-intake test to determine individual average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), residual feed intake (RFI) and genetic-enhanced expected progeny differences (EPDs) for RFI, sold at Benchmark’s 20th annual “Makin’ the Grade” bull sale at the ranch in April this year. The second set of bulls and replacement heifers with feed-efficiency credentials are from the fall-calving herd and will sell at their annual fall “Genetics Plus” sale online November 30.

Three pens, each with three individual GrowSafe feed units, can handle up to 100 animals during each 90-day test period. An antenna moulded into each GrowSafe unit captures each animal’s electronic identification number every second it is at the feed unit while the built-in load bars weigh feed disappearance every second. All information is instantaneously transmitted wirelessly to the farm’s dedicated computer with GrowSafe data-acquisition software that permanently stores and automatically analyzes the massive dataset for display in graph format. Total feed consumed by each animal during the test period along with its weights taken at two-week intervals from the start through the end of the test and end-of-test ultrasound measurements are used by GrowSafe Systems to compute its ADG, FCR and RFI. GrowSafe Systems, headquartered at Airdrie, Alta., contracts Livestock Genetics Services of Edmonton to run the RFI EPDs. “We are always trying to make Benchmark better and this will help us build better beef at less cost, but also we are trying to make the beef cattle industry better,” Mike Munton says of the significant investment and commitment to measure and track feed efficiency at this level.

Until now, they relied on other measurements that hint at feed efficiency — cow Continued on page 20

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The Muntons are now set up to regularly test the feed efficiency of their breeding stock.

Continued from page 18

weights, weaning weights, yearling weights and body condition scoring at various times of the year as an indication of doability.

With their own GrowSafe setup, the ranch will have the actual RFI data needed to evaluate progress made on feed efficiency through their breeding selections over time and be able to pass the advantage on to customers as RFI EPDs. Munton says it will pay off in the long run for Benchmark and its customers because the research they’ve studied indicates that a 10 per cent improvement in feed efficiency leads to 43 per cent improved profit.

Genetic progress is possible because RFI is approximately 40 per cent heritable, however, they won’t be selecting for RFI alone or at the expense of other important traits and functionality. If they feel a line could use a bit of improvement, they will match the cows with a sire that can do it, just as they do for other traits, Munton explains.

The actual RFI for each animal indicates how many more or fewer pounds of dry matter per day the animal ate than the predicted requirement for an animal of its body weight and growth rate. An animal with an RFI on the plus side of zero ate more than the predicted requirement, whereas an animal with a negative RFI ate less than the predicted requirement to achieve the same growth rate.

Dr. Genho of Livestock Genetics Services

20

PHOTO by Debbie Furber

contributed to Benchmark’s sale catalogue explaining that RFI is especially useful for predicting an animal’s genetic ability to put on more weight with less feed because the RFI equation adjusts for the animal’s weight and gain. Animals that eat more tend to be larger and gain more weight, so adjusting these factors out of an animal’s intake measurement gives a good understanding of which animals process feed more efficiently. Selection for desired growth traits can then be made apart from selection for intake with confidence that there is no double counting of an animal’s size.

EPDs predict the average performance of the animal’s offspring when mated with similar-type cows. Progeny of a bull with an RFI EPD of +0.50, for example, could be expected to consume 0.50 pound of dry matter per day more than the average calf its size. Likewise, progeny from a bull with an RFI EPD of -0.50 could be expected to consume 0.50 pound of dry matter per day less than the average calf its size. Comparatively, that’s a one-pound-per-day difference in intake for the same gain. Seemingly small differences add up to big dollars when multiplied by pens of calves over the entire feeding period or maintenance requirements over each cow’s lifetime in the herd.

Research has shown that feed intake can differ by as much as 8.0 pounds per day between two animals, he adds. Many trials have found that selecting for feed efficiency can decrease post-weaning feed costs by up to 10 per cent

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

and reduce methane and manure from the cows and calves, aligning with industry’s National Beef Strategy to improve efficiency by 15 per cent within five years.

“For the feedlot, calves from efficient bulls finish quicker at less cost and for the ranch, heifers go on to be more efficient cows. Feedlots should be excited about buying calves from efficient cows and bulls, but they need to see the numbers and economics, not just hear stories. More efficient animals and superior taste drives the market and the beef economy,” Munton says.

Adding RFI testing is a natural progression for Benchmark.

The Muntons have always participated in the Canadian Angus Association’s recordof-performance program, collecting birth weights,weaning weights and yearling weights, and for 18 years have had certified ultrasound technicians measure marbling, rib-eye area, rib fat and predict lean-meat yield.

When genomic-enhanced EPDs became a reality, they added genotyping (DNA profiling) with the Zoetis 50K panel. The animal’s genetic information along with that on the Canadian registry for its parents and other relatives is merged with phenotypic records to increase the accuracy of the EPDs, adding the equivalent of records from 15 to 30 offspring (depending on the trait) even before a young bull or heifer produces a calf.

Continued on page 22

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Continued from page 20

All of the EPDs available on each Benchmark animal are genomic enhanced and presented in the catalogue alongside each animal’s actual RFI, growth traits (birth, weaning and yearling weights) and carcass traits (marbling, rib-eye area, rib fat).

people will and do pay for a better product.

“In beef, if you can deliver a superior product consistently you will have a customer for a lifetime. They are 100 per cent committed. There is nothing more rewarding, for customers because they have a connection with the ranch and for us because of finding value in our product,” Munton says.

Benchmark Beef

Drive for efficiency

There’s no better way to learn about carcass traits than seeing the end product for yourself.

Their branded beef program, Benchmark Beef, started out of necessity after BSE shut borders to Canadian beef and cattle.

Munton remembers bulls and heifers that didn’t sell as breeding stock bringing 47 cents a pound live when they could find a packer with space to process them.

They were able to find local plants to process their animals and he went calling on Lethbridge restaurants to sell the merits of serving Benchmark Beef. Not only was his pitch a success, but he met his wife, Daicya, a Red Seal Chef, who says that chefs mainly look for utilization of the product.

Between their restaurant customers and friends buying freezer beef, the brand was born and also turned into a way to assist their seedstock customers to get more value for their calves. Benchmark was able to purchase or share proceeds from finished calves, or bought calves as feeders and finished them at the ranch. They continue this program today for their Benchmark Beef brand and will bid on calves for other buyers looking for Benchmark-sired calves.

Today, they have their own plant at Picture Butte to process the Benchmark Beef line and a commodity line. It’s a co-ordinated effort to make sure that they have product every single week of the year. Their cattle have the genetics to finish out at 12 to 13 months of age for the premium product line and they can stretch that out a bit with their feeding program. They also run a dedicated fall-calving herd that is a nice fit for the beef program as well as bull customers who prefer long yearlings.

“We have a phenomenal staff who are so good at their craft of meat cutting. They really do put everything they have into what they do and you can see the difference. That summarizes the rest of our operation as well,” he says, including their herdsman of 15 years, Dale Fehr, and his family who reside at the ranch, about 45 minutes southeast of Lethbridge, where the Muntons live.

The experience has proven to them that

Munton’s grandpa, Stanley, ran a commercial herd with a few purebred Angus cattle and his dad, Doug, developed a keen interest in Angus genetics after buying his first bred purebred Angus heifer for $400 when he was 14 years old. Doug ran the purebred herd under the name of Alcan Angus until 1990 when they made the change to Benchmark Angus with the stated mission to raise profitable cattle. The herd has grown to 300 Black Angus and 120 Red Angus cows with bred heifer numbers differing from year to year. This fall’s sale marks the first time that a select group of bred heifers will be on offer.

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

dding RFI testing is A a natural progression for Benchmark. The Muntons have Angus ROP records going back 18 years

tive value from early summer through late in the year. Their practice of managing the grass for carry-over to see the herd through at least one dry year has served them well.

Moisture conditions were much more promising this year than in 2015 when they ended up purchasing standing crop for silage. The sorghum grown for the first time that year turned out to be a nice surprise, though. It’s a warm-season grass well suited to the growing region because it does best with lots of heat and makes efficient use of moisture. This year, he upped the sorghum acres to 400 and tried a triticale-oat mix for the first time. Looking to do more with the same resources, these alternatives replaced the barley they’d normally grow for silage. He grows some alfalfa for haylage and this year was also a first for a mixed stand of alfalfa, with the non-bloat legumes, sainfoin and cicer milk vetch.

The yard is set up nicely with pens and an adjoining barn for spring calving from February into March, but they definitely appreciate the advantages of fall calving on grass from August into September. The lower labour requirement and fewer health issues even had them toying with the idea of moving the entire herd to fall calving, however, running the two programs works best to meet the needs of their cattle and beef customers.

The spring-born calves are weaned at the end of September and go into the GrowSafe pens November 1 for the 90-day test. The fall-born calves are weaned in mid-March and start the GrowSafe test May 1.

GrowSafe Systems

Another milestone since Mike joined his dad full time has been the purchase of the permanent home for the herd at the Warner ranch in 2000 after years of operating on rented land. They have been able to build efficiencies into the facilities for housing and handling cattle as well as a new building four years ago to host sales at the ranch. This saves the time and expense of transporting the calves to Lethbridge for a sale and back to the ranch until delivery to the buyers. It’s less stressful for the calves to remain in familiar surroundings and prospective buyers appreciate the opportunity to see the dams, sires and siblings.

Most recently his thoughts have turned to ways to improve efficiencies in forage production from their limited tame-forage acres. Located on the Milk River Ridge, the 9,000-acre range is largely native grass with the built-in efficiency of holding its nutri-

GrowSafe Systems Inc. CEO Alison Sunstrum says the company offers full support and service to its customers from helping with design and financing to daily monitoring including early sickness identification, in-herd evaluation and contracting Livestock Genetics Services to provide genomic-enhanced EPDs. In the U.S., GrowSafe Systems works with breed associations to provide enhanced data.

This is a long-term investment for herds like Benchmark, Sunstrum adds. The typical cost to test for feed efficiency, growth and novel behavioural traits ranges from $19 to $35 per animal depending on how many years animals are tested and the number of tests each year. Most GrowSafe clients try to maximize the investment by testing at least their spring and fall bulls and many are now testing their replacement heifers as well.

For more information, visit www. benchmarkangus.com or call Munton at 403-394-4903. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 Nutritio n

By John McKinnon

Attention to Detail Pays Dividends When Feeding Cattle!

L

ast month a group of students and myself had the opportunity to tour one of Alberta’s feedlots. The students were members of an advanced nutrition class and their objective was to evaluate the nutritional management of the feedlot.

We spent the day at the facility, starting with bunk reading in the morning and ended the visit by meeting with the feeding staff. It was a great hands-on experience for the students and for myself it reinforced the need for good communication, proper protocols and attention to detail when it comes to managing the feeding program. Since this is the time of year when the majority of calves and yearlings is placed on feed, I believe it is worthwhile to review the basics of developing and implementing a feeding program.

As highlighted by the lot we visited, the first goal is to strive for consistency in everything involved with feeding the cattle! Cattle fed medium- to high-grain diets are prone to digestive upsets that include going off feed, diarrhea, dehydration and cyclic intakes to more serious issues with acute acidosis. All result from poor feeding management such as moving cattle up on feed, switching rations too quickly or feeding the wrong ration or due to extraneous issues such as the weather.

In order to minimize these issues, consistency in the feeding program is critical — this includes consistency in bunk reading, when feeding starts, the order the pens are fed; in-feed delivery, including loading and mixing; and in grain processing. When cattle are fed in a consistent fashion week in and week out, variation in feed intake is minimized, cattle move up on feed in a normal fashion and are more likely to perform according to expectations.

Communication is also key to success of the program. This includes communication between management and the feeding staff; between members of the feeding staff as well as between feeding and health staff. First and foremost, management needs to make clear what they expect in terms of feeding philosophy. This includes full versus limit feeding approaches, how hard are the cattle to be pushed, do they want bunks empty in the morning prior to feeding or a certain amount of carry-over and if so how much? Feed truck drivers need to communicate amongst themselves and with management regarding any feeding issues such as mistakes in feed mixing or delivery, with medicated feed delivery or mechanical issues with feed trucks. Health staff should inform the feeding staff in advance when cattle are to be pulled, whether it is for treatment, reimplanting or re-sorting.

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For example, removing cattle from the pen for reimplanting prior to their first feeding will likely result in them overeating when they return to the pen. Having a protocol that calls for these animals to be fed prior to being pulled, will help temper their appetite when they return to the pen. Proper notice of this planned movement can allow feeding staff to adjust feed delivery to ensure they are fed first and that there is feed in the bunk when they return to the pen.

Success in implementing your program also depends on having protocols in place that staff can follow on a consistent basis. For example, there should be a protocol that calls for a defined sequence of adding ingredients to the feed truck. Generally speaking, high-inclusion ingredients are added first while lowinclusion ingredients such as supplements are added last or next to last. Varying the order of inclusion can result in poor mixing and distribution of ingredients throughout the load. In terms of mixing time, it is common to mix for a minimum of three minutes from the time the last ingredient is added. If a revolution counter is used, the recommendations of the truck manufacturer should be followed. A mixer efficiency test can be a useful management tool to highlight any mixing issues.

Similarly, there should be a protocol for receiving, storing and processing grain. Incoming grain should be checked for bushel weight, plumpness, as well as moisture content with defined acceptable and unacceptable limits. Incoming grain should also be monitored for mycotoxin contamination such as that from ergot or fusarium. Grain-processing protocols should include monitoring rollers on a regular basis for the percentage of fines as well as the processing index.

This information should be cross-checked with fecal scores to ensure that a proper degree of grain processing is being carried out.

It is also important to have a protocol for starting cattle on feed and bringing them up to full feed as well as for changing rations. This is particularly important for newly weaned calves. While space does not allow for more detail, having a protocol that brings cattle onto feed in a steady fashion helps reduce disease issues and ensures a quick start to the feeding program.

As indicated consistency, communication and defined protocols are critical to a properly designed feeding program. Successful implementation involves buy-in by staff and attention to detail in all aspects of the program. When you consider that feed is a major component of the total cost of production, such attention will pay dividends. c

John McKinnon is a beef cattle nutritionist at the University of Saskatchewan

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6 23

 researc h

By Debbie Furber

Cut Later to Feed More Cows Dr. Greg Penner University of Saskatchewan

T

he recommendation to cut barley crops at the early-dough stage and oat crops at the late-milk stage for silage has by default been the standing recommendation for stage of maturity to cut these cereals for greenfeed and swath grazing as well.

Findings by a University of Saskatchewan team of researchers with the animal science and crop science departments support changing the recommendation to cutting barley and oat crops at the hard-dough stage for use as greenfeed and swath grazing.

Several related trials to study the question of later cutting from all sides increase confidence that letting these crops advance to the hard-dough stage improves dry-matter (DM) yield without compromising forage intake, digestibility and digestible energy intake.

They calculate that the yield boost from leaving barley the additional three weeks or so in the field to advance from the late-milk stage to the hard-dough stage could provide feed for 23 per cent more cows from the same land base at no extra cost. Likewise, oat crops cut at the hard-dough stage could feed 57 per cent more cows than if cut at the late-milk stage. However, the increase in forage yield is likely to vary from year to year depending on growing conditions.

The original recommendations for silage still stand because certain levels of carbohydrates and high moisture content are needed for proper fermentation and packing silage, but they don’t apply to making dry forage, explains Dr. Greg Penner, a ruminant nutritionist who worked on the project.

For dry forage, letting DM accumulate in

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

the standing crop not only has potential to increase yield, but also improves quality as valuable starch increases in the kernels and can help preserve quality by reducing the dry-down time between cutting and baling.

The big question was whether that additional starch would be in a form available to cattle, and, if so, would it increase the risk of acidosis.

Not just grain on a stick

Work got underway in 2011 with small plots of barley, oat, wheat and millet cut at head elongation, late milk (oat)/early dough (barley), hard dough, and full maturity to confirm the effect of stage of cutting on yield and nutritional characteristics.

Chemical analysis of the whole-crop forage samples revealed more feed-quality advantages than drawbacks as the crops advanced in maturity.

There were significant differences in nutrient composition from the late-milk stage to the hard-dough stage, but very little change from then to maturity. Overall, organic matter and non-fibre carbohydrates (total starch and sugar except those tied up in cell walls) increased as a percentage of DM. Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) decreased as starch accumulated.

The decreases in calcium and crude protein (CP) were the notable disadvantages.

Although phosphorus decreased, that in itself isn’t viewed as a disadvantage because phosphorus content in cereals is on the high side relative to calcium content and cattle require a balance of around two parts calcium to one part phosphorus.

The forages were put to the true test for feed

quality in a feeding trial coupled with a metabolism study involving ruminally cannulated cows to learn how the stage of cereal forage maturity affects forage intake and digestion.

Animals fed rations containing cereal forages cut at the hard-dough and mature stages had lower rumen pH levels than those fed cereals cut at the late-milk stage, indicating that the additional starch in the later-cut forages is digestible. Rumen pH didn’t drop to a level that was of concern health-wise.

Rumen pH normally ranges from 6.5 to 7.0 with temporary dips after eating that are considered normal and a sign of adequate feed quality and feed intake. Acidosis sets in when volatile fatty acids formed during fermentation build up in the rumen faster than they can be absorbed into the bloodstream for energy, causing rumen fluids to become more acidic.

Dips in rumen pH below 5.8 for long periods, or bouts of low rumen pH can potentially lead to numerous health issues.

Palatability wasn’t an issue. The cows didn’t eat any more or less regardless of the stage of maturity at cutting.

Double-check

The next study, recently published in the Journal of Animal Science, involved six ruminally cannulated heifers, fed whole-crop barley or oat cut at either the late-milk, hard-dough or mature stage. The forage portion and supplement (alfalfa pellet, vitamin/mineral pellet, and steam-rolled barley-canola meal combination) to balance the ration were fed in separate feeders.

For barley, DM yield increased by 42 per Continued on page 26

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cent for hard dough and 57 per cent for fully mature relative to late milk.

Intake of forage and supplement didn’t differ among maturity stages. Forage remaining after a feeding was analyzed for starch and fibre components and a sorting index applied to evaluate selective choice or avoidance.

Heifers that received forages cut at harddough and mature stages selected slightly more for starch, but didn’t selectively avoid fibre, whereas those fed the forage cut at late milk showed a definite preference for fibre and avoidance of starch.

There were no differences in ruminal

DM digestibility, however, total-tract DM digestibility was slightly lower for barley cut at the hard-dough stage than at the latemilk or mature stages.

There were no differences in starch digestibility. The minimum rumen pH was above 6.0, with the daily average near 6.5 and no differences were seen in total ruminal short-chain fatty acid concentration.

Ruminal NDF digestibility was similar (55 per cent digestible) for the later-cut stages, but lower than for barley cut at the late-milk stage (70 per cent digestible).

Total-tract NDF digestibility was highest (70 per cent) for the late-milk cut barley, lowest (50 per cent) for the hard-dough

cut barley and between for the mature cut barley.

Even though DM digestibility and NDF digestibility were slightly reduced when barley was cut at the hard-dough stage, Penner notes the increase in starch offsets the contribution of NDF towards energy supply.

Overall, there were no differences in digestible energy intake, average daily gain, accumulative weight gain, time spent feeding or chewing, number of feeding bouts, number of chewing bouts, or ruminal dry-matter fill.

It was the same story for the oat crop — no difference in forage intake, ruminal and total-tract DM digestibility, and digestible energy intake.

Barley cut for greenfeed or swath grazing at the hard-dough stage versus late-milk stage (right) give higher yields with no loss in feed quality.

Similar results are seen with oats cut in late-dough stage (left) for greenfeed or grazing. Oats and barley are cut in late milk for silage.

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www.canadiancattlemen.ca

research

Dry-matter yield jumped by 122 per cent and 96 per cent when cut at the hard-dough and fully mature stages relative to late milk.

The reduction in yield at the fully mature stage likely indicates a pitfall as kernels may shell from the plant, he adds.

At all stages of crop maturity, the heifers selected slightly more for starch with only a slight avoidance of NDF. Total-tract starch digestibility was greater than ruminal digestibility with both dropping off slightly as the crop advanced in maturity, although it was still available as indicated by the rumen pH drop after feeding. The lowest rumen pH was around 5.8 when fed the hard-dough forage, but the daily average was around 6.3 for all stages and didn’t cause acidosis. Again, there were no differences in total ruminal short-chain fatty acid concentrations.

Unlike barley, total-tract NDF digestibility tended to increase with advancing maturity, from 60 per cent digestible at the late-milk stage up to 80 per cent at the mature stage.

In summary, Penner says harvesting oat and barley at the hard-dough stage has the potential to improve digestible nutrient yield without negatively affecting DMI, sorting, ruminal fermentation, ruminal digestibility or total-tract digestibility.

The cautions — a potential for grain loss due to shelling in the field, the need to provide calcium and protein to balance the diet, and the chance that feeding cereal forages cut at later stages of maturity could cause acidosis.

According to the Beef Cattle Research Council, susceptibility to acidosis varies among animals. Some cattle seem to be very tolerant of highly fermentable diets; others not so much. It is likely that many factors contribute to the varying susceptibility including feeding behaviour (meal patterns, meal size, feed sorting), the types of microbes in the rumen, capability of cattle to regulate pH, saliva production, rumen motility, and prior feed consumption.

stages of maturity. It was lower but still above 6.0 in heifers on the three-day regime.

Minimum rumen pH remained above 5.8 when hard-dough forage was fed daily, but dipped below 5.8 for about 75 minutes per day when mature forage was fed daily.

Longer periods with rumen pH below 5.8 were observed in heifers on the three-day regime at approximately 275 minutes per day on the hard-dough forage and 500 minutes per day on mature forage.

The authors conclude that the daily fluctuation in rumen pH associated with larger feed allocations coupled with later maturity increases the risk of subacute ruminal acidosis. How often the forage will be fed should be taken into account when deciding on the stage of maturity to target for at harvest.

For more information, contact Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture beef and forage specialists at 306-694-3727. c

Feeding allocation

A final study evaluated the effect of stage of maturing in combination with feeding behaviour in a controlled setting with cannulated heifers that were fed once a day or once every three days. Measurements were taken for six days following a nine-day adaption to these two feeding regimes.

No differences were noted in total feed intake on hard-dough oat forage or mature oat forage.

Average daily rumen pH was around 6.3 with daily feedings of forage cut at both www.canadiancattlemen.ca

C a t t l e m e n ¡ N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

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 trade

By Colin Ley

Exporters remain active as CETA delay overhangs Paris show

C

anadian exhibitors and trade representatives at SIAL Paris, the big international food fair, remained generally upbeat concerning the prospect of a positive conclusion being reached on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the delayed trade agreement which was still being negotiated by the EU and Canada last month.

SIAL’s timing, running from October 16-20, could hardly have been worse for CETA watchers, given the last-minute blocking of the agreement by Belgium’s Wallonia region. Although this region only represents 4.5 per cent of the Belgian population, Wallonia’s opposition kept CETA on hold throughout the international event.

Despite considerable CETA frustration voiced by Canadian representatives in Paris, export traders were as busy as usual, not least on the Canada Pork International stand, which this year included businesses which also export beef and lamb. The same was true in the Canada country sector of the show, which contained 46 exhibitor booths, covering products from meat to grain, soya to maple syrup and just about everything in between.

The country sector also had export booths run by the governments of Alberta and British Columbia and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. With Canadian government trade commissioners also available to exhibitors at the Paris venue, a five-hour CETA session was held early in the week to enable national and federal government representatives to prepare for what they hoped would happen next, namely the final approval of the agreement and a smooth passage to its official signing

by Prime Minister Trudeau on October 27.

For individual exhibitors like Calgarybased Ted Haney, president of Canadian Rocky Mountain Beef, the CETA delay is more than just a frustration, however.

“We have successfully exported our highly branded product to Asia and Europe for the last five years, operating in the EU under a duty-free quota shared with the U.S., Australia, Argentina and a number of other countries,” he said.

“This was established as compensation against Europe’s ban on beef derived from

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U.K. exporter, Jean-Pierre Garnier says he will be on a plane to Canada as soon as CETA is signed.

Ted Haney of Canadian Rocky Mountain Beef says CETA will ensure expanded markets for his firm.

Canadian and EU exporters continued to network and promote their products while waiting for the EU to get the green light to sign off on CETA SIAL Canada’s CEO Xavier Poncin is sure CETA will go ahead.

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trade

hormone-treated cattle and works fine, so long as the quota isn’t fully utilized. Once it is used up, however, the next best export step attracts a 20 per cent tax on arrival, with the step after that incurring prohibitively high tariffs.

“While we’ve made this deliver as a company, the shared quota basis increases our risk and decreases our guaranteed access to the EU market. Approval for CETA, on the other hand, would give Canada, and only Canada, approximately 60,000 tonnes of tariff-free access for beef. This would substantially reduce our risks as an individual business while clearing the way for a significant growth of beef exports in general from Canada to Europe.”

Asked for his reaction to the fact that CETA would establish free access to Canada for EU beef while still excluding hormonederived Canadian product from the EU, he agreed this was “an issue.”

“Frankly, however, we would just have to build through that as a country,” he said.

As for whether he expected CETA to be approved any time soon, he added: “I look at figures and economics all the time and make business projections accordingly. The only area where that skill doesn’t apply, however, is the political realm where nothing can ever be forecast. That’s definitely true of CETA.” Confidence that sufficient numbers of Canadian beef producers would change their systems under CETA in order to access the

EU market, was also voiced by Xavier Poncin, CEO of SIAL Canada, the organization which will run major international food events in Montreal and Toronto in May next year.

“When the wine industry in Ontario decided to open its doors to tariff-free imports, for example, it turned out to be a good move for the local industry,” he said.

“First of all the poor domestic performers disappeared, leaving others to improve their processes and product quality. Now, having started out with 50 vineyards, we are currently up to 130 and I believe the reaction to CETA will be the same from other sectors. That includes beef, a sector which Continued on page 30

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trade

Continued from page 29

I’m confident will deliver a change of mindset, once the agreement is concluded.”

Poncin also said he was absolutely convinced CETA will be signed, despite the current delay, adding that he believed the collapse of the agreement at this late stage simply “isn’t possible.”

It wasn’t just Canadian traders and officials at SIAL who were taking an interest in CETA’s development, however.

Leading U.K. livestock export specialist, Jean-Pierre Garnier, told a SIAL news conference that he would be on the “next flight” to Canada if CETA was signed.

“CETA would be a very good deal for us,” he said, speaking in his role as livestock export manager for the U.K.’s Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board. “It’s definitely a development we would welcome and I believe we would be highly competitive in the Canadian beef market. As such, we would be very happy.”

One reason for Garnier’s upbeat comment, or course, is that he sees the early stages of CETA as offering U.K. businesses

free access to Canada while the EU’s hormone rules would still limit the flow of trade in the other direction, at least initially.

“For the moment, therefore, we see CETA as offering more opportunities for the EU beef sector than for Canada.”

When asked how his optimism fitted with the U.K.’s planned exit from the EU, with all current indications being that Brussels would be unlikely to approve a “free pass” for Britain to retain CETA status, he replied: “That’s still some years away. Don’t forget that it took the U.K. seven years of preparation to originally become members of the EU and it could take even longer to complete the Brexit process.”

At present, the U.K. government is committed to starting the Brexit program by the end of March next year, followed by two years of negotiations to complete the “divorce.” Garnier, and others within the U.K. food and farming industry, believe the process will run for much longer than that, with today’s CETA delay merely adding substance to their argument.

There’s also a U.K. food and farming view that even 2-1/2 years of free access to the

Canadian beef market would enable valuable trading relationships to be developed, potentially creating long-term opportunities for both countries, however CETA and Brexit works out.

Scottish beef producers, represented at SIAL by the country’s promotional organisation, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) are also watching the progress of CETA with considerable interest.

“The agreement would be very good for Scotland,” said Laurent Vernet, head of marketing at QMS. “We already put some lamb into Canada on a tariff- and quota-free basis but it would definitely be more attractive to some companies if they could put together mixed beef and lamb consignments.”

As for his view on how and when CETA might be concluded, Vernet pointed out that there are several national elections taking place in Europe next year.

“I don’t think the politicians involved in these elections will sign if they’re not sure the policy will be popular with their own public,” he said. “As such, I believe CETA will either be concluded very quickly or made to wait for another year.” c

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 forage

By Heather Smith Thomas

Beating Back Burdock

B

urdock is an invasive plant that causes problems for livestock and crops, and is generally considered a noxious weed. The tall burdock plant, a native of Eurasia, is a biennial, which means it lives for two growing seasons.

The first year, it merely grows leaves and accumulates food reserves in its roots, like a carrot. The second it grows a long, deep taproot, and a tall stalk, producing flowers that become burrs that spread the seed by latching onto the hair of livestock and other animals or in baled hay or straw.

Burdock flowers in late summer, producing a composite seed head that matures by mid-August in southern areas and later in northern climates. Ripe burrs consist of hundreds of tiny hooked slivers, and if these get into an animal’s eye they cause severe irritation — especially if caught under an eyelid where they continually scrape the eyeball every time the animal blinks.

Eye problems often occur in fall and

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winter when the burrs are ripe and dry, whereas pink eye is more common in summer fly season. But dry burrs remaining on old plants can cause problems any time of year.

“This is one of the concerns we hear from cattle producers when cattle are off the home ranch, grazing outer areas where they are not seen daily, says Dave Ralph, project manager of the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia. “The ranchers may not have an opportunity to see their animals for long periods of time. When you have to bring an animal off the range pasture to do any veterinary work it becomes a big inconvenience and an extra expense.”

Of approximately 30 different regional districts in B.C., nine list burdock as a noxious weed. In Alberta it is listed under the Schedule 2 list of noxious weeds.

“They can also affect sale price of animals Continued on page 34

The hooks on the tiny burr slivers are almost like a Velcro fastener.

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if a producer is unable to remove them prior to putting them on the market,” adds Ralph.

“In some instances buyers refuse to take animals with burrs. No one wants to bring burdock seeds to their ranch.”

Even in areas where there are no agricultural operations, burdock is a concern for wildlife, particularly birds and bats that get tangled up in old burrs.

“This has contributed to a reduction in bat populations,” he says.

“In B.C. burdock may not be as much of a priority as some of the agencies or industry would like to see it, but we deal with a lot of weeds. In certain areas and certain times, resources are sometimes unavailable to manage burdock. On Crown lands the provincial government is the landowner/occupier and does allow a certain amount of its budget for con-

tractors to control burdock, but primarily burdock control is carried out on private lands,” Ralph explains.

“In areas that are not along riparian zones or water courses, we can use residual broadleaf herbicides, but in areas adjacent to lakes, streams or creeks, we have a pesticide moratorium for 10 metres (30 feet) above high water mark. There is almost no use of herbicides in those zones and we have to rely on manual or mechanical  co n t ro l

“Cattle coming into my feedlot are usually heavier, so I treat ’em with long lasting ZACTRAN on arrival.”

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1. Giguère S, Huang R, Malinski TJ, Dorr PM, Tessman RK & Somerville BA. Disposition of gamithromycin in plasma, pulmonary epithelial lining fluid, bronchoalveolar cells, and lung tissue in cattle. Am. J. Vet. Res. 72(3): 326-330 (2011).

2. Based on label claims.

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Spraying burdock Dr. Don Morishita, University of Idaho professor of weed science, says several broadleaf herbicides will kill burdock, if applied properly. Burdock plants are easiest to kill in the first year of their life cycle when they remain in a rosette stage.

“Apply spray at a time when the plant is putting food into the root, since you have to get herbicide into the root to kill the plant. Use a broadleaf herbicide that can move down into the root. If you spray early in the spring you generally kill new young sprouts and last year’s rosettes (plants that are trying to create more food reserves in their root for their big push to complete secondyear growth and make burrs). You have to spray very early to get the secondyear plant. After the stalk comes up it is harder to kill with herbicides because the plant is sending food up from the roots instead of down,” he says.

When using herbicides to kill burdock or other biennial and perennial weeds, don’t overdo it.

“If you use too much, it quickly kills the top-growth leaves and doesn’t get down into the taproot. The root survives, to regrow. You want a slower kill so the leaves survive long enough to transfer the herbicide down into the root, to kill the whole plant.”

He also cautions against using anything other than broadleaf herbicides. “Burdock is a bareground plant; it doesn’t grow well where there’s a lot of grass cover or competing plants. Don’t use anything that would kill the grass, because grass tends to inhibit regrowth of burdock.”

Chopping is also effective, but you must do it at the right time or the plant will regrow from the root. “The best time to chop it is after the stalk is budding but before burrs are ripe. At that point the food reserves are so low in the root that it cannot regrow,” says Morishita.

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forage

control.” In these locations the plants can be chopped, mowed or pulled up.

“Burdock has a large root, however, and unless the soil is very moist so you can pull or dig it up, you only get the top growth and it will come up again from the root.

Some producers repeatedly cut the plants, to keep them from going to seed. In a biennial like burdock, this just extends its life, but eventually the plants will die off in three or four years. The people who have success digging it up say you have to get at least two or more inches of the root to have a chance of killing the plant.

The seeds remain viable for two to 10 years, however, so even if you keep chopping down or digging up the current plants new plants may keep coming up for several years. This can be a long-term battle.

Burdock can invade new forage seedings, and establish faster than more desirable species. Its thick fibrous stalk can also create problems for harvesting equipment.

It pays to try to prevent getting it in your fields and pastures in the first place.

“People buying forage or livestock should always check for any noxious weed seeds

or structures — in case it might have been baled up in hay or straw. Check the source of your feed and any new animals you bring onto your place,” he says.

The tenacious burrs are a very effective means of spreading seed. If you look at the tiny burr slivers with magnification, their hooks are almost identical to a Velcro fastener.

“It’s very hard to remove them from clothing or fur and hair. I’ve heard that if you wet down the animal, the burrs come loose easier, but I am not sure about that. A person could try it, however, if burrs are stuck to their cattle, horses or pets,” Ralph says.

“The good thing about burdock is that it is a plant that people can remove,” says Gail Wallin, executive director of the council.

“You can actually hand pull it out if the soil is moist, and this is often a good approach,” she says. “Community groups will often take action on it.”

B.C. has two species of burdock: Arctium lappa, great burdock, typically found in the northern regions of the province, up around the Peace region, and Arctium minus or common burdock in the southern and coastal regions. c

“ In some instances buyers refuse to take animals with burrs. No one wants to bring burdock seeds to their ranch.”

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 health

By Debbie Furber

For the Love of Animals

D

r. Bob Evenson made a swift entry into the real world of veterinary medicine the first morning of his career when he delivered a calf

by C-section only to return to the clinic to find out that another case 30 miles north would be the second of what would add up to more than 4,000 C-sections during the next 47 years.

It was June 1, 1969. He had been among the first 27 students to graduate from the new Western College of Veterinary Medicine at Saskatoon that year and he and his wife, Paulette, had just purchased the clinic at Tisdale, Sask.

Today, Evenson has the distinction of being one of, if not the eldest practising veterinarian in the province and this year’s recipient of the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association’s highest level of recognition, the J.J. Murison Distinguished Veterinarian Award for service to the profession and public.

His successful career as a veterinarian wouldn’t have been possible if not for his love and compassion for animals. He grew up in Watrous, Sask., where a favourite pastime was helping relatives on their mixed farm nearby.

From Grade 8 on, his goal was to become a veterinarian once he got a first-hand look at the profession while tagging along with his brother-in-law to care for animals.

“That was the way it was in those days.

When I started, we could handle animals at the old clinic if necessary, scouring calves and we did a few C-sections there, but most of the work was done in the countryside,” Evenson recalls.

That didn’t come without challenges. The good old days of the ’70s don’t seem like that long ago in some ways, but country roads and highways weren’t near what they are today at the worst of times. Oftentimes, it meant travelling by whatever was available — snowmobile, horse and cutter, tractor, even boat and plane — to get to animals and rig up some way to treat them. Back then, if a vet didn’t know how to use a lariat, he wouldn’t get the work.

Cattle on the whole did tend to be quieter because they were handled more often than today with the shift to larger herds calving on pasture and swath grazing and corn grazing into the winter months. The cattle on the mixed farms typical of the early

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era were usually part of a menagerie that included pigs, horses, chickens and sometimes sheep, so it wasn’t uncommon for cows to be tied into stalls at night during the winter months. Some farms raised dualpurpose cattle for beef and milking to sell the cream and he had 17 dairy farms among his clients, the largest being 50 cows.

“ If your reason for choosing to be a vet isn’t for the love of animals, then you are probably in the wrong profession.”

Dr. Bob Evenson veterinarian, Tisdale, Sask.

It was normal to put on 70,000 miles a year travelling to and from calls across the large region any hour of the day or night.

Paulette handled the office side of the business and when he was too tired to drive another mile in the dark, they would bundle their sleepy kids into the back seat and she would take the wheel.

The 1990s were interesting times, too, as farms diversified into exotic livestock from rabbits, wild boars, buffalo, elk, deer, alpacas and llamas, to heritage poultry, ostriches and emus. Although not many of those remain, there are still a few large dairies in the region. The beef herds are fewer and

larger as well with many numbering into the hundreds and some nearing a thousand.

Most farms nowadays have good handling setups to restrain animals that need to be treated on the farm because of their condition, as well as for semen testing and preg checking, but the majority of animals that needs individual attention are brought into the clinic for treatment.

Evenson is widely known for his strict attention to hygiene. “The way I look at it is why go to all the care of doing a surgery and end up with complications that could be fatal or take many days of therapy just because of unclean hands or equipment,” he says.

Clients who have anxiously watched or helped him do C-sections say the scrubdown seems to take more time than the surgery itself, not counting the care he takes closing up the incision.

“I have to say it’s a pleasure to watch his skill with a knife during surgeries and see stitches so precise you’d think he had done them with a machine. He works quickly, efficiently and always with control. Those times were great opportunities to learn from him,” notes Earl McCorriston, a beef producer who supported his nomination for the award. “I have always appreciated his willingness to answer calls day or night, seven days a week. Whether it meant a speedy drive out to the farm or opening the clinic in the middle of the night to attend to an emergency, he was always on call — a remarkable feat considering he ran a singleveterinarian practice for most of his career.”

His commitment to helping wildlife in distress and pets without owners didn’t go without mention either. The clinic has been a refuge for countless misfortunate animals through the years and the staff goes to great lengths to find homes for abandoned animals, oftentimes found trying to fend for themselves in the cold of winter and more than once found at the local landfill. He is proud that they have never had to put down a healthy cat or dog for lack of finding it a home. An arrangement with New Hope Dog Rescue near Saskatoon helps make their own rescue work a little easier these days.

Next to losing animal patients, Evenson says his only disappointment was not being successful in the effort to establish a regional

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health

Saskatchewan Prevention of Cruelty To Animals shelter in Tisdale after the town donated property, rallying the support of other local municipalities, and fundraising activities that secured nearly $350,000 to build it.

McCorriston adds that the cleanliness and orderliness of the clinic is a priority and doesn’t go unnoticed by clients.

Evenson has always taken great pride in the facility and any slow time is taken up with keeping the equipment, building and grounds in top-notch repair.

That made 1998 a particularly notable year because they were able to purchase their clinic, which had been built by the town and surrounding municipalities in 1973. It was a fully modern clinic but in need of an expansion to accommodate new equipment, livestock and pet supplies, and the growing demand for pet care.

The expansion also provided space for his son, Mike, and wife, Karen Sigfrid, to join the practice in 2001, with her sister, Kristen Sigfrid, joining them in 2008. The clinic now operates as Northeast Veterinary Clinic with a staff of 10 including the four veterinarians and Paulette who takes care of the bookwork, alongside their veterinary technicians and receptionist.

Having family members to help and carry on the practice is among Bob’s most rewarding experiences even though at 79 years young he has no plans to retire.

One of the best additions has been the drive-through-style loading/unloading area with a secure walkup directly into the examination chute inside the building. It saves the worry of having to capture escapees — an exercise that had taken them through the downtown and residential areas more than a few times through the years.

The purchase of a second-hand X-ray machine in earlier days is still a standout because he no longer had to make arrangements with the local hospital to X-ray animals after hours. Today, they have modern X-ray equipment and digitalization has made it possible to share and discuss images with experts at the university or anywhere for that matter. Ultrasound, including a portable unit for preg checking, ultrasonic tools for dental work, instruments for blood chemistry and hematology analyses, and an endoscope for non-invasive gastrointestinal examinations are a few of the advancements in animal care that he couldn’t have even imagined at the start of his career.

Without a doubt, tranquilizer guns, gas anesthesia and the newer injectable anesthetics for animals have made procedures a www.canadiancattlemen.ca

whole lot easier and safer for veterinarians and their patients.

Clients certainly appreciate the effectiveness of today’s specific and long-acting antibiotics, products that control internal and external parasites in one dose, and vaccines.

In his early years, producers might have vaccinated young stock against blackleg and kept up with warble control. Today, the majority uses the broad-spectrum products for parasite control and vaccinates against clostridial diseases, scours, pneumonia and abortive diseases, such as BVD and IBR. In his experience, today’s vaccines are very effective because they don’t see the abortion storms and weak calves they once did. Only the odd scouring calf gets down so low that it needs to be kept at the clinic for IV fluid therapy. He thinks the trend to later calving probably hasn’t been as important as the overall improvements in managing herd health and nutrition.

Most of the abortions and weak-calf problems they do see are tied to vitamin or mineral deficiencies, but even those cases are becoming less frequent as feed testing and supplementing to meet requirements for energy, protein, vitamins and minerals become routine. Testing feeds for toxins, such as ergot and fusarium, are now on the radar screen as well.

Semen testing is another practice that has become more the norm than the exception because producers see its importance in a successful breeding program. It and preg testing are a big part of Mike’s work nowadays.

As for C-sections, the years of doing as many as 200 are a thing of the past because of better breeding programs with calvingease sires selected for replacement heifers.

Most of the C-sections are on mature cows due to the cervix failing to fully open. They still do around 50 a year and seeing one come in and two go out is still one of the most rewarding parts of his job.

To young veterinarians just starting out, he says not to feel bad if you don’t know something and don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Communication networks and expert call lines make it much easier to get information and discuss cases with others, which was something he missed as a young vet starting out on his own.

It’s been said that a lot of diagnoses are missed for not looking rather than not knowing, meaning that thorough examinations are important.

“Most of all, if your reason for choosing to be a vet isn’t for the love of animals, then you are probably in the wrong profession,” he says. “You have to love animals.” c

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 managem e n t

By Steve Kenyon

What’s the margin?

E

ven though the production components of your business are important, they don’t make or break it for you. The most important part of any business is in managing the business itself. The economics and finances behind the production practices are more important than the production practice itself.

Two producers can use the same production practice. One could be making a profit and the other losing money. It all comes down to the margin. The economics of a production practice has to show an adequate profit to cover opportunity costs, depreciation and inflation. I also have to be able to cash flow the practice in order for it to be financially viable.

Economics and finances are two different sets of numbers. A production practice could be profitable, but not financially feasible. Or you might be able to cash flow a venture but it is not profitable. We need to have both the economics and the finances in order to have a viable business.

I would like to look at the economics side of the business today by looking into the gross margin analysis.

I have taken numerous private industry education courses, Ranching for Profit, Holistic Management, Low Cost Cow/Calf, TEPAP, just to name a few. All of them have contributed to my business management system because they taught me an amazing tool that I had never even heard of before, the gross margin analysis.

It can show me where my business is failing and gave me the ability to make good choices. Sometimes it even shows you that the best decision is to stop doing something.

As a farmer myself, I know that we complain all the time about three things. The weather, of course, is No. 1 but I can’t control that.

After weather we complain that we don’t have enough time or enough money. I have found that by understanding how to run a gross margin, you can free up time and make more money by focusing on the profit centres that are making a positive margin and possibly even shutting down some profit centres that are producing negative margins.

By breaking my operation into profit

40

centres, I am able to see which practices are working and which are not.

A gross margin analysis is quite simple.

If you have a big number and you subtract a small number from it, you have a positive margin. We just do this many times for all the different profit centres.

Wait, let me back up. A profit centre is one component of your business. You may have many that make up your farm, such as a cow-calf profit centre, a land profit centre, a grain profit centre, a hay profit centre, a grazing profit centre or a feeder profit centre. Every farm is different. Hopefully, your gross product (the big number) minus your direct costs (the little number), for each profit centre gives you a positive gross margin. If not, you can see what needs to be fixed. Either the big number needs to be bigger or the small number needs to be smaller.

ind somewhere that F teaches gross margin analysis and learn it.

That was the biggest breakthrough I ever had in my business Each profit centre can be broken down to determine the margin it contributes to the total margin. This in turn then has to cover all of your business overhead costs. If it does, you are making a profit. Now this analysis has to cover all of the costs, even the non-cash costs.

After you have paid for all of your labour (I do not like the term unpaid labour) and all of your cash costs, you need to cover depreciation, opportunity cost and inflation.

Depreciation is the loss in value of an asset over time. It is calculated by subtracting the salvage value of an asset from the purchase value divided by the number of years owned. Most of our equipment does depreciate but our cows also depreciate. The longer she can stay in the herd, the lower her depreciation. In theory, every year, the

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

depreciation value of an asset should be accounted for and saved for when that asset needs to be replaced. When that time comes, you use the money saved up plus the salvage value of the asset to replace it. Are you covering your depreciation each year?

Opportunity cost is a measure of your management. Most people have a hard time understanding opportunity cost. You don’t see it in your finances, but you need to account for it in your economic anaylsis. Look at it as an interest charge on that investment. The money that could be earning you a return somewhere else. Is it earning enough of a return as a cow or as a tractor? I like to use an opportunity cost of 10 per cent. Somewhere, my money invested should be able to return me 10 per cent.

An easy way to determine your opportunity cost is to use your highest interest rate you are currently paying on borrowed money.

An asset could be sold and its value could pay down the loan and save you the interest charges on that loan. If your loan interest was eight per cent, then the opportunity cost on your assets could be eight per cent.

Inflation can vary but let’s say an inflation rate of three per cent is average. Will the money you have today be worth the same tomorrow? Will you still pay the same for a litre of gasoline 10 years from now as you do now? Not likely, so we have to make sure our business will be ahead of where it is today10 years from now by accounting for inflation.

Now include this all into your gross margin analysis and see if you are making a profit. It is a powerful tool. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of understanding the economics of a farm business. As fun as the production side of your operation is, it’s the economics that makes a profit.

You are the manager of your business and it is up to you to manage. If you haven’t done so already, I challenge you to find somewhere that teaches gross margin analysis and learn it. That was the biggest breakthrough I ever had in my business. c Steve Kenyon runs Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. in Busby, Alta., www. greenerpasturesranching.com, 780-307-6500, email skenyon@greenerpasturesranching.com or find them on Facebook.

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 researc h o n t h e r eco r d

By Reynold Bergen

Non-O157 STEC

T

here are between 50,000 and 100,000 different serotypes (strains) of E. coli. Most are harmless, some may be beneficial, but some produce a very dangerous Shiga toxin. Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC) can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain in people. E. coli O157:H7 is the most well-known STEC, but it is not the only one. All STECs carry at least one stx gene coding for the Shiga toxin, an eae gene coding for a protein that helps E. coli attach to the intestinal surface, and a wzx gene that codes for an “O” antigen.

Food safety risks due to E. coli O157:H7 are well known, and the beef industry has made great progress in controlling it. Non-O157 STEC infections are rarer, but in 2011 the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service gave the “Top 6” most common non-O157 STECs (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) the same status as E. coli O157:H7. The U.S. is Canada’s main beef export market, so this could impact export markets as well as domestic food safety.

Keith Warriner and colleagues from the University of Guelph recently published a Beef Science Cluster-funded study that examined the incidence of Top 6 non-O157 STEC in cattle, carcasses and beef-processing environments (AIMS Microbiology 2:278-291).

What they did: Two beef-packing plants in southwestern Ontario were visited four times over a fivemonth period. Swabs were collected from the neck, flank and round of cattle, their carcasses and the plant environment (holding pens and kill floor). In all, 300 swabs were collected. The swabs contained many kinds of bacteria and contaminants, so each one was enriched to encourage the E. coli to grow. DNA was extracted from each sample, and two different lab tests were used to detect whether the eae, stx and wzx genes were present. Samples that tested “presumptive positive” were subjected to more specific tests to confirm whether STEC was present.

What they learned: The two initial PCR tests agreed closely, and found “presumptive positive” results for more than 92 per cent of the hide, 72 per cent of the carcass and 84 per cent of the environmental samples. The O103, O121 and O45 serotypes were more common than O125, O111 and O26. All presumptive positive samples contained eae, stx and wrx genes from at least three of the Top 6 non-O157 STECs. Some were positive for all six Top 6 non-O157 STECs. But these initial presumptive positive PCR results only mean that the eae, stx and wrx genes were present in the sample, and each sample contained many different E. coli

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bacteria. The presumptive positive results don’t necessarily mean that all three genes were in the same E. coli bacterium. Some E. coli may have only had one or two of the three required STEC genes. If an individual E. coli doesn’t carry all three genes at the same time, it’s not an STEC. So 120 of the presumptive positive samples were cultured, 10 distinct E. coli colonies were isolated from each, and each colony was individually PCR tested. This was done twice, so 2,400 individual E. coli isolates were examined overall.

These confirmation tests produced very different results. In fact, no culture-positive Top 6 non-O157 STECs were recovered at all. They did find E. coli with O103, O121, O45, O125, O111 or O26 antigens coded by the wzx gene. But they didn’t find any E. coli that contained those antigens as well as both the eae and stx genes. In other words, the O103, O121, O45, O125, O111 and O26 E. coli found in these samples weren’t STECs. What it means: In E. coli O157:H7, the presence of the O157:H7 antigen is a very good indicator that the eae and stx genes will be present as well. In other E. coli, the stx gene is quite mobile because it is part of a prophage. A prophage is the DNA that codes for a phage, and has been incorporated into the bacteria’s own DNA. A phage is a virus that infects bacteria. When the stx gene is turned on in E. coli, the Shiga toxin is produced, and new copies of the phage are manufactured. When the E. coli gets too full of phage particles, the bacteria bursts and releases both the phage and the Shiga toxin. When the new phages infect other susceptible E. coli, they also introduce the stx gene. This means that some E. coli may have an O103, O121, O45, O125, O111 or O26 antigen, but if they haven’t been infected with the prophage they may not be an STEC. Non-O157 STECs were not found in this study, but rare doesn’t mean non-existent. Improved diagnostic tests that combine the speed, ease, and price of PCR tests with the accuracy of slow, difficult and costly culture tests would benefit both processors and regulators, particularly when the detection of non-O157 STEC causes a recall.

The Beef Research Cluster is funded by the National Checkoff and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada with additional contributions from provincial beef industry groups and governments to advance research and technology transfer supporting the Canadian beef industry’s vision to be recognized as a preferred supplier of healthy, high-quality beef, cattle and genetics. c Dr. Reynold Bergen is the science director of the Beef Cattle Research Council.

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BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

A new era of antimicrobial responsibility Refresh your knowledge regularly

November 14 to 20, 2016 is Global Antibiotic Awareness Week. It’s a worldwide effort to improve the stewardship of antimicrobials and better understand the issue of resistance in humans and animals.

Not long ago, many farmers would have considered this another gimmicky effort by alternative medical communities of little importance to agriculture. No longer. Never before has antimicrobial resistance been such a high priority for the world. And never before has more effort been put in by agriculture to be a responsible partner.

It is truly a new era of antimicrobial responsibility.

So what can beef producers do? Here are key tips gleaned from producers attending Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) workshops and industry meetings.

Know core knowledge

Most beef producers have heard the standard messages around responsible antibiotic use in the cattle industry. Do the right things and be able to prove we are doing them. While the beef industry is only one player in this whole area of drug use, it must be prepared to do its part.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) anchor the VBP+ program. They are practical, workable tools developed by producers and the industry. The “Guidelines on the prudent use of Antimicrobial Drugs in Animals” document is based on guidelines of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.

Veterinarians know proper drug use. The target strategy is to use drugs for the shortest time period required. Antimicrobials that specifically target the pathogen are favoured over broadspectrum drugs.

The goal is minimizing the use of drugs to preserve effectiveness while maintaining animal care. Overuse of drugs can contribute to resistance in the herd which may have implications for herd health down the road.

Keeping track of what is done on farm is critical to assessing success. The need for drugs should be assessed regularly. Review records and ask your veterinarian if any changes should be made.

Take a VBP+ workshop

The new VBP+ program has been launched as an anchor participant in the Canadian Roundtable on Sustainable Beef, which is building a verifiable sustainable beef program. Managing antimicrobials is a key part of that.

A new VBP+ workshop is an excellent learning opportunity for new producers and a great refresher for anyone. Workshops are available across the country. Contact the co-ordinator in your region.

Protect your industry

It’s not hard to build a sense of concern, maybe even a sense of panic occasionally on this issue.

But those at the leading edge of the antimicrobial-resistance analysis believe agriculture is acting responsibly and is working as a willing partner in developing solutions.

Most important for producers is following use protocols. But it also pays to keep up to date on developments. For example, check the Beef Cattle Research Council www.beefresearch.ca for the latest research and perspective.

As one industry leader said, producers need to “take a deep breath” amidst the incessant news on the topic. Having a sense of the developments allows us to manage our own operations, but also understand and support our industry.

Practice outcomes outlined in VBP+ help demonstrate responsible antibiotic use.

Who to talk to about VBP+ British Columbia – Annette Moore 866-398-2848 VBP@cattlemen.bc.ca Alberta – Shannon Argent 866-242-7404 sargent@albertaverifiedbeef.com Saskatchewan – Coy Schellenberg 306-859-9110 office@saskvbp.ca Manitoba – Betty Green 204-772-4542 betty.green@email.com Ontario – Dan Ferguson 905-375-8551 dan@ontariobeef.com Quebec – Nathalie Côté 450-679-0530, poste 8460 ncote@upa.qc.ca ewfoundland, Labrador, P.E.I. N – Jena Nicholson 902-368-2229 vbp@peicattleproducers.com New Brunswick, Nova Scotia – Ellen Crane 902-969-1632 maritimebeefcouncil@gmail.com

B U I L D I N G T R U S T T H R O U G H S U S TA I N A B L E B E E F P R O D U C T I O N

 prime cuts

By Steve Kay

Cattle feeders’ woes continue

C

attle feeding is always a risky business. But no one foresaw the collapse in U.S. live cattle prices for the second fall in a row. One can only hope that by the time you read this, prices have put in a bottom and are on the rebound, however modest. The same applies for Canadian prices.

Cattle feeders north and south of the border have suffered losses this year that are far worse than expected. U.S. feeders have seen a massive reversal in their financial fortunes since recording their second-best equity gains of US$5.4 billion to US$5.5 billion in 2013-14. Since January last year they have lost an estimated US$5.7 billion in equity, a record for any such period. Cattle-feeding returns in Canada likely have suffered a similar reversal.

U.S. losses have mounted in recent weeks as cash live cattle prices fell to their lowest level in six years. Prices (basis USDA’s fivearea steer) averaged nearly US$119 per cwt the first week of August. They fell the second week of October to US$97.59 per cwt.

That’s more than a US$21-per-cwt slide in 10 weeks.

The added trauma to this collapse is that prices in September last year fell more than US$29 per cwt in six weeks because

of delayed marketings all summer. Cattle feeders were determined to avoid a repeat but were stymied by a resolutely negative futures market. One reason, ironically, for this fall’s collapse is that fully hedged cattle feeders took advantage of a positive basis between cash and futures prices to sell cattle. This allowed them to sell aggressively by accepting lower cash prices. But those cattle feeders without any price protection had to sell also at those lower prices and incur huge losses.

At time of writing, there was still no indication that a low was in the market and what it would take for the market to rally. What’s clear is that prices look most unlikely to climb back to the US$120per-cwt level, which looked attainable only three months ago. The futures market doesn’t believe prices can rally at all, as the October and December live cattle contracts, at least on October 14, were well below US$100 per cwt and the February contract was just below that mark.

Cattle-feeding operations that fully hedge their cattle will survive the dramatic erosion in equity. But those that are not might not survive. As you know, the erosion has already claimed its first major casualty in Canada. The country’s largest

cattle-feeding operation, Western Feedlots Ltd., High River, Alta., shocked everyone by announcing that it was to stop buying cattle after 58 years in business.

The record feeding losses continue to force U.S. prices for calves and feeder cattle lower, so returns for cow-calf producers continue to erode almost every week. The lofty returns of US$550 per cow in 2014 are now a distant memory and returns might be as low as US$15 per cow this year, the lowest since 2009. That’s the latest estimate from the Livestock Marketing Information Center, which only two months ago estimated returns at $70 per cow.

Huge returns in recent years provided the economic foundation to aggressively grow the U.S. beef cow herd, notes LMIC. The economic stage has quickly changed but the adjustment in cattle numbers is just starting, it says. Latest forecasts are for the U.S. beef herd to expand again this year. But there’s every indication that any further expansion might come to an abrupt halt in 2017, two years earlier than expected. c A North American view of the meat industry.

Steve Kay is publisher and editor of Cattle Buyers Weekly.

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

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 vet aDvi c e

Ingenuity and Persistence Not Always Enough

N

ature hates a vacuum. The old adage characterizes many human and animal pathogens and the underlying reason new animal diseases emerge and old diseases re-emerge. The economic sequel of sound and persistent disease control sustains an industry. Fragility emerges when disease control stops being the core of what we do, and how we think. Harken back to 2003.

A contemptible and frightening disease recently reappeared in the Florida Keys after a 30-year absence from the U.S. livestock scene. While not an immediate threat to Canada, there are implications related to the transport of animals back and forth to the Sunshine State and Caribbean — including livestock, wildlife, zoo animals, pets, horses, and humans. What’s most interesting is watching how a nation retained its capacity to respond.

The beast in question is a fly, somewhat larger than a housefly that produces larva capable of invading fresh, uncontaminated skin wounds of domestic animals and humans. Adult Cochliomyia hominivorax, the New World screwworm fly is similar in appearance to other blowflies whose eggs develop into maggots in dead tissue. The term “hominivorax” (translated man-eater) describes a species that, after mating, seeks an open wound on warm-blooded animals.

Eggs are laid on the edge of the wound in a shingle-like manner. Within 12 to 24 hours, tiny first-instar larvae hatch from the eggs, crawl into the wound then invade living tissue to continue development while feeding on flesh and body fluids. The female screwworm fly typically mates once in a lifetime, storing sperm for fertilization of subsequent egg batches.

Screwworm larvae derive their name from the shape and characteristics of the second or third stages that develop in wounds. Larvae possess tusk-like mandibles that tear flesh, and as they mature develop a spiral ring of ridges in the shape of a screw.

Although females mate only once, they lay as many as 3,000 eggs during a lifetime. Eggs hatch after a 10- to 20-hour incubation period then larva start feeding. Larvae mature over four to 12 days. During this time the wound develops a distinctive odour that attracts

46

more gravid females. Larvae drop to the ground from wounds and pupate then burrow into soil. Screwworm pupae that survive the elements of heat and moisture emerge as adult flies in seven to 60 days depending on temperature. New adults may feed on wound exudates or seek nectar sources from flowers.

Adult flies are ready to mate within three to five days and the cycle is repeated.

Screwworms can migrate 80 to 160 km in a single generation, moving northward from overwintering areas in warmer latitudes. With warm temperatures, life cycles are completed in three weeks. Discovery of screwworms in protected Key deer at this juncture is unfortunate as hurricane Matthew swept through the region. High winds hold the potential of spreading flies for hundreds of miles.

When present, fly larvae commonly invade navels of the newborn with fatal results.

In endemic areas, hides are often rendered completely useless. Multiple infestations are common with hundreds of larvae of various ages feeding at one time. If unabated, infestations can kill a mature animal within five to 10 days. In addition to naturally occurring wounds and openings (navel, eyes, nose, ears), routine management practices like dehorning, docking, castration, and branding create infection sites.

Screwworm control also has a public health side. Before Nicaragua’s screwworm eradication, APHIS personnel reported 138 human cases of screwworms. About 530 human cases were reported in El Salvador between 1990 and 1992. Scalp, eye, nose, hand and foot lesions can yield several hundred larva when treated.

Screwworm flies overrun more territory with each succeeding generation. Hot, dry weather slows the process, while mild, moist weather favours expansion. Screwworm populations are highest in late summer and early autumn. In less temperate regions, cold during late autumn and winter disrupts life cycles. During years of unseasonably warm weather in North America, screwworm infestations were reported in northern-tier states just south of the U.S./Canada border.

In 2002, the USDA Veterinary Services estimated that an uncontrolled reintroduction of this pest would result in annual losses

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

to the livestock industry of $900 million.

With introduction of screwworm in Florida following movement of cattle from droughtstricken range in Texas through the 1930s, livestock losses topped $400 million a year.

Elimination of New World screwworm from the southern and southwestern United States is considered a key element in the population explosion of white-tailed deer.

It all started when a young Texas entomologist put forward the concept of controlling screwworm populations by sterilizing male flies using X-rays then systematically releasing them into the wild. At first, the scientific community derided Edward Knipling’s idea, then watched in amazement as the SIT (Sterilized Insect Technique) became one of the greatest success stories in the history of American agriculture. Using SIT concepts and intergovernmental alliances, eradication programs in Mexico, Central America, and Jamaica complemented screwworm eradication in the United States.

A scientist with the Knipling team developed mass-rearing protocols. At one time a rearing facility in Chiapas, Mexico produced 500 million flies per week using dried egg, horse meat and honey diets for mature flies and a blood, milk and egg gel for feeding larva. Flies were released over targeted areas using small aircraft. Exposing screwworm pupae to gamma rays, damages chromosomes in sperm and induces sexual sterility. Eggs of wild females fertilized with sperm from irradiated males fail to develop.

More than 40 of the nearly 1,000 endangered Key deer living at the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key have been euthanized, due to the presence of New World screwworm. The USDA declared an agricultural state of emergency for Monroe County.

Many Texas cattlemen consider screwworm eradication the foremost advance in their lifetime. Industry and the animal health world await the results of a U.S. response to re-emergence of screwworm. 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).

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

BeefWatch

Beef Watch is prepared by the staff of Canfax and Canfax Research Services, divisions of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association

 Sellers have lost leverage throughout the supply chain as larger protein supplies in North America are pressuring prices down. Lower cattle prices have resulted in serious red ink for feedlots and disappointing calf prices this fall. Cow-calf returns have dropped but remain above the 10-year average.

For producers who have made major infrastructure investments over the last two years, that add to their depreciation costs, they may be looking for innovative ways to reduce their per-unit cost of production.

Larger Protein Supplies in North America A perfect storm of events led to the price rally in 2014. Protein production in North America was reduced by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), limited access to egg sets for the broiler industry due to trade restrictions, and beef expansion was not available yet. Chinese imports started mid-2013 and really hit the market in 2014 adding 300,000 tonnes of new global demand to the beef market — equal to the annual volume of Canadian beef exports.

A complete reversal occurred in 2015 as PEDv was mostly dealt with (pork production +7.0 per cent), highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the U.S. closed export markets to Russia and China while poultry production was up 3.8 per cent. Beef production was up only 2.3 per cent but disruptions at West Coast ports reduced exports. All this pushed an additional 9.2 pounds per capita onto the U.S. market. The only way to move that kind of product is reduced prices. But increases in production are not done yet.

In 2016 beef production is projected to end the year up 5.2 per cent, pork up 1.6 per cent and broiler meat up two per cent. Larger U.S. protein production is already set for 2017 with a larger calf crop coming forward. Initial forecasts for 2017 are for beef production to be up 3.4 per cent, pork up 2.5 per cent, and broiler meat up 0.7 per cent. Per capita protein supplies after being up 9.2 pounds in 2015, are projected to be up 4.0 pounds in 2016 and another 2.8 pounds in 2017 according to USDA. A nine per cent or 16-pound increase from 2014 to 2017.

From 1990 to 2008 U.S. protein production grew on average 2.3 per cent per year. Growth stalled after the global

Broiler

90

Pork

Canadian protein production also larger, exports keeping domestic supplies stable In 2015, total protein production in Canada was up a modest one per cent. Larger pork (+6.3 per cent) and poultry (+3.3 per cent) production was offset by decline in beef production (-9.0 per cent). In 2016, that has changed as all three proteins are seeing larger production year to date — pork is up two per cent, poultry up 4.1 per cent and beef up nine per cent. Total protein production is projected to be up four per cent or 447.2 million pounds. At 11.55 billion pounds this is still below the peak of 12 billion pounds produced in 2008.

The difference between Canada and the U.S. is that the majority of this increased production will not be consumed in Canada. Exports are being supported by an attractive exchange rate. In addition, there is room for more protein in the domestic market. Per capita consumption dropped from a high of 181 pounds (retail weight) in 2011 to a low of 162 pounds in 2014. The increase of 3.5 pounds in 2015 leaves consumption four pounds below the long-term average of 169 pounds with room for larger per capita consumption in 2016.

The AAA cut-out as a percentage of the retail beef price trended down from 1999 through 2009. The bottom of 25 per cent was made in January 2010 before reversing and trending up until April 2015 when it peaked at 37 per cent. This stronger percentage reflected tighter supplies of beef in North America and packers had more leverage with retailers. Since then it has reversed and dropped out of its trading range over the last five Continued on page 48

 canadian meat production

 U.S. meat production 100

financial crisis in 2008 and was relatively flat for seven years. Starting in 2015 growth is back in a big way. From 2015 to 2017 protein production is projected to grow 2.9 per cent per year, almost double the previous growth rate. Part of this additional growth was anticipated to go to the export market. However, international demand has softened as China is looking for a soft landing and the strong U.S. dollar is also making U.S. product more expensive compared to competitors. Faster annual growth combined with softer international demand is pressuring all protein prices.

12.0

Beef

70

Billion pounds

Billion pounds

Poultry

Pork

Beef

10.0

80 60 50 40 30 20

8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0

10 0

90

92

94

96

98

Source: USDA

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

00

02

04

06

08

10

12

14

0.0

65 68 71

74

77

80 83 86 89 92 95 98 01

04 07

10 13

Source: Statistic Canada, Canfax

C a t t l e m e n · N o v e m ber 2 0 1 6

47

BeefWatch years. Since October 2015 it has been around 30 per cent, further declines would indicate a loss of packer leverage with retailers as more protein becomes available and lower prices for competing meats pressure the beef complex.

beef cow slaughter is up 11 per cent from January through September; while heifer slaughter is steady — implying the rapid expansion seen since the fall of 2013 is slowing down.

Beef cow slaughter started picking up compared to 2015 in April; but remains eight per cent below 2014 and 17 per cent below the five-year average.

cattle inventories

cycle indicators

prices and profitability Fed cattle and AAA Cut-out prices In September Alberta fed cattle prices averaged $131/cwt down 24.5 per cent from last year, and 1.9 per cent lower than the 2011-15 average ($133/cwt). From January through April as the exchange rate strengthened 11 per cent, the drop in fed cattle prices was a direct reflection of the dollar.

But since then the drop has been about larger protein supplies and softer international demand.

The AAA cut-out averaged $242/cwt in September, down 17 per cent from last year’s $292/cwt and three per cent  AAA Cut-out value as a % of retail beef price

2016

16 vs. 15

50%

221.4

222.9

0.70%

45%

Beef Cows

3,799.5

3,811.4

0.30%

Dairy Cows

937.8

939.4

0.20%

Dairy Hfrs

445.1

448.2

0.70%

Beef Hfrs (brdng)

614.3

641.8

4.50%

Beef Hfrs (sltr)

1,195.9

1,202.3

0.50%

Steers

1,683.6

1,640.6

-2.60%

48

C at t l e m e n · N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6

Jan-15

Jan-16

Jan-13

Jan-14

Jan-11

Jan-12

Jan-10

Jan-09

Jan-07

1.30%

Source: Statistics Canada

20% Jan-08

3.90%

25%

Jan-05

4,298.2 13,205.0

30%

Jan-06

4,137.4 13,035.0

35%

Jan-03

Calves Total

40%

Jan-99

Bulls

No adjustment

2015

Jan-04

Canadian Cattle Inventories July 1 (1,000 head)

Heifer placements also up Increased heifer retention on July 1 was confirmed in a lower heifer slaughter ratio in 2016. At 57 heifers for every 100 steers this is down from 61 in 2015 and the 20-year average of 69. While it appears producers are focused on developing a younger herd it is not clear on if replacements will be large enough to offset culling rates. Particularly as heifer placements into feedlots went from being below the five-year average in 2015 to well above the five-year average as of March 2016. From January through August heifer placements have averaged 42 per cent of the total up from 32 per cent in 2015 and the five-year average of 36 per cent.

Heifer slaughter is anticipated to pick up in the fourth quarter contributing to lower carcass weights and a smaller yearover-year increase in beef production.

Jan-01

U.S. growth slows USDA has suspended the July 1 Cattle Inventories report.

Therefore, U.S. numbers will not be available until January. U.S.

Culling Rates rebound to liquidation levels Cow slaughter is up seven per cent from January through September while exports are steady leaving cow marketings up 4.6 per cent to date. The beef cow culling rate dropped to 10.5 per cent in 2015 but it has rebounded to 11.5 per cent in 2016. D1,2 cow prices are down 28 per cent from the record highs made in 2015 and have been trending in line with the five-year average since April.

Jan-02

Canadian herd steady Statistics Canada reported Canadian cattle inventories on July 1, 2016 up 1.3 per cent at 13.2 million head. All classes of cattle were up with the exception of steers (>one yr.) which were down 2.6 per cent. The largest increases came from beef heifers for breeding (+4.5 per cent) and calves (<one yr.) up 3.9 per cent. The larger calf crop was due to a combination of larger beef cows and improved reproductive efficiency (going from 86 per cent in 2015 to 90 per cent in 2016). This will support production moving into 2017 as long as there is not a big jump in feeder cattle exports to the U.S. this fall.

Beef cow inventories were up 0.3 per cent at 3.8 million head; this remains the lowest inventory since 1991. Beef cow inventories were up in B.C. (+3.8 per cent), Manitoba (+2.0 per cent), Saskatchewan (+1.0 per cent), Quebec (+1.0 per cent), and the Atlantic provinces (+0.2 per cent).

Inventories declined in Alberta (-0.6 per cent) and Ontario (-3.0 per cent).

Beef heifer retention was up 4.5 per cent at 641,800 head, the largest since 2008. While encouraging this remains two per cent below the 10-year average and 15 per cent below the 20-year average. Beef heifer retention was up in all provinces: Atlantic provinces (+13.7 per cent), Manitoba (+9.3 per cent), B.C. (+6.0 per cent), Quebec (+5.5 per cent), Alberta (+3.9 per cent), Saskatchewan (+3.7 per cent), and Ontario (+1.5 per cent).

The supply of feeder and calves outside of feedlots on July 1 was up two per cent or 110,600 head. Smaller feeder exports since September 2015 combined with the larger calf crop this spring mean there are more feeders to place this fall. Ample feeder numbers in both Canada and the U.S. have dramatically shifted leverage from the cow-calf producers back to the feedlot as there won’t be as much competition for supplies.

Jan-00

Continued from page 47

Source: Statistics Canada, CMC

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

BeefWatch below the three-year average of $251/cwt. Moving into the fall, the market will seasonally shift from middle meats to end meats with increased demand for roasting items. In September the rib and loin primals had the smallest yearover-year decline, down four per cent ($11/cwt) and 10 per cent ($68/cwt) respectively; while chucks and rounds had larger declines, down 24 per cent ($45) and 25 per cent ($51) respectively. As focus shifts from middle meats to end meats this fall, the overall cut-out value could potentially drop further. Lower cut-outs will add pressure to fed and feeders prices.

The Alberta live fed steer prices as a percentage of the AAA cut-out dropped below 55 per cent in June 2016 for the first time since June 2010. From 2005 through 2010 this ranged between 50-55 per cent but from 2011 through 2015 it ranged between 55-64 per cent. As this drops back to that historic relationship, it signals a loss of leverage at the feedlot as supplies increase.

Feedlot margins squeezed The drop in fed prices over the last 18 months has pushed feedlot margins into the red. Canfax TRENDS reports feedlots selling on the cash market have been losing money since September 2015. Monthly losses have been the largest since 2003. Despite lower feed grain prices, projected breakevens for shortkeep and yearling cattle placed in September at $140-$145/cwt still have negative margins around $130$213/head, while break-evens for calf placements are projected at $131/cwt with a positive margin at $50-$82/ head. The significant equity losses in the feedlot sector are expected to dampen feedlots’ willingness to pay for feeder cattle this fall and pressure feeder prices.

Replacement Ratios The lower the replacement ratio the fewer dollars the feedlot must pay to replace a fed animal with a feeder; conversely a higher ratio means the feedlot must pay more per pound to replace those animals. Replacement ratios moved lower in the second quarter, but rebounded in the third quarter due to faster declines in fed cattle prices. Compared to 2015, the ratios have been five per cent to 20 per cent lower in the second and third quarter. Lower replacement ratios reduce the incentives for long feeding periods. As of late September, steer carcass weight was right in line with yearago levels at 928 pounds. This compares to a six per cent year-over-year increase in the first half of 2016.  canadian total cattle AND calves july 1

Cow-calf Margins Lower feeder prices in 2016 have dampened any producer enthusiasm for expansion. The decline in calf prices combined with higher hay prices last winter have reduced cow-calf profits in 2016. Alberta cow-calf returns are projected to drop 83 per cent from 2015 to $123/cow. This is still higher than the 10-year average of $76/cow. Producers who have lower per-unit production costs will continue to be in the black. However, high-cost producers may be considering liquidation.

There is a major difference between this downturn in profitability and the last downturn in 2003. In 2002, drought meant that many producers were already looking at ways to reduce costs. In contrast, the record-high profitability of the last two years means that many producers have made major infrastructure investments that are going to impact depreciation and cost of production for the coming five years. Instead of being lean and mean some producers are going to feel the squeeze and be looking for innovative ways to reduce costs.

Continued on page 50

 Canadian beef cow culling rate

18

18%

17

20-year average = 11%

16% 14%

16

12%

15

10%

14

8% 6%

13

4%

12

Source: Statistics Canada

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

16f

13

10

07

04

01

98

95

92

89

86

1

1

0

0

9

0

9

9

8

9

8

8

7

7

7

6

6

0%

83

2%

11

80

Million Head

Feed Grains and Feeder Prices Canadian barley production is projected to increase 5.8 per cent to 8.7 million tonnes. Corn for grain is projected to decline 8.9 per cent to 12.35 million tonnes as drought in Ontario reduced yields. Lethbridge barley prices have been under pressure since June and moved sharply lower in August and September. In September, Lethbridge barley averaged at $167.50/tonne. This is 24 per cent below last year and 12 per cent below the 10-year average of $190/tonne. In addition to larger barley production, rains throughout Western Canada this summer have resulted in ample feed supplies this winter as product was downgraded.

In August as feed grain prices started to drop it was looking like feeder prices might hold steady around $200/cwt.

Despite significant drops in barley prices and cost of gain for feedlots, feeder prices have declined seasonally as feedlots pocket the difference in an effort to rebuild equity. Alberta 850-pound feeder steers averaged $171/cwt in September 2016 down 35 per cent from last year’s $262/cwt, and four per cent from the five-year average of $179/cwt. Alberta 550pound steer calves averaged $188/cwt in September down 39 per cent from last year’s $309/cwt, and 10 per cent from the five-year average of $209/cwt.

Source: Canfax Reasearch

C a t t l e m e n · N o v em b er 2 0 1 6

49

BeefWatch Continued from page 49 Replacement Price Ratio (Replacement cattle price divided by slaughter price) YEAR

QUARTER

2013

2014

2015

2016

Heifer calves (4-5)

Steer calves (5-6)

Yearling heifer (6-7)

Yearling steers (7-8)

Shortkeep steers (8-9)

Q2 EAST

1.10

1.18

1.04

1.10

1.06

WEST

1.16

1.28

1.07

1.12

1.05

Q3 EAST

1.19

1.29

1.12

1.20

1.17

WEST

1.22

1.32

1.15

1.23

1.1 8

Q4 EAST

1.24

1.38

1.13

1.25

1.26

WEST

1.24

1.32

1.12

1.20

1.16

Q1 EAST

1.14

1.29

1.09

1.16

1.1 3

WEST

1.32

1.45

1.20

1.26

1.18

Q2 EAST

1.35

1.43

1.27

1.28

1.20

WEST

1.42

1.53

1.32

1.34

1.23

Q3 EAST

1.52

1.61

1.35

1.37

1.33

WEST

1.58

1.58

1.37

1.39

1.32

Q4 EAST

1.58

1.62

1.37

1.40

1.35

WEST

1.67

1.64

1.41

1.42

1.35

Q1 EAST

1.39

1.5 1

1.32

1.24

1.24

WEST

1.59

1.61

1.35

1.34

1.25

Q2 EAST

1.54

1.59

1.40

1.38

1.27

WEST

1.60

1.62

1.37

1.37

1.25

Q3 EAST

1.61*

1.65

1.44*

1.42

1.35

WEST

1.72*

1.75*

1.52*

1.52*

1.43*

Q4 EAST

1.64

1.67*

1.39

1.43*

1.37*

WEST

1.65

1.64

1.40

1.43

1.37

Q1 EAST

1.39

1.48

1.25

1.30

1.23

WEST

1.45

1.53

1.25

1.27

1.19

Q2 EAST

1.27

1.40

1.18

1.26

1.19

WEST

1.28

1.39

1.16

1.22

1.12

Q3 EAST

1.33

1.41

1.21

1.27

1.27

WEST

1.34

1.42

1.24

1.31

1.25

* Record highs, east and west

 A l berta l i v e f e d st e e r p r i c e

 alberta and Saskatchewan feedlot

0.7

Heifer placements

5-yr. avg.

15

16

65%

0.6 0.55 No adjustment

55% 45% 35%

0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3

25%

Source: Canfax, COF

C at t l e m e n · N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6

Jan-1

Jan-1

Jan-1

Jan-1

Jan-1

Jan-1

Jan-1

Jan-1

Jan-0

Jan-0

Jan-0

Jan-0

Jan-0

Jan-0

Jan-0

Jan-0

Jan-0

Dec

Nov

Oct

Sep

Aug

Jul

Jun

May

Apr

Mar

Feb

Jan

0.2

Jan-9

0.25

15%

50

As a % AAA cut-out value

0.65

Jan-0

75%

Source: CMC, Canfax

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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By Steve Dittmer

Pollan is Crusading Again

T

he New York Times Magazine recently continued its war on conventional agriculture by giving considerable space to contributing editor Michael Pollan, the UC-Berkeley journalism professor who has made it his goal to replace modern agriculture with something producing only food his “great-grandmother would recognize.”

Pollan’s latest* offering recounts how his letter in 2008 warned incoming President Obama that he needed to fix a “broken food system,” organized around “subsidized monocultures like corn and soy, (that) guzzled tremendous amounts of fossil fuel” and emitted as “much as a third of all emissions.” Pollan charged that the resulting food, “feedlot meat and processed foods of all kinds — bear a large measure of responsibility for the steep rise in health-care costs” treating “chronic diseases linked to diet.”

Pollan is wrong. Little or no direct subsidies exist for U.S. corn and wheat today. The exceptions are rice, cotton and sugar. And while Pollan attributes disease to “feedlot meat” and corn products, the latest scientific research confirms the meat industry’s claims of the past 50 years that it is not animal products bearing responsibility for obesity and heart disease. Carbohydrate emphasis (including fruits and vegetables) apparently is a more likely contributor. His greenhouse gas emission claims are also vastly exaggerated.

Pollan invokes the David and Goliath metaphor — with the usual modern activist twist that Goliath is a big, faceless corporate giant involved in the food-producing system that produces food that is unhealthy for consumers and the environment. Even though Pollan admits conjuring up the image of “Big Food” is “something of a simplification,” he plows ahead, because his narrative loses most of its power if he characterizes America’s food production system accurately. He obviously feels it is easier to demonize the food system if he goes “Big,” as in a few big packers and grain companies, a few seed and chemical companies, a handful of fast-food companies and Wal-Mart.

Fighting “Big Food” rallies people more than accurately characterizing a food chain made up of some big firms and thousands of hard-working families: farmers, ranchers; owners of diners and cafés; fast-food franchises, slaughter and processing plant workers, meat purveyors and sausage makers, fruit stands and farmers’ markets; transport drivers and brokers moving perishable foods quickly to where they are needed in supermarkets, convenience stores and country stores.

This entire system is driven by market forces created by consumers voting with their dollars to purchase food.

In its place Pollan wants the power of government to control and centrally plan what food folks can buy, how it’s produced and who produces it.

The left must sell its ideas based on short, emotional

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stories that can fit on a bumper sticker. So “Big Food” works for him. Neither Pollan nor the public understands how the system really works. His belief is that Big Food in meat, for example, is “controlled” by the Big Four packers. The fact that the big packers have to compete with each other to keep a huge investment in plant, equipment and labour busy and sell to dozens of retail chains and a list of food-service suppliers or that hundreds of further processors depend on the big plants for raw material or that hundreds of small plants do the other 20 per cent of the slaughter is overlooked.

Pollan claims there is little food system regulation, although he does credit Obama for repeating his earlier article that claimed, “though confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) pollute the air and water like factories, they are regulated like farms, which is to say very lightly, when at all.” Prompted by Pollan, Obama also charged that “oligopolies” “dictate the prices and terms by which farmers (are) forced to sell their crops and livestock.”

So all the very specific food safety or content regulations that packers have to comply with; the list of sanitation, handling and labelling requirements for retailers; restaurant inspection; the flood of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that rule farm, ranch and feed yard operations; the USDA and Interior Department rules affecting farming and ranching; the Packers and Stockyard regulations governing livestock marketing — it’s as if they didn’t exist.

Pollan also favours the proposed rule change for the Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) that would, among other things, forbid packers from paying higher prices for better cattle or carcasses.

With the majority of cattle now sold on the basis of quality grade and yield, Pollan assumes the quality will be maintained without incentive. Or, he just prefers that we return to commodity cattle, selling on the average, hoping that would somehow provide the kinds of carcasses consumers want in the quantities required, presumably under the oversight of some government appointee. He sees this as a solution to the “abuses” suffered by farmers and ranchers in being “forced to sell, often on unfavourable terms” to big packers that “were able to dictate prices, impose unfair contracts and simply refuse to buy from ranchers who spoke out.”

Pollan’s chief lament seems to be that in the eight years of the Obama administration the government has not exercised enough control of Big Food, or sparked antitrust cases to break up Big Food into smaller pieces that would have eliminated the current scale of the food system along with the efficiency, technology and safety that it provides — no matter what it costs consumers or ranchers. c (*“Big Food Strikes Back: Why did the Obamas fail to take on corporate agriculture?” 1/09/16.)

Steve Dittmer is the CEO of Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, a non-profit group promoting free market principles throughout the food chain.

He can be reached at steve@agfreedom.ag.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

ď ľ straigh t f ro m t h e h i p

By Brenda Schoepp

Ending Antimicrobial Resistance with a SNAPP

T

he United Nations has declared antimicrobial resistance a global fundamental threat. It is interesting that the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has really taken a short time in our human history to become a near epidemic. Today antibiotic use is considered suboptimal and in many cases unnecessary because of the widespread use without the confirmation of culture. It is estimated that in at least 50 per cent of all human cases the prescription is inappropriate because the diagnosis of the specific pathogen is incomplete or in some cases, a guess.

The use of antibiotics started in our modern history around the year 1911 with Arsphenamine which was found effective for syphilis. Sulfa hit the market in the 1930s and the game changer, penicillin was on the market in the 1940s. Even at that time Fleming warned of overuse and resistance. This played out to be true and in the 1970s and 1980s as 64 new and variances of antibiotics were commercialized. Resistance played out almost immediately. Skipping ahead to our current era and the number of new or variances of antibiotics to hit the market has tumbled to 12 from the year 2000 to 2016.

Pharma does not find the development of antibiotics to be a priority because they are curative and therefore short in the duration of use in North America, but antibiotics are shipped in bulk overseas. In reality, finding specific antibiotics to counter the resistance in the human and animal population today has not been recognized globally even though 60 per cent of animal treatments are medically important to people. This is happening at a time when the WHO claims 700,000 persons are expected to die this year from antimicrobial resistance (400,000 from resistant TB) and the World Bank is taking a serious look at the related economic consequences.

Most recent forecasts are for the loss of life to have a negative impact on global GDP by up to -3.8 per cent. The environmental cost has yet to be determined as there are grey areas in terms of how hospitals and big pharma treat their waste. Soil and water are also consequential victims of the massive use of antibiotics and as those elements are recycled back into our bodies and in those food animals we eat, the opportunity for resistance increases.

The majority of antibiotic use in North America is for production animals and it is here where resistance is also prominent. We may call them chronic or unresponsive in the flock, field or pen. There is a cost for this too and the World Bank is watching as the estimates that livestock production may fall in a range of 2.6 to 7.5 per cent from antimicrobial resistance alone. This could impoverish some agricultural areas. As in human health, there is a call for more training, more use of preventive measures including vaccination and the improvement of hygiene.

As we near crisis levels particularly in respect to treating TB

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and STDs (particularly gonorrhea) because of antimicrobial resistance, hope has emerged in an entirely different fashion from Australia. Enter Shu Lam, a PhD student at University of Melbourne who has discovered a way to treat bacterial infection with polymers that target bacteria and kill it in a few different ways. The structurally nanoengineered antimicrobial peptide polymers (SNAPP) attack only the infected cell and they disable it, disrupt it or even break it apart. This kind of stress causes the bacteria to turn on itself and it basically self-destructs. Her SNAPP technology has so far proven to be effective on six strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

What this means for the future of human and animal medicine may be profound as we gauge the long-term efficacy of SNAPP across gram-negative and gram-positive pathogens. Rather than poisoning the infected cell and the healthy cells around it, SNAPP only go where needed. And there is no residue from the use of a chemical agent so it has a positive environmental outcome. As we phase out our dependency on antibiotic use in animals in Canada we must also consider the alternatives and find solutions from both the human and food animal side.

Certainly the day has passed to give a prescription for a cold or use food animal drugs off label. But the reality is that some folks still drive about with a bottle of liquid magic on the dash of the pickup and doctors still prescribe before the bacteria is cultured and we lack clarity in how hospitals and pharma dispose of infected waste. The need for rapid diagnostics has never been so profound in human or food animal medicine. As 7.5 out of 100 Canadians suffer with a drug reaction, one can appreciate that the solution must be found outside of experimental antimicrobial use as both resistance and reaction can be fatal.

SNAPP is so attractive because we understand the molecule and know the makeup of it, whereas generic drugs are causing real issues in Canada especially when the ingredients come from exporting countries that do not have the same manufacturing or purity of ingredient controls. As insurance companies put the pressure on health-care providers to use generic names, we risk prescribing to humans and to food animals a generic that could be ineffective or even deadly and most certainly an ineffective drug only perpetuates the AMR issue.

As pharma moves away from investment into new antibiotics and doctors often save those new classes of antibiotic for last resort, we must encourage human and animal research in areas such as SNAPP as it may be a contributor to the end of AMR that is now of epidemic proportions.

The economic, health, environmental and humanitarian benefits would be profound. This we do for ourselves, our environment and the generations to follow. c Contact Brenda through her website: www.brendaschoepp.com.

All Rights Reserved. Brenda Schoepp 2016

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 CCA repo rts

By Dan Darling

Preparing for climate change

I

n October, I travelled to New Zealand for the annual meeting of the presidents and chief executive officers of the International Beef Alliance (IBA). Comprised of the national organizations representing beef cattle producers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay and the United States, the IBA accounts for 46 per cent of the world’s beef cattle production and 63 per cent of global beef exports.

The purpose of the IBA is to progress issues of common interest to ensure a strong and profitable global beef industry.

Vice-president David Haywood-Farmer joined me at this conference along with Young Cattlemen’s Council president Brett McRae and Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program participant Ellen Crane as well as staff Dennis Laycraft and John Masswohl.

We spent a great deal of time discussing our shared concern about the growing level of anti-trade rhetoric amongst politicians and activists. I am pleased that this discussion culminated in IBA members agreeing to sign a reaffirmation of the alliance’s statement of principles that confirm our shared commitment to trade liberalization, sustainable beef production and leadership development of young producers. We also agreed to issue a statement calling for the immediate ratification and implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and to further delve into the rise of non-tariff barriers and determine where there are more issues on which the IBA can co-operate.

Prior to the meeting we examined various production systems and practices that help New Zealand producers mitigate or overcome environmental challenges.

Back in Canada, cattlemen have long relied on conservation and stewardship practices to preserve healthy pastures, grasslands and ecosystems. What needs to be better understood — particularly now that the Government of Canada has said it will set a minimum price for carbon pollution in 2018 — is that these same practices help mitigate the impact of climate change.

Many details of the carbon tax are yet to be developed however, Canada’s beef industry is well prepared to engage in discussions.

The National Beef Sustainability Assessment,

56

a recent environmental, social and economic assessment of the Canadian beef industry helps to build a comprehensive understanding of our impact and contribution to rural communities, the environment and Canada’s economy.

Canadian beef has one of the lowest GHG footprints per unit of production in the world at 12.0 kg CO2 equivalent per kilogram of live weight, less than half of the world average. Land used for beef production currently stores approximately 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon and provides for the conservation of 44 million acres (Ma) of pasture including 32 Ma of native grasslands, an at-risk ecosystem with less than 18 per cent remaining in North America.

The beef industry contributes to just 3.2 per cent of Canada’s total GHG footprint.

The CCA has developed recommendations to reduce the GHG footprint of Canadian beef production in the document, Beef Industry Strategies for Reducing Greenhouse Gases and Building the Green Economy. High-level recommendations include: • Increasing productivity to reduce the per-kg GHG footprint of Canadian beef • Further invest in the Beef Science Cluster programs that support research, innovation and knowledge transfer regarding practices that reduce the environmental footprint of beef production.

• Maintain and restore critical Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research capacity and infrastructure.

• Enhancing producer resiliency to the impacts of climate change • Develop clear triggers and reference materials for the AgriRecovery program.

• Improve hay and forage insurance across the country by implementing the recommendations made by the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Forage Task Team.

• Invest in agriculture water management infrastructure, examples may include supporting the construction of improved irrigation systems and flood structures such as dams/storages or outlets.

• Support the creation and further development of payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs that will provide incentives for best land and water management practices to preserve critical

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

agricultural land, improve environmental health, and build resiliency into the agriculture sector.

• Mitigating GHG emissions • Invest in research regarding forage quality, feed additives, animal genetics and animal health as outlined by the Beef Cattle Research Council Research Strategy.

• Invest in research to better understand food waste causes in Canada and enhance communication efforts to reduce food waste at the consumer level.

• Develop and support agriculture-focused conservation and stewardship programs and initiatives that support the conservation of healthy rangelands and riparian areas.

• Supporting national and international climate change dialogue and action • Support the CRSB through AAFC and Environment and Climate Change Canada staff participation and project funding.

• Support and engagement in the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases and the Global Agenda Towards Sustainable Livestock.

• Scientific measuring and monitoring • Support the scientific measuring and monitoring of the GHG footprint of Canadian beef production through continued investment in the Farm Environmental Management Survey and Agriculture Census to ensure robust datasets that enable GHG monitoring.

• Support the development of global GHG monitoring methodologies through the Livestock Environmental Assessment Partnership program by offering the participation of AAFC research scientists as technical advisers and financial contributions.

The CCA views the federal government’s focus on climate change as an opportunity to introduce ecosystem service payment programs that could support further soil carbon sequestration or other initiatives that reduce Canada’s GHG footprint.

Producers want to work together to find appropriate solutions to ensure one wellintended policy doesn’t negatively impact another environmental, social or economic goal we are working towards. c Dan Darling is president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 TH E IN DUST RY

NewsRoundup Transportation Practices

that non-ambulatory cattle must never be dragged out of the trailer while conscious.

This is a wilful act of abuse and results in automatic failure of the audit. Non-ambulatory cattle must be humanely euthanized and confirmed dead in the trailer before unloading. If the animal is likely to recover, it may only be unloaded for veterinary treatment upon the advice of a veterinarian. The auditor will interview employees to confirm that this protocol has been widely communicated.

Part 6 of the Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program

Do your feedlot employees know when new cattle will arrive and cattle need to be shipped out? Are you prepared for weather extremes when shipping and receiving to provide protection from extreme cold, heat, mud and snow?

Will someone be available during unloading or are instructions posted for truckers? Do your receiving pens provide shelter, feed and water? These are a few of the questions auditors for the Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program will ask about your feedlot’s transportation policy and practices.

The policy must include a written protocol for handling incoming sick, injured, fatigued and immobile animals on the truck, stating

Transporter assessment

The auditor will score at least one truck being unloaded and one truck being loaded, and verify that the truckers’ Canadian Livestock Transporter certification is current.

Timeliness of unloading and loading is assessed because holding animals in a

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

trailer for long periods can contribute to animal stress. Full points are awarded for unloading within 60 minutes of arrival and leaving within 60 minutes of loading, with deductions for every 30-minute delay.

Loading density will be assessed. Signs of overcrowding include cattle vocalizations, animals not settled or standing on each other and/or non-ambulatory cattle. Signs of underloading include cattle laying down and non-ambulatory animals.

Incompatible animals must not be transported in the same compartment (heifers with steers, cows with bulls, significant size differences). Compromised animals fit for transport under “special provisions” must be loaded last and unloaded first as per CFIA regulations.

The trailer must be properly aligned with the (un)loading dock and side walls to prevent gaps where animals might get stuck or injured.

The trailer must have non-slip flooring, such as rubber mats, stamped tread, sand, shavings or steel reinforcement rods, and no holes that could cause tripping. Bedding should be provided for high-risk cattle, such as recently weaned calves and cull dairy cows, for transport during extreme winter weather (snowstorms, temperatures less than -15 C, extreme wind chill, freezing rain).

Cattle handling and condition

Cattle must be able to assume normal standing posture without contacting the roof or upper deck of the trailer. Auditors will look for rub spots and wounds on the backs of cattle as cattle leave the trailer.

Handling of cattle leaving or entering a trailer is assessed by recording the number of animals per load that are touched with a prod (energized or not) and the number of falls per load anywhere in the tub or bud box, alleyway, ramp and dock.

Cattle not fit for transport as per CFIA regulations must not be loaded. This list includes non-ambulatory cattle or those showing severe lameness, severe injuries, calving or uterine prolapse, emaciated or severely dehydrated, nervous disease, severe respiratory disease, and waterbelly. Loading animals with these conditions is a wilful act of abuse and grounds for audit failure.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

NEWS ROU NDUP

This audit adds severe heat stress, severe congestive heart failure and poor udder condition because they cause distress and/ or result in condemnation at processing.

The matter of unfit cattle arriving at the feedlot will be addressed but is not grounds for failure because animals may arrive in this condition by no fault of the feedlot.

The transport section is detailed and accounts for a possible 76 points. Scoring is largely based on meeting current industry targets as outlined in the manual.

This is part of a series on the new Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program. Contact your provincial cattle feeder association for the link to all program documents on the National Cattle Feeders Association’s website, or contact the NCFA, 403-769-1519, info@cattlefeeders.ca.

identification

e-Manifests hit the road in Alberta

A staged rollout of an e-manifest being developed by Alberta’s Livestock Identification Services (LIS) for the province’s cattle producers and horse owners is now underway with plans to add sheep in due time.

An electronic version of the paper manifest has been available since June for transport only. It can be used by producers when they or their representatives transport cattle as long as the load doesn’t require inspection by an LIS brand inspector and as long as a third party isn’t involved, such as buyers, auction markets, assembly yards, and community pastures.

This limits use of the e-manifest at this stage of its development to moving cattle from location to location owned or leased by the producer, basically between home and pasture and pasture to pasture within the province, explains LIS general manager Shawn McLean.

A few producers were using the e-manifest this summer and uptake was expected to increase as cattle moved home from pastures and word got out through promotion at industry events.

“We are encouraging producers to sign up and give it a try because we want to make sure it is performing as expected before we add the next steps so that when we are done we will have it right the first time around. It has to work seamlessly,” McLean says.

The initial design allows users to share certain information on manifests with others.

All of the data fields for transport, receivers and LIS inspectors are in place and work is underway to complete the interface with the receiver of the cattle. Once the transport section is approved, the receiver section will be opened up for a test run in the real world.

The inspector portion will be the last one to be activated. It is a huge project that he admits will take time to complete fully.

The information required on an e-manifest mirrors that on the paper manifest. For now, e-manifest users will only be able to see and complete the data fields required for transport. The other sections will become visible as each comes into use.

The original vision five years ago was for the e-manifest to usher in a paperless system where authorized parties would log into a secure website to complete their portions of the manifest at each step as required, with all the information automatically stored in the central database.

As it stands, LIS distributes approximately 250,000 paper manifests each year for cattle and horses. Manifests from every inspection are scanned and the details typed into the Continued on page 60

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News Roundup Continued from page 59

database creating a permanent electronic record as cattle and horses are received, or leaving from an inspection point in Alberta, mainly auction markets, feedlots, packing plants, and locations where animals are being exported to other provinces and countries.

McLean says the paperless concept won’t be entirely doable without a change in provincial regulations requiring cattle to be transported with a paper manifest. Until then, and as voluntary use of the e-manifest is phased in, users will be able to complete their parts online and the information will be stored in the database, but a copy will have to be printed to send with the cattle.

Protocols will be built into the program that will allow users to make changes after the manifest is printed and submitted such as when the number or class of cattle listed on an e-manifest have to be changed once the cattle are loaded.

Calgary-based Ci2 Group is developing this program and has done several projects over the years with LIS so it is well tuned to the needs of the cattle industry.

Other electronic reporting programs already in the industry are being reviewed in the development of the LIS manifest. PigTrace Mobile, for example, allows pig producers to log into their accounts

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NEWS ROUNDUP

from a mobile phone to generate a shipping document that can be printed or sent ahead of a load by email or text to any business partner that covers shipping, settlement or inventory requirements.

Canadian and American border authorities also require advanced electronic reporting of cargo and conveyance information for imported commercial goods. Each has its own system for filing the information, separate and apart from the e-manifest LIS is developing, which is currently only for transporting cattle within Alberta.

McLean says an e-manifest for cattle isn’t one of those things that just seemed like a good idea five years ago. It’s a product producers have been asking for ever since it was first suggested. As Alberta’s private indus-

try-led administrator of brand registrations and livestock inspection services, LIS is committed to making it happen, while retaining paper manifests for those who prefer the traditional option.

Alberta beef and dairy producers and horse owners are invited to give the transport section a try at www.emanifests.com.

For more information, contact LIS at 1-866-509-2088.

animal welfare

Veal code of practice out for comment

The committee working on updating Canada’s Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Veal Cattle is on target to

publish a draft following its seventh and final meeting in late October. A start date for the 60-day public comment period will be announced some time afterward by the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) and Canadian Veal Association.

The comment period is an important part of the code of practice process. Up to this point the updating of the code is the culmination of consultations with researchers and a wide swath of stakeholders within the sector. This will be the first time the wider public has a chance to review and comment on the recommended practices for veal production put forward in the modernized code.

When the NFACC first used this process

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to update the dairy cattle code of practice it received approximately 120 comments that had to be reviewed and considered before the draft code was finalized and released in 2009.

The draft beef code received approximately 400 comments from industry sources and the public for consideration before it was finalized in 2013. Updated codes for several other species were released that same year. Some 600 comments came in for the equine code and 200 for mink. The draft code for pig production drew a whopping 4,700 comments during its session, which was finalized and released in 2014.

The NFACC’s website says anyone with an interest in farm animal care as a part of a well-managed and competitive food system is invited to provide feedback on the draft veal cattle code of practice. The draft will be posted on the NFACC website when it’s approved.

Public input does influence the direction of the final document.

The comments are first put into orderly fashion and circulated to the code development committee members in preparation for discussions to reach a consensus on any further changes at full committee meetings. The time between the end of the comment period and release of the final version largely depends on the number of com-

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ments received and number of meetings needed to reach consensus. The final version of the veal cattle code is expected to be out in fall 2017.

The code development committee with broad stakeholder representation and the scientific committee struck specifically for the veal code update first met in March 2015 to decide on priority welfare issues that would require a review of the scientific literature. The key issues identified were housing (facilities), fibre, risk factors for abomasal damage, milk feeding, and management strategies to reduce the risk of welfare issues associated with iron deficiency anemia. The peer-reviewed scientific report will be published with the draft code.

Progress reports on the meetings and insight into the process for updating codes as well as the codes themselves can be found at www.nfacc.ca.

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Boehringer Ingelheim’s Metacam 20 has obtained approval in Canada for use in cattle to reduce pain associated with abdominal surgery, such as caesarean section.

The marketing authorization was granted based on recent research studies that show how cows’ behaviour is influenced by being treated with Metacam 20 immediately prior to abdominal surgery.

Previous Canadian research had shown Continued on page 64

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similar benefits from administering a single dose of Metacam 20 before performing abdominal surgery.

Metacam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug of the oxicam class and is proven effective during various veterinary procedures across a range of species.

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Weather cut a harsh swath through winter feed supplies all across the country last month causing headaches for cattle producers who were scrambling to salvage what they could from the leavings.

In Alberta early snow covered many acres of annual crops grown for greenfeed, raising concerns that it may not dry before it had to be baled.

Bales containing 18-20 per cent moisture (or higher) have the potential to heat. Some of the sugars will be used by the microbes during heating, reducing the energy content available to the animals.

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ISSUE

Radish to the rescue 10 Winter graze cows on ryegrass 26

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Balancing Act Tips for optimizing forage-based rations, and planning for next seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crop

By Trudy Kelly Forsythe

In a modern dairy farm, feed costs represent by far the greatest expense â&#x20AC;&#x201D; around 40 per cent of the gross income â&#x20AC;&#x201D; says Robert Berthiaume, a dairy production expert in forage systems with Valacta in Quebec. He adds that forages constitute 50 per cent of the feed costs, or 20 per cent of the gross income.

"Most producers use computer programs or technical advisers to balance their rations," says Berthiaume, explaining after the above steps are complete, the program or technical adviser will recommend supplements to balance the supply of nutrients with the requirements of the animal.

Since forages make up a large portion of a dairy cow's diet, nutrient composition is very important. However, one challenge for producers is that forage composition is extremely variable.

Planning Your Crop

Bill Weiss, an extension specialist of animal science at the Ohio State University, gives corn silage as an example explaining its neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content can be plus or minus 10 to 15 per cent. This means, if the average corn silage is 40 per cent NDF, they usually see silage with as low as 36 per cent NDF whereas others are as high as 44 per cent NDF. "Alfalfa could vary by twice that amount," he adds, explaining it can vary farm-tofarm, year-to-year and field-to-field.

Both Berthiaume and Weiss recommend producers take representative samples of their forages and send them to a lab for analysis to know exactly what they have to offer. Then, determine the requirements of the animal to be fed since the needs of a lactating cow differ to those of a growing heifer, for example. Next, predict, as accurately as possible, how much forage will the animal eat.

CANADIAN FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION www.canadianfga.ca Ph: 506-260-0872

The analysis also help's plan yield and quality of next season's forage crops.

Look at the forage analysis for indicators of quality such as NDF and crude protein contents.

For alfalfa, Weiss says, NDF should be in the high 30s or low 40s. "If they aren't, they need to look at better harvest management," he says. "If fibres are higher than optimal, it's because they cut too late."

Fibre digestibility is better when evaluating corn silage. If it's too low, Weiss says the crop was cut too late or the producer selected the wrong hybrid for the conditions. Weiss recommends producers talk to their seed company about better hybrids and then ensuring they harvest at the right maturity.

Another recommendation is calculating the herd's inventory needs of the herd.

"If they know they're going to be short, or they are consistently short, they should consider forages that increase yield," says Weiss. "There are newer varieties of alfalfa that have been bred

to maintain quality so they can be cut more mature without a loss in quality but with improved yields."

Producers should also look at management practices. "Yield is inversely co-related with quality so if delaying harvest you will increase yield but decrease quality," says Weiss. "They have to determine the economic value. It may be that a higher-quality harvest with a lower yield is more economical."

Berthiaume also suggests identifying fields where the yields are low and designing a plan to renovate them.

Silage Management There are substantial losses of nutrients between when forage is harvested and when it is fed to the cow, but good silage management can help.

It is important to harvest forages at the right dry matter concentration for the structure it will be stored in. Using high-quality, proven inoculants, filling the silo rapidly and sealing can also help reduce nutrient losses substantially.

"Producers paid for this, they grew this and they don't want it to lose quality or quantity," says Weiss.

"Increasing yield by doing storage correctly is a huge opportunity on most farms."

News Roundup Continued from page 64

If temperatures within the bale get above nitrate accumulation. When the bales heat 40 C, the bales will smell sweet or like nitrates may be converted to nitrites which tobacco and the colour turns dark brown or are 10 times more toxic to the animal. Heatblack. When this happens, some of the proing may cause the bales to slump or lose their tein will be tied to the fibre and not availshape. This is a sign that you need to test for able to the animals. both nitrates and nitrites before letting the Before you feed it request an acid detercattle at them. gent insoluble nitrogen (ADIN) or ADIP Don’t stack higher-moisture bales in protein test in addition to the regular feed stacks or under a hay shed. If the bales analysis. Use the lower adjusted protein start to heat, temperatures could get high value when formulating rations. enough to cause spontaneous combustion.

Moulds also arise in higher moisture In Ontario an early dry spell cut into bales, reducing quality and making the forage supplies sufficiently that people are bales unpalatable. Don’t put mouldy bales looking for ways to stretch their winter feed through a processor. Better to roll them supplies. out so the cows can sort through it to find Forage and grazier specialist Thomas sound feed.

Ferguson offered a couple of suggestions.

Nitrates are another issue in weathered Corn stover or straw are two obvious greenfeed, especially in crops that were well alternatives.

CSA Bus. Card Jan04 12/9/03 AM Page fertilized or manured.

Such crops cut three11:21 Corn stover 1can provide feed well into to five days after a light frost are ripe for the fall and winter as half of the energy in a

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corn plant is in the stalk. Immediately after combining, corn stover may have a TDN as high as 70 per cent, however, as the season progresses and the cattle eat the more nutritious parts of the plants the TDN will drop into the 40s.

Strip grazing with an electric fence can slow down this slide by forcing them to clean up each section before they move on.

Generally when the husks and leaves have been stripped off the animals will require additional feed. One acre of corn stover can provide feed for one to two beef cows for a month.

Straw will supply much of the energy needed by mature dry cows in the second trimester but will need to be supplemented with a protein source. At this stage a diet of straw and quality hay, along with salt and mineral can provide all they need. As the nutritional needs pick up some grain supplementation will be needed.

Oat straw is the most nutritious, followed by barley, soybean and wheat.

The easiest way to incorporate straw into a diet is through the use of a TMR mixer to thoroughly mix the straw and the hay with any grain that is required, however, the feed

needs to be managed to ensure that the animals are not sorting through to eat the high-quality feed first and leaving the straw until the bunks are almost empty. This can lead to acidosis in the greedy cows that get too much energy.

Feeding straw and hay in separate bale feeders doesn’t help. The cows simply eat the hay first and avoid the straw.

Then there’s grain. One kilogram of corn can replace two kilograms of hay in up to one-third of the ration. Barley has roughly 90 per cent of the energy value of corn while wheat is equal or slightly higher than corn.

Distillers grain has higher protein content than ground corn and can be an economical feed source.

“In most cases when feeding grain, cattle will be limit fed, they need to have enough bunk space so all of the cattle can eat at once, otherwise the dominant cows will consume more than their share, putting them at risk of acidosis, bloat and getting fat,” says Ferguson.

If more than two kilograms per days are being fed he suggests breaking it up into multiple feedings per day to prevent acidosis and grain overload. c

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 NEWS ABOUT YOU

By Mike Millar

PurelyPurebred  Congratulations to Canadian Angus personality Bob Prestage, who was one of three men inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame on October 7. Prestage Bob Prestage has been dedicated to beef cattle-breeding and genetic programs in Alberta for more than 50 years.

His commitment to the industry is evident through his sustained work in marketing and exports, and international and community programs. Early in his career, he distinguished himself by developing the progeny test program for beef cattle, significantly improving the genetic pool of the Canadian cattle industry. Founding Wicklow Angus in Camrose, he raised the profile of Angus beef in Canada and inter-

nationally. Prestage selected, processed and exported thousands of cattle to more than 20 countries, including marketing the first cattle to Russia to support the Alberta cattle industry’s recovery from BSE. Prestage has supported Alberta breeders in selling cattle around the world, generously sharing his marketing expertise, hosting numerous international delegations, and judging at international cattle shows. A former reeve of Camrose County, Prestage has made many contributions to youth and community organizations and has received numerous industry and community awards including induction into the Alberta Angus Association Hall of Fame as a Breed Builder.

Canadian Angus Association CEO Rob Smith says, “Bob is exceptionally well known in our fraternity and is as highly

The 2017

Suggestions are always welcome. My phone number is 306-251-0011 Email: mike.millar@ fbcpublishing.com

respected as anyone in Canada. As a breeder, a volunteer, a fieldman, and as a mentor and coach, his voice is always heard and his guidance and leadership always appreciated. CAA is extremely proud to see Bob in the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame.”  The Young Canadian Simmental Association is pleased to be hosting a Leadership Conference February 23-25, 2017 in Calgary, Alta. It is open to all youth 16-25 years of age as of January 1, 2017. Conference features include speakers Marty Seymour, Jill Harvie, a True Colours Personality workshop, tour of the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence and a visit to a local feedlot. Like the YCSA Facebook page (@Young Canadian Simmental Association) for more details and registrations in the next couple of months!

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 Online livestock marketer AgriClear has entered into a collaborative marketing arrangement with the Canadian Angus Association. Any Angus or Angus-tagged cattle listed with AgriClear will also be promoted on the CAA website in the very near future.

AgriClear’s unique online platform offers cattle buyers and sellers the highest level of security and assurance. Through a partnership with TMX Group and NGX, a wholly owned subsidiary of TMX Group, AgriClear leverages a wide range of knowledge and expertise. Backed by the financial support and clearing expertise of these two entities, clients are assured of receiving payment for delivered cattle and receiving cattle as negotiated.

It is easy to use and provides a way to reduce costs for producers who want to capitalize on a broader market, and still do business on their terms. Buyers and sellers only pay $6/head for a completed transaction. There is no cost to register and list cattle on its broad network of Canadian and U.S. cattle buyers and sellers. The site allows breeders to provide value-added attributes for their cattle and negotiate directly with buyers online. Payment is made prior to shipment but the money is held until both parties are satisfied. AgriClear is backed by a $9-million (USD) bond, assuring payment. There is an option to work with an independent sales representative, who can help with describ-

ing, sorting, estimating weight and pricing your cattle for an additional fee.  By the time this issue reaches your mailbox producers attending Northlands will have had an opportunity to attend the first BeefTech held November 7-9 in advance of Farmfair International. BeefTech was designed to allow producers to explore and experience emerging technologies and innovative management practices. Perhaps some of you who took in the hands-on workshops and labs and technology demonstrations will drop me a line with your impressions.  Just a reminder that the early-bird deadline of Dec. 9, 2016 is fast approaching for getting material into Doug and Linda Henderson for the Canadian Angus Foundation’s new history book. Everybody sending in stories and pictures by Dec. 9 will have their name thrown into the hat for a chance to win a copy of the new history book, when it comes out.

Doug and Linda can be reached at 403-7823888 or email at djhenderson@platinum.ca.  There has certainly been a lot of interest and buzz over the article “Birth Weight’s Effect on Profit — Part 1” put together by Candace By of the Canadian Charolais BanContinued on page 70

November 23

National Gelbvieh Show, Sweetheart Classic & People's Choice Gelbvieh Bull Futurity

Agribition, Regina, SK

November 24

National Gelbvieh Sale

Agribition, Regina, SK

December 2-3

GAA/BC Wish List Sale & Annual Meeting The Westerner, Red Deer, AB

December 10

Prairie Gelbvieh Alliance Female Sale

Grant Hall Hotel, Moose Jaw, SK

March 4

Davidson Gelbvieh & Lonesome Dove 27th Annual Bull Sale

at the Ranch, Ponteix, SK

March 6

Severtson Land & Cattle Bull Sale

at the Ranch, Red Deer County, AB

March 7

Gelbvieh Stock Exchange Sale

Medicine Hat Feeding Company, Medicine Hat, AB

March 10

Gelbvieh Advantage Bull Sale

Innisfail Auction Mart, Innisfail, AB

March 11

Foursquare 10th Annual Bull Sale

Olds Cow Palace, Olds, AB

March 13

Twin Bridge Farms & Guests Bull Sale

Silver Sage Community Corral, Brooks, AB Back row (l to r): Carson Rodgers, Devon Fox, Cole Dodgson. Middle row (l to r): Kate Laycraft, Sadie Luba, Cheyenne Catley, Taylor Kalbfleisch, Leila Hickman, Marissa Campbell, Nora Lazurko, Brooke Palfenier, Kally Parker. Front row (l to r): Taylor Black, Tateum McPherson, and Teresa Mann.

 Lakeland College in Vermilion has started another academic year and this year it would like to introduce the Purebred beef team for 2016-17 on the student-managed farm powered by New Holland.

The program is run by second-year students who manage a Black Angus operation culminating in an annual beef day and bull sale in March. For details go to www.lakelandcollege. ca. This year’s team: Teresa Mann, Carson Rodgers, Cole Dodgson, Cheyenne Catley, Marissa Campbell, Taylor Black, Taylor Kalbfleisch , Sadie Luba, Nora Lazurko, Tateum McPherson, Kate Laycraft, Devon Fox , Brooke Palfenier, Kally Parker and adviser: Leila Hickman. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

March 15

Fladeland Livestock Bull Sale

Johnstone Auction Mart, Moose Jaw, SK

March 18

Saskatoon Gelbvieh Bull Sale

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C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

69

PU R E LY PU R E B R E D

Continued from page 69

ner, featuring Kevin Woods, Westwood Land & Cattle, Adam Doenz, Doenz Farms and Andy Hofer, Spring Creek Colony. This article focuses on birth weight in a commercial herd setting. Watch for Part 2.  Dr. John Crowley, the University of Alberta geneticist and Canadian Beef Breeds Council director of scientific and industry advancement gave an interesting rundown last month of his September trip to China in the CBBC newsletter. During his visit he spoke to China’s National Cattle Industry Development Conference. His trip was initiated by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, and hosted by Alta-Agricorp, a joint venture of Alta Genetics in China. Before the conference he flew to Shenyang to visit Alta clients.

“With China being one of the largest milkproducing countries in the world, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a lot of the cattle in their feedlots are culled Holstein bulls. The majority of these bulls is left intact and fed out with the absence of a defined grading system meaning these lean animals are profit-

able. However, most feedlots were looking to source beef animals for their pens and in parallel, dairy farmers were looking to add value to their operations in the midst of a current low point in milk price. To this, I gave a simple solution; utilize sexed semen for the replacement dairy females and put easy-calving beef bulls into the rest. Dedicated beef farms supplied a limited-quantity pure beef stock of local Flower and Yellow cattle breeds. On both the dairy and beef operations, Alta-Agricorp are currently marketing Canadian semen and there is definitely a huge interest.

“One of the biggest feedlots we visited was in the final stages of development and aims to finish 70,000 cattle a year at the one venue. It has its own commercial operation of 10,000 beef cows and buys in the remainder. A striking feature of this feedlot was the installation of solar panels in the pens for the dual purpose of providing shade and generating electricity.

“After Shenyang we flew to Chongqing where the conference was taking place. I spoke in the international section with four other speakers, all Australian and all of them strangers to one another. Live cattle exports introduce a large injection of Australian

Sales results

Justamere 17th Annual Sale of the Year

October 17, 2016, Lloydminster, Sask.

3 7 22 2 5 3 2 2 3

Angus Herdside Prospects, av. $4,6204 Angus show heifers, av. $13,821 Angus bred heifers, av. $7,810 Cow-calf pairs, av. $18,750 Club calf steers, av. $2,760 Club calf heifer calves, av. $1,967 Clubby bred heifers, av. $2,500 Angus embryo lots, gross $5,700 Angus semen lots, gross $3,375 Gross $356,000

genetics to China as well as the shipping of meat and dairy products.”  Crowley says the revamped website of the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) is well worth a look at www.icar.org. In this era of data collection and analytics, he says this collection of guidelines, standards, accreditations and services is exciting to see. c

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70

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 Market Su mma ry

By Debbie McMillin

TheMarkets Fed Cattle Fed cattle started this month softer, continuing to post lower lows throughout the fall but strength in the live cattle futures and weakness in the Canadian dollar led to some positive movement in the last week.

Fed steers averaged $132.40/cwt which was an improvement of $2.68/cwt over the week before but down $37/cwt from last year. Larger protein production in North America continues to put pressure on the fed cattle market as lower-priced pork and poultry continue to compete for consumer dollars.

The cash-to-futures basis is currently contra seasonally strong at +5.81/cwt, which is a result of the cash price and the futures market not strengthening at the same time. This basis level will likely become more historically seasonal in the coming weeks.

Fed cattle slaughter continues to be larger as profitable packing plants have been aggressively procuring cattle in 2016, to date steer slaughter is up eight per cent at 1,199,786 head while heifer slaughter is one per cent larger at 594,871 head. Low cash bids on fed cattle, reduced cost of gain and high feeder prices have kept cattle on feed and thus increasing carcass weights. The year-over-year comparison of steer carcass weights in Canada shows the average this year at 917 lbs. which is 33 lbs. larger than last year. Fed cattle exports are larger to date in 2016 but have slowed in recent weeks, to date the total is up 45 per cent at 234,395 head.

According to the Canfax Alberta and Sask­ atchewan cattle-on-feed report placements

remain lower with 175, 585 feeders placed into finishing lots in September, down 19 per cent from a year ago. This marks the fifth month of smaller year-over-year placements. The on-feed total as of October 1 was reported at just 579,572 head, down 18 per cent from a year ago and the smallest October 1 on-feed total since the start of the report in 2000. At the same time the USDA cattle-on-feed report shows on-feed inventories in the U.S. steady with the yearago data.

Feeder Cattle In general, we expect that lower feed prices and a lower Canadian dollar will equate to higher feeder cattle prices however, this has not been the case in 2016. A larger U.S. beef herd has created more supply and substantial losses at the feedlot level over the past several months making buyers more cautious. Cash price declines continued through the fall on all weight classes despite barley prices falling as much as 25 per cent under a year ago and the Canadian dollar three per cent below the same weeks last year. The 550-lb. feeder steer average in mid-October was $168.11/cwt, $117.12/cwt below the 550-lb. steer price during the same week last year. Heavier feeder steers at our deadline averaged $151.93/cwt which was $92.60/cwt under a year ago.The spread between light- and heavyweight feeder prices usually narrows when feed prices are reduced. This is the case this year with the spread between 550-lb. and 850-lb. feeder steers at $16/cwt while the same time last year saw the same spread at nearly $41/cwt. The

cash-to-futures 850-lb. feeder basis is currently -9.01/cwt. Feeder cattle exports have slowed recently as talk of possible imports of U.S. feeder cattle seems to be the buzz. Feeder cattle exports to date are down 39 per cent to 162,668 head.

Non-fed Cattle Since the price highs in the first quarter of 2016 the downward trend in the second and third quarters in the D1,2 cow market has followed the five-year price average closely. The current D1,2 cow price is $87.10/cwt which is $25.50/cwt under last year’s market. The price drop is in response to the larger fed and nonfed cattle supply as well as additional competitive protein in the pipeline and resulting lower boneless beef pricing. To date cow marketings are five per cent larger than last year which includes a two per cent reduction in the total number of cows exported for slaughter at 158,555 head but an increase in domestic slaughter of eight per cent to 283,701 head.

Bull prices have also been under pressure with the mid-October price at $121.75/cwt which is a drop of nearly $3.50/cwt in the past week and when compared with a year ago the bull price is currently down $14.54/cwt. Bull slaughter is 28 per cent higher than last year with a total of 10,077 head and export for slaughter at 61,614 head, down 30 per cent from a year ago. c Debbie McMillin is a market analyst who ranches at Hanna, Alta.

More markets 

 DEB’S OUTLOOK Fed Cattle Fundamentally fed cattle supplies should tighten from now until the end of the year at the same time seasonal beef demand usually sees a boost as buyers look to fill their holiday needs for higher-end cuts. Expect fed cattle prices to firm heading toward the end of the year however, the upside may be limited by rising North American pork production and uncertain technical markets.

Feeder Cattle As the late harvest across the Prairies wraps up mixed farms will start to focus more on the cattle end of the operation which should bring more numbers to auction. However, more producers will weigh the options of retained ownership given available lowerwww.canadiancattlemen.ca

priced feed and the opportunity to add pounds in hopes of a rally in the market before sale day.

In the near term, recent strength in the fed cattle market as well as weakness in the Canadian dollar should help stabilize the feeder cattle market. In addition, the strength in both the live cattle and feeder cattle futures should help support this market moving forward.

Non-Fed Cattle The D1,2 cow market seems to be on track to hit seasonal lows in the coming weeks. Looking further out, it’s uncommon for cow prices not to rally from the fall low into the first quarter. With the ample forage supply and reduced feed grain prices expect that buyers will start to look at buying feeder cows anticipating the higher value and added pounds in the first quarter.

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6 71

M A R K ETS

Break-even Prices on A-Grade Steers

Market Prices

210

340

190

310 280

170

250

150

220

130 110

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

160

210

160

190

140

170

120

150

100

130 110

Steer Calves

190

ALBERTA

(500-600 lb.)

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

80

ONTARIO Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Canfax weighted average price on A-Grade steers

Break-even price for steers on date sold

2016 2015

2017 2016

October 2016 prices* Alberta Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $171.66/cwt Barley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.62/bu.

Barley silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.25/ton Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.98/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.05/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132.17/cwt Break-even (March 2017) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138.03/cwt Ontario Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $175.55/cwt Corn silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.60/ton Grain corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.70/bu.

Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74.43/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108.07/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126.41/cwt Break-even (April 2017) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148.56/cwt *Mid-month to mid-month prices Breakevens East: end wt 1,450, 183 days West end wt 1,325 lb., 125 days

60

D1,2 Cows Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Ontario

Alberta

2016 2015

2016 2015

Ontario prices based on a 50/50 east/west mix

Market Summary (to October 1, 2016) 2016

2015

Total Canadian federally inspected slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,976,054. . . . . . . . . 1,870,382 Average steer carcass weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916 lb.. . . . . . . . . . . . 882 lb.

Total U.S. slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,964,000. . . . . . . . 21,940,000

Trade Summary Exports 2016 2015 Fed cattle to U.S. (to September 24). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218,081.. . . . . . . . . . . 152,897 Feeder cattle and calves to U.S. (to September 24). . . . . . . . . . . 157,845.. . . . . . . . . . .261,709 Dressed beef to U.S. (to August). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390.90 mil.lbs.. . . . 336.80 mil.lbs Total dressed beef (to August). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507.29 mil.lbs.. . . . . 452.81 mil.lbs IMPORTS 2016 2015 Slaughter cattle from U.S. (to August) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 *Dressed beef from U.S. (to August) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162.01 mil.lbs. . . . . . 178.92 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Australia (to August) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.91 mil.lbs. . . . . . . 67.20 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from New Zealand (to August) . . . . . . . . . . 32.48 mil.lbs. . . . . . . 34.72 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Uruguay (to August) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.48 mil.lbs. . . . . . . 25.70 mil.lbs Canadian Grades (to October 22, 2016) % of A grades +59% 54-58% AAA 17.8 23.2 AA 18.5 8.8 A 0.2 1.2 Prime 0.3 0.6 Total 32.8 37.8

EAST WEST

Total graded 457,717 1,657,241

Yield – 53% Total 22.3 63.3 3.7 31.0 0.0 1.4 1.6 2.5 27.6 Total A grade 98.2%

Total ungraded 20,330 6,719

% carcass basis 82.2% 89.7% Only federally inspected plants

72

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 market ta l k

By Jerry Klassen

Simple Risk Management

W

e used to say on the trading floor that trying to pick a bottom in a market is like trying to catch a falling dagger. It’s dangerous and it hurts. I’ve also been guilty of trying to project bottoming-type action this last fall only to eat my words a few weeks later. At the time of writing this article, the June live cattle futures were within $14 of the 2009 recessionary low which puts into perspective how the market has fallen since the highs in spring of 2015. There have been studies done on economists and their predictions and all conclude that professionals do marginally better than a random forecast generator. I call the beef market a semi-complex market because if you have an idea of supply and seasonal swings in demand, one can do a pretty good job of forecasting. However, we learned this last year that beef production has been underestimated and the industry as a whole is surprised how fast additional supplies have come on stream. The more complex a system is, the harder it is to forecast.

As in the case of weather, beyond three days is virtually impossible never mind forecasting 20 to 50 years forward.

Over the past year, when I provide a market outlook to a producer group, I always end the presentation with a very simple but extremely useful example of risk management that a few colleagues and myself designed in university. Given the questions at the end of the presentation, producers usually feel this is most valuable and something they can take home. Therefore, I thought this would be a good time to review so that both feedlot operators and cow-calf producers can have a better idea of the financial risk involved in feeding cattle.

When a steer is purchased for finishing, all the costs are known. Producers can also have a fairly good idea of the expected forward contracting price. The exercise starts out very simply. An 800-pound steer costs $1.60/ lb. for a total purchase cost of $1,280. If we use a cost-perpound gain (barley, silage, yardage, interest, all costs etc.) of $0.70/lb. gained and the animal is fed to 1,450 pounds, the total cost to put on 650 pounds is $455. Adding the purchase price of $1,280 plus the costs of $455, the total cost of the animal is $1,735. The break-even fed cattle selling price is the cost of $1,735 divided by the weight of 1,450 pounds which equals $1.20/lb. This is fairly straightforward. If you can contract this animal at $1.25/ lb., net result is a benefit of $77.50 per head.

Taking this one step further, is to calculate this on a pen of 200 animals with a death loss of one per cent.

Therefore, two animals will die and we assume the animals die the day the pen is sold so that all costs are endured. The gross revenue of this pen is calculated as follows: weight of 1,450 pounds times $1.25 times 198 www.canadiancattlemen.ca

barley price variation ($$/mt) 1.0% death loss FP 1.60

12,009.44

140

150

160

170

180

$1.15

-8,688.84

-12,694.70

-16,700.56

-20,706.42

-24,712.28

Selling

$1.20

5,666.16

1,660.30

-2,345.56

-6,351.42

-10,357.28

Price

$1.25

20,021.16

16,015.30

12,009.44

8,003.58

3,997.72

Variation

$1.30

34,376.16

30,370.30

26,364.44

22,358.58

18,352.72

$1.35

48,731.16

44,725.30

40,719.44

36,713.58

32,707.72

animals equals $358,875. The total costs for the pen are $346,866 (with two animals dying) for a net result of $12,009 on the pen.

Now comes the interesting part. The above calculations can be done simply on a spreadsheet. Taking this to step three, I’ve used the table function on an Excel spreadsheet for a sensitivity analysis on this pen of 200 head with one per cent death loss when buying 800pound steers at $1.60/lb. (I have this on the top righthand corner FP $1.60.)

On the top horizontal line, I’ve varied the barley price.

Earlier I stated the cost-per-pound gain was $0.70/lb. gain and this was using barley at $160/mt. On the vertical axis, I’ve varied the selling price of fed cattle. In the example above, the fed cattle selling price was $1.25/lb. Notice in the centre of the table, the net result is a positive 12,009 which was the net benefit in our example. If the barley price drops to $140/mt and the selling price drops to $1.15/lb., the net result is a -8,688. If the barley price is $180 and the selling price is $1.35, then the net result is $32,707. The table shows the net result using the combinations of the barley price and the fed cattle selling price. In the spreadsheet, this could be copied again showing what happens if the purchase price of the feeder cattle is $1.70/lb., instead of $1.60.

This is also helpful if producers know at what price they need to purchase the feeder cattle.

There are feedlot programs out there that cost upwards of $2,000 but you can do this on a simple spreadsheet.

Then you can decide how you want to mitigate the risk using futures and options. However, Chapter 2 on feedlot management is for another time. My dad always said you can work in the feedlot all day, but the money is made after supper working your pencil and analyzing. c Jerry Klassen manages the Canadian office of Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Produits Ltd., and is president and founder of Resilient Capital specializing in proprietary commodity futures trading and market analysis. He owns farmland in Manitoba and Saskatchewan but grew up on a mixed farm feedlot operation in southern Alberta. He can be reached at 204-504-8339.

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

73

 GOINGS ON

Sales&Events Events

March

November

29

Sales

13-20 Canada Food Expo, Seoul, South Korea; Osaka, Tokyo, Japan 15-17 Canadian Forage & Grassland Conference, Winnipeg, Man. 21-26 Canadian Western Agribition, Regina, Sask.

November 16

19

December 5-7

19

21-22 Livestock Care Conference, Calgary, Alta.

ntelope Butte Ranch Ltd., Fort Macleod A Auction, Fort Macleod, Alta.

Fenton Hereford Ranch Fall Production Sale, Irma, Alta.

December

lberta Beef Producers annual meeting, A Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, Calgary, Alta.

2

S askAlta Angus Complete Dispersal, Medicine Hat Feeding Co., Medicine Hat, Alta.

3 Lewis Farms 2016 Leading Ladies Female Sale, Spruce Grove, Alta.

6 Stromsmoe Herefords & Black Angus 32nd Annual Production Sale, at the ranch, Etzikom, Alta.

7 Cudlobe Bull Sale, Foothills Livestock Auction, Stavely, Alta.

9 McMillan Ranching Ltd. — Fall Female Production Sale, Carievale, Sask.

10 Dolittle Angus Dispersal Sale, Swift Current, Sask.

12 Stoughton Farms Ltd. Complete Herd Dispersal, Lloydminster, Sask.

13 Bonchuk Farms Female Production Sale, Heartland Livestock, Virden, Man. 17-18 Guilford Hereford Ranch Complete Hereford and Angus Dispersal, Swift Current, Sask.

January 2017 5-6

S askatchewan Young Ag Entrepreneurs Conference, Saskatoon Inn and Conference Centre, Saskatoon, Sask.

23 Ontario Beef Symposium, Rozanski Hall, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont. 24-26 Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference, Evraz Place, Regina, Sask.

30-Feb. 1 Year Round Grazing Workshop, New Liskeard, Ont.

February

2-3 M anitoba Beef Producers annual meeting, Victoria Inn, Brandon, Man. 7 BIO annual meeting, Elora, Ont. 15-17 Alberta Beef Industry Conference, Sheraton Red Deer Hotel, Red Deer, Alta.

22-23 Beef Farmers of Ontario annual meeting, International Plaza Hotel, Toronto, Ont.

74

January 2017 28

30

.C. Quantock “Canada’s Bulls” Bull Sale M at the Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds, Lloydminster, Alta.

Lazy S Ranch Bull Power Sale, at the ranch, Mayerthorpe, Alta.

February 4

ill 70 Quantock Ranch “Barn Burnin” H Bull Sale, at the ranch, Lloydminster, Alta.

March 4

4 10

avidson Gelbvieh & Lonesome Dove D Ranch 28th Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch, Ponteix, Sask.

High Country Bull Sale, at the ag grounds, Pincher Creek, Alta.

A. Sparrow Farms Annual Bull Sale, at the farm, Vanscoy, Sask.

 Event listings are a free service to industry.  Sale listings are for our advertisers.

Your contact is Mike Millar at 306-251-0011 or mike.millar@fbcpublishing.com

STAMPEDE

 A DV ERTIS E R IN D EX

Airdrie Trailer Sales Alberta Beef Industry Bayer Health Care Boehringer Ingelheim Canadian Angus Assoc.

Canadian Cattle Identification Canadian Charolais Assoc.

Canadian Forage & Grassland Assoc.

Canadian Gelbvieh Assoc.

Canadian Hereford Assoc.

Canadian Limousin Assoc.

Canadian Shorthorn Assoc.

Canadian Simmental Assoc.

Canadian Speckle Park Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum Cattlemen’s Financial Corp.

Cudlobe Farms Farm Credit Canada Ford Motor Company Canada Genex Cooperative Gilbrea Consulting Ltd. Grant Devine

LB Angus — Angus Opportunity Sale, L Erskine, Alta.

Rainalta Complete Simmental and Charolais Herd Dispersal, Brooks, Alta.

Page 67 58 9 43 66 38, 39 OBC 65 31, 69 IFC 66 61 66 66 64 67 53 15 IBC 63 66 60

Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Hill 70 Quantock Ranch Honda Power Equipment John Deere Lakeland Group/Northstar LLB Angus Masterfeeds LP M.C. Quantock Livestock Merck Animal Health Merial Canada MNP LLP Nester Livestock Peak Dot Ranch Ltd. Perlich Bros. Auction Market Ltd. Ridley Block Ops/Crystalyx Saskatchewan Beef Industry Stromsmoe Angus & Herefords Supreme International Ltd. T Bar C Cattle Co. Tru-Test Inc. Union Forage Ltd. Zoetis Canada Inc.

C a t t l e m e n · N O V EM B E R 2 0 1 6

Page 67 7 11 19 22 a-p 62 44 5 13, 25 17, 34 35 29 33 55 37 62 45 27 41 59 30 21

By Jerry Palen

“Oh, stop complaining.

It’s not too dark to get started.”

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